Bakura was the first thing Marik became aware of when he came to. He was cradling Marik in his lap, stroking his face as he crooned softly in Middle Egyptian.

"Shhhh. Hey, there you are."

"Bakura? What happened?"

Bakura opened his mouth to speak, but he was interrupted by familiar, spiteful laughter.

Marik turned his head to see Zorc-still mimicking Bakura-a few feet from them, surrounded by undulating, whispering Darkness. As Marik came back to himself, panic set in, and he bolted up to look around at the malevolent nothing all around them.

"I don't understand," Marik said, staring at Bakura's grim face. "I won." When Bakura said nothing, Marik gripped his arm, his nails biting into flesh. "I had two minutes left! Iwon !"

"No," Bakura croaked. "You didn't." Bakura looked away from Marik's uncomprehending face. "It took you over two hours to find me. Zorc was just messing with you at the end, letting you think you'd won when you hadn't."

"But...but I…" Marik's face stung as he began to sob. "No…"

Bakura pulled him close, rocking them as Marik cried for them both.

"Don't you two make a pretty pair," Zorc drawled. "I must say, you surprised me at the end, there. I honestly expected you to give up."

"Fuck off!" Marik shouted, pulling back from Bakura.

Marik's throat closed up, and even though he knew, knew he didn't need to breathe here, his lungs burned for want of oxygen.

"I see I'm going to have to break you in the way I did the thief," Zorc said, sounding more eager than angry.

Zorc looked around suddenly, and the invisible grip on Marik's throat released. Marik sucked in lungfuls of non-existent air.

"It seems I'm popular today," Zorc commented. Turning a mocking smile on Bakura, he added, "I'll leave you to give our new friend the tour."

Then Zorc was gone.

"Why would he leave us alone?" Marik wondered. "Doesn't he expect us to try and escape?"

"You're never alone in the Shadow Realm," Bakura said, looking around at the unnatural Darkness meaningfully.

"I'm sorry," Marik whispered.

Bakura shook his head, his hand drying Marik's cheeks. "Don't apologize. It was a long shot anyway."

Marik looked around, as if a solution were hidden in the dark. "I had dreams of the Shadow Realm. I think they were visions of my other self-of Kek."

Bakura didn't respond, just waiting for Marik to continue. "I saw a bit of what Zorc put him through-making him relive all the shit our father did to us. I pretended it was nothing, just nightmares-I've had plenty of those over the years too. But deep down I knew they weren't just dreams.

"I told myself he deserved it, that he ruined my life-he killed my father, tried to kill my siblings, took over my body-but I was the one who pushed all of those horrible things into him. I couldn't deal with them, so I made him deal with them instead. And then, when he lashed out from the anger and pain I'd forced on him, I trapped him here and moved on with my life as if he'd never existed."

Marik looked into Bakura's face and saw everything he felt reflected there: sorrow, guilt, regret.

"The gods gave him a soul even though he wasn't theirs," Marik continued quietly. "They gave him a soul and I never even bothered to give him a name."

"He asked me if you hated him for what he did. I think he wants to make amends as much as you do."

Marik sighed and leaned into Bakura's chest. "Not like it matters now."

Bakura rubbed Marik's arm for a minute. Then he smacked it lightly and nudged Marik with his shoulder. "Alright, get off."

Marik frowned as Bakura put a measure of space between them. "Why?"

"We've come this far," Bakura said, jaw clenched. "I want to end this."

"What do you mean, 'end this?'"

"I was thinking a lot during the two hours you were looking for me, and something occurred to me. The Shadows created Zorc, but he draws his power from the Shadows. What if that wasn't intentional?"

Marik blinked at Bakura. "So what if it wasn't?"

Bakura held up a hand. "Just listen a second. If the Shadows created Zorc, and he can pull power from them, then they must have some sort of connection. What doesn't make sense is: why would a malevolent sentience like the Shadows-which feed on negative emotion and pain-create a being like Zorc that would drain them of their power?"

Marik shook his head and hoped Bakura would get to the point.

"They wouldn't-at least not intentionally. The Shadows can't leave here, but they would need some way of luring victims here. They would need an agent that could pass between this realm and the physical world. So what if they created Zorc to be that agent?"

"That's an interesting theory, but I still don't see-"

"Zorc must have a bond with the Shadows similar to the bond he has with me," Bakura interrupted, on a roll now. "He must have figured out at some point how to pull power from the Shadows instead of them pulling power from him. If I can figure out how to do the same thing, perhaps I could weaken him enough for the others to trap him in here-and with any luck, use that power to get us the fuck out."

Bakura stared expectantly at Marik, who stared back.

"Well," Marik said finally, "I hope you're a quick study."

X

"It's been over two hours," Tristan said, glancing at the others.

