"Brother... c'mere and look at this..."

Seto Kaiba looked up, noting the fearful tone in his little brother's tone. Mokuba was online, looking at a news article.

"What's wrong?" Kaiba asked, quickly moving to look over Mokuba's shoulder. Blue eyes quickly scanned the text, and Seto's normally quick mind froze.

"JAPANESE CRUISE SHIP, 'SAKURA,' SUNK IN FREAK STORM. 355 DEAD, 15 MISSING." was the headline of the article.

"Weren't Yugi and some of the others aboard the 'Sakura', brother?" Mokuba asked, his dark eyes turned to his brother. Seto was almost as white as his infamous Blue-Eyes.

"Y...yes... They were..." he said, his voice halting. Seto quickly turned to his own computer, pulling up the article in question. He scanned the list of the deceased, searching for the names of his unexpected friends. Not seeing them, Seto began to hope that maybe, just maybe Yugi and the others were still alive. For now, though, he had to expect the worst, and break the news to Serenity, Mai, and Devlin. Seto grimaced, already knowing the reaction he was going to receive.

Yugi stirred, feeling heat bombard his body, instead of the icy water he had felt what seemed to be ages ago. He tried to sit up, and felt a calloused hand push him back against the cot. He opened his eyes, and saw a face he hadn't expected to see for many decades, if ever.

"A...Atem?"

"Hush... you're still exhausted, you need to rest." The ancient pharaoh's voice was firm, commanding almost, even for it's whispered tone. He turned his head to the entrance of the room, seemingly listening for something. Yugi tried to keep himself awake, but darkness overran him once again.

Yugi woke up some time later, and was fully aware of himself and his surrounding as soon as his eyes opened. He pushed himself up into a sitting position, looking around the room. He jumped when the door opened.

"...I'm telling you, he's not ready! He needs time to recover from whatever happened, and the fact that worries me is that he's here at all! The living are not supposed to tread in this world!" Yugi heard worry and anger in his old friend's voice, and watched as the agitated pharaoh entered the room. Atem paused once he saw Yugi.

"Should I assume that I'm dead, then?" Yugi asked, only half-joking. Atem sighed.

"No, you're definitely still alive. Otherwise I would've found you in the city, without a single memory of who you had been in life."

"Therefore, he can help us all regain a bit of our lives, am I correct?" another voice asked. Yugi and Atem turned, watching an old long-nosed man walk in, leaning heavily on his cane.

"I told you, he's not ready for your tower. He doesn't even have a way back to the realm of life yet!" Atem hissed, eyes narrowing. Yugi shivered just a bit. He knew what happened when the man he saw as a brother was angered.

"Well, that can be resolved rather quickly..."

"Be that as it may, he's not ready! The last one you sent through that tower had to become a sacrifice! Why should I let my little brother suffer the same fate?"

"What's this tower thing you were talking about?"

Both men jumped, and Atem turned to Yugi, who was now sitting Indian-style on the cot, watching the former pharaoh and the old man argue.

"It's a place full to the brim with darkness... apparently the creatures from within that tower have gotten free-"

"Again." the old man interjected. Atem glared at him.

"Yes, again, and are preying on the people of... I believe the city is called Gekkokan?"

Yugi paused. He had heard of Gekkokan, about how people had suffered something called "Apathy Syndrome" for a period of about ten years.

"So... how am I supposed to help?" he asked, turning to the old man.

"You will meet a young lady and her comatose friend when you wake up. Ask her about the Dark Hour, and she should explain... she and her group will aid you in this journey." the old man replied, his face unreadable. Atem sighed, an annoyed expression on his face.

"Very well... I will aid you as well, Yugi. My way into the realm of life will land me in Domino City, but I'll find a way to Gekkokan." The pharaoh growled, his demeanor drooping from defeat.