He rematerialized next to Shadi. As he left Ryou's mind, the white-haired teen slowly woke up.

"Did you discover anything?" Shadi asked the pharaoh. The other just nodded.

"Ryou." Yami Yugi addressed the hikari. "I talked to Bakura."

"Is he all right? Is he mad at me? Is that why he's staying hidden?" Ryou jumped off the bed, shouting at least ten more questions before Yami Yugi could answer even the first one.

"He doesn't want to leave his soul room, but he agreed to take control of your body for a minute." The pharaoh recounted. "If only to prove to me why he can't come out."

As the pharaoh spoke, Ryou heard the familiar voice of his yami over the mindlink. It made him smile.

'Brace yourself.' He warned. 'I'm taking control.'

The statement struck Ryou by surprise. His yami had never warned him before. He always took what he wanted, usually without a word.

Yami Bakura appeared inside Ryou, and the body just crumpled onto the floor.

"Bakura!" Yami Yugi shouted, grabbing the other yami as he fell. "What happened?"

"Exactly what I've been trying to tell you…Idiot…"

Together, Shadi and the pharaoh lifted Bakura onto Yugi's bed.

"I can't move." He growled. "I can't move my legs at all. They won't work. Not in the shadow realm. Not in my soul room. And not in Ryou's body either!"

Yami Yugi and Shadi exchanged glances.

"I didn't think it was possible…" the pharaoh mused. "The attack in the shadow realm… the creature managed to break your back. You're paralyzed from the waist down."

"Now you see?" Yami Bakura curled his fists in rage. "I won't leave because I can't! I can't do anything! I can't walk, I can't duel, I can't thieve… I can't jump in and out of Ryou's body with any sort of stealth! I can't fight. I can't protect my host. Is this getting through to you yet, pharaoh! Or are you even dumber than you look?"

Neither of the other item holders replied.

"I'm useless to him, pharaoh. Can't you see that? And his body is useless to me!" Bakura tried to find even the slightest bit of understanding in the other yami's violet eyes. "I've failed. I've made my hikari a fucking cripple…"

And with that, he dove back into the sanctuary of his soul room, and closed the door.