Yugi's POV

"You got them?" Joey and Tristan asked as they opened the door to their apartment.

"Yeah, I think so..." Yugi responded.

Yugi couldn't lift all of the children at once, so he had to have help. Since Ryou and Marik didn't live in the apartment, they volunteered to help carry the three young children home.

Ryou took to carrying Mariku, while Marik took to carrying Bakura. Yugi thought he saw softness in both their gazes when they looked at the children they were carrying. Yugi smiled, and looked down at Atem. He always preferred to look after Atem; probably because Atem did the same for him at one point. It was only fair to return the favor; but it wasn't like Yugi felt forced to. He actually felt himself enjoy looking after his now-young friend.

"Well good luck, Yugi; I hope you figure something out... We're still here for you buddy-even if Tea can't be." Tristan said.

Yugi flinched; He never liked being reminded that he may never see Tea again... that she may, eventually, one day forget about him. He was opposed to the idea that she was creating a new circle of friends. He didn't want to believe that she might shut him out forever.

"Relax, Yug. It'll be ok. You have all of us, don't you?" Joey said, patting him on the back as Marik, Ryou and him all exited.

"I'll try..." Yugi said, doubtful. He wanted Tea there to help him; he wanted the gang all back together. But that wouldn't happen. Tea had made it clear, with her eyes, that it was not going to happen. Not even a knowing flicker in her eyes that sometimes betrayed what she said. No, she would not come. That made it all the harder. He would have to have this adventure without Tea's help. She was the one who encouraged the others, and was always there for Yugi no matter the circumstances. She was the life of the group, and she never gave up hope. Now, to suddenly be in a situation where he would have to go forth without her, was heart-wrenching. She was the believer. She was the hope. She was the symbol of friendship itself. He would no longer have that.

"I'll have to wake them up to see if they're hungry…" Yugi said to the others, softly.

"Don't," Ryou said, "They're asleep. If they get super hungry in the middle of the night, they'll wake you up."

"Agreed," Marik nodded, "Leave them be. They probably aren't that hungry anyway."

Yugi nodded, and continued walking down the street. Atem's head kept lolling back and forth with each step he took, so Yugi slackened his pace a bit so that the boy was comfortable.

"Marik, Ryou…?" He began, stopping on the sidewalk.

Marik and Ryou both stopped as well, and turned to him. A few cars went by, flashing their headlights, as night seemed to take over day. Atem, Mariku, and Bakura were all children. He couldn't do it, not without help. He needed support if he were to get through this. He didn't think he could help Atem and the others, otherwise.

"Will you help me? I don't want to do this alone… I'm not sure how this will all work out, and I don't think I can focus on both the mission and the kids at the same time…"

Marik and Ryou were silent. There were so many emotions crossing their expressions that it was hard to keep track of them both.

"You don't have to... If you don't want... I'm just-"

"I'll be willing to help you…" Marik started, seeming to make a decision. With a look at Ryou, he nodded as well, also making up his mind. "If I can help Bakura, and make his life better than it was, then I'm all in. He deserves it, afterall..."

Yugi smiled at them gratefully. "Thank you; I promise I'll call you, Joey, and Tristan if something comes up… though, I never really asked if they'd be willing to help…"

"They'll help you, Yugi. They're your friends, after all… and besides, has there ever been a time when they were reluctant to help you?" Ryou asked.

Yugi shook his head quickly, "No. That's never happened… but still…"

Marik touched Yugi's elbow as best as he could, under the weight of Bakura. "You'll be fine, trust me."

Yugi smiled, and added another 'thank you' before they set off again.

They didn't have to go much further to get to the Game Shop. It was already closed, but Yugi could still see his grandfather getting together some of his mail at the counter.

Yugi tapped on the door a few times, and his grandfather got up and opened the door for them. "You're back," he stated, "I'd thought that you were going to stay with your friends for the night…"

Yugi shook his head, "No, I think the kids are a bit much for them right now… I mean, they're so tired after days of moving in, and they only just settled in… so I'm not really surprised."

His grandfather nodded in understanding, and gestured to the stairs. "Go on up; you're lucky I made those kids some beds just in case."

Yugi gave his grandfather a thankful nod, before ushering Marik and Ryou up the stairs. He was surprised that anyone could sleep as soundly as these three did right now. There had been traffic, and there had been many other loud noises, but none of them woke the three sleeping children.

