Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Strains of the sunlight escaped past the dark amber curtains of the window in Yugi's room. Rebecca had picked these curtains out for him even though they did not share a bedroom like the other couples (Joey does not know to this day that Seto and Serenity shared a room), as she wanted to have her own space when she needed it. Still, she would come into his room at night whenever she wanted to. Yugi rubbed his eyes when the sunlight hit him, sitting up when the grandfather clock in his room informed him that it was nearly seven o'clock in the morning. He blinked a few times before jumping out of bed, remembering that he and his brother made plans for today. They were going to train together as lately they had not been able to with some increased activity within the castle and the villages.

"Wait, Atem usually wakes me up before seven when it to comes training," Yugi muttered as he stood in front of his bed. Yugi's eyes widened as he dashed out of his bedroom, not caring about the door slamming against the wall. As he darted down towards his brother's room, he was wondering if his brother was sick or something. But then again, Atem was never one to get sick and have himself subjected to people treating him as a precious object. He was about to knock on the door, just as a precautionary. That is when he noticed the large gaping hole in his brother's door. Yugi kneeled down to peek through the hole, believing it would be a bit odd to open it. His eyes widened when he did not see his brother there along with his staff. Yugi ran to Mahad's door, opening it without knocking.

"Mahad!" Yugi yelled, wakening the purple haired magician. Mahad slowly sat up, his eyes slightly foggy. His chest was bare before he snapped his fingers and his outfit was on him. It's what all of the spell casters did when they realized that they couldn't take off their clothes due to the curse. They came up with a spell that allowed them to cast a sort of illusion with the clothing that allowed them not to feel the original outfit at all. Luckily, for them, Mana preferred nightgowns and was a heavy sleeper otherwise; she would be kicking Yugi out.

"Do you have any idea what time it is Yugi?" Mahad yawned as he stepped out of the bed.

"I know its early Mahad but my brother isn't in his room at all. It's the day we are training together and he never has forgotten to wake me up," Yugi explained frantically. He had no idea where his older brother was and it frightened him.

Mahad's eyes grew wide, quickly shaking Mana.

"Mana wake up," said Mahad as he shook the sleeping magician.

"Huh? What?" Mana muttered as her eyes fluttered open. She let out a big yawn, before sitting up. Feeling another presence, she looked to her right and found Yugi standing there.

"Gah! What are you doing in here?"

"The king is missing Mana. Inform Seto and everyone else while Yugi and I search for him," Mahad ordered before he and Yugi disappeared. Mana sat there, blinking a few times before Mahad's words sank it.

"HE'S MISSING?" Mana screamed to herself before jumping out her bed and running to the others' rooms. She pounded on each door until she heard movement then would move onto the next door. As she was pounding on Joey's door, she heard a small click coming from Seto's door. She launched herself away from Joey's door and turned to find Seto there, a scowl on his face.

"Mana please explain why did you create a loud ruckus on our bedroom doors? At this ungodly hour too? There is no reason for this." Seto demanded, a sleepy Serenity standing behind him as she rubbed her eyes.

"Seto calm down. She probably has a good reason for waking up this early right Mana?" Serenity murmured gently to Seto, placing a hand on his bare should. Instantly, his beautiful yet somewhat scary dragon armor appeared, making the scowl on his face fiercer.

"Atem…The king is missing," Mana panted as Joey, Mai and Rebecca, all dressed in their original outfits, came out of their rooms too. Seto's eyes narrowed dangerously at Mana as everybody's eyes widened.

"What do you mean he's missing?" seethed Seto, his voice dangerously low. If he did not already look intimidating his heavily dark armor with bones protruding out of it, his voice made it all worse.

Mana gulped and spoke louder this time. "Yugi said he went into the king's room and didn't find his brother there. Mahad and Yugi are looking for him at this very moment."

"Everyone, you must start looking for the king," Seto ordered as he turned to leave. "Do not wake Mokuba or Kuriboh. We do not need to have them panicking over the location of the king as we will find him soon."

"Seto calm down," Joey said catching up to the dragon master. "Atem could have decided to head out early to train so Yugi could get some more rest."

Seto whipped around faster than Joey could blink, his azure eyes flaming in anger. They were brighter unlike any of the blue fires he had seen. Even if Joey had his prized sword, Seto's rage would help him win against a fight.

"Do not tell me to calm down Joseph," Seto warned, "You know well as I do that the King would not leave his brother behind. I would never leave Mokuba behind nor would you leave your sister behind so tell me what makes the King different."

