Chao- Ah… Chao just had this idea for quite some time…

YChao- So readers shouldn't take everything you say as a study guide?

Chao- Not unless they want to fail…

Chapter 5: The Battle Within

Yugi looked down at the bowl of soup he was given. He had only managed to eat roughly ten spoonfuls of his food. Placing his utensil back on his tray, he continued to stare.

He could see his own reflection. His flesh was a little paler than usual, and small bags laid underneath his eyes. But he did not care so much about how he looked; he was too tired and miserable to think about appearances.

His mind then conjured up an image of Yami within the soup. A tear fell down the young boy's face which landed in the reflection causing the image to ripple. He couldn't take the depressing emotion anymore so he sat his dish away from him by placing it on his nightstand.

Wrapping his arms around his shoulders, he started to cry. Not from physical pain, but the boy felt very lonely; his friend had not said anything to him at all. He dried his eyes and lowered himself back on his mattress. As he lied on his bed, his entire body began to suffer from aches. His arms felt like jelly, his legs felt numb, his head was hurting from a headache, his stomach and diaphragm fought to hold down his food and vomit.

"Ugh… everything hurts…" He placed one hand on his forehead. "I still feel warm… warmer than I did last night."

Yugi moved his hand over his mouth and coughed a painful cough. He knew he needed sleep so he closed his eyes and allowed his physique to slumber.

Xxx

Yugi soon found himself wondering around a completely dark place. He had a feeling he was no longer in his hospital room.

"Where am I?" he asked as he continued walking. He looked down at himself and saw he was still in his pajamas, but he was not wearing his Puzzle.

"I feel so empty without it."A thought then occur to him, "Where's Yami? Is he here at all?"

The teen took off running trying to see if he could find anybody. After a minute or two of running, Yugi knew he was heading nowhere. Everything still looked the same. The teen placed his hands on his knees and rested for a moment. Soon, he started to hear voices.

"Who's there?" Yugi quickly asked out loud. In a creepy tone, one voice said, "You're better off without him."

"What? Without who?" Yugi asked as he spun around.

"You've already held him back once…" another voice mentioned.

"Held who back?" Yugi asked as he looked around.

"He was bad… He almost killed people just to claim victory!" a third voice joined.

"What's going on? Who are you talking about?" Yugi demanded to know as he shouted off into the shadows surrounding him. At that moment, he could feel himself being wrapped around by a slimy feeling of darkness.

"Let go of me!" Yugi demanded as he was lifted off of the ground. As the adolescent struggled to break free, he heard the first voice answered, "That worthless spirit who is within you…"

"He truly has no business being here anymore…" the second voice replied.

"They're talking about Yami!" Yugi thought as he continued to struggle.

Xxx

Yami paced back and forth within his Soul Room. With all the information he had heard, he was too worried about Yugi to sit still anymore.

"Should I at least stay until Yugi is out of the hospital?" Yami debated with himself.

He had wanted to allow Yugi to continue on living a normal life, but the dark spirit couldn't help but worry about the safety of his partner. Just then, Yami could feel his connection with Yugi being threaten. He quickly left his Soul Room and entered the real world.

Once he was within the hospital room, Yami scanned the room to see if could locate any dark forces within the area. When he found nothing, he looked down at Yugi to check in on him. Yami was horrified to see Yugi was tossing in his bed. The ill adolescent seemed to be terrified by something.

Yami immediately understood Yugi was experiencing a nightmare. He knelt down and grabbed Yugi's shoulders as he gently tried to wake him. He noticed his hands were a little wet; he knew the sweat was coming from Yugi.

"Yugi! Wake up!" Yami bellowed trying to help.

It was no use.

"This is worse than I thought!" Yami gently placed the boy back on the bed and rushed back to his Soul Room. He could feel the presence of sinister force at work.

Yami slammed open his door and dashed over to the other side. As he did, the power of a dark force was growing stronger. He was displeased to see Yugi's door was sealed shut.

Yami grabbed the handle and continued to pull with all of his strength to get the door open. After several tries, the spirit managed to get the room to open. He grunted when he did not see a bright light, any toys, or even Yugi. He saw only darkness.

"I must save Yugi," he declared as he raced in.

Xxx

"You're better off without him." the third voice encouraged.

"What?" Yugi exclaimed.

"He has no value to your life." the second voice argued.

Yugi didn't want to hear anymore. He struggled and yelled for help, "Yami!"

"Why do you want help from him?" inquired the first voice.

"He's caused you nothing but problems," informed the third voice.

