Ryou's other friends filed in when they heard the noise die down. Everyone was there: Tea, Joey, Tristan, even Seto Kaiba. They opened the door slowly, watching Bakura clutch Ryou's hand protectively, lest the boy's spirit be taken away from him.

"How is he?" Yugi asked. "Did the doctors say anything to you?"

"Nothing they probably didn't say to you…" Bakura answered with a grunt.

"Oh Ryou…" Tea whispered. Joey didn't quite know what to say. Kaiba, like always, remained stoic.

"He's not gonna' make it, is he?" Bakura finally spoke again. "I don't understand what the hell those doctors are talking about… but… they don't think he's going to make it… do they…"

Yugi wasn't quite sure how to respond. He looked to his yami, who suggested he take it from there. In another moment, Bakura was looking up at the pharaoh.

"Tomb robber… I know this will be hard for you… but…" Yami Yugi attempted to explain what he knew without sending the former spirit into a fit of rage. "No… Ryou probably isn't going to make it."

He looked back, and saw Tea cry into Tristan's shoulder. Joey stood there silently, wiping his tears with his loose sleeve.

"He did this…"

"I know why he did it, pharaoh…" Bakura sighed. "He told me before he passed out again…"

"What did he tell you?"

"He did this… so I won't die when you do!" Bakura spat angrily at the pharaoh. "So we… he said so we could be together… which means he can't die! Not now!"

The former spirit of the millennium ring slammed his hand on the side of Ryou's bed.

"Not ever!"

"Bakura. The ritual he used… to give you a permanent body…" the other yami began. "It has consequences… Just like in Duel Monsters, sacrifices have to be made for the ritual to succeed."

Bakura froze. He stared at Ryou, and then at each of the other people in the room. His face blanched.

"No… you're not saying that he…"

"Yes, Bakura. He had to sacrifice himself so that you could live."

Behind him, Tea erupted into wild sobs. At the yami's words, everyone cried. Even Seto Kaiba cried, although he tried his best not to show it.

"He…"

"Yes." Yami Yugi nodded solemnly. "For you."

Suddenly it all made sense to Bakura. By death, his hikari was referring to his soul's final destruction by Osiris.

"It's like a second chance, Bakura…"

"I know what it is…" he shouted. "It's a fool's wasted prayer! That's what it is!"

"Bakura…"

"Shove it, Pharaoh! I don't need any of your pity. And I don't want the sacrifice… He'd be better off if he just let me die!"

For a moment, no one dared to speak. Carefully, Yami Yugi opened his mouth.

"He wants you to ascend with him…"

The room turned to ice as the once yami Bakura stood up to face the pharaoh. His heavy steps traced jagged lines on the tile.

"I know my place, pharaoh." Bakura sneered, inches away from Yami Yugi's face. "And I know my fate. Three hundred lifetimes of retributions can't change the past… it can't erase what's been done… and it can't change my future…"

Yugi's yami backed up, bumping directly into Kaiba. Neither took their eyes off Bakura for an instant.

"So if you're saying that he did this to save my wayward soul from being rejected… then you might as well be saying he committed suicide." Bakura continued to advance. "A worthless act… It's far too late for me… he's just too stupid to realize that! And apparently, so are you!"

By this point, Kaiba was flat against the wall.

"Some have the privilege of reaching the New Kingdom." Bakura sneered. "For the rest of us… the rest of us have only the darkness to keep us company…"

He pushed the pair into the wall, and walked back to Ryou's bedside.

"If that's the case, tomb robber… then… Ryou's soul is lost too."

The statement made Bakura look up once more.

"It is part of the sacrifice."

"Get out…"

"Bakura, I'm only trying to help…"

"I said get out of my sight, pharaoh…" Bakura growled. "Now."

Yami Yugi nodded respectfully, and made his way out the door. The other teenagers took another look at Ryou, paid a few silent respects, and followed him. Bakura waited for the door to slam shut before leaning close to his hikari again.

"Why, Ryou… why?" he whispered. "You know my soul as well as you know your own!"

There was no answer from Ryou, only a faint hum from one of the many machines.

"My soul can't be salvaged!"

Again, there was no response.

"What could you possibly see in me, Ryou… that would make you think, for one instant, that this was a good idea! What!" he shouted desperately at the unconscious boy. "And why for me!"

Ryou wearily opened one eye.

"because… I love you… Kura…"

He was out again as quickly as he woke. And that answer left Bakura speechless.

Another hour passed, with no change. One of the nurses came in to inform Bakura that visiting hours were over. But he refused to leave. She insisted, and he still refused to leave. Eventually, she left. Bakura was thankful… he was inches away from slaughtering her right then and there.