Disclaimer - Do not own.

Author's Note - Yes, I have finally risen from the grave and finished this story. More or less. I deliberately left it open-ended, so I may either continue, or...well, leave it to your imagination. Thank you for reading and thank you for your wonderful reviews!

"Aibou?"

Yuugi lifted his head up from his textbook and looked sleepily over at the spirit form of the Pharaoh, blinking. "Mou hitori no boku?" He hadn't realized how close he'd been to drifting off. He managed to stifle his first yawn, and hide the second behind his hand.

"You feel it, too, don't you."

Yuugi frowned, his eyes flickering briefly to his book, pieces of the text smudged and likely imprinted on his cheek. He'd been trying to study but, unable to focus, he'd put his head down, thinking. Worrying, really. Something was niggling at his brain, biting at all of his nerve endings like fleas, and his Other was right.

Something wasn't right. There was a tenseness to the air that wasn't normal, something brushing against the fine hairs on his skin, arousing the part of his brain that hadn't been used since primitive times, setting off warning bells and making his breath catch and skin grow clammy. If they had been in a movie, he'd have said he was getting some sort of premonition about the end of the world, but this was reality. Thus, he did not know what was causing the feeling, whether it was paranoia or something else.

However, the fact that the Pharaoh felt it as well lent credence. There really was something in the air, something foul, and Yuugi had no doubt what it had to do with.

"Yes." A simple admission, and yet it was almost painful to say, as if Yuugi were giving voice to something he knew was out of both of their hands. It was unpleasant to dwell upon.

The spirit crossed his arms, staring out the window with his intense, thoughtful gaze. "We need to do something." He was using the tone he usually reserved for duels, what Yuugi fondly deemed his 'Pharaoh Voice', though he wasn't pleased to hear it now. It only pressed home how helpless the boy felt.

"What can we do?"

"Find them."

"Them?"

"Jounouchi-kun went looking for his sister."

That was why Yuugi was even still awake. He had school the next day, a test in chemistry, and he was probably going to fail it no matter what. He'd been trying to study to keep himself awake, hoping that his best friend would call him with some sort of news, whether good or ill. The formulas had began to swim in his eyes and nothing made sense, and Yuugi had soon given up on trying to memorize anything. He probably wouldn't even make it to class anyway, not if the night continued the way it was.

He had no response for his Other. What could he say? Jounouchi hadn't wanted them along, though Yuugi wasn't entirely sure why. The whole gang was more than happy to help find the girl – they were all rather fond of her – but Jounouchi seemed to take this as a private, personal quest. He should have gone with the boy, should have planted his feet and insisted on going along, but Yuugi had, as usual, given in to Jounouchi's demands.

"Something's wrong." The Pharaoh was growing more and more fond of repeating himself and stating the obvious; Yuugi had a feeling it had to do with his dislike of being ignored, especially when the situation was dire.

"What can we do, mou hitori no boku? We have no idea where Jounouchi-kun is…and the city is very large…where would we even start?"

Yuugi wasn't surprised when his Other had no answer. However, the spirit shifted restlessly, turning his gaze on Yuugi. "I don't know," he admitted after a moment, shaking his head. "But I know we cannot stay here. Do you know if he went with anyone?"

"I'm not sure," Yuugi replied slowly. "I suppose I could call Anzu-chan and Honda-kun and see if they are home, but it is awfully late…"

"Aibou…given the circumstances, I doubt they would mind."

That was true. If something really was wrong, then they would want to be involved as well, and three people could traverse the city much faster than just one. Despite that, however, the odds of them actually coming across Jounouchi were slim to none, and the odds of them finding Shizuka were even smaller. She'd eluded even the police thus far; what good could they do?

Despite his misgivings, Yuugi was already on his feet, shedding his nightclothes and poking around in his closet for something relatively warm to wear. He wasn't the least bit uncomfortable undressing in front of his Other; they were the same person, essentially, the other half of each other's souls. They had nothing to hide from each other.

Yuugi paused as he buckled his belt, turning to face the spirit, his head tilted slightly. It took him several moments to articulate his worries, and when he finally did, he wasn't entirely sure he had conveyed the meaning well enough.

"But mou hitori no boku…what if we're wrong?"

It had taken almost all of his courage to ask that one question. What if their worry and paranoia were simply getting the better of them and creating a situation that didn't really exist? What if Jounouchi had managed to find his sister and was going to call them any minute with the good news? What if…?

Those eyes, so steady, so dark, pinned Yuugi to the floor. "What if we're right?"

