Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh

Warnings: Beatings, Rape,

Mindless Babble:

Yugi Motou stood alone in the middle of a grassy field. His face was turned up, letting the cold rain wash away his tears. 'Three weeks!' his mind cried out, helplessly. 'It's been three weeks, Yami. Why haven't you come back to me?'

The void in his soul had just seemed to grow in during the long days of loneliness. His friends had tried to help. Joey was over every day in an effort to cheer him up. Tea called every night to make sure Yugi was okay. Tristan gave the boy a ride to and from school on his motorcycle. But none of had an effect on the boy.

Even his teachers had noticed a difference in the once happy go lucky teen. One teacher had pulled Joey aside to ask him about the change after noticing that Yugi spent most of the class staring out the window. Joey had replied that Yugi's brother had gotten seriously ill and had to go to a hospital out of town. It hadn't really been a lie either. Yami was seriously ill and he was out of town, in another Realm.

And now he stood alone, the rain soaking through his school uniform.

Tristan, Tea and Joey stood together, huddled under an umbrella. Concern was etched in their faces as they watched their young friend. They had watched as Yugi's depression deepened with each passing day, helpless to do anything but be there for him.

"It's like we're losing both of them," Joey said quietly.

Golden cat eyes carefully watched the man for signs of life other then the smooth chest rising and falling. Bastet sighed. She had been like this for the past couple of days and still her pharaoh did not wake. Most of his wounds were healed, a testimony to her priest's dedication to her. And yet, his ka did not return. It was frustrating.

Her eyes scanned the unclothed body before her as she tried to figure out what to do. The pharaoh had a strong body, muscles well defined but not bulky. Smooth, tan skin was only marred by the healing scars. The goddess brushed a stray golden hair from the man's face and wished that he would open those strangely beautiful crimson eyes.

She glanced at the object that sat by his feet and felt a pang of guilt. The Millennium Puzzle sat on a small pillow looking like a child's forgotten toy. Yugi was probably worried sick by now.

Bastet sighed again. She knew he was going to hate herself for what she was about to do but there was no other option. She kissed her pharaoh on the forehead and whispered, "I am sorry, my friend, but your Hakari needs you back."

She touched her forehead to Yami's and gently placed a hand over his heart. Praying for forgiveness, she entered into his mind.

Bastet felt the sand beneath her feet and smiled. Only her pharaoh could find such happiness in a barren wasteland. She could sense his presence somewhere close by and started to walk towards it.

Suddenly, her whiskers started sending her warnings. Something was wrong. Before she could back away, Bastet found herself dropping into a memory. She had wanted to avoid this but now that she was here, there was nothing she could do watch as the memory unfolded.

The memory was fuzzy, like it was being viewed through a thick glass vase. A woman lay in a bed holding her newborn son. She was softly singing to him. The boy's father stood beside the happy mother, beaming down them. Bastet recognized the song and smiled.

The memory faded and was replaced by another one. This scene was sharp and clear. And it was not all that happy.

The young prince sat on the floor with his head down, crying. A shadow suddenly moved and a figure clad in purple appeared. He knelt in front of the sobbing boy saying nothing. The boy finally looked up.

"Why am I so different that I cannot even have friends that live in the Light Realm?"

"Because you are destined," the Dark Magician replied. "You are Yu-Gi-Oh, the King of Games. You will one day fight great battles."

"But I will be alone," replied the boy miserably.

The Dark Magician shook his head. "Not forever. There will come a time when you are joined by a person that will fight at your side as a brother."

The boy smiled a bit. "Can Kuriboh come out to play?"

His companion shook his head in mock defeat. "I will send him to you at once, my lord."

The prince's smile grew into a full-fledged grin as the Magician disappeared and the small fuzzy cooing creature appeared. The boy wrapped his arms around the creature and cuddled it.

"You are very good at drying tears, Kuriboh."

Bastet watched the memory fade and soon found herself back in the desert. She had known that her pharaoh had been lonely but never realized the depth of that solitude. To call shadow monsters his friends…!

