Welcome back! I don't know about you guys, but it's felt like forever to me. Anyway, here we are with chapter 14!

Please enjoy!

Kaiba had a driver take everyone home to avoid anybody who might be outside asking questions. At least that was his claim, but Yugi saw the concerned glance he sent his way when he thought no one was looking. Yami had finally let Yugi take back control once they were safely inside the car and moving. The adrenaline had finally worn off and now the Pharaoh was now asleep in his Soul Room. Yugi wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't until late tomorrow that he woke up; their friends almost dying, a Yami no Game, being shot and then blocking all of the pain from Yugi, really took a lot out of him.

Tristen was the first one to be dropped off. As he exited the car, he turned back to Yugi, pinning him with a serious look. "Don't overdo it, Yug'," he warned, "I'll drag you to the hospital if I have to."

Yugi gave a nervous laugh. "Don't worry, I won't," he assured, "You need to take care yourself."

Everybody had bandages on their wrists from where the ropes bit in a bit too deeply and more than their fair share of bruises. Joey was the worst off, but all of them had to be seen to by the doctor.

Tristen ignored Yugi's last statement. "I'll stop by tomorrow to make sure you're not overdoing it," he promised and then left.

Yugi sighed as they pulled away. His friends needed to take care of themselves before they worried about him.

"Tristen's not alone in that threat," Tea said, eyeing his arm, "I'll help him if I have to."

"You guys act like I can't take care of myself," Yugi pouted.

"We just worry is all," Tea said, "You seem to attract the most trouble out of all of us."

Yugi frowned. He couldn't deny that, but because of it, his friends sometimes suffered as well. Just like they did today.

"You guys catch the worst of it…"

"It wouldn't be fair to you if you had to take the brunt force of everything," Joey said.

"It's not fair that you guys have to suffer because people are after me," Yugi countered.

"We're in this together, Yug'," Joey reminded him.

Yugi opted for staring out the window instead of replying. In every other situation, his friends knew exactly what they were getting into, and he was grateful that they stood alongside him. Now though, the dangers were unknown and he couldn't even tell them why he was being targeted.

A few minutes later the car pulled up in front of Tea's apartment. "I'll come by tomorrow to check on you," Tea echoed Tristen's farewell.

"Sure," Yugi gave up, "We'll have a nice quiet day then."

"Don't jinx it," Joey warned.

"The universe owes us one day after what happened today," Yugi replied.

"Let's hope so," Tea said, "I'll see you tomorrow."

The car started moving again, this time towards Joey's home. As they rode, Yugi noticed Joey shifting uncomfortably, several times opening his mouth to say something before closing it again. A couple of times he accidentally jarred his ribs, given away by his winces.

"Do you need to stay with us?" Yugi finally asked. Joey's ribs were barely fractured, but any more strain on them could cause them to actually break. He didn't need to be in his own home now with his father's temper, but it was obvious he was worried about being a burden to his grandpa.

"...yeah," Joey admitted with a sigh.

Yugi smiled at him understandingly and turned to the driver, "Joey's coming with me to Kame Game Shop."

The driver nodded and changed their route away from . The two sat together in comfortable silence as they sped along. Yugi reached up to rub his arm. The numbing the doctor had used was starting to wear off and his arm was starting to hurt a bit.

"You okay, Yug'?" Joey asked, catching the movement.

"I'm fine," Yugi assured, "The numbing agent is starting to wear off is all. The doctor said normal painkillers should be fine, so I'll look for those when we get home."

As if reacting to his words, Yugi felt the Shadows squirm eagerly around him, telling him they wanted to help. He pushed them away before they did anything that would catch Joey's attention. It was a little strange though, they did not seem so eager to help Yami after the Game… Something to look into later then.

"You really shouldn't touch it," Joey advised, "You'll pull the stitches. The doctor fought so hard to actually get them in too. I'd hate for him to have to redo them."

Yugi lowered his hand and rolled his eyes at his best friend. It was Yami who was being uncooperative, not him. Though to be fair, Yami was more worried about their friends and himself.

"Who knew the Pharaoh didn't cooperate with doctors?" Joey continued, slightly joking.

"I told him he either needed to sit still or let me take over," Yugi sighed, "He didn't like either of those options."

