Bakura's Area, Game Shop

Atem found himself transported to a familiar place. The inside of the Game Shop. "It survived?" He glanced at Bakura. "You!"

"Don't go there." Bakura growled, his face none the happier but he clearly had his ring back. "Sit back and ride out the end like everybody else." He looked at who brought Atem. "Who are you?"

"Li. I am your subordinate," he said.

"Well where the **** have you been?" Bakura went off on him.

"Saving all the cats in the Domino City area," he said. "Taking down mankind's population is one thing, but let a cat be killed and the goddess Bastet will claw me past my next death."

"Great. Out saving kitties. How's anybody supposed to survive any of this if I don't get some ****ing help! So far, all I've seen is some upstarts demanding Rider go with them." He gestured to the people by the door. "Of which they haven't gotten a willing participant for yet."

"We'd rather not hurt her," one of the unknowns in the doorway said. "There is death, and then there's death of peace in the afterlife. It's not worth it."

"Atem."

Atem turned around. She had been right behind him. Masika was okay. "I'm glad you are safe. Did the others make it safely?"

"Mai and Mokuba are upstairs," she said. "Kaiba had gone with Shizuka to get Honda. She wouldn't quit asking, she felt it was only right to get him and tell him about her deal with Kaiba. Kaiba said it was best to follow her instincts."

I know they are alive then.

"Do not get mad at Bakura, he saved more than us." She gestured for the ring from him. He gave it up to her. "He needed time to adjust. He still needs time to adjust." She had kept her head down. "How is Anzu?"

"Anzu, Jounouchi and Yuugi are all fine." Atem looked around. Home. "It's really okay."

"Bakura did it." Now, Ryou Bakura had to be back in control. There was no ring to give Bakura power. "It all happened so fast. Yuugi has been visiting so often for Anzu or Satiah, that when the door rang I just answered it. I never thought someone would thrust the ring in my hands."

Ryou Bakura looked toward him. His eyes glistened. Clearly coming to terms with things too. "It wasn't perfect, and I feared he'd become like Zorc. This time, once he had power, he started to balance out. He hates that I'm telling you, but it's true. He isn't Zorc. He used the ring to find who was responsible and they were waiting for him. Hanasake."

Hanasake. "He is claiming rulership over the area Yuugi and the others are at."

"He sat The Bandit Bakura down. The things they spoke of. He's not Tomoyo Hanasake," Ryou Bakura revealed, starting to slightly choke. "All of them, these followers, they were given hosts. Then? Hanasake, he offered it to Bakura. A game. A game called Dragon Cards. He said it would sever the users soul from the body. A clean cut. I don't know how it could work, but they made it work. They said the gods allowed it."

Oh no. "Hanasake isn't possessed."

"He's dead. They all are. These spirits, they took their lives, their children, even their wives. Everything that was the hosts was theirs!" He covered his face. "Bakura didn't do it. He. He hung on. We both hung on, hoping that someone would do something. But? It? Domino City. It would fall with or without his input."

"He saved the schools he could," Masika said for Ryou Bakura. "He gave the biggest grocery store. A bank because he didn't trust Hanasake. The Game Shop. What he could, 20% of . . ." She finally stumbled. "Of what he could."

Oh. She was gesturing to the ring she was holding. She could give it to me, or she could give it to him. With it, I might be able to summon the gods. She trusts Bakura as well, he had saved her and the others. She would give it back to Bakura, he knew that. Bakura was almost all she remembered of her past. She'd barely known him a day, and the whole sacrificing issue hadn't been a good way to start it. "I could try summoning the gods." Some context to help his chances. "If nothing happens when I do, I can give it back."

The men in the doorway laughed.

"Only Pharaoh can summon the gods. Maybe when you were alive you could do it, but things have changed. You can't do it."

"You're wrong," Masika told them. "He is alive."

"Can't be. Worthy kings become gods after death, he would destroy a host. Besides, gods aren't going to want to cross other gods anyhow." That man in the doorway. The next thing he said, made it all make sense. "Pharaoh is related to Horus, why would any god want to cross him?"

