Captured!

Joey borrowed Téa's cell phone so he could give his sister a call. "I hope you're taking it easy, Sis, 'cause I've got some great news for you."

"You made it to the Battle City finals!"

"How'd you guess? Did Tristan tell you?"

Serenity chuckled. "No, you're a great duelist. I knew all along you would be a finalist. I'm so proud of you!"

"Well, I couldn't have done it without your support," Joey confessed. "If it weren't for you and my buddies cheering me on, there's no way I would have won six locator cards. I just wish you could have seen me in action."

"Maybe I still can," Serenity replied. "The doctor said I could take my bandages off tonight. That means I can get my wish; the first sight I see will be my big brother dueling in the Battle City finals," she said cheerfully.

Joey was delighted to hear that. "That's awesome. Look, I gotta prep for the finals. I'll send one of my friends to pick you up from the hospital." Joey was so excited; he threw Téa's cell phone in the air as he cheered for his sister.

Téa gasped and caught her phone before it could hit the ground. "Easy with the technology, you spaz!" Téa scolded. Surely Joey wouldn't be able to pay for any damages.

Joey finally settled down and apologized. "Serenity takes her bandages off tonight! She's coming to the finals with us! But I need someone to go pick her up; someone dependable."

Tristan immediately volunteered to go get Serenity and went on his way. Joey still didn't like the thought of his best friend always hanging around his little sister. But he figured it couldn't be helped. Tristan was just being a friend and Joey always thought of him as family.

Then Max's voice gave a horrified cry. Everyone turned and saw her with Bakura and a young man with dark skin and milk blonde hair. It was Marik, but to fool them, he decided to use a different name: Namu. "Guys, over here," she called. "We need help!"

Joey and the others approached her. They saw a cloth around Bakura's arm and noticed it was stained with blood. "Max, what happened?"

"I don't know," she answered, crying. "Bakura and I were walking in the streets minding our own business until suddenly, someone came and attacked us. Bakura tried to protect me and-" her voice began to break as she turned her attention to his wound. "He got hurt!"

Marik spoke up. "I was walking down the street until I heard a cry for help. I turned around and I saw Max on the ground with Bakura. I tried to help take care of his injuries. We were on our way to the hospital, but then Max spotted you."

Bakura started stirring. When Joey asked him who did this, he weakly answered, "It happened so quickly, I don't know." He winced and tried to speak. "Max… where's Max?"

"I'm here, Bakura," she said, consoling him. "I'm here!"

Solomon immediately went to the edge of a sidewalk, signaling for a cab to pull over. The driver stopped and opened the door. Max decided to go along. If Bakura were to come back to his senses and notice Max was gone, he would go out of his mind and bring more pain upon himself. She knew it would be wise if she stayed with him to let him know she was all right. Right now, getting to the finals was the least of her concerns. She could never turn her back on a friend who loved her enough to protect her, even if it meant getting cut by a knife.

The cab drove away as Téa and Joey said their prayers for their friends. Then they turned around and finally thanked Max's new friend. Marik shook hands with Joey and Téa and introduced himself as Namu. "I just did what anyone would have done," he said modestly.

Joey notices a duel disk on Marik's left arm. He lies by saying he's not much of a duelist and asks Joey if he's challenging him. "I don't need another challenge," Joey told him. "I already qualify for the finals."

Marik gives an impressed expression and continues to act with modesty. "You must be good. Maybe you could give me a few tips someday." Joey decided to hold him to that. Marik keeps quiet for a second, then says, "I feel as though I've met you before." Joey and Téa nod, saying they feel the same way, but in a good way. Then they bid their new friend goodbye and head on their way.

This was all according to Marik's plan. Joey and Téa had no idea who he was or the trap he had in store for them. He already found his two previous Rare Hunters Lumis and Umbra and helped them to reconstruct their decks for their rematch against Yami and Kaiba. They would keep them occupied while Marik would keep his intentions focused on Yami and Kaiba's friends and families.

Marik called for Joey's attention and ran towards him. "Hey, Joey, I don't mean to be of any inconvenience, but do you think you could give me a few dueling tips now? I'd like to win at least one duel."

Kaiba finally brought Emily and Yami to the aquarium, completely unaware that everyone had just left. "Is this the right place," inquired Emily.

"Joey's duel disk was traced to this location," Kaiba answered. "So yes, your friends are here." Watching Yami and Emily run off, Kaiba wonders to himself, "Why Yugi and Briar care so much about that third-rate duelist Wheeler is beyond me. Soon they'll have bigger problems." But Kaiba wasn't going to leave them alone until he got the duel he wanted, so he decided to wait by the entrance. Yami and Emily walked inside and looked around, but could not find any of their friends. Then Emily saw a pay phone nearby and reached into her purse to take out some change.

Joey was about to give Marik a few tips until they found themselves surrounded by Rare Hunters. Joey managed to take down the ones that tried to grab him and Marik. He was about to take out the guys who were holding Téa until he got knocked off balance. Just then, Téa's cell phone started ringing. "Expecting someone," a Rare Hunter asked. He reached into Téa's purse and pulled out her phone to answer it.

When Emily heard the receiver click, she immediately spoke. "Hello, Téa? Are you there? Hello?"

Téa hears her voice and begs, "Emily, help!"

Sensing that her friend is in distress, she asks, "Téa, where are you? Téa!"

The Rare Hunter dropped the phone to the sidewalk and stomped on it. "Now your friend will never find you," he said coyly.

