To say that they were having a little bit of trouble dealing with the rest of the stuff Zorc threw at them would, unfortunately, be an understatement. They were having a lot of trouble, really. Too much trouble. He'd really stepped up his game after Yugi had effortlessly tamed one of his little shadow dogs and set it on his tendrils.

That had gone fairly well for them, but to their dismay the odds didn't stay in their favor for long. He started throwing bigger monsters at them, bigger tendrils lashed out. It was hard not to be distracted by the sight of Viper punching huge shadow creatures directly in the face, Yugi would admit. He almost let his guard down in awe of the skinny green haired man on more than one occasion.

A monster quickly brought him back to his senses each time.

He was also quite easily distracted by other troops showing up to help them, sometimes in large groups, sometimes one at a time. With each troop, the threat that Zorc posed only increased. Every troop brought a new monster, and each new monster was harder to defeat than the last. Fortunately, there were a few very good teams of troops here, today. Ryou'd been sure to bring Fire and Gorbasch, who Yugi had long since learned were a force to be reckoned with when together.

Fire had his name for a reason, and Gorbasch augmented him very well with well-timed explosions and flames of his own. They were the definition of a demolition duo. Yugi could understand why someone usually had to be with them in order to taper their violent urges.

And Sage, who was typically very reserved and non-violent, could be quite fierce when he wanted to. Seemed he was doing very well fighting alongside Viper and one of Malik's Ghouls who he wasn't sure of the name of.

Despite the dangers of not paying attention, Malik found some things too entertaining to ignore. Like, for example, Viper punching a shadowy mimic of his boss directly in the face.

Watching that particular display, of course, is his mistake, because it makes him laugh and blinds him to the monster approaching him. It snatched him up and then everything went black with an audible crack and a sharp pain in the back of his head.

"Malik's down!" Viper called to Yugi, who merely nodded while he turned and pounced on the thing still standing over his unconscious body.

He didn't have time to watch what Yugi did to it, but after a moment or two he heard it give a shriek. A glance over his shoulder showed it melting away while Yugi dragged Malik over by the door and propped him up. He turned his head back just in time to duck under the swing of the bothersome shadow copy of his boss that just kept coming back no matter how many times he and the other two killed it.

He punched it in the face again.

He was fairly sure that, if it had been a real person, he'd have broken it's nose at least once by now, with a right hook being his go-to to defend himself in a pinch. The little Immortal who'd teamed up with him on arrival took the opportunity to grab the shadow copy by its braid and tug it backwards, opening it up to an attack from the Ghoul, who mercilessly shoved his lance through its throat.

Brutal. He liked it.

"Nice job!" He called to them as a new monster melted out of the shadows next to him. He dealt with it quickly.

They both thanked him, though the Ghoul's was a bit delayed while he slammed his own creature to the ground. He planted his foot firmly on its head and shoved until it shattered. Oh, Viper was in love with this guy. Oh, and that little Immortal. He didn't look like much, on the surface, but right now he was absolutely vicious and it was…

It was really hot.

… He was going to be jacking off so much tonight, if he survived.

The thought reiterated itself when he watched the little Immortal get pinned down by a shadow creature and respond by sinking his teeth into its throat. It lurched back, effectively doing the Immortal's job for him and fading away.

Sage spat shadows and wiped his mouth on his sleeve. Viper was at his side in the next instant, more monsters melting out of the ground.

"What's your name?" He asked with a grin.

Sage rolled his eyes. "Sage." He found himself being pulled out of a monster's way, tucked against a warm chest, a tendril melting out of his own shadow and swatting the monster away.

"Your real name?" It was softer, sweeter sounding than the preceding question.

He almost shivered. Had he not been working, he probably would have. Instead, he rolled his eyes again, and the response clearly wasn't lost on Viper, judging by his soft huff. "If we survive, I'll tell you, but you have to tell me yours too."

"Gladly."

