The Return

Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh! belongs to Kazuki Takahashi.

While writing this story, I knew that I would eventually have to get into the whole "If Ryou's going through so many problems, why aren't his friends helping him?" plot hole. I found the answer in the typical profile for a sexually abused child: Ryou won't let them. Hence, his thoughts/actions in the bathroom.

The conversation about when Ryou started wearing the Ring after the Monster World story arc goes directly against dubbed!Yugi's whole "A Millennium Item!" line in chapter six. Just have a slip in memory when you get to that part.
~~~~~~~~~~~~

"...but some day the piecing together of dissociated knowledge will open up such terrifying vistas of reality and of our frightful position therein, that we shall either go mad from the revelation or flee from the deadly light into the peace and safety of a new dark age."

-- The Call of Cthulhu, H. P. Lovecraft


Ryou blinked when he found himself sitting on the balcony in Pegasus' castle. He shifted slightly, noting an odd feeling at his lower back and a sharper pain in his neck, and blinked again when he saw Mokuba lying a foot away. Did Tristan find them? What's happened?

The spirit helpfully supplied him with a few memories before slamming the mindlink off almost painfully. Ryou winced, then began to shuffle through the thoughts. They didn't start with him being locked in his soul room, so apparently it didn't matter if he could lie convincingly about whatever had occurred then. The memories began with him waving to the group, and Tristan saying....Okay, they thought he didn't remember anything. Well, he didn't, but he knew that something had happened. Ryou made a note that his other had lied by omission about that. Tea asked him to watch Mokuba, and then there was a blank. He could tell that something had occurred, but he didn't know what.

So, he had been controlled for a good portion of the duel and remembered nothing, not even that the controlling had happened, and then had been sitting here for a long time watching Mokuba. If he didn't talk very much, he might get away with this.

Ryou was trying to figure out when he'd gotten so good at lying when Mokuba groaned. He moved over to the boy and lifted him up slightly, making sure not to jolt him in the process. Mokuba was stirring, but he still had his eyes shut.

A shout came from downstairs, startling him. "Bakura! Hey, Bakura, ya still up there?" Joey called.

Ryou's stomach clenched. Wait, did they see me--him--me walking around? He phrased his answer carefully to distract them. "Yes. I'm with Mokuba. He's coming around!"

Hearing his name seemed to have finally dragged Mokuba back to consciousness. The boy blinked. "Huh? Bakura?" he asked, eyes trying to focus.

Ryou was about to answer when noise from the staircase made him look over. Joey and his friends were running up the stairs. Ryou started to frown when he realized that Yugi wasn't there.

You can't stop me....

"Is he okay?" Téa called.

Ryou glanced down again as the group ran up and stopped in front of him; he didn't try to stand up from his kneeling position. "Yes, Mokuba's fine."

Joey crouched down slightly with his hands on his knees. "So his soul's back in his body, huh?"

"That's a relief," Téa said with a smile.

Past Joey, Ryou saw Yugi running up the stairs. He skidded to a stop in front of Ryou, not paying attention to the other three turning towards him. "So, he's really all right?"

"He's fine," Téa answered, making Yugi turn to face the group.

"Who woulda believed Pegasus would keep his word?" Tristan said with cynical surprise.

Yugi scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, go figure." He turned back to Mokuba. "So, how're you doing, Mokuba? You feel up to getting off this island?" he asked in a quieter tone.

"Not without Seto. Where's my big brother?" Mokuba asked faintly. He tried to sit up, and Ryou braced him.

"He's somewhere in this castle," Yugi said comfortingly. "We'll find him. I bet he already knows you're safe."

Mokuba tried to sit up again, but his eyes shut and he slumped back against Ryou's hand. Yugi frowned at that, and Ryou looked up. "I think he's still worn out," Ryou offered.

Yugi nodded, and then there was the sound of footsteps behind him.

"Yugi. Joey."

"Croquet?" Yugi said. Ryou glanced over his shoulder at the guard, and there was a twinge of pain in his neck. He shifted, still trying not to jostle Mokuba too much.

Mr. Croquet walked forward until he was standing next to Ryou. "Due to his illness, Mr. Pegasus will be unable to attend."

Illness? Ryou wondered. He heard Yugi gasp. When did he get sick? He opened his mouth to ask Mr. Croquet what had happened.

You can't stop me.

Ryou closed his mouth. Then he looked over at Yugi, only to find that Yugi was staring at him. Joey said something, but Ryou missed it.

Pegasus was sick, and there was all that time missing between when Téa asked him to watch Mokuba and when he was actually back. Ryou finally glanced down at his own hands.

....