"He wouldn't let you take back control?"

Yugi heard the worry in Joey's voice and frowned. He understood where Joey was coming from, especially after everything they had experienced, but surely Joey knew Yami well enough by now to know that he wouldn't intentionally hurt him or anything.

"It's not like that, Joey. He didn't want me to suffer for what he calls 'a foolish mistake,'" Yugi airquoted with his good arm.

"Mistake?"

"He lost his focus," Yugi explained, "This is the price he paid."

It wasn't a lie. Yami really did lose his focus during the Game and almost lost more than the Game because of it. Yugi had a feeling that once Yami woke up, he'd have to keep him from dwelling on it.

"He got lucky," Joey remarked, "That could have done some serious damage."

"I know," Yugi said, "I think we were all lucky today."

The two of them fell silent after that. The pain in Yugi's arm continued to grow and the Shadows grew more restless, but fortunately they were not far from the Game Shop. By the time they got there, the sun was starting to dip below the horizon, making Yugi realize just how long a day they had. He suddenly wanted nothing more than to follow Yami's lead and go lay down and go to sleep.

His grandpa was anxiously watching a news report when they walked in. Yugi instantly recognized the Kaiba Corp building and groaned internally. How much of today's events had gotten out already? Or was this Kaiba's attempt to cover up what really happened? If the footage they were showing was live, then Yugi was glad Kaiba had given them a ride home; reporters and journalists were swarming the pavement outside of Kaiba Corp.

"Yugi!" Solomon cried when he noticed him, relief clear in his voice. His expression turned worried, however, when he saw his grandson's arm. "Are you alright? What happened? The news was saying that you were at Kaiba Corp when some kind of terrorists attacked."

"I'm fine," Yugi assured, "We're all fine. Some guys tried to kidnap my friends and Mokuba to get me and Kaiba to do some work for them. They didn't like when we declined."

"They said a whole floor had to be evacuated and that they had hostages," Solomon said, "And what happened to your arm?"

"He got shot," Joey answered. Yugi winced at the bluntness of Joey's statement.

Solomon's eyes went wide with shock and Yugi seriously worried that his grandpa would have a heart attack then and there. "Shot?" he whispered, horrified.

"Grandpa, sit down before you fall over," Yugi advised worriedly, "I'm fine. They missed, the bullet grazed my arm. Kaiba called a doctor and he stitched it up. I just have to wear this"- he gestured to the sling - "for a couple days so I don't pull the stitches out."

"You're too much for this old heart of mine, Yugi," Solomon said and turned to Joey, "What about you, Joey? You look like you've had a rough time."

"Don't worry about me, Gramps," Joey smiled, though its effect was muted by the bruise he was sporting across his nose, "I might have touched a nerve or two while they were trying to capture us."

"He's got some fractured ribs," Yugi said, ignoring Joey's glare, "He's not allowed to do any heavy lifting or make sudden movements."

'Which means he's better off here," Solomon concluded and shook his head, "You boys will be the death of me. Well, let's get some food in you and send you off to bed. Go sit at the table and I'll find something for you."

"I can help, Grandpa," Yugi tried to offer.

"No you don't," his grandpa said firmly, "You've had a long day. Sit down and relax."

Yugi couldn't deny that that sounded really good right about now, almost as good as actually going to sleep, and surrendered without the fight he usually would have put up. Joey gingerly sat down across from him, pulling an apologetic grimace as Solomon began the hunt for food.

"You can take the bed tonight," Yugi offered, "I'll sleep on the futon."

"I think you need a real bed more than I do," Joey replied, stilling eyeing his arm. "I can make do."

"I can get up and down easier than you," Yugi countered. With Joey's ribs, picking himself up off the floor from a lumpy futon could make them worse. "Just take it for once."

"Yugi's right, Joey," Solomon said as he rummaged through the cabinets for something light, "That futon is no good for broken ribs."

"Are you sure, Yug'?"

"Positive," Yugi nodded firmly, "I'll survive on the floor."

"Thanks, man."