"And while we're at it," He said, peeling himself away to get back to work, "Maybe we can get the vicious guy's number together."

Viper laughed. "I'm all for it!"

Sage did try not to smile at that. He really did. He blamed Viper for his failure.

Fire hated to admit it, but he was really starting to tucker himself out with all this fighting. Usually he didn't have to use so much power during a fight. A couple well-timed bursts of flame and the fight was over, especially if Gorbasch was with him. But here they were, using up all their power together in ways they hadn't had to do for a very long time. Hadn't had to do since they were little street rats running from men much bigger and stronger than they were.

It brought a warm, fuzzy feeling to the pit of his stomach that he would have more than enough time to dwell on when this was over with. He could tell, though, that he was burning out quickly (he couldn't help making jokes at his own expense, sometimes) and that Gorbasch really wasn't fairing much better. If this didn't get over with soon, they'd both completely drain themselves and if he was honest they weren't of much use without their powers.

He was too skinny to be useful, all knees and elbows and protruding ribs and vertebrae. Even if he were to be skilled at all in actual fighting, he wouldn't have much chance of winning. Too skinny. He needed to work on that, but that was just another thing he could dwell on when this was over with. Gorbasch was the better option if they happened to run their power to empty, but he still wasn't much of a physical force. He wasn't scrawny, not by any stretch, but he wasn't muscular either, and unless he planned to roundhouse or otherwise kick every single opponent in his way none of his muscles were really any use in a fight.

Again. Dwelling on things that needed to be dwelled on later.

He cackled, in spite of himself, as he lit another pyre beneath the feet of a large, undulating mass of darkness. It struck him that he could have tried to do this to the man who was summoning the beasts, but there was no way he'd be able to find an opening with all the monsters. And even if he could, Zorc was still too far away from him for a proper attempt. Not to mention that he no longer had quite enough energy for the kind of blast he'd need in order to hit the guy.

It was kind of irritating, in a way. He hoped Gorbasch didn't notice him getting all worked up - they always ended up fighting each other when he started letting his temper flare. Because Gorbasch would try to calm him down but he'd be confrontational about it.

"We're not going to be able to keep this up much longer." Gorbasch muttered to him as their backs pressed together. "We need a plan."

"A plan of attack. A way to react." Fire muttered under his breath, then to Gorbasch, "Hope you've got somethin' cookin' because my mind's pretty barren at the moment."

"I think I have something, actually."

"Lay it on me, bro."

The next few moments were, of course, how they ended up running around, ducking under monsters and hopping over others while they tried to preserve the last of their strength.

And all for one big controlled inferno that consumed all the shadow creatures in their range. Their cohorts all made some noise or another of shock, surprise, fear… Noises that quickly faded away when they realized that they weren't being harmed by the flames. And it was by no means an easy feat for Fire to keep such strict control over what got burned and what didn't - he'd never controlled an inferno like this before. He had to concentrate. Kill the hostile ones. You can spare the little shadow dog next to Yugi.

Concentrate.

Put the fire out, now, the evil creatures are gone. Put it out.

Good.

Good.

He collapsed before he knew what was happening, but thin arms caught him and pulled him back onto his feet. Soft reassurances were whispered into his ear, alongside encouragements. "You did so well, I'm so proud… You're gonna be okay."

He whispered back an affirmative and willed his body to move.

They hadn't really done much, but Atem was still grateful for the short respite the inferno gave him. He had time to catch his breath (sort of, he was still winded - he hadn't actually been in a fight for about a year and a half, and never one like this) before more monsters began to form, and he could see Yugi sort of struggling to suck in a breath as well. Viper had disappeared, Sage was sitting on the floor with his head between his knees, and the unnamed Ghoul was practically twitching. Seemed he wasn't fond of the sudden end to the fight.

The twitching only lessened a small bit when monsters began to appear again. Maybe he was anxious about something else altogether?

