Chapter Nine

Everyone definitely heard the new blasts and Yami Bakura and Bakura's exclamations. But by the time everyone was safely back on the ground and they could turn to look, nothing was there except scorched grass and cloth particles.

"Oh my gosh!" Yugi leaped up and ran over, his heart gathering speed in his horror. "Bakura?! Yami Bakura?! Where are you guys?! Are you alright?!" He fell to his knees, plucking up more of the scraps. "No. . . ." Horrified and heartbroken tears pricked his eyes.

Everyone still on Yugi's side of the cliff ran over. The others soon followed, brought over courtesy of Red Eyes Black Dragon.

"Yugi!" Atem dropped to his knees, staring at the charred pieces. "Oh no."

"What is this?!" Joey cried. "Are we deciding they've both been vaporized?!"

Yugi shut his eyes tightly. "We know the Big Five wanted to kill all of us," he said. Tears slipped down his face. "They tried to make most of us fall when the ground split. Then they must have gone after Bakura and Yami Bakura with another method when they weren't close enough to the edge!"

"Yeah? Well, I don't believe it!" Joey insisted. "Does that mean that the Infinity Ring got vaporized too?!"

". . . That doesn't seem too likely," Atem realized. "Especially not if they want its power. They wouldn't risk damaging it."

"So . . . does that mean they're probably alive?" Téa hoped.

"That thief probably is, at least," Seto said. "I don't know about Bakura." He looked down at the cloth scraps in Yugi's hands and clenched his own into fists. "They're turning my adventure game into something twisted and evil! I won't stand for this!"

"None of us are going to," Marik said grimly. "But the only way to defeat them is to go through all the levels of the game as they've re-created it."

"So let's keep moving already!" Joey ran past all of them. "We'll whup those Big Five creeps into next week so hard, they won't know what hit them! And we'll find our missing friends! I'll bet they're both just fine and the Big Five's just trying to scare us! How many times did we think it was curtains for somebody and then we got them back?!"

"Uh, Joey?" Yugi blinked at his friend as he got to his feet. "Do you realize you just called Yami Bakura a friend?"

"Of course I realize!" Joey retorted. "He is, ain't he?!" And he ran off ahead. "Come on! Where did you get to, you crazy thief?! Don't you know we're all worried about you and stuff?! And you too, Bakura! Stop playin' tricks and come out!"

Atem sighed. "It's nice to see that Joey has got past his antagonistic feelings towards Yami Bakura. I just hope he's right that they're both still alive."

"I want to believe it," Yugi said. "It's too horrible otherwise. Kaiba made a good argument why Yami Bakura is probably alive . . . but what about poor Bakura?" He stared down at the clothing scraps.

". . . And hey, I just thought of something," Téa moaned. "What if Yami Bakura thinks Bakura is dead too?"

Yugi's stomach dropped. "Then he might try to take down the Big Five single-handed!"

"So who are you worried about in that case?" Seto deadpanned. "Him or them?"

"Mostly him," Téa said. "Especially if he taps into the power of the Infinity Ring. If it doesn't like what he does, it'll kill him!"

"Not that I really want to defend him, but could anything he does possibly be wrong when it comes to the Big Five?" Seto retorted.

Atem had to briefly half-smirk. "I couldn't say."

"Hey, if he wants to beat those guys up, I'm all for it," Mokuba said. "Anyway, he couldn't do much worse than that, could he? It's not like they have real bodies here."

"That's a good question," Yugi said. "They're solid bodies, but I don't know if they feel pain." He looked to where Joey had gone even further ahead, still calling to Bakura and Yami Bakura. "We'd better not let ourselves get split up," he worried. "Let's go with Joey."

They all hurried ahead.

Téa fell back to talk to Seto. "Hey, Kaiba . . . I wanted to thank you for not letting me fall."

Seto grunted. "There wouldn't have been any purpose in that."

"He means you're welcome," Mokuba smiled.

"Gee, I never would have guessed," Téa shot back.

xxxx

Mai sped up and down the streets, leading some of the flying Duel Monsters away from Duke and the others. Her Baby Dragon flew above her, prepared to attack if any of them got too close.