Both occupants of the room reacted in completely different ways to Jounouchi's intrusion. Kaiba looked extremely nonplussed, though he did stand up, drawing himself up to his full height and staring down his nose at the boy. He did not say a word, simply stared, paying no attention to Bakura lingering in the background.

Shizuka, however, could not remain silent. "Onii-chan," she breathed, her eyes wide. Instinctively, she moved to cover herself, aware of both his gaze and the boy behind him. One look from Kaiba was all it took to cut off whatever else she had been about to say, but she went so far as to scoot backwards, pressing herself against the wall, knees drawn to her chest.

She had dreamed of this day, of when her brother or one of his friends discovered her and carted her off to safety. However, in all of her daydreams, Kaiba had never been around, as she knew that he wouldn't let her go without a fight, not after all the effort he'd gone through to acquire her in the first place. And even now, with her brother standing there, his eyes blazing and shoulders squared as if he expected a fight, Shizuka still wanted to do nothing but be obedient to Kaiba.

She'd been too long in his clutches.

Biting her lower lip, she forced herself to remain silent and ignore the stare of the other boy – what was his name? She always seemed to forget it. Not that it really mattered at that point. He didn't look the way he normally did; his eyes were narrowed, his hair messier, and the very air around him more sinister. Something was off, and that frightened her far more than the staring contest between Kaiba and her brother.

"You monster!" Jounouchi repeated, his hands curling into fists as he stepped into the room. "I should have known it was you! Lowering yourself to kidnapping and torturing a poor defenseless girl. I never would have guessed you were so pathetic."

"Empty words, Jounouchi," Kaiba replied calmly. "You always open your mouth without thinking, speaking about things you don't understand."

"Can it, Kaiba. I'm taking my sister back with me, and then we're going to sue your sorry ass until your company explodes."

"Oh?" A slender eyebrow raised, and Kaiba managed to look amused. "And how do you plan on doing that?" His gaze traveled down to Jounouchi's fists and the CEO managed a chuckle. "You're going to fight me? I thought you learned before that you're no match for me."

"There are other ways to win a fight."

All eyes focused on Bakura, surprised to hear him speak. The pale boy chuckled as he stepped past Jounouchi, looking around the room with an air of indifference before focusing on Kaiba, his gaze flat.

"Did you forget about Me? How silly of you, dismissing your biggest thread out of hand…"

"Bakura? What are you doing?"

"Quiet. Or didn't you want your precious sister rescued?" He had to admit, this was the most interesting thing to happen to him since his loss during the Battle City Finals. Being temporarily banished to the Shadows again after his duel with the Dark Malik had been entertaining for the short time he was there, especially because a piece of him had been planted inside of the Puzzle, and he'd had a chance to explore. He had learned quite a few things while in there, and been able to watch some of the events unfold.

He had thoroughly enjoyed watching Dark Malik fall.

"Bakura Ryou." Kaiba's voice was flat, uncaring, as if he still thought he had the upper hand. "I never thought you cared about the mutt's sister."

"I don't." He chuckled, the sound menacing. "But you irritate Me greatly, and I certainly did not want to pass up the chance to destroy you." There was no specific reason why Kaiba got on his nerves; but then again, the entity didn't need one. Everyone would be sacrificed to the Shadows eventually, and when he resurrected his Dark God, the world would turn to darkness and blood and pain, beautiful pain. He figured he might as well get in some fun before condemning the world to death.

Now Kaiba was surprised. "You knew?"

"No." The entity shrugged, glancing over at the girl huddling against the wall with mild interest before returning to the CEO, clearly not considering him important enough to keep in his sight at all times. "I had My guesses, but I have to admit, I am quite pleased to discover it really was you. Tell Me, did you kill the dice boy as well?"

Kaiba's lips drew into a thin line, and Jounouchi growled low in his throat, taking several steps towards the CEO. The white-haired boy threw out an arm, stopping him in his tracks.

"This is My fight now," he hissed to Jounouchi.

The boy couldn't help but stare. "Who are you?"

"Don't you know?"

"Mou hitori no Bakura-san…"

Shizuka wasn't sure why she hadn't seen it before. She remembered the duel between him and Dark Yuugi, the way they had both transformed and she hadn't understood until the group finally explained it to her. They didn't know much about either entity, but it was clear that Bakura's Other was far more dangerous and had his own agenda.

She was silenced again with a look from Kaiba, and she was more than a little surprised when the dragon stepped to the side, blocking the girl from the entity's view. He was acting almost protective of her, though she doubted it had anything to do with genuine affection. She was nothing but his property, right?

