Pillow Talk

Panic. Chaos. Terror. Just about everything that could describe a war-zone was synonymous with the current situation, and she hated every single bit of it. All it did was send her thoughts back to the place they were flying toward, reminding her of the 'secondary' purpose of the tournament. Who cared about the 'white mouse' plan; as Jonouchi had said, that had clearly been a counterfeit... And whatever virus it resulted in managed to mix in with the flash thunderstorm horrifically, with sparks flying from the arena as people screamed.

"Stay off the field," Isono was shouting at the top of his lungs, a number of Jonouchi's friends quite obviously fighting the urge to ignore him. The man was nonetheless doing his best to hold a semblance of control over the situation, hands held high in a 'barrier' gesture. "The arena will not only be hot from constant lightning strike but also a probable target for more to come," he warned, swallowing a wave of unease as the crowd more or less soured. The 'other Yugi' had even come out to replace his lighter half, a glare fixed on the field and Isono both. "For your own safety," the man protested as the crowd roared, cut off at last by the shouts.

"Screw the safety," Honda snarled, pointing a finger to the arena above as he spat. "What about the people on the field!"

Otogi nodded at this, eyes narrowed. "If we can't get up there then what will your doctors do? Wait until they're dead?"

At that statement the shouts again merged into a collective, Seto's brother looking up in worry as the screams continued. "Nee-sama," Mokuba whispered from the side, eyes quite clearly filled with as much fear as those on the field. "What do we..."

The woman flashed the small radio at her side, voice curt and quick as she held her gaze on the stricken victims on the field. "The doctors have been called," she muttered, her brother nodding as the crowd turned on them. "They're waiting for the fail safes to cancel on the lift." Again, her brother nodded, opening his mouth only to be cut off by the closest member of the angry crowd.

"What now," Mai was shouting angrily, hands balled into fists as she turned on the siblings with wide eyes. "Just what do you plan to do now? Wait?"

As much as she detested it... Yes. "Both competitors still have 200 lifepoints left," Isono announced with a swallow, barely managing to recite the competition protocol under the current pressure. "As they are currently caught in a draw," he explained with a slightly wavering tone, "They have five minutes left to stand, with both either continuing the duel or a single competitor simply winning the match by default. Should neither competitor rise, they will have until the fourth match to wake up for a re-match... Should they remain unconscious afterward," he continued, looking over to Seto almost nervously as he again coughed, "Well..."

"Both competitors will be disqualified," the woman muttered lowly, a crowd of shouts coming in response. And the tournament would move on...

Yugi's voice had been easy enough to pick out from the crowd after that point, the boy having turned with disbelieving eyes before getting cut off by others in the crowd. "Disqualif-"

"Just how far did you think this through," Ryuzaki roared incredulously, "A plan for competitors falling unconscious mid-match? There shouldn't even be a risk of that!"

"Are you fucking serious," came an additional shout, glares filling the side of the field as Seto more or less ignored them.

"N-Namu-kun," Shizuka's worried voice asked, cutting through the crowd with more ease than a hot blade. "Are... Are you alright..?"

Seto's eyebrow raised at the last one, silence coming over them as the crowd turned to 'Namu' in question. The blond teen, who had already gained somewhat suspicious looks and comments from the staff was now clutching his head, grunting in pain as he fell back against the railing. Ragged breathing was meeting the air, and as the boy slumped to his knees he squeezed his eyes tightly shut. Shizuka was rubbing the boy's shoulder only to be ignored, even pushed back. The girl found herself stepping back with a nervous swallow in response, sharing a look with her friends as the crowd stared the worriedly. "Ngh..." The sounds continued on, the others unable to tell the source of the pain. "Nggh..." Whatever it was could very well have been completely psychological for all she knew, but as the sounds continued the woman found herself narrowing her eyes.

And then suddenly they stopped, slowing down as the blond's breathing appeared to briefly calm. "Ah- 'Malik' is standing," Ryuzaki abruptly shouted, having glanced toward the field while 'Namu' collapsed. The man appeared to be pulling himself with a desperate gleam in his eyes, reaching toward the crowd with worry despite the obvious fatigue. "He's getting up..!"

"What the hell is this, an endurance competition," they could hear Otogi mutter, the teen following the others stares as they were pulled toward 'Malik'. Hn! Her thoughts exactly. Nonetheless, rules were rules...

And while a feeling of absolute loathing was rising up with the man on the field, she would just have to hope that the still motionless 'bodyguard' of hers lived through the mess. "Well! As he is the first to stand," Isono was muttering with a cough as the storm died around them, 'Malik' still struggling to his knees as the wind returned to its regular state, "The winner of the match is-"

With a sudden thump 'Malik' again collapsed, a panicked shout coming from' Namu' at the same moment. Shouts immediately filled the air again, Shizuka turning with wide eyes as pained coughing came from the field.

"Ahhh! Ahhhhhh...!" Fingers dug into the blond's skull, the teen curling in on himself as he screamed. "AAAAAHHHH!"

"Namu-kun... Namu-kun," Shizuka shouted worriedly, hurrying over to hesitantly reach out to the teen. "I need you to look up," she continued, her hand swiped away with a growling shout as she stepped back. "Namu-kun," the girl 'begged', "Tell me what's wrong..!"

Shizuka's requests however went unheard, and rather than help with her questioning the others were busy staring at the field. "Damn it," Honda muttered with a wince, wind passing through with an almost agreeable howl. "If Jonouchi doesn't wake up soon..."

The message the statement left unsaid was more than understood, those around the arena biting their tongues before doing the only thing they could for the moment. "Come on," Ryuzaki shouted almost angrily at the field, cupping his hands as the crowd more or less divided into worried groups or cheering ones. "Wake up you moron," he snarled, Shizuka and Yugi both ignoring the insult to stare nervously at 'Namu'. "WAKE UP!"

"Katsuya-nii," Mokuba shouted from the side, joining in as well. The boy bit back a choke, leaning against the stair railing as he continued. "Katsuya-nii, get up! Get up Katsuya-nii! Please... Just get up!" Get UP!

Despite the shouts however, and despite the lift abruptly giving a loud 'whirr' sound as it came online, Jonouchi did not respond. The blond had been struck by lightning after all, and given the circumstances he had about as much chance as 'Malik' did. Possibly less she reminded herself, given the rather detailed report she'd received from the Doctor. Just what had that idiot gotten himself into... Bruises on his stomach, cuts on his arm...

Seto's hands clutched the railing tightly, her eyes narrowed into slits as she stared down upon the field. She... She wanted him to wake up. The shouts of the others were filling the air, and rather than mentally laugh or insult the cries she found herself wanting those cries to be answered.

"Get up Jonouchi," Honda was shouting, joined in by many of the others despite the crowd's 'division'.

"Jonouchi," Anzu shouted worriedly, the lift opening at the side. "Come on! Come on!"

Wake up, Seto found herself muttering in her mind, fingers curling around the railing to dig into her palm. Wake up...

"Namu-kun," Shizuka was saying, turning from the field as another blood-curdling scream pierced the air. "Namu-kun, are you..."

"Ahhhhhhhhhgggghhh!" 'Namu's shouts were cut off by hurried footsteps, two guards and Doctor Syn both rushing forward with a board and 'box' of sorts both.

"Clear the sides," Kyouko could be heard shouting, "Paramedics coming through!"

They were getting up to the arena... Heading for 'Malik' first, but damn it all... That idiot...

Damn it...

Wake UP!

The first thing he could feel when his head 'cleared' was sand. Rough, gritty sand, clinging to his clothes and hair. He was pretty sure it was sand at least. Given the rough grain that was biting into his skin really, his mind deciding to not bother with to arguing that he'd been wearing jeans and not some sort of 'skirt' when he'd last closed his eyes. He couldn't really bring himself to question that fact for the moment really, instead opting to ponder at how much he preferred the cloth of what he was wearing to the sand around him. It was far more comfortable that was for sure, though really, there was no way he could be sure it was sand he was laying on...

Of course, he didn't seem to care either way at the moment. He was too busy trying to wake up. "Hey," a voice was shouting from the side, the teen slowly opening his eyes to squint at the blinding light they were met with. "Hey," it continued, "Wake up! Come on mister," the young boy continued, his form a mere 'blur' in Katsuya's eyes at the moment. "Wake up!"

"Does this happen often," he could hear a girl mutter, Katsuya groaning as he attempted to clear his vision. "Collapsing I mean..?" The teen opted not to comment on that, instead squeezing his eyes shut as he winced in the face of the sun.

