Atem grimaced as he looked at his watch. It was nine-thirty, much later than he had expected to linger at Tea's house. He hoped that Yugi wasn't worried, but he didn't have a cell phone to call Yugi and assure him of his safety. Atem thought about how he would feel if Yugi was gone until hours after sunset. He laughed shortly—he'd probably be ready to take someone's head off if that happened.

He stopped when he heard the sound of pathetic whining coming from behind him. Atem turned around and saw a large, hairy dog lying on the ground. From the way it was sprawled on the cold pavement, moaning pitifully, it looked like it had been injured.

Atem remembered a certain event in his past: He had been only twelve years old or so, going into the market with Mahaad to learn about economics and the art of buying and selling goods. He had seen an emaciated dog lying on the street in almost the same manner as the dog right in front of him, whining and moaning in pain. He had gone over to try to comfort it, but as soon as he touched the dog it had bitten him on the hand. It had taken weeks for it to heal, and he still had the scar on his resurrected body, even five-thousand years later.

"Sorry, but I learned my lesson the last time," Atem said to the hound. He turned to keep going when he heard the dog's whimpering cease suddenly. He turned around out of pure curiosity and felt a sharp stinging sensation on his ankle from where the dog had gotten up and bitten him. It was standing up now, perfectly healthy and looking menacing.

Atem felt suddenly feeble, although he hadn't suffered much blood loss. He collapsed onto the ground, his vision spinning. All of a sudden, he felt his body changing. With his dim sight, he saw the dog's form changing as well. Atem's clothing disappeared and fur grew all over his skin, while the dog's hide changed to human flesh. Atem's hands became clawed and padded and a tail grew out of the end of his spinal cord as the dog's tail receded and it stood up. Atem felt the shape of his face elongate into a snout, and the dog's face turned into Atem's face.

Finally, Atem lay on the ground in the shape of a beast, looking up at a black-and-white carbon copy of himself. He saw his impersonator smile and heard him laugh derisively. "How pathetic," the fake Atem said. "You couldn't show mercy to a poor, innocent animal." He gave a whimper just like the dog had done, and then he looked down at Atem mockingly. "Let's see what your life is like."

The imposter gave a swift, hard kick to the dog's head, and Atem saw only darkness.

"Atem's certainly been gone a long time," Yugi said to himself as he looked out the window. He had started to get anxious half an hour ago; now he was downright panicked. It was nearly eleven-thirty! "Grandpa, I'm going to look for Atem!" he yelled to the eldest Mutou, and he got his coat.

Yugi followed the interconnected sidewalks to Tea's house, thinking that if something had happened, it would have happened on those paths. Maybe he had just lingered because he had finally admitted his true feeling to Tea and they wanted to talk it out. Yeah, that was probably it.

Atem had found himself romantically interested in Tea for the past few months, but despite Yugi's cheerleading had not found the courage to tell Tea herself. Yugi thought it was a bit out of character for him, as Yugi had never known Atem to be fearful or timid about anything.

Then Yugi noticed a great, black mass in the middle of the walk, lying in the shadows of the streetlight. Upon closer inspection, Yugi observed that it was some sort of big dog. It was unconscious at the moment, but it was still a stray animal. Maybe he should avoid it; it could hurt him.

But no matter what his better judgment said, Yugi's heart was moved for the poor creature. He crept up to it and placed a gentle hand on its side. Its—or, now that Yugi looked, his—head was matted with blood. Yugi carefully pushed aside its hair and saw its wound.

Suddenly the dog's yellow eyes opened. Yugi crept back in fear. What had he gotten himself into?

Atem felt throbs of stabbing pain in his forehead. How did he get here? Where was here, exactly? After a few moments of befuddled thoughts, Atem remembered everything that had happened a couple of hours ago. The dog—the bite—the sudden transformation—seeing himself—it all rushed back at him in an instant.

He was a dog, and some strange creature was running around Domino with his form! What if he did something horrible and Atem was to blame? What if Atem never got his body back at all?

Then Atem noticed the warm hand pressed against his side and the slender fingers grazing his injury. Atem opened his eyes and saw a colorless Yugi looking fearfully at him. "Yugi…?" Atem tried to say, but all that came out was a soft bark. This seemed to distress Yugi even more, and the boy got up and inched back slowly.

Yugi couldn't leave; he was the only link Atem still had to the human world! Atem stood, tripping over his four legs, and looked up at Yugi. He kept trying desperately to find a way to communicate who he really was, but how could he when he couldn't speak, write a note, or even communicate telepathically?

Yugi watched the dog stand up and stumble as if it had drunk too much beer. Yugi took a step back and the dog followed him slowly. Yugi bit his lip, trying to find a way out of this situation. He shouldn't try to run away, because the dog would be too quick for him. He shouldn't try to fight it off, because the dog would be too strong for him. So only one idea came to mind.

"Sit, boy!" Yugi commanded. The dog hesitated for a moment, but then it obediently sat down on its haunches while staring at Yugi in a hauntingly desperate manner.

Maybe Atem couldn't convince Yugi that he was supposed to be human, but he could convince him that he was a faithful pet, one that would readily obey his master's wishes. Atem knew that Yugi had a soft spot for animals, especially ones that were weak or injured in some way, and this could be his ticket back into the house.

Yugi backed up even more, seemingly wanting to leave, but Atem gave a pitiful howl and flopped onto the ground in a heartbreaking gesture of helplessness. Yugi looked back at him, debate obvious in his face. Oddly enough, Atem noticed that he could smell Yugi's uncertainty.

At last, Yugi walked back to Atem's side—Atem gave a silent cheer—and scratched Atem behind the ears. Before he knew it, Atem felt a wave of bliss wash over him. The pain was gone, the worry was gone, everything was gone except for those blessed fingertips that were gently caressing the top of his head.

Then Atem realized with shame and horror that his tail was wagging. He glanced at Yugi, though, and noticed that he was smiling. Alright, so wagging the tail was a good thing. Yugi stood up and walked off. "Wait!" Atem said without even thinking, and it came out as a sharp bark.

Yugi turned around and pointed to the ground next to ground by his feet. "Come!" he said sharply. Atem was thoroughly relieved and picked himself off the ground once again, trotting along after Yugi while happily wagging his tail.