But Yugi was standing in front of him. All his friends were okay. That was all right, at least.

Yugi was still staring at him and Ryou couldn't think of anything to say. Asking the other teenager to stop looking at him like that might be taken as a sign of a guilty conscience.

Mr. Croquet was speaking again, and Yugi finally looked away. Ryou shifted Mokuba in his arms, ignoring his back. When Mr. Croquet brought out a box, Ryou's attention refocused. He watched the man's hands as he held the box out to Yugi.

"...there's this," Mr. Croquet said.

"Huh?" Yugi asked. "What is it?"

"It's a card called 'The Ties of Friendship,'" Mr. Croquet informed them. "It's the only one of its kind, hand-painted by Pegasus himself." Ryou watched as he tilted the box slightly so Yugi could take the card. "I was instructed to deliver it personally to Yugi Mutou. You are now, officially, King of Games."

Mr. Croquet let the box drop to his side, and Ryou finally got a good view of his hand. There wasn't any blood on it that he could see...but the man could have washed his hands. If only Ryou could see better, he could check whether Mr. Croquet had any traces of blood still under his fingernails or in the cracks of his knuckles like he did.

The guard reached into his suit and removed an envelope. "This contains a check for the prize money, won by Yugi in his duel with Joey Wheeler."

Out of the corner of his eye, Ryou saw the group turn and look at Yugi, who in turn looked at Joey.

"It's all yours, Joey. Just like I promised."

Joey looked startled, then he smiled. With a nod, he took the envelope. "You're the best, Yug'."

Ryou couldn't find any traces of blood on that hand either. So then, wasn't it possible that...maybe Pegasus had just gotten the flu....

His arms were getting tired, so Ryou looked back down at Mokuba and shifted him again. He realized that he'd missed part of the conversation when everyone turned to look at Mr. Croquet again.

"We'd like you all to leave." The guard nodded briefly and walked away. Ryou turned to give him one final glance, bracing a hand on the ground for balance, and winced when his neck protested.

He heard a clapping sound and turned back to look at Téa.

"Yugi! I just realized!" she exclaimed, leaning forward slightly. "If Mokuba's soul has returned, then maybe--"

Yugi grinned widely. "Yeah! It should mean that Grandpa's recovering too! I can't wait to get him out of that hospital."

Mokuba shook his head slightly and made a noise, drawing their atten.
n.

"Mokuba?" Ryou asked quietly. "Do you feel better?"

The boy managed to sit up this time, but Yugi had to give him a hand so that he could stand. "Where's Seto?"

There was a brief pause while Joey and Tristan looked at each other, and Ryou stood up, not taking Yugi's hand.

"If you were stuck down in the dungeon, then that's probably where Kaiba is as well. Our best bet's to start lookin' there," Tristan said. He looked at Ryou. "Do you remember anything about being downstairs?"

Hoping he wasn't about to get caught in a lie, Ryou shook his head carefully.

Tristan huffed. "All right. I rber ber some of it, hat\hat'll have to do. Just try not to get lost."

Téa raised an eyebrow. "Uh, I think Croquet was kicking us out. We shouldn't go sneaking around the castle."

"I'm not leaving until we've found Seto!" Mokuba said stubbornly, crossing his arms.

Yugi paused, then nodded. "Okay. I promised we'd find him, so we will."

"We could get arrested for breaking and entering or something." Téa shook her head, but her tone said she wouldn't argue with Yugi.

Tristan clapped Joey on the back. "Don't worry, Téa, that's why we're going to use Joey for bait!"

"What?!" the blond snapped.

"If we get caught looking for Kaiba down in the dungeon, you can just distract the guards by runnin' really fast," Tristan said. He smirked. "It's not like I don't know you can...."

Joey scowled. "Listen, you--"

"Guys!" Téa snapped.

They were about to head down the stairs, so Ryou decided it was time to speak up. "Um...."

Yugi looked at him. "What is it, Bakura?"

"I'll catch up to you soon, if that's all right. I'm going to find a bathroom first. My...my neck still hurts a little." Oh, of all the absurd reasons to give....

Tristan stuck his hands in his pockets. "Yeah, sorry about that. I was kinda low on options."

Ryou gave him a confused look, but Tristan shook it off with "I'll explain later" and started walking towards the stairs. Tea and Joey followed him, and Mokuba ran ahead calling, "Seto!"

"Hey, keep it down," Tristan warned him. "We don't want the guards catching us."

Yugi held back long enough to ask Ryou, "Are you okay?"

Ryou gave him a small smile. "Just my neck." He put a hand to what felt like a developing bruise to make his point.

"Yugi! Get down here and tell Téa that we know what we're doing!" Joey called. Téa's response to that was muffled, but definitely sarcastic. Yugi flashed a smile at him, then jogged to the stairs.

Ryou glanced around the empty gallery, then walked in the direction that he was pretty sure led to the guest bathroom. This place is too big, he thought absently.

