Chapter 6
We were all told to leave the roof of Pegasus' castle, so we started for the stairs. I helped Yugi stand up, and Bakura and I stood on either side of him as we walked. He was spaced out ad seemed almost like a zombie.
Finally, we were back at the main doors that led to the castle. Yugi stood before the doors, staring at nothing. His friends stood behind him, trying to cheer him up, but it was like he could not even hear them. Bakura and I exchanged worried looks. We both put a hand on his back in an attempt to comfort him.
I closed my eyes as I let his emotions pass through me. He was afraid of the Spirit of the Millennium Puzzle and what he was capable of. He was sad that the Spirit would go to such lengths to win. He was torn because he needed to rescue his grandpa but did not want to hurt anyone. I understood exactly how he felt, yet I did not know what I could do to help him.
"It's ok, Yug," Joey said. "You just lost a few star chips is all." He walked around so that he was facing his friend. "Here, take mine. I owe you big time for helping me get this far. Take them."
Bakura stared at him in surprise. "But what about-?"
"My sister? Sure, she needs my help, but Gramps is in danger right now. We gotta get Yugi into the castle."
"Please, Yugi," Tea said.
"Come on, pal, what do you say? Go kick Pegasus' sorry butt and get your grandpa back." Joey held his star chips out to Yugi. "Go on, Yug. I want you to have them."
Yugi continued to stare straight ahead with a vacant expression.
Joey growled in frustration. He suddenly lifted Yugi into the air by his collar. "Come on, snap out of it! You're really starting to scare me, man. I'm trying to help you out here. Pull yourself together."
Yugi did not appear affected in the slightest.
"Stop it!" I said as I grabbed Joey's arm. "You don't understand. This isn't because he lost. It's that Spirit He's afraid of him, and I am to."
"But he needs to beat Pegasus," Tea said. "How can we help him?"
I had no answer to her, and my heart tightened. I glanced at Bakura. He gave me a sad smile. There was no way the others could understand what was going on. It was up to the two of us to do something. But how could we help Yugi when we felt he had every right to be feeling what he was feeling?"
"If this is how you treat your friends, I can't wait to see how you treat your enemies," a feminine voice said from behind us. I turned to see Mai staring at Joey, still holding up Yugi, with an odd expression on her face.
I finally managed to pull Yugi away from Joey. Yugi did not seem to care about this change, and his suddenly apathy had me worried. Bakura and I each put a hand on his shoulder.
"What's up?" said Mai. "If you have enough star chips to get inside the castle, why are you hanging out here?"
"It's Yug," Joey said sadly. "He lost his chips to Kaiba, and now it's like he lost the will to go on."
"So the little guy finally lost one, huh? Lucky for you guys I came by."
It was a bit more complicated than that, but if Yugi's friends couldn't comprehend what was going on, there was no way Mai was going to understand.
"Ok, now listen up," Mai said in a commanding tone, "especially you, Yugi. You got beat, but that doesn't mean it's the end of the world. When I got beat, I thought it was all over for me too, but then Yugi stepped in and saved my star chips. And now I'm returning the favor." She held out a fist, opening it to reveal star chips. They were extras she had won so that she could pay Yugi back. "Now go on, Yugi. You know I owe you, so take them."
Yugi stared past Mai, not really looking at anything. Not feeling anything anymore.
"Earth to Yugi, star chips at 12 o'clock."
"Go ahead and take Mai's star chips, Yugi," Joey said kindly. "Then we can all head up to the castle together."
"What, are my star chips not good enough for you?"
Yugi remained silent. I bit my lip, knowing there was nothing anyone could say to get him to take them.
Mai clenched her fist around the star chips and pulled it back. "Fine, then I'll keep them. And your friends can wipe your nose all the way back to the nursery. Grow up! Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose."
"This isn't about losing!" I said, though I knew my words would be in vain. "Something else is going on here. You don't understand."
"Oh, I understand. Your friend lost one lousy duel, and now he's too chicken to play again. Isn't that right? How pathetic."