"Alright," Marik whispered when he opened Yugi's bedroom door. Ryou nodded, and they both proceeded over to the mats that were made up for the kids.

Marik set Bakura down on his mat, furthest from the bed. Strange enough, Bakura had his arms wrapped around Marik's neck and was whimpering at the lack of touch. Marik tried to pry his hands off of his neck, but was unsuccessful.

Ryou tried to lay Mariku down the same way, but Mariku had his little arm wrapped around Ryou's arm. He refused to let go of Ryou, and snuggled up against his arm.

Marik and Ryou gave each other the panicked look, and Yugi tried to the best of his ability to pry the reluctant children off of the other. For 5 year olds, they had a surprisingly good grip on the two boys, and seemed to not want to let go.

Yugi looked down at Atem, wondering if he would have done the same if he were to set him down. He decided to test it; he knew, so far, that Atem was like his child self, always wondering and caring… but he was never clingy. He never did anything like that, so if this was true, he would be able to set Atem down without getting stuck.

He bent down, and unhooked Atem's fingers from Yugi's jacket, and set him down on the mat. He was right, Atem wasn't a clingy child. He moved the blanket up and over his legs, and tucked him in.

However, just as he was about to move away, Atem's hands darted out, and squeezed his jacket so fiercely that Yugi almost screamed at the surprise. Luckily, he prevented himself from screaming with a quick intake of breath.

"Looks like we're all stuck…" Marik mumbled quietly.

Yugi rolled his eyes, "Well… um… want to have a sleep over?" he suggested, laughing lightly.

Ryou giggled a little, "I'd love to, Yugi. But even with the offer, I don't think we'd have much of a choice."

They both looked at Marik, whom was smiling and shaking his head, "Sure, why not. We could just plop down here and suffocate under these kids' grip," He joked.

Yugi laughed a little, "Well… we all got stuck… it's all our faults…"

"I'm just sad that you tried the same thing when you knew what was going to happen…" Marik remarked.

Yugi smiled, "Well, Atem was different. He seemed so much like his older self, that I couldn't help but think he wasn't clingy at all…"

"Apparently, you were wrong," Ryou added.

Yugi nodded, "Well… um… goodnight?" Ryou said.

Yugi and Marik nodded in unison, and all three tried to maneuver around the children's arms to a comfortable sleeping position.

XXX

"Get off of me!"

"No you get off!"

"Don't fight, guys! Just... both of you stop!"

"Stop Atem! You're not the boss of us!"

"I didn't say I was, I just want you to stop arguing!"

"Make us!"

"Guys, seriously, they're still sleeping!"

"I don't care if they're sleeping! I don't want to be stuck here in this room! it's boring!"

"I like it in here."

"Shut up, Mariku."

"Ow! You didn't have to punch me!"

"Guys! stop it!"

Yugi rolled over, moaning in annoyance. He was exhausted. He didn't get a chance to sleep all night, what with Marik and Bakura pressed so close to them, and Ryou and Mariku kicking him. Ryou, mainly. Ryou was a kicker. Something very unexpected.

As for Mariku, he was one to snore. Loudly. And Atem... Atem was quiet, though he kept wiggling throughout the night, no doubt to get up to go to the bathroom, or just to get in a more comfortable position. Yugi didn't particularly mind Atem nor Bakura, but he soon realized why he never invited Ryou or Marik over for a sleep over. Mainly because of the kicking and snuggling, but also because it was kind of weird because they weren't too close.

Yugi sighed, giving up. He lifted his tired, dry eyes, and sat up. Noticing that half of Marik's leg was on him, and Ryou's foot at his side, he pushed them both away, and then rubbed his eyes tiredly.

Atem, Mariku, and Bakura were all arguing in the corner, not seeming to realize that he was awake yet. Atem seemed to be the one who was trying to resolve the problem, but Bakura and Mariku were constantly fighting over something. Atem fought every now and then too, but not as much.

"Guys, knock it off," Yugi said groggily.

The noise immediately ceased, to which he was grateful, however, he still had a lot of noise going on his head. He had to figure out what to do now that Horakhty had basically shoved the three into his hands without any real instructions.

"Alright guys, you're probably hungry, right?"

"FOOD!" Mariku exclaimed, jumping at Yugi, and knocking him over. Yugi fell backwards by the weight, and landed on Ryou's leg hard. Ryou jumped up, nearly dying of fright, whacking Marik in the face. By accident, of course. Marik's eyes snapped open, and he clutched at his face, one eye watering. He rolled over on to his stomach, breathing out the pain in his face.