"They could be on their way back now," Téa pointed out.

"And if they aren't, we need a new plan," Yugi said, pacing around the kitchen.

"Can't the gods just pull Marik and Bakura back out?" Ryou asked.

"They did it last time as a favor to me," Atem said. "Whether or not they'll do it again-"

"Then ask them!" Kek yelled, glaring at him. "The only reason Marik and Bakura are in this mess is because they were trying to fix what the gods screwed up!"

"I have been. They aren't answering me." He looked around at the others. "We need to seal the Shadows."

"You want to trap them in there with Zorc?" Kek asked, incredulous.

"I don't want to, but if we can't get them out-"

"There's got to be a way to get them back," Yugi said. "We wouldn't give up if it were you in there," he added when Atem made to protest. "I'm not giving up on them."

Atem nodded. "So what do we do next?"

"Call Zorc," Ryou said.

"Oh, ya." Joey rolled his eyes. "'Cuz that worked out great the last time."

"Bakura said Zorc would need to be drained of power in order to seal him away anyway. Maybe if we stall long enough, it will give Marik and Bakura a chance to escape on their own."

"You think they can?" Atem asked.

"You don't know Bakura like I do," Ryou told him. "He doesn't give up. If there's any way out of the Shadows, any crack to slip through, Bakura will find it."

Atem's face set, determination in his eyes. "Then let's buy them the time they need."

X

So many feelings came to mind when Marik thought of the Shadow Realm, but boredom wasn't one he'd anticipated. However, that's exactly what Marik felt as he watched Bakura meditate. He'd tried going for a walk, but he hadn't gotten more than a few feet away before he found himself right beside Bakura again.

At least we won't get separated , Marik thought to himself.

It was no wonder Bakura had lost his mind in here. Torture and loneliness notwithstanding, three millennia with absolutely no mental stimulation would send anyone over the bend.

Marik barely refrained from sighing out loud as he laid on his back. He recalled moments like this from his dreams about Kek-endless stretches of time staring at endless stretches of Darkness. Marik wondered if, when Kek went to sleep at night, he would see Marik's time in the Shadows the way Marik had his…

Marik bolted to a sitting position. "I wonder…"

"Wonder what?" Bakura asked.

"Sh!"

Marik closed his eyes and Bakura frowned at him. "You're the one who-"

"I said 'sh!'"

Bakura growled but went back to meditating.

Marik focused inward, trying to find that place deep within himself, that safe place. He wasn't used to seeking it out; it was somewhere he just slipped off to sometimes when things became too much to handle. But he knew he'd been there during the dreams, and if he could find it, maybe…

Something in him fell into place, and Kek's thoughts drifted in his head.

Kek!

Marik felt Kek startle through the connection, shock and disbelief reaching through as if it were his own.

Marik? What the fuck? How are you-?

I don't know. Look, I don't know how much time we have, so I'll make this quick. I lost the Shadow Game, and Bakura and I are stuck in the Shadow Realm.

Yeah, we figured. We're keeping Zorc busy so you can try and find a way out. Any progress on that?

So that's where Zorc went…Bakura's got an idea, but it might take some time.

Yugi and Ryou challenged him to another Shadow Game. If they lose, it's going to start getting crowded in there.

What's the Game?

Yugi convinced Zorc into letting them play Duel Monsters. They're dragging it out as long as they can, but you guys should hurry.

We'll do our best.

Marik dropped the connection and opened his eyes to see Bakura gaping at him.

"What?"

"What were you just doing?"

"Uh...talking to Kek? He says Yugi and Ryou are keeping Zorc occupied with another Shadow Game until we find a way out."

"You-" Bakura blinked at him. "You were pulling the Shadows."

"I was?"

Bakura nodded. "How did you do it?"

"It was sort of like a Mind Link, but long distance."

"Not the conversation! How did you harness the Shadows without a Millennium Item?"

"I don't know! I just focused on the link between Kek and me and it just sort of happened on its own. I wasn't even aware I was pulling power."

Bakura frowned. "I suppose in order to make the mental connection, you'd need to power it somehow, and we're surrounded by Shadow Magic."

Bakura closed his eyes and focused once more on the elusive connection in his mind that tied him to Necrophades. He grabbed it in a mental hold, and this time focused not on pulling anything through it, but pushing his mind into it.

The familiar rush of Shadow Magic thrummed through him, and Bakura let out a triumphant laugh as he wrapped Marik in a crushing hug.

"Marik Ishtar, you are a godsdamned genius !" Pulling back he grinned broadly and began siphoning power through the link in the back of his mind. "Have Kek tell them to hold on a bit longer-we're busting the fuck out of here!"

