Spoilers: Duelist Kingdom
Pairings: Eventual YxYY and YBxR, other pairings later.
AN: "text" speech, 'text' thought, ((text)) telepathy/text/ hikari to yami mindlink, (/text/) yami to hikari mindlink, #text# English

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Chapter 6 - Into the Shadows We Go

Opening theme: Higher and Higher

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"Aww, man! Not again!" Jonouchi groaned, immediately recognizing the swirling purple and black environment and oppressive atmosphere.

Jianu rounded on the blond teen, he'd been here before! "Where the hell are we!"

"Shadow Realm," Yami no Yugi answered for him. The dark spirits had taken over the moment the yami no game had been invoked, though Yami no Bakura was impersonating Ryou.

Jianu took one good look at the yami and freaked. This was NOT her cousin.

((Who are you!)) her mental voice thundered.

((I do not remember. Aibou and his friends call me, mou hitori no Yugi.))

((THEY KNOW!))

((Hai. Aibou wished to tell you of my existence himself, but never could find the appropriate time to do so.))

((Jianu-chan?)) Yugi's mental voice cut in, his tone chagrined. ((Gomen ne, I meant to tell you sooner.))

((You can trust him. Mou hitori no boku just wants to protect me and the people I care for.))

((All right, Yugi-kun.))

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While the teens "talked", Vegeta glared darkly at the lunatic emperor and his son. Somehow, the idiots had managed to harness a powerful force, one that seemed to pulse all around them. But something about this place wasn't right. It smelled . . . off.

"What is this Shadow Realm?" he growled, moving closer to his son and the other children(1), unconsciously responding to a need to protect.

"Another dimension, Vegeta-san. It is the home of Duel Monsters and the place where the Yami no Games are played," Yami no Yugi explained.

"So how did we get here?" Goku asked.

"And more importantly, how do we get out?" Debra(2) added, coming up to stand by the two saiya-jin.

"It's simple really," Yami no Yugi chuckled darkly, Udjat eye appearing on his forehead. "We win."

Vegeta narrowed his eyes at the small teen, "What type of game are we playing?"

Yami no Yugi shrugged, "I do not know. That is for the challenger to decide."

"Precisely." Bento smirked at the Z senshi and Yugi-tachi, it was almost too easy. He was surprised that some of the teens had knowledge of this magic, but remained undeterred. In the end, it wouldn't help them. "I believe most of you have at least heard of the game 'Magic and Wizards'(3)?" The looks he received from his captive audience told him what he needed to know. "That will be the game we play. The rules are simple: Seven of you against myself and six of my men. The team to win at least four duels, wins their freedom. The losers remain here in the Shadow Realm for all time."

"How do we know you won't cheat?" Kuririn growled, clearly not trusting either of the blue-skinned maniacs.

"In a Yami no Game, there IS no cheating. To cheat or forfeit, is to lose. To lose is to play a Batsu no Game(4)." Mou hitori no Yugi replied for them, the glowing eye etched on his forehead giving him an eerie appearance.

"Why do I not like the sound of that?" the former monk muttered, reflexively shivering.

Yami no Yugi smirked, "Don't worry. A Yami no Game also reveals your true nature."

Not wanting Bento to overhear, Jianu addressed the spirit mentally. ((So, Mou hitori no Yugi, who besides you and Kaiba-kun should duel with us?))

((Jonouchi-kun and Bakura-kun would make excellent teammates. Anzu is good as well, but may not have the ba(5) for this type of battle.))

((What do you mean?))

((In a duel like this, you will actually summon the beasts.))

Mentally groaning, Jianu turned to the other teenage Z senshi. "I know Miraku's got his with him, so who else has their cards on them?"

Akira shook his head, "Don't look at us. We've never needed them in a fight before."

"Ano, I-I've got mine, Jianu-chan," Gohan admitted softly.

"Hontou? That's great!"

Goku looked at his son in surprise as the shy teen pulled his dueling deck out, he was sure Chi-Chi had gotten rid of those cards. 'Looks like Gohan's going to be okay after all.'(6)

"I don't know why I brought them . . . it just felt like I needed to." The 13 year-old demi-saiya-jin murmured, almost feeling silly at having brought cards to a fight.

"It's the Heart of the Cards," Yami no Yugi breathed, awed that this new duelist had such a strong bond. At Gohan's confused blink he continued, "The connection a duelist makes with their deck and the monsters within."

Jonouchi grinned at the still-confused demi-saiya-jin, "I know it sounds weird, but it's true. I've seen it work."

"It works for you as well, Jonouchi-kun." Yami no Yugi reminded the lanky blond. "The monsters are real, Gohan-kun and you are one of the rare individuals that has a true connection to them. Trust in your deck. It will serve you well."