Bakura laughed, and decided it would be a good idea to repeat Mariku's action. Only this time, instead of jumping on Yugi, he jumped on Marik's back, fingernails accidentally scraping against it.

Yugi's eyes widened as Marik howled in pain. Bakura instantly jumped off and ran to Yugi, clutching at his shirt. He started to tear up a little, knowing he did something wrong, but not quite sure what.

Marik was panting in pain, and Ryou rolled over towards Marik to make sure he was ok. Once Marik had stopped panting Bakura's face had already been shoved into Yugi's shirt. He was full on balling his eyes out, snot dripping from one nostril, and blood-shot eyes.

"I-I'm s-s-s-sorry M-Marik" he barely got out.

Yugi petted his hair, trying to get him to calm down.

"It's ok," Marik said, "Just try not to have any contact with my back, ok? It's been hurting for a very long time."

"For how long?" Atem suddenly appeared by Marik. Yugi was rather startled by Atem's sudden appearance, as was Ryou and Marik, but he was given an answer none the less.

"It's been hurting ever since I was a little older than you."

"And how old are you, now?" Atem asked.

"W-well... that's not really something you would ask someone..." Marik hesitated.

"Old enough," Yugi answered for him.

Marik gave Yugi a grateful nod, in which was returned in acknowledgment.

Atem frowned a bit, "Do you... Would you mind if I looked at it?"

Marik looked at Yugi, not sure what to say, "Well... I, um... I'd rather-"

"Please, if you wouldn't mind. Whenever I'm around you I always feel this weird sensation crawling up my back, and I have a feeling it's something you might be hiding."

Wow... Way to be blunt, Pharaoh... Yugi couldn't help but thinking, Were you always this demanding as a child?

Marik sighed, and looked at Ryou and Yugi. Yugi could tell in his eyes that he was rather startled, not to mention worried. "Guys," He began, "I have no right to refuse-"

"-But Marik! You can't! He's only a child!" Ryou exclaimed in horror, looking at Yugi for backup.

"Well... I have to agree with Ryou, he is just a child, after all... and we have no idea what it might do to him if he saw..." Yugi explained.

"You talk as if I am not here..." Atem said curiously.

Marik stood, "child or not, it's still my duty, now that he has returned, to continue my duties as a Tomb Keeper, and if he requests to see it, it is myjob to show it."

Yugi sighed, "Fine... but I'm coming with you. Just in case, you know, something happens..."

"Very well," Marik said.

"I'll... stay here with Bakura and Mariku. I'm sure they'd like someone to play with..." Ryou said.

"FOOD. NONE OF YOU UNDERSTAND THAT I REQUIRE FOOD. NOW." Mariku shouted, causing Ryou to clamp his hands over his ears.

Bakura squinted at the loudness of his companion's voice, and swatted him over the head, "You're too loud!"

Mariku bowled him over, "I wasn't loud! All of your ears are way too sensitive!"

"There you go with the shouting again, Mariku!" Bakura growled.

"I'm not shouting!"

"Are too!"

"Are not!"

"Are too!"

"Are not!"

"Are too!"

"Guys, stop it now," Ryou said, trying to split the squabbling pair apart, "Settle down, please..."

"Are not!"

"Are too!"

"Are not!"

Yugi rubbed his temples; he couldn't handle the bickering. He had just woken up, and it was insane, even for him, to partake and handle bickering as loud as this was at the early hours of the morning. "Guys. Stop. Now." he growled, becoming more annoyed with each passing second.

The room fell quiet, and the two children fell apart, voluntarily. "Sorry, Yugi..." they said in unison.

Ryou and Marik stood there, taken completely by surprise by the sudden way the two automatically obeyed Yugi's command.

"Now," Yugi sighed, "Please apologize to one another, and do as Ryou says until I come back, alright?"

Bakura and Mariku nodded, and then faced each other. "Sorry," Bakura muttered first. Mariku threw his arms around Bakura and they hugged; "I'm sorry too." Mariku responded.

The mere fact alone that they voluntarily hugged each other was surprising; when they broke apart, and looked at both Yugi and Ryou, everyone stood still, shocked.

Ryou, for lack of a better word, was frozen in place with a shocked look thrown towards Yugi. It was almost as if he were in something more than awe.

