(EDIT: So sorry for making you guys wait so long for this chapter- unfortunately, a lot happened in my personal life at the same time, but I'm doing better (very tired of hospital food, though!). I hope you all are doing well, and thank you for your patience!)

Ryou let out a soft yelp as he felt a fist collide with his stomach. He doubled over, and winced as he heard a vicious voice snarl into his ear.

"You're gonna die here, f*t."

There was another blinding hit, this time just below his left eye. The force of the blow lead the unfortunate teen to briefly see stars before he slumped onto the unforgiving pavement. The other bullies surrounded him, cursing him and egging on their leader.

Ryou glanced up and saw a cold hatred burning in Ushio's eyes. He knew, right then and there, that he was a fool.

'Why... did I ever come back?' The wounded youth let his mind wander as his body was subjected to more and more pain. 'Wonderland wasn't just real- it was paradise. And I threw it all away... for what? For a father who doesn't care about me? For my peers, who hate me?' Now the slender teen wrapped his arms around his head, trying to protect it from the kicking and punching. He was being attacked from every side, every blow emphasized by the harsh laughs of his tormentors.

Apparently the price for rejecting the impossible would be death.

'I hope Yugi got away alright…' Ryou could feel a warm trickle of blood running down his right cheek, but he didn't bother wiping it away. Protecting his head was far too important. 'He nearly saved me twice… I wish I could have thanked him more…'

A disturbingly metallic noise brought Ryou back to reality. Ushio had managed to grab a thick chain from somewhere, and he was now wielding it like a particularly cruel whip. The vicious *THW-WAK!* of the metal lashing against the alley walls sounded like the promise of broken bones for its target.

"Hold that brat still." Ushio ordered the other brutes with a sneer. "This's gonna get messy."

Two seniors held each of Ryou's arms in place while the others quickly blocked the view from the street.

"A freak like you, walking around our turf? Nah, not happenin'. Not on my watch." Ryou tried to turn his face away, but another arm held his head in place. He felt a chill when he saw just how intense Ushio's eyes were- they were almost gleefully murderous. "Hmph- you look exactly like a sickly little girl, so I'll do you a favor…" here he lashed one of the thick chains, "...and make your face unrecognizable for your funeral." More howls of laughter rose from the surrounding deviants. The rough noises echoed eerily across the alleyway. "But hey; look at it this way! At least you can be a man in death!" A truly unnerving grin spread across the larger teen's face as he leaned closer to his victim, his right hand raising the chain almost level with Ryou's face.

'This is it-!' The pale teen felt another tear slip down his cheek as he braced for the merciless impact of thick metal.

The other end of the chain whip suddenly dropped with a loud, metallic clatter as Ushio let out an excruciating roar. "ARHGHHH! What the f*?!"

Hanging just off the aggressor's right ankle was a fluffy, black blob.

"Yugi-kun!" Ryou felt his relief instantly turn to horror. There was no way the diminutive rabbit could stand up to a group of high-school thugs! "Yugi, you need to run!"

"ONE OF YOU, SKIN THAT D*MN THING!" The enraged leader bellowed to his flunkies as he tried to shake the rabbit off his leg. But Yugi nimbly hopped out of range as soon as he'd drawn blood. He'd already done what he'd set out to do, and the furry distraction retreated to the front of the alley as a new opponent appeared.

Had Ryou's jaw not been so swollen, it would have likely dropped open in sheer confusion. There was no mistaking that wild head of hair- it was Yami, dressed in what was clearly metal armor (though it looked like nothing Ryou had ever seen in any book or museum). The bluish-purple sleeves seemed to move like liquid rather than metal, and the overall appearance was rather like a snake's scales stretched into long, interlocking ovals.

But the former knight wasn't alone. Another young man stood slightly to the side of the first warrior, only this one's metallic chain-mail was colored a deep, brownish-red.

It matched his eyes.

'No- that's not him-?!' Ryou continued staring, his mind reeling with pain and dizziness. 'Am I dreaming? Is this some sort of mad hallucination that your brain forms when you're dying?!'

But the second young man to approach the group was no phantasm. Indeed, the furious monarch stepped forward, his right arm holding the strangest sword Ryou could imagine (it looked like an elongated 'S' with inversely-curved spikes carved into the edges). The unexpected appearance and bizarre garb of the newcomers shocked the other brawlers into a stunned silence, and Bakura stepped through the tormentors unopposed. He stopped just a foot away from Ushio and his victim, the king's livid voice cutting through the air like the hiss of a viper.

