"Katsuya!"

Meisa managed to slip in under his arm and catch him, her blood running cold when she realised parts of him were missing, his clothes were melted and burned, his back was blistered, and he wasn't responding, no matter how much she tried.

"Katsu!"

As the Duel Disks timed out, the Shadows drew back into their summoner, restoring Hanaq's form as she approached.

"I doubt he'll wake. Ra's fire is too much for a mortal soul to handle, and no matter how bound to you he is, he is still very much mortal."

"If he dies…" The Pharaoh started, the Puzzle's glow chasing away the darkness that'd consumed parts of her friend and restoring what'd been lost of his physical form.

"Ah ah ah." Hanaq smirked, waggling her finger in the Pharaoh's face, "Battle City rules, dear. You can't attack me, physically or magically, unless you want the Shadows to judge you for me."

The Pharaoh froze with a frustrated growl.

"I did you a favour anyway." Hanaq chuckled as Meisa had to shift to support Katsuya's weight. "They wanted me to bring the Thief Queen back. They were traitors. Getting rid of them makes you safer. Weaker too, which is fine by me."

Her words made Meisa's scowl deepen.

"With the Thief Queen gone, you're nothing but a leech. One I plan to squash. Bit by bit. How much power do you have left now? With most of your court gone, it can't be much. I wonder how many more I have to erase to bring you to your knees...?"

"Don't take your hatred of me, out on them. You have no right…"

"They confronted me first. I have every right. Now, let me have my victim, Pharaoh." Hanaq approached, her Shadows reaching out and weaving around the Queen, "He lost to me. I'm owed his soul. What's left of it anyway."

"You can't have him." The Pharaoh couldn't attack, but she could shield herself. Unleashing her own magic pushed Hanaq's away from her and the unconscious form in her arms. "I won't let you."

"You can't stop me." The older Shadow mage pushed back, daring to run her fingers under the Pharaoh's chin and tilt it up so she could stare directly into her eyes. "He's mine and if you get in my way, I'll be forced to…"

"Back. Off!"

A burst of light erupted between Meisa and Hanaq, pushing Ishizu's Wrath back. When it died down, Yugi was between them, in physical form, rather than spectral, Puzzle glowing like a flare in the night, arms spread wide, normally wide purple eyes narrowed in a glare that spoke volumes.

And above her the Sky Dragon of Osiris appeared, letting out an almighty roar as storm clouds rolled in.

"Imoto…" The Pharaoh breathed as lightning struck and Osiris started to build an attack in its maw, astounded that the God had come at her call and able to sense that Yugi was burning what little magic she had to spare to protect those she cared about.

Hanaq stared at Yugi, stunned. She was just a doll. How did she have a God's respect?

"You would attack me? The Shadows will rebel." She warned, raising an eyebrow.

"This isn't an attack. It's defence. You laid a hand on my sister, hurt my friends, want to kill my boyfriend." Yugi bit out, trembling with the sheer effort needed to hold her magically provided physical form and the God Monster. "You made the first move. Now leave. Before I make mine."

"Get out the way, girl." Hanaq had to respect the sheer balls of the move the doll was making. "You're mortal too. I could kill you in a heartbeat. Though I may not have to if you push yourself too far."

"You can't touch me without breaking the rules." Yugi shook her head, fully aware that she had maybe seconds before she lost the God or the form, or possibly both, but managing to hold her voice level and furious. "And I can hold this as long as I need to. Leave my friends and my sister alone. Now."

"You realise, little doll, that God or no God, she doesn't really need you?" Hanaq refused to show the fear that bubbled under the surface, even as she backed up a step. "One day she'll realise that she could be whole, if she just ripped the parts you stole from her, out of you, and took them back."

The shocked noise that escaped Meisa made Hanaq raise her head to look at her.

"You didn't know, Pharaoh?"

The demon possessed woman raised an eyebrow as she dared to lash out, wrapping her magic around Yugi and squeezing, holding her still. With its summoner held by the enemy, biting back the pained whimper that her enemy desired, Osiris froze, the Lightning Strike that'd been ready to launch, fading away.

"You could have your full strength back. You could be a full, living soul again."

Yugi tried to retreat to the Puzzle, but the Shadows held her firm, preventing her escape.

"Let her go!" The Pharaoh snarled as Hanaq grabbed Imoto's hair, and pulled, dragging her head back so the Wrath could see the fear in Yugi's eyes, only for Yugi to glare back, refusing to feed Hanaq any more power.

