***Disclaimer: Polarshipping fluff***

They took shelter for the night on a store roof-top. They managed to sneak up to the roof without having to kill too many zombies, but they'd heard moaning and bumping behind most of the closed doors, so they didn't trust the inside to be safe. Up top, a reinforced steel door separated them from any stray undead, and they had a good view of the streets from the west side of the building. It was the safest place they could find on short notice.

Mai leaned against Jonouchi's shoulder, using the blonde as a piece of furniture. On the opposite end of the roof, Yugi and Atem kept watch and spoke in low voices.

"Just like old times." Mai smiled, although there was a touch of bitterness to her voice that she couldn't hide.

"We're going to end this. I mean, the gods sent him. That means shit's finally gonna get better, right?"

"Maybe." Mai shrugged. "Shit happens. With or without zombies."

"That's true," Jonouchi agreed. "Hey, Mai?"

"Yeah?"

"Wanna get married?"

"Sure."

Mai felt Jonouchi's muscles tense beneath her body. "Really?"

"Why the hell not?" She sat up so she could look Jonouchi in the face. "Took you long enough to ask, Katsuya."

He grinned at her, boyish as the first time she'd met him. "There's a jewelry store across the street."

"Are we going to pick out rings in the morning?"

He shrugged. "Why wait? Let's go now – before you come to your senses and change your mind."

"Ha! Good idea." She glanced across the roof at Atem and Yugi. "What about Mother Hen? Yugi isn't going to want us to sneak off at night."

Jonouchi stood up and dusted off his jeans. "Eh, we'll be back before he notices we're gone."

Mai raised an eyebrow. "Sure about that?"

"Yeah, piece of cake." He reached over and grabbed Mai's hand. "Come on. It's our wedding adventure. Who else can brag that they fought off a horde of zombies to get their wedding rings?"

"Um . . . everyone that's gotten married in the last two years?" Mai smiled despite herself. Jo had that effect on her. "Still sounds fun, though. Let's do it."

They slipped down the fire escape, stepping as lightly as possible so that they alerted neither zombies nor Yugi. The night air felt warm, but a breeze kept it pleasant. Mai held Jonouchi's hand as they crossed the street, but they kept their eyes to the streets around them. They found the lock already broken, so they invited themselves inside.

Mai turned on her flashlight. One corpse reached for them, but he sat in a wheelchair and didn't have enough sense to wheel himself to them. Jo dropped the blade of his ax into the corpse's skull, frowning. "I can't stand to see people like this."

Mai didn't answer; she'd always seen people as empty shells trying to consume everything in their reach. It didn't bother her to see them the same as they were before. It didn't bother her to kill them. The only thing she regretted was that the others – Yug, Jo, Shizuka, Anzu, Honda – now saw the world like she did. She liked it better when they thought card games were their biggest challenges.

"Well." Jonouchi gestured with arms wide open. "What do you want?"

Mai chuckled. "Do I have a price range?"

Jo snorted as if she'd insulted him. "For my gal? Nah. Anything you want – it's yours."

Mai smirked. "I want hot showers to be a thing again." Her eyes swept across the display cases. "Oh let's see. I need to find something I can show off to Anzu and Shizuka, right? And then a regular band I can wear without having to worry about my finger getting ripped off."

"Geez, Mai. Don't make this sound like a romantic moment or anything."

"Sorry, babe. We're going to have to do all that cutesy shit when we're not in danger of being attacked."

Jonouchi sighed. "I know. Hey, how about this one?"

Without thinking, Jo smashed through the glass case with his ax. Without power, no alarm sounded, but the smashing itself made more than enough noise.

"Jo, what the hell are you doing? Inviting the zombies to our wedding?"

"Sorry. It's not like I have a key or anything."

Mai rolled her eyes and walked over to see what Jo was reaching for in the case. He pulled out a white-gold band set with small diamond chips. Rising from the center of the ring was a round-cut diamond. "Damn, Jo. I never knew you had such good tastes."

"Well, I picked you, didn't I?" he retorted with all the maturity of a thirteen-year-old. "Hold on a moment, let me do this properly." He sank to one knee, ignoring the broken glass and thick layer of dust. "Mai Kujaku, will you marry me?"

She wanted to roll her eyes and call Jo a fucking, cliché bastard, but she couldn't. Not when his brown eyes looked like they belonged to a big, dumb, blond puppy. She nodded, and held out her hand, and watched the grin split Jo's face as he slipped the ring onto her finger.

"It fits." Jonouchi kissed her hand and stood to his feet.