"No!" I grit my teeth in frustration, which evaporated as I gazed at Yugi's face. "He's in shock. I – I can't sense his emotions anymore. We can't reach him because his own emotions can't reach him. He's shut everything out." This was something I had only experienced once before – myself after my parents were killed. I wrapped my arm around his waist to hold him closer to me. "I understand what he should be feeling. I feel it to."
"Your feelings won't solve anything," Mai said harshly, causing me to widen my eyes. "You can emphasize with him all you want, but at the end of the day, if all you're going to do is sulk with him, what good does it accomplish? You need to motivate him to act. Pull him out of this." Her eyes fell on Yugi. "Alright, chicken boy, duel me for the star chips. Now."
I cast my gaze to the ground as shame filled me. Mai was right. I was useless. All I was doing was sharing Yugi's pain. I couldn't take it away or do anything to help him. My grandmother would know what to do. Even my mother would have been of some help. Why was neither of them here to guide me now?
"I'll duel you!" Tea suddenly exclaimed. I felt anger and defensiveness coming from her. "That's right. I'll duel you right here, right now for Yugi." She pulled out her deck from her pant pocket. I did not know she played. "You and me. Right here, right now. Yugi needs those star chips, and I'm going to win them for him."
"Come on, be serious," said Mai. "An amateur like you wouldn't stand a chance against me."
"Would so!"
"Hun, it's sweet, you standing up for Yugi and all, but sweet doesn't win duels. Now I'll ask you one last time: are you sure you want to duel me?"
Tea was afraid, but she responded with confidence. "Yes. I am."
Mai turned and led us down the stairs. Bakura and I linked arms with Yugi to help him since his spirit still seemed to be away from his body. We found a dueling arena at the base of the hill, and Mai and Tea immediately each took a side.
I was not sure how this was going to help Yugi. He still would not accept the star chips even if Tea won them for him. Unless she was counting on their friendship to get him back into gear.
"Yugi's still lost in his own head," Bakura said. He stood behind him with his hand on his shoulder while I had mine on his waist and back.
"Yeah, well, maybe a little duel action will snap him out of it," Tristan said.
Tea started by playing Petit Angel, a cute but weak monster in attack mode. Mai played her Harpie Lady and immediately destroyed Petit Angel. I got the feeling that Tea did not really know what she was doing. Yet she was not relying on strength; she was counting on faith to get her through this duel.
"Hey, Samia, I've been thinking," Bakura said quietly enough so that only I – and Yugi, if he had actually been paying attention – could hear. "Maybe you should try talking to the Spirit of the Millennium Puzzle."
I looked at him with wide eyes. "What? No! You of all people should know that what he did was unacceptable."
Bakura hesitated before responding. "Yes, it was wrong, but can't you understand where he was coming from? He's a spirit from ancient Egypt, right? Don't you remember learning about Egypt in class? That had a very different moral code than modern day Japan. An eye for an eye. I believe the Spirit of the Puzzle thought he was doing what was right. You said so yourself that he's different than the Spirit of the Ring. He may have some things wrong, but he's not evil."
"But he still violated Yugi's will." I did not want to hear what my friend was saying. I was afraid.
"Yes, that was certainly a mistake, but I think that proves he's human. He's made a mistake like we all do. He helped me, remember? He found a way to save my life even when I was willing to give it up. If he didn't have good intentions, why wouldn't he have taken the easy way out? Up until now he's done a lot to help us. Shouldn't we at least hear him out?"
I bit my lip and glanced at the ground. "What if he's been tricking us this whole time? What if we have reason to fear him?"
"That's for Yugi to decide, and for his sake, he needs to hear both sides of the story. What if the Spirit is on our side? Do you want Yugi to live in fear for nothing? Either way, he's going to have to confront him eventually. He can't stay this way, Samia. The two of them have to come to some sort of agreement."
My resolve weakened as I felt his concern and compassion. Of course he was right. I sighed. "Fine. I'll do it." I glanced up at Bakura to see him give me a slight smile.
"You can do it, Samia. You're brave enough. I believe in you." He placed his hand over mine of Yugi's back to comfort me.
