A/N: I don't typically update this quickly, but I'm itching to get through the set up and to the plot as fast as possible.

Yugi's hand moved in mechanical circles, rubbing Windex into the glass display case with a rag. Two weeks had passed, and his neck still felt unnaturally light. The shape of the millennium puzzle made for an awkward pendant. The weight of the gold had tugged hard on his neck and dug the sharp line along the back of the square side into his solar plexus. It had swayed, twisted, and bounced when he walked, poking him alternately with two of the top corners. He missed it more than anything.

No, that wasn't true. He missed Atem more than anything. The sudden emptiness in his head, in his soul, was far more jarring than losing the comforting weight of the puzzle. Sure, he'd proven he could duel without the Pharaoh, but he'd also realized something in the last two weeks. He'd come to depend on Atem for confidence and strength in many areas of his life. Joey and Tristan protected him from bullies, and Tea was a great listener, but… Yugi felt so hollow. So alone in his own head. One couldn't go from having two souls in a single body to being all alone and move on as though nothing had happened.

The bell above the door jingled as two teenage boys entered the store. "I knew we'd find him here," the blond drawled in his Brooklyn accent.

"What're you doing here, Yug? It's Saturday," the brunette added.

The short boy smiled up at his friends. He'd been desperate to keep himself busy. If his hands were busy, his mind couldn't wander. If his mind didn't wander, he didn't have to face the cavernous quiet where the Pharaoh once resided. He swallowed and chose his next words carefully. "I have so much time on my hands now, I thought I should help grandpa out a bit. Like I used to before."

Joey and Tristan's grins faltered as their minds turned to their lost friend. They missed him too, but neither could imagine how it must feel for Yugi. "Well, uh," Joey said. "We were about to meet Tea at the mall. We thought it might do you some good to, you know, get out too. You been spending a lot of your spare time here."

Tea. Yugi's heart fluttered a little. Kind, beautiful, strong Tea. He knew she liked the Pharaoh. Him moving on meant Yugi might have a chance with Tea now. However, without his other half's confidence, Yugi wasn't sure if he'd be able to tell her how he felt. It was sadly ironic. If she even wanted him now that he'd reverted from exotic Egyptian king to plain old Yugi… Regardless, the girl's sparkling eyes and easy laugh temporarily filled the hole in his heart. Before Yugi could go ask his grandpa's permission to leave, the bell rattled again. The trio turned to look, and all three had to blink to ensure their eyes weren't deceiving them.

"What do you want?" Joey's tone was faintly accusatory.

Yugi shook off his shock and smiled nervously. "Hey, Kaiba." He straightened from his crouched position in front of the display case. Fate had thrown them together over and over, but with all of that passed Yugi hadn't expected to see the CEO of Kaiba Corp again, certainly not this soon, and especially not at the modest Kame Game shop. "Can I help you?"

Seto towered stiffly over all three of them. Icy blue eyes narrowed as they regarded the snarling mutt. The group's little attack dog. Seto's desperation had forced his pride into submission long enough for him to seek audience with Yugi, but he'd be damned if he discussed this business in front of Wheeler. He could barely admit to himself that there might possibly be forces beyond his understanding at work in the world. With all the bizarre things that happened to the spiky-haired runt, Seto thought Yugi could offer some insight on his current predicament. None of the other dorks had any business nosing into his private affairs.

"Spit it out, rich boy, we ain't got all day," Joey said.

"As short as I'm sure the exchange would be, I don't have time to engage you in a battle of wits, or whatever passes for wit in that big, empty head of yours. Now, if you two would vacate the premises, I came to speak with Yugi in private."

Joey growled. "Yeah, well, this is a public place. You got no right to throw us out. So what now?"

Yugi's purple eyes scanned Kaiba's expression. The mask of indifference covered it well, but his face looked too stiff. Tiny red lines in the whites of his eyes spoke of sleeplessness, and rigid posture spoke of intense strain. "We'd have more privacy in my room," Yugi suggested softly. He didn't expect Kaiba to accept, but when he nodded and followed Yugi upstairs, without any kind of cutting remark, Yugi imagined the situation must be more serious than he previously thought.