Yugi started absentmindedly rubbing his arm again. The Shadows squirmed in the corner restlessly, somehow conveying their apologies that he was hurt and still wanting to help. This was the most active and the most sentient Yugi had ever felt them be, and it was a little strange. While they had waited anxiously for the doctor to arrive and their friends to wake up, Yami had told him that during the Game the Shadows had told him the names of the hentchmen. Deciding to try something, he reached out with his mind like he would if he was going to talk to Yami, only towards the Shadows.

What do you want? he asked silently.

The response was more immediate than he expected. We want to help, they whispered.

Yugi had to fight not to show his surprise at the clear response. He shot a glance at Joey and his grandpa, neither of them seemed to notice anything strange.

Why? he challenged, You didn't seem to want to help Yami.

The Pharaoh needs a reminder of his failure.

But he did not fail! He might have lost focus for a bit, but he got it back!

Because of you. The scar will remain on his constructed body to serve as a reminder.

I doubt he'll forget, Yugi said, He almost cost our friends their lives, isn't that enough?

He needs to remember us and his purpose if he is to take his place as Pharaoh over us.

So why help me? Yami lives in my body.

It is not fair for you to suffer for the errors of another.

"Yugi? You awake?" Joey's voice broke through his quiet conversation.

Oh. When had he shut his eyes? "I'm awake, Joey," he replied, blinking up at him.

"Talking to the Pharaoh?" Joey asked, "Is he doing alright?"

"He's been asleep since he let me back in control," Yugi admitted, "It's been a long day." He glad for the excuse. He wasn't about to say that he was just talking with the Shadows; the very idea seemed absurd in his own mind, and he had just been doing it!

"You're arm hurting?" Joey asked, nodding to where Yugi was still rubbing his arm.

"Oh, uh, yeah," Yugi said, lowering his hand, "It's not too bad. I'll take something before I go to sleep."

"Eat first," his grandpa said, setting down a light meal in front of him and Joey, "I'll go drag out the futon and set it up in your room."

"Thanks, Grandpa," Yugi smiled at him, "Let me know if you need help. I still have one good arm, I'm not completely useless yet."

"Just eat, Yugi."

Yugi stayed quiet throughout dinner. With his thoughts finally settling down, the weight of Yami's actions were finally starting to sink into his mind. Even though it was Yami who played the Game and subsequently took the souls, Yugi felt responsible for what had happened. Afterall, Yami would not have taken that action if Yugi did not tell him too. He had basically sentenced those men to their own hells and sent Yami in to do his dirty work.

But that's not what was upsetting. What was upsetting was how guilty he didn't feel. Every time he looked back on the events of the day, he thought he should feel horrible; like a hypocrite for encouraging the same activity that they had condemned so many others for. It was the exact opposite. He felt...satisfied with the outcome of Yami's Game; the Shadows also seemed pleased, but that was less of a surprise.

It was confusing. His thoughts told him he should be feeling one way while his actual feelings disagreed.

"You doing okay, Yugi?" Joey asked as they lay down to sleep.

"Yeah," came the quiet reply, "Just thinking about what happened today."

Joey propped himself up on an elbow to look down to Yugi on the futon, wincing as the position pulled at his ribs. "Whatever the Pharaoh and Kaiba did, it wasn't your fault. It's not even their fault."

"I know."

"...Do you wanna talk about it?"

"It's just...I feel like I should feel worse about what happened to the men than I do," Yugi admitted evasively, "But at the same time, they were threatening to kill you guys."

"You're back was to the wall, Yug," Joey said, "You did what you had to do in order to get us out of there. Any of us would have probably done the same if our situations were reversed. They were clearly bad guys, willing to kill us without second thought. If you ask me, they probably deserve worse than whatever they got."

Yugi frowned at that. He didn't know what kind of penalty Yami gave them, but knowing his dark half's overprotective nature and what they had done, he was sure they were suffering plenty wherever they ended up.

Joey rolled back over onto his back. "Whenever you wanna talk about it, I'll listen. I don't blame you for anything that happened, but if it makes you feel better, I forgive you."

"Thanks, Joey."

And there we go; kind of a filler chapter today. School is almost out for the summer, so my plan is to actually get a chance to sit down and write. I do almost have two more chapters ready to go, so the first of those should be coming out in a couple of weeks. I want to try to get back on that schedule and summer should allow me to do that.

Let me know what you think! Please review!