I gave him a small smile in return. "Thanks." I looked at Yugi's face. "Is that fine with you?" He did not respond, so I assumed he had to objections. I took a deep breath before placing my free hand on the Millennium Puzzle. "Spirit?"
"Yes?"
The strong voice in my head caused me to shiver. I gulped before continuing. "Did you hear everything we were discussing? Do you know what's going on?"
"I understand. I am sorry Yugi is so stunned at my actions. I was trying to help him."
My nervousness evaporated, replaced by anger. "By putting Kaiba in danger?"
"Kaiba was the one willing to risk anything! I was simply playing the game. Kaiba's the bad guy here."
I remembered Kaiba's emotions. The CEO may have been a lot of things, but he was not evil. I was sure of that much. "He's not as bad as you think. I know him. He was doing everything he could to rescue his brother."
"And I was trying to do what I could to help Yugi save his grandpa. That's his purpose for being here!"
"But at what cost? Kaiba made a mistake, but so did you. That's not the way to win. It was wrong, and if you can't understand that, you'll never be able to work with Yugi. You're not protecting him at all. Can't you sense his emotions like I can? You did that to him, not Kaiba or some stupid game."
"He needs to get over it and do what needs to be done!"
The Spirit's anger only strengthened my resolve. I glared at the ground so Yugi would not think my emotions were aimed at him. "Don't steal his innocence. Do you know the worst thing you did? You violated his will. Even if you thought attacking Kaiba was the best course of action, you should not have done so without Yugi's permission."
"I was making a tough decision for him!"
"That's not your role! This is his body, not yours. No matter your motivation, if you're willing to assert your own will over your host's than you're no better than the Spirit of the Millennium Ring. After witnessing what happened to Bakura, is it any wonder that Yugi is terrified of you? He doesn't know you. Why should he believe you won't force him out of his own mind?"
The Spirit was shocked at this revelation. When he spoke again, his voice was much softer. "Samia, I-"
"No. I don't want to hear it. You need to stay in the Puzzle and think about what you've done. I'll do what I can to help Yugi."
He did not respond. While I was still angry with him, the hint of guilt I felt gave me hope. I removed my hand from the Puzzle and gazed up at Bakura, who was watching me with concern.
"How did it go?" my friend asked with a weak smile.
I sighed and shook my head. "I don't know. He was very defensive and stubborn. Yet I think you're right that he's not evil. I think he and Yugi both need to time reflect on everything."
Bakura frowned. "If only time was something we had a lot of."
I turned to look at the dueling arena. "What's going on?"
"Tea just playing Shining Friendship. Mai's Harpie Lady should have destroyed it, but her trap card saved her. She's actually not half bad at this game."
I nodded. "That's good." I glanced at Yugi to see his reaction. He actually seemed slightly alert now, and his emotions were starting to stir. Maybe Tea's friendship would get through to him after all.
"You're right, Mai," Tea said to her opponent. "Maybe I am scared up here dueling you for such incredibly high stakes, but this card reminded me of something that helps me face that fear: my friends. And I know, with all of them backing me up, I will win! It's like the card says, Shining Friendship, no matter how dark things may get, the special bond I share with my friends will always find a way to shine through. I may be scared, but that fear won't keep me from dueling or from helping Yugi or from winning this duel!"
"Yugi," Joey said, "is any of this stuff getting through to you?"
Tea's emotions swept over me, calming me and giving me peace. I passed the strong feelings along to Yugi. Surely he could not help but be touched as well.
"Don't you see?" Joey went on. "Tea's putting herself on the line for you."
"Even though she's frightened, she still battles on," Bakura added. "It's quite inspiring, really."
Finally, Yugi looked up at his female friend. I felt him awakening. Maybe it was not enough for him to take action himself, but he was with us now. "You can do it," I said softly. "We're here to support you. You don't have to face this alone."
The duel continued on. Eventually, Mai attacked Shining Friendship, but doing so activated the card's effect, which was to allow Tea to retrieve one magic card from the graveyard. Mai insisted she was only delaying the inevitable, but Tea insisted she was not giving up.
