A/N: Thanks again for all of the reviews, everyone. One of my reviewers brought a really good point I thought I would address, which is that Change of Heart is technically a magic card. This is true. However, I'm taking elements from both the anime and the manga, and when I made Amane the Change of Heart, I was thinking of that episode in the first season when Bakura traps everyone in a card, and Ryou becomes Change of Heart, which was treated more like a monster card. That was my influence and I'm sticking to it. Enjoy!

It was fortunate that they had sat down to rest before it happened. Malik had been wandering aimlessly for what felt like hours in a completely random direction before he grew too tired to move on. He'd ordered Miyamoto to sit down and was resting his head on his knees with the Rod right beside him, within easy distance if something went wrong, when he felt it. Emotions that did not belong to him swarmed over him in a flood that made him rock backwards. Worry, fear, concern, an eagerness for a fight, the desire for violence, and tying all of the bewildering feelings together, a lust so strong that he was instantly hard made him gasp out loud. He panted for breath, trying to get himself under control, as the flood slowly began to reduce itself to a more manageable but never-ending trickle.

There was no question as to who those emotions belonged to. Only one person had ever been able to affect him like - that. The question was, why the hell could he feel Mariku's emotions? Hysteria loomed, threatening to become a very real concern in the face of everything that had happened, but he pushed it back, clamping down on the urge until he was able to breathe normally and think calmly. Once his pounding heart had slowed and he was able to sit without fidgeting uncomfortably, he closed his eyes and followed the steady stream to a place deep inside. Immense heat warmed him from the inside out as he probed that spot, and it came to him in a flash of understanding that Mariku was searching for him - probably, wasn't even that far away.

"What the fuck?" Malik muttered, troubled and unsteady. He ran shaking hands through his hair, trying to understand something that was utterly beyond his realm of experience. Mariku had briefly mentioned the "bond" that yami and hikari would share, but he had not gone into extensive detail. Yuugi and Ryou had spoken about it a little, always with a strange look on their faces, like there were no words to describe it, and the conversation had ended quickly. If what they had felt was anything like what he was feeling, he could suddenly understand their desire to keep quiet on the subject. Feeling someone else's emotions was nothing short of utterly bizarre.

He looked over at Miyamoto, but she didn't even act like she had noticed his display. Surprisingly, having a mindless drone that was willing to obey your every will without question was not as enjoyable as one might think. Malik stared in complete frustration at the blank-eyed and motionless Miyamoto. If he had thought it was tempting before to chuck the Rod away, it was nothing compared to how he felt now that he'd spent time around her. He had just spent the past (hours? Days? Minutes?) period of time having to tell Miyamoto to do every. Little. Thing. More than once, she had walked into him when he stopped, or just stood there when he started on again. It would have been worth a punch to the face had she been doing it deliberately; knowing she was doing it because of the influence of the Rod's magic just made stone-cold fear settle deep into his stomach.

What had he done to her? Could it be repaired? Would he spend the rest of his life with a meaningless drone following him around because she couldn't be left to fend for herself? Malik shuddered at the thought and deliberately edged a bit further away from her. Miyamoto didn't even notice. He had to wonder what it was like for her in there. Was she conscious of what she was doing? Could she see what was going on? Was she fighting it? Hopefully not. His father had forced him to do... things... a few times in the past. Those memories were still strong enough to make him cringe, and he'd had some form of choice in them, even if the other option had been a brutal beating that generally left him semi-conscious. She didn't have a choice at all.

"Come on," he said at last, rubbing a hang across his face and looking at her wearily. The feelings from Mariku had slowed to the point where it was no longer overwhelming, and he knew that they wouldn't get anywhere if they just kept sitting there. "Stand up. Now let's keep walking, alright?" There was no answer, save for the fact that she obediently stood and her legs started moving again. Malik had no doubt in his mind that she would have kept walking until her legs gave out and she collapsed... and then, once she woke up, she probably would have continued on until... until what? He winced and tried not to think about it.

The Rod pulsed gently in his hand when he picked it up, sending a reassuring wave of warmth up his hand. He scowled down at it. "Stop trying to make me feel better. This is all your fault!"

"Talking to inanimate objects, Kitten?" A mocking voice asked from somewhere to his right. "They always used to tell me that was the first sign of insanity... If you're this cute when you're sane, I can't wait to see what you're like when you cross the line."

