The police had arrived by the time Ryou was leading Joey back into the waiting room.

"Oh no," Ryou murmured, eyes wide. Most of his friends were being interviewed by different officers. His father stood with his hands on Mokuba's shoulders as the kid hugged the Millennium Rod to his chest and glared at the police from behind a curtain of dark hair. An officer stood before them, trying to ask the kid questions and receiving nothing in answer.

"So we parked right in front of the building and—actually, I left my keys in that car," Duke was saying, acting calm and completely casual. "Would it be possible for me to go along with you guys and get them back? Because, you know, I can't go home without my keys."

"Like I said yesterday, I really didn't see his face." Marik placed one hand over the injury on his arm, the bandage clean and recently replaced. "I don't remember anything new about it."

"He blew up the entire island, and he tried to blow us up with it," Yugi was telling another officer with a notebook. "We're so lucky that we even made it off the island."

"They had broken in through the window, and—now that I think about it, I don't even know how they knew we would be there," Anzu explained to yet another cop as she described Mokuba's abduction from Joey's house during the tournament. "Because that wasn't even his house. They must have been following us and I had no idea."

The complete chaos of the situation hit Ryou all at once, and suddenly he was holding onto Joey as much to support himself as to guide his friend.

Everyone was sharing everything, and there was so much to share.

Everyone but Mokuba, who seemed to have reached his limit. The cop speaking to him started to crouch down, to meet Mokuba on his level but the kid had had enough of the questions. He tore himself out of Dr. Bakura's hold and ran towards Joey and Ryou. Ryou held out an arm, and Mokuba ran right into him. The cop followed Mokuba with his eyes, then straightened up to address Ryou's father.

From this distance, Ryou couldn't hear them, but he didn't care. He hugged Mokuba as tightly as he could with one arm, refusing to release Joey with the other.

"Excuse me, sir."

Ryou looked up from hugging Mokuba at the cop that had approached them. The kid's hold had tightened at the sound of yet another strange adult's voice.

"Can I ask you and your friend some questions?"

"No." Ryou didn't even need to think before answering. "He's in shock, he can't talk right now." Hopefully Joey's blank stare was convincing. "And I wasn't there for whatever happened, so no, I'm not talking to you right now."

He led Joey and Mokuba away to some empty chairs and made them both sit down. He could feel the cop's eyes on him, but he didn't look back at the man. He wasn't ready to talk.

Ryou sat down next to Mokuba, who held the Millennium Rod against his chest, and placed a light hand on his shoulder.

"I'm so sorry, Mokuba." He started to blink away tears. "I'm sorry that I let this happen."

Mokuba didn't respond.

Mai Kujaku was settled in at her hotel room in comfortable clothes trying to decide what she'd be doing for dinner when her phone rang. She answered it without looking at the number.

"Hello?"

"Mai."

"Joey? What's up?"

"Seto's in the hospital and Noah Kaiba's dead."

Mai stiffened, then took a deep breath.

"What happened?"

"Noah kidnapped Mokuba again. It ended… badly."

"Did Seto kill him?"

Not the most tactful thing to say, but it was the first thing that came to mind with the news phrased like that.

"I don't know," Joey answered breathlessly. "But I know he wanted to."

"I see." Mai couldn't blame him. An eye for an eye is the way of life, after all.

"I just thought you should know."

"Is he in the ER?"

"He's in the trauma center."

It was pretty bad, then.

"Who else is at the hospital with you?"

"Everybody from Battle City, Yugi's grandpa, Ryou's dad…" The list trailed off inconclusively.

"I'll be there soon. Text me the address and everybody's coffee orders."

"Coffee?" Joey couldn't process the idea of food right now.

"Yeah, coffee. I'll get something for everybody, so none of that 'oh, don't worry about me' crap. Okay?"

"Okay."

"And Joey?"

"Yeah?"

"How are you holding up?"

"I… don't know."

"I'll be there soon. Hang in there."

"Okay."

Joey's numb voice scared her, but she had to take this one step at a time. Comforting people wasn't exactly her specialty, but she knew that a free coffee drink should make anyone feel better, even if only a little bit.