"Come on, what you're doing is pointless," Mai said. "Yugi's already given up on himself. You're not going to be able to keep fighting for him."
I could tell that Yugi was listening to what she was saying. His emotions were slowly coming back. They were confused and mixed up, but at least he was sorting everything out.
"He has to fight for himself," said Mai. "He has to stand up to anyone who dares get in his way. And whatever's going on in his head, Tea, Yugi has to deal with it on his own. Face it, Tea, Yugi's checked out. He's given up. He doesn't care about this match, and he doesn't care about you. Nothing's worth the humiliation you're going through."
"You're wrong; my friends are worth it!" Tea declared. "Always. I don't care how much experience you have playing Duel Monsters. I don't care what the odds are against beating you. I won't give up. Not on this match and not on Yugi either. I won't give up. I won't." She started shaking with emotion. I resisted the urge to reach out to her and instead focused on making sure Yugi knew exactly what she was feeling.
"Tea," Yugi said softly. It was the first time he had spoken since he had broken down in front of Kaiba.
"Don't let these tears fool you, Mai. I may be crying, but I've never felt stronger. So you better get your star chips ready because I'm about to beat you! And there's not a thing you can say or do that will stop me."
"You may have a tendency to run at the mouth, but you've got a lot of spunk," Mai said. "Give me your best shot."
Tea played a couple of magic cards to boost the power of Shining Friendship. She was then able to destroy Mai's Harpie Lady, her best card. All of us cheered for her, including Yugi. Figuring he was fine now, I followed Bakura's lead and took my hands off of Yugi, though I remained close to him.
Mai's emotions caught my attention. She picked up her face down card and stared at it intently. She seemed to be torn between something. The one thing I could tell was that, despite her proclamations otherwise, what Tea was doing for Yugi had affected her in some way.
"I surrender, Tea," she said. "I don't have the cards to win."
"You're giving up just like that?" Tea said in surprise.
"Don't rub it in, Tea. Harpie Lady was the best monster I had, and seeing as how you beat her, there's really no point in me going on." Mai stepped down from the dueling arena.
"I won!" Tea said as she ran to join her friends.
"Way to go, Tea," Joey said. "You really came through for Yugi."
"Whatever, I didn't need these anyway," Mai said as she dropped the star chips into Tea's hands."
"Good match," Tea said.
Mai started to walk away, but Yugi called after her: "Wait, Mai, I have to ask you something. Wasn't the last card-"
"A throw away," Mai said. She looked at him over her shoulder. "It wasn't anything Tea wouldn't have been able to beat anyway, really. Some cards just aren't worth playing, huh, Yugi?"
My suspicions were confirmed. I smiled at her. "You're a good person, Mai."
Mai responded by giving us a thumbs up. Then she walked off to the castle.
"Thank you," Yugi said softly.
"Yugi?" Tea said tentatively from behind him. "I, uh, I won these star chips for you." She held her hands out to him.
"I know." Yugi smiled warmly at her. "Thank you so much."
"Sure thing."
"I'll never forget what you did for me, Tea. You overcame your fears for me."
I observed them and their emotions as Yugi finally accepted the star chips. Looking at the two of them like that made me almost sad, but I decided to accept what I realized. "Good job, Tea," I said. "You're a good friend."
"So are you, Samia," Tea said.
My eyebrows rose in surprise. "What did I do?"
"You stayed with Yugi and tried to help him in your own way. I'm glad you're with us."
Yugi nodded. "I'm glad both you and Bakura were there. It's good to have someone who understands."
I smiled. "No problem."
"Hey, you losers!" Mai called from partway up the stairs. "Last one to the castle door is a rotten egg!"
"Let's go!" Yugi exclaimed before running off. Laughing, the rest of us followed him.
Once again, I had to stop to catch my breath upon reaching the top steps. Kemo – Pegasus' thug who had kidnapped Mokuba – stood there, accepting star chips. I bristled when I saw him. Yugi, Joey, and Mai were able to get through the castle doors, but Kemo would not let the rest of us through.