"Of course it does." Mai scuffed up Jo's hair to frustrate him. Luckily, she was a common size.

"Let's get bands and split this place before Yugi freaks out."

"Good idea." Mai nodded. She ran her flashlight over the display cases until they found a matching set of gold bands that fit both of their fingers. Mai opened her mouth to suggest they leave when gunfire echoed across the night air. "Fuck." She swore as she and Jonouchi ran out of the jewelry store with their guns drawn. "You have any ammo left?" She asked.

"Only three shots."

".38's?"

"Yeah."

"Here." Mai reached in her pocket and handed Jo the last of her bullets. "That's all I have."

"Then keep them."

"Fuck that. I'm too pretty to be a widow."

"You're a better shot."

"Take half."

Jo growled, but grabbed three of the six bullets and reloaded his gun. They shot two zombies while crossing the street. More lingered in the black distance, but with only the moonlight and Mai's flashlight, they'd waste their last bullets shooting at the shadows. Mai and Jo raced up the fire escape, pulling the ladder up when they reached the first platform, and then they continued running to the roof.

Mai saw Yugi holding his gun and the Pharaoh holding a sword that looked like it belonged in a museum.

"Where the hell were you guys?" Yugi screamed.

"Sorry, Yug." Jo kept his face turned away. Mai didn't blame him. The look in Yugi's plum-colored eyes could melt ice.

"I don't care about your apologies – answer my damn question!"

"It's my fault!" Mai shouted. She didn't have the heart to see Jo and Yug fight. "I wanted a ring."

"A ring? Mai have you gone fucking crazy? This isn't time for accessorizing."

"She's not that dumb, Yugi." Jonouchi stepped in between Mai and Yugi. With Yugi's height, all Mai could see was Joey's hair with Atem standing off to the side. "And it wasn't her idea. I was the one who didn't want to wait until morning to get her a wedding ring."

"A . . ." Yugi's voice halted.

Mai stepped around Jo in order to show Yugi her hand. "Yeah, we're both idiots. We got a little carried away by the idea."

Yugi holstered his gun and used his sleeve to wipe tears out of his eyes. "Congratulations." He threw his arms around both of them, and Mai felt like a complete asshole.

"Sorry, Yug," Jo muttered.

"It's okay – just let me know next time, okay? You scared the fuck out of me. If something happened to either of you . . ." Yugi pulled away to dry his eyes a second time.

"Forget us, are you okay? We heard gunfire."

Yugi shook his head. "Not us. I thought it was you, and when I turned to check you were both gone."

"I swear, if I ever do anything like that again, Yugi, I'll tell you. I just didn't want you helping us. It was our thing, y'know?"

Atem spoke up for the first time. "You said we were a team, remember? We do things together."

Jo gave Atem a sheepish grin and scratched the back of his neck. "Yeah, I did say something like that. Don't worry. I've learned my lesson."

Atem grinned. "By the way, congratulations."

Jonouchi sighed. "Wish we had a nicer honeymoon than the apocalypse suite at Zombie Hotel."

"Oh, don't worry." Mai grinned. "I'm sure once we get to Kaiba's mansion we can find someplace nice, and it'll piss him off on top of it."

Jonouchi's laughter echoed throughout the warm night air. "That's true! Best. Honeymoon. Ever!"

"There's got to be a better way." Kek kicked at the corpse he'd decapitated a moment before. "I want a challenge. Three, four, six at a time bores me."

"Only you would get bored with six zombies."

"I want to fight like . . . one hundred all at once."

"Okay, seriously Kek, no more comic books for you. One person can't just fight a hundred corpses."

They both sat on swings at the park, facing opposite directions and competing to see who could go higher without flipping. When one of them spotted a corpse, they'd jump off the swing, kill it, and then race back to pick up where they left off. They didn't have the radio on, so they only attracted one or two at a time save for the occasional cluster that always seemed to travel together.

Kek flew off of his swing, flying past the sand and to the grass. He drew his kukris and dashed towards one such large cluster – seven total. Ryo leaned back so he could watch the upside down fight until his stomach turned and he was forced to drag his feet into the sand to keep his swing from moving. The slower fighting pace gave them more time for conversation between fights, and Ryo found himself enjoying the bits of conversation with his partner.

Kek cleaned his blades in the grass and walked back to Ryo. "See? It's too easy."

Ryo stood up, reaching out and touching Kek's bare, bronzed shoulder. "I think that's why she didn't let you keep your scars."

Kek tilted his head. "Why?"

"So you could move faster. Kill better."