Before Joey could reply, Seto had turned on his feet and disappeared from Joey's sight.

"He leaves no one behind Seto."

'This is bad, very bad,' Yugi thought as he stood at the top of the castle. His eyes fell upon the three swords, encased in ice that shimmered like glass when the sunlight hit it at the right angle. The beautiful shades of rainbow decorated the cold, grey stonewalls but today, nothing was happening. The height of the protective barrier of the swords never ceased to amaze them and it all that had appeared when the good Bakura had cast the other part of the curse. To them, everything was a mystery as to why the swords were here. What purpose did they serve? They did know however, there was a guardian for these swords and everyone remembered how they met her.

(Flashback)

"King Atem! There is something new at the top of the castle!" Mana panted as she ran into the new practicing room where all the new spell casters, the older ones preferably, were training their new abilities. The new practicing room had all the furniture, valuables and decorations removed. It left only a dark, dingy room with the only means of light coming from the window or the orbs of white light someone had created. Mana, the new blonde-haired woman, had decided to skip practice and explore the castle. She did not expect to find many changes to the castle but what she had found proved her wrong.

Atem looked at the blonde-haired woman warily as did Yugi and her Mahad. Never had they seen Mana this frantic over a discovery even before the 'change'.

"What do you mean Mana?" Yugi had asked as the petite magician was calming herself down. Mana rolled her eyes at the king's younger brother. Did she not just say what she meant?

"There is something at the top of the palace above the main entrance! Ice but it isn't melting, as ice should in this type of weather. I saw something inside of it too. I don't know what it is exactly, but it looks appears to be some type of weapon."

Atem disappeared before her eyes, as did Yugi. Left behind were small hints of black and blue magic, swirling in the air before it too disappeared. This startled the poor girl as her sapphire eyes widened in shock.

Mahad chuckled, his violent hair swaying slightly from the soft movement of his body. "It's a new spell we have been working on. If you were here for practice as you should have been, then you wouldn't have to rely on me Mana."

Mana stood still as the surroundings appeared to be melting away from her very eyes. She did not look up, down, to her left or right, fearing Mahad would no longer be there.

"Mana, we're at the top of the palace. I must say that what you had seen has never been seen before," Mahad whispered in the girl's ear. His voice hinted that he was in awe of the sight before him, perhaps more calm than Mana's reaction had been. The ice was taller than he was, Seto was or the king himself could ever be.

"I say you should let me burn it down King Atem," Joey had declared. "We all know Rebecca can't do it," he removed his glowing orange sword from his hip as small whirls of fire danced across it, "She's too tiny."

Rebecca had rolled her eyes at the overly confident swordsman. He had no right to doubt her.

"I have more fire power than you ever will Joseph. Step aside," she ordered, her palms facing the ice barrier. Fire shot out of her palms, the fire reminding one of the fire-breathing dragons Seto had learned to control. Joey not wanting to be outdone joined Rebecca with melting away the ice.

The blues skies turned to a dull grey color as a chilly breeze in the air. Serenity and Mai wrapped their wings to themselves, a shiver rippling through their very core.

"Does anyone else have the feeling that this sudden change in weather is an omen of some sorts?" Serenity asked, burrowing herself into her wings further. Seto scoffed at Serenity's words. He may love her but that did not mean he could question her words.

"And what sort of omen would this be?" Seto questioned as he watched the fire from the two stubborn blondes, become concerted.

"Stop this at once!" A voice commanded as two dark clouds from the sky appeared right in front of Joey and Rebecca. Joey and Rebecca flew back into the stone columns. The sound of cracking stone resonated in the air from four feet away. Yugi and Mai quickly ran to their lovers' sides. Once they were there, they began searching for any sign of blood or torn flesh. One of the clouds had turned into a sickly green color that reminded some of the audience of when a nasty storm was affront. A muscular arm appeared on each side of the cloud, then a head the shape of a mushroom with a sinister scowl upon its face. The other cloud did not appear to take the same shape as this other cloud. The cloud turned into a more pale color of Rebecca's skin before the curse. The middle of the cloud expanded greatly, reminding everyone of the sun hidden by the grey clouds in the sky. The cloud formed somewhat gangly arms in comparison to its companion. As the head formed, a kind smile appeared along with the eyes.

"He looks so fluffy," Mana whispered, referring to the giant. "Do you think he would let me jump on him? I never jumped on a cloud before!"

