A/N: Sorry this took so long to update but college work has been swamping me lately. Anyhow for those who read this story when it was Yao I recommend you at least read the near end of the last chapter since I edited it. Other than that enjoy the chapter!

Judai in Danger!

For Yusei, one of the perks of having Rex Goodwin as a guardian was getting to live in the huge island-like mansion. Now Yusei didn't enjoy it because he was living in a luxurious place, it was more of the fact that it was very private. He enjoyed having the privacy that came with the lifestyle and greatly used it to his advantage. Yusei would mostly be in the spacious garage that was apart of the mansion and could work on his D-Wheel or other projects without having to worry about being disturbed unless he was needed. In fact at this moment he was in the garage working continuously on something.

The garage was filed with scattered papers, parts, tools, and paint cans all over the place. Yusei didn't look any better with his wrinkled stained clothes, smudged covered face and hands; yet, a large smile came on his face as the project he had been working on for the past few weeks was finally finished. Yusei quickly got his cell phone from off one of the work tables in the garage and quickly called the person that was number one on his contact list. Yusei only had time to hear one ring before the person picked up.

"Konichuwa Yusei-chan!" the person greeted excitingly causing a grin to form on Yusei's lips.

"Konichuwa Judai-chan, how are you?" asked Yusei in a joyful tone.

"I'm good and judging by how cheerful you sound I'm guessing you're in a good mood yourself," humorously answered Judai.

"I am. I finally finished it," replied Yusei.

"…You mean the project you've been working on that you absolutely refused to tell me and Yugi what it was," Judai stated with a bit of exasperation creeping in his voice.

A chuckle escaped Yusei figuring that keeping this project a secret from the two had probably made them go crazy with anticipation and curiosity to no end. Hearing Yusei's laughter did not amuse Judai one bit.

"I don't see what so funny about that Yusei. You know we don't handle surprises very well," Judai proclaimed seriously, immediately cutting off Yusei's laughter.

Yusei knew Judai was being serious now, especially when he dropped the chan from his name. Yusei did understand how bad they were at handling surprises and with all of the things they had went through these past years he couldn't really blame them for not feeling up to any more surprises.

"I'm sorry Judai-chan, but I promise this surprise is worth it. In fact I want you and Yugi to come over and see it right away," Yusei said sincerely, which was good enough for Judai.

"Apology accepted Yusei-chan, but are you sure it's safe for us to come over now?" asked Judai with caution in his voice.

"Yes, my da-Goodwin has been busy with meetings this past week so I doubt he'll be a problem. Everyone else around here as usual are too occupied with their duties to care what I do at this point," explained Yusei in an almost droned out way.

Judai had taken notice of the slip Yusei made, but thought better not to mention it.

"Alright then, I'll be over soon."

"One more thing Judai-chan, do you mind calling Yugi and telling him the news for me? I have to clean up a little bit," Yusei requested.

"In other words you had called me the second you were done and that 'little bit' of mess you have to clean up is the entire garage and yourself. Am I right?" teased Judai already knowing he was correct in his assumption.

Yusei rolled his eyes at the truthful statement before quickly bringing back the subject of his request.

"Could you just tell Yugi and bring him here with you please," he responded with a slight note of irritation in his voice making Judai the one chuckling this time.

"Sure no problem, see you soon Yusei-chan!" Judai finished cheerfully before ending the call.

Yusei just shook his head at Judai's antics. Even after knowing him for twelve years it still amazed him how Judai could go from fun to serious and/or serious to fun so easily. Yet Yusei remembered that he had a lot of cleaning to do before his guests arrived and immediately began cleaning up all the mess.

Teleportation had to be one of Judai's favorite abilities that came with being the Herald of Gentle Darkness. As soon as he had finished calling Yugi and telling him about Yusei's now finished surprise, he had gotten an anonymous call from someone who wanted to challenge him to an underground duel. Judai had been very tempted to decline the challenge, but he had remembered that as the underground duel champion he couldn't decline any challenger for the chance to take the title from him and had therefore reluctantly agreed. When Judai was all set and ready to go, he decided to teleport to the underground duel field to save time since he was also going to pick Yugi up at his place and then teleport them both to Yusei's from there.