"All you'd need to do is rip this little girl apart and take the parts you need. The Ba…"

Yugi flinched as the Shadows dragged a little of her already low life energy to the surface, causing an aura of white and gold miasma that twisted and spun in the Shadows' grasp.

"The Khat…"

The aura was forced down by the darkness until it highlighted Yugi's form, reminding Meisa that the Khat was the physical body.

"And the Jb."

On Jb, she let go of Yugi's hair and the Shadows sunk deep into the girl, contracting until they squeezed her heart.

The agony of it made Yugi cry out and fall to her knees, her hands going to her chest as she lost her grip on the magic, curled into herself and slipped into spectral form.

Osiris lashed out, his burst of electricity forcing Hanaq to back away from his summoner, before he faded away and the Pharaoh's eyes blazed with power, ready to defend her twin from a second attack, forcing Hanaq to consider her options.

With the Shadows turning on her, letting her enemies get a hit in, she was getting a warning that she'd used up the goodwill she'd gained from killing the Thief Queen.

If she laid another hand on the doll tonight, she would pay the price.

"Leave. Now." The Pharaoh growled as she tugged on her connection to her twin.

Now free, Yugi willingly retreated to her Soul Room, her heart still aching from the magic.

"I would never hurt her like that. No matter the cost to me. And if you lay another hand on her, I'll remove it. Understand?"

"Completely."

Between the threat from the darkness, the fact the Shadows would swing as far for the Pharaoh as they had for her, and the small group of people approaching, awoken and drawn by the light Ra had been giving off and the appearance of Osiris, Hanaq didn't dare take a risk and try anything else.

Instead she stalked past. "Goodnight, Pharaoh."

Meisa didn't wait until Hanaq was completely out of sight to lower Katsuya to the ground. She couldn't, his weight finally overwhelmed her tiny frame and dragged her to the ground.

"Yugi! Jonouchi!"

Honda dove to their side as Meisa squirmed out from under Katsuya, her heart pounding as she finally took in that he wasn't breathing.

"Stay with me, Katsuya." She hissed, placing her hand on his chest and focusing.

His heartbeat was fading, uneven and unsteady beneath her palm, but it was there, slowing her panic when she reached for her almost exhausted magic.

Only for her world to fade out.

"Anzu, call the medics." Honda snapped out, having caught up to them alongside Anzu, and having to slide in next to Meisa and stop her mid slump, relief hitting when she stirred and half opened her eyes.

"Meisa, don't."

"But…"

"Niisan!" Shizuka's shriek cut through the Pharaoh's barely audible protest.

The almost-teen collapsed to her knees at her brother's side, tears flowing down her face as she stared desperately at Meisa. "Help him! Please!"

"Yugi can't…!"

Anzu's protest went unnoticed as the Puzzle lit up and the Pharaoh's half-lidded eyes glowed as she reached deep into the very depths of what little reserves she had left.

Honda's eyes widened as he finally took in that his friend wasn't breathing, then he shifted to Katsuya's side and glanced around. Nodding when there were only allies close by, he snapped out, "Take life energy from us. Don't burn your own. You need to compete tomorrow but we can't lose him."

That wasn't quite how it worked, it would cost her mental and magical energy to focus their power and use the spells needed but much less than it would to try and heal Katsuya without their support.

Still, they didn't need to know that. Not right now.

"He's not gone, not yet. His heart beats." Meisa promised, the Eye of Anubis blazing upon her brow as she yanked every drop she could safely take, causing Shizuka to whimper and Honda to waver.

As her friends did CPR, Anzu and Shizuka providing the rescue breaths, to Honda's chest compressions, the Pharaoh cast her magic, aided by her twin, who helped her manage the energy flow. It wasn't easy. Working on injuries to the soul was easier than physical ones in some ways because they didn't have to worry about dirt or grime getting in and making their target ill afterwards, but working on both at the same time was utterly exhausting.

Katsuya's body and soul were a mess, requiring careful manipulation of the magics to ensure as fast a recovery as possible, with as little scarring as possible. Something that required every last drop of focus and magic.

Distracted by the victory of Katsuya taking a breath for the first time, she missed it when the medics, summoned by the emergency number Anzu had gotten from Jou's mother, poured onto the scene.

Including, unfortunately, the woman in question.

"Get away from him!"

Kawai snarled, shoving the Pharaoh into Honda, disrupting her concentration. The magic recoiled as it slipped from her grasp, sending it snapping back to those she was drawing from, sending their world reeling and Meisa mentally tumbling, unable to find her feet.

"You're in the way! Move!"

The Pharaoh tried but even attempting to get the body to respond caused the world to drop straight to black, forcing Honda to catch her before she could hit the ground.

