Children of Destiny

Comin' to the Rescue

Disclaimer: Blah...

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Arriving at the other side monsters surrounded their every turn as the little group fought with their shadow powers.

"TAKE THAT!!!" Ryou shouted as he shot a hand out to throw a surge of water. Nothing. The monsters stared confused as did Ryou, as the information sunk in, he felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"Uh... oh... um... oh dear" he stuttered and yelped as claws swung at his face. "EEEIII!!!!" he shrieked as he ducked wrapping his arms around his head as his Yami threw a Shadow ball destroying the monster. Yami weaved past the demons as his friends distracted them. He was within arm's length to his hikari when a burst threw him back.

"YAMI!!!" Yugi yelled as he pressed himself against the magical prison. Gabriel grabbed his arm and half-dragged and half carried him away. Yami shook his head as a mauled monstrosity towered above him, intestines hanging out and huge podgy hands brandishing huge butcher knife weapons. It swung hard at the former pharaoh who rolled out of the way Yami sent a burst of dark energy. Yugi wrenched his arm away. Gabriel growled.

"If you want this..." Gabriel hissed holding the locket in his hand. "...then you'll come with me quietly"

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Bakura, Ishtar and Malik fought guarding the entrance. Malik had tried throwing flames but to no avail and thus relying on the power of his Millennium Rod which had morphed into a knife. Bakura then noticed his hikari was missing.

"RYOU!? RYOU WHERE ARE YOU!?!?!?" he yelled whilst breaking away from the others.

"HEY COME BACK HERE!!!!" Ishtar shouted at the Tomb Robber but his orders was ignored leaving the two to fend for themselves. Ryou had been running in circles around the dungeon floors before he came across a cell. He breathed a sigh of relief when the monsters weren't chasing him anymore but froze when a he heard a groan from behind him.

(RYOU'S POV )

Ohpleasenotanothermonster, ohpleasenotanothermonster. I closed my eyes took a deep breath and turned around facing a man lying with really... ghastly wounds on him... Oh I wonder if his ok.

"H-hello?" Oh... I really wished I didn't throw myself into this mess.

"Is there someone there?" I hear a voice, weak but the guy's still alive... Kinda familiar too. "Who's that...?" I walk closer and then squinted a little. I could... just about make the features of long silver hair and remnants of red rags. I gasp...

"Pegasus?"

"Who... who are you?"

"I'm Ryou Bakura..."

"You! You're the one that stole my Millennium Eye!!!" he yelled suddenly. I stared confused but then I remembered. "Ah... the one who stole your eye was... me... to a point in the circumstances but it wasn't really me... and..."

"Heh... it doesn't matter now... I guess I deserved it... if I managed to get myself to this state. Are you to here rescue Yugi? I could help you find him..." I smiled. This isn't the man I first met... though we haven't actually met face to face like this way.

"Oh we've already found him... I've just..." Don't cry Ryou "... got a little bit lost after being chased around in circles from monsters with... razor sharp teeth... Anyway... let's get you out of here..."

"Don't bother... Save yourself... I'll just be a liability" he said to me.

"No!" I yelled "I'm not leaving you behind... no matter what you did!!!" I grabbed the keys that hung on a wall down the corridor and unlocked it. Fortunately the keys to the shackles were there too. I placed his arm over my shoulder and we both staggered out.

"Uh... we have to go back to the main chamber that's where the portal I came in is at" I said as we stumbled along. I think this is the way... or is it the second door on the right? Oh hang on here we are... hehe... Bakura should be proud when I come back. I hear this huge roar down the corridor and there's a great big whopping monster come charging down toward us. What? Didn't I say that clearly enough? I SAID THERE WAS A GREAT BIG WHOPPING MONSTER WITH HUGE TEETH AND CLAWS STAMPEDING OUR WAY AND READY TO TAP DANCE ON OUR ENTRAILS!!!!! We hurry the best we can down the hallway but I'm being slowed down by the dead weight from Pegasus.