Before we could come up with a plan, Mai distracted the guard by attempting to charm him, and the four of us snuck past him into the castle. Once he realized what was going on, Mai struck him with her bag. I flashed her a smile of thanks. Joey slammed the door shut, leaving Kemo to angrily pound on the door. Hey, it wasn't like we were going to cause any harm.
Yugi ran through the entrance hall, the rest of us on his heels. It was good to see he had his determination back. Seeing nowhere else to go, we walked up a stairway onto a balcony. There we saw Bandit Keith, who must have also been a finalist – through taking star chips others had won for him, no doubt. I flinched at the anger I felt coming from Joey.
"You slime bucket!" my blonde friend growled. "I've been waiting to find you ever since you left us trapped in that cave." He attempted to punch Bandit Keith, but his target slipped out of the way.
"Can't this little grudge of yours wait?" Keith said as he held Joey's fist in his hand. "The real action is about to start." He turned to look down from the balcony.
We followed his gaze. I walked over to the edge of the balcony and leaned against the railing. Bakura and Yugi stood on either side of me. On the main level stood Kaiba with his briefcase!
"It's the world champ and Pegasus," said Keith. Apparently, the two of them were going to duel. I bet this was how Kaiba would try to get his brother back.
"Welcome finalists," said a guard with a mustache as he approached us. "I'm Croquet, chief tournament liaison. "Congratulations on making it this far. Pegasus is quite taken with all of your dueling talents. In fact, he's so impressed he wanted to reward you with some entertainment. A special exhibition match. I think you'll all be quite in awe at what you're about to see. This match should give you an idea of what's in store for all of you."
"So basically it's meant to intimidate us, huh?" said Mai.
"Why would Pegasus do something like that?" Croquet asked innocently. I narrowed my eyes, knowing he was mocking us.
"Because he's a grade A nutcase," Joey said.
"Enjoy the match," Croquet said before leaving.
We returned to looking over the balcony to watch the action down below. The doorway at the opposite end of the room opened, and a man with a powerful presence entered. I sucked in a sharp breath. He was dressed in all read and hade straight, white hair that felt to his shoulder. His left eye was hidden by his hair, and that was where I felt his power coming from.
"That's Pegasus?" Bakura said. Noticing my tension, he placed a hand on my shoulder.
Yugi nodded. He glanced at me. "Do you sense anything?"
"Power, strength, chaos, and darkness," I said with a shudder. "No spirits, though."
"That's good," Yugi said before returning his gaze to the duelists.
"Yugi will be able to beat him," Bakura said gently to me.
I glanced at Yugi's Puzzle and then looked back at Bakura. When our eyes locked, I knew we were thinking the same thing. Yugi had a stronger power if he was willing to use it, but could he win on his own? He still had a lot he needed to figure out. I took a deep breath and looked out at the floor again.
"Where's my brother?" Kaiba said to Pegasus.
"What? No hello? No how are you?" Pegasus said as he walked forward with two guards behind him. "I thought we were friends, Kaiba boy. Don't tell me my kidnapping Mokuba and seizing control of your company has put a rift between us. It was nothing personal. Besides, it's not like I hurt your kid brother. He's perfectly safe. In fact, you can have him back if you'd like. Just beat me in a duel like we agreed and I'll hand him over. I mean, one little victory shouldn't be a problem for the Duel Monster's World Champ."
Pegasus moved his hair out of the way of his left eye, and I gasped. There was not a real eye there at all but a golden eye. A golden eye that looked just like the eye on the Millennium Puzzle and Millennium Ring. That must be the Millennium Eye that Yugi mentioned.
"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm not hoping Kaiba loses this duel," Joey said.
"Pegasus has a darker heart," I said, "and Kaiba is fighting for someone he loves."
"Yeah, I can't help but feel for him trying to get his kid brother back."
"As far as I'm concerned, anyone who stands up to Pegasus can't be all bad," said Tristan.
Finally, Kaiba looked up and noticed all of us watching him. I smiled weakly and gave him a small wave.
