Ranko: (buried under reviews and favorite and followers and love)

Yuugi: Ranko?

Yami: Is she dead?

Ranko: (revives herself) Thank you so much for all of your support guys, you make me feel so loved! All of the favs and followers and reviews, I appreciate them all! I thought that you guys had forgotten about me since it took me forever to post this story I guess not! Just please, a few more reviewers; reviews are my crack.

Yami: You're a review whore.

Yuugi: Speaking of reviews…

fakemannequin: I hope I didn't freak you out too much because I wouldn't want you to stop reading. Don't worry, it won't get that scary or creepy and if it does, I'll warn you guys! Please continue to review!

Shaliza's Scarab: Oh, thank you for making me feel loved! You guys make writing these chapters every week—ahem…two weeks—worth it. I am sure our friends in the Shadow Realm are fine…or are they? Dun dun dun! Please continue to review!

Black Rose of Fire: Ermergerd! Thank you! I am glad that I could finally deliver this to you! Thank you for making me happy inside and please continue to review!

CandyFiend: I know, it's a sad day that this has to end :( And yes, Yami does like to mess with people but that is why we all love him. Thanks a bunch! Please continue to review!

AmerillaRose: Is it bad to say that even I don't know what the next game is yet? Ryou might come back…I don't know, how bad do you want him back? ;) Do you want a happily ever after? You decide! Please continue to review!

Great: Thanks for the review but I don't think this story will be M, thanks for the note though. Please continue to review!

TheGuardian'sOfTheFishbowl: Oh, well thank you, its good to be back. ;) I'm glad that I wasn't forgotten and yes, just one more story until the end, sad day. :( Your right, who doesn't like a long story? Please continue to review!

TheNickofTime: Thank you for all the support and kind words, I am happy that you like this story so much and I hope I will not disappoint at the end of this trilogy. Please continue to review!

raindropdew: I know, I love to abuse poor Bakura and I know what you mean about Yuugi's dream, but what are you going to do? Anyway, I think I would rather ride a train than a plane; too many problems when it comes to planes. Thank you for the support and please continue to review!

LobaKarina15: Thank you so much and I agree when it comes to the song, thank you so much for mentioning that! Please continue to review!

Tyrant Dragon Knight: Oh, you make me happy, you made Yami behave? So, are you saying that my series is like your crack; that is the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me! Please continue to review!

lilpopsplash: We are never done acting like fangirls! Embrace it. Let me just say this, I am a crappy writer and I am sure that you are an excellent writer. Heck, I would read one of your stories. I am sad this is ending too but thank you for supporting me. I knew that you would like the Mortal Instruments reference. ;) Please continue to review!

sea girl: I am sorry for updating late but I am back with another post! Please continue to review!

Chesirecat23TheWantedOne: My crazy reviewer is back! I am so happy you held onto your seat! Yami is just a little bitch! But he's our bitch, so…Thanks for the support, love your reviews so please continue to make me smile!

Ranko: If you ever question if I love you guys or not, just look above and look at the fourteen reviews I just answered. The last time I am doing that, from now on I am only answering reviews with questions or ones that make me laugh.

Yami: Ranko twin owns nothing!

Yuugi: Enjoy!

-/-

Sparks flew from the tracks and the lights in the train car flickered until they finally died. Everyone was still screaming and they were all practically thrown to one side of the train car. Yuugi felt like they were going to lean so far to the left that the train would end up upside-down and just thinking about that made him sick.

Yuugi couldn't help but think that he had survived two Games that were hosted by the devil, he had conquered his worse fears; who would have guessed that he would die by just some freak accident on the train?

Was he going to die? He didn't really think about, he was too busy screaming as he was practically thrown into Bakura's lap. What was someone supposed to think about before they die? Was his life supposed to flash before his eyes like everyone says? He couldn't imagine anyone rethinking a lifetime when all of their senses were overrun with astonishment and fear.

Then, as the tracks underneath the train straightened out from the bend, the train lurched back in position, on both of its sides and they continued going straight. The lights flickered back on and the cabin was filled with harsh breathing and people crying in relief.