"Whaaaat?" Jounouchi stared at the pale boy, his eyes wide. "But…you lost that duel! There's no way…and the Ring!"

"It returned to Me," the boy drawled lazily, growing tired of the chatter. It wasn't as amusing as it would be to tear Kaiba's soul out of his body slowly and feed it to the Shadows. They were hungry, always hungry, crying and screaming and moaning and twisting around his body begging for a taste of blood and flesh and bone. It always brought him great glee to feed the Shadows; they were almost friendly when they were full. "It always does. I'd think even you would have realized that by now."

Darkness began to coalesce, swirling around the room and closing in on the occupants, bringing with it an abnormal chill. Hands in front of his chest, the entity laughed softly as the Ring appeared, letting off a sickly golden glow.

As if recognizing the danger, Jounouchi attempted to bully past Bakura in an attempt to reach his sister, her safety the only thing on his mind. The boy laughed and blocked him again, but stopped laughing when Jounouchi drew his arm back and punched him square in the face. The entity staggered back, hand clutching at his nose, blood trickling down the pale skin and dripping onto the floor. Obstruction gone, Jounouchi bolted past Kaiba and to his sister, drawing her tightly against his chest.

"Shizuka," he murmured, pressing fevered kisses to the top of her head, fighting back tears.

"Onii-chan…"

He wanted nothing more than to gather her up and smother her with kisses and soothe all of her hurts, but he wasn't stupid enough not to realize that they weren't even close to being out of danger. The very fact that Kaiba had allowed him past showed that the CEO recognized the threat the pale boy posed, and likely expected to be able to deal with it entirely on his own or, barring that, that Jounouchi would have the sense to join forces.

Kaiba hated working with other people, but if that was what it would cost to keep the girl safe, then he was willing to swallow his pride. However, it most likely wouldn't come to that.

"How boring," he said, regarding Bakura as if he were an insect. "Parlor tricks and magical stories don't impress me. I thought you kids had outgrown that."

"Parlor tricks?" The entity laughed again, throwing back his head as the darkness solidified, blocking out nearly all light save for what emanated from his Ring.
The blood trailing down his face only managed to make him look more demonic. "I'd think you had seen enough to realize that there is more to life than what you can prove with your precious logic and science."

"You sound like Yuugi."

"Do I?"

The remaining lights flickered and died, and Bakura's laughter filled the room.

Yuugi had been waiting for Anzu and Honda arrive when suddenly his Other took over, making Yuugi's head spin. "What…?"

"An Item. I fear the worst, aibou."

Dark Yuugi took off running, his hand cupping the Puzzle possessively, using it to lead him in the direction of the other Item. It wasn't often that the Puzzle felt the presence of any other Items; usually that only happened when there was a great burst of power used, and the last times he'd felt that were when Dark Malik used the Rod, and when Dark Bakura used the Ring.

If either of the entities were back, then he had a feeling Jounouchi was in grave danger.

"But mou hitori no boku, what about Anzu-chan and…?"

"There's no time to wait for them." He fairly flew down the streets of Domino, barely glancing around to see where he was going; he was only interested in his destination, not in how he got there. The Puzzle was emitting a strange warmth, both comforting and alarming; if the Item was reacting this strongly, then something definitely was wrong.

He didn't see how it could be Dark Malik, seeing as he'd been completely destroyed at the end of the last Yami no Game. However, he didn't understand how it could be Dark Bakura either, given that the Ring had gone missing again and the entity hadn't revealed himself. He, too, had lost a Yami no Game; he had to be destroyed as well.

What new threat had surfaced and why had it targeted Shizuka? Dark Yuugi had no doubt that the girl was caught up in it in some way. It all fit together all too well: Shizuka vanishing, Otogi's murder, the group being split up. It was as if they were being moved in some cosmic chess game, and he had no idea who was on whose side, or who was moving which pieces. He didn't like being played, and he hated it even more when his friends were placed in danger.

He paused, however, when the Puzzle led him to the rusty, creaking gates leading to the old zoo. He knew through Yuugi the stories surrounding the abandoned place, and his eyes quickly noticed that the gates had been recently tampered with. He couldn't imagine what had driven Jounouchi through those gates and into the zoo, but there was no doubt in his mind that there was an Item in there, and it was where the feeling of dread originated. It was almost cloying, trying to press him into the ground when he attempted to move, and he shook his head, drawing his inner strength.

"Mou hitori no boku!"

"Aibou…"

"Did Jounouchi-kun go in there?"

"I don't know, aibou, but…there is something…"

"Then what are you waiting for?" Determination flowed through their link, offering Dark Yuugi a more natural, pleasant warmth to wrap around himself. Courage bolstered, he silently thanked Yuugi and took off again, his heels pounding on the broken pavement.