Malik looked up at the sky... or where he presumed the sky would be if the world of shadows wasn't just endless darkness. "Thank you," he breathed, shortly before he spun and literally hurtled himself into Mariku's arms. The yami stumbled back a step at the force of the impact. Shock gave way to joy when he realized what had just happened, which swiftly changed to pain when Malik hauled off and slapped him upside the head.

"Ow!" he exclaimed, sounding rather wounded. One hand released its rather possessive grip on Malik's shoulders to rub gingerly at the spot. "What was that for?"

"You know damn well what that was for," Malik hissed, eyes blazing. He shifted back a step, but Mariku's grip kept him from moving too far. "Why the hell didn't you tell me that the Rod could do that to people?" As he spoke, he jabbed a finger in the direction of Miyamoto, who had stopped walking at Seto's command. The brunette was pacing a circle around the woman with a thoughtful look on his face.

"You've awakened one of the powers of the Millennium Rod, as Mariku thought," Seto observed, snapping his fingers in front of Miyamoto's face. "Pity I wasn't the one born with a connection to the Rod. If this is the result, I could have used it during some of my business meetings."

"It's not funny!" His voice came out higher and a touch more hysterical than he would have liked. "It's... it's horrible. She can't... do anything. Is she stuck like that?" He looked back at Mariku with imploring eyes. "You can turn her back to normal, right?"

Mariku reached out and ran a gentle hand through Malik's hair, then cupped the back of the boy's neck and drew him closer. He pressed Malik's face against his chest and rubbed a soothing circle on his back. "We can fix it," he said quietly, dropping his chin onto the blonde hair. Malik took a deep, shuddering breath as his yami spoke. "Calm yourself, Kitten. There's no need to get so out of sorts."

Seto looked at them and raised a curious eyebrow. Mariku had been dying for some of the Rod's powers to be awakened; he'd driven them all crazy for weeks with his often violent dreams of what he could do with the power to control people's minds. Yet it seemed like the yami wouldn't be able to run crazy after all, not with the hold his hikari currently held over him. For not the first time, he thought that Malik might actually be good for Mariku. Certainly, Seto would never have thought that Mariku would be capable of that level of gentleness, but watching him gently rub Malik's back in an entirely non-sexual way was enlightening. Perhaps there was hope for the psychotic yami yet.

"But do you think we could have some fun with her first?"

Or maybe not.

"Fun? What? No!" Malik lifted his head, seemingly now more in control, and shot Mariku a scowl. "That's not even funny, yami. I want to know how to turn her back to normal and I want to know now."

"Ooh, so dominating," Mariku purred with a wink. "I love it when my partners issue me a challenge."

Malik glared at him. It was an easy way to hide the relief and gratitude that might have otherwise been shining in his eyes. With Mariku around, he felt a lot more stabilized, like the world had the ability to make sense again even though it had already spun off its axis. Although the older boy was clearly a few cards short of a full deck, he was still something stable to hold onto, and Malik desperately needed that. It was why he didn't really take (much) offence to Mariku's words. He could tell that Mariku was just trying to ground him in reality, and while hitting on him was an annoying way of doing so, he appreciated the effort and didn't move away when Mariku's hand, which had been wrapped around his waist, purposely dropped a bit lower.

"Well?" he demanded instead. "What do I do?"

"I don't know. I've never controlled anyone's mind before," Mariku said honestly. "Even back in Egypt, the Rod never worked the way it was supposed to." Sensing that Malik was about to lose it again, he purposely squeezed one of the globes of flesh beneath his palm to distract his hikari and added, "But if I were you, I'd try touching her with the Millennium Rod and commanding her to return to the way she was."

Looking rather unconvinced, Malik absently slapped at his hand and turned towards Miyamoto. Seto gently steered the woman a bit close to the two blonds. He reached out, touched the Millennium Rod to her arm, and said, "I order you to - err - wake up."

