"There it is. Right on the corner." Yugi signaled to the others, and they all landed quietly on the edge of the wide, vacant yard in front of a dark house. It seemed to expand and loom over them, and Yugi shivered. He couldn't help but take a step back and clutch himself.

"Yugi?" Rebecca asked softly. "Is this…?"

"Yes." He nodded, swallowing despite his dry throat. "This is it." Saguaro's home. Yugi's home. Had been. Was. But was this run down porch where he had grown up? This dying grass could not really be where he had once played. Shattered windows, rotting wood, a weed-filled garden... It had been awhile since been here last, and so much was different. He was so different.

"Are you sure he's in there?" Jou asked, amber eyes trailing over to the front door.

"Not completely." Yugi answered. "But it's the only lead we have. If anything happens, we'll run and fly away." He took a deep breath and looked over to Atem. "You ready?"

Atem gave him a smirk.
"Shouldn't I be asking that to you?"

Despite his rattling nerves and the dark foreboding he felt, Yugi gave a soft laugh. As if they were one mind, they all started stepping toward the house together. When they got to the porch, Yugi placed his trembling hand on the door knob. It was unlocked. He carefully opened the door. Once inside, he glanced around, taking it in. The house was dark and a mess. Dirty, used, and broken. Not one picture frame still had its glass intact. The couch was worn completely through. Liitle puffs of white was strewn about the living room, and Yugi guessed it was cotton stuffing. He tried to shake off the image of his mother, standing that the base of the now rotting stairs.

"The electricity doesn't work." Atem said, flicking each switch on the panel in the entrance hallway.

"Of course there's no electricity. Dead men pay no bills." Jou joked.

"Hold on," Rebecca whispered. She closed her eyes and raised her arms out in front of her, humming a soft tune. Many little round balls of light slowly came out of her palms and floated up to the ceiling, like little blue fireflies, giving them enough light to see around them. The very sight was so otherworldly, so majestic, that Yugi didn't notice when someone stepped out from the shadows behind Jou. It was only when Atem called out Jou's name that he looked away from the lights and watched, horrified, as Jou collapsed to the ground.

Saguaro stood before them, baseball bat ready for another swing.

"No!" Rebecca shouted, and the balls of light all swarms forward, surrounding Saguaro's head, blinding him. In a fury, Saguaro swung the bat around wildly, aiming to hit anything near him. Atem leapt away quickly, narrowly avoiding a strike to the stomach.

"What do we do?" Rebecca asked. "How do we—" Her calls were cut off by a sharp gasp as Saguaro's weapon hit her upside her head. With a thud, the second member of their group fell against the floor. The lights disappeared, and Saguaro, still blinded, swung down, coming at her again. Yugi jumped forward, shielding her with his body. The bat hit him swiftly on the lower back, and he grunted. Atem hurled himself against Saguaro, knocking the bigger man off balance. Yugi quickly pulled Rebecca over to Jou before spinning around, trying to locate Atem in the dark that had returned.

"I'm going to kill you!" Saguaro yelled, throwing the bat at Atem.

Atem ducked out of the way, and the bat hit the wall behind him with such force that it made a dent in it and the bat broke in half. But Saguaro was not defenceless now. He pointed at Atem, and beams of green magic shot from his finger. Yugi ran forward and pushed Atem out of the way in time for it to miss his chest. One beam instead hit Yugi in his palm and another got him in the shoulder. He screamed as it pierced right through his skin. The impact was so strong that it knocked Yugi back like a sonic boom. His head collided with the coffee table, and everything became blurry. The pain was so strong, it was almost surreal.

"Guh…" Yugi twitched as blood seeped from his wounds. Saguaro laughed, and the very sound made Yugi's hair stand on end. I need to get up, He told himself. Make your legs move, dammit. But he couldn't. His legs wouldn't listen. He blinked, trying to right the world enough so he could get back into the fray. Yugi watched as Saguaro placed a foot on Atem's back before he could roll away. How is it turning out like this? Yugi desperately thought, trying to get to his feet. It was four to one…

"Fancy yourself a birdie, huh?" Saguaro cackled, grabbing Atem's wings, one in each hand.

This was a mistake.

"Well, then…"

We should have never come here.

"Let's see what you can do without these, shall we?"

I'm so sorry.

"Please…" Yugi moaned, pushing himself over onto his hands and knees. "Don't…" Atem gave a jerk of pain as Saguaro's hands tightened over the feathers. "Saguaro, don't…" Yugi started crawling to them. Atem let out a guttural noise as Saguaro gave an experimental tug.

"I like that sound." Saguaro said. "Do it again."

"…Please…" Yugi said, his voice coming back to him. He got to his feet, swaying. "I'll do anything you—"

Atem's shriek drowned Yugi out as Saguaro relentlessly yanked back on his wings. Yugi tried to leap in to intervene, but the world tilted and he fell over his own feet. He looked on, horrified, as Atem screamed the most inhuman sound Yugi had ever heard. Getting beaten up…getting stabbed…dying… These things were nothing compared to having to watch Atem writhe and jerk like a fish on the floor. The pain of it was nothing compared to Atem's. It was so unbearable. Atem screamed and screamed, and soon no sound escaped his lips at all. As if he'd used all his breath, and he couldn't breathe in again.

"Stop! STOP!" Yugi cried helplessly. There was a strange popping noise, and Yugi felt true terror as he saw the wings tearing from Atem's back. Blood seeped from the wounds, soaking Atem's shirt a dark red. "LEAVE HIM ALONE—!" Saguaro let out a manic giggle at Yugi's hoarse cry, and heaved again. The wings ripped off completely, and some blood sprayed on Saguaro's face. Atem slumped forward, panting and jerking against the floor. Out of the battle. Saguaro leaned down so his head was next to Atem's.