It seemed like they had been at this for a long time now. Mai was starting to tire, but of course these holographic programs never would. They would still have energy even after she had to stop. And with the Big Five in charge, she didn't want to think about what would happen to her then.

Just as it started to seem hopeless, the sight of a trap card suspended in the air caught her eye. "Could it be?" She reached out for it. "Radiant Mirror Force!"

As soon as she touched it, a bright light filled the area. When it was gone, the only Duel Monster left was her Baby Dragon. All of their enemies had been defeated.

She slumped back in amazed relief. "We did it," she breathed.

The Baby Dragon chirped in triumph and flew back down to her car, settling into the passenger seat.

"Well," Mai sighed, "what now? It seems like we should have run into Joey after all this time. We must have been over most of the city!"

"Allow me to welcome you to our game, Ms. Valentine."

Mai started. A tall man wearing glasses had just appeared in front of her car, smirking as he held out a business card. She took it with a frown. "You're one of the Big Five," she realized.

"That's right. Johnson, to be exact. We weren't expecting you, but we can certainly accommodate you."

Mai glowered. "Where's Joey?!"

"Ah yes, Joseph Wheeler. Well, at the moment he's in my section of the city," Johnson said.

Mai was not impressed. "And where's that?"

"Outside the more urban part of the city, up near Domino Canyon." Johnson smirked. "I always liked taking my vacations up there."

"Fine!" Mai snapped. "Then I'll go there. But he'd better not be hurt."

"He's fine for the moment," Johnson said. "However, I can't guarantee his safety for all the time it will take you to drive out to him."

Mai's eyes darkened. "If he's not alright, you're going to have to answer to me. And I can promise you, that won't be pretty!"

"No, I'm sure it won't," Johnson said. "But I'll take my chances, especially since this time we don't intend to let anyone get away. That includes you, Ms. Valentine." And he vanished.

Mai didn't bother to take time to process what had just happened. Instead she immediately floored the accelerator and sped off towards the mountains at the edge of town. She didn't know the Big Five as well as Joey did, but she remembered being invited to test that virtual reality game and then finding herself trapped inside. They had used her as a guinea pig to see whether they could successfully trap Seto Kaiba, and she didn't like it one bit. Now they had trapped the entire city in a new sick game, and she was determined to make sure her friends didn't suffer.

Unfortunately, she knew, they already might be. The Big Five would no doubt waste no time in turning their lives upsidedown, especially the ones they had particular grudges against. That would include Joey, she was sure.

And what of Duke's group? Hopefully they had either outrun or defeated the Duel Monsters chasing them. She didn't want to think about what might happen to them otherwise. Johnson's parting statement had been ominous. She could definitely see the Big Five planning to eliminate everyone once and for all this time around. After being defeated twice before, their anger was no doubt frightening.

She was just about to start the engine again when she caught sight of an older man wandering down the street, intensely curious about everything he saw. The fact that his hair and eyes were like Yugi's cinched it; he had to be Yugi's grandfather.

Immediately Mai got out of her car and ran over to him. "Hey! Mr. Muto!" She waved.

Solomon looked up with a start. "Hello? . . . Why, you're Mai Valentine!"

Mai ground to a stop. She hadn't expected recognition. "You know me?" she blinked in surprise.

"Of course!" Solomon said. "You were on television in tournaments, and Yugi and Joey always made sure to point you out. Anyway, I always remember the big names in Duel Monsters." He smiled.

Mai gave him a touched but sad smile. "I'm not much of a big name anymore."

"You are to Yugi and Joey, and that's the most important thing," Solomon said.

Mai shifted. There were more important things to discuss, but she couldn't help asking, "Do you . . . know everything? Including about Dartz and the Orichalcos?"

"Yes." Solomon gave a grave nod.

"And you're not worried for me to be around?" Mai regarded him in disbelief.

"Of course not!" Solomon snorted. "You've got past all that, haven't you?"

". . . Well, yes . . ."

"So there's no reason to worry!" Solomon looked around. "Everyone will be so happy to see you, Miss Valentine. If I can just find them . . ."

"Why don't you come with me and we'll look together?" Mai suggested.

Solomon perked up. "That sounds like a wonderful idea! Two pairs of eyes can look twice as well!" He ogled the purple convertible, also clearly excited to think of actually riding in something so luxurious.

