***Here's the last chapter!***

"Let's tell ghost stories." Ryou's eyes glowed as they roasted fish in the fire for their supper that evening.

"Seriously?" Bakura laughed. "We're in a ghost story, Ryou."

"I know, but who cares? We're basically camping, and it's fun to tell ghost stories near the fire when you go camping."

"Yeah, here's one. Once upon a time fate stuck this kid with a haunted, cursed Ring, and he should have been utterly traumatized by everything he went through, but instead he used a cursed game to bring the ghost back to life because he was crazy and wanted a boyfriend."

"I mean, that's not a bad story, but it's a little mundane, don't you think?" Ryou asked. "At the very least don't skip the sex scenes when you tell a story like that."

"Once there was a prince," Marik began before Bakura could say anything else. "And he loved to hunt, so he gathered his attendants and horses and went out into the wilderness where he saw a great beast. The prince chased the animal, and it led him far away from his attendants, only to disappear- leaving the prince lost and alone.

"As he searched for his hunting party, the prince heard weeping. He discovered a beautiful woman dressed in silk and jewels standing alone. When he asked her why she cried, she explained that she had fallen asleep while riding, tumbled off her horse, and was left behind by her escort by mistake. Being valiant, the prince wrapped his cape over her shoulders and placed her on his own horse, vowing to help her find her traveling party.

"They rode for an hour in the direction she bidded him to go, passing a graveyard as they travelled. The girl became faint, and said she needed to rest because the sun's heat had made her sick that day. There was an abandoned house near the cemetery, and she begged the prince to stop there so she could rest until dark.

"The prince waited outside-"

"Why?" Bakura finally interrupted.

"What do you mean why?"

"If it's hot, why on earth would he wait outside? He should have watered the horse and slept in the house with the girl."

"He was being chivalrous." Marik scowled.

"That sounds ridiculous."

"Bakura." Ryou swore out the name through clenched teeth. "You let Marik finish his story or I promise you, you will not get a blow job from any of us for a solid month."

"Alright, alright. I'll just assume the prince is an idiot."

"Anyway." Marik narrowed his eyes at Bakura. "The sun sank below the horizon, but the girl didn't return, so the prince searched the house for her."

"But he heard the voice of a ghūl speaking to her children," Kek continued with the next section of story. "She told them she had found a meal for them, and they begged her to go get it so they could tear into his flesh and eat until their bellies became round."

"The prince fled when he heard their plan," Marik took over again. "But before he could saddle his horse, the woman returned."

"What's wrong?" Kek lunged toward Marik, leaning close, his gaze drilling into Marik's stare. "You look frightened."

Marik smirked as he said the next line. "An enemy wants me dead, and there's no reasoning with them."

"Can you not bribe their forgiveness?" Kek crawled around Marik on hands and knees, eyes still intent and tongue tracing the shape of his own lips.

"No, nothing will satisfy them but my life."

"Then there's only one hope you have left." Kek crawled into Marik's lap. "Pray to Allah. If you're righteous then He will protect you from your enemy."

"So the prince looked up into the sky." Marik tilted his head up to the rafters. "And called out to God, begging Him to protect the prince from any creature that would harm him. And no sooner did that prayer leave his lips, that the ghūl-"

"Laughed!" Kek through his head back to cackle. He pressed Marik down on his back, looming over him. "Because you, little prince, are not righteous, so I'll feast on your flesh." Kek nibbled along Marik's collarbone and neck.

"That is not how the story goes!" Marik shouted, laughing and squirming at Kek's love bites. "The ghūl vanishes after he says the prayer."

"I like Kek's version." Bakura attacked the other side of Marik's throat.

"Either of you mark me, and you'll be the ones needing God's protection from me."

Bakura gave one last kiss to Marik's jaw and then sat up. "I have one."

"Add the sex scenes this time." Ryou pulled their fish out of the fire and started passing them around for everyone to eat.