"You've feared him before in the past…" the second voice pointed out.

Yugi knew they were right. He was afraid. In the past, when he first had the Puzzle completed, he was afraid his friends would leave him if they knew something was not right with him. Yugi stopped struggling against the darkness as he remembered back to that time. He did not want to suffer through the pain of being alone again, so he kept Yami a secret.

The first voiced continued, "You also had to try and hold him back in the past against other duelists."

Yugi knew they were right again. He was afraid of Yami harming someone who did not deserve to get hurt.

"Why not get rid of him?" the third voice asked.

Yugi thought about what the voices were arguing against him. He thought about the times were he was terrified of the spirit that was within him.

"Is he any different from the parasite that lies within you?" the second voice asked.

Yugi's eyes shot open.

"How did they know about that?" As he struggled to break free, Yugi shouted with all his heart "Yami is different from that worm in me! He may have tried to hurt others for justice or victory, but he's learned from that mistake! Just like I have to live with being scared of him from before, he has to learn to live with the choices he had made. But…. He's my friend!"

With that Yugi found the strength and broke free. He sprinted far from where he was being kept.

"Yami! Where are you?" He called out as he continued to run. Soon, the teen saw a small sparkle of light. He dashed over to see what it was. He stopped when he came close enough to see the object. Surrounded by darkness, Yugi could see his Puzzle lying on the floor.

"My Puzzle!" Yugi cried out as he rushed over and picked it up. The boy fell to his knees, exhausted from running.

"Yami, can you hear me?" Yugi asked. There was another flash of light. Yugi covered his eyes for a moment with his hands. When the light dimmed, the small teen was able to see someone.

"Yami!" Yugi cried for joy. He stood up and embraced his darker half.

"Yugi? What are you doing here?" Yami asked alarmed.

"I… don't know!" Yugi answered truthfully, "I'm not even sure how I got here!"

Yugi hugged Yami even tighter as he was frighten.

"Yugi, you need to get out of here!" the dark spirit warned.

"But… I… I don't want to lose you!" the boy sobbed.

Yami gripped Yugi hard as he and the smaller boy tumbled to the ground. Yugi opened his eyes and saw flashes of lightning striking the ground. He observed one had almost hit the both of them.

"Yami! What's going on?" Yugi asked panicking.

"The Shadows are trying to get rid of me." Yami answered as he stood up. He gathered together his magic and shot back at a mysterious dark cloud.

"Get rid of you?" Yugi asked confused.

"No time for questions! Just go!" Yami ordered as he shot another blast of magic. The boy struggled to stand up as he was still holding the Puzzle.

"No! I can't leave you!" Yugi said wanting to stay and help. He saw his darker half was having difficulty fighting back while dodging the lightning bolts.

"Yugi, it's not you they're after. It's me!" Yami informed.

"I know that! But I'm still not leaving!" Yugi replied. Just then, a lightning bolt was shot and it was aiming right for Yugi.

"Yugi!" Yami called out as he charged over and managed to push the boy out of the way.

"Yami!" Yugi cried out as he saw his friend being blasted. He dashed over to his friend's side.

"Yami!" the boy cried out once more as he knelt down to his friend. Yami managed to get on his knees. "Yugi…. The Shadows… they want me… You need to…"

"I'm not going anywhere!" Yugi informed.

"Yugi… you need to… disassemble the… Puzzle." Yami stuttered.

The boy's eyes grew wide.

"What," he asked in confusion and sadness.

"If you… destroy the Puzzle… then everything will go away…" the former pharaoh explained as he stood up.

"But… but so will you!" Yugi argued back.

"Yes," Yami agreed, "But it's better that way."

Yugi could feel tears gathering up in his eyes.

"I can't!" he sobbed.

"You must… I need to distract them… Go! There isn't much time!" Yami walked back over to the ominous cloud and started to fight once more.

Yugi stood there crying with the Puzzle in his hands. He did not want to shatter his friend's soul.

"Do it!" Yami ordered.

Yugi's concentration was broken as he heard his friend giving a difficult command. The young adult nodded. He knelt down on his knees and took off the bottom piece of the upside down pyramid.

As soon as he did, Yugi felt a sharp pain coming from his chest. With one hand holding the Puzzle, Yugi dropped the first piece of the Puzzle, which landed on the ground, as he gripped his shirt. Just then, a memory of seeing past duelists came into view then disappeared fast.

"What was… that?" Yugi thought to himself as he breathed heavily.