The only light he had to guide him was his Puzzle, and he lifted it up, trying to banish the shadows reaching for him. One look was enough to justify every dark story he had heard about the place, the rumors and myths and whisperings of demons and ghosts and other unnatural things. The very stones seemed alive, broken and bleeding though they were, vines groping along them, twisted and writhing. He shuddered when something brushed his shoulder, but pushed onward, reminding himself that it was just an old zoo, nothing more.

Despite being certain that his Puzzle was leading him in the right direction, Dark Yuugi was still stunned to discover what appeared to be a small hut in the middle of the zoo. As he watched, the pale light within flickered and went out, and an ominous laughter echoed in the air.

"Bakura," he growled, his eyes narrowing.

"Mou hitori no boku?"

"They're in there, aibou." He wasn't certain how he knew anyone was there but Dark Bakura – he could feel the Ring, feel the Shadows twining around the lonely building, sucking out all the life and light it could find – but he knew, and he wasn't going to leave his friends to their fate.

Letting go of the Puzzle, he dashed down the worn path and threw open the door of the building, the light from his Item pushing the Shadows away. He heard cries of surprise when he entered, and it only took a moment for him to assess the situation – Dark Bakura facing Kaiba and laughing, Jounouchi standing in front of Shizuka who was naked on the floor and staring not at Dark Bakura, but at Kaiba with fear and loathing – and he struck.

Having pushed himself to his feet and planted his body in front of Shizuka protectively, Jounouchi had been waiting for an opening, shifting on the balls of his feet and keeping his weight evenly distributed, ready to pounce at a moment's notice. He screamed as he launched himself at the entity, Yuugi's entrance just the distraction he had been waiting for. Not having expected any sort of physical assault – his arrogance was still intact enough to assume no one would dare touch him, despite being punched twice now – the entity fell backwards, born to the floor by the other boy's weight.

"You bastard!"

"You fool," the entity spat back, "I thought you wanted to save your sister."

"I do, but not like this." Disgusted, Jounouchi punched Bakura again, and again, and did not stop until the boy's face was a bloody ruin and consciousness had fled, leaving the pale boy to go limp. The light from the Ring faded, as did the ominous darkness, the screams and whimpers and odd chanting slipping away, swallowed up by the light from the Puzzle until nothing remained but its warm flickering.

After slamming Bakura's head into the ground for good measure, barely thinking about the fact that he was hurting his friend as well as the evil entity that lived inside the Ring, Jounouchi was only drawn away when he heard his friend's voice.

"Mind Crush!"

Shizuka cried out as Kaiba fell to the ground like a ton of bricks, his eyes staring unseen. Despite the fear she harbored for him, she still scrambled over, heedless of her nudity, pressing her fingers against his neck in a desperate search for his pulse.

"Kaiba-san," she said softly, then heaved a sigh of relief when she found his pulse, strong and steady. "What…what happened…?"

Dark Yuugi knelt beside her, placing his coat around her shoulders. Turning his gaze on Kaiba, he said, "He isn't dead, if that's what you're thinking. He was…corrupted by something. I could feel it oozing off of him like slime. I wouldn't be surprised if it had something to do with Bakura." Crimson eyes glanced with distaste over at the fallen entity lying sprawled beneath Jounouchi, the Ring silent.

"I don't understand…"

"Neither do I, truly." He turned his gaze on Shizuka, eyes growing slightly warmer. He reached out, brushing his knuckles against her cheek. "Are you all right?"

Shizuka nodded, her eyes filling with tears. "He…"

"Shizuka…" Jounouchi had risen and hurried over beside her sister, arms around her again. Tucking her snugly against his chest and stroking over her hair, he looked over at Yuugi, dark eyes full of emotion. "Yuugi…thank you…"

"No need to thank me, Jounouchi-kun." The Pharaoh smiled, inclining his head.

"Why did you do that to Kaiba? Was he…?"

"I was wondering why he was acting…off…during the finals and afterwards, but I never attributed it to…anything like this. It seems something…got inside of his blood, corrupted him, and I have no doubt that Bakura found a way to exploit it and make it grow. Unfortunately, he latched onto Shizuka, and…" He shook his head. "I don't know. I can't make sense of it myself yet, but I'm certain that once Bakura is conscious again, we'll find out some answers."

"Is he going to be all right?" Shizuka pulled her face away from her brother's chest, tears streaking her pale cheeks.

"Shizuka, I only hit Bakura a few times…"