Emily continued speaking. "Are you there? Téa? Téa!" But she wasn't getting a response. This meant that her friend had been captured. Then she heard nothing but beeping. "Oh, no!" We knew this was going to happen. Marik found our friends before we could. But where could he have taken them? She hung up the phone and walked out of the booth.

"What happened?" Yami asked.

"We're too late," Emily answered. "The Rare Hunters have already found and captured our friends."

Kaiba approached them. "Don't get so emotional, Briar," he said coldly. "It's obvious the Rare Hunters are after Yugi for his Egyptian God card. Your friends are meaningless to them." She couldn't argue there. Marik actually already established that last statement. "Besides, I guarantee you that my satellite will track them down. Wheeler's duel disk sends out a constant signal, so finding your friends will be a simple task. And then your boyfriend and I can have our duel."

When was Kaiba going to stop demanding his duel after he was already promised one? Never, it seemed. But Yami and Emily continued to tell him so. "I'm not going to tell you again, Kaiba, you will get your duel, but not until we know our friends are safe," Emily said again. As irritated as she was about his repetitive demands, Emily just couldn't bring herself to lash out on Kaiba.

Just then, Kaiba was being contacted by his brother. Mokuba alerted him that the signal from Joey's duel disk was being blocked. They encountered this situation before when Yugi's signal was blocked back in Arkana's dueling ring, so Mokuba decided to go back to headquarters and make sure the tech experts would start tracking Joey. He ended the call, but as he was on his way, more Rare Hunters came and surrounded him.

"There's been a minor setback," Kaiba told Yami and Emily plainly. "Either my satellite system has a glitch or these Rare Hunters are smarter than I thought." Sure enough, it was the second opinion, but Emily wasn't about to make any smart remarks. Getting wise with Kaiba was the least of her needs. She and Yami had to find their friends. They wouldn't get anything by sitting around waiting, so they started walking again.

Lumis and Umbra watched them from the roof of a building. "There they are," said Umbra.

"It's time to lure them to the chosen dueling arena. I'll be back." Like an acrobat, Lumis began jumping off of roofs and swinging from poles. He stopped in front of Yami, Emily, and Kaiba.

"Rare Hunter!" Kaiba gasped. He couldn't recognize that it was Lumis because the hood of his cloak was concealing his face.

Yami took a step forward and demanded to know, "What have you done with our friends?"

"That's for us to know," Lumis replied. "And look who else is coming with us."

The trio turned around and saw a helicopter coming their way. Mokuba was dangling from a rope. "Let him go!" Kaiba ordered, hearing his brother cry for help.

"He's fine, for now," Lumis snickered. "But his future's up in the air!"

Emily couldn't stand to see Mokuba in danger like this. She had a feeling she knew what to do to help Mokuba. It meant using her powers in public and now wasn't the time to be taken by that fear. She still didn't know how to fly, but she had to try, so she unfolded her wings.

Yami knew what she was about to do. "Don't do it!"

"I have no choice!" Then she began flapping her wings and getting higher above the streets.

Kaiba's eyes widened. "What the hell-?" Even Mokuba couldn't believe what he was seeing.

She made it to the helicopter, but as she was about to free him, more ropes came and trapped her. She tried to break free, but was having a hard time moving around. "Hey, let me go!" she cried, now realizing it was a trap to meant to capture her.

"No, Emily," Yami cried.

Kaiba growled. "If you so much as remove one hair from my brother's head, I promise I'll put you all down and crush you under the weight of the entire Kaiba Corporation!"

Lumis laughed. "Your empty threats will get you nowhere, but there is one way for you to save your brother and the girl. If you ever want to see them again, then meet us at the top of that building," he said, pointing to the nearby building that was fifty stories high. Then the helicopter flew away carrying Emily and Mokuba with it. "And it's not just the girl you have to worry about, Yugi. If you want to see your other friends again, then you'll come as well."

"I'm warning you," Yami growled. "Leave them alone!"

"I'll see you both shortly. Remember, meet us at the roof," Lumis said and began making his way to the building where Umbra was waiting.

"It looks like we have no choice," said Kaiba. "Our enemies are one and the same. But make no mistake; I'm in this for Mokuba. When it comes to rescuing your friends, you're on your own."

"Fine, Kaiba," Yami said in agreement.

Still, Kaiba was wondering, How the hell did Briar do that? I always knew she was freak, but I didn't think she'd be some kind of mutant freak. Kaiba wasn't going to spend a lot of time thinking about that. Right now, his first and only concern was rescuing his little brother. Yami would explain what happened, but knowing Kaiba, he wouldn't believe him if he told him.

As promised, Yami and Kaiba met up with Lumis and Umbra and accepted their challenge. Only because they knew it would be the only way for them to rescue their friends and families. But this time, things would be different. It would be a Shadow Game. The roof everyone was standing on was made of glass and it was a divider between the human world and the Shadow Realm thanks to the effects of the magic shadow box displaying their life points. Whoever's life points would hit zero would open the divider and the player would plummet into the Shadow Realm. Marik certainly went through great lengths making sure his enemies would stay out of his way.

The most obvious rule of a double battle is that players must work together as a team. Kaiba would do anything to rescue his little brother, but not if it meant having to rely on someone else's help. Kaiba was confident that he would be able to defeat Lumis and Umbra on his own like he did before, but this time, Lumis and Umbra's decks had been completely reconstructed. Yami knows that the only way he and Kaiba can win is by putting their differences aside and working together, but he continues to be pushed away by Kaiba. Kaiba had his methods, but he would soon have to do things Yami's way for Mokuba's sake. And Yami knows that losing this duel means losing himself and his friends forever. But this was certain: Yami and Kaiba were going to give it their all whether working together or alone.