~~~
Inside the bathroom, Ryou scrubbed his hands until he got all the blood out from the crevices, ignoring the way the hot water made his knuckles sting. He jammed his sleeves up and washed his wrists too, and half way up his arms before he realized that he was as clean as he was going to get. He really wanted to take a shower, but that would take too long, probably. They'd start getting suspicious.

Not 'they'. His friends. They weren't random people out to get him; they were trying to help.

The fact that he had to remind himself of that worried Ryou.

He glanced out the window. Was it really almost sunset? It had been afternoon when Yugi started dueling Pegasus, right? Or was it still morning? When...?

Ryou paused, then curled his hands into fists and slammed them against the sink. The thud made his scrubbed-raw hands ache, and he focused on that. It was an old trick, for when he started forgetting things too much.

Today. There had been the dream that wasn't a dream, and some blank spots, and it was easier to just let those thoughts go. That morning. Yugi dueled Mai, and then Joey dueled Bandit Keith. Okay. Then Yugi had dueled Joey. Right...they'd all been getting hungry on top of being anxious, because it was one o'clock when the duel finished. Then Pegasus walked off, and they had eaten lunch. Then he'd been talking to Tristan...and it all quit.

But it had been afternoon when Yugi had dueled. So, it made sense that it would be almost sunset now.

Ryou nodded his head, glad that he had gotten everything straightened out. Then he reached behind him to where his back was being a nuisance, and pulled up the bottom of his sweater. He untucked his shirt and felt something heavy and solid fall into his hand. He let go of his sweater and brought his hand back up front to drop the object in the sink.

The light through the window wasn't very bright, but it was enough that he could see the hints of gold underneath the dark brown crust. He watched it as it rolled slightly down the sink and stopped when it hit the drain.

He didn't want to deal with this, so his mind didn't let him. It processed the images coming in from his retinas: Millennium Eye, sitting in the sink, with dried blood still clinging to it in flakes. But he didn't think about it, and didn't make any connections with Pegasus and his 'illness'.

Ryou turned on the faucet again and washed off the Eye blankly, turning it over and over in the water even after it was clean. After a few minutes, the warm water started to cool.

[Stop that, Bakura.] The spirit's voice was emotionless. [Dry it off and put it back.]

Is he dead?

[Not when I left.]

Ryou dried the Eye on his sweater and slid it back, tucking in his shirt again. So Pegasus was still alive. Good. Maybe he'd call the police, and then Ryou would be arrested and nobody else would get hurt. Even the spirit wouldn't be able to break out of jail.

There was a snort inside his head. [Fool. With the Eye's power, I won't have to rely on you to have a separate body. If you're incarcerated, I have nothing to hold me down anymore.]

But earlier it had said he could be useful....Or maybe this was what it meant. He was the scapegoat. Did you plan this?

[I plan everything.]

Ryou clenched the edge of the sink. You monster! "I can't believe I listened to you!"

There was a shift in the air behind him. Ryou turned, but all he saw was the wall. The spirit was there and not there. After a moment of focusing, though, Ryou started to make out features. It wasn't even bothering to use enough energy to materialize. He was that unimportant.

Ryou was about to tell his mind to be quiet, he didn't need any more enemies, when the spirit spoke.

"If I'm a monster, I'm your monster, my dear other half. Or did you forget that just a moment ago, 'Yugi was still standing, so it didn't matter'?" He folded his arms and watched Ryou. "Even while you cling to your morals, you keep showing that you're no better than me."

Ryou stared at a spot near and down from the spirit's shoulder. "For someone who thinks I'm so worthless, you listen to me an awful lot."

That was it, he had lost his mind. Their mind. Whosever mind it was, it wasn't working for him any longer, because now the spirit was glaring at him with his teeth bared.

There was a knock at the door. "Bakura?" Yugi said.

Ryou glanced at the door, and when he looked back the spirit was gone. He peered at the spot, but there was nothing there. It was gone, and he hadn't even felt it. How powerful was...?