Another boy, slightly younger than the first answered the girl, the blur that Katsuya's eyes opened to merely shrugging. "Kinda?" The other blurs seemed to stare, and the boy explained. "I know that while we were further north, he collapsed after finding out a Roman wanted one of his goats... Didn't help that we were in the delta at the time. He's lucky," the voice continued rather flatly, tone clearly filled with annoyance. "If he hadn't taught me about how to price them, I wouldn't have finished his sale... And we wouldn't have been able to get food." Oh come on, they weren't that tight when it came to money, and his herd was-

Wait... "Hnnng..." The teen frowned mentally, running his last few thoughts through his head. "...Goats..?" Seriously? Since when did he have goats..? And a herd of them at that, heck, who had herds at all? Katsuya slowly sat up, holding his head in one hand and wincing as his vision cleared. Alright... As he struggled to support himself enough to sit, he could see the brown grains of sand around him. So he was right about that then, but... What was with these people standing around him? (Hell, what was with the numerous wooly goats...) "Wha..." Katsuya shook himself, subconsciously grabbing a staff at his side before tilting his head. "...Kids..?" He was surrounded by... Kids?

"Wow," the girl he'd heard earlier said rather incredulously. "You really hit your head didn't you..." The heavily covered girl's comment was strengthened by the boy beside her, darkened arms crossed as he shook his head.

"Come on 'chabar', you make a palace sale and you faint," he asked with a wry scowl. "What are you a girl?"

The nearest girl in question balked at this, pale skin just barely visible under the heavy shawl she wore around her shoulders. "Hey! I'm right here Saraph!"

A snort was all she received in response, 'Saraph' merely smirking. "Yea yea yea... This is coming from the 'anag'..."

"Ooooooghhh... I told you not to call me that!"

The teen blinked, shaking his head as the two children continued to bicker. Alright... What the hell? He didn't want any fights breaking right after he woke up damn it, that wasn't- Katsuya opened his mouth to speak, only to frown and look himself over as he pulled himself to his feet. "H... Heh..?" Tanned. He was... He was really tanned, like milk-chocolate shade of brown tan. Actually, so was that kid now that he thought about it, his skin and Saraph's both a few shades darker from a majority of the passers by but... The teen shook himself, looking around at the small crowd of children that had developed around what were apparently his goats. Besides 'Saraph' (who was quite obviously the tanned boy with a shirt in addition to his kilt) there was the cloaked little girl, a likely older young boy in a white kilt of sorts, a younger girl with a similar kilt and- ...Uhhhh...

"Hey mister," the older boy asked, revealing himself as the 'first voice'. "You going to be alright? You've been staring at me for a while," he added with a slight frown, semi-long hair falling into his eyes as he tilted his head. Oh don't worry, Katsuya thought to himself, eyes remaining open and unblinking with silent shock. He wasn't staring at him...

He was staring at the nude three year old on his back. The little girl appeared quite content to play with her 'steed's hair for the moment in fact, and evidently, the nudity wasn't a problem. At all.

Heck, looking around he noted as clay-built buildings and neat wooden stalls were stored as 'normal' occurrences in his mind, the ladies walking past were carrying small children with absolutely nothing on so long as they were under four it looked like. Possibly older, but seeing how the 'middle sized' kid was wearing something... Again the teen shook his head, eyes turning on the boy as he brushed the hair out of his eyes. For the moment, he just looked like some normal kid with hair otherwise lighter than most of the people around him but... Katsuya tilted his head, eyes narrowing as he pointed toward the tallest of the five children. "Dark... Magician..?" He... He looked just like...

The boy blinked, looking up with wide and clearly confused eyes as he adjusted his hold on the girl on his back. "Eh? Magic," he asked, staring up in surprise. "I know I mentioned training but..."

"You're not allowed to talk about that I thought," the girl said with a frown, crossing her arms. Beside her, the smaller girl nodded, her own arms crossed in an almost adorable pout of agreement. "Didn't you try to hide in a pot when we spotted you levitating that fig Mahaad?"

The boy, 'Mahaad' it seemed, instantly flushed, bowing his head and turning away from the girl. "Gh- Well... It's not like I can make you forget or anything," he protested, the girl rolling her eyes as she sighed.

"You shouldn't just toss the idea away though," she muttered. "After all, if you can get in trouble for this..." Mahaad appeared to bite his lip, nodding furiously while Saraph watched 'curiously' from the side.

"You know," he said somewhat idly, "I didn't even know magic existed until now..."

This gained a rather quick response from Mahaad, the boy abruptly turning with a red-faced scowl and retort. "Wha- Of course it does! Are you calling me a fraud!"

"I dunno," Saraph muttered with a shrug, "I mean... What do you mean by 'of course', it's not that hard to make a fig float! All you need is string and-"

"It was floating through magic, not string!"

"Yea well lets see you prove it then!"

"I could make you float above a pit if you want!"

"Prove it!"

"Hey hey," the girl in the kilt asked, tugging somewhat at her friend's own. "Mahaad, wha's ma'shik?" The young girl at the side was summarily ignored, shouts continuing to bounce between the boy and Saraph.

All this shouting... Katsuya rubbed his head, a feeling of annoyance growing as he looked over the children. Damn it... "Alright! That's enough," he shouted, face set into a scowl. The kids abruptly stopped arguing, turning to look up as Katsuya continued to glare. It was a feeling similar to when he'd been dreaming about Pegasus' mansion really, the look on his face right now... Annoyed as he was, he didn't feel like scowling or shouting for the moment- and yet he was. It was as though he wasn't controlling his own actions any more, as though they were predetermined, or even already done. As though this... Was only a memory. "Honestly..." Katsuya's body abruptly locked into the stance it had moved in, the teen unable to even blink on his own accord as he spoke. "Aren't you supposed to be from the palace yourself," he found himself muttering, 'Mahad' bowing his head in apparent shame. "Yea," he continued, nodding as he crossed his arms, "I recognize that face... Your father's one of the high-priests isn't he."

Mahaad continued to flush, shaking somewhat as he spoke. "It... It's not that serious..!"

"Yea right," Saraph muttered, "The closest thing I have to a royal relative is uncle Nehker, and he's not even my uncle..."

"And if you expect to see Nehker while we're here," Katsuya responded with a slight frown, "You'll behave; I promised your mother you wouldn't get into trouble while we were in the Northern areas," he continued warningly, "The village is too close. I can at least cover for you while we're in the south," he muttered under his breath, rolling his eyes.

Saraph appeared to ignore the last comment, instead balking as his smirk dropped for a more nervous expression. "H-Hey," he stuttered, "Not fair! I still want to see him, I still want too! You can't go back on your word!"

There was no response, Katsuya merely watching as Saraph continued to whine before being cut off. "Nehker," Mahaad questioned with a slight frown, Saraph turning from his childish pleadings. "I think that's the name of one of the Pharaoh's astronomers..."

"H-Hah! That's right," Saraph said with a proud grin. He brightened considerably at the chance to brag about the man he so looked up to, arms crossed as he laughed. "He was hired right out of the village, no questions asked," he boasted, the others shaking his head. "Why... His knowledge of the skies even surpasses you Priests!"

"Surpasses-" The older boy seemed to freeze in surprise momentarily, before narrowing his eyes. "Hmp! I doubt it," Mahaad said with a frown, the girls either shaking their heads or staring confusedly.

Saraph opted to ignore the boy, instead continuing his former pleadings. "So... So we're still going right," the boy asked, turning up to look at his guide. "Come on," he continued, "You promised! Pleaaaaaase? Please please please ple-" Alright, that was it...

Katsuya laughed, grabbing a staff from the ground and walking forward despite the small nagging buzz that told him there was something important he needed to do. "We are," he said with a grin, "Don't worry... We'll be getting there before you can say 'due-'"

...Duel... The teen stopped to abruptly find himself tripping forward, the path having thankfully cleared of children so that they could walk forward. 'Duel'... Duel, that word, that word didn't exist here... This...

Katsuya fell to his knees, wincing as a headache sprung up in the mental argument of what should and shouldn't be. "This isn' right," he found himself muttering, looking at his hand as he stared at the sand. The teen slowly closed his palm over a handful of sand, pulling himself to his feet and watching as the grains sifted between his fingers. Sand. Dry, golden sand, in no way similar to the grains of Japan's beaches, and yet... "This ain't righ'... Thi' 's..." Wrong.

It was wrong. The teen found himself narrowing his eyes, still staring at his now empty hand as the skin colour shifted between brown and white in a strange marbling fashion. "But isn't it," a voice asked, a collective of sounds filling his ears as the children stared up from the ground in silence. Not a single one was the source, and as he stared he found himself shaking his head. And one by one they began to fade, Katsuya's eyes narrowing further while the building misted out of existence around him.