Yuugi couldn't believe that that whole experience only lasted a second or so.

The voice of one of the female attendants came on over the intercom, sounding a bit anxious but trying to sound calm. "We're sorry about that, folks—the conductor took that turn a little too fast. It should be smooth riding the rest of the way, but please, try to restrain from moving about the train car."

Yuugi barely heard her over the beating of his frantic heart. He put his hand to his chest and felt his heart beating faster than usual; his whole body was shaking. He tried to calm himself down with a few even breaths as he brushed a stray bang away from his face with a shaky hand.

Mai leaned as far over Seto as she could but the taller man wouldn't let her get out of her seat. "Yuugi, are you alright?"

Yuugi barely registered what Mai had said but nodded anyway.

For a minute, the train was in a tunnel, only a few dim lights that they passed every other second. Yuugi expected glowing eyes of the Shadow Men to come from that darkness at any moment…

He nearly jumped out of his skin when Honda cleared his throat.

"So, about my dream…" he aid awkwardly.

Anzu put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "It was just a dream." Yuugi knew that Anzu was just trying to stay practical and level-headed in this situation, but after everything they had been through, nothing was just a dream.

Mai seemed to have similar thoughts. She snorted and mumbled, "Just a dream." She looked out the window and plugged ear-phones into her ears, drowning out the rest of the world. Seto was surprisingly quiet, considering Honda's dream was about Jounouchi.

Whether it was just a dream or not, Yuugi didn't know what it meant. Just like how he didn't know what his dream meant. Was Yami behind this? Probably, it really wouldn't surprise Yuugi. Was he torturing them with dreams of their friends that were lost?

But after everything they went through, Yuugi also wouldn't be surprised if their minds were so screwed up that they were the ones coming up with these weird dreams. But then again, nightmares were the Shadow Men's specialty.

The Shadow Men. Yuugi shuddered; he still remembered all of those eyes staring at him from inside the closet, all of them blood-thirsty and lustful. Only one pair was innocent. Yuugi scoffed; not so innocent now.

Yuugi remembered Jounouchi's words as they played The Shadow Game for the first time. It felt like it was so long ago when really it was only a few weeks ago.

"Yeah, the Shadow Men, they're kind of like the Sandman, except there's more than one and they bring nightmares. It's like they are the owners of the house and we are the trespassers."

And it turns out that they do not like people trespassing on their property.

Yami, Akefia, and Marik knew all of their deepest secrets and fears; their true desires and their real intentions. Yuugi found himself cursing Yami with all his being as his thoughts travelled back to when Yami sound Yuugi the Game.

"Mystery. Danger. Seduction. Fear. Secrets revealed. Desires unveiled. Temptation."

And Yuugi started to curse himself with just as much disgust, because he should have run out of that store as soon as Yami asked, "Can I help you?"

Elsewhere ~

Jounouchi screamed as he stared at his decapitated head that was right in front of him. But it wasn't really a scream; he was in too much shock to scream. He opened his mouth and made this strange choking sound, trying to scream past the lump that was stuck in his throat.

He was mortified, because that was his head. He didn't know if it was an illusion or not. He frantically felt his neck and he didn't feel a scar or any torn flesh that showed his head had been chopped off. It was official; the Shadow Men were playing dirty.

Suddenly, someone put a small, pale hand in front of his eyes so he didn't have to look at his detached head anymore and was dragged away. He was shaking and still making that strange choking sound when the person removed the hand from his eyes and lowered him to the ground.

He felt someone rub his back and make soothing shushing noises. "It's okay, it's okay, Jou. That wasn't real; it's okay."

Jounouchi looked up and with dazed eyes he saw a familiar face. It was Ryou. Jou was breathing harshly but Ryou was the perfect image of calm when before he would be the first one that would have passed out. To think, Ryou went through the horrors of the Shadow Realm alone until Jou and Malik came. No wonder the boy had changed; he had to so he could stay sane.

Once Jou had calmed down enough that he could form normal thoughts, he asked, "When are Yuugi and the others going to get here, Ryou?"