That's it! That's why it was optional! None of the gods must have wanted to wage war with Horus, but they didn't agree. The gods like games. He wasn't meant to stop it. He was meant to challenge it. That's why I'm here. There is at least one god who doesn't agree with this. The stone hiding away from the palace. The optional statement. Kaiba actually being able to come back and forth to the afterlife. With what I have been given, there must be a way to stop this new reign.

He couldn't save anything that had been lost. Countless lives. Billions of lives. But? There must be a way for me to end this Pharoah. He looked toward Masika. The big question mark still. "Why do they want you?"

"I don't know." She was still hanging onto the ring. "Let me try something. Lean forward and bend down slightly."

Bend down? I need her to trust me. I will have to trust her first. Atem bent down. She placed the ring around his neck and then held his chin, opening his mouth. What is she doing? Her mouth was coming closer.

She pulled in closer, keeping his mouth open, but never touched his lips. Instead, she gently breathed into it, long and slow. She let go. "Does it feel like you can summon gods, Atem?"

Atem blinked and looked down at the ring. She was trusting him with it. She even tried to give him some of the power she had inside of her. Summon. Power. Ka. "I will give this back when I find the god images to summon." He was sure they had to have them. Either cards or stones.

Everyone in the room except Ryou Bakura, Masika and him chuckled.

"Some ruler. Who needs an image? Face it. You can either help lead or live like the others," Li said. "Even I could kill you if I wanted. Pick your choice."

Who needs an image? "Alright, I'll try without one." Atem had to try something and Masika did stir his energy. He went outside and looked up. If it came, it would need room. "I call upon you, Celestial Dragon of Osiris!"

The sky lit up with lightning. Did he make it happen? From the sky coming down, the Dragon had appeared. It did not attack though, and went back up and away. What? It was as he feared. One Pharaoh to listen to. That Pharaoh was not him. Even with the power, the gods won't listen to me.

"Masika!"

Atem went back inside and saw another figure emerge, grabbing Masika.

"You must come to The Greatest Pharaoh of All." The figure growled and pulled her closer.

"Why?" She asked. "Can he tell me who I am? I want to know before I go. The others wouldn't say who wanted me or why. Why?"

She was being taken to see this new ruler. "Let me go with her," Atem insisted.

"No," the figure said.

"Why?" It was the only thing Masika could say. "Why would anyone let this happen, just because some person by Horus' will command it to be so! Do I know this person? Do I know you?" She was starting to break down. "I want to see Anzu. Take me to Anzu first, let me see her. Then." She looked toward Atem, as if to make sure he was okay with it. He nodded. "Then take me and Atem together and I'll see this person in charge."

"Fine, Masika," this new figure said. "Who is Anzu?"

"She was my host." The conversation was starting to turn.

" . . . you aren't with your host, nor did you dispose of it?" the figure asked.

"No. I emerged here from a card into my host," she said. "I want to see her."

Conflicted. "You came from a card . . . to a host? That wouldn't be traced. You have a body away from your host then, like Atem?" The unknown figure pointed at Li. "Where is this Anzu?!"

Hanasake's Area

Yuugi took a deep breath, exhaling air. Atem was still gone. How is he meant to fight this? He watched as someone appeared in front of them.

Beside this person was Atem and Satiah.

"No." This figure was pointing at Anzu. "No, no, how could no one catch this?" He pointed at Yuugi, and then toward Atem. "You, what scheme is this against Pharaoh?"

"No scheme. It happened," Atem said truthfully. That's when the truth stopped.

"I demand you tell me." This man withdrew swords. "This host was very good with these weapons, and those abilities linger like the language. I will dice you to pieces if you don't tell me how you got a body."

"The curse followed him into the afterlife." Yuugi spoke up for him. "He wanted to uncurse it. He was told to insert the puzzle into another stone. After that, he came back."

"We'll find out. I will find out." The enemy left.

Anzu went over and hugged Satiah. "I'm so glad you are alright. We knew Mai saw the future, but it was still unnerving."

"I am okay, Anzu." Satiah rubbed her back. "So is Mai and Mokuba. Bakura saved us and brought us to the Game Shop."