XXX

Yugi led Marik and Atem down the hallway ahead of Ryou and the other two, and into the bathroom, closing the door behind them.

Marik took a breath, "Alright... Atem."

Atem looked up, curious now more than ever, and awaited explanations, "So... is it really this important that I have to have Yugi with me and be alone with you guys?"

Marik and Yugi nodded solemnly, "Marik is willing to show you, which I'm really surprised by, but... I'm not even sure this is the best thing for you to see right now..." Yugi said.

Marik shrugged, "Tomb Keeper, remember? My duty... If he asks, I have to."

"Tomb Keeper? What is that?" Atem asked.

"Well... um..." Yugi started, but Marik quickly cut in, "A Tomb Keeper is a protector of sorts, protecting a tomb, secrets, or anything hidden that belonged to a very important person."

"Am I a very important person?" Atem asked suddenly.

Marik and Yugi looked at each other, astonished. "W-what do you mean, Atem?" Yugi asked shakily, trying his best to ignore the truth in his question.

Atem tilted his head to the side, trying to get a better look at Marik, "What are you worried about? Surely it isn't so bad that it would want to make me puke..."

Marik and Yugi exchanged glances, "Well... maybe not for some... there have been a few who couldn't handle it too well..." Marik answered.

"I didn't know that..." Yugi said in a whisper.

Marik shrugged, "But remember, I don't show it to just anybody."

"True," Yugi said, nodding.

"So, if you can't show it to anybody, then that must mean that I'm someone important to you." Atem reasoned.

Yugi and Marik's eyes darted to the small child, surprised by his intelligence. "Well, of course you are!"

Atem frowned a bit, "I'm guessing you're probably not a relative, and I'm not even sure if Bakura is related to me... maybe Mariku is, or we all are... I'm not really sure anymore. All I know is that something's off."

Yugi and Marik looked at each other, again amazed by Atem's intelligence once more.

"As far as I know," Atem continued, deciding to plop down on the floor, "My memories begin with that pretty lady that was glowing. I know there's more to the story than just appearing like that. If that were the case, then you wouldn't know so much about me, nor Mariku and Bakura."

For one split second, once he stopped his rant, and seemed to be thinking, it felt, to Yugi, that the real Atem was back, with all his wisdom and memories. Then it all came flooding back, when Atem suddenly looked up, and smiled innocently; "But then again, I could just be wrong. I read too much into things, i noticed. Some times are just... rather simple."

Yugi couldn't help but smile back at his sudden innocence. No matter where Atem was, or whether he knew who he was or not, he still seemed to retain a little piece of his own personality. It always seemed to shine through.

"Well," Marik said, shifting uncomfortably, and gaining back the the other's attention, "Let's, uh... get this over with, shall we?"

Yugi and Atem nodded at his words, their smiles quickly fading as they came into focus on Marik's actions.

Marik sucked in a breath, his back still throbbed from where Bakura had scratched it, but he ignored it as he lifted the hem of his shirt, back to the wall, and let it slide up his body and over his head.

Atem watched carefully, not batting an eye as Marik removed his shirt from his tanned body.

This made Marik all the more uncomfortable. Not only was a child going to see the carvings in his back, but Yugi would be seeing them for a second time, and would have the perfect opportunity to study them more closely.

Again, he took another breath, he crouched down and spun around, sitting cross legged. He awaited patiently for the two to observe and be done with it, or have Atem throw up at the sight.

Atem and Yugi both kneeled down, and stared at the symbols, fascinated. True Yugi had only seen them once, but he hadn't really had a chance to properly look at it.

Observing Atem now, he found that he wasn't at all disgusted with the scars, but rather amazed.

"Can I... touch?" Atem asked hesitantly.

Marik stiffened up, "I'd rather you not..."

"I promise I won't hurt you," Atem insisted, lightly.

There was a pause, then, "Alright, just be very careful."

"It looks like Bakura hurt you, actually," Yugi interrupted, "You're bleeding a little."

"Am I?" Marik asked, trying to turn his head to look over his shoulder, trying to see just where the blood was.

"I got it," Atem said, getting up from his spot on the floor. He pushed a stool to the sink, and grabbed a cloth from the counter. He let warm water run over it; he then turned it off, and hopped down, returning to his spot just as quickly as he left.

"I'm going to touch..." Atem warned.

Yugi smiled, so like him to be careful, cautious, and considerate of others... and how he knew how the faucet worked was probably some what of instinct considering they'd been together for a few years.