Kek reached back and touched the skin on his shoulder. His fingers brushed over Ryo's fingers as he did so. Kek looked at Ryo, his hair blowing loose in the breeze without its normal ponytail. He winked. "Well, I shouldn't disappoint the gods. Help me find a way to kill more of them."

Ryo sighed and pulled his hand back. "Electronic store. Obstacle course."

Kek laughed. "What?"

"If we go to the electronic store I can wire my little radio to the main speakers. That will play the music loud enough to gather a hundred corpses. But there's no way I'm letting you fight that many all at once. First we build an obstacle course to slow the flux down and give you more control of the battle."

"You're . . . actually going to help me do this?"

"Well, like you said, you're setting their souls free, right? The more you kill, the more people you save. Besides . . ." Ryo gave Kek a helpless smile. "You look so happy when you're slashing things."

"Oh goody, Market Town." Mai sang in false joy as they climbed the ladder that'd take them to the homespun village.

As soon as they reached the nearest roof, Jonouchi grabbed her hand and dragged her away. "Come on. I want you to see all the effort we put into trying to find you."

"C'mon, Jo. Can't we just hang on the outskirts in case we need to make an escape?"

"Nope. Let's go." He dragged her away.

Yugi smiled. Jonouchi hadn't stopped grinning since they came back from their miniature diamond heist. He hated losing Mai, but he was glad to see that the experience finally knocked some sense into Jonouchi. Yugi already hoped they'd have at least one child together. He wanted his children, and Honda's, and Jo's to grow up friends as they had.

"This place is bigger than I'd imagined."

Yugi turned towards Atem. His violet eyes scanned across the roof tops. Wooden planks and strips of sheet metal formed bridges and walkways from rooftop to rooftop. Before the plague, Market Town was in a low-income area of mostly apartment buildings. Many of the apartments had the same square shape, the same flat roofs, and stood the same height. It had looked depressing compared to more urban areas of glittering steel and glass, or the more suburban areas of nice houses and small lawns, but now it looked safe – as safe as anywhere could be.

People fashioned lean-to huts and small houses out of any spare material they could find. They painted the walls with scavenged paint. A stripe of yellow here, a smear of green there, a mostly white-washed hut with orange and blue trim, every home and shop looked unique if not a little thrown-together.

Yugi reached into his knapsack and pulled out two large, dark hoodies. He handed one to Atem. "Here, put this on."

Atem scowled at the fabric. "It's hot outside."

Yugi squirmed into the sweatshirt and pulled the hood up to hide his distinctive hair. "I know, but if they see you, they might think you're me and go a little crazy."

Atem looked at Yugi. He didn't have to say any words, Yugi knew his question without Atem speaking. "Everyone knows who I am because of Duel Monsters, and Duel Monsters has become . . ." Yugi frowned. "Like a religion in Domino City since the dead started rising."

"A . . . religion?"

"Yes. I know that sounds absurd, but it's like they worship the game. There's nothing else to do now except survive. I guess it's people's way of coping through all of that."

"Alright." Atem slipped the hoodie over his head and used the hood to hide his hair. "But there's something else you're not telling me, Aibou. What is it?"

Yugi turned away. "I wish you didn't know me so well. I guess I should have known I wouldn't be able to hide it from you."

"Hide what?"

Yugi sighed. He walked to the edge of the building and stared off the roof, out into the bright lazuli sky. "I pawned Obelisk to buy all the seeds and chickens. We were going to starve if I didn't do something. And now I'm going to sell Ra in order to get the weapons and ammo we need if we're going to get you to Kaiba's house alive."

"Yugi . . . you're pawning the god cards?"

Yugi wasn't sure exactly how Atem felt beyond surprised, and he missed the days when they shared one body and knew each other as well as they knew themselves. "Our friends are everything. If we can end this – if there's even a small hope – then I'll sell every card I have for that hope, and I'll gamble even my own life for that hope. You may think giving up the god cards is a difficult decision, but it's not. It's like they're helping me do what I need to do to save my friends, and I'll always be grateful to them for that opportunity."

Atem rested his hand on Yugi's shoulder. Yugi felt the weight of Atem's palm through the thick fabric, and it comforted him.

"Yugi," Atem said, "whatever you do, I'm behind you. Please don't ever feel like you need to hide anything from me again."

Yugi squeezed the Pharaoh in a hug. "Thanks. Thanks for understanding. I never wanted to hide anything from you, I just didn't want you to feel guilty. I didn't want you to think I was sacrificing anything I couldn't live without." Yugi smiled. "Come on."