"What about Honda?" Anzu asked.

"No word. I'm sorry," Satiah admitted. She looked around. "It looks normal here. All the way around, like the world is fine. There was a price to pay for that though." She looked back toward Atem. "I don't think knowing of Anzu made that man happy."

Mm. "He won't be coming back for a time," Atem agreed. He sat back down where he once sat. She sat on the other side of Jounouchi. This is it. This is all I can do? The Dark Magician was powerful, and so was the Blue-Eyes White Dragon. Against this though? Countless lives were already lost. The people tasked as helpers were the only ones he could talk to. Even Bakura was considered above him. "I couldn't summon the gods, Yuugi," he confided in him. "I have the ring and Masika gave me some power. It showed up, but then left. As if I am unworthy to listen to anymore."

Yuugi was quiet for a time. "We'll figure it out, Atem."

"Billions upon billions have been sacrificed for this." Atem just couldn't get over it! "Even if I could summon gods, this world will never be the same way. He damaged so many out there. Reaked havoc on humanity and nature and I can do nothing!" He looked at his hands. "I can't do anything."

"I know," Yuugi answered.

"No, you can't know this." Not that feeling. "I always help, I save the day, it was my meaning for even existing. I can't just sit back and let this happen, I have to stop it somehow." But how? "I'm useless!"

"Did Grandpa ever tell you about his death?" Yuugi asked him. He didn't look at Atem, just directly ahead.

Grandpa's death? "He fell in the Game Shop from attackers." Was there something else?

"I am connected to Mokuba, I kept contact with him," Yuugi said. He looked toward Anzu, and then over toward Jounouchi. "I knew cards were becoming only more popular. I saw the progress that was happening. I went to Grandpa and said he needed to get different cards in and get some protection over the expensive ones. More than a glass case. He bought a lock for it. I told him that wasn't good enough and once card prices exploded, I told him he needed a security system. I told him I'd even pay for it. He waved it off." Yuugi casually waved as his eyes filled with tears. "I just got a 'This old man's been selling for a long time, Yuugi, I know what I need to do.' I told him and I told him and he finally gave in to a tiny security camera. He needed so much more though. I even thought about coming back to live with him so that I would get some more say on protection." Yuugi wasn't able to hold back the tears anymore. "I tried and I tried and I couldn't do anything. Nothing! I knew something would happen, he was sitting on literally gold now. All of the rarest, high end cards sat in one tiny Game Shop in Domino City! In the end, he locked up some of his rarest cards so no one would see them, but . . ."

"You did everything you could, Yuugi." Anzu held him back.

"If I had moved in, maybe I could have changed it. Maybe I should have tried earlier," Yuugi said. "Short of doing that though, I was useless. I couldn't do anything, I could see it, something coming, and I couldn't save him."

Atem took a moment to hear him. He wasn't just sharing the grief of his grandfather's death, but the futility of it. It couldn't be stopped. Yuugi's Grandpa always had a mind of his own. He never mentioned once that he regretted any decisions. He was a man who had always gone with his gut.

"Sometimes, we just have to accept . . ." Yuugi paused. "That we can't do anything." He glanced back at Atem. "I'm not saying give up, because we shouldn't. To save the world, we have to find a way. But."

"But I am not in control, and I must accept that." Yuugi did know how he felt. After being in charge of countless lives in Egypt, to seeing lives now lost with his lack of power.

"We'll find a way," Jounouchi agreed. "Yuugi? You okay over there? You never shared like that before."

"I didn't want anyone to think Grandpa was being stupid, or think less of him. I didn't want anyone to think I was saying 'I told you so'," Yuugi admitted. "I don't want anyone knowing how he looked or acted or what he said before he died either, and I'm taking that with me."

"Rightfully," Anzu said. "Those secrets can stay in your heart forever if you want."

To keep those two apart would be so wrong. Even Masika seemed to see it. Anzu kissed Yuugi on the forehead and then pressed her own to his.

There is nothing Atem could do now, but eventually there would be. Yuugi could not have changed his grandfather's outcome. I cannot change what happened, nor can I help right now. But if he held on and had faith. Someone has been helping us. This is not over. Patience.