Miyamoto blinked heavily. Awareness returned to her eyes, and she looked around in bewilderment for a moment, her gaze moving from Seto to Malik to Mariku before locking onto the Millennium Rod. Instantly, she frowned. "That's right. I was explaining to you that we do not allow weapons in this school. Give that to me!" She grabbed the end of the Rod and tried to pull it from Malik's grasp. He stumbled, caught off guard by her move, and was saved from falling when Mariku's hand tightened around his waist. At the same time, the yami grabbed Miyamoto's wrist with his free hand and squeezed, dark eyes flashing. The woman gasped in pain and quickly released the Rod, but Mariku refused to let go.

"Do not touch my hikari," he stated coldly. His fingers were clamped so tightly around her wrist that her bones creaked. "Do you understand me?"

"U-Unhand me," Miyamoto stuttered. She was clearly trying to cover up the fact that she was afraid, but she was doing a poor job of it. "You can't do this to me!" As she spoke, Seto, who was still standing behind her, lifted a hand up behind her head. His lips moved in a quiet incantation before he brushed her hair lightly with the pads of his fingers. Instantly, she dropped, crumbling into a small heap on the ground. Mariku threw her arm down like she was diseased and huffed, yanking Malik into a full back-to-chest hug.

"You want to save the life of that?" he scoffed, clinging possessively and resting his chin on Malik's shoulder. "Why?"

Malik didn't say anything for a moment. There was a weird expression on his face as he stared over his shoulder at Mariku in silence. All he could think about was that moment when he'd believed that Miyamoto was going to slap him, and he'd wished, more than anything, that Mariku would have been there to help him. And now, the yami was. It was... disorienting, for lack of a better word. Isis had always been the only one in the world who had taken care of him; not even Yuugi or Ryou were capable of doing that, much as he loved them. What did it mean? The question hung heavily in his mind as he blinked, realizing that Mariku was giving him an odd look, and shook his head to get rid of those thoughts.

"What?" he asked, having completely missed the question.

Mariku and Seto exchanged looks. "Nothing," Mariku said finally, dropping his arms and allowing Malik to step away. "Seto, which direction is your pup in?"

Blue eyes gazing off into the distance, Seto pointed. "That way. I can feel that his magic is working. I think he's met with trouble." His jaw tightened slightly, and Malik pitied whatever creature was giving Jou trouble when Seto met up with them. "But I believe he's headed in this direction - or at least, he was. If we start walking, we should be able to meet up with them in about half an hour or so."

"Them?" Mariku repeated.

"You'll see," Seto replied simply, starting off.

"What about her?" Malik twisted to glance at Miyamoto, who was still slumbering on the ground. Actually, she had begun to snore, and there was a small bit of drool leaking down one corner of her chin.

"She'll be fine," said Mariku, eyes gleaming with suppressed desire. "Leave her there. No one will bother her." Before Malik could question him any further, he wrapped an arm around Malik's shoulders and gently but firmly ushered him along. He was all too happy to leave the defenceless Miyamoto sprawled on the ground behind them, and he could only hope that some hungry Duel Monster would stumble onto her body and get rid of the problem for them. What his hikari didn't know wouldn't hurt him.

GMA

Ryou's presence in Bakura's mind was not unlike those old television shows that used to have the "good angel, bad angel" gag. It was like the one spot of warmth in an otherwise frozen landscape, a burning sensation that he couldn't get rid of no matter what he'd tried. He was always conscious of Ryou's presence, and it had been that way since the moment that the two of them had met. It had only increased when Ryou received the Ring, and grown stronger yet again when Ryou had kissed him, willingly, for the very first time. The very few times he had dipped into the power of the Millennium Ring, or felt Ryou using it, that spot had blazed, making him feel warm all over. He wasn't quite sure how he felt about that, but it was one of those things he had accepted and then proceeded to ignore, for the most part.

After all, they weren't like the Pharaoh and his shrimp, or even like Mariku and Malik. Ryou was a possession and nothing more; he belonged to Bakura because they were yami and hikari, and that was just the way it was. He had no interest in 'love' or 'affection' or any of those foolish emotions that the others seemed so enamoured with. If Ryou wanted to 'fall in love' with him, that was entirely the hikari's business. Foolish on his part, but none of Bakura's concern. Bakura was wholly convinced that he wanted nothing more to do with Ryou than being able to use the power of the Millennium Ring, and the fact that the boy had formed an attachment to him really didn't matter.

He was convinced right up until he saw Ryou clinging to the arm of a Duel Monster.

After that, not so much.

