So I looked at my old fanfiction list and I realised "you know what? This thing only has a few more chapters to go and you've left it unfinished for two years now. It doesn't look all that bad in terms of writing so you might as well finish it."

So yeah. That's why I'm here, imploring to your patience. Now obviously, it's been a very long time since this was updated so there will be a few resulting problems. Firstly, it's been a while since I used this precise style of writing in a fanfiction. And two, I have to remind myself entirely of the plot and remember how I planned to finish it (yes I did have a plan to finish it) in the first place. I'm going to soldier on as best I can.

I really appreciate that some people are still interested in this fic after such a long time, I'm also pleasantly surprised by my writing ability during that period, but now? I'm better. So I'll endeavour to see that it's finished for you. Thank you again.

-Scarab.

Vienna International Airport 12. 01:26 am

'I've found it...' Kaiba lifts his head and jabs a finger at the map they have spread out on the floor before them. 'The Danube.'

Joey blinks. 'The what now?'

Yugi's eyes are widening. 'He means the River, Joey. You mean all of this is coming from there, Kaiba?'

'It would stand to reason.' Yami says carefully. 'Our estimates are that most of the shadow energy originated in that area, and it was definitely stronger at the motel –which is closer to the Danube – than it is here, Yugi.'

'So you're saying that all of this Shadow Magic is erupting from ... what? Some kind of gateway in the middle of the Danube?' Téa says, trying to ignore the monster edging closer to their backs, eager to reach out to Yugi and Bakura with their cold fingertips, still yearning for the light and fearing it in equal measures.

'And once it got here, there was no telling how far it could spread. The Danube is a direct source of drinking water. It provides for this whole region.' Kaiba says.

Yami nods. 'So once the Shadow Magic had infected immediate users of the river, direct body-to-body contamination became a lot easier. Dark magic spreads easier through hearts and minds than it does H2O.'

Kaiba snorts. 'Whatever you say. All I know is that this started at that river.'

'So that's where we have to go to finish it.' Yugi says as he satnds up, with, Téa thinks, far too much confidence and energy for someone with a sprained ankle and shadow magic pounding at his body – amongst other things.

'Um... Yeah. Yugi, about that. I'm not sure any of us should be going out there, least of all you After all, you just got out of a crashed car.'

'Actually there may not be a choice in that.' Yami says, and he doesn't sound a lot happier about it than Téa feels. 'Yugi and Bakura are the only people where who might have a chance at stropping all this.'

'Wait, wait, wait, go back a bit,' Joey waves his hands about in confusion. 'Purify? What's that supposed to mean?'

'Well purify is probably a bad choice of words,' Yami says evenly. 'A more accurate choice would be "Balance". Yugi and Bakura are the only sources of light magic remaining functioning in this part of the world. That means they're the only ones who can even out the discord between dark and light magic and return some sense of normalcy to this world.'

'What about all the people? I mean... like them,' Mokuba nods uneasily in the direction of the monsters still clinging to the edge of Yugi's light. And now, presumably, Bakura Ryou's too.

'I'm not sure what'll happen to them, I admit.' Yami says. 'But my guess is their fates won't be any worse than leaving them like this would be. We have to reach the Danube quickly –within a couple of hours at the most, or else this contamination is going to have spread too far for us to stop it'

Kaiba snorts.

'If it makes you feel better, Kaiba,' Bakura says, with just a hint of wryness. 'Then just think of it as... using an alkali to weaken an acidic substance. The principles are basically the same.'

'The question stands, then,' Tristan says. 'How the heck do we get to the Danube?'

More to the point,' Téa adds. 'That river must be thousands of miles long, how are we ever going to know whereabouts in it the gate opened?'

'We'll have to rely on Yugi and Bakura for that,' Kaiba mutters. 'They should be able to pinpoint the source.'

'You're putting a lot of faith in this all of a sudden' Yugi mutters. 'Yami, I've never tracked down a source of light before.'

'Oh, don't worry about it.' Yami waves a hand in a way that would've been dismissive if it were anybody but Yugi he was waving at. 'It's easy, like riding a bike.'

'...Other Me, that analogy doesn't work.'

'Close enough, though. You'll know how to do it, the same way I know how to crush a psyche.'

'Hmph. Yeah, while this is obviously good usage of my deductive reasoning skills,' Kaiba mutters. 'I still happen to have a company to run –if no longer any European bases. So I'd like to get this over with as quickly as possible.'

Sure. Quickly as possible, Téa thinks dryly, remembering her ballet class that's supposed to be held in roughly two hours time, and the part time job she needs to attend... it feels strange to be thinking of such normal things at a time like this but... it helps somehow. Comforts her to think of a reality beyond this one. 'Then... then I guess we'd better get on with it,' she casts her eyes around the circle, grinning sleepily. '"All for one and one for all", right?'

'I... I don't know, guys, I think maybe most of you should stay here,' Bakura mumbles.

'Well tough luck there, man,' Joey reaches out and ruffles Bakura's hair. 'We're here now, and let's face it we're no safer here than anywhere else, right? We're coming with ya, whether you like it or not.'