Marik nodded stiffly, and braced himself, wondering why on earth he was letting a child do this.

Atem gently touched the tip of the cloth to his back, wiping off the tiny trails of blood that Bakura had made; without consciously knowing it, he gently glided the cloth over the patterns as well, swirling it in spirals, tracing the outlines of Ra, Obelisk, and Slifer, as well as the symbols and letters.

Marik felt himself relax. He should have believed Atem would be gentle when he said he would be. Maybe it was the whole prospect of letting a child touch his scars. But he wasn't really a child. He knew this child, this five-thousand-plus year child, whom no longer remembered anything about him, which may have been good in one aspect, because he didn't know he was evil at one point, but bad in another because Atem didn't know what he had gone through in his past. He would have to bring it to the surface and explain it once more, painful word after painful word.

"They're pretty," Atem remarked in a small voice.

Marik's eyes widened. All his life he had hated them, despised them. He still did, but having someone like the Pharaoh, kid form or not, saying that his pain was beautiful, was astonishing.

"You... really think that?" Marik asked, slightly breathless.

"Yes," Atem said with certainty.

Marik couldn't hide the small smile beginning to take shape on his lips. He was grateful; many people had told him that he wasn't anything. He was just a poor boy with no place in the city of Domino. True, he didn't belong there, he belonged in Egypt, his home town.

"It... reminds me of something," Atem said, thoughts drifting off into space, "I feel as if I've seen it before..."

"Well... Uh... Ok..." Marik said, suddenly getting up. He grabbed his shirt from the counter and put it back on rather quickly.

"I'm sorry, uh..." Marik stuttered, "Can we... uh, go now?"

Atem blinked, and rose. "I'm sorry if I offended you in any way."

Marik shook his head, "No, no you didn't offend me. I just... well, to have other people look at it makes me a little uncomfortable."

"That's understandable. If you really felt that uncomfortable with doing this, you should have just told me no. Sure I would have been a bit disappointed, but it isn't the end of the world."

Marik blinked, then looked at Yugi; "Was... he really like this when he was this little?"

Yugi shrugged, "I dunno, I suppose so..."

"What are you guys talking about?"

"Uh, nothing, we were just-"

"-Marik! Yugi! help me!" Ryou's scream interrupted. It was almost like a blood-curdling scream mixed with words.

Without any hesitation or glance, Yugi and Marik shot out of the bathroom; Atem decided he didn't want to know what was going on, and for safety sake, he hid in the bathroom, closing and locking the door after the two raced out.

Marik and Yugi rushed side by side through the house. They had looked everywhere, down stairs, and his room, even... they couldn't have just vanished, could they? There must have been some sort of resistance... or was Ryou caught off guard? kidnapped?

Yugi stopped rushing around, and pulled Marik to a stop. He looked at him with wild eyes, the same wonder and panic reflected there. If Ryou wasn't here... he was in trouble. He would never take Mariku or Bakura, and with a scream like that, it was very unlikely that that was what had happened. Mariku and Bakura were no where to be found either, so something must have happened to them as well...

Another scream sounded, and both Yugi and Marik's heads snapped to the stairs. It wasn't the same scream that they had just heard- that was Ryou's. But this one was different, high pitched. Startled.

Marik and Yugi looked at each other once more, and something passed between them, something unspoken. Then, they knew instantly who's it was. Atem hadn't followed them, he had stayed behind in that bathroom and locked himself in... but if there was someone or something in here, and Atem had chanced a peek...

Yugi and Marik ran once more, but this time towards the bathroom, where they knew Atem would have undoubtedly been. When the two of them reached the bathroom, however, the door wouldn't open. For one horrifying moment, Yugi was touched with horror at permanently losing Atem again. He yanked on the door, but when that didn't work, him and Marik decided to bust it open. When it finally gave, he couldn't see Atem. It was like he vanished into thin air. The only thing that was really out of place, was the fact that there was a big pile of dust on the ground. Marik looked at Yugi, and inched forward to the dust pile. He crouched down and, hesitantly, touched his finger to it. He quickly retracted his finger when the dust moved, and then vanished, too.

"What...?" Yugi began, shaking with fear.

"I don't know..." Marik finished, knowing the question he was asking, and answering it all the same.

"What are we to do now?" Yugi asked, as Marik stood up. He stayed in his crouched position, refusing to move.