"No," he muttered with a frown, as though already doubting himself. "It isn'..." He didn't know these kids...

And yet from what he knew in the back of his mind, from what he could 'remember'... He did? "They exist, and they do not exist," the voice stated cryptically, sand around them falling into black and empty space. "In another time," the voices continued as his skin continued to 'fight' over its proper shade, "You could say they were even your friends." His friends...

Images of the others came to mind, images of Yugi, of Honda, of Seto and Mokuba... The children he'd seen long since vanished from his mind, replaced by images of those he knew. "My friends..." Anzu, Otogi, Bakura, Mai... What happened a few moments ago he found himself asking himself, what...

There was a comforting feeling around him, his body finally settling with keeping the somewhat pale shade of the typical Japanese. As the feeling increased however he had to jump back, a stream of light brushing against his skin before snaking away to swim about him with the dozens more that filled the air.

"W-What..." G-G-Ghosts! He was surrounded by gho-

"We are here, and we are not here... We are your friends," a voice whispered through a single and familiar tone synonymous to Honda's own to a near frightening extent, "And your family," a slightly younger woman's voice continued. "We are all here," they chorused in a crowd of familiar and unfamiliar tones both, "Alive and dead..." Alive and...

Dead? "Wai'... So... I'm dead," the blond muttered with a swallow, shaking his head as he stared toward the lit spirits. "I... died?" A sudden flash came to mind, and all at once the memories of what had been 'important' came back to mind. The lightning, the duel, Malik... Malik...

Malik. Blond hair and a lavender vest came to mind, 'Namu's face twisting into a sneer at the back of his mind. Katsuya's eyes widened momentarily as the blond abruptly curled in on himself, hair standing on end before a large golden eye shimmered into existence between two animalistic ones. Malik... Malik was...

"I gotta warn 'm," he whispered, shaking his head as his friends again came to mind. "I gotta..." He had to get out of here..! "Hey! Hey, wake me up," he shouted in a panic, turning on the 'spirits' as they swirled about the air. "Bring me back t' life," he demanded, "Wake me up!"

"Alive? But you are alive," the voices muttered, buzzing and swirling about in a snake-nest of light. "Always alive, always, because you promised... You promised..."

Pro- "Promised," he asked incredulously, staring up at the ghosts with narrowed eyes. "What th' hell do y' mean promised! Jus' get me back in my body already!"

"Promised... Promised, promised," the ghosts muttered, the buzzing increasing in intensity. "You... Promised... You PROMISED," the voices screeched, the spirits swirling into a bee-like swarm before charging forward with screeching wails. "YOU PROMISED! REDEEM US, REDEEM US," they cried, Katsuya stumbling back in terror as the spirits swirled into a vicious and rage-filled face above the air, "YOU PROMISED! YOU PROMISED US ALL!"

Oh god oh god oh god-! "I don' know what yer talkin' abou'," he muttered, swallowing back his fear only to find it doubled in its place. "I don'... G-Get away from me! I don' know what th' hell yer talkin' abou'..!"

"REMEMBER," the voices roared, the sound resembling a lamenting storm, "Remember your PURPOSE," they wailed, scattering into pieces as they fled and swarmed the blond. "You came for a reason, so REMEMBER!" Remember what! What was he supposed to remem- "There's more than Gods in this world, there's more than what it seems," they snarled, the formerly warm touch now burning his skin as he curled in on himself. "You have a PURPOSE, we ALL have a purpose, so REMEMBER IT! REMEMBER!"

The blond merely continued to huddle under the attack, arms proving a faulty shield as he squeezed his eyes shut. "Chabar," a clear voice abruptly shouted through the wails, Katsuya shielding his eyes and attempting to look forward as the spirits attacked. "CHABAR!" Who... Who was shouting..! The blond's eyes quivered, hands covering his head as he bit back shouts. Who was... "...JONOUCHI," the voice roared, the tone only just slightly familiar to him. Something reached through the spirits with the voice, something just as familiar to his current self as it was the memories dotted in the back of his mind. "TAKE MY HAND," the voice roared, the blond still staring in silence. "TAKE MY HAND DAMN IT!"

Hand..? Through the swirling white he could make out a figure, face and form obscured by the blinding light. Almost as ghostly as the souls around him it seemed to float forward, white form a mere mist with a blank and identity-less face. 'Grab on,' the voice was shouting through the screams as Katsuya swallowed another wave of paralyzing terror, 'Grab ON!' A hand reached forward, and still the blond stared. Hand... It was... "GRAB ON!"

With nothing else to lose the blond thrusted his hand forward and did just that, eyes squeezed shut as the wails of the spirits vanished from sight and mind in an instant. Wails vanished into non-existence, endless darkness faded into clouds of darkness. "Where... Where," he found himself muttering as he was pulled forward, the clusters of smoke seemingly passing him by as they shifted into more calm and peaceful looking clouds. The white spirit pulling him forward appeared to ignore what was around them, the sight almost 'normal' to the shade as the blond behind him stared in wonder. "Where are..."

"Shh..." The voice of the spirit was calm now, a slight buzz of familiarity that only barely brought Katsuya's mind to attention. "Come on dear friend," the voice whispered, pulling the blond toward a single light that was developing in the darkness. The shade turned his nigh-formless face back to his apparent 'friend', expression unreadable as he spoke. "You need to wake up... Remember?"

Wake up..?

Voices flooded the air as he was set down to the ground, a strange 'moving' sensation coming over as they touched down. "Jonouchi-kun," he could hear Yugi cry loudly, joined in by others at the side. "Katsuya-nii," Mokuba's own voice screamed, the tones easily picked out from the crowd as their forms slowly faded into view around the area. "Wake up," an aggravated woman's voice muttered, the blond standing over the 'light' as it cleared into his collapsed body. "Wake UP," she growled, Katsuya looking back to the ghost briefly in more than evident confusion.

"Hey... Who are y'," he asked, the 'spirit' briefly turning from where it had been about to vanish with a still blank stare.

Silence hovered over the field only for a moment, before the ghost stepped forward. "...Someone you used to know," it muttered vaguely, Katsuya frowning in response. "Now then," he continued, pushing the blond back with a jolt,

"WAKE UP!"

Katsuya's eyes flung open with a jolt as the shouts pierced the air, slowly bringing his hand up as he pulled himself to his knees through sheer subconscious thought. 'He's getting up,' someone to the side called out, the name of the source momentarily passing him by as his hands numbly gripped whatever cards had remained in them. 'He's getting... JONOUCHI,' they called out, a few bits of laughter dotting the air as they celebrated. 'JONOUCHI!'

His mind slowly cleared as the shouts continued, a name attaching itself to each voice as it sounded. "Nihan," Shizuka was shouting, her own voice drowned out by the next call.

"Katsuya-nii," Mokuba wailed, the boy's voice clearly filled with worry.

The shouts continued to fill the air, Honda, Anzu, Mai, Yugi... "Jonouchi," the 'Other' Yugi called out, joined in by his lighter half in an instant. "Jonouchi-kun!"

"Ung..." The blond shook himself, stumbling forward on his feet as he opened his eyes to the field around him. The dark night sky had cleared of clouds, and the cool summer air was a stunning contrast from the heat of the sanded area he'd stood in moments before. It was more than clear he'd woken up, returned from whatever bizarre dream or trial that was, but the duel... He swallowed, stepping toward 'not-Malik' as shouts faded into the background of his thoughts.

'The winner is Jonouchi Katsuya,' Isono was shouting from behind, Katsuya ignoring him as he ran forward and past the working doctors. 'The next match will be announced in thirty minutes,' he continued, 'After the competitor Ishtar Malik has been cared for-'

The doctor and guards balked and protested as the blond continued to ignore the cries, reaching for 'Malik's body in a near panic. "Hey," he shouted, rolling the man over with a swallow as he paled. 'Malik' said nearly nothing in response, gasping for breath as he looked up with dull eyes and paling skin. All around the field... Cheers from his friends, silence from Seto, orders to move from the doctor, the shouts were in the back of his mind... But from 'Namu'...

"Aaaagh..." His hair was standing on end, his hands digging into his head as he screamed, "AAAAAAGGGHH!"

"Hnng... Ghk... Hk..." 'Malik's voice pulled him back to the present, rasping tones hitting the air as the doctor himself momentarily froze. "That... That was a good fight," the man whispered, wincing back a wave of pain as he continued. "You fought with honor... You recognized my fault, my mistake, when I myself did not... I..."

