"What is he doing here?" asked Jounouchi accusingly when they arrived.

"Seto wanted to come along and make sure Bakura's doing fine," answered Yuugi.

"Right. Whatever. Let's go."

Bakura was awake when they walked in, although he couldn't sit up on his own yet. "It hurts to lean forward," he explained softly.

"How many stitches did you get?" asked Mokuba, wide-eyed.

"Lots," said Bakura with a smile. "I forget the exact number."

"Tell me about it," snorted Malik.

"Hey, Bakura," said Yuugi suddenly, "do you feel a little drained, by any chance?"

Bakura looked surprised. "Now that you mention it, yes. But how did you know?"

"He's lost a lot of blood," put in Malik irritably.

Yuugi blinked and ignored the comment. "I…I don't know, really. I think it has something to do with your Sennen ring."

"That's right! I don't have it!"

"Here." Yuugi handed it to him. "I picked it up last night, I think. Sorry about the cord. I found it like that."

"That's okay. I can get another one any time." Ryou took it, but it slipped from his fingers.

"You must be feeling really bad today if you can't even hold the ring," remarked Malik as he bent to retrieve it.

"No, it's not that. It…it just felt different."

"How so?"

Bakura squinted at the object in his hands. "The…"

"The power's gone."

Everyone looked up at Yami's voice. "You're right," murmured Bakura.

Malik paled. "But how could anyone or anything take the power from something like the ring?? It's just not right!"

Yami looked grave. "I know. We're dealing with something perhaps more powerful and more sinister than anything we've come across before. The worst thing is that we have no idea what it is."

The room suddenly seemed very cold and unfriendly. Anzu shivered. "But what about people without power, like me?"

Yami shook his head. "I have a feeling that everyone will be affected."

Seto looked thoughtful. "Bakura…did you, by any chance, see who attacked you last night?"

Bakura closed his eyes, digging back through his memory. "It's hard to say. It's almost like something's blocking my mind sight."

"How about your Yami? Does he remember anything?"

Ryou's face went blank for a little while. Then he snapped back, his eyes darting about in agitation. "His soul room…is…it's empty! I can't find him anywhere. There are papers scattered on the floor, but they're blank. He's nowhere to be found. He didn't even come when I called. He always does, though it's usually with a sharp word or two."