A feminine voice chuckled between the two clouds as the two clouds floated aside quickly. A beautiful woman now stood between the two clouds. The women were jealous of this woman's beauty for they had never seen a woman like this before. Her long, ebony hair contrasted significantly against the kimono she wore, a pale ivory that was a shade or two darker than her skin. An emerald sash wrapped loosely around her waist but the gold belt fit perfectly at her hips. Two gold bangles were on each of her wrists, matching perfectly to the gold piece in the bun at the top of her head. The collar of one of the layers lined with gold, nearly hidden by the two strange necklaces she wore just as the six pieces of ornaments were in her hair. In her arms was a tiny cloud, pale gold. Its chocolate eyes and small smile almost had the women cooing at it.

"I was beginning to wonder when I would meet the king and his loyal bureaucracy that cursed their kingdom. Shame that it only takes one man's errors to punish all," the woman chuckled, her eyes falling onto Atem. Atem's crimson eyes narrowed the loose strands of his hairs slowly rising from the increase of magic he was losing control. The sickly green cloud quickly went over to Atem, engulfing the king with his body. Atem thought he could easily get out, after all these creatures were clouds and clouds were nothing more than just air.

Seto and Mahad were about to step in when the giant cloud blocked their way. He wagged one of his plump fingers side to side, a gentle smile on his face.

"I would not do that if I were you too. My friend Hodei can excrete acid onto your king if you make any subtle movement," the cloud looked over to the young woman, "Mistress Izanami, I am sure that these creatures want to know what is going on here."

Izanami smiled at the giant cloud. "I do believe you are right Nasim. I am Izanami, a friend of good Bakura's. This behind me," she extended one of her arms to ice, "is what Bakura asked me to guard, along with my guardians."

"Why would ice need to be protected?" Mai scoffed, Joey latched onto one of her arms. He didn't want to pull off a feather as last time he did that, Mai nearly pulled out all of his hair.

"The ice guards what is inside Mai. Inside are the three swords of Timaeus, Critias and Hermos. I assume you know who they are," Izanami smirked as she answered, knowing the reaction she would receive.

Everyone was shocked; Joey, Serenity's, Seto's, Atem's and Yugi's ancestors' swords were here right before their very eyes. They had only seen portraits of their ancestors but the swords had always had their description told in stories. The swords used in battle, were never seen anywhere else. Mahad spoke for them all. "Why are the swords of the creators of this kingdom here? There were rumors that when they died, the swords disappeared.

"Do you know why the swords were only used in battle?" Izanami suddenly asked, the pale gold cloud stirring in her arms.

She received no reply, so she continued. "On each sword was an inscription from their love of their life. Even though Timaeus was king by the decision Critias and Hermos who served as the only two members of his bureaucracy, they all fought in any battle side by side. The love of their lovers inspired them to continue fighting for what they believe in."

"So what does dis got to do with us?" Joey asked, not getting the point of her story. "Not tryin' to be rude or anythin' but I'm confused here."

"I've known Bakura for a long time. We were special as we were born. He with two souls and I well, I can go from the spirit world and visit. I have met your ancestors and they saw that you made need these swords some day, but due to the curse and Timaeus's anger towards King Atem, the swords will only be released when he has the one who will break the curse to fall in love with him and the one says so. Good luck I must say as I've seen how the one's personality will be."

Atem's eyes had narrowed even more, which if anyone one else had tried, would find this task to be impossible. "The curse should have never been put into place. It is not my fault that the other side of Bakura could not handle rejection," Atem growled, furious that his ancestor, one he never met, was putting the blame on him.

"Oh shush. You may be king but you need to learn to open your heart and eyes. You have been blind ever since you became king and let yourself become something you are not. Remember my words about these swords and do not attempt to burn the ice down again. I would not want to send my dragon instead, one not even Seto could control."

Izanami with the pale gold cloud, Nasim and Hodei disappeared as the sky began to clear.

"Hey! I never got to ask if I could jump on Nasim!" Mana pouted, her lower lip jutted out.

(End of Flashback!)

Yugi sighed, his fingers brushing against the cold ice. "Timaeus, I know that you still may be furious with my brother, but give some sort of guidance for me to find him. We all need him."

The ice covering Timaeus's sword began to pulse a faint turquoise color after Yugi's pleading. Yugi's closed his eyes as a faint breeze swayed the ornaments in his unique headwear before the ice no longer pulsed.

"KRI!"

Yugi turned around and saw Kuriboh there, along with Mokuba who was rubbing his eyes tiredly. He was able to disperse the illusion of his pajamas but he did not have his staff with him even though everyone insisted upon forcing him to carry it at all times.