"Did you just growl?" Yami asked, sounding entirely too amused for Bakura's taste.

"Fuck off, Pharaoh," Bakura hissed. By that point, their bond had warned Ryou of their presence, and he looked up and spotted the two of them. His face lit up, but much to Bakura's annoyance, he didn't stop clinging to the arm of the girl beside him. She, in fact, had the nerve to glance over at Bakura and then very pointedly wrap an arm around Ryou's shoulders.

"Ryou, I'm not sure we should stop to talk with just anyone," she said. "This is a very dangerous place, especially for someone like you. You never know when someone in the Shadow Realm could turn out to be just an illusion."

"I assure you I'm no fucking illusion. And just who are you, anyway?" Bakura asked, voice clipped. He steadily ignored Yami's knowing look and threw in a glare for good measure.

"This is my sister, Amane," Ryou said, sounding almost reverent. There was joy bubbling over in every word that he spoke. It was amazingly annoying. "She's a Duel Monster," he added unnecessarily, squeezing her arm tightly. "Nee-chan, this is Bakura and Yami. They're my friends, and they're definitely not illusions. I can feel it." A smile that bordered on genuine amusement tugged at his lips as Amane sighed.

"It's nice to meet you," she stated flatly.

Yami frowned slightly and shifted his weight, but said nothing. It was out of character for the normally polite boy, and Bakura glanced at him, easily recognizing the subtle sign of distrust and wariness. That, plus the fact that Ryou had introduced him as a 'friend', was enough to put him even more on edge than he'd been before. Something about this Duel Monster didn't feel right. He'd seen partner monsters before - hell, he had his own, as all shadow magic users did - and it wasn't necessarily uncommon for those with shadow magic to take up the role of partner for their loved ones after their death. But Change of Heart was an odd monster to have as a partner, particularly for someone as sweet and gentle as Ryou.

"We have to go," he said at last, deciding to ignore her dismissive attitude for the time being. When Ryou didn't seem inclined to listen, he continued, "Yuugi is missing."

Ryou's head snapped around. "What?" He dropped Amane's arm and took several steps closer to them, looking worried. "What do you mean, he's missing? Yami-san, don't you know where he is?"

"Our bond isn't working," Yami answered, darting a mild glare at Bakura for dropping the news on Ryou so harshly. "I was hoping that you could use the Ring to find him."

"The Ring?" Ryou touched the item uncertainly.

"One of the powers the Millennium Ring possesses is the ability to locate the other Millennium Items," Bakura explained shortly. "Come here. I'll show you how to use it." He experienced a burst of satisfaction as Ryou moved over beside him. It must have leaked down their bond, because Ryou looked at him sharply as Amane stiffened noticeably, her jaw tightening. Bakura ignored her as he reached out and placed a hand over Ryou's. Closing his eyes, he sought out that shining heat and fell through it, seeking out the magic of the Millennium Ring. Ryou gasped softly and melted against him at the feeling, causing Bakura's free arm to wrap unconsciously around the boy's waist to keep him standing.

The Ring began to glow softly against Ryou's chest, and Bakura could feel the strengthening of their bond as they manipulated the magic together, both of their thoughts on the Puzzle and the small hikari that wielded it. Part of him shied away from Ryou's touch, but strangely enough, another part of him that he had believed long dead welcomed it. Ryou's free hand tightened his shirt as slowly, the cones hanging from the main circle of the Ring rose and pointed to the left.

As the pull of the magic began to die away, Bakura opened his eyes and found himself staring into beautiful brown eyes that were surprisingly close. His senses were blazing with the borrowed power from the Ring, and he could tell that Yami, understanding how intimate the usage of the Items were, had turned away to give them privacy. Amane, however, was staring straight at them with an odd look in her eyes. He didn't care. For quite possibly the first time in his life, he wanted to do something just for the sake of doing it. No ulterior motives. He just wanted to kiss Ryou more than anything else.

So he did.

With a quiet moan that was mostly muffled, Ryou twisted and pressed himself more fully against Bakura. The Ring dug into the yami's chest as he clutched Ryou's shoulders, but he enjoyed the pain and tugged the younger boy even closer as a result. Their kiss swiftly became passionate as Ryou willingly parted his lips, allowing Bakura's tongue to sweep into his mouth and explore to his heart's content. His hands trailed up Bakura's back and tangled into the silvery white locks, tugging gently at first, and then with more strength when Bakura gave a low growl of approval. His own hands were equally busy tugging Ryou's neatly pressed shirt out of his pants and stroking his hikari's flat stomach and slightly curved hips, mapping out his territory for the first time.