For their part, Tristan and Joey watched dumbstruck as the tail end of Kaiba's navy-blue trench coat disappeared through the back door, but didn't try to follow.

)0(

They made it upstairs without running into Grandpa Muto, and Yugi shut the door.

"I only came here as a last resort," Seto said without taking his scowl off of Yugi. "I want you to know that."

"Okay," Yugi said, and waited for him to continue. Dealing with Kaiba's ego took patience and a thick skin, but Yugi had grown accustomed to it.

Seto groaned and stared at his shoes. "Mokuba has been missing for nearly a week." His voice came out dead and tired. He was terribly worried. The worry tore him up from the inside out, but he didn't want Yugi to see it. That display of weakness was a surrender he would not allow.

Yugi's purple eyes widened farther than usual. "What happened?" Yugi already knew how much Kaiba's little brother meant to him. Kaiba had put his life on the line for a chance to save Mokuba at Duelist Kingdom. If Kaiba's presence here today didn't say enough, that moment spoke volumes.

"I don't know," Seto said. "The mansion security tapes showed him entering the dueling arena, but he never came out. The computer data and the footage from inside the dueling arena were scrambled by some kind of- some kind of software glitch." He had to force that past a lump in his throat. A tiny doubt nagged him. "We searched the whole arena top to bottom. I called the police, hired an investigator, had my staff analyze the glitch and try to repair the footage, but none of them could find anything."

"A week isn't that long. I'm sure someone'll find something." Yugi tried to sound encouraging. "Is there something I could do?"

Seto turned his back to Yugi and slipped a long-fingered hand into his pocket. "I can't believe I'm doing this," he muttered. Perhaps sleep deprivation and desperation threatened his sanity, but for Mokuba he needed to try all of the angles. The incident with the dragon cards had gotten him thinking, and Yugi wouldn't dismiss or laugh at the idea of a... special card. He wouldn't go blabbing about this conversation with anyone else, either. Pinching the card between his pointer and middle fingers, Seto held it out behind him. "I found this card on his field. It's not in our database. Since you're such a magnet for weird cards, I thought I'd ask if you heard of it."

"Goddess Tesseract?" Yugi studied the red-eyed woman and she studied him in return. The scarlet popped in contrast with the blacks and grays that comprised the rest of the color scheme. "It doesn't look familiar."

Seto glared at him. "I came all the way over here and that's all you have to say?"

"I'm sorry, Kaiba," Yugi stammered sincerely. "I wish I could help." Atem. Yugi bet the Pharaoh would've had some ideas, but he wasn't here. There was silence. Yugi didn't like silence. "You think the card caused the glitch?"

"The thought had crossed my mind," Seto said. "However, there weren't any viruses in the system."

Yugi scratched the nape of his neck, where the puzzle's chain once sat. Kaiba seemed so distressed, and Yugi wanted to help so badly, but he couldn't think of anything. His eyes fell on the top shelf of his closet. "What if we put it on my duel disk?"

The taller boy's eyebrows knitted together and he regarded Yugi as though he'd grown a second head. "What difference would that make?"

"Well, maybe if we saw what it did, then… I mean, if it…" Yugi trailed off sheepishly. He couldn't say for sure why that seemed like the right step to take. It just did.

The suggestion sounded idiotic, and Kaiba almost said as much. However, Yugi dragged his desk chair to his closet and climbed up to retrieve a box from a high shelf. "Are you seriously going to waste my time with this?"

Yugi opened the box, slipped the duel disk on his arm, and started it. "I have a hunch," he said, frowning. "Besides, you asked for my ideas. It would be more of a waste if we didn't try anything at all." He placed the card on the device's field. Nothing happened.

"I never should've come here," Seto grumbled, reaching for the card. "You really did leave your better half in Egypt."

In the next moment, everything happened at once. Stung by Kaiba's words, Yugi took a backwards step. Kaiba's hand closed on thin air as the card and the duel disk it sat on followed Yugi's retreat. The translucent image of some kind of dark angel appeared near the ceiling, posed as though crucified. A bright flash preceded the plunge into complete darkness.