'Have to agree with the ducklings on this one, guys,' Mai smirks faintly while jabbing a finger at Joey. 'This man can't do anything for himself without one of us there, you know.'

'Then it's settled,' Mokuba says brightly. 'We're all going.'

'Not you Mokuba,' Kaiba says, and before his brother can protest, he continues. 'You stay here and protect the plane. Should something go insanely wrong we will actually want to get out of here in one piece. We can't do that if a bunch of monsters have wrecked the plane.'

'But Seto—'

'Mokuba.'

A pause. A shuffle. There was a time when Mokuba would've companied blue murder about this development, but now he's older, wiser, and a lot more beaten up than usual. He knows there are more important things than running into battle on an empty tank. '...Okay, fine. But you'd better bring them all back Big Brother. In one piece.'

'...Even Wheeler?' Seto manages the faintest of smirks. It's not his usual form, but it gets a smile from Mokuba, so Téa supposes that's alright

Kaiba glimpses at Marcus momentarily, and a silent message appears to pass between employer and employee. Something along the lines of: "Take care of him or you're fired". The body guard (his name is Marcus, right?) nods in agreement. Only a Kaiba Corp employee could possibly be standing in this kind of situation and not flinching at all, Téa thinks., and Kaiba addresses the group with the air of a man who is taking control, whether they want him to or not (and the look on Yami's face suggests that he definitely doesn't want it). 'We'll have to take the rear entrance gate of the air port and travel around in that direction. We should find a car, break into it and use that to get us most of the way to the river. And for the record, Yami, no, you are not going to be the one driving.'

'Hmph.'

Tristan scratches his head. 'Okay, cool. One question, though. What do we do with those guys?'

Yugi glimpses at the three scared little monster creatures crouching behind the airport chairs. He sighs. 'They come with us.'

'Oh, okay... no, wait what?'

Yugi shrugs. 'They're attracted to me anyway. If you try and keep them away then they tend to get... violent.'

Yami is grinding his teeth so hard that Joey can hear his molars clicking. 'I suppose that's for the best. You—' (The creatures shuffle in response to Yami's voice.) 'Come here.'

More shuffling, uncertain stairs through not-quite-human eyes highlighted by torches. Aside from that, they don't move. 'I said come here.'

'Yami, they're not dogs,' Yugi sighs, and he kneels down on the floor, on their eye level. 'Come on, guys. Come with us. We're going to fix this now.'

There's a faint, unsure scattering amongst the monsters (people? Whatever) when Yugi reaches out to them, but when Yugi stands up, they take a tentative step towards him, as if torn between approaching and staying at a safe distance.

'Yugi, the living Bug Zapper,' Kaiba mutters, watching as the creatures hover around them at arm's length.

Téa tries very, very hard not to let that freak her out.

Domino City Airport. 08:35 am

Serenity is biting her nails.

She's rather annoyed with herself for this. It's a habit she developed while in the hospital, wrapped in bandages and bored out of her skull, and one she's been trying to get out of ever since. However, knowing that your

It was nice of Duke to come for her and drive her to the airport, even if it meant sharing a car with that... strange not-Bakura person the whole time. He doesn't look like he's going to go away any time soon, so Serenity figures she'll just have to get used to it.

But really, that isn't what's bothering her. What's bothering her is that she still has no idea what happened to her brother, there are not, apparently, any flights going towards Europe (not that she shouldn't have already realised that) and quite frankly she has no idea how sitting around here amidst a throng of nervous, confused passengers is going to help. Every television screen which isn't showing a list of delayed and current flight plans is showing an image of a different news channel, and almost everyone is tuned into the events taking place at the Vienna border. Serenity is trying not to look.

'Well that's another dead end,' Serenity looks up at the sound of Duke's voice, while trying pointedly not to look at the other person walking along sides him, dressed in strange robes and with unkempt hair. 'They're really not letting us get out of here. There are no flights heading to the western hemisphere at all right now. Even my sponsors won't let me take out a jet. They say it's not covered by our insurance,' Duke snorts.

'Then... they're really all alone out there,' Serenity whispers.

'Hey don't worry about it, Red. This is your brother we're talkin' about, right? He's dealt with worse than a little European freak out, hasn't he?'

'I... I know.'

Duke pats her on the shoulder in a way that's clearly supposed to be encouraging. It doesn't much help. She'd known it deep down of course. She'd known there was no real way to get to her brother and her friends out there but still...

'Then don't stress out. We'll think of something. I'm gonna... I dunno grab us a coffee and check with the help desk again, okay. You.' He glares at Not-Bakura firmly for a long moment, and whatever he wants to say to him passes between them in nothing more than a look. Not-Bakura sneers as Duke walks away from them, leaving Not-Bakura alone with Serenity.

There is a long, cold moment of silence before he speaks. 'So, I remember you, don't I, little girl? You're the foolish mutt's kid sister. The one with the eyes, eh?'

Serenity shudders. 'My eyes are alright now.'

'Glad to hear it,' Not0-bakura says. Though he doesn't sound glad it at all. I'd hate for you not to be able to see the death that awaits you if we actually get out of this country. You realise, of course, that we would be running foolishly into a death trap.'