Judai wasn't surprised that he was the first one to arrive at the duel field since he got there in only two minutes after he'd gotten the challenge. While Judai stood on his side of the duel field, he took the chance to take out his Elemental Goddess deck and went through it before his opponent would show up.

"Ladies, we'll have to make this duel as quick was possible," Judai told his cards, which got an immediate response.

"We understand, we'll help you defeat your opponent in no time," replied one of the female spirits with a warm smile on her face.

This female spirit had a beautiful smooth dark brown complexion, forest green eyes with dark spring green painted lips, and deep jungle green hair that was tied into a long plat that reached down to her feet. She wore a hunter green colored sleeveless dress with a midriff and a ring of golden leaves wrapped around her petite waist like a belt and around her arms like a bracelet. This beautiful female spirit was known as Gaia the Earth Goddess.

"Thanks Gaia, I appreciate it," Judai said gratefully returning her smile.

Judai suddenly sensed that someone was coming and figured that it must be his opponent. Gaia quickly disappeared before Judai placed his deck into his duel disk. Judai then turned his eyes to the other entrance of the field and saw someone walking through the entrance. As soon as the person came into view, Judai was greatly surprised as he immediately recognized who the person was.

"I see by the look on your face that you know exactly who I am so there's no need for me to introduce myself," the man replied as he walked onto his side of the duel field with a smirk on his face.

"I'll make this very simple. I have a special offer for you Yuki Judai," started the man but Judai was quick to respond before he said anything else.

"I'm not interested in anything you have to offer," Judai remarked in a snappy tone, knowing that this person was nothing but trouble and couldn't be trusted.

In fact Judai turned his back to the man; ready to leave the field yet what the person said next froze Judai right in his tracks.

"Really, because I think both Yugi and Yusei would be very upset to know that you would be the one responsible for all of your secrets being exposed to everyone," the man claimed with a smug tone, with the knowledge that he now had Judai's undivided attention.

Despite how worried Judai felt, he did his best to keep his voice as calm and collected as possible.

"And exactly how would you accomplish that?" challenged Judai while turning around to face the person.

An amusing chuckle came from the man before he pulled a red folder from out of his green jacket. He then made a swift yet expert toss of the folder to Judai who managed to catch it in his hand with ease. Uncertainty briefly crossed Judai's face before he opened up the folder and was shocked beyond belief as he went through the containments of the folder.

"I believe you'll find that even a quarter of all the pictures and documents are more than enough proof for you," the man cockily answered as the smirk grew more on his lips.

A hard expression came on Judai face as he closed the folder and glared at the man in front of him.

"And I'm guessing this isn't the only copy you have?" Judai questioned though it was clear it was meant as more of a statement.

The man chuckled as he casually brushed his long red bang more to the side of his face.

"I knew you were a lot smarter than what your grades told. I certainly look forward to putting all that extensive knowledge you have to use Judai…or would you prefer Herald," the man stated normally causing Judai to be on a higher alert than he already was.

Judai's face became even harder as his eyes slowly turned into a haunting deep gold color and tendrils of darkness were beginning to circle around him.

"If you know who I am then you know not to tempt me," Judai remarked in a cold and powerful voice that certainly belonged to a king.

Most people would feel intimidated by Judai right now but the man became even more enthusiastic at the display of power Judai was exhibiting as a sinister smirk grew on his lips.

"I am very aware that you are much more powerful than myself and could easily dispose of me if you wish. However as you already stated I have more than one copy of the information in that folder and if anything were to happen to me or if I am gone for more than half an hour I have already given certain people instructions to expose it to the public right away. In fact it has already been ten minutes since I told them this, if I'm not back in twenty minutes…well you get the idea. So Judai if you want to continue to try and intimate me go ahead. I have all to time in the world to wait, you don't," the person elaborated in a smug tone.