"This is a real story. It happened when I was eight. Needless to say that I hadn't quite made it to Thief King status yet. I was more like a little Thief Prince, and mostly stole bread and medicine and things I needed to survive from nearby villages. I thought I was clever, but after I left the towns, I never bothered to check and see if I was being followed. Turns out that a slaver saw me stealing a few times and decided to follow and capture me. I was taking care of my horse when he snuck behind and pressed a knife against my throat."

"Were you frightened?" Marik asked.

"I was mad," Bakura answered. "I should have known better, and knew I was paying for being stupid."

"Did you kill him?" Seto asked.

"Me? No. He was too big." Bakura stared into the fire, Ryou wondered if he was remembering the night of his story, or that night as he stared into the flames. "They came up from the sand like smoke and surrounded us. The slaver stepped away from me. He kept backing up towards his horse. His dark face was damn near white between the moonlight and how pale he'd gone. He kept shaking his head, pleading no, but the spirits didn't care." Bakura's silvery eyes flicked up, glancing at everyone over the fire. "To hurt one of us is to hurt all of us, that'd always been our way. He'd put a knife to their child's throat, so they tore him to pieces and left the chunks to rot in the sun- chasing away the jackals so Anubis couldn't take his spirit to his Weighing and making sure he died a second death."

"Nice." Kek grinned as he popped a piece of fish into his mouth.

"Thank you for sharing that story, Bakura." Ryou bowed his head.

"He was hoping to get a blow job," Marik winked, and everyone laughed.

"Do you remember a lot of the same things?" Ryou asked Kek and Marik.

Kek nodded his head. "I remember more than Marik."

"Only one thing more," Marik argued.

"No." Kek shook his head. He'd finished eating so he lay down near the fire and cupped his hands beneath his head. "A lot of things."

"Like what?"

"Like how to use Ra in a card game." Bakura snorted, laying down beside Kek, but blowing a kiss at Marik.

"We need to have another tournament." Seto spoke as he cradled Ryou to his chest. "I think I'll start planning one when we get back to Domino."

"Yes, because the last one was so fun." Bakura barked a single, humorless, laugh.

"I thought it was fun." Kek grinned.

"I will literally pay a person their weight in gold if they manage to beat Atem."

"Well, at least Yugi doesn't weigh much." Ryou shook his head. "Because you know he's the only one that's ever managed to beat Atem."

Seto growled in frustration, but Ryou chuckled and kissed Seto's face until he managed to erase the scowl. They pulled the blankets around themselves and fell asleep. In the morning, they were more organized than the day before. They managed to clean up, eat the last of their provisions for breakfast, and even pack their bags and pile them together in the courtyard.

"This is the end, isn't it?" Kek asked, staring at everyone's suitcases.

"Yeah, I can feel it. This is the final boss. It wasn't supposed to be a very long game because Seto's schedule is too busy." Ryou held Kek's hand. "But don't worry. Even after the game, you'll get to stay."

The wails of the dead interrupted them. Everyone summoned their ka and went to the spot where the soldiers had died.

"Ready Bakura?" Marik asked.

"Yeah." Bakura nodded, his expression grave instead of his usual sardonic grin.

He walked towards the soldiers, shimmering as he grew close. The soldiers stood, spilling out their guts as they had the day before, and grabbed their weapons to fight. Bakura glowed until he was almost blinding. The horn blew, instructing the warriors to attack, but their weapons fell from their hands.

Bakura spoke to them, but Ryou couldn't hear the words. He didn't think it was possible to hear Bakura, not if one was alive, but the ghosts circled him. Their exhausted, bloodshot eyes stared wide as Bakura's lips moved, and they all nodded, crowding close to the thief. Ryou's eyes watered; the light was too much to bear. He finally closed his eyes, shielding his face with his hands. He heard the wind, and frantic whispers that he couldn't translate into words, and then everything was silent and still.

"Where did Bakura go?" