Man, I really wanted to get to work on this right away, but after I wrote the first draft, I didn't like it, and the second draft wasn't going heading the right way either, and then I've had tests and...sigh Anywho, I hope ya'll like how it turned out, because I believe I finally got the thing right! Woo-hoo!

Alright, time for some Q&A.

Lady Wolf Moon said that Yami's favorite card was The Magician of Black Chaos. Ah, I'm very sorry that I got that wrong, but I'd like to see the source from where this information came from. As far as I've been able to tell from the series, the Black Magician is both Yami and Yugi's favorite card. I've only seen Black Chaos used once, and Yami liked 'im because Yugi used his "last bit of courage" (did anyone else get extremely tired of hearing that line repeated five times in one episode?) to put it down. I'm not saying you're wrong, I just want some good proof.

Cyberkat, thanks for pointing that out and it's being fixed as I post this chapter.

Sailor Comet, yeah, I should've explained the whole Ki surviving the loss of the puzzle thingy. Basically the idea is that since Ki is no longer living inside the puzzle (he's got his own body now), he's not dependent on it to survive. Yeah, it hurt like heck for him to have it ripped away because A. The puzzle is the main (but not only) connection between Ki (Yami) and Yugi, B. Ki's been living with the puzzle much longer than Yugi, so he's slightly more attached to the thing, and C. Though he no longer depends on it to survive, Ki's well versed in the puzzle's energy aspects and therefore having his main source of enery taken away is...not too good for him.

Thanks to the rest of you guys for reviewing...without your support, love for Samson, and "Yami Bakura Wins" flags, I couldn't have the inspiration that I have now. ;)

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Samson was curled against a wall, trying to shield his eyes from the bright light. He didn't see the inevitable danger. Yugi watched on, too horrified to cry out another warning.

Just before the beam hit him, Samson suddenly disappeared from Yugi's vision. He blinked a few times, staring at the place where Samson should be. Unfortunately, no more light was present to help Yugi out, and to make things even worse, spots from the light beam danced in his vision.

"Samson? Ki?" he called out shakily. "Samson? Ki? Bakura?! Anybody?!"

Something grabbed him. Yugi jumped, but bit on his lip to keep from yelping. If it was the Spirit of the Ring, he didn't want the man knowing he had caught him.

"Yugi?" Yugi breathed a sigh of relief at Samson's voice.

"Samson, what happened?" he asked, keeping his voice to a low whisper.

"I dunno." Though Yugi couldn't see it, he knew the other was shrugging. "Suddenly I was over there, then something big hit me, and I saw you looking scared, so I came over here."

"Arrrrrgggghhhhhhh!" Yugi shrank back as he heard a yell. It was the Spirit of the Ring. " I didn't need you to die yet! Wake up!"

Die? Yugi thought. Then there was a thump of shoe hitting flesh, and a soft moan. Yugi's heart literally stopped.

"Ki!" he yelled, running towards the sound. Halfway there he tripped and fell, whimpering in pain as he landed on his injured arm. Someone helped him up, and a light came on. Samson stumbled away, dropping the flashlight.

"Don't know why Mr. Winged Horse Man gave me that. Too bright," he muttered, picking it up and putting it in Yugi's good hand. The light trembled in the boy's shaking hand as he swung it around the cavern. The pale beam illuminated a horrific sight.

Ki...fallen...blood...not breathing...motionless... Thousands of words, thoughts, memories, and emotions ran through Yugi's body until he thought he would pass out from the overload. One event was keeping him in the real world. One person who was now illuminated by the soft beam.

Ki's body was still except for the horrid jerks from the force of the kicks being delivered to his midsection . The attacker stopped and turned his white head to look at Yugi. The dull light from the flashlight glinted off those cold eyes, making them gleam like fire. Eyes that were full of cruelty, determination, and...fear?

"He got in the way, all right?!" the spirit snapped. "It's not my fault! He didn't have to save that...that thing!" he yelled, pointing over Yugi's shoulder at Samson.

Yugi continued to stare at the white haired spirit. The emotions and memories and everything else running through his mind had stopped. He was just empty. The boy wasn't sure why...maybe it was the fact that Ki had left him for good this time. Or it could be the shock. Or perhaps just knowing one of his friends had just killed off half of his soul. The reason didn't matter right now. Only one thought seemed to run through his mind.

Murder! he thought. Murderer! is what the young boy's eyes portrayed to the man in front of him.

"Stop that!" the spirit growled. But Yugi couldn't move. Could barely breathe. This man had...he had...

"I told you to stop!" the spirit screamed. Yugi kept staring, eyes, though starting to glaze over, still revealed the boy's message. Murderer. "Don't you listen you little runt?!"

"If you won't stop by yourself, then I'll do it for you," the spirit hissed, rushing the dazed boy with intentions of finishing the half done job.

"No!"

The Spirit of the Ring stopped dead. Yugi reanimated, blinking a few times before his eyes followed the beam of light back to Ki's body. Kneeling next to it was a new person. Another shock of white hair floated against the present darkness, and a pair of angry brown eyes stared at the man in front of Yugi. The thing that shocked Yugi most of all, though, was that the boy in front of him was almost completely transparent, like he was only a projection of the real thing.

"No more..." Bakura whispered softly. He stood and walked over to his other. Yugi watched the scene unfolding steadily, trying to read the spirit's actions. The older man was trembling with rage and glaring at his other half.

"Shut up," he hissed as Bakura approached. The teenager persisted, the former anger replaced by a deeply saddened look. He gently placed his ghostly hands on the ones clutching the two Millennium Puzzles.

"No more killing," Bakura pleaded. "Not with these hands...not with our hands. No more."

They stayed like that for only a moment, but for Yugi every moment those past two days had been an eternity. Then Bakura faded from sight, and the demon closed his eyes, sighing.

"It was his fault, not mine." He reopened the dark orbs, his usual malice once again filled them, and turned his gaze upon Yugi.

"Ki..." he scoffed at the name, shaking his head. "Five thousand years ago, he would not have been so weak as to sacrifice himself for someone like that fool," the spirit's gaze flickered to Samson and then back to Yugi. "To lose such a rival in such a pitiful way is...an annoyance."

And then, he was gone.