Everyone jumped when Yuugi snapped back to consciousness. "Are you okay?" asked Anzu quickly.
Yuugi nodded. "Just fine. And Yami's back! He was in the dagger and, know what? So was-"
He was suddenly cut off as Bakura shivered and staggered back against the wall. When he raised his head, his eyes had suddenly gone colder and more angular. Yami Bakura grinned at the others staring at him and stood straight, flexing his hands to get the feel of movement again. "It's good to be back," he said simply, and then let his Hikari take control again.
Yuugi, who had transformed to Yami when nobody was looking, shook his head. "I'll deal with him later," he muttered, turning away to face Kaiba. "So, does anyone have any idea how to wake him up?"
The others looked at him blankly. "Um…we were hoping you would know."
"Really now?" He seemed almost amused. "Well, then, I guess I'll have to try. But first, tell me exactly what happened."
They outlined everything from just after Yami's taking to finding Kaiba and rushing him to the hospital to releasing the trapped powers in the dagger. Yami nodded slowly, letting all the information sink in. Then he faced Kaiba, his eyes closed in thought, trying to recall from some hidden memory exactly what could counter something like this.
Suddenly, there was a distinct reaction to his mental probing. Yami's eyes opened in surprise; he had met resistance. "What is it?" asked Malik.
Yami shook his head, not quite understanding. "He doesn't want me to help him."
"How can you tell?"
"I…I sensed it."
"Figures," muttered Jounouchi. "He never did."
Mokuba looked worried. "So what do we do with him? He can't stay like that forever."
"If it were up to me, he would," said Jounouchi bluntly. "No offense," he added hastily upon receiving a glare from Mokuba.
*
After an hour, no one had made any progress, and one by one they left. Soon only Mokuba remained, sitting quietly on a chair next to his brother's still form. His head began nodding slowly and then dropped to the bed near Seto's. As evening fell, a nurse woke him gently. "Sorry, honey, but you've gotta go home now. Where are you parents?"
Mokuba yawned and rubbed his eyes. "Can't I stay? I want to stay with my big brother!"
"It's getting late. I'll call your parents to come and pick you up."
He brushed her hand off his shoulder. "Don' have parents, only Niisama. Please can't I stay?"
"No parents?"
"No," said Mokuba flatly. "They're dead."
"I'm sorry," she whispered. "Who takes care of you?"
"Niisama," said Mokuba, touching his brother's cool hand and turning his large eyes on the nurse. "He never abandons me, and I won't leave him."
She sighed. "Well, maybe I can let you stay just this once."
*
The next morning, just after the nurse had come in to check on the brothers, Seto shifted slightly, waking Mokuba. "Niisama?" he whispered groggily, trying to rub the sleepiness from his eyes.
Seto's eyes were still closed, but his hand was warmer than it had been before.
"Niisama, can you hear me?"
Seto's eyes opened slightly and he gave a soft moan. Mokuba scrambled from his chair and grabbed the water pitcher on the table. In his excitement, he all but dumped its contents on his brother, but he managed a somewhat controlled trickle into Seto's half open mouth. The older Kaiba drank a little but his eyes remained blank and unseeing.
"Niisama, talk to me," pleaded Mokuba.
"Mokuba," murmured Seto.
"Niisama, what happened?"
"So…tired…"
"No, Niisama! Stay awake!!"
"Power," mumbled Seto.
"What?"
"Power!" Seto sat bold upright, his eyes unnaturally wide. His hand snatched up the dagger, which Yuugi had left on the table, partially hidden by the few flowers the well-wishers had brought. The nurses hadn't seen it.
A chill ran through Mokuba. "Niisama! What's wrong?"
Seto slid from the bed and stood motionless in the middle of the room, looking about. "The pharaoh…must find the pharaoh," he hissed.
The dagger was glowing fiercely with an almost savage glory. Mokuba backed slowly away, his eyes full of fear and confusion. "You're not…my big brother." His eyes narrowed. "Who are you? What have you done with my Niisama?"