"Fly now, little birdie." He seethed.

Bakura hissed between his teeth as Kaiba carefully examined a deep cut in his arm. "Shit." He then muttered, pushing Kaiba away. He rested his head in his hands to avoid looking at the two bodies in the middle of the room. "Shit."

Kaiba was silent. They had succeeded in their mission…but at what cost? "He knew what he was getting into…" He said, mostly to told himself, but that didn't stop the cold from seeping into his skin. He kept seeing the past five minutes play in his head over and over, almost as if in slow motion.

But it was over now.

"Shut up." Bakura snapped, his voice low. It was quiet for a long moment; then, "He's such a goddamn moron. Not protecting his back. What a fucking..." Bakura took in a ragged breath. "What are we even going to tell everyone?"

"I don't know."

"But you're the great Seto Kaiba." Bakura joked, but his heart wasn't in it. "You always know what to do."

"This time, I don't have the answer." Kaiba said. "He's already—"

"Shut up." Bakura snapped again. "I know already. Just…shut up."

This is all my fault.

"ATEM!" Yugi sobbed, getting to his feet again, and this time, he was able to stay up.

Saguaro straightened as well, grinning. Inviting Yugi over. After a moment to steady himself, Yugi started toward Atem, raising his hands. If he could get to him in time, Yugi could heal him. Atem would be okay. Before he made it all the way, though, Saguaro was there, blocking his path. He landed a swift uppercut to Yugi's stomach, and Yugi hunched over, spitting up blood. Saguaro stepped away from him, and Yugi bravely stayed on his feet. He could've sworn he could hear whispering coming from somewhere, but he ignored it.

"And then there was one." Saguaro ridiculed. He lifted his finger, pointing right at Yugi's chest. "Are you ready to die?"

Yugi clenched his teeth. He was shaking so hard, it was like he was vibrating.
"Do your worst." Yugi managed. "I'm hard to kill."

"Ain't that the truth." Saguaro spat bitterly. "But I will succeed this time." He lifted his arm and threw it down in a slashing motion. But nothing happened. Frustrated, Saguaro tried again. Then again. Nothing.

"Wh…what?" He stared at his hand. "Why isn't it working?" He was confused, but Yugi understood right away. Anzu was dead, so her spells were, too. She had given Saguaro some of her power, and now that she was gone…so was the magic. The other group had won. They could still beat him.

"You're all dried up." Yugi told him. "Anzu is dead."

Saguaro let out a tangible roar.
"Fine! I don't need magic to kill you!"

He raised his fist and Yugi braced himself. Atem suddenly made an odd noise, and both of them froze and looked to the body laying on the ground. The little whispers Yugi heard had started off soft, but they were growing now. It was coming from Atem. The voices were saying words that Yugi nor Saguaro could catch. They grew, escalating like some kind of horror film. Then, it stopped. And it was silent for a long moment.

Saguaro started to speak. "What the—" Suddenly, as if his voice were the trigger, hundreds of a thousand black strings shot out of Atem's back and flew around the room in chaos. "What the fuck is this?!" Saguaro yelled, flapping his arms around, swatting the black tendrils away. Yugi twisted around, looking at the now fluid darkness rampaging around the room.

"…Atem?" He wondered. As if he had said the magic word, the black stopped. Waiting. Yugi would recognize this power anywhere. It seemed like just yesterday that Atem had first shown him the terrifying power he held. The power to create and control shadows. "Atem's shadows." Why were they out of Atem? Was he…oh, god…

One tendril floated down to Yugi and hovered in front of him. He reached out his hand tentatively, still shaking. "Please, help me." Yugi whispered. Saguaro was too shocked to move or stop Yugi from gently touching it. As soon as his skin made contact, the world resumed. The shadows descended on Saguaro and Yugi. They swarmed like bees, but, while Saguaro was being torn apart by them, Yugi instead was being enveloped by them as if in a cold embrace. One by one, they merged with his skin. They poured into his body, and Yugi's chest went icy.

Everything turned black. Yugi stumbled toward Atem and fell down. He searched, feeling around, until he impact something soft. Atem's hand. He gripped it tightly, focusing on using his power. A dull tingling in his palms made him believe it was working, that Atem was being healed, but he couldn't be sure. The only thing he could hear was Saguaro yelling, then a keening, then there was a thud.

Then there was nothing.

Ryou watched, numb, as Malik threw himself over Marik's body, letting out heaving sobs that seemed to shake the house. Kaiba and Bakura looked away, as if they could not bear the sight of it. Ryou couldn't believe that Marik was really… Out of everyone, he seemed the one they would never lose. He was always there. But not anymore. He was gone. Just a few hours ago, they were all together, so confident. They never thought they would actually lose anyone in the battle. Now what? Where did all of that positivity go?

"Why?" Was the only thing Malik could say. "Why?"

"Malik," Kaiba started. "We did all we coul—"

"SHUT UP!" Malik cried. "You let him die!"

Bakura winced. Ryou stepped over to him and took his hand. For once, Bakura didn't oppose it. "We did," Bakura muttered. "We just watched as he and Anzu fought. We thought he was winning, but then—then—"

"I understand." Ryou soothed him. "It'll be okay."

Malik looked at Ryou, angry. "Nothing is okay!" He cried. "I knew I should have gone, too! This is all my fault. All my—" A sharp gasp cut his words short, and he bent over Marik's body again, weeping his soul out.

"Should we move them?" Kaiba asked, his voice slightly thick with the emotion he wouldn't let himself show.

"Just leave him for now." Ryou said. "Let him get it out of his system."

"Has the other group come back yet?" Kaiba asked. "Any word at all from Atem?"

"No." Ryou shook his head and looked out the window to the sky. "But I'm sure they're all fine."