Another memory was opening up to her but this time she didn't try to avoid it. She found herself in her own temple. The young prince sat with his back resting against her alter. He was a bit older now then in the last memory, but still just as lonely. He talked about meaningless stuff, like school and what he had eaten for dinner the night before. Bastet remembered this day and watched as a small golden box appeared on the table. A smile touched the goddess's lips as the prince stood up and found the shiny object. The boy looked around for anyone who might have snuck in but found the room empty but for himself. He took the lid off of the box and was instantly absorbed into solving the puzzle.

As this memory faded, Bastet chuckled. He was much like his Hikari in his fondness for games and puzzles.

The goddess walked for a while before another memory opened. It was shortly after the prince "found" the puzzle. The boy was limping to his room holding his arm, which was bleeding. A large bruise was forming on his cheek. Once in his room, the prince opened a small chest and took out a strip of cloth. He tied the strip around his bleeding arm and closed the chest. He then stripped off the dirty clothes and walked naked to the bed. He laid there, tears coming unbidden.

"Why?"

Suddenly, a brown fuzz ball appeared. The boy seemed surprised by this sudden arrival. "How did you get here, Kuriboh? I didn't summon you."

A deep voice answered. "He heard you, Yu-Gi-Oh, and wanted to help," said the Dark Magician. He pointed to the injuries. "Is this more of your father's doing?"

The boy nodded and wrapped his arms round the smaller creature. "The Shadow Games are eating his soul. He now blames me for my mother's death."

The taller man sat on the bed and touched the bruised cheek and watched as it healed. "That was not your fault, Master. You must know that."

This seemed to cheer the young man up a little and the memory faded.

Bastet stood there in shock. His father had beaten him? And she had never noticed? She hung her head in shame. 'If only I had noticed…'

She continued to walk towards her pharaoh, thinking about what she had seen. So deep in thought, Bastet didn't notice it getting darker until she tripped on a rock and fell into another memory. Unlike the others, this memory was tinged with fear and anger.

The prince was once again in his bedroom. He was sitting on the floor, working on the golden puzzle. His body was covered in healing cuts and bruises. He jumped as the door to his room slammed open. He father staggered in, drunk.

"Come here, you brat!" He reached for his son, brutally grabbing his arm. "Since you killed your mother, you're going to take her place in my bed!"

The boy tried to get away but found himself being slammed onto his bed. His father was immediately on top of him, tearing his clothes off. The prince cried out in fear, only to be cut off by something being shoved down his throat. He gagged and choked on it, and realizing what it was he began to thrash. The pharaoh held the boy's hand down and continued to thrust deeper.

"Take it like your mother did!"

Finally he pulled out of his child's mouth and moved to explore other regions. The boy whimpered in fear. The older man started to rub his son's inner thigh, trembling in anticipation.

"Why, Father?"

"Shut-up, you filthy whore!" The pharaoh positioned himself to enter into the boy. "This is going to be good!"

He never did find out as a staff slammed into the side of his head. The older man flew off the bed, rolling a few times across the floor. He looked up in anger at the one who had dared strike a god. His expression changed to one of fear as the shadow shaped themselves into The Dark Magician and his apprentice Dark Magician Girl. The male shadow monster pointed to the frightened boy who had curled into a ball on the bed.

"Go take care of my master," he commanded the girl, who nodded and move to the trembling child. "I will take care of this thing that has the gall to call itself a man!"

Bastet turned her head away from whatever the shadow monster had planed for the real monster. She instead focused on her pharaoh and the girl attending him. She had used her limited powers to send the boy to sleep and was now trying to heal some of the larger wounds. Bastet had to smile as the Dark Magician Girl stuck her tongue in concentration.

The memory started to fade but not before Bastet heard the screams of terror coming for the once great pharaoh.

Bastet knew she was close to her pharaoh. But one more memory stood in her way. There was no image to this memory. It was just a rush of emotions. First there was sense of freedom followed by joy. Then came the confusion followed by a wave of comfort. Lastly, a tinge of sorrow flowed over her like a tide coming in. This confused Bastet until she realized that this memory was of the time Yugi solved the Millennium Puzzle.

Finally, she found the boy she was looking for he sat in the sand staring into another memory. This one wasn't his own, though. It was from Yugi's memory.

Yugi sat on the floor of a bedroom in an expensive hotel. His captors had bound his hands and legs and gagged him. Thankfully they had tied his hand in front of him, so at least he was somewhat comfortable. He fingered his Millennium puzzle, a tear sliding down his cheek.