"Hi there, Kaiba," Yugi said.
"Yugi," Kaiba said in surprise. "How could you be in here after I defeated you? I should have known you'd find a way."
"I hope you're ready, Kaiba," Pegasus said. "I've been looking forward to this for quite some time."
"Good." Kaiba opened his briefcase and pulled out his dueling disks. He tossed one to Pegasus, who caught it. "Then you'll have no problem dueling with this."
Pegasus turned the duel disk over several times and then waved it back and forth. "You want to duel me with your latest contraption? But I don't even know how this silly device even works." I could tell he was playing with him. Kaiba was not amused. "Ok then, how about we settle this like businessmen would? I'll agree to use your system if you agree to a request that I have."
"What?"
"Nothing that will change the game, of course. I just want someone else to operate your little device for me. I assure you I'll still make all the strategic decisions. The game play won't change at all."
"So why the request? Why not fight your own battle for once in your life?"
Pegasus clasped twice. "Show Kaiba the lad who will play as my pawn and he'll understand my request."
The door behind him opened. There stood Mokuba chained to another guard. Except... I widened my eyes. "His soul's gone!" I could feel nothing in him at all.
"He must have done to Mokuba what he did to my grandpa," Yugi said.
Kaiba called out to his brother, but he did not respond, of course. Pegasus then showed him the card where he had placed Mokuba's soul. Kaiba would have to beat Pegasus to win his brother's soul back, and if he lost, he would lose his own soul.
"So it's settled," Pegasus said as a guard handed the duel disk to Mokuba. "We'll use your new invention, but your brother will operate it for me."
"Wait, Pegasus!"
"What's the matter, Kaiba boy? This was your idea. Using your own system is sure to give you quite the advantage. What's the problem?"
I closed my eyes as I felt Kaiba's emotions. I would have no problem if I were in his place because I could sense that Mokuba was not really there, but Seto Kaiba could not make that distinction. His brother meant too much to him to face him this way. It would be torture.
I gazed at him sadly when he agreed to not use the duel disks, and Mokuba was taken away. It was probably for the best. Yet, did Kaiba have a chance now? How could he beat a magic he did not even believe in?
Pegasus snapped his fingers, and the walkway retracted and moved into the walls. At the same time, a dueling arena descended from the ceiling. Kaiba and Pegasus took their places on either side of the dueling arena.
"Kaiba!" Yugi shouted. "You've got to believe in the heart of the cards! It's the only way to rescue Mokuba!"
"Keep out of this!" Kaiba called back. "I'm fighting this duel my way!"
"Just remember it takes more than a strong monster and clever strategy to win this. That Millennium Eye Pegasus has changes everything. You have to-"
"Yug," Joey said, "don't forget Kaiba's the guy who took five off your stars."
"I know, but I also know what it's like to be dueling someone you care about. And I couldn't live with myself if I held back on anything that could help Kaiba get his brother back."
"Easy, buddy," Joey said.
When I placed my hand on Yugi's back, his strong emotions shot through me like I had been struck. "I know."
Bakura moved so that his arm was touching mine, and I smiled at him, glad for the contact. I felt like the three of us had a deeper understanding than we had before. We could get through this together.
"Yugi," Kaiba said without looking at him, "You're a good duelist, but I don't need your help. It's my battle to fight now, and I will win!"
And so the duel began.
Kaiba started off strong, but Pegasus acted like he was weak and inferior to him. I could tell this was a game and he was just toying with his opponent. Luckily, Kaiba did not fall for his act. Right when he was about to play a monster, Pegasus sprung a trap that allowed him to keep his card if he guessed whether its attack points were above 2000. Sure enough, he guessed right and took control of Kaiba's Blue Eyes White Dragon. He had even guessed the name of the card before it was shown to him!
I turned to Yugi. "Was that the power of the Millennium Eye?"
"Yes," Yugi said grimly. "That's how he beat me the first time – when he took my grandpa's soul."
I wanted to ask why he didn't warn Kaiba, but then I remembered how Kaiba had acted when we had mentioned magic in the past. There was no way he would believe us. Why did he have to be so stubborn?