The tendrils of darkness were evaporating as Judai's eyes were returning back to their normal brown color. A large frown had formed on his face at the realization that this man had trapped him into a corner.

"What do you want?" asked Judai in a harsh voice not liking the situation at all.

Seeing Judai submit to him brought a gleam of delight into the man's eyes and was more than happy to answer the question.

"It's very simple really. We duel. If you win I will destroy all of the information I have on you three and won't bother you again. However if I win you must become a member of my organization," he answered, which made Judai's face scrunch in distaste.

Judai was well aware of the man's organization. Everything about the organization screamed wrong to Judai and he certainly had no intent to become a part of it. However he did suspect that they would target him eventually which is why he tried to be as low key as possible but it seemed that it was all for not.

"This man is appalling. I can easily see through him. He has no intention of letting you go even if you do win the duel," Yubel remarked to Judai with revolution clear in her voice.

"I know, but as long as he has that folder I have no choice," angrily replied Judai hating that he was in this situation.

"Then I suggest we come up with a plan and quick," Yubel answered seriously to which Judai gave a mental nod in agreement.

However the man's voice quickly interrupted the private conversation between the two.

"Talking to your precious guardian is only wasting your time Herald. But don't worry once you join me I'll make sure to put that lovely soul fusion of yours to good use," he stated with a smirk.

This had caused Judai to snap as his eyes turned gold and the strands of darkness appeared once again. Only this time Judai lashed out as he used the darkness swirling around him to propel the man off the duel field and send him flying into the wall.

"Baka he's trying to rattle you!" scolded Yubel which succeeded in bringing Judai back to his senses.

Realizing Yubel was right made Judai reprehend himself for letting the person get to him like that. It was then that he heard an amused chuckle and turned to see the man now walking back onto to the field while clapping his hands in a mocking gesture.

"That was excellent Herald. Your power is truly astounding. I just can't wait to make you mine," the man said with a mischievous gleam in his eyes.

Judai had enough of this man and quickly activated his duel disk with a stone cold expression on his face.

"If we're going to duel than let's duel," responded Judai in an emotionless voice.

"Very well Herald, let us begin," the man agreed as he too activated his own duel disk.

"DUEL!"

Yugi had never been more grateful now than ever that his grandfather knew about his relationship between Judai, Yusei and himself. He didn't have to worry about sneaking in and out of the Game Shop or try and hide their pictures or other things that related to the three of them together. His grandpa had also been very helpful to all three of them in the past and still continues to do so even now. In fact at this moment Sugoroku Muto was currently in the kitchen preparing several bentos for Yugi's little gathering with Yusei and Judai. As he finished packing the last box, he heard two pairs of footsteps approaching the kitchen.

"Konnichiha jiisan," Yugi greeted happily as soon as he entered the kitchen with Yami in physical form right behind him.

"Konnichiha Yugi, Atem. You both look a little eager today," teased Sugoroku already knowing why the two were somewhat excited.

"Yusei-kun is finally going to show us what he's been working on for these past weeks and knowing Yusei it has to be something really good for him to keep it a secret from us," answered Yugi with excitement clear in his voice.

"I admit I'm quite curious as well to what it could be that Yusei's been working on," Yami added with an intrigued expression on his face.

"I agree; that boy is a wiz when it comes to those machines. I'm sure you all won't be disappointed one bit," Sugoroku remarked with a smile.

"Yeah I can hardly wait. I hope Judai-kun gets here soon," Yugi admitted with growing anticipation.

"Considering that he can teleport it shouldn't be that long aibou though amazingly even with that power he still manages to be late on occasion," Yami stated with a hint of humor in his tone.

"True but I doubt Judai would be this time since I know he's just as motivated as us to find out what Yusei's surprise is," replied Yugi.

"I just hoped I packed enough food. With an appetite like Judai's one can never be sure if they have the right amount," remarked Sugoroku in amusement which made the other two chuckle as they were all fully aware of Judai's legendary bottomless stomach.