"Hey, it's me," Yugi said through the door.

Ryou nodded, then said, "Yes?" He glanced down at his hands to double-check that they were clean, and noticed his wrists. The bruises from last week were faint and yellowing, but still there. He jerked on his sleeves, trying to cover up the marks, but Yugi had already opened the door. Ryou held his hands behind his back and leaned against the counter.

Yugi looked at him sheepishly. "Um, Tristan and Joey got caught in the tunnels. So we have about five minutes to get out before Croquet has us all arrested."

"Oh my," Ryou said. He paused. "There are police on the island?"

Yugi frowned led leaned against the sink next to him. Ryou tucked his hands into his pockets, making sure they were deep enough to cover his wrists. "Not that I've seen. But I don't want to find out if he was bluffing."

Ryou nodded. "Sensible."

"So, are you ready to go? Does your neck still hurt?" Yugi asked.

"A little," Ryou answered, "but I'll be fine."

Yugi stared down at his feet. "Uh, Bakura...can I ask you something?"

"Certainly," he said before thinking.

"When did you start wearing the Ring again?"

Ryou blinked, then paused. "What?"

"Remember when we were trapped in that Monster World game, and you said you'd never wear the Ring again?" Yugi asked.

Ryou thought back and nodded slowly. "Yes."

"So...when did you start wearing it again?"

There was another pause.

"Always," Ryou answered.

Yugi frowned at him, then started chewing his lip. "He must have messed with your mind or something."

Ryou nodded without paying much attention to the action. He absently touched the eye of the Ring underneath his sweater, then remembered it wasn't supposed to be there and made a jerky motion to draw his hand back.

He pushed aside his bangs instead, trying to recall a time when he hadn't been wearing the Ring. He remembered swearing not to; after all, if he looked carefully he could still see the scar on his hand. But...even the next day, he'd been wearing it without a second thought.

Or had he? Maybe he just thought he'd been wearing it. After all, he'd stuffed it in the attic after he got back from the hospital, right?

Ryou was tempted to hit the sink again in order to clear his thoughts, but then Yugi's hand caught his.

...How had he forgotten his wrists?!

"Bakura..." Yugi said slowly, staring at the faded marks. They were faint enough that if Ryou were just a little less pale, they wouldn't have been noticeable. Just one more day, and no one would have seen them at all. How could he have screwed up like this?

"These are fingerprints, right?" Yugi asked.*

Ryou pulled his hand back and slid his sleeves down. He couldn't tell. He didn't want Yugi to know how tainted he was--how would they look at him then? No one would want to talk to him, or touch him, or be near him if they realized what a whore he really was. "It's nothing much. Shouldn't we be leaving?"

"Why are you still protecting him?" Yugi asked in a lower voice.

Ryou focused on pulling down his other sleeve, which was catching on the button of his shirt. He could feel Yugi waiting for an answer. "I'm not protecting anyone."

"Then where have those bruises come from?" Yugi asked, his voice still sounding lower.

The lie was easy to give because it had actually happened. "When I was walking around on the boat to here, I tripped. And someone caught me; but they squeezed too tight, I guess."

He could hear the frown in Yugi's voice. "Are you lying?"

Ryou turned to deny the statement, but he had to look up. Yugi was shorter than him; what had changed?

Ryou frowned at Yugi, realized where he had seen that similar face before, and inhaled sharply. He started to back away quickly, but after two steps he wound up running into the wall.

"Ow," Ryou said, instinctively rubbing his elbow. Then he glanced back up, but Yugi was just Yugi again.

"I'm sorry," Yugi apologized.

"That's all right," Ryou said.

Yugi paused. "But...." The other teenager trailed off, clearly not wanting to be as abrupt as his other half.

"Why would I want to protect something like him, Yugi?" Ryou asked.

To avoid being guilty by association.

Was that his thought?

Yugi nodded, then smiled slightly. "You're right. I didn't mean to be rude."

Ryou shook his head. "That's quite all right, Yugi. I understand."

Yugi smiled at him. Then his gaze moved to the door. "We really need to find the others. Mokuba threw a temper tantrum and bought us some time, but no one here seems really sympathetic," Yugi said as he pulled the door open again. Ryou followed. "Well, except for Croquet, but he's acting pretty stressed," Yugi added, glancing over his shoulder at Ryou.

Ryou nodded in acknowledgement, and Yugi added, "And Kemo was threatening to beat up Joey."

"That couldn't have gone well."

"No..." Yugi said. "Tristan pretty much had to pin him down to keep him from going after the guy."