Ryou had a pained expression in his eyes were a moment; he must have thought the same thing about them when he was stuck here by himself with only the cruel smiles of the Shadow Men to keep him company. "I don't know, Jou…I don't know."

One of Akefia's memories of his past life flashed before Ryou's eyes for a moment.

Two small boys were huddled against each other, both shaking and trying to keep warm. There was a smaller version of Akefia and another small boy that was faceless. Akefia was crying softly as the other boy rubbed his brother's back in a soothing manner.

They were hiding in a closet; loud noises were coming from outside, people were stomping around looking for the two boys.

"Are they going to find us? Are we safe here?" When his brother didn't answer immediately, Akefia looked at him in confusion. "Hey, Marik, are we safe here?"

His brother smiled sadly at him and whispered back, "I don't know, Akefia…I don't know."

And in what felt like seconds, the closet door was kicked open and the two boys began to scream. Akefia remained hidden in the shadows as a man grabbed Marik and threw him over his shoulder. Marik was kicking and screaming the whole time as he cried his brother's name.

Akefia was too scared to even move and sat there in the corner, shaking and crying as he replayed his brother being taken away from him in his mind over and over again until someone finally found him there after three days.

Ryou passed out.

Elsewhere ~

Yuugi stepped onto the platform by the train station and smiled happily, breathing in the fresh air and absorbing the feeling of not being shoved around like in Domino city where it seemed like everyone was in a rush.

This was his home, where he grew up. The bright flowers, the mountains in the distance, the cool fresh air that was so wonderful to breathe in instead of the gas fumes from cars. There were sweet little old ladies in front of their houses in the morning, watering their plants and happy faces all around.

But this was not a vacation unfortunately, they had work to do and Yuugi could only pray that they could make it back to Domino and their families alive.

Mai seemed to be just as happy to be back in the place she grew up but judging by the stubborn set of her jaw, she also understood that they were on a very important mission and didn't have time to go skipping down memory lane.

"Whoa," Bakura said as they walked down the streets of Hokkaido, after they had gotten their bags and left the train station; now they were walking to Yuugi's house with their backpacks slung over their shoulders. "It is so peaceful here." Bakura had grown up in Domino city all of his life; that is why he was so aggressive by nature.

"It is so quaint here," Anzu said after they passed the third family run store that had been there for at least a decade.

"I always thoughts that Hokkaido would be colder," Honda said, only wearing a light jacket. The air was fresh and crisp, with a slight breeze.

"Only in January," Yuugi said, remember the times he played in the snow in front of his house with Mai. They made snow angels and had snow ball fights. Who would have thought that while he was being a kid, in his basement there were monsters that lurked?

Just thinking about that made Yuugi fume with anger. He thought of Yami and his reason for being here. He was going to keep his promise; as soon as he saw Yami he was going to punch him.

Mai tapped Yuugi on the shoulder. Yuugi looked up in surprise and saw Mai pointing ahead of them. "Yuugi, look."

Yuugi looked and he thought he could cry right there. Just a block away was his street sign, with ivy growing up the pole. It had been years since he had seen that familiar street sign and he could have took off running from there.

He and the rest of the group walked the rest of the way to Yuugi's old house together; the whole time Yuugi was bouncing around anxiously, feeling as if his heart might beat out his chest from the excitement.

And then he saw it. The oak in the front of his house still stood strong. The bright yellow door and baby blue window shutters. When Yuugi's parents bought the house, they let Yuugi pick those two colors; granted he was an infant and just pointed at the two brightest colors he saw.

There was a flash of familiarity as he walked up the flower-paved walkway. He remembered playing on this lawn all the time. He remembered swinging on that tire swing attached to the tree branch.

It was smaller than he remembered it being though. As if it has changed in the ten years no one has lived in it. Mai's parents had bought the property when Yuugi went to live with his grandfather so no one could buy or sell the house.

No, it wasn't the house that had changed, it was Yuugi. The last time he had been here he was five years old. And then another painful wave of memories hit him. He remembered his parents' faces, they were always smiling. Who would have known they had such a big secret?