Ragged coughs filled the air, Katsuya swallowing as his eyes widened. "H-Hey," he said worriedly, "Calm down man... Doctors are here," he continued as he moved somewhat to the side, "They're righ'-"

"Rishid... My name is 'Rishid'," the man coughed, squeezing his eyes shut. His face was contorted with pain as he continued to force himself to speak, choking on his words. "I am... The guardian and... And shadow to Malik... I... ...Please," he begged, the doctor's assistant briefly blocking Katsuya's view as they attempted to work, "Please... There's another," Rishid whispered cryptically, "Inside..." Inside..? But the Rod didn't have a spirit, he'd have- "Stop him... Save him," he cried, the blond finally understanding Rishid's words and turning to the side with horror. "Malik is... Malik... Is... Ghn... Hn..."

"His pulse is moving way to fast," one of the guards was muttering, shoving Katsuya further to the side with a panicked shout. "Get the paddles!"

"Charging to 100," Kyouko was saying in response, the small machine at the side as numbers appeared at the screen. The doctor grabbed the 'paddles', small sticky patches without another word as the second guard tore Rishid's shirt open. The patches were hurriedly applied to the man's chest, and as Syn began work on 'Rishid' Kyouko's shouts faded further into the background.

"CLEAR," the doctor cried, the body 'jumping' just slightly as a pained shout came from the side.

"Ahhhh...! AAAAHHH!" Those on the deck and field however stared at Rishid, Katsuya's eyes wide as the pulse was checked over.

"Starting CPR," Syn announced, patches pulled off as he began. "Get that board ready!"

"Right!"

"Nghaaaaaa! AAAAAGGGHHH!" Why was he screaming... Why was he screaming louder as Rishid's pulse-

"Got him," the doctor abruptly shouted, the heart having been looked to just soon enough for it to begin properly with the added help. "Get him down-stairs and-"

"GRAAAAAAAAHHHH!" Katsuya slowly turned back to the side, eyes widening as much as possible as his own screams hit the air.

"Yugi!" Oh shit! "YUGI," Katsuya shouted, eyes wide as a rush of nausea and fear hit the air for no apparent reason save the sudden quiet around them. "He's BEHIND YOU," he roared in a panic, the doctor and guards both momentarily turning to the blond in shock. "MALIK IS-"

"No..." A cold chill came over the air, those on the arena staring at the foreign blond as the screams cut short. "No... Malik was never 'really' here," the teen responded eeriely, Yugi merely turning with wide and horror filled eyes at the sudden switch from terror to control. Shizuka was pulled back immediately by Ryuzaki as low chuckling filled the air, those around immediately putting as much space between themselves and the blond as possible. The area around Malik cleared immediately as the blond chuckled, his hair standing completely on end as a wicked and animal gleam came into his eyes. "Just a 'shadow'," he sneered, doctors turning to a barely audible shout from the radio at their sides.

'Get to the lift,' Seto's voice could be heard muttering, the doctors hurriedly strapping Rishid to an emergency board and heading for the field's opposite side at the words. 'Get him into his room and keep a staff member in there at all times,' she continued, 'NOW.' For a moment, the source of this paranoia could have been questioned, even passed off as 'troublesome'. The actions taken in response could be seen as simply following orders But as what Seto saw in Malik's eyes was revealed to everyone else, it became apparent that this was something that had everyone just as on edge. That message brought by the change in actions and appearances could only been proven by the next words out of the blond's mouth, words that managed to hold everyone fearfully in place.

"You want to know who 'Malik' is," the blond was muttering with a sadistic grin, voice having changed almost completely within the sudden switch. "You're looking at him... The shadow, the one you saw," he continued darkly, gesturing to himself with a sneer, "He's just pathetic." S-So then there was a spirit in the Rod? "A weakling... Nothing compared to me," Malik continued with a scowl. "Yet because of his blind faith in that man I'm never in control, never here... Hnhnhnhnhn..." More chuckling filled the air, waves of fear rolling off almost all who stood before the teen. "That boy... So afraid of the 'dark'," he stated almost plainly, "But not me! The darkness is here," he said with a growing grin, face rather akin to a hyena's as he stood tall before them. "And I love the dark..."

"You... 'Another' Malik," Yugi whispered incredulously, the blond turning on him with yet another laugh.

"Hnhnhnhn... HAHAHAHA! 'Another' you, 'Another' Bakura," he trailed off with a grin, eyes wide with madness. "Shadows fighting shadows, how ridiculous... You're mere shades of your former selves, spirits with no purpose in this world, mere fragments of souls! But me..." The blond briefly broke into another bought of laughter, shaking his head with a leering grin. "Oh I'm far more than that... I don't need to be tied down to some ancient object I have no care for... Though I have to say," he went on 'idly', most of the others swallowing in unease. "That man's loss was more useful than I thought... Looks like only those with ties to these 'items' can control the gods, not that I really have a use for that pawn any more... Hnhnhnhnhn..."

A snort came from the side, Seto staring forward with narrowed eyes. She'd sent her brother away long ago it seemed, Mokuba mysteriously absent from the field along with Isono. The others weren't so lucky however, stuck with Malik standing almost directly between them and the lift. As Seto spoke however, Isono appeared from behind the blond to gesture to them, Malik seemingly distracted by the sheer gall displayed at the interruption... And despite distractions, Ryuzaki had already caught the message, fleeing behind the blond with Shizuka at his side as he sent the others a look. And continuing with her distraction, Seto continued to speak. "Psh! Millennium Items and 'ancient ties'... Explain how any of that has to do with me," she growled lowly, "Because the last time I checked, 'Obelisk' didn't malfunction in my hands.

This was probably the worst possible thing she could have asked given her apparent hate for this sort of thing, though at least it got Honda and Otogi past Malik and into the lift as a result. Just himself, Anzu, Yugi remained now, their own escape halted by the brief answer Malik was giving. "Hnhnhnhnha! It has everything to do with you," Malik shouted with a laugh, the others on the deck slowly putting more distance between themselves and the blond as the Egyptian howled. "You can't escape the destiny of thousands of years, 'Priest'! Your very image has been carved into time, and there's no escaping! The final battle has already started," he continued with a grin, Anzu vanishing into the lift as those remaining on deck swallowed or alternatively glared. "And this ship is heading into a one-way trip to the realms of the dead... Hnhnhahahahaha..." Seto's eyes continued to narrow as the laughter filled the air, the blond before them crossing his arms with a grin. "Oh... And don't think I saw through your little distraction," Malik added with a chuckle, Yugi and Katsuya both swallowing as the lift closed over and vanished from sight. "I could kill you with just a thought, whenever I liked... But that just wouldn't be fun!" F-Fun! The blond's eyes narrowed just slightly, inhuman expression twisting further as winds blew past the four. "I'm going to play along with your little game tournament," he continued, a fierce wind appearing to blow as the 'Other Yugi' stared Malik down, "But believe me when I say... A single sign of 'cheating', a single attempt to 'deal with me'," the blond 'warned', "And I'll use my regular methods instead. You've already tried to fool me once," he added with a laugh, Seto abruptly growing pale from where she stood. "Consider the days of the first victim numbered..."

With not another word Malik turned from the three, the elevator lift having arrived just seconds before. The lift doors opened swiftly as the blond stood before them, and in a single swift motion the bag on his shoulders was pulled down. And from its pockets, a single gold staff appeared, gleaming in the moonlight as Malik entered the lift...

Followed by a fierce, raging flame with tooth-lined eyes. And below on the main deck, in the darkness of the eighth room, tears began to fall to the ground, visions of terror and death filling her mind.

The next battle would soon begin...

And with it, the death toll would ring louder than it ever had.

Holding back audible panic had been somewhat difficult on the way back down to the 'main' area of the airship. There was no way for them to get back to the ship until the lift returned after all, and the fact was, there was also no way of telling what Malik considered 'playing by the rules'. In the end however, the unwelcome distraction from his own injuries had the group safely tucked away in 'Rishid's room, with short excuses and explanations coming into play while Seto locked herself and her brother away elsewhere. For the moment, no one had asked why he'd warned Rishid against Ra, nor had they asked about knowing who he was...

There were far more important things at hand, and it was those things that had a guard posted inside Bakura's locked room while Dr. Syn checked over a now stabilized Rishid. "How is he," Shizuka was asking the man with a swallow, rubbing her arms as she attempted to get over the terror she'd felt mere moments before.

The doctor turned from his seat, slowly standing to answer the girl as he held a clipboard. "From what we can tell," the doctor stated calmly, "The shock hasn't left any permanent damage... There's no explanation as to how this all happened of course," he continued, shaking his head as a flash of obvious confusion came over him, "But so long as he rests he should wake up within a day or so." Hopefully.

The others nodded at this, worried stares moving over to the man on the bed. "So then... This man," Anzu began, eyes just barely shadowed before she was interrupted.