However the humorous moment was quickly interrupted by a painful scream coming from Yugi's mouth. This immediately gained the attention of the others as they saw that Yugi was slightly bent over with his arms tightly covering up his chest. Yami who was the closest to Yugi swiftly went to his side and was shell shocked when he noticed blood seeping onto the sleeves of Yugi's jacket.

"Yugi let me see!" Yami said urgently as he started moving Yugi's arms from his chest.

When Yugi's chest was uncovered a gasp escaped Yami's lips as he saw a sever stab wound on Yugi's stomach. Sugorokuwho had also went over to Yugi and saw the wound causing a strict look to come over his features.

"Atem, get the first aid kit. I'll stay with Yugi," Sugoroku instructed to the ex-pharaoh.

Yami did not want to leave Yugi's side for a second and was hesitant to do so; however one look at the seriousness on Sugoroku's face left no room for argument.

"T-That's not necessary," panted out Yugi surprising the other two.

When Yugi noticed the confused and almost reluctant expressions on their faces, he knew that he had better explain quickly or they would act despite what he said anyway.

"Judai's the one who has been hurt; it's because of our bond that I received the wound too. I can also feel that Yusei's in the same situation as me. So I doubt patching me up would be enough to fix this. I have to try and heal all three of us," explained Yugi in heavy breaths.

Hearing this however brought a more troubled look on the two men's faces, especially Yami's.

"Yugi, healing all three of you like that would be very strenuous on you," Yami uttered seriously, not liking the idea of Yugi pushing himself to such a degree.

"I have to mou hitori no boku, it's the only way to fix this," retorted Yugi before another cry of pain came from his mouth.

Sugoroku and Yami immediately checked Yugi to see if more injures had appeared on Yugi's body. Luckily to their relief only the stab wound was still existent.

"I have to try and heal us now. Whatever is happening to Judai only seems to be getting worse," Yugi struggled to say though all the pain he felt.

"Then be careful Yugi," replied Sugoroku to his grandson with an encouraging look in his eyes.

"And we'll be right here for you aibou," reassured Yami with a comforting smile of his own.

Yugi gave them both a warm smile in return before he closed his eyes and an expression of concentration crossed his face. It wasn't long before a glowing purple encircled star symbol appeared on Yugi's forehead and Yugi could feel himself drifting further away from the world around him and deeper into his own soul. The more deeper he went the more stronger he could feel the connection that bonded him to Yusei and Judai to the point that he could almost touch it. Yugi was now more in tune to Yusei and Judai and could tell that just like him; they both were in serious pain. Knowing that the source of the pain was coming from Judai's end, Yugi focused his power more on Judai while also spreading his power to Yusei and himself as well. Yugi could already feel his wound start to heal and knew the same thing was now happening to Judai and Yusei.

Yet to Yugi's surprise a sudden barrier was put up which caused his healing power to cut off from Judai's side of the link. Yugi was puzzled by this wondering why Judai had stopped the healing process. Yugi began to feel waves of confusion and worry from Yusei's side of the link letting him know that Yusei was just as surprised as he was that Judai had stopped it. It was times like these where Yugi wished they could communicate to each other with words but because there link was conducted on such a high spiritual level any kind of physical actions were practically impossible to do. The only way they could form some kind of communication was by sending their emotions across the link to get a good idea of what the other was feeling or doing. And from all the adrenalin, anxiousness, and exhaustion that was coming from Judai right now Yugi could guess that either Judai was in some kind of fight or a duel. Unfortunately neither option was exactly comforting to Yugi knowing that Judai had been hurt and had refused to be healed.