After a moments rest, Yugi took off another piece. Again, the adolescent felt the same agony in the same area. Within each trial, the pain was becoming worse and worse. At the same time, memories from the teen's past came and went.

"I can't do it anymore!" Yugi cried out. He looked down and saw he managed to pull off only four shards. He then checked in on his friend and was horrified to see pieces of his darker half disappear.

"Yami!" Yugi shrieked horrified at the sight.

"Keep going!" Yami instructed as he continued to fight.

Tears fell down Yugi's face as he pulled out the Eye. Yugi found himself not breathing for a moment. He grasped his throat as he struggled to get air. At that moment, images of Joey, Tristan, and Tea appeared. Yugi was speechless. They soon vanished as well. Yugi dropped the Puzzle and screamed in agony.

He began to sob once more as he was unable to bear the pain of tearing apart his other heart any longer. He knew without his Puzzle, he would not have been friends with Joey and Tristan, his bond with Tea might not have been as strong, and he would have never met Yami. The small teen looked up and saw his friend was having trouble battling.

"I'm sorry, Yami!" Yugi bellowed as he picked the shards of his other heart and placed them together in correct area. Yugi allowed the tears to flow down. He smiled when he was done and saw Yami was fighting easier against the darkness.

"I don't care if the Shadows eliminate me!" Yugi declared as he stood up, "We're in this together!"

Immediately, a shot of lightning was aiming for Yugi once more.

"Yugi!" Yami yelled as he ran over to protect his partner, but it was too late.

The powerful beam had hit Yugi. The small teen screamed in pain as he felt the sting of the weapon engulfed his entire body. Yugi could hear more voices but everything was a blur. Closing his eyes in exhaustion, he could no longer stay awake. He allowed his body to hit the ground, unable to move at all.

"I'm sorry," he slipped out as he felt his whole form growing weak.

At that moment, Yugi felt a familiar touch enter his body. He then felt another hand grab his risk and could feel his body being pulled out of the Shadows.

The young adult awoke within his hospital room. The moon was out shining against him. He then felt a cold pack on his head. "I guess someone placed a new one on me…"

Soon, a wave of pain overpowered his body. He groaned in discomfort. Every part of his body desired to rest, and Yugi had wanted to give in. However, even though his mind was hazy, the teen knew he had to complete at least one task before falling asleep.

He allowed his body to rest as he entered his Soul Room.

Xxx

Yugi could see several of his toys had been destroyed as a foul stench of something evil lingered within his room.

"What… What happened?" the teen asked himself as he struggled to stand up. Once he gathered enough energy, he walked over to Yami's Soul Room door and knocked lightly. He was worried about his friend and wanted to check in on him.

"Yami," Yugi began, "Will you please come out?"

There was no answer.

"Yami! Please!" the boy begged, "I feel very lonely without you! I haven't seen you for quite some time!"

He fell to the floor on his knees crying, "I'm worried about you… Will you… at least tell me why at lease your acting like this? … Please?"

Just like that, the door opened. Yugi could feel a familiar present helping him up. It was the same feeling he had when he was trapped within the Shadows. He looked up and saw his darker half.

"Yami!" Yugi cried out with joy. He embraced his pal tightly, never wanting to let go. He had so many questions, "What happen! Are you ok! I've missed you so much!"

Yami remained silent. He only allowed the teen to continue to hold him and cry. The spirit wrapped his arms around Yugi as he held onto him to keep Yugi from falling. When the teen was done, Yami slowly pulled him back.

"I'm sorry for worrying you," he finally said.

"Will… will you at least tell me what's going on?" Yugi requested.

Yami thought about the plea for a moment. He looked into the teary eyes of an innocent soul. He nodded his head since he knew he was overdue for an explanation.

"I've caused you nothing but problems…" he began, "I am no better than that parasite that lives within you physically."

Yugi's eyes widen a bit.

"But Yami!" he interrupted, "You're nothing like that!"

"But I am!" Yami argued back, "I've caused you pain as well as difficulty! I'm sharing your body, and I've taken up so much from you, and I haven't returned anything back! The only difference between me and that other parasite is that I can only be destroyed in one way! Please, for your safety, will you disassemble the Puzzle?"

Yugi's eyes widen open even more. He could not believe what had just been instructed by his partner, his darker half, his friend.

Yugi could feel agony enter his chest as he repeated back, "You… you want me to … break …my other heart?"

To be continued…

Chao- Dun dun dun! Will Yugi have the courage to do the request?

YChao- Bah whatever….

Chao- Please review and thanks to all who had reviewed!