"How dare you miserable lot lay your hands on him, you rancid swine!" The royal then drew back his left fist before smashing the armored appendage right into Ushio's nose.

It was like someone had suddenly turned the sound back on. Half of the cowardly assailants fled in sheer panic, while the other half set upon Bakura and his devoted former-knight.

'Eh?' As his 'guards' fled, Ryou finally was able to wipe the blood out of his face and stared, still unsure if his injured mind was playing tricks on him. He called out through his painfully swollen jaw: "K-King Bakura?!"

Instantly, the foreign monarch turned from thrashing the remaining bullies and snapped at the downed student. "Yugi told me me what was happening as soon as I arrived on this side- what the hell is wrong with you? Why would you go out alone when there's b*stards like that setting after- you-?!"

The royal fighter's voice pitched as he felt an unexpected weight suddenly lean against him. In one swift moment, Ryou had (very awkwardly) stumbled to his feet and almost fallen against the royal. The boy's voice broke as he sobbed onto the surprised king's shoulder. "I'm sorry- I'm so sorry!" His eyes were closed as he trembled against the otherworlder's form, tears falling as freely as his growing regret. "I don't know why I thought I needed to come back; I… I just thought your world was too wonderful to actually exist! I thought I must've imagined it or something.…" Ryou trailed off and buried his face deeper in the dark blue cloak surrounding his savior.

"..." Bakura felt a bit bewildered, but then he sighed and shook his head. Slowly, he wound his arms around the sniffling figure. "Heh. Well, it IS called 'Wonderland,' you dear little fool."

Ryou continued lightly sobbing, rocking ever-so-slightly from side-to-side while borrowing the other's strength to stand. "I want to go back… please, I just want to go back."

"Then we shall return immediately." The wild-haired monarch grinned as he held out his left hand. "I will allow no sorrow to mar your attractive visage."

Despite actively punching out a rather large high school bully, Yami managed to case a disbelieving glance towards the suddenly poetic ruler. 'Good heavens, he's fallen completely!'

Ryou quickly managed a blush stronger than the king's crimson armor; but he nodded, gratefully taking the larger hand into his own. "I would like that more than anything." The pair exchanged excited grins, ignoring the sounds coming from behind them.

Evidently Yami's skill in battle was enough to overwhelm the remaining teens. The last of the immature tormentors fled, none of them quite sure just what had happened. Ushio was left behind, lying against one of the alley's brick walls. His unconscious form was seated amongst a most undignified pile of garbage.

King Bakura drew his blade towards the blacked-out deviant, but Ryou only shook his head. "He's not worth your time, your majesty. He has a reputation around these parts that's about to take a serious dive- let him tell the tale of how knights from another realm managed to beat him and his cronies to a pulp."

The king's eyebrows raised in surprise. "Tch. You're almost as devious as I am." But he sheathed his blade. "As you wish." Ryou was about to respond, when the light scampering of tiny paws sounded near the alleyway entrance. A familiar dark ball of fur had just re-appeared in sight.

"YUGI! Yugi, are you alright?!" The frantic former knight quickly scooped up the small, black fluff in his palms and began berating him in a serious tone. "That was incredibly reckless of you! What if you'd gotten lost on the way past the portal, or been hurt by-" Though undoubtedly trying to sound stern and reproaching, Yami's voice began growing softer and softer until he sighed. The ex-knight then glanced down at the tiny, black bundle of fluff staring back at him and shook his head. "I must admit, it's very hard to chastise you when you look like that. I really didn't think it was possible for you to become cuter, aibou."

The little dark rabbit suddenly buried his face in his paws while his ears slid backwards, as though he had been thoroughly embarrassed.

Yami only let out a light chuckle before tenderly placing his lips against the bunny's forehead. "Sorry, my love; but it seems I simply cannot resist your adorableness in any form."

King Bakura mimed a gagging motion behind their back, leaving Ryou to stifle his own laughter. It was hard to deny Yugi's cuteness, but evidently seeing his own former knight acting so amorously was too much for the young ruler.

But apparently Yugi had discovered something while the 'battle' had taken place- Yami leaned closer as the rabbit made some (what at least seemed to Ryou to be) utterly intelligible noises. The once-knight's eyes widened, and his voice soon turned from relief, to panic. "The portal Yugi originally led you through- the only way back to Wonderland- it's closing!"

Ryou felt a ripple of fear run through his body. "There's no knowledge of the portal locations in this realm- we'll be trapped here!"