"...'Rishid'," Katsuya muttered, a frown on his face. The others turned, staring momentarily as the blond went on. "He said 's name was 'Rishid' b'fore he collapsed..."

"'Rishid'..." The group turned, Syn going back to his papers as the teens spoke amongst themselves. "That sounds almost like 'Rashid'," Otogi added with a frown. "That's an arabic name... I think it means 'rightly guided'... Now that I think about it, I'm pretty sure 'Malik' means 'King'," he continued, the frown deepening as the others raised their eyebrows.

Rightly guided... And king. Yeaaaa... "I'm not even touching that one," Ryuzaki muttered under his breath, dodging a look from Shizuka as he sighed. "Man... What the hell is with my luck," he moaned, holding his head in his hands. "First Bakura ends up comatose and now I'm sharing a room with a sociopath..."

"Not if I can help it," Shizuka muttered, arms crossed as a look of stubborn rage came over her. "There's too many people getting hurt in this tournament... We can't just sit here and wait for the worst," she continued, expression quickly sinking into fear and worry despite the comment.

A few of the others as well nodded, tongues more or less held tight. "First Bakura, now 'Rishid'," Anzu muttered, shaking her head. "This man gave up everything for Malik," the woman continued almost depressingly. "Only to be betrayed completely!"

"Betrayed after all that..." Again heads turned, this time stopping at the oldest of the group of friends. "I almost feel sorry for him," Mai whispered, eyes closing over somewhat. "Going through all that..."

"...And to think... Malik was behind us the entire time," Honda added with a swallow, going somewhat green in the face at the thought. "The entire time... And we didn't notice..!"

"I jus' don' get how this all happened," Katsuya muttered, the blond shaking himself. He collapsed into one of the other chairs in the room, rubbing his forehead with a swallow. "We were both attacked by Ra... Th' dragon got 's both," he continued to protest, "Equal power! So why did I get up while he..."

"It's probably just something you guys were wearing," Ryuzaki said with a shrug, the group blinking. "Heck, lightning might be dangerous, but it's still quick! There have been people who were hit seven times that walked away," he continued, wisely ignoring the stairs as the conversation went on.

Alright, he'd give Ryuzaki that he supposed... "It wasn' jus' lightn'in though," he muttered under his breath, the others appearing to frown as his words failed to register in their minds. "It was..." Real. A controlled attack. It was... Katsuya shook himself, changing the subject before anyone realized what he'd said. "...When I was knocked out," he began, crossing his arms as he slumped into the chair, "I had no way 'f really knowin' tha' I wasn' already awake, no way... An' this guy... He was probably in th' same situation, so why..."

Yugi suddenly seemed to tense, frowning somewhat as he stared toward his friend. "...Jonouchi," he began seriously, his lighter half nowhere to be seen for the moment. "Earlier during the match, you said that Rishid was a 'true duelist'..." He trailed off as the others turned, Katsuya swallowing and staring while his friend continued. And here he'd thought he escaped questioning... So much for that. "You... How did you know who he 'was'," Yugi asked, the frown deepening as his friend stared at the ground. "You said you knew before the ship took off... But how..?"

How... He couldn't answer. He couldn't answer, not now, not ever, not while all of this was going on..! He'd never even imagined that 'Malik' would go completely nuts after all, never even imagined... So while he told himself he'd find away to warn the others if he saw anything, he couldn't just come out with this. Not yet. Not... "A feeling," he answered in the end, staring at the ground as he broke the silence that had settled over the room. "I jus'... Had a feelin'," Katsuya muttered. "...Maybe... Maybe tha's how I woke up," he continued, eyes growing somewhat dim as he went on. "While I was knocked out, I had this feelin'... Tha' what I w's seein' wasn' real... An' I could hear voices," he continued somewhat blankly. "I heard Honda, Shizuka, S... Kaiba," he corrected, shaking his head. "I could hear all these voices... All tellin' me tha' they were there... Tha' you were there," he continued, gesturing to the crowd. "Maybe... B'cause 'f all you guys," the blond muttered with a swallow, "I was able t' get th' strength to get up when he couldn'..."

Because while he had friends, while someone had somehow sought him out in his own mind... Rishid had no one. Silence came through the air at those words, pale and confused expressions answering them as silence again settled about the room. It was an awkward silence, the sort that none could really hope to break but in the end it was Shizuka who did just that. The girl turned toward the closed door, arms folded over themselves, and with a sigh made her decision. "...Nihan," she asked, turning to her brother as the blond looked up from his seat. "...Which way is Kaiba-san's room?" K-

Seto's room! The blond choked somewhat, the others staring somewhat incredulously as he attempted to think of an answer. "Kaiba's room," the other Yugi asked, still holding control over the body for fear of some unseen attack from Malik. The boy's frown deepened with confusion, shaking his head somewhat as he answered. "Why exactly..?"

Shizuka merely held an oddly determined stare, arms crossed as her brother coughed. Obviously she found her reason more than obvious... And obviously, they weren't getting a straight answer either. "Er... Follow me," he eventually said somewhat nervously, the others raising their eyebrows at the request.

"You know where Kaiba's room is," Otogi asked, tilting his head somewhat as Mai brushed past the boy.

"Ohhh... It's probably the room with the '1' on it," she muttered 'knowingly', rolling her eyes somewhat as she gestured to the other doors. "Given the pattern I mean..." As Otogi coughed somewhat in response to this, Mai turned back to Katsuya. The woman appeared to be smiling despite all that was going on really, and it was only at that moment that a rather cold feeling rose up in the back of Katsuya's mind. Mai... Mai hadn't dueled yet, and besides Seto and the eighth duelist that left- "So," the woman began, cutting her friend's thoughts short as the blond stared. "You heard all our voices before you woke up," she asked, the blond turning with a slight jump. "Even mine?" Even-

Oh crap! She wanted to know that! ...Actually, he was fairly glad he didn't hear any ghosts with her voice... Though to explain that aloud... "Er... W-Well..." Aha... Ahaha... Truth be told, the only voices he heard, at least, the only ones he'd recognized, were the three he'd mentioned in the room. Heck, he'd gotten a few snippets from Mokuba and Yugi as well, but he was pretty sure that that was because he'd been about to wake up! The only reason he knew Seto was one of the voices was because he didn't think she'd be shouting at him in front of everyone really... ...But oooh... How to explain that... ...Well, he supposed he couldn't really lie about this one. "A-Act'lly... I think th' voices were from some past memory," he admitted, rubbing the back of his head. Maybe from a while before, or something weird... There'd been something. "Anyways... We don' see each other often," he continued with a cough, "So... I didn' act'lly hear too many... ...Ah..." Ehhh... Katsuya rubbed his head, before shaking it off as Mai's expression appeared to fall somewhat. "It's nothin' though," he said with a laugh, hurriedly changing the subject. Anything to get the dream out of his head really, though he really hoped this didn't get the woman ticked at him. "It's nothin' alrigh'? We're friends! No matter what, we're friends, an'... An' I'm sure you'll show up in another dream righ'," he continued, a mental voice telling him to stop diggin the hole before he hit South America. Of course, thinking now, a dream with Mai in it wouldn't be too bad... Preferably one that didn't involve attacking ghosts granted, but- "Ow ow ow ow ow..!"

The blond quickly found himself dragged off by Anzu and Shizuka both, the older gripping his cheek tightly as he was dragged half-way up the stairs. Katsuya winced as the cheek was released, hand instantly rubbing it over as the women both shook their heads. "Ooooohhhh... Jonouchi..."

"Nihan, of all the things to say," his sister continued, arms crossed as she frowned.

"Owww..." Of all what things to say? Did they have to pull him off like that! The blond continued to rub his cheek, pinch mark slowly fading as he scowled. "Man... What th' hell guys..." A sudden smack came through the air, Katsuya's hands flying for his head as Anzu raised her eyebrows. "Gh- O-Oi," he shouted angrily, his sister again crossing her arms. "Sh-Shizuka!"

"How could you be so stupid," she hissed, shaking her head as both girls stared and scowled.

Stupid? "Eh? Shizuka," he muttered, "What are you-"

"You just told her you heard everyone but her," Anzu continued with a scowl, "Are you really that dense?"

"Wha?" But he didn't say anything like that, he'd- "Anzu, I never said-"

"You're an IDIOT!"

"B-But I-"

"An AHOU!"

"Sh-Shizuka!"

"Ahhhh..." The shouts and one-sided insults cut short, the trio turning to look down the stairs as a fourth voice cut through the air. "...Mai went to her room," Ryuzaki said from the side, poking his head in the stair well as the others moved past him. "And Malik's room door is open," he continued with a cough, "So I'm going to try and get my stuff out before he gets back from... Whatever he's doing..." Yea, lets not think about the 'whatever' part.