Kaiba attempted to use his Crush Card to destroy all of Pegasus' monsters with over 1500 attack points. However, Pegasus had set up the perfect defense to negate the effects of the card. Now Kaiba was shocked and fearful. He had to know something bizarre was going on. I only hoped he did not lose faith.
Suddenly, Pegasus went on a tangent about cartoons. While everyone else appeared puzzled, I sensed that he has something up his sleeve. He then played Toon World, a magic card so powerful that it was never released to the public. Toon world looked like a kid's popup book. Pegasus' monster, Dark Rabbit, disappeared into the book. Apparently, when the book was closed, the monsters inside could not be attacked.
Pegasus proceeded to play the Blue Eyes White Dragon, which got sucked into the book and then became Blue Eyes Toon Dragon – a cute cartoon version of the original. This really got Kaiba's blood boiling. I clenched my hands around the railing in an attempt to control what I was feeling.
"Pegasus, your underhanded dueling tactics have gone on long enough," Kaiba said. "It's time someone put a stop to your cheating ways." He set down his current hand of cards. "I may not know exactly how you're cheating, but somehow you can see my cards. So, I'm abandoning my present hand. Perhaps if I can't see what I'm playing, you can't either."
"A gutsy move," Yugi said.
"But it's not like he has much of a choice," I said. He would need magic of his own to combat the Millennium Eye.
"Tell me, how do you think Pegasus is cheating?" asked Tristan.
"I don't know," Joey said. "Maybe's he's got some hidden cameras set up in here."
"You really think so?"
"Hey, I wouldn't put anything past that sleezy slimeball. And I'll tell you this, now that Kaiba's not even looking at his cards, he's going to need to trust in the heart of the cards if he's going to have any chance of rescuing his brother."
I pursed my lips and added no comment. Hadn't Yugi already explained the Millennium Eye to them? And they still seemed to not be able to comprehend the Spirit of the Millennium Puzzle. Why was it so hard for them to believe their friend? It seemed like Bakura, Yugi, and I really were in this alone. It kind of made sense. The two of them were directly involved in all this and could not deny the power of the Millennium Items. As for me, I had been raised to believe that magic was real, so none of this surprised me. I was taught that magic was very real... and very dangerous.
Kaiba drew and played a card without looking, and it turned out to be a Blue Eyes White Dragon! This dragon attacked the toon dragon, but the toon dragon evaded the attack by stretching his body. This was another effect of Toon World.
Pegasus used a magic card to increase the power of his Toon Dragon. When he attacked Kaiba's Blue Eyes, Kaiba used a trap card to stop the attack for one turn. Then Kaiba used a magic card to prevent Toon Dagon from attacking and lower his attack points. Finally, Toon Dragon was destroyed.
Pegasus did not appear phased. He proceeded to use his Dragon Capture Jar to steal Kaiba's second Blue Eyes. Then he used the magic card Doppelganger to copy his opponent's Crush Card. With this, he was able to destroy all of Kaiba's monsters above 1500 attack points.
I tensed my body as I felt Kaiba's shock and pain. This was not good... I hated that there was nothing I could do to help him or stop my own pain.
"All of my cards are gone," Kaiba said. He held up a card. "This is the only one left the virus didn't affect." He played it. "So it's the only card I can play. I use Reborn the Monster to Revive Saggi the Clown."
Pegasus' monster promptly destroyed Saggi. Since Kaiba did not have any more cards he could play, he lost the duel.
"And you've lost just more than this duel, haven't you, Kaiba?" Pegasus taunted him. "You've lost the only chance you had at rescuing your baby brother. You let him down. But don't worry, my dear friend." He pulled out a blank card. "I will spare you the agony of carrying in this world without him."
"What is that?" Kaiba said, surprised and confused.
"It is the final fate of your soul, Seto Kaiba." His Millennium Eye glowed and light shot out of it.
A scream tore from my throat as I felt Kaiba's soul being ripped from my body. Bakura held onto me, alarmed. When it was over, I stood there shaking and panting heavily. Yugi appeared almost as upset as me.