X

Ryou stared at his hand and saw his fate written there as plainly as if he held Tarot rather than Duel Monsters cards. Would the others try again when he and Yugi lost? Surely Atem wouldn't let Yugi rot in the Shadows, and Yugi wouldn't leave the rest of them. Ryou wished Bakura and Marik would hurry up already…

"Play a card, or forfeit your turn," Zorc snapped.

He'd grown more and more impatient with their stalling tactics, and Ryou feared they would only be able to drag this out one more round before Zorc finished them off. The crease in Yugi's brow said clearly enough he felt the same.

Ryou sighed and laid Change of Heart face down. "I end my turn."

Yugi drew his card, and Ryou took the moment to stare openly at Zorc, who smirked knowingly back at him, tossing his long, blue braid over his shoulder.

Ryou thought the illusion was perfect, but he honestly didn't know. It had been so long since he'd seen Amane, and he'd been so young. The golden brown eyes, like his mother's, and deep blue hair, like his father's, seemed to match his memory of her, but perhaps that was a false memory. How would he know the difference?

"That ends my turn," Yugi said, dejected. He turned to meet Ryou's eyes, and Ryou knew in that instant it was over, even before Zorc drew his card.

"I play Raigeki," Zorc's cherubic voice announced with relish. "Do you counter?"

Yugi laid his hand face down on the table in defeat. "No."

Ryou shook his head, and Zorc giggled like the little girl he was pretending to be.

"Then I attack you directly. I win."

Ryou thought he should be afraid, knowing what was coming next, but all he felt was disappointment. They hadn't stalled long enough. They'd let Marik and Bakura down.

"Don't be sad," Zorc mocked. "You'll soon be reuniting with your friends."

"This isn't over, Zorc," Yugi said, far more confident than Ryou felt in that moment. "We won't stop fighting you!"

"Then I guess I'm going to have to make room for all of my new toys. Ready?"

Ryou met Kek's eyes across the room, and Kek nodded. They would keep the fight going until they won-or until every last one of them was lost to the Shadows.

Closing his eyes, Ryou waited to fall into the endless pit of nightmares, and hoped Bakura's plan could accommodate more than two people.

" What the- ?"

Zorc roared, and Ryou's eyes flashed open again. There, naked and tangled in a pile on the floor, sat Marik and Bakura where Zorc had just been. Bakura was panting and holding his side like he'd just run a race.

"Seal it!" Bakura shouted at the ceiling.

Ryou wasn't sure who he was addressing, then realized it was the gods. Nothing seemed to happen for a long moment, then Atem gasped, gripping the back of a chair.

"Zorc is fighting them," Atem said. "They can't get the seal to close."

Bakura growled. Clenching his eyes, he focused once again on his bond with Zorc. He pulled at the power, but it was harder now, the distractions of his physical body disrupting his concentration.

"I can't pull much more from him," Bakura grit out, shaking as dark magic practically oozed from his pores. "A human body wasn't meant to harness this much Shadow Magic at once."

Marik's hand gripped Bakura's, and their eyes met. "Send it back."

"What?"

"All the power you took, whip it back at him. He won't expect it. Maybe it will break his concentration long enough for the gods to close the seal."

Bakura nodded, sweat forming at his temples as he pulled a bit more power. Spindling it, he forced it right back the other direction, groaning as the power left him in a breathtaking rush. A scream resounded through the connection, then silence, and Bakura sank to the floor as the bond severed completely.

Bakura's ragged breathing was loud in the tense silence. He looked around and met eyes with everyone else before looking expectantly at Atem. "Well?"

Atem closed his eyes for a long moment. His shoulders sank with a deep sigh. "It's done."

"It had better be," Bakura growled, "because I am not going through that again." He went to wipe his brow with his shirt, only to realize he wasn't wearing one. "Oh, gods-fucking-damnit ! Not again!" he shouted, covering himself with his hands.

Marik doubled over with laughter, too giddy with relief to be concerned about his own lack of clothes.

Yugi ran out and returned with a pair of jeans for each of them. They were short on both of them, but they made them work.

"You guys have some damn lucky timin'," Joey commented.

"Yeah, we thought Yugi and Ryou were gonners for sure!" Tristan added.

" You guys ," Téa hissed, smacking them. She smiled at Marik and Bakura. "They're joking. We knew you'd pull it off."

"Yeah, how did ya manage that, anyway?" Joey asked.

"I drained Zorc's power while you guys distracted him, them used it to Mystic Box our asses out of the Shadow Realm."

"Come again?" Ryou asked.

"It's a bit of a long story," Marik said, catching Kek's eye.

"Make us food and we'll fill you in," Bakura said, raiding Yugi's fridge.

"Deal," Yugi said, pushing Bakura out of the kitchen and gathering ingredients. "Start from the Shadow Game…"