And Yuugi questioned himself for the first time if he could really do this or not? Was he brave enough? He should be after all the hell he's been through. One would think after everything he has experienced that he wouldn't be afraid of anything anymore.

He was afraid though, he was afraid of going back to that room and reliving that day. Yes, he had been there in his nightmare in the Game, but that was an illusion, this was real life.

Suddenly he felt a slim arm, as a strong as a boy's, slide around his shoulder and pull him close. Yuugi looked into his cousin's violet eyes and saw Mai smiling down at him encouragingly. Her golden hair glowed in the sun and created a halo around her face. "Come on, shrimp, you can do this?"

Mai, she had always been there for him. Ever since the beginning when he came home from the game shop where he bought the Game and she was sitting on his bed, there to surprise him.

Yuugi nodded and turned to his friends. "Mai has a key to this house since her parents own the property." Bakura's shoulders slumped in disappointment; he didn't get to break any windows. "We can just go in through the front."

"Wait," Anzu said before Mai could even take the key from her purse. "If it is so easy to get in why are we rushing things so fast? We can do this at any time so why don't we just take one day to relax?"

"Sweetie, our friends are in the Shadow Realm—" Mai began but was soon cut off by Anzu.

"I know that and I know they need our help, but what is one extra day going to do. They have been waiting this long so can we just have a fun day for ourselves? Who knows what is going to happen when we go to the Shadow Realm." It was implied in her tone that they should at least have some fun if they die there.

Mai thought about it for a moment and then shrugged. "I guess the girl's got a point."

Yuugi had a bad feeling settle in his stomach and it got even worse when Yuugi just had to open his big mouth and suggest where they go.

Twenty minutes later they were waiting in line to get tickets to get into Wonderland Park. The large entrance sign was decorated with flowers and fake vines; the park was based off of Alice in Wonderland with a few other attractions that weren't related to the story that were added in later years.

"Yuugi, why are we here?" Seto asked, his arms crossed over his chest. He had remained quiet most of his time but this was obviously where he drew the line.

Yuugi sighed; Seto had to lighten up. "I saw a poster promoting this in my dream on the train, you know, while Honda was having a dream about Jounouchi."

Honda shuddered at the memory.

"Maybe it is some kind of message that we need to go here," Yuugi said; they were next in line and Mai pulled out her wallet to pay for the tickets.

Mai paid for all of them and smiled as she received the tickets. "You went with your instincts; that can't be wrong. And even if it wasn't a message then we still got to spend a day at an amusement park and have some fun, right?"

As they traveled around the park they passed a building with a slanted roof and was splattered with paint; the double doors were mirrors. A sign above the door read: WE'RE ALL MAD HERE.

"What is that?" Seto asked, his nose scrunched up.

Yuugi smiled at the face. "That's the fun house. There are secret doors all around that lead to different parts of the park. They're usually hard to find and you usually just get out through the normal exit that leads to the Queen's Garden."

At least, that is how it should still be. This place has changed a lot. Replacing the Queen's Garden was some haunted mansion type of attraction. There was a new ride that was like a mine ride that took the rider through the Dormouse's gem mine, even though Yuugi didn't remember the Dormouse having a mind in the story.

The biggest shock was the new arcade, which Yuugi would have liked to spend hours in just playing all the new updated games. This park's arcade is where Yuugi developed his love for games.

Yuugi soon started to think that it was a message after all, which made the day a lot better without the burden of having to look over your shoulder all day.

They rode the Mr. Caterpillar roller coaster, which sounded very childish but it was the fastest roller coaster that Yuugi had ever ridden before. And in one of those rare moments, Yuugi saw Seto smile while they were riding it.

They rode the Dormouse's Mining Adventure next and Bakura was very unimpressed by the fake gems that were actually plastic that was just lit up with flashlights that were imbedded in the fake rock walls. "This is supposed to be a gem mine?" he asked.

