Long Distance Call

A pretty nurse stepped into the waiting room, clearing her throat to catch the three boys' attention. "Excuse me, Seto Kaiba?"

Seto looked up at her, hoping it was good news. "Yes?"

The nurse motioned for him to follow her. "Yugi Motou has woken up, and he's asking for you."

Instantly on his feet, and without a word to Ryou or Bakura, Seto followed the nurse back to Yugi's room. With Seto gone, the thief and his hikari both fell silent. For once in his life, Bakura wished someone would say something. Anything. The silence of a hospital waiting room was crushing. All he had to do was sit and think about his reason for being here at the moment.

***

Yugi looked terribly upset when Kaiba came into the room. "Seto! What's happened to Yami? Is he okay?" He clutched his Millennium Puzzle so tightly Seto was afraid the metal would cut into his hands.

"Calm down, Yugi," Seto said, sitting down at the bedside and trying to pry the puzzle from Yugi's grip. Yugi wouldn't let it go. "Yami's going to be okay. Are you feeling all right? You really scared me earlier!"

Yugi shook his head. "I'm just a little lightheaded. Has Yami woken up?"

Kaiba sighed. Just no reasoning Yugi when he was worried about his friends. "For a little while. His heart stopped, Yugi. They have a bunch of machines keeping him alive now, but… he's not waking up." He let the Millennium Puzzle go as Yugi hugged it to him in a nervous protective gesture. Something on Seto's hand felt gritty.

He looked down at his fingers, which were covered in a dusting of rusty ash. Making a face, Seto dusted the mess off on his pants. "What is this stuff?"

Yugi blinked at the rust on Kaiba's hand, then at his own hands, which were covered in more of the gritty ashes. "It's… coming off the puzzle." He held up his treasure, which was by all appearances starting to grow a very slight film of rust on its shiny golden surface. "The Millennium Puzzle is rusting!"

Seto sighed. "Probably has something to do with Yami's condition. Wish someone would figure out what that condition is."

Yugi nodded and chewed his lower lip, then brightened all of a sudden. "I could ask Yami!"

"Yami is in a coma," Seto reminded Yugi gently. This didn't seem to deter Yugi any.

"No, no, through like our mind-link thing! It's magic, I can talk to him that way!" Yugi looked really excited to have figured that out. Maybe they could find out what was wrong with Yami, and maybe help him out of it.

/ …Yami! Yami, are you there? / Yugi thought to Yami as hard as he could. He hoped Yami could hear him.

// …hmmm?… // finally came the reply, faint, confused, but definitely Yami. Yugi was delighted.

/ Yami, are you alright? Seto says you're in a coma! Can I help you out of it somehow? We all really miss you here! /

There was tense silence through the mind link. Finally, Yami replied, // …Yugi… I have to go now, Yugi. // Yami sounded much farther away this time.

/ Go? Go where?? / Yugi thought back frantically. Was Yami leaving him?

// Home, // was the only answer Yami gave. The reply was faint, barely there at all. The connection to Yami was fading away. Yugi clung to it desperately.

/ Where is home? / Yugi demanded.

There was no reply. Yugi caught the briefest image in his mind, of an ocean of sand stretching on forever, and a scorching sun that hung like a golden jewel in the sky. And the last of his connection to his yami was gone.

Yugi whimpered. "Yami…" The Millennium Puzzle fell apart in his tight grip, and each piece of it crumbled to ashes.

Kaiba worriedly touched Yugi's shoulder. "Yugi? Are you alright? What happened?"

Yugi wiped the tears from his eyes with a soot covered hand, leaving black streaks on his cheeks. "He's gone."

"Yami is still alive," Seto said, a little confused. "They said his condition was stable now… he… might still wake up."

"No!" Yugi's dirty hands clenched to fists. "He's gone, he left, I felt it. His body may still be alive because the machines are keeping it that way, but he'll never wake up because he's gone!" Yugi showed Seto the pile of ashes that used to be the once sought after and coveted Millennium Puzzle. "You see? This is all that's left of him!"

Kaiba sighed. Things were so much simpler without ancient Egyptian spirits in his life. Maybe things could be normal with one less spirit around.

There was a knock at the door, and Ryou peeked in. "We wanted to see how you were doing, Yugi."

Sniffling slightly, Yugi gestured for him to come in, asking quietly, "…'we'?…"

Ryou pushed the door open further, and almost literally dragged Bakura in with him. Bakura didn't look very happy about that. "So, how are you feeling, Yugi?"

Seto could tell Yugi was trying to hold back tears when he talked. "I talked to Yami," Yugi whispered. "He said he had to go home."

"That doesn't make sense…" Ryou murmured. "This is his home. And what happened to your puzzle, Yugi?" He blinked at the mess in distaste.

Bakura grinned maniacally all of a sudden, grabbing Kaiba and nearly shaking him. "Do you own a plane?"

Seto stared at him, thwapping Bakura's hands off of him lightly. "Yeah. Why?"

Laughing insanely, Bakura grinned at them all wildly. "I know where to find him. Pack your bags; we're going to Egypt!"