A look around before he had to start fighting again showed him a large snake curling its way across the slick floor, sneaking toward Zorc. But then he was distracted by the lunge of another shadow dog, which he promptly ducked under and then punted across the way. It reminded him, though, that Yugi's little buddy was still bouncing around his feet and biting the tendrils that threatened his focus.

The snake was coiling itself up behind Zorc, now, and of course Zorc was far too busy making sure he kept summoning monsters to notice. It didn't strike, for the time being. He wondered why, while he still had the time and presence of mind to do so.

Was it on his side? If so, why hadn't it struck any of them? And if it was on their side, was it simply biding its time?

He hoped that was the case, really.

But, as it turned out, he didn't need to be worried. Suddenly, Zorc's body swayed. The shadow beasts flickered. They stopped attacking, and so did everyone else. Red eyes rolled back into his head and he fell flat on his face.

The monsters vaporized, save the one bouncing around Yugi's ankles.

"Did…" He didn't dare finish the question.

The enormous hourglass, under their collective gaze, turned to dust and melted away.

There was no cheer, no celebration. Everyone stood, staring where the hourglass had been. Silence stretched on. Fire's mind and body teetered on the edge of unconsciousness and Viper popped up next to poor little Sage. The smaller assumed he'd immediately pursue his question again, but the green haired one said nothing.

Malik groaned as he sat up. Next to him, Yugi was bracing himself on his knees, panting and gasping. Ryou watched them both, silent and clearly concerned.

He nodded to the man. Ryou's shoulders only relaxed a fraction as his gaze turned to Yugi, who also nodded, throwing him a thumbs up. He relaxed a little more and turned back to the door. But he was clearly still worried. Still tense. He wondered why but he knew asking wouldn't get him anywhere until Ryou got that damned door open. He'd be too focused on it, anyway, and he'd get defensive if Malik tried to get personal right now. Bad idea. Ryou was like a cornered raccoon when he didn't want to talk about something or when that something was getting in the way of him managing to do something else.

So he watched, slowly pushing himself to his feet, as Ryou fiddled away at the door. Suddenly there was an audible click and the sound of something breaking. Ryou smiled, body relaxing a bit more. He pulled a bobby pin from his hair, twiddled it in the lock on the door a bit, and then with a click it came unlocked.

A very quiet chorus of cheers came from their collective men. From what Malik could see a great deal of them were actually getting along, but most of them had collapsed to the floor by now and watching quietly, faces gaunt, while Ryou finally got to his feet.

"You two ready?" He asked softly.

"More than ready." Yugi replied breathlessly, and for a second Malik was worried before he realized it wasn't breathless in the way he was thinking of. It was breathless in an incredulous, disbelieving way. Although he clearly wanted to believe this was going to work out in their favor, Malik could see the cynical wheels turning in his little head.

"Absolutely." Was all Malik could bring forth from his mouth.

Ryou nodded and turned the handle, letting the door swing open. Malik could almost hear his pulse racing - not that he couldn't see it in the veins in his neck. Was Ryou really that nervous? Well, he certainly was, so it wasn't like he had much room to talk on the subject. Still… Ryou seemed really out of his element today.

Then again, they were all a little out of their element today. Malik had let his guard down and paid for it. Yugi had actually fought. Atem had to deal with all this supernatural bullshit.

Yugi pushed himself up, clearly trying to scrape together some dignity. He swallowed. Shot a look at him. He threw him a thumbs up at him and Yugi managed a half smile.

"Let's do this." He mouthed to the smaller.

He nodded. Both looked to Ryou, who was still stalled outside the room, waiting. They nodded to him, but he shook his head and waved them in. So they approached, leaning in close.

"Something wrong?" Yugi whispered, quirking a brow.

"I'm not ready yet." Ryou shrugged. "I just need a moment."

"Or else you'll punch him?" Malik suggested softly. Ryou nodded in agreement.