"We can't possibly outrun him. You go down this hallway, it should take you to the main chamber. I'll distract... the big guy" I drop him at the hallway that led straight to the main chamber and was ready to be a decoy. Oh Lord what was I thinking?

"HEY UGLY COME AND GET ME!!!!" And what does he do...? He listens to me... I run down another corridor and up the stairs finding myself in the upper floors and bedrooms of the castle. I ran past some portraits of Pegasus's late wife Cecilia, and another of this strange Egyptian guy. Must be an acquaintance of Pegasus. Maybe he might have introduced the Millennium Eye to him.

Anyway no time to admire the work. I've got a psychotic monster with a big butcher knife on my heels. I turn around to see. Oh great, his got friends. You know, this would have been funny if I wasn't running for my life. Running around this maze of hallways, opening doors and into rooms with more doors leading to more rooms. I think it was probably about an hour or so of chasing really. Either that or I should really start improving my fitness. I come across some more doors. I do hope one of them leads me back to the chamber where my Yami is.

1st door. Monster. Slammed it.

2nd door. Bigger monster. Slammed it.

3rd door. Huge monster. Slammed it real fast.

4th door. My Yami. Slammed it.

Waitaminute... I opened the door and found my Yami squatting with his hand over his nose with the closest thing I'd get to a whimper. Oh dear... "OH YAMI I'M SO SORRY!!!! OH ARE YOU OK!?!?" He moves his hand and wrinkled his nose a bit.

"Come on..." He muttered a little irritatedly whilst he grabbed my hand and we ran down towards the dungeon. "You know... you look like a clown with that red nose" I cared to mention. I get a growl in response. "But a very evil clown I might add" He smirks. Nice save Ryou. Nice save. There were the others. Pegasus had made it and safely on the other side at Kaiba's mansion.

(NORMAL POV)

"Yugi save yourself" Mrs. Motou pleaded to her crying son... "Son... please..." Mr. Motou added. Yami pushed against the barrier as best he could. His heart wrenched as he saw his hikari was in tears and glared hatefully at the bastard that caused it. He squinted at the distance as a glint of gold caught his eye.

'Yugi's locket...'. And as he stared at it, the sennen eye upon his head glowed as a second sight saw past the space that his normal vision couldn't perceive. Two spirits. A man and a woman.

"Please... Yugi go to Yami..." the woman cried

"Don't worry about us son... GO!!!" the man added with desperation. 'Son?' Yami thought. 'Are those two spirits Yugi's parents...?'. Things were starting to piece together as the words Grandpa had given him. "Yugi's... not the average kid you think he is... He has been through many other events before he met you" 'If what he's says is true... then I have to find out more. I've regained most of the memories from Malik but there are still many things unexplained and Yugi is definitely holding the pieces to this puzzle...' he closed his eyes painfully but ducked as a monster attacked. The Millennium Puzzle around his neck glowed bright and ripped a hole through the shield to face Gabriel. Gabriel glared at the intruder and smirked.

"I'm impressed Pharaoh... you've actually managed to gain 'some' power over the millennia" Yami didn't speak and sent a burst of Shadow energy. Gabriel simply waved and deflected it back at him. Yami was thrown back from the force. "Oh... well I guess it's not enough..." Gabriel said with a sly smile upon his face.

With a flick of a hand Yami started to levitate up to ten feet from the floor. Gabriel shook his hand, which in turn directed his power to shaking Yami violently side to side in the air. He swayed an arm pointing to the chamber walls of the dungeon at the same time Yami was slammed against it. He pointed back to the opposite wall and Yami slammed against it. Gabriel cackled as he made Yami smack his chest against a round bedpost, cracking his ribs in the process whilst Yugi watched in horror. After the episode Yami was twisted in the air and the broken body was tossed to the floor like a ragdoll. A mixture of blood and saliva welled up from his lungs as he coughed a small pool upon the cold stone floor.