Pegasus stared at the two cards and laughed menacingly. "Take away that empty shell," he said to his guards. "Teach it to wash dishes or something." Two guards took hold of Kaiba's body and led him away.
"Ok, tell me I didn't just see what I think I saw," Joey said.
"Kaiba..." Tea murmured.
"He's gone too," said Yugi. "Just because he was only trying to help his little brother out." Seeing him cry caused my own tears to flow. I pulled away from Bakura and moved closer to Yugi, linking my arm with his. "He was like us. He just wanted to save someone he cared for." He stared straight at the perpetrator. "Why, Pegasus? Who are you to toy with our friends, our families? I won't let you get away with it!"
I leapt back from Yugi when I felt him changing. All my other emotions were suddenly replaced with fear, for now standing before me was the Spirit of the Millennium Puzzle. Then anger hit.
"Easy now," Bakura said, grabbing me before I could move towards him.
I glanced at him and felt his sorrow. This was no place to lose control of my emotions. I nodded, and he released me.
"Pegasus!" the Spirit bellowed. "It will not be long now before I put an end to your games."
"Yugi boy," said Pegasus, "don't forget you still have to make it through the remaining rounds of this tournament to even win the privilege of challenging me."
"Rest assured, I'll be at the finals, but the true privilege will be defeating you and undoing all the evil acts you've committed against my friends."
"I look forward to your finest efforts, Yugi boy, and wonderful performances from all our finalists. You truly are the best of the best. The crème de la crème. "
I froze when I felt Pegasus' eyes on me. Though I knew he could not read my mind, I knew he understood far more than he should. "He knows..." I whispered. He knew what I was.
"Samia?" Bakura said, looking at me in concern.
Mai was already leading everyone off of the balcony. I felt the Spirit's eyes on me. "I'm fine," I said. "Go on ahead. I'll be there in a minute."
Bakura and Joey both looked from 'Yugi' to me before following Tea and Tristan.
"What does Pegasus know?' the Spirit asked, his tone firm but not angry like it had been earlier.
I flinched and slowly turned to face him. "Nothing." I had not meant for him to hear that.
His eyes bore into mine, and I was afraid he would see too much like Pegasus had. "You don't trust me."
I snapped out of my fear and glared at him. "Why should I? I'm still mad at you, you know. What are you doing here? I doubt Yugi gave you permission to take control of his body."
"His emotions overcame him, and I took over to help him."
"You can't help someone who doesn't want help!"
"It's my duty to protect him!"
"And you did a fine job of that in your duel with Kaiba! How are you protecting him if he's frightened of you? You and I both know that he needs you if he's going to beat Pegasus, but if you can't learn to work together as a team, you're going to lose."
"I know." His emotions were still hard to decipher, but I could tell they had softened along with his gaze. "How can I gain his trust back? And yours?"
He sounded so sincere that it was hard to not believe him. I knew I had to give him another chance. I did not have many options. "Talk to Yugi. Try to find common ground and compromise. Let him know you're on his side."
"I will try, but I do not think he is willing to listen to me."
"I'll talk to him about that. You need to think about what you'll say to him when he lets you in."
"Thank you, Samia." A small smile flickered on his face. "I appreciate your help."
His smile caused my heart to leap in fear. He frowned upon seeing this. I knew I had to stop acting like a frightened deer. I had my own reasons for fearing him, but those did not matter in comparison to being able to help Yugi. "Y-yeah. Can I have Yugi back now?"
"Very well." He was disappointed about something, but I did not dare dig deeper. Then Yugi stood there, dazed and confused.
"Samia?" he said. "What happened? Where's everyone else?"
Relief spread through me upon seeing my friend. I grabbed his arm and started to walk with him towards the stairs. "I'll tell you later. We need to catch up to the others."
He smiled at me, and I could not help but smile back. If he could be strong in the midst of adversity, then so could I.
***
A/N: I realize this story could get pretty long, so I'm thinking about splitting it up by season to make it easier to read. Any objections?