Chao- Sorry if the last chapter was a tad short.

YChao- You and your mediocre ideas.

Chao- Bah, at least it was something. It just sucks having to type the beginning of this AGAIN.

"Talking."

"Thinking."

Chapter 7: Duel with a Ghost Part 1

An adolescent with brown hair mentally awoke to him being on a hard floor. He vaguely heard familiar voices call out his name. He sat himself up and rubbed his head. He was startled when he felt someone wrap their arms around him. He flashed his eyes opened and noticed it was a boy with black hair. It was his brother!

Kaiba was so relieved to find his sibling. He gently embraced Mokuba. He pulled his brother away and asked, "Mokuba, are you alright."

"Yeah, I'm fine." he answered truthfully.

"What happened?" Kaiba examined his sibling to be sure he was well.

"I… I don't know…" Mokuba replied, "One moment I was in my room and the next, I was here. But I'm fine since Yugi was with me."

Kaiba glanced up and saw his rival. He glared down the teen with tri-color hair. Yugi only smiled; happy the two brothers were reunited. The tall adolescent stood up and instructed, "Come on, Mokuba; we're leaving."

"Not just yet!" sang an innocent voice. All three males turned to see a girl with green eyes, "I finally was able to bring you here, Kaiba, since Mokuba and Yugi really wanted you to join us. And now it's play time!"

"Look, I don't know who you are or why you're here, but I don't have time for games!" the CEO growled. Yugi walked closer to his peer and informed, "Kaiba, that's Miyako. She's the reason all three of us are here."

"What!" Kaiba yelled, unable to understand the reason, "She's just a little girl."

"I know." Yugi responded, "But, she use to live in this house. I guess before your family moved in."

"I already know that." Kaiba sneered, "I had spoken to you about that earlier today."

"Earlier today?" Yugi pondered, "Maybe Kaiba had told everyone about this after I was taken… If so, then this must mean everyone on the other side hasn't given up. And neither will I."

"So what should we play first?" Miyako asked with joy.

"We are not playing anything!" Kaiba yelled.

The child became frightful. Yugi rushed over to try and comfort her. The adolescent with brown hair wondered why his adversary was consoling a stranger. Yugi was aware of the situation he was in. He needed to be set free but he didn't want to leave the girl alone. He believed Miyako was not able to cross over for a reason. He needed to find out why so he could assist her.

"Miyako," Yugi began gently, "I know you want to play games, but we can't stay here."

"What?" the smaller one asked, "But why? Aren't you having fun?"

"Of course I am." Yugi answered with a tiny laugh, "But you need to go and be reunited with your sister."

"I don't know if I can." Miyako confessed, "I don't know where she is."

"Have you tried contacting her?" Yugi questioned.

"Well… yeah, but I haven't heard anything." the child replied with a shaky tone. She then screamed, "And I don't want you guys to leave me!"

Yugi did his best to try and reason with the frazzled soul, "Listen Miyako, we don't belong here. The Kaiba brothers and I need to be with the ones who care about us. You need to be with the ones who care about you."

"I can't!" Miyako yelled, upset, "There's no one! My sister was the only one and she's gone! I don't know where parents are and they don't care about me! They left me!"

"Miyako," the teen tried to calm her down.

"And you don't care about me at all!"

"Miyako, we really do care about you."

"No, you don't! You don't know what it's like to be alone!"

"Believe me, I know." Yugi clinched his fists tightly.

His heart ached a bit when he remembered all the times when he was in his room or walked home from school. He had no one to hang around with. He really wished with all his heart to one day to have companions. He was very glad he did.

He glanced over towards the Kaiba brothers. Even though the two teens did not get along well, Yugi still did all he could to be with them. He understood what it was like to be alone and to have someone slip away into darkness.

He then looked at Miyako. He could have easily corrected the girl. She claimed she wanted to be with him as he knew what it was like to have no one. But he chose not to. He had complete empathy and he had no desire to argue with the young, overly distraught girl.

"Miyako, we don't belong here." Yugi repeated sincerely as images of all his friends flashed in his mind.

"Fine, then let's make a deal." Miyako stated with a devilish smile, "Let's play a game."

"A game?" Kaiba asked annoyed.

"Yes, and if you win I'll set you all free," the child promised.

"And if we lose?" Yugi asked.

"Then you'll stay here and play games with me!" Miyako squealed. She found delight in having the idea of having other people with her. However, the three boys were stunned. They had a way to leave, but if they lost, they may be ghosts forever.

"What game are we playing?" Yugi asked. Miyako took a moment to think. She then grinned and said, "Well, Duel Monsters looks like a pretty fun game. How about a round of that?"

"Do you know who you're dealing with?" Kaiba asked with a smirk. He knew the challenge was in his favor and victory would be on his side. Yugi took a step forward and accepted, "I'll play you."

"What are you doing!" Kaiba spat angrily. He did not want to spend his time with a strange child and enemy any longer. He wanted to free his younger brother and escape.

"Kaiba, there's more to games than winning." Yugi stated, "Miyako needs to learn this. Otherwise, she may end up losing her temper and keep us here anyways."