Ryou smiled and shook his head. "Joey fights too much," he said, mostly to himself.

Yugi grinned but shrugged. "That's who he is."

They caught up with the rest of the group at the bottom of the stairs that led to the great hall. Tristan and Joey were still arguing, Tea was looking both annoyed at them and worried about Mokuba, and Mokuba was having a breakdown. The boy was practically bouncing with nervous energy, and yelling at everyone that they were forgetting that they were supposed to be looking for his big brother.

A guard Ryou didn't recognize ushered them out with a final good riddance, and then they were standing on the steps that led out to some kind of garden on the side of the castle.

Tristan was standing next to him, and Ryou heard him mutter: "Well, that didn't work. Now what?" he said in a louder voice, directed towards Yugi.

Mokuba raced in front of them, cupping his hands around his mouth and yelling once more. "Seto! Big brother! Setooo! It's me, Mokuba! Where are you?"

Yugi watched him, looking a little overwhelmed. "The castle's huge. Kaiba could be almost anywh--" The sound of a gate opening interrupted him. "Hey!"

In front of them, Mokuba stopped and stared. "It's him." Then he sort of flew down the steps. "Big brother!" he cried, hugging Seto around the waist and snuffling. "You're here! You're here!"

Ryou leaned back slightly, smiling as he watched Seto and Mokuba reunite. He couldn't hear what the two were saying since they were speaking so quietly, but Mokuba was much happier than a few moments earlier and Seto was actually smiling, so it had to be good.

Soon, Seto stood and picked up his suitcase. "Thank you, Yugi. Thank you for saving my brother Mokuba's soul. He means everything to me."

Yugi just looked at him. "How could I do anything else?"

Seto seemed to be taken aback at that. Then he straightened. "And I am grateful. But because of our circumstances, our last duel was not really conclusive."

Ryou felt the spirit's presence stirring, like something moving under his skin or at the back of his mind. The fee cou could be not unpleasant or highly disturbing, depending on its mood.

"Yes, you're right," Yugi said firmly.

"One day, we will meet in the arena again to decide which of us is truly the better duelist. And one of us will walk away with pride."

Yugi nodded.

Finished, Seto turned to his brother and said, "C'mon, Mokuba, let's go. My 'copter's waiting."

Mokuba cheered and ran along beside him. "All right! We're going home!"

Ryou was watching the two of them walk down the stairs, when he noticed that Yugi was staring a little blankly at the gates. And then he was back in his soul room again.

This was too many times in one day. Maybe he'd be better off to just never leave.

Ryou shook his head to clear the thought away. Then he glanced around. Yugi was surrounded by his friends, and the spirit wouldn't be foolish enough to leave two bodies in the same place. So...Yugi was safe at the moment.

There wasn't a reason to worry, then, and there was nothing to do in here, so Ryou wandered over to his bed and wrenched off the top blanket and the pillow. He spread them on the floor, then lay down and dozed off.

~~~~~
When he sensed the energy from the Millennium Puzzle, he took over again. The boy didn't bother to put up any kind of fight this time, still moving with that same disturbing hollowness.

He watched, and realized that the energy he sensed was just coming from Yugi talking to Seth-Peribsen. Soon, Yugi turned and looked back at his friends; he made sure that his face matched the boy's earlier expression.

Joey blinked. "Whu--I just thought of somethin'. All the boats've left. How're we supposed to get off this island?" he asked, looking at Tristan.

Tristan had apparently used up all his scheming for the day, because he made an interesting facial expression.

"We gotta hitch a ride! C'mon!" the blond yelled as he ran, Tristan on his heels.

"Wait for us, Kaiba!" Tristan yelled.

"And us too!" Yugi called as he and Tea jogged after them.

The four wouldn't let the helicopter leave without him, if they managed to talk Kaiba into giving them a ride in the first place. He doubted that--though it did leave the annoying issue of 'how were they supposed to leave' out in the open. At the moment, however....

He reached back and pulled the Millennium Eye from his shirt, where Bakura had replaced it. Yugi has the championship, Joey has the money; but I hold the real prize: the Millennium Eye. And soon...I'll have Yugi's Millennium Puzzle as well. He smirked.

Tristan's voice drifted up from outside the gates. "Bakura! Hurry up already!"

He raised an eyebrow, but moved toward the gates and began to lope down the stairs. So they had managed to work a favor out of the priest? Useful, if unexpected.

He was beginning to suspect that everyone else who had found their way to these modern times had done so at the expense of themselves.

He had long ago noted Kaiba's resemblance to the High Priest, but the teenager had no Millennium Items to speak of and no connection to Egypt beyond what was taught in history. It made sense, as the priest had been the second sacrifice for the Shadow Realm--both his body and soul being consumed by the Realm in an attempt to close it. A vain attempt, he thought with a smirk, since he was still alive. Therefore, he kept a casual eye on Kaiba and otherwise paid no attention to him, as his life rarely interacted with the boy's.

He was certain that it defied a law of physics, but somehow the seven of them managed to fit into one helicopter. He was squashed next to Tea, who in turn was smashed against Tristan, with Joey seated on the floor and Yugi, Mokuba, and Kaiba in the front.

Ignoring the awkward silence that lay upon the helicopter, he watched as Kaiba lifted the machine off the ground. After another pause, Yugi started chattering, soon drawing in Joey and Tea, and eventually the rest of the cabin, with the exception of Kaiba and himself.

He glanced out thde wde window at the remnants of the sunset. Pretty, he thought. He had no interest in it. His only care lay with the golden objects he carried, and the similar one that Yugi wore about his neck.

Bakura, however, would enjoy the sight. He was aware that, at the moment, he was walking a fine line with the boy; between the teenager from long ago and the discovery of the Eye, something had frayed in Bakura's mind. He had little interest in having a broken shell for his other half...but he would take it if that were the only option.

At the moment, however, Bakura was still showing hints of potential in his tendency to fight back--so the time he took to cater to the boy might not be a waste, yet.

Not that it meant he wasn't still angry with him.

He returned to the Ring.