"How did you drive without spilling all of the drinks?" Duke asked, impressed with her as he helped with sorting and passing out the drinks. The police had all left for the time being, and everyone was more relaxed as a result.

"It's called skill, babe," Mai teased with a wink in Duke's direction, which made him grin. She smiled back, then looked away and called, "Hey, Mokuba, come over here."

The child hesitated before standing from his chair, Amane rising with him and holding his hand.

"Don't think I forgot about you and your girlfriend." Mai winked and handed them two small-sized cups. "Hot chocolate with extra whipped cream."

"Thanks, Mai." Mokuba couldn't muster up a smile for her, but Amane smiled bright enough for them both. The children retreated back to their seats, hot chocolates in hand. Mai turned to Anzu on her other side.

"They're awfully cute together. Do you think it'll last?"

"I don't know, but I think it's good that they have each other right now." Anzu picked up Ishizu's tea and crossed the room to bring it to the other woman, who was sharing a fiercely whispered conversation with her older brother in their native language. Ishizu accepted the drink, interrupting herself enough to thank Anzu before continuing what she was saying to Rishid.

Mai had been saving Joey's drink for last. She put it on the table next to her own and approached the stunned teen who stood too near the doors leading to where Seto was. The doors that read in well-spaced all-caps, "Trauma."

"Hey," she greeted, and after a few moments, he met her gaze. After his talk with Ryou, Joey had shut down again. "Let's go for a walk." Mai held out her hand to him.

Joey looked back at the double doors that he was expressly forbidden from entering.

"He's still going to be in there when we get back," she said softly, hand still extended as she waited.

It took Joey a few moments, but his hand found hers. Mai gave it a little squeeze and carefully led Joey outside the hospital. She found a quiet corner tucked in against the side of the building, where half-hearted shrubbery was planted beside the concrete walls. Mai turned to face Joey.

"How are you really doing, hun?"

Joey blinked, eyes finding focus again.

"I can't stand waiting," he whispered, Mai stepping closer to hear him better. "He was alive when I found him. I held him in my arms. I know he was alive."

Mai took Joey's other hand and thought about his words. So Seto really was in danger of dying, then.

"Do you need to cry?"

"Probably." Joey's fingers flexed and curled in her hands as he thought. "I don't think I can right now."

"When you're ready to cry, I'll be right here for you."

Mai dropped his hands and put her arms around him. He quickly returned the embrace, crushing her into his chest with the force of his grief. It took her breath away.

It was obvious to everyone that Mokuba wasn't doing well. The Bakuras had an unspoken duty of stewardship over him; Amane was glued to Mokuba's side, and either Ryou or Kenji were always close by. Everyone in the group was keeping an eye on him, though, and that made it worse. He felt watched, and it made his skin itch.

At least he had Amane, whose hand he never released unless it was necessary for signing to her, but even with her, he didn't explain how he felt.

Mokuba didn't tell anyone that he thought this was a waste of time; maybe Seto had been alive right after the fall, but there was no way that he would ultimately survive. He couldn't. It made no sense. His brother was tough and could take a lot of hits—he'd witnessed more of his father's beatings than Seto realized—but a hit from the earth after free-falling fifty stories? No, nobody could survive that.

One hand in Amane's, the other clutching the Millennium Rod. He sat like that without speaking a word. Dark gray eyes watched his brother's friends talk, rearranging into little pairs and threesomes to chat about nothing at all, just to pass the time. Eyes darted over at him once in a while, filled with pity. He hated it.

Mokuba looked down at the golden artifact in his hand. He still didn't understand why his brother was attached to this object enough to carry it with him everywhere. Why he was attached enough that he didn't sell it when they were so desperate for money. He had a theory, though. Based on everything he'd seen and overheard so far, Mokuba had figured out that these "Millennium Items" were the source of a dark magic. Ryou's Ring had possessed him with an evil spirit, and Yugi's Puzzle had given him the Pharaoh (whoever that was). The powers of the Eye remained a mystery to him, but he remembered it glowing brightly when Pegasus did something to him, something that had sent him into a choking black void until he woke up in Ryou's arms with no sense of how much time had passed.