"Yeah, nothing we can do about anything." Jounouchi said. "Boy, that doesn't sound like me. Probably 'cause I feel like crap 'cause Baby Momma is missing. How is my Mai?"

"Your woman is fine," Masika answered. "She is sleeping upstairs in The Game Shop."

"It goes on," Jounouchi said out loud. "The Game Shop. We got ourselves a home because of that whole over the top security system Yuugi had. We just need to get there now."

"Oh, there's a good sign." Masika moved away from the wall where she sat and started to crawl forward.

Yuugi watched the odd scene. "Cats." Four cats were moving toward them.

"The best luck to have," she said as she pet one.

"Sure. Great. Best luck ever apparently, the world is getting destroyed, Honda is lost, Shizuka is lost, I'm separated from Mai because I left her alone like a deadbeat and a lot of people are dead period!" Jounouchi lost it on her. "No, but go you, go ahead and say 'best luck to have'!"

Oof. Yuugi watched as Anzu went off on Jounouchi. He knew that would happen.

"She is trying to see some positivity in this sinking world, what is wrong with that?" Anzu shouted back at him.

"What's wrong?" Jounouchi asked. "Gee, I don't know, maybe that it feels pointless." He held up his hand facing inward, a sign of where the happy face used to be. "I don't feel the circle right."

"That was the millennium puzzle," Yuugi said, trying to calm Jounouchi down. "It strengthened connections."

Atem watched Masika crawl back to where she'd been but the cats continued to move forward to them.

"I am not in the mood for petting cats right now," Jounouchi warned the cat coming near him.

"It would be good luck." Masika had not been swayed by the way Jounouchi had been with her so far.

Anzu petted the cats coming near. "Cats shouldn't be walking up to us all like this."

Atem started to pet one that came into his lap too. "This is strange behavior." He watched the cats fur stand on end as someone drew near to Jounouchi. Appreciate them or not, these cats were being protectors.

Yuugi watched one come into his lap and purr.

"I don't care." Jounouchi refused to bend.

"You should be nicer to animals," a random person not too far from Jounouchi responded. The cats near Jounouchi all looked toward the stranger and hissed. "Hey? I was on your side?" Still, the random person left.

"Okay. I admit, that wasn't bad." Then, another cat appeared from the side, carrying a kitten. She came over to Jounouchi's lap and laid her kitten down in it. It meowed. It was old enough to see and move around, but young enough it's tail still shivered. "I give up." He pet the kitten and it's mom. "Not their fault either."

The cats hung around Yuugi and his friends, and whenever someone else came close, they growled and snarled and hissed. The cats kept coming too. What started as twenty had evolved into at least a hundred.

Could it really be? Yuugi watched as many of the cats just lied down and nursed their kittens or watched the border of them. There is someone mighty watching over all of us. Could it be the goddess Basset? Sekhmet? She was known to protect Pharaohs. Right? Basset was the goddess of cats and was nicer. Maybe? Oh, it's hard to say. Mythology has several stories and names. Everything's confusing. But, is there an actual goddess empathizing with us this time?

Then? Several people left the area running. Huge roars! What? Everyone started to move, but now the cats hissed toward them. They tried to move just like everyone else, but the cats only followed.

As much as they ran though, they couldn't escape the roars. Finally, stuck between two buildings and roars, they saw it.

The four lions of Domino City's zoo were free. Two on each side of them. Atem was about to summon the Dark Magician when-

The cats from before. They were coming in through the front, the back and from the windows. Some still even brought their kittens in their mouths, prepared to fight.

The lions roared but didn't attack. The cats hissed and snarled. Atem didn't summon the Dark Magician. They all waited, seeing as the cats and lions had waited. In the end, the lions turned around but didn't walk away. They prowled from one side to the other, looking outward.

Now, the lions were guarding them?

The evening sun was starting to set as they continued onward. The cats trailing behind and the lions on the sides. No one messed or talked with them.