"I would've suggested that you'd have prepare yourself better than this when facing a Prince of Demons Pharaoh, but then again... you were always on the impulsive side..." Yami growled, teeth stained pink whilst a trickle of blood ran from his lips to his chin.

The coppery taste assaulted his taste blood and he cursed his weakness. Sweat upon his brow, his tired muscles strained as he tried to heave himself up.

"And now your all alone, aren't you Yami...? Yin is not going to come to your aid anymore..." Yami swallowed as the memories flooded back. "Oh... you still remember her hmm?" Yami closed his eyes painfully for a brief moment before letting out a sharp breath and getting up with renewed determination.

"I've made too many mistakes that cost me the lives of all my loved ones in the past... Ra's given me pity... he's given me another chance... I'm not gonna let it happen... not again..." he rasped to himself as unshed tears formed around his hardened eyes as he stared straight at his hikari. The one he loved. Yugi watched as his Yami staggered to his feet whilst Gabriel continued to mock him. A single tear slid down Yugi's face.

"Ha, ha... you've been 'quite' entertaining Pharaoh... but I'm afraid... playtimes over" he smiled as he raised his slender hand and black static started to accumulate into a orb hovering upon his palm. Yugi struggled against the hard grip from his other hand as he stared desperately at Yami.

"YAMI!!!!!!" he screamed as the static orb flew from Gabriel's hand straight towards Yami whilst a murderous grin was plastered upon the Gabriel's fair features. It quickly disappeared though as the sennen eye upon Yami's forehead appeared glaring menacingly at Gabriel. The black orb stopped pushed hard against a golden aura that surrounded Yami and a burst of light exploded like the rays of the sun from the Millennium Puzzle encasing the orb, neutralizing it. The force of light then speeded it's way towards Gabriel knocking him flying towards the back of the dungeon releasing his captive and the locket. Yugi caught it and hugged it closed to his chest before he faced Yami who swayed a little from exhaustion.

"Yami..." he whispered before dashing towards him and capturing himself into his embrace. "

Yugi..." Yami held him tight despite the pain in his chest. He finally stopped when he heard Gabriel shriek for their capture and his allies calling him. They hurried through the tunnel of light and ran through to the other side at Seto's mansion just as the tunnel began to grow smaller. Gabriel seeing this was furious and summoned a huge flow of energy and the tunnel began to dilate again.

"SEIZE THEM!!!" he screamed as monsters marched through. Everyone held their positions ready to take them on as they came.

"YUGI!!!" Yami yelled as his hikari slipped from his arms and stood himself at the entrance staring at the coming tide of demons. A slit of white started to get larger revealing an amethyst orb. Not the symbol of the sennen eye but a real third eye of Yugi's own glaring menacingly. Hot white light shot out form the pupil shooting past the monsters and straight at Gabriel and snapping his hold on the tunnel. With that done the tunnel closed rapidly trapping and crushing the monsters that was unable to escape to either side.

All was silent except for the crackling of the burning embers of the fire as the everyone stared at the little angel, or more like the third eye that had appeared upon his head. Three amethyst eyes blinked confused at first but with realization and horror. He backed away meekly, whimpering slightly whilst clutching the locket to his chest darted his gaze from each shocked face to the next.

"That's the reason that you were kidnapped" Isis realized whilst breaking the silence. "I thought they were after the Millennium Puzzle like all your other enemies but it appears I was mistaken"

"I was wondering why there wasn't a ransom note or something" Tristan said. Yugi whimpered a bit blinking three frightened eyes at his friends. Expecting a sudden uproar of anger and contempt from them

"Aibou..." Yami whispered as he moved closer to the frightened boy who had been exposed. He reached a hand, which made Yugi flinch closing his three eyes not daring to see the dreaded sight. Yami reached and tilted his face to look at him. "You're safe now... Everyone's your friend Yugi..."

"Yeah Yug..." Joey added with his heart-warming smile.

"You don't hate me?" Yugi whispered. They all shook their heads whilst Ishtar nodded. Malik elbowed him. Tears of relief started to fall down Yugi's cheeks. Yami wiped the tears away with his thumb and smiled.