'Yami, why aren't you here? Why haven't you come for me?' he thought as another tear slipped down his cheek.

He looked up as someone entered the room. It was the guy that had grabbed him from the bank. Yugi had counted five people that had been involved in the robbery, four men and a woman. This man was easily the biggest one, tall with broad shoulders. He also had the smallest brain and the worst temper. He walked over to Yugi and picked the boy up by his shirt.

"I don't get it. I know I shot you after my mask slipped and you saw my face. How come there isn't a mark on you?"

Even if he wanted to, Yugi couldn't answer for several reasons. First, it's hard to talk clearly when there's a gag in your mouth. Second, he didn't know if there were enough single syllable words to describe what happened. Besides, Yugi honestly didn't know what happened.

"Oh, so you're not going to talk, huh? Let's see if I can beat it out of you, then!"

The man started punching the defenseless boy, eventually dropping him to the ground to kicking him. It seemed to take forever, but the brutality did come to an end. Yugi curled into a ball and tried to block out the pain. Once again he tied to call out to his friend and protector.

"Is this why you are still here?" asked Bastet, coming up behind the boy.

"Yugi must hate me for not being there for him." The spirit sighed. "And I do not blame him."

"Yugi is worried sick about you!" the goddess exclaimed.

"He does not deserve to be dragged into the darkness by me. I do not deserve him." Crimson eyes looked into her golden ones. "If you want to be merciful to both of us, you will drive a dagger into my heart and the my Hikari that I did not make it."

Bastet was too shocked to say anything. She was even more shocked to find herself being pushed out of the spirits mind.

The goddess pushed away from the alter, breaking the connection. She replayed the last few seconds in her mind and suddenly felt ill. There was only one thing she could do now to save Yami.

Yugi sat at his desk staring at the rain pelting the window. Tea and Joey sat on the bed watching their friend. He hadn't said anything to either one of them in the past hour. Not from lack of trying.

Grandpa Motou stepping into the room followed a soft knock at Yugi's door. He looked sadly at the boy. He had been thrilled to have his grandson back, though his joy was tempered by the fact that he may have lost his adoptive grandson.

"You have another visitor, Yugi," the old man said quietly. Receiving no acknowledgement, he left as silently as he had come. Another figure entered, dripping wet.

"Kaiba!" yelled Joey as he jumped off the bed. "What the Hell are you doing here?"

"Sit down, puppy," replied Seto. "As if it's any concern of yours, I came because Mokuba asked me to check up on Yugi."

"Did you walk here, Kaiba?" asked Tea, taking the wet coat from it owner to put on a hanger. When Seto nodded, Tea continued. "Why?"

Seto shrugged. "The rain just felt kinda good today."

The teen walked up to stand next to Yugi. He waved a hand in front of the smaller boy. Yugi didn't even blink. Seto felt his heart tighten.

"I also brought you something," he said, reaching into his jacket pocket. He pulled out a small black kitten and set it in front of the catatonic boy. "It followed me all the way here."

Tea's breath caught in her throat. "Bastet?"

"It couldn't be," Joey replied, trying to extinguish the hope that filled his heart. "Yug said the sat was big."

"What are you two babbling about?" Seto demanded.

"They're talking about me."

The kitten that had wiggled under Yugi's hands started to glow. In seconds, the goddess Bastet stood on the other side of Yugi, glowing with power. Beautiful golden cat eyes met deep, cobalt human eyes. Seto took a step back in surprise.

"Thank you, Seto Kaiba, for bringing me here. The kitten I inhabited had a terrible sense of direction. Poor thing."

Bastet looked down at Yugi. "Wonderful. A pair of them."

"Is Yami not getting better?" Tea asked. (More like squeaked, being too terrified to speak normally.)

"His physical wounds are healing nicely. It is his ka or spirit that is still damaged." Bastet lifted Yugi's head and looked into a pair of glazed over amethyst eyes. "This little one hold the key if we can bring him out of this stupor."

"Well, that should be easy." With that, Seto took the chain that held the puzzle from around the boy's neck. The response was instantaneous. Yugi's eyes cleared and life came back to his body.

"Yami!"

"Welcome back, Little Hikari."

"Bastet?" Yugi looked around his room. "Tea?…Joey?…Seto? What are you doing here?"

