Yami Yugi opened the door to Ryou's room. Everyone else was already inside, so focused on the white haired boy in bed that they didn't even notice him enter.
For the moment, Ryou was conscious, his expression pained with each breath the ventilator forced him to take. His eyes were glazed, a result of the sedatives used when the breathing tube was put down his throat. That is, if the other medication pumping through his system didn't do it first. The nurse was right. This was truly a frightening sight to behold.
The constant beeping, as well as the other noises, added to the already eerie effect. Ryou was indeed worsening, from an affliction that he may not survive.
Two doctors opened the door loudly, brushing Yami Yugi aside. The junior of the two readied another needle, drawing more blood from a vein in Ryou's left arm. The sick teen didn't even notice.
"… Do you know anything yet?" Tristan interrupted the uneasy silence. The doctors looked at each other, and then at the visiting friends.
The elder one just shook his head.
"… Nothing?" Tea sighed, her eyes pink with tears.
He looked around the room, hoping to find the most stable individual to break bad news upon. That individual was obviously Yami Yugi.
The doctor turned to him, and lowered his voice.
"Your friend's condition is deteriorating faster than we can even research the disease…" he sighed, trying to choose each of his words carefully. He knew everyone else in the room was probably hanging on his every sentence. "With every sample we take, the disease has spread… We would need to do exploratory surgery, but…"
He paused. Yami Yugi held his breath.
"… But I don't think his body could recover. And we might not even have the time…"
The pharaoh nodded. Behind him, he could hear Tea start to cry again. As did Joey, although he muffled the sound so that he couldn't be as easily heard. Inside his head, he tried his best not to let Yugi's distraught tears affect his outer demeanor.
"What do you propose to do?" Yami Yugi finally asked.
"We've been trying to put the disease on the defensive, but all known drugs appear to be completely ineffective." He answered, slowly and carefully. "I suppose… all we can do… is… is try to make him comfortable…"
The doctor's voice trailed off, unable to finish the rest of the sentence.
Yami Yugi didn't understand the need to keep Ryou comfortable above all else, but Yugi's sudden wail in the back of his mind reinforced the idea that it wasn't good.
"It's the least we can do…" the younger doctor replied, and walked out of the room. The elder nodded, and also made his exit.
Yami Yugi turned back towards the others.
"We heard everything." Tristan stated, as obvious as it was.
Tea ran her fingers through Ryou's hair, though he didn't give any acknowledgment to her actions. The fever alone made it drenched with sweat, and it stuck messily along his face.
"He hardly looks comfortable…" Malik sighed.
"…That's just doctor codespeak for when someone's about to die, Malik." Joey answered emotionlessly, a hint of anger in his voice.
The tomb keeper lowered his eyes to the floor. He could hardly bear to look at Ryou, lest he start crying. If he could, he would simply drop to his knees and beg for the boy's forgiveness. It was his fault that Ryou was in this state, and if he died because of it, Ryou's life would be on his soul when it is measured against the feather of truth.
"They're just hoping they can find some kind of lead before it's too late…" Tristan sighed. He looked at the pharaoh. "Do… do you really think what Isis said will work?"
"Yeah, Yug… it… it sounds pretty farfetched." Joey added.
"It has to work. There isn't any other way." He answered, lowering his eyes again to Ryou, and his wretched mechanical breathing.
"Well, what are we waiting for?"
Suddenly, the door opened again, revealing the Kaiba Corp. CEO. He strode in, hardly glancing at the boy lying motionless amongst the machinery.
"All right, Yugi. Now tell me what I have to do to get my god card."
Yami Yugi shot Kaiba a glance, and then turned back to everyone else.
"Now we can begin."
The gruff CEO stared at the Battle City veterans that had assembled at Ryou Bakura's bedside. It was almost like a duelist reunion.
"What'd you bring me here for, anyway? To see your sickly friend?" Kaiba muttered, finally looking down at Ryou. The boy's unfocused expression stole Kaiba's fury for an instant. The artificial rise of his battered chest, the incoherent beeping of several monitors, and the relentless dripping of useless antibiotics was an overwhelming sight.
"He's… dying…" Yami Yugi reinforced Kaiba's stoic suspicions. "We need your help to save him."
"Let me guess, you want me to write a large check to a research agency." He glanced up, gaining his speech as well as his sarcasm.
"Not exactly." Malik answered.
"We need your help to summon the Egyptian gods." Yami Yugi continued.
"You brought me all the way down here to talk about an ancient fairy tale?" Kaiba replied quickly. "He doesn't need any ritual magic. He needs good doctors. And that's exactly what he has here."
Tea stared at Seto Kaiba, wondering how he could be so cold. The CEO turned away, and started towards the door again.
"Do you want your god card or not?" Yami Yugi finally demanded.
Kaiba stopped.
He did come down here to get Obelisk back. It would be a wasted afternoon if he returned back to Kaiba Corp. headquarters without his prize.
"All right. I'll play your pathetic little ritual game. But it better not take all day." He replied, crossing his arms over his chest.
"That's more like it." Yami Yugi smiled. "I will call for Isis. She will oversee…"
Before he could even turn around, the door to Ryou's room opened again. It was Isis.
"The time has come, my pharaoh." She glanced at Yami Yugi, and then at Ryou Bakura. "I felt it."
"Yes." He agreed. "We must begin immediately. Tell us exactly what we need to do."