Mai had to smile. "Well, then if you don't mind a fast ride, hop in!"

"Mind? I would love a fast ride!" Solomon's eyes gleamed as he got in the back seat. When Mai got in and sped off moments later, Solomon cheered. "Now this is an automobile!"

Mai was amused. Yugi's grandfather was certainly interesting.

xxxx

Yami Bakura had spent most of his life enraged and hateful. It wasn't new to him now. It was familiar, while the love Bakura had shown him had felt all but foreign after having not experienced any since age 6. He couldn't deny that the love felt so much better, but that was gone now, brutally stripped away by the Big Five's cruelty. An innocent life had been cut short, and he wasn't going to let any of those responsible get away with it.

It didn't take him long to see that he and Dark Necrofear were the only ones there. The scenery looked the same, but everyone else was gone. Had they all fallen to their deaths? That wouldn't even make sense. The Red Eyes Black Dragon should have been able to rescue them.

Still, he went to the cliff to look over the edge. Everything was quiet, eerily so. The wind blew his hair about, so peaceful, so calm, as though nothing was wrong. But he knew better. Nothing would ever be right again.

"We're all alone," he said to Dark Necrofear as she came up beside him. "They're all gone."

But that made very little sense. He wasn't their first target. Why would they kill everyone else off and leave him alive?

He turned away with a growl. "This can't be right. Are they trying to drive me out of my mind?" He paused, frowning. "Why would they put so much effort into torturing me? They killed Bakura. But all of the others, all at once?"

He looked around. "What if I'm the one dead? . . . No, that makes no sense either. Technically, I'm still dead; it's only this Ring that makes me mortal." He lifted it up and then let it thump back against his chest.

Dark Necrofear looked at the Ring. Blinking, he looked back down at it as well. "The Ring. . . . What if they want it? The thought crossed my mind earlier, but . . ."

"Yami?"

Yami Bakura started and looked up with a shot. "Bakura?!" His heart pounded. The voice was unmistakable. Was he hearing Bakura's spirit? He always had been attuned to other planes of existence; he had always felt the spirits of Kul Elna. It made sense that he would still be able to communicate with Bakura. "Bakura, where are you?!"

Dark Necrofear tensed. Something wasn't right. But Yami Bakura was, for the moment, too desperate to believe this real to question it.

The thief ran out ahead. "Bakura! Don't hide from me, blast it! Where are you?"

"Why, I'm right here, Yami." Bakura stepped out of thin air, smirking at him.

Yami Bakura rocked back. ". . . No, you're not." He snarled, his voice dark and filled with betrayal and rage. "How dare you. How dare you!"

A very un-Bakura laugh echoed through the area. "I dare because it's what I do." "Bakura" morphed into a tall man with glasses. "I just wanted to see how you would react. Johnson's the name. You're currently in a special part of my section of the city."

Yami Bakura's eyes took on a hate-filled fire only few had ever seen. "And you're currently steps away from disaster. You have no hope of escape now."

"Then I presume you are taking me to court?" Johnson said, completely unaffected.

"I am taking you into a world of nightmares from which you will never emerge!" Yami Bakura snarled.

xxxx

Bakura was both furious and heartbroken as he watched on the screen in the mysterious room he was still trapped in. When he heard an odd sound and turned to see Gansley standing there, his normally soft eyes flashed. "What on Earth is the point of this?!" he demanded. "Why would such a cruel trick be played on Yami?!"

"Really, that's your first question?" Gansley quipped. "Not what you're doing here?"

"I know it can't be for any good reason," Bakura retorted. "Poor Yami!" He stormed over to his captor. "I thought Seto Kaiba was your target, and also the people who defeated you before. Why do you want to go after Yami and me?!"

"Hmm. If you can't figure it out, then I don't think I'm going to tell you," Gansley sneered.

"Well, I can tell you that you don't know who you're dealing with," Bakura snapped. "I think Johnson is going to be very sorry about what he did, very soon!"

"Hmm. That may be true, but he's not going to give up just because his opponent is a little aggressive," Gansley said.