Amane screamed.

Like a bolt of lightening had struck, the two of them jerked away from each other. Ryou was gasping; his cheeks flushed bright red with embarrassment when he realized that Yami and Amane had been present for their little display. He quickly began patting his mussed hair and straightening out his clothing. Bakura just glared, not caring at all about the fact that the two of them had been nearby. Yami had turned when Amane yelled and was now searching the Shadows with intent eyes, looking for the cause of her distress. Amane looked off into the distance and pointed at what appeared to be nothing more than endless darkness.

"I saw something!" she exclaimed, sounding terrified. "I thought – Oh, Ryou, you'd best come close so I can protect you."

A weak, puzzled smile crossed Ryou's face as he squinted in the direction she was gesturing to. "I don't see anything," he said doubtfully, not making any move to step closer to her. He leaned against Bakura's arm instead, and a wave of contentment and safety flooded through the bond. Ryou felt safer with him, Bakura realized. It was immensely satisfying to watch the pissed look that came over Amane's face, though she did a good job of hiding it quickly.

"Really? I could have sworn I sensed a creature." Amane laughed weakly and tossed her hair over her shoulder. "Well, anyway, let's go search for your little friends. You never know what could happen to them in a place like this. They might even be in the graveyard by now."

"Yuugi and Malik are very capable," Bakura said. His comment was designed to comfort both Yami and Ryou, though he wasn't sure that it had the intended effect.

She scowled ever so slightly. "I'm sure they are, but the Shadow Realm is a dangerous place, you know." Her patronizing tone made Bakura want to pull out his knife.

"You're right, we should go," Ryou said, interrupting the two of them before a fight could break out. He darted a quick glance at Bakura and then looked away as the blush painting his cheeks grew a little darker. "Um... the Millennium Ring says to go that way."

He started walking in the direction that Ring was pointing in. Yami and Bakura fell into step on either side of him automatically, protecting the hikari from anything that might try to attack them unexpectedly. Amane was left to catch up with them. Bakura smirked to himself, pleased when he glanced over his shoulder and saw the pissed expression that she couldn't quite mask. Ryou might have been willing to accept her explanation that she was his partner monster, but Bakura wasn't buying it. The Ring would have reacted to Amane's presence if that had been the case, and he hadn't sensed anything towards her. So she was lying about one thing, at least, and he knew from personal experience that people who were willing to lie about one thing were usually willing to lie about other things.

The question was, did she pose a threat to Ryou? Her presence had protected him so far from the denizens of the Shadow Realm; many of them would have hesitated to attack Ryou with a Duel Monster around, regardless of whether Change of Heart couldn't technically attack. Sometimes, magic cards were even more dangerous than monster cards, and any Duel Monster worth their salt would know that. Amane was clearly unimpressed that Bakura was around, but was that because he and Yami were interfering with her plans or because she was naturally possessive of her little brother, the way that any older sister would be?

A small hand touched Bakura's. Ryou shyly intertwined their fingers and whispered, "Stop thinking so hard, yami. You're giving me a headache."

"Can you... hear me?" Bakura asked, vaguely alarmed by the thought. That stage of their bond shouldn't have been able to occur until he and Ryou became one on all levels, but you could never fully trust magic to work the way it was supposed to.

Ryou shot him a puzzled look. "Hear you? No, of course not. I can feel the tension running through the bond. I don't know how you put up with it; my shoulders are knotting up and it's not even mine."

Bakura smirked slightly at that. "You get used to it." Tension had always been the least of his concerns. He'd gotten used to living with a high amount of stress from a young age; it was practically a given considering what his life had been like. It was just one more way that he and Ryou were completely different. Sometimes it was jarring to realize that someone who was his literal opposite was supposed to compliment him in every way.

"Maybe," was all Ryou said, though there was a thoughtful look in his brown eyes as he glanced back down at the Ring. The direction of the cones had changed slightly. He started to turn and then stopped, frowning with bewilderment, as the cones started to tremble. "What's going on?"