"Are you kidding?" Jounouchi dug out his wallet. They had kept walking and found a hotel. Even during this time, it was still open? There was a person outside of it with a gold scarab again. "Anybody else have money?"

Yuugi checked his wallet. "Credit cards mostly." He looked for spare cash. "We have money."

"Out." A hotel attendant kicked out a man. "I can't believe you tried to get two people in. Get out."

"Bastard," the ejected person yelled back. "Nobody can afford those prices and we can't just sleep outside!" A woman came out with him, got her money returned and they left.

The hotel attendant looked at them. "What do you want?" He noticed their feline attendants. "I uh. I don't want to mess with you. Do you need something?"

"Rooms. We have money," Yuugi said.

"50,000 yen per person, not per room," the hotel attendant said. "People are placed together as long as there is a bed. Are those lions tame?"

"Probably not," Jounouchi answered him. "Then that's 300,000 for just two rooms." Jounouchi still seemed to keep his cool. "Are you making the money?" The guy shook his head. "Hanasake?" The guy nodded. "You dead if you let someone sneak in?" Yep, several reasons why he was so rough with that man, and he was still dealing with them even though they had lions behind them.

"Yuugi," Atem called to him. "They are using Dragon Cards to separate the ancient spirits from the modern day hosts somehow," Atem explained. "The spirits stole their hosts. It should be impossible. Ryou Bakura said Hanasake offered Bakura the same thing. He refused. In fact, if it wasn't for him, there would be nothing left except this spot. He saved 20% of what he could in Domino City." Atem seemed to bite his lip. "I . . . begrudgingly thank him."

That had been hard for Atem, Yuugi knew that. Bakura tried to kill them more than once, lose Yuugi and his friends to the land of memories, and so much more. He was responsible for so much. Zorc would never had been released, Atem's soul never would have been in the puzzle. So much. That wasn't the same man, anymore than Ryou Bakura was him. He remembers the past, but he's different.

Jounouchi looked toward Yuugi. "I don't have enough."

"The bank has extra security, if you have money in the bank, you can walk there," the hotel attendant responded. "Please don't get upset, I have to follow rules."

"Which means extra people will be trying to rob people for that money," Anzu pointed out.

"Hanasake is trying to make this 'gig' last as long as he can," Atem said. "If we have to spend money to survive, one night in a hotel isn't worth it."

"Right." Jounouchi put his wallet away. "As nice as having a secure place would feel, it's not a good way to spend money. We never even ate supper and I'm betting if we find a restaurant, the prices will be way high too."

Yuugi nodded. "We should look for that then." Food would be important. They all headed away. "Does anyone know where the restaurants are in this area?"

"If there is a hotel, then a restaurant can't be far." Anzu pointed outward. "There." There was a guard with a scarab in the other direction. "Must be that way."

They all traveled the way she pointed. The restaurant looked packed. As they made their way through, they saw some people lock themselves in their cars to sleep for the night. Others kind of screamed about their entourage.

As Yuugi came up though, there was a huge line of people still waiting to eat. "This must be the way it is," he said. "If you don't have the highest prices, then you have to deal with the lines." He looked on the other side. There was another place with no lines. A sushi place. Yuugi didn't even want to guess the prices there. "To the line."

"Okay, kitties and big kitties," Jounouchi turned around and said. "You have to stay out here. The restaurant won't allow pets." They all sat down where they were. "Hey, that actually worked. We'll be back."

Inside the Restaurant

"This is ridiculous," somebody claimed to the service attendant. "I've been waiting three hours to eat. Three." The service attendant warned him, but when he started again, someone walked over to him. Some people reacted to him suddenly turning to sand, while others just wanted to step over him. After a short time, the sand was scattered and nobody cared to think of it anymore. Another person came over, swept up the sand, and threw it in the garbage.

Yuugi watched it all from the back of the restaurant where the line would curve frontward soon.

"We could invade a house for eats," Jounouchi said to them, "but I have a feeling it's a bad idea. If we're found, it might get us killed."

"If we follow their rules," Atem said, "we will be fine. Our bodies need to eat."

"Will they stay open long enough?" Anzu asked. No one knew but they had to try.