"Right, okay." Yugi swallowed again, then looked to Atem. He motioned at him, then shooed him into the room when he came over.

He nodded and entered, glancing at them once he was inside with a look that told them they weren't going to be disappointed when they worked up the courage. His eyes seemed watery, and after a second or two a surprised shout rang out in the room, followed by a long stream of Arabic. Atem disappeared behind the door, and his voice joined the other.

Malik spared another glance at Yugi, who looked like he was going to start crying any second now. He was valiantly holding back the tears, though, and once he'd managed to blink them away, he squared his shoulders, straightened his tie, and walked into the room.

The moment Yami laid eyes on him, another delighted shout rang out. And once he'd crossed the room to the older male, and had strong arms wrap around him, he fell apart. His face found itself buried in Yami's shoulder, arms wrapped tightly around his waist. "Holy shit." He murmured, "Holy shit. I've missed you so much, Yami, I almost can't believe we found you…" He muffled a laugh against the other's skin, because he was suddenly aware of just how quiet it was in this room. "Fuck, I never thought three years was a long time, before. But it was worth it. It was so worth it."

Yami let him ramble. Didn't try to stop him. But when he finally went silent the man chuckled and murmured, "You're wearing a suit. Why are you wearing a suit?"

"It's a long story." He snickered. "One I don't feel like telling just yet. Why are you naked?"

"I blame the other two and our collective hormones."

He snorted, unable to find it within himself to be angry that Yami'd been unfaithful - after all, he hadn't been faithful either. But at least it went both ways and he wouldn't be the one apologizing about it… Because he knew Yami would apologize. He'd heard the guilt in his voice. "With those two, really?" He pulled back to give him an amused (and maybe somewhat incredulous) look.

"Yes, with those two." Yami's face was turning a cute shade of red.

He kissed him. "Fair enough. Not like I haven't gotten pegged by Ryou a couple times."

He heard someone else choke. "Ryou's still alive?"

"Yep." He leaned his head to the side to better see Bakura, because he knew that was who had spoken. "Alive and as crazy as ever. Maybe a little worse."

"Is…" Bakura had paused in the middle of pulling on pants. "Is he here?"

Was that hope? That was adorable. "He is. Just give him a minute - I think he's in shock."

"That's fair." Bakura had a ghost of a smile on his lips while he finished pulling his pants over his ass.

And what a nice ass it was. No wonder Ryou liked it.

Bakura quirked an eyebrow. "Are you checking me out, Muto?"

"Just admiring your ass. You wouldn't believe how much Ryou used to talk about your ass and now I'm beginning to see why."

Marik, who hadn't bothered to even reach for his pants yet, snorted. "Do I get to get checked out, too?"

"If you'd stand up, probably." Yugi snickered and pressed a kiss to Yami's cheek. "Now you get dressed. Much as I'd like to bend over for you right now, there are people outside who actually respect me and I'd like to keep it that way."

Atem, without missing a beat, replied, "That didn't stop you from bending over for me yesterday."

When Yugi shot him a look, he was examining his fingernails. "You also had your fingers in my mouth and Ryou and Malik were already making enough noise to cover me."

That earned them both a round of incredulous and amused stares.

"Kinky." Bakura said after a minute.

"Like you wouldn't believe." Atem smirked, punctuating it with a sharp smack to Yugi's backside.

As if to prove his point, Yugi's body betrayed him and forced a moan out of his lips. His cheeks heated somewhat while he punched Atem in the arm. "This coming from the guy who gets off on listening to me whimper when I get oversensitive."

That got Atem to blush somewhat while Yami snickered.

"You know, I figured you two would end up together while I was gone."

"I wouldn't say we're together." Yugi said carefully, joking mood gone but cheeks still red. He spared Atem a glance. "I don't think being fuck buddies for the past few weeks qualifies as 'together'."