Katsuya's Duel Disk slamming into her stomach brought Yugi back to the waking world in time to see the dark glower Kawai gave her as she and her team loaded Katsuya onto a stretcher and into the medical vehicle.

"Shizuka, come on." Kawai ordered her distraught daughter, who slipped into the ambulance without another word. "You. Mutou. This is your fault. He nearly died because of you. And if you or any of your cronies come anywhere near my children, ever again, you'll regret it. Understand?"

"I…"

Yugi didn't get to get more than one word out before the ambulance door slammed shut and it drove away. Yugi watched it go, her heart shattering as she sent out a silent prayer to any Kami or God that was listening, that he would be okay.

Even if Kawai never let her see him again.

"Come on, Yuge." Honda started to move away to rise to his feet, only to find that Yugi couldn't support herself. "Oh, shit…"

"...can't move…" The Puzzle Bearer mumbled out, trying to fight past the numbness in her limbs and the fading of her world to push herself up. "...need a minute..."

"Alright." Honda didn't move, shoring her up on one side, while Anzu curled in on the other, all three of them needing the support, mentally and physically.

One of them had stopped breathing. One soul had been burned down to its last embers and possibly faded away. Another had been shredded and scorched to ash. And another had been consumed by the darkness.

They were being picked off, one by one.

And now they were banned from the hospital and couldn't go check on those still living.

They sat there for a while, in silence, just comforting and supporting each other, until each of them were ready and able to move, then...

"I…" Yugi swallowed, still dizzy, still far, far too tired, and unable to get even that one word out without the tears she could feel building, becoming evident in her voice. "I want you all to stay away."

"Yugi, you're…"

"No." She forced herself to her feet, using Honda's shoulder to do so, holding herself as tall as she could.

"No. Not… not this time. I can't lose anyone else. I can't. You're safer if you're nowhere near her and I'll be able to focus easier because she won't be able to hurt you to get to me. I'm not saying stay away for good, I can't, I'll… I'll break..."

Honda rose to his feet with her as her voice cracked, but Anzu stared up, trying to understand.

"I don't want to lose you as friends, but right now? You need to stay back. For your sake and for mine."

"Yugi…"

"You know you're stronger with allies, right?" Anzu shot to her feet, scowling as she asked her question, "That by keeping us away, you're cutting your power?"

"You're my greatest strength, but you're also my worst weakness." Yugi admitted, unable to meet her gaze, barely holding back sobs.

"And Hanaq is taking you all out because she knows that. She knows that losing you all would… would be more than I can take. I'm used to being hurt. I'm used to people taking out their frustrations on me. I'm used to being in pain every single day. I can't… I can't bear it when it's you guys that are hurt. Especially when it's my fault."

"It's not your…"

"Yes, it is!" Yugi's voice was almost a scream, cutting her friends off as they recoiled in shock.

"It's my fault Anesan's out cold. That Amane's in a coma. That Ba-Khu-Ra's in pieces. That Rebecca got attacked, and Katsu stopped… stopped breathing! It's. On. Me. Because I couldn't, wouldn't act before this… this disaster happened. I can't ask you to be there. I can't. Not when I can't protect you… not when it might… might get you hurt too."

Yugi's tears broke their dam and tumbled down her cheeks. Her voice faded to silence on the last word, as Honda glanced at Anzu who reached to pull Yugi into a hug.

Only for Yugi to pull away.

"I don't…"

"Mutou Yugi, shut up and take this hug."

Before Yugi could protest again, Anzu had her in a tight hug and she held her friend until she stopped crying. Once she was certain Yugi was going to be able to stand on her own, she let go, allowing Yugi to back up.

"I don't agree it's your fault." Anzu's shoulders sank.

"You couldn't do anything about Zorc without the God cards and you couldn't know Ishizu was going to go this crazy. But you're not wrong. She's going to do her best to hurt you and the best way to do that is through us. So you have to promise us, if we stick close to security and stay away from the competitor areas until this is over, you're going to come back safely. No trying to leave us. Not again."

"I didn't mean to leave at the docks, but I promise, I'm going to survive this and come back to you all." Yugi swore, still disconcerted herself by her trip back from the underworld and the warning Anubis had given her while there.

"You won't be sent back a second time."

She didn't have another life to spend. Ishizu's attack and the resulting drowning at the docks had cost her the one 'extra life' she had. She had no choice but to be careful now, especially with the way the Shadows were seeping through the cracks in the seal.

"You'd better." Honda huffed, unamused, but as aware as Anzu that they couldn't stand against the magic of the Millennium Rod as he let Yugi lean into him, so she could get back to the apartments to rest. "Because I don't want to be the one to tell Jonouchi you got offed."