Kaiba snorted, "Heart or not, if your deck is weak or you have no skill then you'll still lose. What we need here are duelists."

"Gohan's deck isn't weak and he DOES have skill," Jianu growled at the brunet teen. If there was one thing about him that pissed her off, it was his attitude when dueling. "I taught him how to play and helped him assemble his deck."

Raising an eyebrow at the blue-gray-eyed teen, Kaiba bit back a nasty retort, settling for a somewhat more civil response. "And why, Kreiger, should THAT little fact reassure me?"

"Because she was America's number one Magic and Wizards champion up until last year," Bento interrupted, grinning nastily at the group. "That's why I chose this as our game. I want to destroy her at something she loves!"

Yugi and the Z senshi sweat-dropped at the insane teen's behavior, while the other's gaped at Jianu. None of them seemed to be able to get a coherent question out.

Sighing, Yami no Yugi decided to move things along. He had no desire to stay here any longer than necessary. "Ask her about it AFTER we duel."

After a nudge from her cousin and a quick glance at Goku and Vegeta, Jianu answered the blue-skinned teen's challenge. "All right Bento, we'll duel you AND we'll kick your ass at it!"

'Hn. Such confidence. Too bad it's falsely placed.' Bento smirked and gestured to the dueling tables that had appeared. "Come Guardians, let's bring this rivalry to an end!"

Jianu smirked, "Who said we were going to be the ones dueling?"

"Nani!"

"You never specified that the seven of us had to duel. You challenged us and OUR FRIENDS. So only two of our duelists will be Guardians: Miraku and myself."

". . . . . ."

"-our remaining duelists will be Gohan, Bakura, Jonouchi, Seto, and my cousin."

"Very well," he acquiesced, deciding that it wouldn't make a difference in the long run. "Let the Yami no Game, BEGIN!"

"One question Kreiger," Kaiba murmured softly to the female duelist as they walked towards their opponents. "Did Bandit Keith get your title before or after you quit the American leagues?"

Turning to face the blue-eyed teen, Jianu smirked, "After, of course."

"Good."

The seven duelists stepped up to meet Bento and his challengers, none daring to allow their fear to show. Jonouchi even being so bold as to make faces at his opponent. But the moment Yugi and Ryou took their places, they were surrounded by a bright light. Yugi felt a bizarre tugging sensation at his soul, then a painful yank as his yami was pulled out of his body. Ryou too, was subjected to the painful treatment, as well as having the Sennen Ring materialize around his neck once more.

(/Aibou/)

(/Yadonushi!(7)/)

/YAMI/ both teens cried, watching fearfully as their darker halves were forced to appear, each spirit surrounded by a cage of shadows.

"Sennen Ring!" Yugi-tachi shrieked, jumping back and staring nervously between the bound spirit and the silver-haired teen's pendant.

Sighing, Jianu pinched the bridge of her nose, "This is another one of those things you haven't told me, isn't it?"

Yugi grinned sheepishly at her, "Yeah."

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The whole time his son had been goading the Z senshi, Pilaf had sat back and watched, proud of his son's accomplishments. Soon there would be no one left to stop him from getting the Dragonballs and making his wish! He giggled happily to himself, soon the world would bow to him!

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Closing Theme: Yume Wa Oshite

09/03/05
re-edited 08/20/06

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1 - Trunks: age 5, Goten: age 4, Laura: age 6, and Ana: age 10. (Ana and Laura are Jianu's sisters)

2 - Jianu's mom.

3 - name for the card game in the manga.

4 - penalty game

5 - ancient Egyptian term for your life force or ki

6 - in other words, he's pleased by Gohan's rebelling. Even in such a small way, it proves that Gohan isn't allowing his mother to make all his decisions for him. If you remember the scene at the hospital when Gohan yelled at his mother, insisting that he go to Namek to help, Goku was smiling proudly at him.

7 - landlord, this is the name Yami no Bakura addresses Ryou as.

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Disclaimer: Here we go. I do not own any of the characters from Dragonball, Dragonball Z, or Dragonball GT. They are all the property of Akira Toriyama, Bird Studio, Toei Animation, and Funimation Inc. Also, Yu-Gi-Oh and all it's characters are the property of Kazuki Takahashi, Shueisha, Konami, Toei, and unfortunately, 4 Kids Entertainment. Jianu and her familiars, as well as any other new characters, are mine. I'm not making any money off of this, I'm just having fun. Suing me would be largely pointless as I am just a poor college student that works for the school system.

Disclaimer addendum: Jianu, Akira, Miraku, Takeshi, Marion, Chujitsu, Sean, Debra, Tim, Ana, Laura, Bento, and the Dragonball Guardian idea, are all mine. If you'd like to borrow them, please ask, I might let you use them.