Each of them tried to keep it together. They conversed with the people around them and each other. Trying to think of better times. Pleasant times. It even brought about new times that he didn't know about Anzu and Satiah. Anzu actually spoke English to Satiah for a little while as they seemed to reminisce about better times.

Atem though was looking around. The lines are heavy for the bathrooms but they are moving. Do you know what that means?

The plumbing is intact. The damage is surface deep. What about those gaping holes?

Probably illusion, Yuugi. Hanasake wants to encourage everyone with money to stay here.

Then we will find a way over.

Everyone seemed to try to speak, the place was loud. However, no one was telling anyone to be quiet. As long as they were decent, it was all that mattered. Until?

"I'm sorry, everyone," a nervous waitress came over. "I'm sorry. We don't have enough food for many more. If you are at least this far back, you won't get any. We don't want you to stay if you can't have food." She was trying not to cry. "The restaurant never serves this many. Very sorry. So sorry. There are more restaurants to try and we have been promised more food later. Sorry."

An hour and a half of waiting. There were definitely some groans, but no one rebelled, just started to head out. "I guess sushi will have to be it," Yuugi said. They needed food. There was a line starting but it was quickly disintegrating too.

When they got up to the line, it was 25,000 yen a plate. The good news was, as Yuugi looked around, whatever was ordered was stacked up for one person on a plate, and the rest were sharing it. Yuugi ordered six rolls for 'himself', but it wouldn't fit on one plate. So he ordered two.

They all sat down and tried to eat around the table, each taking the sushi nearest to them.

"There is plenty of food in the fridge," Anzu said, noticing Jounouchi's face. "Mai ate well and she's probably sleeping. It's a secure place."

"Never know," Jounouchi reminded her. "Someone got in before." Still, he didn't say much more as he ate his roll. Then?

One of the TV's over in the corner lit up. On the screen? Was Ryou Bakura.

"Hello everyone. My name is Ryou Bakura." He tried to smile. "I am sorry if you are lost, mourning, afraid, hungry or deprived of sleep. I have been trying to get my area together which isn't easy. If you are in Hanasake's area, then you will find restaurants and entertainment. If you see none of that around, or they are closed down, then you are in my area. Please listen."

Ryou Bakura pulled out a chart. "If you are in the Domino High school or two of the elementary schools that are standing, there is food inside of the cafeteria. Don't crowd, there will be guards and they will kill anyone talking back to them. Just be respectful and you will be fine. Don't go digging for food in dumpsters. The food is free."

"At least someone shows some respect," Jounouchi said as he ate his sushi roll.

Ryou Bakura continued on the TV. "In the morning, there will be ways for students to move off of there. For those of you near the grocery area, there are guards guarding it. Go to them and they will shop for you. Only three items per person and only one meat item. You can't buy food or get extra food. You might not get the exact food you want, don't complain unless you have an allergy. The bank is there too, so if you need some money, it is still around. Domino museum is there to provide history, and there are many homes and resident apartments that have been selected. You can't buy room. If you already have a key in a standing home or apartment, it will be respected as yours. Don't worry about the bathrooms, sinks, baths or other commodities. They weren't damaged."

"Just as I thought," Atem said. "Sewers. Waste management. Promise of food storage. The one in charge has an area large enough to support everyone. Must support everyone." Atem didn't look good. "Must."

"We need to get over on the other side," Yuugi said without hesitation. "There's got to be a way." The leader on that side was going to bleed everyone dry. I wish I could call that scumbag something else! Hanasake was a good friend back then. I hate using his name for the man who killed him. He didn't deserve his name. He didn't deserve any of his life at all.

"Last but not least?" Ryou Bakura tried to continue to look pleasant. "Please, please do not argue or get upset with anyone or anywhere you see a gold scarab. Do not break the rules, even a small one. They will kill you without hesitation. They don't mind reducing the population further, they will not waste time arguing. And? Not everything I do is in my control in this area. I will have set times to visit each area. If you need something, I will be there at a specific time, for only a limited amount of time. Please don't waste it with endless questions I can't answer. That would include a lot of them. Thank you."