Shizuka blinked at the statement, worry immediately filling her face as she looked down from the stairs. "Gh- Malik's... K-Keichi," she protested with wide eyes, "Are you sure that's safe?"

The boy nodded, shrugging as the others turned back to look at him. "Of course! Besides," Ryuzaki continued with a sigh, "It's probably now or never really..." Well, that was always a good point, but... "As to where he went," he added with a shudder, "I sure as hell don't want to know."

More silence filled the air, the boy's friend slowly nodding despite the un-ease. "Alright... But be careful..." As Shizuka watched her friend leave with increasing worry Anzu turned back to Katsuya, arms crossed.

"We'll talk later," she growled, the blond before her merely rubbing his cheek in confusion. "Until then," she added with a frown, "Dealing with Malik is probably more important than you sticking your foot in your mouth..."

"Way more important than whatever you're talking about," Honda muttered, receiving an icy look from Anzu in response. The teen through his hands in the air with mock defense, looking from the top of the stairs and shaking his head. "H-Hey! I'm just guessing here!"

A sigh came from further ahead, the others turning as Yugi cut the argument short. "Kaiba's room is just upstairs," Yugi said somewhat plainly, his friends following behind with nods. "Come on," he continued, the group running into the hall as fast as the cramped stair-well allowed, "I'll show you where-"

The boy abruptly cut himself off, blinking as Mokuba turned from the door he'd been heading for. "Ah- Yugi... Katsuya-nii..." The group stared, coming out into the hall as Mokuba idly swiped the door with his key card. "What are you guys all doing up here..?" Oh, well that was easy.

"We need to speak with Se... W' Kaiba," Katsuya said somewhat nervously, rubbing his neck as Shizuka nodded seriously in response. "It's abou' Malik," he continued, "An'..."

Mokuba merely nodded, tapping the door code on the key-pad that appeared with swift ease. "Got it; nii-sama just went in," he continued plainly, "So he shouldn't be busy with anything..." Key word being 'shouldn't', given what happened the last time they went in unannounced... "Nehh, Nii-sama," the boy shouted, the door swishing open as he ran into the room. "Nii-sama," he continued loudly, "The others need to talk to you!"

"Hn? Others?" Seto looked up from where she'd been sorting through her deck, eyes narrowed in slight confusion. The woman's coat was thankfully still wrapped around her shoulders to hide what was a fairly feminine figure despite otherwise suppressed breasts, and as she folded the deck back up her agitation was more than evident. "...You," she muttered, crossing her arms and legs from her seat. "...I should have guessed..."

Hey, hey what was that supposed to mean..? Yugi merely sighed at what were now accepted as unchangeable antics, walking into the room with ease as the others hesitantly followed behind. Within an instant the two had switched again, the lighter half evidently being found more trusting when it came to 'arguments' given obvious friction between the more violent of personalities and the woman before them. "We need to turn the airship around," he said with a swallow, looking over to Shizuka and the others as the former gave an 'approving' nod. "There's too many problems happening on the ship," the boy continued as his confidence rose somewhat, "And it's only been the second match of the finals... Each of the losers have entered comas," he protested worriedly, "And if this keeps up..."

"Too many people are getting hurt," Shizuka said with a swallow, the girl shaking her head and cutting her friend off. "And Keichi, he could be next," she protested with obvious panic, "He had agreed to share the room with 'Malik' just before this! I know you have doctors on this ship," the girl continued, bowing her head as she went on. "But a doctor can't stop a psychopath! We need to turn the ship-"

"No."

The others balked, Katsuya gritting his teeth at the sudden response. "O-Oi! What kind of response is that," he barked, Mokuba looking up with slight worry as Seto stared almost blankly in response. "You didn' even give it any thought," he continued angrily, "What's with tha'!"

"Kaiba, listen to what we're saying," Honda said with a growl, the woman quite easily ignoring him it seemed. "There's a killer on this thing! I don't care if we don't know what he's done," he continued in protest, "He almost killed our friends, and he definitely said he'd try again! I'm not about to wait and see if that's true!"

Still Seto ignored the group, Shizuka momentarily taking in a deep breath before stepping forward. "Please... I'm begging you," the girl said clearly, bowing steeply as the woman before her raised her eyebrows. "For all our sakes, turn this ship around before anyone dies!"

"If I turn it around," Seto muttered in response, "You WILL die."

The group tensed, Otogi growing pale as a dead silence came over the air. "...What the hell do you mean, 'we'll all die'," he whispered, swallowing as he was met with an ice cold glare.

"Try to think clearly for at least a few moments so you can keep up with this," the woman began, eyes narrowed as she turned on the crowd. "Malik Ishtar is dangerous, there's no doubt about that; he's a wanted criminal in Egypt and the leader of a world-wide crime ring centred on cards and ancient artifacts both. But for reasons beyond me he's agreed to tie himself to the rules of nothing but a simple card-game tournament... Namely this one. So long as we continue as though nothing happened," she continued on with well hidden distaste, "He keeps to himself. No one dies, no one is injured. I don't know why he's doing this," Seto continued lowly, "But rest assured, I am not simply 'standing by' as this happens. I have guards and cameras to watch his every move should he decide to try anything else, and the moment we arrive at our destination there will be a helicopter for the victims onboard and another to arrest Malik. The doors are thick enough to withstand a blast from a torpedo if it comes to locking ourselves in, but rather than risking all our necks by pissing off a madman, I plan on keeping cautious and preventing any casualties on my ship! So," she spat, narrowing her eyes as she stood before the crowd and finished her whirlwind rant. "You can whine about wanting to go home all you like... But if you plan on doing it in something other than a casket," she snarled, "I would listen... Now get out of my room," Seto spat, leering down at the group before her as they held back a cringe. "And the next time that door opens, it had better be important..."

The crowd nodded weakly, wide eyed expressions marred only by the scowl on the 'other Yugi's face in response. "A-Alright nii-sama," Mokuba eventually said with a swallow, turning to the others with a pale face while he coughed. "We... We'll just go now, and..."

-ATTENTION,- a voice called out through the air, cutting the boy off. -The third semi-final match will now be decided,- Isono announced, Seto turning from where she'd looked away from the others as the group followed her gaze to the PA system. -All remaining duelists are to report to the dining hall!- Ah...

"Third match," Katsuya muttered with a swallow, before hurriedly stepping back as Seto moved forward and past the crowd. Of course, since Seto hadn't fought yet, she was required to show up... The others slowly filtered out behind the woman, Katsuya shaking his head as he held up the rear. Malik's grinning face was etching itself into his mind, never leaving... Laughing through the back of his mind and distracting him enough that he found himself stopping in the middle of the hall. "...He's one 'f th' competitors too," he found himself muttering, biting his lip as he stared at the ground. He was one of them... And there was a high chance he'd be against someone they knew.

Mai walked past at that moment, a strong chill travelling through his spine as the realization struck him cold. Seconds before he'd been worried that Seto would have to face the mad-man, that despite all previous experience telling him that Seto would win, the worst would end up happening. That the 'darkness' Malik spoke of would fill the air and everyone would be gone... Slaughtered like some sacrificial lamb.

But Malik had tied himself to the duels, promising he would hold his blade. And as a flash came to mind he quickly realized why, the blonds eyes widening as he forced his body to continue standing. It would be slow... Slow, but undeniably painful he realized, slipping into the washroom at the side and taking advantage of no longer having to be present at the match-ups. Whoever stood in Malik's way would face the powers of the Millennium Rod, but it wouldn't be 'mind control'. It would be far different, far... Darker, far more dangerous, far more...

For in Malik's mind, this was all a game and the loser was going to die. So what better game to play a voice in the back of his mind muttered, than a 'Shadow Game'? What other choice could their possibly be than to send up the powers of the Millennium Items for the sick amusement of its owner, forcing all those at the side to watch?

In Malik's mind, there was no other choice, none at all, not right now. And as Katsuya sunk against the door with his head in his hands, he already knew what numbers were being pulled from the mouths of the Blue-Eyes White Dragons. Number Four, for Mai, the woman leaving the room before the second could be read...

And number 5, belonging to the competitor who wasn't even in the room at that time. Malik was fighting next. And his opponent... Was one of the two he'd feared for.

He almost wondered if turning around would have been better now. If facing Malik himself with something other than cards would turn out better, or even just throwing him overboard and acting as though nothing had happened. But no matter what his mind kept shouting back about it being impossible, about it never happening, about things that had to be done. But why, he asked himself, slumping further against the door as he struggled to calm himself. Why?