"Mokuba, why don't you have your staff? How many times do we need to remind you to carry it with you?" Yugi reprimanded, his tone hinting the concern for the young magician.

"Kuriboh just yanked me out of bed before I could even grab it. Why are you up here and where's the king?" Mokuba explained, looking around the scenery. "I thought this was an off limits area to practice because of the swords."

Yugi now had a mini battle in his head. 'Seto didn't want Mokuba and Kuriboh to know about my brother. He would flip if he found out but then again….'

"We can't find my brother. Do you have any idea where he could be?"

Mokuba shook his head, keeping calm. He could not believe one of his mentors, his cousin and his king was gone.

"Kri! Kri!" cried Kuriboh, flailing his little paws around. He knew the answer to his master's question!

"What is it Kuriboh?" Yugi asked, not clearly understanding Kuriboh's sudden outburst. They really did need to work on a spell to understand Kuriboh.

"I think he knows where the king is Yugi," Mokuba replied to which Kuriboh jumped vigorously.

Yugi's eyes grew wide, grabbing the brown fur ball. "Please take us to him Kuriboh. We need him." Yugi's blue robe shook with his body from the silent sobs. His brother was his protector even since he could remember and with him gone, Yugi felt like a part of him was missing.

Kuriboh's eyes drooped as he saw his master become sad over the master of masters. He closed his big eyes and thought of the potion room where Atem was at, how he looked and how the female looked too. When he opened his eyes, he found himself in the potion room, his master no longer holding onto him but at the bedside of the master of masters.

"Atem! What happened to you?" Yugi turned to Kuriboh placing his hand on top of the fur ball's body. "I need you to think of Seto and Mahad. It's the only way I can summon them here now."

Kuriboh did what he was told; thinking of the violet haired master and the dragon master that always seemed to be in a fowl mood. The moment he opened his eyes they were there, knelt by the king's bedside.

Seto's hands were clenched as he examined his king. There he lay, his breathing heavier than usual, his headpiece off his head. What startled him was the wound on his king, "Mahad, why does he still have this wound? His body would have healed by now."

"It looks like a wielder of earth magic did this but I have never seen earth magic do anything like this before. Someone must have infused this with dark magic, stronger than what we've ever seen before," Mahad noticed the empty potion bottles, "Whoever gave him these two potions was able to speed up the healing process slightly."

"None of us knew where my brother was though," Yugi replied. Who else could have known?

Seto looked around the room, his azure eyes landing on an object on the table. Those very eyes widened in surprise, his body tense as he realized who knew who injured his king.

"Mahad, Yugi. You both should stay with the king. I will go tell the others we found him."

He received no reply as he stormed out of the room, rage filling his very existence. His cousin, the person who he served was lying in a simple bed, harmed by dark magic they had never encountered before.

"How dare those vile outsiders let the king come to harm after he welcomed them into his home. They should be grateful we had found them before those cannibals did," Seto growled quietly as he marched to the wing the outsiders' rooms were at.

"Seto? Seto what's wrong?" Serenity asked he strode right past her. He did not even notice his brunette angel; he was dedicated to his current goal.

He did not stop at all, completely ignoring Serenity. Serenity's dark eyes narrowed as she released her wings. She landed right in front of Seto, blocking his path. "Seto this isn't like you. Please tell me what's wrong."

Seto sighed, knowing Serenity would persist on finding out the answer. She must have had inherited the stubborn trait from her brother.

"The king was found injured. I believe that those outsiders had something to do with it."

Serenity gasped her olive eyes wide. "Téa would never do such a thing to the king! She knows she can't leave the kingdom, so why would she try to escape and have the king harmed?"

"You never judge a book by its cover Serenity. Téa could have been lying to you from the very start," Seto cupped Serenity's face before walking away from her, "Bakura should have made you realized this."

"Seto," Serenity whispered, watching him head to western wing of the castle. "Please don't harm her."

Téa woke up with a sneeze, her sapphire eyes dazed with sleep. She slowly sat up, rubbing her eyes. When her eyes readjusted to the brightness of her ro-

"Wait how did I get in here?" Téa asked herself, confused as tried to remember what happened last night. "Forest. Ogres…King Atem!"

Téa darted out of the bed, her heart pounding with fear. Was the king all right? Did the potions help King Atem heal? Why was he not visiting her now to let her know he was all right?

"I have to see if he's okay," Téa opened the door and nearly screamed as she bumped into what felt like armor, but had some type of rigidness to it. She looked up, her eyes falling upon narrowed, azure eyes. 'Crap. What is his name again?' Téa thought, trying to remember his name. The girls (with the exception being Rebecca) and Mokuba warmed up to Téa quickly but the men were a different story.