Bakura stood off to the side as Rishid played cards with an old man who liked to ramble as he played. They were learning a lot of information – but Bakura doubted any of it would be useful in their search for the Millennium Tome. Bakura crossed his arms over his chest, leaning against an air conditioning unit covered in rust and lichen. Sweat tickled the back of his neck, and Bakura wished he could find a cooler, shady spot to nap like he did in the afternoons when he was a thief in Egypt.

He liked watching Marik watch Rishid play. Marik's face was drawn into a serious, contemplative scowl as he analyzed strategies in his head. It reminded Bakura of their disastrous game against Marik's dark half, but now that it was all over with, Bakura thought of that duel with near fondness. It had been, after all, one of the moments that brought he and Marik together.

Ishizu wandered next to Bakura. Between her poise and the silence of her footsteps, Bakura thought she could have made a phenomenal thief herself, if she had been a touch more like her brother instead of the very definition of subservient.

She gestured to the game. "If you'd like, we could find a deck for you to use as well."

"No." The word flung itself from Bakura's mouth before he had a chance to think about it. He'd almost shouted it. Bakura turned away, speaking at a normal volume. "No, I'm fine."

"Oh?"

Such a simple syllable, and yet such an elaborate trap lay within the question. Bakura exhaled and answered anyway. "Do you have any idea what it's like to be separated from your ka for thousands of years? It's like you can't breathe, but you don't die. You just gasp, knowing something's missing but unable to fill the emptiness in your center."

"And Duel Monsters was based off of the Stone Tablets that Pegasus saw in Egypt," Ishizu said.

"Every card represents a ba that couldn't become an akh because their ka was trapped in stone for three thousand years." Bakura kept his eyes on Marik as he spoke. "Tell me, you had the Necklace, did you realize that Duel Monsters cards carried a touch of Shadow Magic in them?"

"Yes. I did notice that."

"Now that the ka's captured in stone by the Millennium Items have been freed, some of that magic should have dissipated, wouldn't you think?" Bakura shifted his eyes to see Ishizu's reaction.

Her expression mirrored her brother's, serious and analytical. "You're right. After the Ceremonial Duel, Duel Monsters should have became a harmless trading card game."

"But?" His own single syllable, his own verbal trap.

Ishizu sighed. "But there's more. More Shadow Magic than before. Not enough to play Shadow Games, but enough to make my head hurt each time Rishid plays a game."

"And I'm staying far away from it." Bakura snorted, returning his gaze back to Marik – the reason he was among the living. Not Shadows this time, not revenge, not killing Atem, Bakura came back for Marik, and he was going to stay with Marik until the inevitability of old age separated them for a brief moment before they reunited in Aaru forever. That's all Bakura wanted now. "Screw card games, and fuck Shadow Magic."

A soft chuckle, almost a breath, exhaled from Ishizu's mouth. "You're . . . an unpredictable character, Bakura."

He shrugged.

"Is that one of Marik's bracelets you're wearing?"

Bakura started when Ishizu mentioned the gold bracelet around his wrist. His hand reflexively reached out and covered the jewelry as if to hide it. "I, uh, stole it."

Ishizu laughed again. "Yes. I'm sure it was a bracelet you stole from my brother and not his heart."

"Is Baldy done with his stupid game yet?" Bakura walked away from Ishizu to avoid further conversation.

A child kept score on the rooftop with a nub of chalk. The old man's life points dropped to zero as Bakura stood next to Marik.

"Ah, that was a good game." The old man grinned with his toothless mouth. "I suppose you want to take a card now?"

Rishid bowed low. "I was playing for fun, grandfather. Keep your cards."

The old man shook his head. "Rules are rules."

"I haven't been to Domino in years. Tell me about the town. What have I missed?"

"Besides corpses rising from their death and eating the living? There's not that much to know. The main city is pretty bare now except for the dead, but there's good scavenging still in the suburbs. Stay away from the docks because that's where the thugs hang out. Stay away from the hospital because you won't make it one block before you're devoured. And if you find anything you want to trade, go to Market Town."

"Market Town?"

"In the old slums near the center of town. You'll see settlements scattered across Domino, but the largest one is there."

Rishid stood up, bowing again. "Thank you."

The four travelers walked away, leaving the building by the interior stairs. The apartments had been cleared of undead; however the lack of air or proper circulation made it insufferable to stay inside, which was why the family stayed on the roof where the breeze could reach them.

"First we'll need some things worth trading," Marik said. "Then we should check out that town the old man talked about. More people mean more of a chance to find out something useful."