Yami watched them for a moment. "Fair enough." He conceded. "But…"

"I wasn't really… Around much." Atem shrugged. "I was busy and being a child about something minor."

"We moved past it a couple months ago when he called me for help on a mission." Yugi faked a swoon.

The conversation continued, and outside the room, Malik was holding Ryou.

"I don't know if I can do it." Ryou whispered. "I don't know if…"

"You can. You've done harder things, Ryou. You can do this." Malik felt weird being the reassuring one. He'd never had this role before. He hoped he was doing it right.

"... You're right." Ryou sighed, leaning heavily against his chest. "I can. I just…" He shook his head and kissed Malik's chin. "I don't know if I'll be able to do it without punching him. Or crying."

"Crying's fine. You have every right to cry."

"But I…"

"You've been really strong for three years." Malik assured him. "You don't need to stay that way. Let Bakura be the strong one."

Ryou gave a weak half-sob, half-laugh. "You know, you'd have made a really good boyfriend if we hadn't found them."

Malik snorted. "Just because I can be sensitive once in a blue moon…"

It was a real laugh, this time. "Let's just get in there."

"Alright."

Ryou still hesitated to pull away, though. "Can…" He bit his lip, "Can I hold your hand?"

"So you don't punch him?" A nod. "Of course."

He finally pulled away and grabbed his hand. They entered the room, mid-conversation, and waited to be noticed. Ryou squeezed his hand painfully tight, but he didn't complain. He could be a nice guy for a while. And when Marik's eyes fell upon them, the conversation stuttered to a halt.

"Malik?" He asked, clearly disbelieving.

"In the flesh." He smiled, surprising himself with how easily it came. He glanced to Ryou who only gave him a nod before releasing his hand. "Hug?" He held his arms out.

He almost squealed when Marik scooped him up into his arms and spun him around, but managed to hold the sound back and wrap his own arms around the man. It felt so nice to be on the receiving end of a strong-armed hug again. He almost wanted to cry.

Almost.

Ryou and Bakura simply stared at each other. Yugi watched them from his place between Yami and Atem. Eventually, Bakura pushed away from the wall and approached Ryou, slow and careful. He was being cautious and Yugi couldn't figure out why until he remembered that if anyone knew anything about Ryou's mental state, it was him. And if he was worried, maybe he should get out of their way.

Ryou's eyes flickered green. Bakura flinched slightly. They turned brown again, then back to green, and finally settled on an in-between hazel color. And then they filled with tears, and while Bakura looked a little guilty at that, he mostly seemed relieved. He hugged him tightly and Ryou relaxed into him, all the tension leaving him in a second while he was enveloped in the feeling of being cared for and safe. Bakura was the only one who could ever make him feel like that.

But Green-eyes was still nagging at him to say something, and as usual lately he could for the most part agree with it.

"Don't you ever fucking leave me again." He hissed.

Bakura flinched slightly. Before Ryou could apologize for his phrasing, the older male squeezed him tighter. "I won't."

"Good."

"Heartwarming as this is," Yugi said after a long moment, "I think it's high time we headed back to the mainland. Maybe go home with our men and reacquaint ourselves with them?" He winked at Ryou, who snickered and grabbed Bakura's ass. "And tomorrow, we'll meet in Valhalla to settle all this."

"Sure thing, Pharaoh," Malik rolled his eyes. "And we'll need to figure out what exactly we're going to do about our little project…"

"Leave it with the Lieutenants, my dear Phantom King." Yugi waved a hand. "Let them sort it out."

"Can we really trust them to finish it all up? Especially our Bandit King's lieutenant?"

"Zen is trustworthy. His temper doesn't usually get in the way like it did the other day." Ryou rolled his eyes. "Anyway, let's go. I'm more than ready to be home."

"Me too." Bakura sighed. "Three years is way too much fuckin' time to be away."

"I couldn't agree more."


A/N: Still waiting for feedback. And for opinions on making a sequel. Don't be shy!