Marik thought for a moment. He seemed to be really considering the course of action. Marik swiveled around, and made his way out of the bathroom to look around.

Yugi looked at the pile of dust. Was that Atem? He wasn't a pile of ash... he couldn't be. He was just here... It was his mission to carry out the responsibility of their safety; he was supposed to be the one to restore all of the children to their former glory as the adults they were... Why.

Yugi tried to keep himself from crying. He tried to reassure himself that he didn't know for sure what had happened. He hadn't seen any other piles of dust for Ryou and the others...

A spark of light flashed before him, and a woman with long, wavy white hair appeared before him. Her eyes were more of a vivid silvery gold color than when he had first seen her. Yugi's eyes grew wide; this was the woman he'd seen in the vision Horakhty showed him. This was the woman known as Fate.

"Fate." Yugi whispered, awed by her presence. He didn't know what to say to her. He'd never actually met her; he was ok with watching from afar when he wasn't involved, but to suddenly be so up close and so involved... that was an entirely different story.

"Yugi," she addressed, "Do not worry. I am here to tell you- or more intervene. You must not worry, do not think that your job is over yet. You still have a long way to go." Her eyes hardened a little, "It is not the children you should be worried about." She muttered, and then she disappeared.

Yugi watched her fade away; he couldn't help the shocked expression he knew he now wore. This, then, wasn't Atem. He got up from his crouch, forgetting about the dirt pile on the floor, and wandered out of the bathroom. "Marik? Ryou?" he shouted.

There was no reply from either. He knew that Ryou wouldn't have responded, but Marik... He would have at least thought that Marik would have responded.

"Marik?" He repeated. He made his way down the stairs, and into the game shop. His grandfather was sitting at the counter, watching the television. There were no customers this early in the morning; his grandfather's favorite thing to do in the morning was watch the news, or read the newspaper.

"Grandpa," Yugi said, skimming his fingers along the counter as he passed by. His grandfather looked away from the television and, seeing Yugi, brightened with a smile.

"Hello Yugi; how did you sleep last night? I heard the kids getting up a little earlier. I made them some breakfast-"

Yugi blinked, smiling apologetically, "Thank you Grandpa, but that's just it..."

Yugi's grandpa blinked in confusion, "Is something the matter? I didn't see them go out... They're here somewhere I'm sure, if you can't find them."

They never left? Is it possible that Ryou and Marik took them out? Ah but wait... Grandpa would have said if Marik or Ryou had taken them outside... speaking of...

"Hey Gramps, did you see Marik or Ryou leave?"

Yugi's grandpa blinked slowly. "Who?" He asked after a few minutes.

Yugi's eyes got wide, and he let out a tiny gasp, "You mean... you don't remember?"

"Remember? Yugi, I think I would know if some of your friends walked in here..."

"Well then, what do you remember about last night? Those two people I had with me were Marik and Ryou..."

Yugi's grandpa shook his head, "No. I specifically remember you carrying those three upstairs, and me telling you that I made beds for each of those kids just in case you came home that night."

Yugi's panic increased. Am I the only one who remembers them? And what about the others? His eyes grew wider. If Ryou and Marik are missing... then that means that Tea, Tristan and Joey are all in great danger!

"Yugi, what's wrong?" His grandpa asked.

Yugi looked at the floor, shaking his head violently; Of course there was something wrong... but if his grandpa didn't even know who his friends were... it would only get worse. He had to find Atem, Mariku and Bakura. At least his grandfather still remembered them.

That must mean they're still here! but... where?

Yugi, forgetting about his grandfather and his worry for him, raced up the stairs and dashed into his room. It still looked the same as it had when they woke up; Yugi's blankets on his own bed were crumpled and tossed aside, and the three spreads that his grandfather had layed out the floor were also messy. He specifically remembered falling off his own bed during the night- compliments of Bakura whom had crawled up and tried shaking him awake. He had a nice bruise on his side to prove it. He had landed on the pad next to his bed, which had been empty- Ryou and Marik had both chosen to sleep the furthest away from his bed. He didn't know why, but he was glad for it. He would have landed on top of them otherwise.

And Atem, too, had been awake during this time. Only Mariku had still been asleep in Ryou's arms. They seemed to have slept soundly through the night. Marik, on the other hand, had been tossing and turning in his sleep. Bakura had seemed to be disturbed from it, and had woken Atem up, thus crawling into Yugi's bed to assume a more comfortable position. Bakura must have tried to wake him up in the middle of the night to get him to move over so he could sleep in between him and Atem. When that didn't work, he had resorted to shoving him over, thus causing him to fall of the bed.