Honda rolled his eyes. "Use your imagination," he said, sweeping his hands out to make it look like he was forming a rainbow.

Bakura scooted an inch away from Honda. "You've been hanging out with Otogi too much." Honda hit him.

They went to the funhouse next and ended up in The Queen's Chopping Block, which took the famous line, "Off with your head!" to a whole new level. It was really scary and way to real looking. No wonder they only let teens and adults in this attraction.

Then Yuugi finally saw it, the Cheshire Cat trashcan. It was a robot like machine that just "ate" trash. It was supposed to be fun for the kids. You pull its tail and the cat's jaw drops open and you drop trash in. Then the machine makes this programmed purr and closes its mouth.

It just sits on a brick wall and is always grinning. Yuugi thought for a moment he saw the cat's eyes glow red for a moment but that was impossible. It was just his imagination; he had been in the sun too long.

Suddenly, two small figures went running past Yuugi screeching in excitement; they nearly knocked Yuugi down at the speed they were going.

They were yelling, "We got it! We found another one!"

Bakura suddenly stepped in their path, making the kids come to a screeching halt and almost fall on top of each other. He looked down at them menacingly and smiled, showing his fangs. "Got what?"

The two boys, who looked twelve, shivered in fear. "A coin…" one of them answered. To prove his point, he held up a shiny gold coin with a bow stamped on it. "For the new attraction," he continued, pointing towards a poster that was tacked to the nearest post.

They all looked, it read:

ALL-NEW ATTRACTION! COLLECT THREE GOLD COINS AND BE THE FIRST TO EXPLORE…ALICE'S ISLAND.

"You collect three coins and they let you in free the day that it opens!" one of the boys said excitedly, forgetting his fear of Bakura. "You get to go over the bridge first. The coins are hidden all over the park."

They soon grew bored of Bakura and found something else interesting, running to that with laughs of glee.

Yuugi looked to see the manmade island in an artificial lake of Wonderland Park. Yuugi remembered that the island used to be used to put on small plays and comic performances, now it was obviously under reconstruction. Yuugi couldn't see any bridge leading to it yet.

Why did that make him feel uneasy?

A kid dropped trash into the Cheshire's mouth and it made that automated purring again.

"Come on," Yuugi said suddenly, overly chipper. "Let's do something really kiddie, like a tea party!"

This was Yuugi's favorite place to go as a kid, it was The Mad Hatter's Tea Party. It was just a place where after walking all day, adults could just sit down and kids could continue to play. It was this big playground area, with a jungle gym, slide, and a little pond for kids to go fishing in. The plastic fish had numbers on them and you would get a different prize for different numbers.

The group of friends got a rod and went fishing in the pond. Anzu got a little doll, Honda got a racecar, Seto got a plastic change purse, Bakura laughed at the prize Seto got until he got the same thing, Mai got a packet of colored pens, and Yuugi…

He didn't pull out a number from the pond and it took all his will not to scream, but he did fall to his knees. All of his friends rushed around him, asking what was wrong. But he didn't hear them, all of his senses were numb and all he could focus on was what was clutched in his fist.

Yuugi was wrong; they wouldn't be able to enjoy their day. This little monster was proof that Yami had been watching them all day. Yami was watching him now, this very minute, just as he had been watching him for years.

Yuugi opened his fist and stared at Yami's doll that was used in The Shadow Game. Yuugi never thought he would see it again. It still looked so life like, like the doll would wink at him at any moment.

There was no getting away from him now, not here, not anywhere.

Yuugi rose to his feet on shaking legs, brushing off his friends' fretting hands, insisting he can walk on his own.

"Let's go home," he said, wanting to drop the doll back in the water, but ended up shoving it in his pocket instead.

-/-

Ranko: Can I apologize enough for updating so late? But I made it up to you guys cause this is a long chapter, I hope you enjoyed, and I'm sorry, I probably won't be updating on When Life Gives You Lemons until next week or sometime this week.

Yami: You can go to Ranko's house and attack her now.

Yuugi: That's not very nice.

Ranko: I probably deserve it, anyway, review! I am a review whore!