"Jonouchi," the stern voice of his friend asked, tone laced with subtle confusion and worry. "What are you doing in here again?" Again? Oh right...

He'd come in here before... He really had to think of a better way to do this, didn't he? The blond turned, staring as the Other Yugi appeared at the side to take a seat. Had it not been for the fact that half of his body was still inside the wall, he'd have had to ask why he didn't hear the door open. As it was, all oddities aside, he found himself shaking his head and pulling himself to his feet. "I... I jus' felt a lil' sick 's all," he muttered, finding himself unable to bother caring about if his friend bought the lie or not. "Pro'lly from th' attack earlier," he added, again shaking himself as he looked back at the spirit beside him. He needed to go out... Cheer Mai on... Warn her...

Yugi stared at his friend for a brief moment, before nodding as he came into the room. "I see," he muttered, hands stowed in his pockets as the room fell into a short and awkward silence. "...Mai is fighting next," he stated after a few moments, Katsuya nodding dully.

"I know," he muttered, not caring that he was receiving a blank stare in response.

"...She left before her opponent was announced. ...It's Malik," Yugi continued, eyes narrowing slightly with worry as his friend again seemed to hold no reaction save a slight shiver.

"...I know," he again answered, swallowing back a choke as Yugi stared.

Briefly the teen looked as though he was going to ask something, but he instead opted to continue with what would otherwise seem to be idle conversation. "...She asked me to pass a message... 'Don't cheer for me', that's what she said... Apparently," Yugi continued, looking at his friend from the corner of his eye, "She's decided that she can only fight alone..."

"I know..!" The blond's last response came out as a shout, Katsuya holding his head as he shook from where he stood. "I know," he muttered, gripping the counter for support, "I..."

Yugi appeared to bite his lip, vanishing and re-appearing at his friend's side with a worried frown. "...Jonouchi," he stated quietly, usually tense and commanding voice shifting to more comforting tones. "If there's something you want to talk about, I might not understand... But I'm always here... And I'm willing to listen," he added, receiving no answer in response. Of course... Of course he was willing, he was his friend but...

But if he told him about the duels..! Katsuya sat in silence for a moment, shadows appearing to fill the back of his mind as he ran over his options. No time... This wasn't the time, not... "...We need t' be up there," he finally said, turning around to steel himself before pushing through the door. "B'fore anything happens," he continued seriously, "We need t' be there... I don' care what she said," the blond growled, charging through the hall toward the lift, "I'm shoutin' as loud as I can..!"

"Hn!" The blond's friend smirked, apparently finding the returned 'good mood' enough to hold back any questions he obviously had. "Good," Yugi said with a grin, following his friend into the lift and watching as the doors closed for the device to rush upward. "I expected nothing le-" The spirit abruptly froze, looking up and vanishing from sight without any more warning than a fear filled expression on his face.

"Eh- Y-Yugi!" The blond tensed, staring at the spot where the spirit had stood moments before. Where... Where did he..! The lift doors opened just as those thoughts came to mind, Katsuya charging out of the lift only to stumble and choke as a sudden pressuring feeling came over him. Darkness... A heavy, endless darkness that refused to leave was now sitting across the air, coating the arena like a thick mantle of cloth. It was a complete and utter darkness that blocked the sky from sight, leaving nothing but shadowed figures of those on the arena in its wake, each one seemingly illuminated by nothing whatsoever...

Yet he had no troubles breathing he realized, looking up at where Mai was clearly succumbing to fatigue before the battle even began. He stumbled, and even choked that was true, but only from surprise. So how... How was it that after Yugi's own stories of the 'shadow games', that he could stand so easily...

"MAI," the others shouted from the side, the woman in question turning with eyes that were clearly filled with fear and shock both. "MAI YOU CAN'T LOSE," they announced, Mokuba notably missing from Seto's side. For his safety, Katsuya found himself muttering, he was kept back for his safety...

Again his thoughts were cut short, still more shouts coming from the crowd. "Beat him," still others called from the sides, Katsuya running over to join them as they cheered their friend on. "You can do it," they roared, "Come on!"

The woman tensed, gritting her teeth despite obvious sensations of fatigue running over her at the moment. "You... I told you all to stay below deck," she roared, narrowing her eyes. "I fight on my own! All your shouts are doing is distracting me, don't you realize that?" Distracting? Pah!

"You think we care abou' what you said," Katsuya retorted, Mai jumping as the blond moved to the side of the arena to look up at her. "We're not watchin' y' ruin yerself," he continued, fists clenching while he yelled. "We already know yer a good duelist Mai... Y' don' need t' fight alone t' prove tha'! You're our friend..! So don't push yourself to prove otherwise damn it!"

Mai continued to stare at the blond, expression momentarily falling into confusion. "...You..."

"Hnhnhnhnhnhn..." Dark chuckling came from the side, Katsuya swallowing nervously as the laughter seemed to echo through the air. "Friends... That sort of pathetic connection just makes the game more fun," Malik sneered with a grin, the Egyptian having traded his lavender jacket for a cloak identical to that of Rishid's. Gleaming brightly in some unseen source of light the Millennium Rod was in his hand and held tightly at his side, Malik's animal grin instilling terror in each of their hearts as they watched him speak. "There's nothing like a sacrifice in front of those you care about... The looks on the faces of the witnesses... Hnhnhnhnhn..."

"Gh... Bastard," Katsuya hissed under his breath, only to find himself distracted by the mutterings of those behind him.

"Man... What's with this fog," Honda rasped, shaking his head as the others turned. Honda seemed to speak with an almost hoarse tone coating his voice, the teen gripping his throat and attempting to blink off whatever was affecting it. A majority of them were in weak conditions in fact, Ryuzaki even clutching his chest and leaning against the side, Shizuka gripping the railing and taking just as laboured breaths. "I can barely breathe," Honda muttered, the comment appearing to apply to most everyone in the area.

"The entire sky has gone dark too," Otogi added, swallowing back a cough as he held his head. "What is this..."

"Oh... You haven't guessed," Malik asked with a grin, chuckling as he crossed his arms to leer at the crowd below. "Why don't you ask your friend..?"

Gh... Katsuya swallowed glancing to the side as he realized that Yugi had again switched places with his 'Other'. Like himself, the 'other Yugi' appeared largely unaffected by the shadows. As to what that meant... "This..."

This wasn't good. "This is a 'shadow game'," Yugi muttered with a swallow, eyes wide as the others turned their attentions to him. "This... MAI," he shouted in a panic, the woman turning just slightly as he called out to her in warning. "If you lose this game you lose your life, watch yourself! Mai," he continued, the woman narrowing her eyes, "This game is..."

"Not good... Not good, not..." Katsuya shook his head as he stepped back behind the others, bring his hands to his ears as panic rose into his eyes. Maybe Yugi could hear it too... Maybe he was used to it, maybe that was why... "MAI," he screamed, cupping his hands and watching as the woman stared. "You can't take this match, it's too dangerous!"

The others of the crowd turned back, Yugi himself holding silent as looks of shock and surprise came over them. "...Jonouchi?" Katsuya as well held his tongue, fists closed over tightly as he continued to hold his stare at the field. He didn't want any caskets alright? He didn't... He didn't want any one to die damn it!

But as Isono announced the duel start, most of the words he received in response to the warnings were blocked out by screams of terror and rage both, with no apparent source to speak of. Screams of countless voices, of men, women, children... And the words they shouted from across the field, the words that it seemed he alone could hear...

Made Yugi's warning seem almost pointless.

"REDEEM US," the unseen shades were crying, the darkness appearing to increase with each shout. "YOU PROMISED US! REDEEM US!" But amid the shouts there was nothing he could do.

Nothing he could do save watch and see what happened.

AN: And so the next match begins... Yugi's going to be asking lots of questions after this one though, you can be sure of that... Most of them come a little later though... In any case, update came a bit faster, as the Mac was set up again! A lot of you liked the surplus of art last time however, so I'll keep doodling in my spare time.

Besides, I recently got an irregular job, so who knows how irregular the updates will be as a result. Hehehehe...

Any ways, the next chapter is Mai VS Malik as you can guess, and if all goes as planned that will immediately be followed by Ishizu VS Kaiba... which will hopefully hold the pattern when we cover Bakura and Malik's fight. Depending on how long the last one takes (Kaiba was tracking their duel; so that will actually be from her point of view), it may or may not be merged with any and all events preceding the Virtual World arc...

As it is, I'll be pumping out the VR-art again.

Until then though...

Anonymous Review Responses

He should have been VERY CAREFUL.