Yes, he remembered that night. It was his first night with the Mariku, Bakura, and Atem in their children form. He was glad there was still evidence to go along with his memories, otherwise he might believe that he was going crazy.

Yugi entered his room fully, and shut the door behind him. He didn't know if there was anything in the house, and if there was, he wasn't going to allow it to enter or leave his room. If Bakura, Mariku, and Atem were in here, he would protect them. He would have to find them first, of course.

"Atem?" He called out softly, barely above a whisper. Just in case. "Mariku? Bakura? It's me. It's Yugi."

He waited a few minutes for an answer. "Anyone?" he called out a little louder.

He went to his bed and shuffled through the sheets. Nothing. He went to his closet, and dug around his toys; again, nothing. He went to his desk and checked under there too. Nothing. He checked in various other places in which small children could hide in his room- including the hiding places he used to use. Maybe they weren't in his room afterall...

Yugi then realized the one place he hadn't checked yet. It was his main hiding spot that he had stopped using a while back- he had grown bigger than the allowed space, and thus had stopped using it. He now used it to store meaningful items, but he didn't really have anything meaningful to hide inside other than the pictures of his family and friends... He knew for certain that the size would have been big enough for three small children the size of Atem, Bakura, and Mariku...

Yugi moved towards the frame of his bed, and pulled. Since he had grown a little stronger since Atem had left for the afterlife a few years ago, it didn't take too terribly long to pull the bed away from the wall. Yugi made his way around the bed to the foot of the bed. He then side-stepped behind his bed, back pressed against the wall. He scooted the bed even further away from the wall, and crouched down. There were fake panels that looked like dresser drawers, which had been made by the creator of his bed as design... however, there was one panel in particular that pulled away and created a small space. It was an intended creation, but one even his grandfather didn't realize existed. Whenever he was frightened, this was his number one place to go... and to think he'd almost forgotten about it.

He shoved the drawer-like panel to the right, almost like a sliding door. He peered inside; it was dark, as was expected. It had been just the way Yugi had preferred it as a child.

"Atem? Bakura? Mariku? It's me, Yugi." He said again, softly. There was a small shuffle, and Yugi instantly knew his hunch was correct. It was them.

A pair of arms flung around his neck, and he was tightly embraced. Two other pairs of arms also joined the embrace. Soft cries of fright and joy was made from the three young children. Yugi didn't know how they had found this hiding place so quickly, but he was glad they did. Whatever it was that had been here that had taken Ryou and Marik away, the children had clearly escaped harms way. He was glad for that. They had been through enough trauma as it was in their previous childhoods.

He picked all of them up as carefully as he could, and sat on the edge of his bed, facing the wall. He cradled each of the sobbing children in his arms, careful hands smoothing each messed up strand of hair on each head back in place. His eyes softened, and he quietly hushed them to dull gasps.

It was hard to believe that three strong spirits could easily be scared away... but then again, they were children after all. They knew nothing of strength, or courage, or even friendship. They knew only what their minds and hearts told them. They knew how to want. They knew how to talk and to walk... but as far as lessons go... they knew none.

As Yugi continued to cradle them back and forth slowly, he placed his head on Atem's head, and closed his eyes. He had to find out exactly what happened. He had to find Ryou and Marik. With the appearance of Fate, and the disappearance of his friends, Yugi knew that something for sure was wrong. He didn't know what this person, or rather, thing, was after... but he had to find out, and fast.

Atem, Bakura, Mariku, and all of his other friends were in danger. He had to keep them all safe, and erase this new evil that has appeared. Whatever it was, it had to be stopped, and quickly. The lives of his friends and family, as well as himself, depended on this.

This was one step he clearly had to overcome before he could move one step closer to restoring Bakura, Mariku, and Atem to their former selves.

XXX

Hard to believe this took me so long! Sorry about the wait, I was putting all my focus into finishing AAITF since it was so close. I'll continue to update this story more frequently now that my other chapter fic is finished. I also have DSWY to work on too, so keep an open mind, what with my busy schedule and all.

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and find it satisfying until I post the next chapter. Please review on what you think about this story so far, and maybe PM me if you have any ideas for this story you would like to see.

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Thank you for all your support! I really appreciate it, and am in debt to all of you.