"We could never hate you hikari..." Without another doubt in his friend's Yugi flung his arm around Yami crying hard into his shoulder as the burden of his secret was lifted from his shoulders.

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After that no one spoke in the Kaiba household as they helped Yami dress his wounds and then trudged their way following Mokuba to their respective guestrooms for the night. Tristan had helped Seto into the master bedroom whilst the others thanked gratefully for the beds. Yami smiled as he slipped off the jacket whilst trying not to disturb his aibou but then saddened at the news he was going to have to tell him in the morning.

"Did Grandpa talk to you after he died? Have you two made up?" Yugi whispered his eyes still closed. Yami froze. 'How did he know?' but then the information Solomon gave him came into mind and the questions he had floated back up demanding answers. He quelled the urge to ask for the night had been a long one and everyone needed to rest.

"Yeah... we've come to terms with each other..." he replied simply. Yugi opened his big amethyst eyes staring at him. He cuddled closer and buried his face into Yami's shirt finding comfort for his loss. Yami held him close and rubbing soothing circles on his back until sleep finally claimed his little hikari. He gazed at the figure standing near his doorway and slipped under and out of the room.

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Joey lay back on huge king sized bed staring at the ceiling. "Big brother?" "Hmm?" "What happened back at the museum?" Serenity asked. Joey turned to his side to face his sister who was lying next to him. An incredulous look sketched upon his face. "Back when that guy Kaiba tried to kill you? You weren't able to dodge it and..."

"To be honest I don't know..." Joey replied. "I don't know what happened. I'll tell you something though. That staff..."

"What? What did it do to you?" Serenity queried. Joey nodded.

"I'm not sure how ta explain it but when I touched it... it was warm... you know kinda tingly"

"I'm really scared Joey... I'm really scared that something might happen to you..." whimpered Serenity as tears began to form as she gripped the blanket tightly in her hands.

"Hey, hey... dis is your big brother you're talkin' about..."

"Joey this is not a joke" Serenity cried.

"I'm serious... Serenity... it's gonna take a lot more than a few snake faces ta get da best of Joey Wheeler" Joey said. "Besides... who's gonna look out for his baby sister huh?" Joey assured whilst wiping the tears with his thumb. Serenity sniffed then let out a little laugh. No matter what the situation was whether it was dueling at Battle City or facing their parent's divorce, Joey had always been there holding out strong and keeping up high spirits.

"Just promise me that you won't get yourself killed?"

"Serenity... I-"

"Promise..." Serenity interrupted. Joey sighed and nodded.

"I promise..." he replied. Serenity smiled as she cuddled close to her brother and soon she fell asleep, whilst Joey turned onto his back closing his eyes.

"You know, I'm curious of what happened with you and Kaiba" a sultry voice replied, bringing Joey back from the point of deep slumber. Joey let out an exasperated sigh as he opened his eyes. 'Jeez can't a guy get some shuteye?' He glared at Isis's sharp blue eyes. "I want to show you something" Joey sighed and carefully slipped off the bed so as not to disturb his little sister. He followed her to a study room where Bakura, Ishtar and Malik were gathered over a computer.

"What is it?"

"Some research I've been doing about these artifacts. Both found in a tomb in Egypt..." Isis explained

"That's strange..." Malik mused "...these items look more like their from the orient"

"They are..." a deep voice interrupted as Yami and Mokuba went to join their little discussion. "They belonged to my wife Yin... That symbol on the tomb matches Yugi's family crest on Yugi's locket..."

"So Yugi's a descendent of Yin..." Bakura concluded. "Wow... what a coincidence..."

"Do you three have any memories of these items?" Isis asked.

"The sword belonged to Yin as protection. The symbol on the hilt is the royal crest of Emeperor Xia's rule. The staff is the Dragon Scepter. It was said to have the power to summon great vast armies to the user's liking... " Yami explained.

"Me and Joey saw what that thing did that first hand... " Mokuba remarked.