"Oh, trust me, you don't know the meaning of aggressive until you've faced an angry Yami," Bakura said. "And right now, I say he has every right to be aggressive! Johnson probably deserves whatever Yami might do to him!"

"You're feeling quite aggressive right now yourself, aren't you?" Gansley said.

"I feel perfectly justified, too," Bakura said. "This is outrageous!"

"Well, let's watch and see what happens next," Gansley said.

"One thing I would definitely like to know," Bakura said. "Why is Yami alone? Why isn't he with the others?"

"He was teleported elsewhere, but thinks he wasn't," Gansley said. "And you can see he's not sure everyone else isn't dead. Just another example of Johnson's sadistic nature."

"You're all abominable," Bakura spat.

Somewhere in his mind it knew it wasn't like him to be so angry. But it also wasn't usual for him to encounter such horrible people. He always became furious when someone threatened his loved ones. Once, he had not considered Yami Bakura one of those people. Now that he did, however, he became enraged whenever his friend was targeted unfairly. He couldn't imagine why the Big Five was doing this.

"That may be so," Gansley said now, "but what does it really matter if we win in the end?"

"You can never truly win with cruelty," Bakura retorted.

"And I guess that's why your friend always lost in the past?" Gansley smoothly said. "Surely you can't deny that's how he dueled."

"He isn't like that anymore," Bakura said. "He was being poisoned with an evil force back then!"

His hand disappeared into his pocket. He still had the Change of Heart card that he had mysteriously picked up. If he used it, he could probably mind-control Gansley and escape to find Yami Bakura. But . . . to mind-control another person, even one of the Big Five . . . ! He could scarcely imagine doing such a thing, no matter how angry he was. Surely there was another solution.

"Naturally you find excuses for the people you love," Gansley said. "Everyone always does." He leaned on his cane and looked back to the screen. "But let's see how your Yami Bakura fares against Johnson's tactics."

Bakura swallowed hard. If Johnson dueled as cruelly as he performed in other areas, Yami Bakura was in for a struggle. But on the other hand, Johnson really didn't know what he was in for. Yami Bakura would not be forgiving about Johnson's little trick. And when he thought Bakura was dead, killed by Johnson, well . . . Johnson was in for Yami Bakura's brand of justice and vengeance. And Bakura honestly wasn't sure he wouldn't root for Yami Bakura to deal it out in this case, especially since the Big Five didn't have real bodies and Yami Bakura wouldn't be able to kill the man.

On the other hand . . . would Yami Bakura get in trouble for trying to take revenge even on someone without a real body?

Oh please no, Bakura prayed. How could anyone feel good about someone who does what these people do? They do have to be stopped. Yami's suffering enough already. He loves me and he thinks I've been senselessly murdered. Please . . . he doesn't deserve to suffer more. He's been trying so hard to be good. But if he goes after Johnson for revenge, under the circumstances . . . well, I can't even say I think he's wrong. So if someone has to be punished, please punish me, not him!

But that wasn't really a solution either. Bakura being hurt only hurt Yami Bakura more. That was the whole problem here.

Yami, I love you, he transmitted silently. I'm alright. Please stay strong! I'll find a way to get back to you. But you need to be there for me when I come.

They had possessed a mental bond in the days when they had to share his body to co-exist. That had been defunct ever since Yami Bakura had gained his own body. And from the look in his eyes on the screen, it was still defunct. Bakura could only desperately pray that Yami Bakura would not be hurt further as he continued to look for a solution so he could escape.

xxxx

Duke's group was still frantically trying to escape the barrage of creatures chasing them. Duke's Crawling Dragon was going after them on the ground and blasting any Duel Monsters who got too close. In addition, Serenity had picked up a Lady Panther who stood on the Crawling Dragon's back and leaped up to whip attackers. When at last Duke drove into a parking garage guarded by a Thousand Dragon and a Harpie Lady, the rampaging Duel Monsters didn't try to follow.

"Do you think we've lost them?" Serenity hoped.

"Maybe," Duke frowned. "Or maybe they're just trying to find another way in. We shouldn't stay here."

"Ugh! This is ridiculous already!" Tristan cried in frustration. He opened one of the sacks and started eating a burger.

David decided that looked like a good idea. He started to eat too.