It's okay Iona, I'm doing it too. Glad to see that you liked the art and chapter both! Speaking of art, did you know Dan Green voiced Grovyle in the dub of 'Mystery Dungeon'? With the exact voice he used for Yami Yugi?

Now you have to play pokemon with his voice in your head, AHAHAHHAHA- And yes… Selket was a fairly frightening monster. They actually cut all scenes of the crowd having their own 'I'm going to be sick' takes from the anime when they dubbed it, hehehehe…

And if you don't catch the hint here, your curiosity and questions will be raised further. BWAHAHAHAHA! Enjoy the chapter alright?

Yep… Murphy's arrived Cynical Gamer!

(Or would it be Finangle's law, which is the real one to say 'anything that can, will go wrong... Murphy's law is the one that says that 'if there are more than two ways to do something, and one will result in catastrophe, someone will do it.' Hnnnn...) Back on topic now...

Believe it or not, but a fair amount of secrets will still remain for the next bit; Yugi has his suspicions, but he still can't outright question Jonouchi on it. In fact, they briefly forget about Ra, or at least they will until the next chapter; Malik going completely insane kinda took priority.

A lot.

…I can't stop grinning, but at the same time, Bakura's filled with spoilers. So I'll zip my lips now…

And now… For the chapter! Save some smacking for me, I know I'm writing it, but sometimes… As for the monsters, the Queen did some talking and poking around; the reason most of the animosity died down was largely because the monsters are more or less tied to their current owners. Last fight she was in, the Queen was somewhat channelling Haga's rage, adding it to her own.

Now however, she can't do that. It would obviously be much worse if 'death' for monsters meant actual death, but since that's not the case she's perfectly fine. Of course, thanks to the knowledge of Jonouchi's ability, she's got her creepy mother-tendencies as you can see…

Maybe it'd have been better if she still hated him eh?

BAH, that's not glory! I will admit that a fair amount was inspired by the appearance in the manga though. As for the 'trial', that was it. Basically, despite all Kaiba wants in a duel, it's endurance.

Also getting through weird dreams a-la-the above. Rishid himself is stuck in a flashback. Hooraaaaay~ In any case, enjoy!

Usagi's Manga & Japan Guide/Corner

The section that's still air-ship-sick... Buureeeeh!

Pillow talk is actually a term for close and often intimate conversations in a bed. Hehehehe.

It has nothing to do with the chapter; for the chapter, 'Pillow Talk' refers to the conversations Jonouchi had in his head... While he was asleep. Ta-daaaa...

What? The doctors came so quickly the other time though!

Well, seeing how lightning struck the arena about a dozen times, they kinda need to play it safe. In fact, for those five minutes, the elevator wasn't working; safety first guys. Same with everyone leaving by the way.

Funny thing, while everyone was shouting for Jonouchi to wake up, Malik was having his personality switching fit right there…

And no one noticed. Whaaaaaat? They didn't realize it until Rishid looked over at Yugi (he didn't do that here, he was to busy having cardio problems thanks to electricity sending his heart out of wack) and warned him about the 'other' Malik. Hihhhhh...

What does chabar (Pronounced 'Kha-bar') mean? Associate, companion, friend… Etc etc. 'Anag' on the other hand means 'to be soft', 'delicate', etc... Etc. Both words are from the Hebrew language, and while I could have left 'Chabar' untranslated so that you all got carried off on a 'what kind of name is THAT' tangent, I was feeling nice.

Besides, with a word that merely means 'friend', you're still just as clueless. HAHAHAAAAAA. You got MAJOR hints here though! After all, we just had an adult past-Jonouchi meet with an eight year old Mahaad!

Since doctors aren't really allowed to apply force to someone in the way, and Kyoko was somewhat hesitant to tackle Jonouchi, he was standing there a lot longer than he should have. He shouldn't have been anywhere near those guys, and his presence was actually quite a nuisance; his talking could very well be what helped Rishid's erratic heart finally require defib.

And why did his heart need defib? Glad you asked!

It's time for a note on defibrillation! First off, if you're using it four minutes after the heart goes nuts, good luck getting any results. And more importantly, defibs don't restart hearts; they get the ones beating irregularly to stop, so that the body can restart itself. After defib, CPR is done with hopes of re-starting it at regular rhythm. Hooray~ In any case, the heart controls its own beating, it's the only muscle that does something on its own without the brain's 'orders'. The heart does this through an electric impulse... So you can see how getting shocked by say, lightning, might just screw that impulse up.

As for 'CLEAR', that's because touching the paddles or body could screw up the reading. Paddles are used very rarely now though; most modern defibs use the much safer 'patches', and Syn says 'paddles' out of habit.

Also there is no SUPER jump. I'm not even sure if there's a small one.

Voice changes? Actually very possible, making the switch in tones not at all hard to believe when it comes to Bakura/Yami-Bakura and Yugi/Yami Yugi. (Or Fem-Kaiba's fake voice for that matter). In fact, there are people with DID whose voices have switched to that of old men within seconds, switching again into still different voices including small children, those of the opposite gender… Some people hold entire conversations with themselves. It's downright eerie.

DID (Dis-associative Identity Disorder, AKA Split Personality) is SCARY BUSINESS. Especially here; 'Yami Malik' isn't some 'darker' half. He's hate, murderous intent, and rage personified… In a nutshell? He's the very embodiment of the term 'sociopath', and the only thing holding him back was Rishid. This isn't some spirit with desire to take over the world (Damn it 4Kids!)... It's a portion of Malik's mind completely dedicated to the destruction of EVERYTHING. Clearly, the 'Yami' was added simply because of how much darker he really is. (It might be good to note that I don't recall this side of Malik being referred to as 'the other Malik' by most of the others... Nor 'Yami Malik (Marik?)' in the dub.)

And in other news of Seto's paranoia, how did everyone know Malik was a sociopath? Well, when a guy goes from ear-splitting screams of pain to laughing as his hair stands on end, that's the first sign of crazy. The next was how his voice actually changed, how he spoke about his 'shadow', along with the sheer expressions he made.

The eye on his forehead doesn't help of course, but given the above, and the fact that Kaiba already has a fair amount of skill in spotting threats to her brother (Which Malik most certainly is), it's easy enough to tell. Her shouts to the doctor were more to get them out of the way though; if Malik goes on a rampage after all, certain people won't be able to defend themselves… And Kaiba isn't the sort to just let that happen.

Seto's fear is more than justified as you can see, when it comes to evacuating the arena; as to why they aren't turning the ship around… Well, you got your Shizuka scene. And a bit of dark realization; because seriously, a card game was all that kept this guy from killing EVERYONE. For the moment, it's best to play along until they can oh... Maybe arrest him?

Originally, no one ever found out Rishid's name, at least not this soon. I didn't want them all to be calling him a shadow, or 'not-Malik' or something stupid though… So yea. Changed that.

And in other news, lots of changes to the 'Mai' scene, due to two things; one, lack of romance (though who knows, maybe Mai really was just depressed about not being a friend enough for the dream in canon), and two, a completely different dream replaced the 'school scene' one. (For a good reason, trust me... I just can't tell you why just yet.)

In the end, the conversation is both painfully similar to the manga, and painfully different; Jonouchi just wants to forget the dream this time, and drop the conversation. Mai feels like she's being shoved back and dropped like a hot coal.

And that's never fun. (Especially when the others assume it's a crush-related deal.)

The 'infamous' Shizuka scene was slipped in for the sole purpose of in-story explanation for why anyone remained on the ship with a sociopath, but also to make up for the fact that the original, which had Shizuka asking for the ship to land so that Bakura could be treated, had been cut. In the anime, Kaiba caves just slightly by sending doctors to Bakura's room. Since this happened regardless of questioning in the fanfic though, the scene had no point, and had been more or less replaced by the scene with Yugi and Jonouchi walking in on her.

In any case, suddenly, the whole 'everything is solved with card games' deal makes a lot more sense, now doesn't it?

Originally, Yugi was the one to tell Mai that she couldn't fight due to the dangers, and Jonouchi soon stated that they couldn't make her do that, and that it would instead be best to cheer her on. This is obviously just in Jonouchi's nature of course, though really, who knows if he knows too much about what a 'shadow game' means.

Regardless, Jonouchi's panic and paranoia are at an all time high, so he's more or less mirroring Yami Yugi in terms of reactions.

On another (late) note, the 'shadow games' are called 'games of darkness' in the Japanese, with 'shadow game' being coined as both a translation and a cheap way to pretend that no one in the series died. Thank you 4Kids.

I'm still using 'shadow games' though, thanks to the translation fun.

Well, that wraps it up for this chapter... Expect more weirdness and questionings in the next chapter! Until then, enjoy, and hopefully I can update this quickly next time as well!