Yusei must have been on the same wavelength as Yugi because feelings of uneasiness and persistence were carried over from Yusei towards Judai. Yugi decided to follow Yusei's lead and send over his own concern to Judai, wanting to know what was happening to Judai. They were soon meant with a feeling of reassurance, yet there was also an edge of urgency behind it as well which told them that something was defiantly wrong. Yugi and Yusei were very reluctant to let this go and wanted to know more from Judai, however Judai's side of the link had been immediately cut off completely causing Yugi and Yusei to no longer feel Judai at all. Panic quickly set in for Yusei and Yugi from the loss of Judai's presence, knowing that something unexpectedly happed to Judai. They tried searching for any trace of Judai on the spiritual plane but turned up completely empty.

Yugi realizing that there was no more they could do to help Judai in this state decided that he could at least finish healing them now that Judai's barrier had left along with Judai. So Yugi put his entire focus on that task and even though it was a lot harder with not being able to hone in on Judai, Yugi had managed to heal the three of them completely. Yugi felt gratitude come from Yusei and Yugi gladly accepted it before they both agreed that it would be better for them to regroup back in the physical world so they could figure out what to do next.

When the man was sure that the gas in the duel arena had been cleared, he immediately took off the protective mask from his face. It wasn't long before a sinister and victorious smirk crossed his lips as his eyes landed on the unconscious prone figure of Judai across the field. He became very amused when he saw the duel monster that was on the field at the time he set off the gas was now desperately calling out Judai's name as she went over to Judai. Yet to her surprise when she tried to shake Judai awake, her hands went right through him causing the man watching to laugh at her expense.

"You're wasting you're my dear. Not only did I make sure that the gas was strong enough to knock out an elephant but as long as I still have Skill Drain activated on the field you all are just powerless holograms," he gloated in confidence making the female monster glare at the man with loathing.

Sadly she knew that the man was right. Even if she was able to wake Judai they all would still be at his mercy as long as he had that trap on the field that pretty much made all of them, including Judai, powerless.

"That accursed man played us from the beginning!" the female duel monster thought in anger.

"Gaia, calm yourself. Getting angry is pointless. All we can do now is stay strong for Judai and trust the others to save us," Yubel stated calmly as she appeared in her spiritual form knowing that only Gaia could see her.

Gaia was surprised and a bit angry at Yubel's calm demeanor at the tragic situation they were all in. She expected Yubel out of all of them to be the most worried and chaotic at this point and didn't understand why she hadn't at least cursed/threatened the man by now. However one look in Yubel's eyes was enough for Gaia to understand perfectly. Protecting Judai was her responsibility and passion, for her to not be able to do anything to stop the man from hurting and using Judai was really tearing her apart. Nonetheless there was a resolve in Yubel's eyes that told her that no matter what happened next she would continue to protect Judai no matter what. Despite the situation, Gaia couldn't help the small smile that came to her lips having also agreed to herself that she would also continue to protect Judai as well. She could feel her other fellow goddesses coming to the same decision.

"We are more than willing to help you in protecting Judai. We're with you Yubel-chan," declared Gaia strongly to which brought a shadow of a smile on Yubel's face.

There was no more that needed to be said between the two. Yubel soon disappeared back into Judai's subconscious and Gaia returned back to her card after giving the man another distasteful glare. Of course the glare didn't faze the man one bit and only made him more satisfied knowing that he got what he wanted in the end. When the duel monster returned to her card, the man then walked across the field over to where Judai was, with his duel disk still activated so that Skill Drain was still in effect to keep any attempt of escape from Judai's duel monsters. Now right in front of the unconscious Judai the man couldn't help the wicked grin that grew on his face.

"Welcome to the Arcadia Movement Yuki Judai," the man announced before he let out a victorious and foul laugh that echoed over the entire duel field.

A/N: So for those who watched Yugioh 5Ds you probably know who the man is that wants Judai. Hope this chapter was worth the wait for you guys!

Card Stats:

Gaia the Earth Goddess

Star: 6

Atk/Def: 2100/1700

Attribute: Earth

Type: Plant/Effect

Effect: This monster cannot be destroyed in battle. You can change the battle position of any monster that this card attacks or attacks this card.

Next Chapter: Judai, Friend or Enemy?