I just can't stop writing...

An hour later, the pharaoh had not yet emerged from the puzzle. Yugi couldn't decipher many of his thoughts, just emotions like angst, and confusion.

He was on his way to Joey's house to get his mind off of things. As he turned a corner between two buildings, a large man in a trench coat appeared. He was staring at Yugi directly, with his mouth turned up in a devilish smile of triumph.

"Yugi Mouto." He sneered at the boy's fear.

"Um, can I help you?" He tried to keep his distance, but the man wouldn't move. He was drawing him in towards the filthy, brick wall.

"I've come to take those God Cards off your hands," He let out a short breath, hinting at confident laughter.

Yugi sighed, expecting such random duels since his last victory. "If you really want them, you're going to have to duel me," he stated, preparing his duel disk.

Surprisingly, the man replied, "I don't have that kind of time. Now hand them over before I smash your face in."

'Yugi, run!' Yami appeared next to him, just now noticing what was happening.

'I can't, he's huge! There's no way around him!' He answered mentally, beginning to panic.'

The man grabbed Yugi's shoulder, crushing the fabric in his fist and pushing the small boy against the wall, "Last chance. Give me your goddamn God Cards!"

"No!" He looked away at the sight of the man's fist hurtling towards him. He felt an impact, but it wasn't from the punch. He was still standing in the alley, but he was in spirit form. Yami was beside him, blocking the fist with his left hand, which was only mere inches from his neck.

The man, bewildered by the sudden change in height, continued to fight Yami for the cards. The pharaoh put up a good fight, but he just wasn't strong enough to take on such a large brute.

He took a blow to the face, distracting him long enough for the man to throw him to the ground. The sound of his body hitting the pavement made Yugi cringe and cry out for his poor friend.

Once Yami was on the ground, the man kicked him in the chest, repeatedly. He attempted to get up many times, but he was thrown down by the force of the boot.

He reached for the duel disk when Yami seemed to have taken enough, but the pharaoh tried to hit him with it. He pulled his long hair, grinding it between his meaty hands and knocked his head against the pavement.

'NO!' Yugi cried, trying to take his body back. But Yami, who had not yet passed out, wouldn't have Yugi face the same pain he was in.

Yami's vision was failing him as the environment around him seemed to move. He felt his duel disk slipping off his arm, but he let it go. He then heard frantic footsteps running towards him and the duel disk fell back to the ground beside him.

It was Joey. He must have noticed the brawl from his apartment and came to help. He got the idea that the man must have left when he felt Joey trying to help him sit up. He blinked away what he could of the dizziness and tried to comprehend what Joey was saying to him. Not just Joey. He noticed Yugi too, begging to let him take over his body. He refused.

"Yugi, can ya hear me buddy?" Yami turned his attention to the frantic blond, who had apparently been slapping his face lightly for the last minute.

"Joey…" He could finally focus on his face, but his head still throbbed. His chest was also very numb. Joey's pressure on it seemed to be causing most of the pain on his right side.

"Are you okay? What happened here?"

"He took my God Cards."

"That bastard! Don't worry, we'll get them back!"

"Yes, but right now I think I need to go to a hospital," he said, worried about the damage he might have done to his head.

Joey smiled reassuringly, "Don't worry, the ambulance is already on his way… You really got kicked around, didn't you?"

"I'm sorry, I probably look worse then I actually am." He hoped his injuries weren't worrying his friends too much.

But he really was a mess. Yugi was horrified by what he saw. Yami was covered in his own blood, bruises were forming on his handsome face, and his hair was wild and matted with filth. The thoughts and feelings he was receiving from his other half were jumbled and distressed. If only he had managed to run before the pharaoh took over like that. There was no need to fight over cards…

When they arrived at the hospital, Yami was finally relaxed enough to speak to Yugi.

"I'll give you your body back once the pain medicine begins to work. You really don't want this right now.'

The doctors had confirmed that Yami had two broken ribs and minor bruising around his torso. His head injury was not a concussion, but he would need to rest for a few days.

Unfortunately, that's all Yami had time to say with all the nurses and doctors around. He figured that talking to himself in a hospital after hitting his head would not be the best idea.

But Yugi needed to speak with him. So much had happened that day that needed to be addressed.

'Pharaoh, can we talk? In the puzzle?'

He answered with a slight nod and turned to Joey, "I think I'm going to try to sleep for a little while, if you don't mind."

Joey smiled and replied, "No problem," most likely knowing he was leaving to speak with Yugi.