The CEO grunted. He did not understand why he couldn't just take his brother and leave. He changed his mind once he glanced over at his brother. Mokuba clearly wanted to assist the other child out. Kaiba decided to just wait.

Yugi understood Kaiba's frustration. But he also believed he needed to prove something to himself. He glance down and remembered the Puzzle was not around the neck. He would be alone in this challenge. He then added quietly, "I won't lost though."

The two challengers had rows of cards in front of them. Each of them chose their decks from the ones they were given. When they were done, the two walked over towards each and shuffled each other's deck. They then walked on opposites end where a Duel Disk appeared on each of their arms. Each player drew five cards.

"Let's duel!" both of them shouted.

"I'll let you go first." Yugi offered.

"Ok then!" Miyako smiled as she drew a card. She looked at her hand to see what she had. When she was ready, she announced, "I play one card face down! And then, I play Magician of Faith (300/400) in defense mode!"

A female monster with a purple outfit and red pants appeared on the field. Yugi drew one card. He examined his hand. Even though he did not have the spirit by his side, Yugi knew everyone was doing their best to find him. The teen would not give up.

"I play Alpha, the Magnet Warrior (1400/1700) in attack mode!" Yugi announced, "And that's my turn."

He glanced over towards the Kaiba brothers and thought about attacking right away. As he gazed over at his opponent, he backed down from the idea. He wasn't afraid of exposing his tactics to his arch rival, but he figured it would be best if he analyzed how Miyako played her strategy.

Deep down, Yugi also wanted to allow the child to have some fun first.

Xxx

The group of friends entered into another area. Doctors tried again to reexamine both Kaiba brothers, who lied unconsciously in Mokuba's room. For a brief time period, everyone stayed quiet. They weren't sure what to do. The mysterious person who took everyone's soul was still on the loose.

Yami was becoming frustrated. He couldn't bear being apart from Yugi. He wanted to do all he could to rescue his light. Just as a solution was formed, it was soon destroyed.

An image of the boy appeared in Yami's head. Despite having an emotional downer, Yugi still had wanted to help the Kaiba brothers. The spirit remembered there was at least one shot left. He boldly stood up, which surprised everyone. He looked over at the exit. Once his mind was set, he took off running.

Everyone did the same. They ran passed the busy room and kept sprinting. The group of friends had an idea of where the spirit was running to. Soon, everyone made it to the flight of stairs that led to the attic. The place in the roof was the only area not checked. Yami clinched his fists. He was standing in the same spot where his light had been taken.

He looked back at everyone. The two males and one female may have been worried, but they were prepared to take on anything. Yami glanced back down and shut his eyes. The idea he had may only be a theory, but it was at least something. He did his best to concentrate.

He was searching for any traces of his partner. He also kept in mind the giggles he heard. He was determined to figure out who was behind this. He soon was able to find something. The feeling was vague but he kept hold of it. Even though the realm he found was cold, he was kept warm by the spirits of all his friends.

His body soon hit the ground.

"Yami!" everyone cried out.

The two boys reached their fallen friend before the body hit the ground. Tea grew worried as she dashed over. She tried to call his name over and over, but nothing appeared to work. He appeared just like Mokuba did. They could stand by and hope for the pharaoh to return.

Xxx

Yami awoke on the cold floor. He tried his best to lift his heavy form. He chest began to hurt. He was surrounded by darkness as his light was missing. He regained some strength once he thought about his friend.

The spirit was soon able to scramble to his knees. Once his entire physique was standing, he was a bit wobbly. He tried to get use to his new area. Even though darkness was all around, he knew he wasn't in the Shadow Realm.

He shook his head as he tried to keep his vision. He did his best to keep his hold on a single shred of hope he found in the dark area. Once he gained enough stamina, he took off running. He believed that now he was in a new area, he would be able to rescue his companion.

He covered his face as he came to a bright light. When his eyes adjusted, he lowered his hand. He was able to see he was in a child's room. Toys were scattered everywhere. He then glanced up. His eyes widen. He was able to see the Kaiba brothers, a young girl, and his partner.

Just as the spirit was about to call out for his other half, he backed down from the idea. He was able to see a duel was in progress. He immediately decided to duck and hide behind a very large teddy bear. After a closer observation, Yami was able to see Yugi dueling the little girl.

"Who is she?" Yami murmured, "Why is Yugi dueling her? Is she the one responsible for all this?"

The pharaoh skimmed the area. He was surprise to find the adolescent with gold bangs in a match without him. Then again, Yami figured the teen did not have much of an option. When looking at the girl, Yami was able to see someone who appeared sweet and innocent. He wondered if the persona was only an act.

He then looked over at his other half. The boy continued on with ease. Even though the puppy dog eyes were full of determination, there was another sentiment in back.

Yami had wanted to allow his friend to continue on with the game. He figured the boy still needed some ways to grow.

To be continued…

Chao- Yep, Chao is gonna torture Chao by writing another duel.

YChao- And do you plan to have this duel completed?

Chao- Dunno… Getting a little lazy with this piece… which sucks cuz Chao actually had a LOT of this part already written out… Damn you thieves.