Meanwhile, Yami Yugi, Malik, and Kaiba, along with the spirit of the millennium ring, reached a fork in their path. The pulmonary artery, upon reaching the lungs, had split into two branches. It was clear that they had reached the source of the infection. Spores clogged both pathways.

Blood trickled along their feet as they ran, hacking and slashing anything they could see.

Yami Bakura and Malik verged to the left, spores surrounding them in all directions. Kaiba and the pharaoh turned to the right, towards the bigger lung. There were just as many spores, vehemently lunging at them in ever increasing numbers.

"This is unreal…" Malik gasped, combining swords with the tomb robber. The powerful discharge blew a hole in the front big enough for them to walk forward only two more steps.

"We can do this! We have to do this!" he shouted back, angrily. "Dammit, Ryou. You are not going do die on me!"

Malik paused in his attack briefly.

"What are you looking at, tomb keeper?" Yami Bakura snarled, realizing that he had said his thoughts aloud. "It's your fault we're in this fucking mess."

The insult threw Malik back into his next attack.

"They just keep coming." Kaiba added, swinging again at a group of spores that dodged his last attack.

"I know." Yami Yugi replied. He felt momentarily calmed by the blood rushing at his ankles. It was evidence that Ryou Bakura was still alive for the time being.

The pair continued to push their way into the right lung, still hoping they had enough time to defeat what might be hiding inside.

"Do you honestly think we have a chance?" Kaiba eventually sighed. For the moment, he had accepted these surroundings as real, and was starting to become quite concerned. "Have you given any thought to what would happen if your friend were actually to die with us inside him?"

The pharaoh just shook his head.

"No. I haven't." Yami Yugi answered, taking down another group of spores. "But we have to have faith in the power of the Egyptian gods…"

"Yugi, I saw Ryou in that hospital bed." He began slowly, still attacking as he spoke. "I know you feel bad over what happened. Anyone would. But don't you think it's a lost cause?"

Yami Yugi let the thought enter his head, and he quickly tried to shove it down.

"No, Kaiba. I won't let that…"

"Even if we do win, his body is ravaged by disease. He's not likely going to survive."

Yami Yugi froze again, tears streaming down his cheeks. It was an alien feeling. He could hardly remember the last time he cried. Perhaps it was for Yugi.

'Yugi.' He whispered through his link.

'Yami, don't listen to him!' Yugi shouted back. His quivering voice sounded as though it had been crying since they entered Ryou's body. It very well may have been. Yami Yugi had ignored it up until now, his mind focused solely on another task. 'You can't listen to him!'

'I… I don't want to… but… but he's… he's right…'

'No! I won't let you believe that!' Yugi replied sternly. "Ryou's my friend. And I'm certainly not going to give up on him any time soon…'

"Pharaoh!"

Yami Yugi snapped back into the present, his sword clashing with another group of attacking spores. The mental pep talk was interrupted by the echo of Yami Bakura's screech. "This way!"

Kaiba and Yami Yugi exchanged a quick glance, and then turned quickly around.

The spores, sensing their movement, gave chase.

"Come on, Kaiba." He smiled, and handed his sword to Kaiba. He could feel Yugi's head nod. "We still have a chance. Watch my back."

Yami Yugi dashed forward. As much as he detested the tomb robber, he trusted him this time. He and Malik had likely found the source of the infection.

"Hurry!" Malik cried, pushing them to move even faster.

Kaiba, running backwards with both weapons, kept the oncoming spores at bay until they could cross over into the other lung.

"What did you find?" he asked grimly, turning around only when the area was clear of black particles.

The inside of Ryou's left lung spread out before them like a dark cavern. A rush of humidified air ran over their backs, clinging to them like a bad premonition.

The walls and floors were lined in black. And layers of spores resting on top of more spores were only the first cause for alarm.

Where the main tunnel broke into thousands of smaller ones, a gigantic bulbous entity appeared. Like a large black jellyfish, massive tentacles stuck out in every direction. It vibrated with every mechanized breath, beating and pulsating. New spores poured out of its surface at an astonishing rate, and Malik and Yami Yugi had already started fending them off.

"What do you think, moneybags?" Yami Bakura announced. "It's exactly what we're looking for…"

…

Isis stood near the window. The sun was starting to set.

Although she didn't want to frighten the others, she was worried about her brother, the pharaoh, and the Kaiba Corp. CEO. They had been inside Ryou for hours, and with each passing minute, there was a greater and greater chance that they would not come back. That chance was even greater for Ryou, who was merely toddling around the gates of Osiris. A few more steps, and he would likely be in Anubis' care.

Tea, Tristan, and Joey leaned over Ryou's bed.

The boy was completely unresponsive, his head resting at a crooked angle. The only signs of life came from the beeping monitor and the ever-functioning ventilator. His pulse was weak and unsteady. Alarms went on and off as the machines attempted to compensate for Ryou's downward progression.

"Ryou…" Tea whispered. She put another wet washcloth on his forehead. His fever had managed to push even higher, but given his prognosis, the doctors were no longer very concerned. She doubted the washcloth would actually do much good, but the feeling of doing something, anything at all, seemed to act as meager consolation.

"Come on, Ryou…" Tristan whispered as well.

He squeezed the pale boy's hand, cringing as he felt Ryou's small bones rub against his palm. His hands seemed so tiny and frail as they hung limply from his bandaged arms. A little blood from the last sample pooled on the sheet below. It was dark, almost completely black.

Joey would have grasped the other hand if he could, but it was surrounded in so many wires. He did not dare touch it.

Instead, he just sat watching Ryou's thin chest rise and fall.

"Come on, Yug… What's goin' on in there?" he sighed. "Are you all right?"

Tea looked up when she heard the mention of her other friends.

"Of course… they're all right." She managed to answer, choking as she spoke. "They have to be."

"That's right." Tristan added. "They're still in there. Fighting strong. I… I know they are."

Joey tried to nod, but he could barely move as it was.

"Right." He whispered, slowly letting his voice gain more confidence. "Right. They're still in there fightin' for Ryou!"

Tristan squeezed Ryou's hand a little harder.

"You hear that, Ryou?" Joey exclaimed. He shook the bed frame as he spoke. "They're still in there. Fightin' for ya'. They're not gonna' give up until they've beat whatever's in there."

Tea nodded, stroking the boy's lifeless face.

"You just wait an' see." Joey announced confidently, although starting to trail off. "Yeah. Just wait an' see. Yug'll save you."

Tristan and Tea nodded.

Isis merely prayed to Anubis, that perhaps he would leave Ryou waiting at the outside of the gate just a few minutes longer.