"Seto?" Téa asked, her voice hinting that she was unsure. She didn't want to insult someone by forgetting his or her name, especially someone like this man. He stood with a sense of pride, dedication and perhaps bitterness if Serenity or Mokuba was not by his side. He, in her opinion, was possibly the one not to make angry even over something little.

"Tell me what happened to the King," Seto demanded his body tense. Even as he spoke, a scowl was on his lips.

"Dude, I already told you what happened! Why won't you believe us?" Tristan yelled before it grunts replaced his voice. Téa shoved Seto away, gasping when she saw Tristan and Duke. Suits of armor, no one inside it, were holding them back yet Téa could tell that these armors had the strength of more than one man. Téa, prepared to run towards them suddenly felt her back hitting the hard, stiff wall. Flares of pain shot up her back and head, a hand loosely around her throat.

"The king let you into his home and this is how you repay him? He's lying in a bed, harmed by magic we have never seen before because you had left during the middle of the night to escape," Seto's grip tightened as Téa attempted to pry his hand off her throat, "Mokuba come here now."

Téa noticed the little magician standing far away from them all. He would not look up as Seto called him over, his dark hair covering most of his face. When Mokuba stood next to Seto, Téa noticed he was trembling with fear.

"Mokuba?" Téa attempted to whisper as she stopped struggling. Mokuba flinched, his head snapping up at her voice. His dark eyes filled with tears, a small trail on the left side of his face.

"Seto please. I'm not good with this kind of magic. I only started practicing it," Mokuba pleaded, hoping his brother would change his request. "Mana is better at it than I am."

"Mana will not perform the task I asked for you to do. She cares for Téa and these two greatly. As your older brother and a member of the king's bureaucracy, I order you to listen to me," Seto replied harshly. Téa froze, her skin turning cold. What did they mean this kind of magic?

Mokuba's head drooped down once again, walking over to Tristan and Duke. The red sash wrapped around his head did not flow freely behind him. It just hung there limply and appeared to become dull in color. He tilted his staff towards Tristan and Duke, muttering something incoherent to their ears. Tristan and Duke's bodies slacked against the arms of their opponents, their eyes closed.

"What did you do to them?" Téa demanded as she watched Tristan and Duke taken away from her. "Please, just let us go. The king will tell you what I told him."

Her cries fell upon deaf ears as Mokuba neared her, Seto's other arm was pressed across her shoulders as she futilely struggled.

Mokuba looked up, his eyes locking onto Téa's sapphire ones. "Please forgive me Téa," Mokuba begged, his staff directly pointed at her face. Before Téa could reply, her vision of the room changed into a dark night, fire blazing into the sky. She screamed when she saw her parents and Tristan's parents lying there on the ground, buried underneath mounds of rubble. She heard the yells of the fire fighter yelling he found a survivor and was dragging her away from her family. The night of the day, she lost her parents and Tristan's parents was the nightmare for her to relive.

Seto watched the motionless woman's head slump forward. He removed his grip on her throat and shoulders, allowing her to fall into his arms. He turned to his little brother, who was sobbing at the actions he had done. Next to him was another suit of armor, prepared to fulfill his orders.

"Take her to the dungeon tower, the highest room. She will not try to escape once she sees there is no way possible for her to leave now," Seto ordered as he passed the woman into the suit of armor's arms, bridal style. The suit of armor gave a bow and quickly darted off towards the dungeon tower.

Seto looked at his little brother, a pang of remorse shot through him. "Mokuba. Tell the others they may not visit the outsiders by my order. Mahad and Yugi are too busy taking care of the king so I am the one who is now in charge of you all." Seto disappeared, leaving his brother behind. Mokuba fell to his knees, tears splattering the antique rug.

"Mokuba? Mokuba, what's wrong?" The soothing voice of Serenity, barely heard over Mokuba's sobs.

"I-I had to hurt her Serenity. I-I didn't want to," Mokuba flung himself into his brother's lover's arms, "I-I didn't w-want to hurt them and now they're separated from e-each other, reliving the n-nightmares of their hearts again and again."

Serenity wrapped her arms and wings around the tiny magician, burying her face into his inky black hair. "I know Mokuba, I know," she whispered, fighting the tears that wanted to sprang from her eyes. Was all this pain worth becoming human again?

The monsters are Cloudians: Smoke Ball, Altus, Acid Cloud, Izanami, and Hard Armor.