~~~~~
Ryou blinked when he realized he was no longer asleep, but in a rather loud helicopter with packed with people He He spotted Yugi's hair over the top of the front seat, and a quick glance at the cabin told him that everyone else was alive and well, so he sat back and glanced out the window. The sky was that half-bright shade that came after the sun set, but before the sky had gone completely dark. It made the ocean look lovely.

Ryou tried to stay awake, but he was still drowsy from being woken up abruptly. At first he listened to everyone else talking and chimed in occasionally, but it wasn't long after Yugi started nodding off that the conversation began to drag and falter. Everybody was tired; it was hard to believe that so much could have happened in one day.

When his head jerked up slightly, Ryou realized that he had dozed off. He blinked rapidly a few times and looked out the window, but it was all dark and there was nothing to see.

Oh, but those lights way away had to mean they were coming up to Domino City. He remembered seeing the city lights from above once when he and his father had been flying home over vacation. It had been really pretty, he recalled.

Ryou tried to focus on the glow in the distance, but he was still having trouble keeping his eyes open. He shook his head, trying not to jostle Téa who was napping next to him, but when that didn't work he slapped himself lightly. Wake up.

"You okay, Bakura?" a voice asked.

He turned and blinked at Tristan, who was looking at him past Téa. "Hm?"

Tristan nodded at him. "You. You okay?" he asked, just loud enough to be heard over the helicopter blades, but not loud enough to disturb Seto.

"Oh, yes," Ryou answered. Tristan was still watching him with a suspicious look, so he shifted and asked, "What did you mean by telling me later?"

Tristan blinked and sat back. "Oh, yeah. That spirit--the one in your Ring?" Ryou nodded. "It came back. He wanted to take over Mokuba, and I managed to knock him out. That's why your neck's sore."

Ryou stared for a moment. It was going to....Then he remembered to react. "Okay. That...was brave of you, Tristan."

Tristan just shrugged. "Hope nobody finds it again--I aimed for the ocean, but even my arm ain't that great." He gave Ryou a half-grin. "But at least you're really free now."

When he nodded, the cor the the Ring rubbed against the bruise. "Yes. Thank you, Tristan."

"We're landing in eight minutes," Seto said crisply over the noise.

Tristan nodded, then kicked Joey in the foot. "Get up, Joe."

"Buzz off," Joey mumbled, still leaning against the back of the front seats. Tristan knocked him in the leg again, while Ryou shook Téa's shoulder lightly.

"Huh?" she said, blinking rapidly.

"We're here," he told her with a smile, before turning to look out the window at the lights. It was just as nice as it had been the last time, he thought to himself.

In the front, Mokuba started bouncing. "We're home! We're home!" Yugi yawned and rubbed his eyes, and then the lights got brighter as Seto brought the helicopter down on KaibaCorp's landing pad.

There was nothing more to do but go home.

*Ryou's bruises are from chapter 5, second to last paragraph.