"It's strange we haven't found any of the others yet," Serenity worried. "I wish Joey hadn't gone off without me!"

"Then we'd be worrying about you in addition to them," Duke said.

"I would have insisted he bring you guys along too," Serenity said. She sighed. "What are we going to do now?"

"Keep looking," Duke said. "They have to be around here somewhere."

"And you realize we might end up having to fight Nesbitt again. . . ." Serenity stared at the sacks and finally took out a burger to slowly eat.

"I realize." Duke gave in and started to eat too. "I'm sure he'll set it up so we'll be the ones facing him, alright. These guys give whole new meaning to holding grudges."

"Well, I don't feel very good towards any of them," David said. "I wouldn't mind having a part in bringing them down."

Tristan frowned and looked to him. "Can you even duel?"

David smirked at him. "Why, yes, I can. I've just never shown off my mad skills before." He raised an eyebrow. "I think a better question would be, can you duel any better now than you did then?"

Tristan scowled. "Yeah, I can."

"But not by a whole lot," Duke said. "And you've never tested your supposed new skills out in a life-and-death situation before, Tristan. For that matter, neither have you, David." He frowned. "I'm still the most experienced Duelist out of this bunch, and last time, that wasn't enough to beat Nesbitt." Looking to Serenity, however, his expression softened and he smiled. "But you really gave it to him, Serenity."

"It was a group effort, Duke," Serenity insisted. "We all contributed something." She sighed. "But it ended in a draw and Nesbitt still insisted he'd won the right to take Tristan's body. Even with all the strength we were able to put together, we were lucky to be able to get St. Joan on the same power level as Nesbitt. If she could have been a little bit stronger, it wouldn't have been a draw and he couldn't have possibly claimed he'd won."

Duke nodded. "They don't play by the rules, that's for sure. And this time, their rules are death. It was bad enough in Noa's world. Now they're playing for keeps." And he had to admit, he wasn't sure what they were ever going to do. He didn't think their group was strong enough to soundly beat Nesbitt.

"I hope Mai's okay," Serenity said softly.

Duke did too. And part of him wished that she had stayed with them. She was more experienced than all of them put together and she would probably stand the best chance of winning. On the other hand, he frowned to himself, she usually lost when she played life-or-death duels. She wasn't used to dueling being used for that high of stakes. And right now, when she was suffering from a serious lack of confidence, it would be even worse.

What a crew.

". . . So, what kind of parking garage are we in?" David asked.

"I think it's for the mall," Duke said. "I guess there's no chance any of the others are in there."

"Probably not, but it looks like there's some Duel Monsters in there," David blinked.

They were facing the doors for one of the mall's flagship department stores. As they all watched, a Dark Magician Girl examined clothing and then magically tried several different pieces on, one after the other. A Dark Magician, meanwhile, wandered over near a hat display and tried on a fedora.

". . . Okay, this is getting too weird," Tristan proclaimed. "They're holograms. What the heck are they doing?!"

"I think a better question is, how does a hologram magically try on clothes?" Duke said flatly.

Serenity looked to him with a start. "Duke, you're not saying . . . !"

Duke massaged the bridge of his nose. "I don't know what I'm saying anymore, Serenity," he sighed. "But I have to admit, something's not adding up. Even if a hologram could try on clothes, we'd see them do it in every detail. Instead, this is like something off Sabrina the Teenage Witch."

"You mean, she's really using magic to do it instantaneously," David said. Now his stomach dropped in his horror.

"As much as I'd like to say she isn't, I think she is," Duke said. "And that means she's not a hologram. I think the Big Five really screwed something up here. I think . . . ugh, it's going to sound crazy to say it, and a couple of years ago I never would have, but after everything we've been through, it's starting to sound completely logical to say that it looks like the Big Five may have tapped into the Duel Monsters' realm by accident. I think all the Duel Monsters wandering around town are real."

Serenity flinched and stared at him. "But that means they could really hurt people!" she cried.

"And it also means they might be able to help us in ways we never dreamed of," Duke said. He started to get out of the car. "If we could get those two on our side, it could be a big help later."

"So . . . we're going to go talk to those magicians?" David blinked.

Duke sighed. "Yeah, I think we are."