"Bakura?" Yami asked, staring at the Ring.

"I don't know." Bakura started to reach out, but he never got the chance. Before he could touch it, the Ring shuddered and then all of the cones went limp, falling back down against Ryou's chest. Frowning, the darkness absently tightened his hold on Ryou's hand and mentally thrust forward into that blaze. That time, he forcibly dragged himself away from the desire to bask in Ryou's presence and instead turned his attention immediately to the Millennium Ring. It pulsed sluggishly in response when he prompted it, but when he tried to press the idea of the Millennium Puzzle into it, the Ring resisted in a way that it had never done before, not in this life or the last. Bakura wore a puzzled frown as he pulled free, disregarding the urge to grab Ryou and kiss the younger boy silly. There was worry in Ryou's big brown eyes and Bakura was entirely afraid that his own face showed the same thing when he looked at Yami.

"The Millennium Ring can't sense the Puzzle," he said heavily. "Something has definitely gone wrong."

GMA

Flying by dragon was truly the only way to go, Yuugi decided. He was sitting behind Jou and Shizuka and beside Mokuba, just about on level with the wings of the Red Eyes Black Dragon. They were travelling at an amazing speed, and he was fairly sure that if they'd been in the real world, they could have easily gone from one side of Japan to the other by now. Jou had explained that when people were transported into the Shadow Realm, they didn't always end up as close as they had been in the real world, though he wasn't sure why. At least that explained why it was taking so long for them to find the source of magic that was drawing Red Eyes Black Dragon. It was also making him extremely glad that they didn't have to walk, because the journey probably would have taken hours.

Periodically during the flight, he closed his eyes and tried to reach out to Yami. The effect was akin to walking down the road and suddenly slamming straight into a brick wall. There was nothing of Yami in his mind or soul; the bond that he shared with the reincarnated Pharaoh had been completely cut off, and the resulting effect was a lingering, heavy sense of loneliness that forced him to fight back tears every time it washed over him. Yami had promised. He'd promised that he wouldn't leave Yuugi alone! But now... Yuugi shuddered and wrapped his arms around his body, pointedly turning his face away from the others so that they wouldn't see the tears he couldn't quite hold back. Even though he'd known that he was growing dependant on Yami's presence, he hadn't realized that he was falling so hard so fast, and that was a frightening thing to realize.

"Are you alright, Yuugi?" Jou asked, craning his neck to look over his shoulder. He'd caught the abject misery that had passed over Yuugi's face, and his heart went out to his small friend. "Don't worry. I'm sure Yami's fine. I think we're getting closer."

If he spoke he would probably burst into tears, so Yuugi contented himself with a tight, silent nod. The Shadow Realm was a cold, disturbing place, and sometimes he thought he have sworn that the shadows were actually reaching out to him. It was better when he was in the presence of the others, particularly Jou, but he didn't like it. He was beginning to see why Mokuba and Shizuka had fought so hard against him entering. This place... it wanted something from him, and although he didn't know what that something was, he was not inclined to share. All he wanted was to find Yami and the rest of their friends and get the hell out of there before anything else went wrong.

Famous last words.

Red Eyes Black Dragon gave an agonized shriek of pain as a huge blast of magic came out of no where and impacted with her side. Her wings thrashed weakly, struggling to keep them airborne, but it was obvious that she'd taken a lot of damage. Jou cried out at the same time and clutched at his side as the dragon began to fall towards the ground. They hit hard, sending all four of them flying from her back. Yuugi went rolling head over heels across the ground and finally sprawled to a stop a few feet away from Shizuka, who wasn't moving. Slowly, holding his head in pain, he sat up and looked around, wondering who or what could have caused an attack that had been strong enough to bring Red Eyes Black Dragon to the ground.

The first thing he saw was Anzu. She was looking at them with rage and fury in her big blue eyes. Yuugi's heart began to pound faster when he saw who was standing beside her. Maiden of the Moonlight flashed him a smug smile and said, "Surprise. Bet you thought I'd given up? Or that you two were strong enough to have gotten rid of my spell? Well, guess again, little hikari. I've come back for round two... and this time, your precious yami isn't around to protect you."

Please review! And if you're desperate for more tendershipping, I posted a cute little one-shot this week that you can go check out.