"We were worried about you, Yug," answered Joey, happy to see his friend coherent again.

Yugi turned to look at Bastet. "Something has happed to Yami, hasn't it?"

The goddess held his sad gaze and replied, "His spirit refuses to return to his body. He feels that he only drags you into misery and he does not deserve to be your Aibou." 'No need to tell him the rest of what his Yami said.'

"How could he ever think that?"

"He found a memory of yours," Bastet said, sadly. She described the memory and watched Yugi's expression change from sorrow to guilt.

"It wasn't meant to be an accusation…" The boy stared at the ground. "Can I talk to him?"

"I'm afraid I can't take you into my realm. I can only take a message to him."

Yugi thought about it for a few minutes. 'What can I say to him that will convince him that I still need him?'

Suddenly, he grabbed his dueling deck and started going through them. His friends looked at him like he had lost his mind. Joey was about to say something when Yugi plucked a card from the deck. He gave the card to Bastet. Looking at it, she smiled.

"This might actually get through to him," she said. "Before I go, would you do me a favor?"

"Anything!" Still no hesitation.

"Find a home for the kitten. She has no mother and no home."

"I'll take her."

Four sets of disbelieving eyes came to rest on Seto.

"What? She'll be good company for Mokuba when I have to stay late at work."

Bastet grinned. "I will take your message to your Yami. You may want to put the puzzle back on."

Seto handed the shorter boy the puzzle, which Yugi slipped over his head. The void was still there but so was the hope that it would soon be filled.

The kitten glowed brightly as the goddess left them. When everyone could see again, Seto pick up the tiny ball of fluff and slipped her into an inner pocket. She seemed content to sit there with her head poking out of the coat.

"So, Yugi. What card did you give to her," asked Seto.

Yugi grinned. "I gave her…"

"Gyakutenno Megami?" Yami looked at the card, curiously. "Why this card?"

"Maybe, oh King of Games, you should read it a little better.

'This fairy uses her mystical power to protect the weak and provides spiritual support.'

"A protector of the weak offering spiritual support? That sounds like someone I used to know," said Bastet.

"Does he really feel that way about me?" asked Yami, looking up at the goddess.

Bastet smirked and replied, "That's what I've been trying to tell you, Baka!"

The deity held out her hand. Yami stood and took it.

Yami's eyes fluttered open. The first thing he saw was a pair of anxious cat eyes set into black fur. Yami tried to sit up but groaned as unused muscles protested. A gentle hand pushed him back onto the bed that he was now laying on. It had taken Yami a while to wake up from his journey and during that time, Bastet had him move to a small room with a comfortable bed.

"You will need to stay here for a day or two more, then you can go back." Bastet picked something up from the small table next to the bed. "There is someone who wants to talk to you very badly," she said looping the chain of Yami's half of the puzzle over his head.

Yami closed his eyes in blissful happiness.

Two days later, Seto brought the kitten, Blue Eyes, back to the Motou home. He also brought Mokuba with him. They were greeted by Yugi, his grandpa, Joey, Tea and Tristan.

Seto set the kitten down in the middle of the living room. Almost at once, she began to glow and Bastet appeared wearing a long robe. She was alone.

"Yami will be here shortly. He will need to rest for a couple more days and trust me when I say that it won't be an easy task." She glanced at the circle of friend and decided that they would be up to the task.

She spread her arms and a portal opened in front of her. Yami, clothed in his black attire including the flowing coat stepped out. He was able to take one shaky step before he collapsed. Yugi was there to catch his Aibou. Yami wrapped his Hikari in a tight hug, almost afraid to let go.

Bastet faded from sight as the rest of his friend gathered around. "Farwell, my pharaoh. May we not meet again for a long, long time."

Later that night, Yugi crept into Yami's room, trying not to wake him. There was no need though, for Yami was wide-awake. He motioned for the smaller boy to join him under the covers. Yugi gratefully accepted, as it was really cold in the house.

"I missed you, Yami."

"And I missed you, Aibou. When I saw you today, I was afraid is was just a dream."

"It wasn't. I will always be at your side, Big Brother." Yugi sighed. "No matter what."

Yami smiled and pulled his Hikari closer. Soon both were asleep.

A shadow moved in a corner. The Dark Magician smiled at his two Masters and disappeared.