"And has dis got anythin' got to do wit me? Cos if dare ain't I'm goin' ta bed" Joey complained irritatedly.

"Well, we're coming to that" Isis replied. "You mentioned that something unusual happened with you and this scepter"

"Yeah... a killer ray that was able ta nuetralise stone into dust aimed straight at me didn't kill me. It didn't even blow my hair out of place."

"Plus... the staff was glowing green but when Joey grabbed it, it suddenly turned white and filled the whole room with light knocking my brother out cold" Mokuba added.

"It appears, Joey that you're magically connected to this staff somehow..."

"I hate magic..." Joey replied simply.

"But what has it got to do with big brother?"

Isis mused over the concept. "Maybe..." she started but then there was an interrupted when a humming sound started to fill the air.

They all turned their gaze towards the Dragon Scepter that had laid forgotton on the table. A soft green glow grew brighter and started flashing as the Dragon Scepter shuddered to life. It flipped itself upright and then floated out of the room. The group dashed after it following the twists and turns of the mansion's hallways until it finally stopped on one room. A room that Mokuba dreaded.

"That's Seto's bedroom!!!" he cried. The door to the master bedroom flew open as the scepter floated in. It slammed shut but not fast enough for Mokuba, Joey and Yami to leap in. There in front of them Seto lay, levitated 3 feet off his bed as a green aura surrounded him.

"Ah great, next thing you know, he'll be puking pea soup all over ya..." Joey muttered sarcastically. Seto twisted and turned. Sweat soaked hair plastered to his face as if he was having a nightmare.

"Big brother..." Mokuba whispered panic started to rise.

FLASHBACK

The demon shook Seto's head before he went to reach for the staff. Joey dove and snatched the staff away leaving the entity powerless. The ghost made Seto smirk. "You don't know how to use it pathetic mortal..." but as he said so the jewel changed from fluorescent green to a gold lighting the whole room as if it had been daylight. Seto screamed loudly as the ghost was drawn out into its shadowy form contorted and twisted in agony from the bright light before shrinking into the protection of the body.

END FLASHBACK

"It's coming back..." Mokuba concluded. "That ghost... it's back!!! LOOK!!!" The staff edged forward whilst Seto strained. His eyes opened slightly as blue fought once again with green. Joey leapt on the staff pulling it away.

"OH NO YOU DON'T!!! ONE MURDEROUS RAMPAGE OF SNAKE FACED MEN ARE MORE THAN ENOUGH FOR ONE NIGHT!!!!" Joey practically screamed at him.

'Give it to me...' a voice rasped out of nowhere.

"NO WAY!!!!" Joey yelled who struggled against force drawing the staff closer to Seto. Yami and Mokuba joined in taking it further away from Seto as possible.

'Give it to me... or he dies' it rasped again. Something snapped, like a rib as Seto's head jerked to one side. A hint of red trickled from his lips. Mokuba screamed at the sight. A deep chuckle echoed across cavernous room.

"What's so important about the... funny stick" Joey questioned whilst straining against the force.

'Heh... only a fool would dare mock the sheer power of the Dragon Scepter. The Dragon Scepter is a powerful mystical item forged from the magics of ages before history was ever written' the being explained. 'Created by the anciet Dragon shamans to guard a most valuable treasure... that will be all I will tell you for I doubt your mortal mind can cope' Joey growled under his breath whilst the demon 'punched' Seto. A strangled voice uttered weakly as the sound of bones cracked.

"STOP IT!!!" Mokuba yelled with tears in his eyes staring at the bruises and cuts that had suddenly manifested on Seto's face and body. Joey grippeded the staff as the warm tingling sensation came over him.

"There's no way you're having dis staff... ghost... spirit...what ever you are..." Joey rattled defiantly as the green flashing of the jewel immediately glowed in a golden aura. His brown eyes became a fierce fiery amber whilst he gritted his teeth. Yami and Mokuba watched with shock at the power.