Just remembering Pegasus made him shiver. Golden objects and bright lights, possessing spirits and liquid shadows. He wished that he and Seto weren't caught up in any of this at all. He wanted to go back to normal life, with his brother looking for a second job so that they could move out.

Just last week, Mokuba had asked his brother for more details of the plan, and Seto had sat down with him to elaborate. He wanted a small apartment, but he promised his little brother would get his own room. He'd been looking forward to that, to finally getting his own room again and getting to decorate it any way he wanted. Seto had warned him that things would still be tight for a while even after they moved out. They were starting new lives from scratch, and it would take time to buy all the furniture and general goods that they needed. But once they had that apartment, they'd be good. Now more babysitting, no more late nights, no more being afraid of the place they called home.

At least, that was the plan, but Mokuba knew that hospitals were expensive. Seto had often complained about how expensive most things were. Would Mokuba still owe the hospital money even if Seto died?

His shoulders hunched and he closed his eyes. He knew what was going to happen next. Sooner or later, a nurse would come out and tell him that his brother was dead. Everyone would cry and hug him and express their sympathies. He would go home with Joey or the Bakuras. The police would probably take him home to his father, and that might not last long if they had the misfortune of meeting the man for themselves.

Lost in his own thoughts of the inevitable, Mokuba barely noticed Marik taking the seat next to him.

"Hi," the Egyptian said, and was ignored. He cleared his throat. "How are you doing, Mokuba?"

That earned him a dark glare.

"May I see the Millennium Rod for a moment?"

"No." Mokuba's glare narrowed. "It doesn't belong to you."

Ryou, sitting across from Mokuba, exchanged a glance with Marik.

"I only need to hold it for a moment–"

"No!"

"Okay, okay." Marik looked as uncomfortable as he felt. "How about this: you keep holding it, and I just touch it for a few seconds?"

"Why?"

"I want to communicate with Seth."

"Who is Seth?" Mokuba demanded, getting angrier by the moment.

"Seth is a friend," Marik assured, hoping the kid would listen to him. "He's a spirit, and he lives in the Rod. He speaks to your brother, gives him advice."

"Like…" Mokuba hesitated, the anger fading from his face. "Like Yugi's Pharaoh?"

"Yes, exactly like that!" Marik smiled encouragingly, and Ryou's frown softened.

"And you can talk to Seth too, not just Seto?"

"I have before." Lavender eyes glanced at Ryou and saw his curiosity. "I want to see if I can again."

Mokuba considered this. He didn't like Marik nearly as much as he liked Ryou, but Ryou trusted him completely.

Cautiously Mokuba extended the Millennium Rod in Marik's direction, saying, "You can touch it, but I hold it."

Marik nodded and extended his hand, placing it on top of the rounded head of the scepter. He closed his eyes, and for several long seconds, he was silent. Then he removed his hand and opened his eyes again, looking troubled.

"I can barely feel him there at all."

"What does that mean?" Ryou asked.

"I don't know." Marik sighed and thought for a moment. "I think… he's weak right now."

"Weak? From what?"

"Seth spent his magic to save your brother's life."

Mokuba looked over his shoulder to see Ishizu behind him. She looked down at him with tranquil certainty.

"I told you, Mokuba, that your brother will be alright. Seth is the reason why."

Mokuba dropped his gaze from Ishizu to stare back at the Millennium Rod's eye.

"Seth is still weak because of what he spent to save Seto, but they will both recover." She nodded at her brother, who nodded back. "I don't know how long it will be before he can communicate with anyone."

"I was hoping that he could give us some answers," Marik explained, feeling the need to justify himself to his sister.

"I know." Ishizu stared back at Marik, who wanted so badly to ask her what had happened, but no. If she wouldn't share with him what had happened of her own will, then he wouldn't ask.

A/N: Ishizu is trying her best to only use the Necklace for the right reasons, but like everyone else right now, she's struggling.