'I know that,' Serenity says uncertainly, moving from biting her nails to picking at the fabric of her seat.

Not-Bakura stares at her for what feels like forever, and then sits down heavily and uncaringly in the seat besides her. He glares at someone staring at him as they pass by and folds his arms behind his head, the very picture of nonchalance and arrogance.

Serenity is quite certain she doesn't like this person one bit. But then, she supposes that she shouldn't. She knows all about what Not-Bakura did when he was still a part of the real Bakura's body. She knows what kind of person he was... what kind of creature...

'A-and what about you... Bakura?' Serenity asks, not even trying to guess at his real name. 'Why... why do you want to go out there?'

Not-Bakura's lip tweaks into a faint, strangely genuine smile. 'Let's just say that something belonging to me is currently following Yugi Motou around like a puppy, little mouse, and leave it at that shall we?'

Serenity doesn't dare to ask any more questions.

Flight Bound for Heathrow International Airport, London. 2:00 am.

There is not a great deal that can be said for in-flight entertainment. But given that currently, the airport's idea of entertainment is to broadcast the current events in Europe to everyone within earshot, Marik isn't surprised. The other passengers on the flight are

'Ladies and gentlemen this is your captain speaking. As you may be aware we are experiencing some difficulties with our current flight plan. We encourage all passengers not to be concerned. Information on the situation in Europe is being provided as quickly as it becomes available and only recently has our schedule been diverted with the revelation that the UK's International Heathrow Airport is considered no longer safe for landing. As a result this plane shall be detouring to Washington DC, North America. Repeat, that is Washington DC, North America...'

The anxious groan that goes through the cabin is practically tangible. Ishizu's head jerks up. 'Oh no, did he just say...'

'What you think he said? If what you think he said was that this flight is no longer going to the UK, then yeah, Big Sister, that's exactly what he said.' Marik curses under his breath. 'Damn. We should've expected this. Washington Dc is freaking hundreds of miles further away that England!'

'Then what do you suggest we do, master Marik?' Odion asks evenly with a voice that betrays not one ounce of his inner fears or turmoil.

Marik sighs, flopping back in his chair in defeat as the passengers message is barked out again in two different languages. 'Enjoy the ride? Hope we can land when we get wherever we're going to? And after all the trouble we went through to get on this flight in the first place.'

Ishizu says nothing to this. She merely stares dejectedly at the chair in front of her and rubs her fingers around her neck. She's probably staring to wish that she had managed to sneak into the collapsing tomb as well...

Vienna International Airport, Car Park C, 12. 01:44 am

The monsters are everywhere.

For the most part she can't actually see them, but she knows they're there. Téa can feel their very essence crawling in the skin on the back of her neck. It's hard for her to imagine that those creatures could ever have been human... that they might be human again, if they could only survive long enough to put all this to rights.

'You realise this counts as stealing, right?' she mutters, watching as Joey continues to mess around with the wires and cables he's torn out of the eight-seater jeep's control panel.

'Nah, this is just borrowin' it, I swear we'll put it right back when we're done.'

'What I want to know is how you know how to bypass a car's start up in the first place, Joey,' Yugi mutters, though he must already know the answer – Joey was a gang member once over, after all.

'I don't care how he does it so long as he hurries up,' Kaiba mutters, tapping the steering wheel impatiently and trying pointedly to ignore the fact that Joey is half on top of him trying to reroute the wiring.

'Heh, figures huh? The big fancy super genius corporation ownin' guy doesn't know how to hotwire a car.'

'What do you expect, mutt? Stealing has never been on my agenda.

'Heh. Nah, not now t hasn't, but we all remembers the old days, Kaiba,' the car engine putters into life, and Joey flops back in the front passenger seat with a grin of triumph. 'Ha! There we go, guys. Savin' the world is all go.'

Téa shuffles in her seat 'Just so long as we don't run into any more of these things?'

'I don't think we have much choice there,' Yami mutters, and Téa is... okay, she's vaguely reassured by the fact that he's got his hand on her shoulder, but that could just be because there are four of them crammed into the back seat and there's nowhere else for him to put it.

The car pulls out of the darkened car park far too easily...

'Why's Kaiba the one who gets to drive anyway?' Tristan mutters. Then yelps as one of the monsters which is clinging to the car rooftop leans in through the window and gets just a bit too close for comfort.

It's going to be a long ride.

...They can smell it.

The light. It's stench is strong and burns through their skin easily, even from so far away. Some of them have already gone to it willingly. They can't stand it, and yet they can't look away from it either. The compulsion burns within them, awakening human instincts most of them did not even remember they had. At one point they had been human begins: wives, husbands, mothers, daughters, sons, children, shop assistants, tour guides, boat drivers... but all that remains of those identities now is the endless pull towards the light, away from the darkness that

A catch twenty two. Heir human selves draw them towards brightness while their new, inhuman instincts struggle to drag away from it.

And they know that they have two choices – either they go to it, or eventually, the light comes for them.

Their human instincts win out in the end. But only barely, and not for any good reasons.