"If he…" Yugi swallowed, her voice cracking again.

"He'll make it. He's too tough a bastard to stay down."

"And if his Okaasan doesn't let him talk to us?" Anzu worried, "Or us talk to him?"

"Oh, don't worry about that. She's had no say in his life till recently, so he's not gonna let her stop him."

He saw the postures and expressions of the girls perk up a little at his reassurance, but Honda just hoped that he was right and Jou would survive and Kawai wouldn't pull some sort of bullshit and use Shizuka to control Jonouchi, because she seemed the type.

Still, if it allowed Yugi to sleep, he would keep his fears to himself.

"Come on, let's get to bed. If you're gunna do something nuts tomorrow, you actually need to rest. Hopefully Meisa will feel better too."

Yugi paused at the apartment door, reached down the soul link and let out a sigh. Anesan was still out cold and unresponsive, but at least here, Yugi knew what she was sensing.

She knew the silence well. It was the same silence from the beginning of their time together, from when she'd been sick and from when she'd been recovering from the fire. They were so worn down and had spent so much power today that they just didn't have enough left for them to be awake at the same time.

Which meant sleep was desperately required if they were both going to be functional in the morning.

She glanced at her phone and checked the time. She had to be at the stadium by ten, so she didn't have much time for sleep, but any was better than nothing and retreating to her Soul Room would at least let her body rest, even if her mind and soul wouldn't stop. And she didn't think they would.

Not with Katsuya's condition, and now she knew what had really happened to Ishizu.

"I'm hoping so." She gave Honda a watery smile, "Good night."

Seeing it, Honda gave Anzu a look. When the dancer nodded in reply, agreeing to keep an eye on and look after their friend, he was able to relax, knowing Yugi was in good hands. He let Anzu take over as physical support and turned toward his own bed.

"See you in the morning."


As the first rays of the sun peeked through the curtains, Rishid felt his chest tighten and his heart sink.

Today was the last day of Battle City and either the Pharaoh would live through the pain that was to come, or she wouldn't.

If the Pharaoh lost, the already cracked dam holding back the Shadows would give way, letting the darkness flood the world and unleashing everything on the other side.

If the Pharaoh won, if she defeated Hanaq, then he and Marik would, most likely, lose their sister forever.

Either way, it felt like the world was ending.

Yugi's theory wasn't proven. There was no guarantee Ishizu was still in there. He wanted to hope, but he found it hard to do anymore. Not after seeing the state Jonouchi was in and not after finding out that Hanaq had dragged an innocent child into the darkness.

The Ishizu he knew wouldn't have allowed that to happen. Wouldn't have let a girl that wasn't yet a teen be fed to the Shadows. Wouldn't have hurt a child.

And yet…

Seeing Kawai and her daughter panicking over the unconscious form of their son and brother reminded him that all they had done for the last thirty-two hours was hurt and traumatise children.

Even the Pharaoh, the Spirit who lived within Yugi, was only a teenager. She'd died at sixteen, sacrificed to put an end to a war started by adults. She'd been an adult then, a Pharaoh who'd come of age three years before her demise. But now, in the modern era, she was just another teen caught up in the pain and fury caused by those around her who should have known better.

A stupidly powerful teen, but a teen none-the-less.

He wanted to hate her. He wanted to make her pay for what'd happened to his sister and brother, but he couldn't. Ishizu had damaged the Pharaoh's doll, stopping her heart and breaking the rules of a Shadow Game, and Marik had been the one who'd created a false God card. They'd gotten themselves into the states they were in and he was no better.

His weakness, his inability to fight, to help his family, was his own fault. He'd tried to sacrifice Shizuka's soul and break the fighting spirit of Jonouchi to protect his family, and had come out the worse for it.

He wanted to blame the Pharaoh for their conditions, but they'd done this to themselves. There was no way to deny it.

And now they had to pay for it.

A shift in the light by the door made his head snap up in time to see the auburn haired girl whose soul he'd nearly fed to the darkness, slipping into the room. Her brown eyes widened as they met his and she bit her lower lip.

"Your brother's room is the next one over." Rishid offered, expecting her to back out, only for her shoulders to sink.

"Rishid… it's me. Ishizu."

Her words shocked him into silence, his whole body tensing for a moment before he had her pinned to the wall by her throat, "That's not funny."

"Rishid Ishtar… I wouldn't lie about this." The words gasped out around his hand, were in their native tongue, which Shizuka couldn't possibly know. "Put me down… I don't have long."