'How dare you...' the being hissed as a battle of wills were fought between them as the staff flashed green to gold to green and back to gold again. An explosion rattled the furniture of the room as Joey and Seto was thrown to opposites sides of the room. Mokuba ran to Seto whilst Yami stayed to aid Joey.

"Seto!!! Big brother?" Mokuba shook him slightly but found he was still unconscious. He breathed a sigh of relief he felt a pulse. Yami helped Joey up, as a trickle of bloody saliva ran from his lips.

"Joey are you ok!?" he cried in alarm.

"R fink r dust dib mar pongue" Joey mumbled as he spat the build up of blood then rubbed his mouth with his shirt. An arm over Yami's shoulder he hobbled to Seto's side. "I know the bastards still in dare... He's using Kaiba as a shield."

"Which means we can't get to him from here" Yami confirmed. "We need to find some way to project ourselves into Kaiba's mind and drive this ghost out" Joey widened his eyes.

"Do we have to?" Joey asked. "It's the only way to save him... Mokuba do you think it's possible to get access you to your brother's virtual simulators?"

"Yeah... why?"

"Coupled with a magic spell we can link our minds directly into Kaiba's dreams like a normal computer game"

"Apart from the magic bit, this is practically déjà vu..." Joey remarked sarcastically. Mokuba rushed open the door

"I... can't... open it!!!" he wrenched hard on the door.

"The door must still be magically sealed so noone get out or in"

"That means we're screwed? Me and Rich boy are gonna end up killing each other if that ghost keeps popping out all the time" Joey cried in alarm.

"Wait... Seto said he was working on a new hand held set..." Mokuba said as he searched his big brother's cupboards and brought out two headsets and a small microphone. They were of a simple design. Each had a translucent visor hooked on a simple headset, which was linked to a box the size of a Playstation with a monitor.

"It's just a prototype but it should work the same as the ones at the company"

"That'll do..."

"Ok..." Joey said breathing whilst putting one headset on Seto and the other on his. He placed his duelling deck inside the indicated compartment of the box. Yami grabbed his arm. "What?"

"Joey you can't... "Mokuba cried.

"Look kid, Yami. There are only three of us... Yami you can't do it cos you know the spell, even if you told me I don't wanna take the risk of screwin' up and sending you off to Timbuktu... and you're defintely not going... one screwed up Kaiba is more than enough for one night" he said to Mokuba.

The two of them stared at him but couldn't argue because he was right. Joey sighed before pulling the visor over his eyes and waited as the console booted up. Yami chanted in Egyptian as Joey's mind was warped into the simulation. Joey opened his eyes scanning the area. The place was a twisted region of what looked like downtown in Domino City. The people within it was also a little twisted, their faces contorted and obscured like a Picasso painting...

"Gee... Kaiba's even more demented than I thought" Joey mused outloud.

'Joey? Joey can you hear me?' It was Yami...

"Loud and clear amigo!!!" Joey yelled causing the obscured figures to stare at him strangely.

'Joey?' This was Mokuba 'We'll be watching your back from here'

"Ok, thanks" Joey replied.

'Oh... Joey?'

"What?"

'Promise me you'll bring back my big brother safe and sound?'

Joey sighed... "Sure kid... I promise..." With that Joey wondered the area scanning for a clue.

'Listen carefully Joey, almost everything in Kaiba's mind is a potential enemy since the ghost controls them. I'll put some of my cards in your deck to aid you in case you run into any trouble'

"Thanks man"

"You need to be extra vigilant in there Joey. Damage to your life point is as real as they can get for your body...'

Joey froze with wide eyes. "Like the Shadow Realm?"

'Yeah... be careful...'

"Eh heh, heh..." Joey let out nervous laugh before he exploded "YOU COULD HAVE TOLD ME THAT 'BEFORE' I WENT IN!!!"

'...sorry Joe '

"Sorry!? SORRY!?!?!? OH YOU 'WILL' BE SORRY WHEN I GET OUT OF HERE!!!!!" Joey practically screamed as he stormed ahead in his search for Seto.

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