He carefully set her back on her feet. "Wh… what do you mean?"

"My soul's burned and shredded, my body's no longer mine." Ishizu's words were soft, sad. "I betrayed Hanaq when I hurt Yugi, and she tore me apart…"

"But she said…"

"I was dead? No. She wishes I was, she might think I am." Ishizu shook her head, tucking a strand of auburn hair behind her ear and wishing she dared style her host's look, "But after the duel against Bakura, I retreated through my bond to this one, and hid what was left of me within her."

"Hanaq… Hanaq did this to you?" Rishid's eyes widened as he took a step back, "But… why? You two have always tolerated each other."

"She'd have died when I killed Yugi. I can't… I won't blame her for hating me."

Neither sibling saw Marik's fingers twitch as he tried to force his badly burned soul into control of his vessel and failed, able to hear his siblings and relieved to hear Ishizu, even if she was in another's vessel.

Being unable to muster up the strength to see or speak to her almost broke him, until he felt Ishizu's fingers running through his hair.

"She's going to get us both killed." Ishizu murmured, unaware he could hear her and wishing she could talk to him one last time, "You know that right?"

"Yugi…"

"Shouldn't want to help me." Ishizu's breath shuddered, both from pain and because she could already feel her host waking. "I let Hanaq out, I let myself fall to my wrath and resentment, I killed her, and Hanaq is ripping apart her friends. Yugi can't help me, because she can't… Rishid… the dam is cracked. I cracked it when I stopped Yugi's heart. The Shadows will escape now, it's just a matter of time. Wasting time saving me? When I was the one who broke everything? I'm not worth it…"

"Yes, you are!"

At Rishid's snap, Ishizu froze.

"You made a mistake, you let your pain control you, but you don't…" Rishid's breath hitched. "You deserve a chance to live as much as everyone else!"

"I'm responsible for everyone's pain. Yours, Marik's, everyone's. If I hadn't listened to that asshole, if I'd trusted Yugi, we wouldn't be in the mess. Because I wouldn't have lashed out, I wouldn't have done what I did…"

Ishizu trailed off, her hands and voice trembling. Rishid didn't hesitate to pull her into a hug, trying to ignore how weird it felt for his sister to be the size of a twelve year old, rather than the adult he knew her as.

Neither of them saw Nurse Kawai in the doorway, drawn from her son's side by her 'daughter's' movements.

"The Millennium Items manipulate their wielders." Rishid reminded Ishizu as he held her close. "You've been in contact with one for years now, after being betrayed by the people we were supposed to trust. That you've come to this point, isn't your fault."

"I can't…" Ishizu swallowed as she pulled away. "I can't blame everything on that. The Tomb Keepers did push me, you're not wrong, but I'm the one who made the choices I did. I poisoned and killed Yugi, I ripped Shizuka's soul out, I puppeteered Jonouchi, and I betrayed Hanaq. That Hanaq then took that pain out on Yugi's friends is on me, too. I broke her trust and gave her a reason to truly Fall. All of it is on me. Not Yugi, me. So if I don't survive this, please… don't take it out on her."

"I… I won't, but Ishizu?" Rishid's voice trembled. "Don't let go. Fight for every moment. Please? Life won't be the same without you."

"I'll try, but… Rishid, if I'm gone… look after Marik for me? Please?"

"Of course I will but stay? As long as you can?"

"O…"

"What… what is going on here?" At the sound of a voice at the door, they wheeled to look, flinching when they realised they were being watched.

"Doctor…"

"Who are you and what have you done to my daughter?" Kawai's voice hardened as she stalked into the room and shut the door behind her.

"She's here." Ishizu put her hand over her heart, "She's safe, I promise."

"Get the hell out of my daughter."

"Please," Rishid bowed as Kawai stepped forward, "Give us this time. You can have your daughter back in the morning, but let us have this."

"I know you don't owe me anything." Ishizu pleaded, "And that your family are hurt because of me, but I could be gone soon, let me talk to my brothers one last time."

Kawai hesitated. She was growing to hate magic but she understood wanting one last chance to talk to family. She still wished she had been there when her mother had passed on.

"If I leave you here, promise me, one of you will explain everything."

"I will." Rishid swore, "Thank you."

"Just don't make me regret it."

With that, she stepped out of sight. She didn't move far, just over to the nearest chair, where she could keep an eye on Katsuya's readings and still hear everything. After all, listening at the door had already given her food for thought, and she wanted to see if there was anything else.

That, and she needed to be available if something put Shizuka at risk.


Author Note: "Side B - The Knight" goes with this chapter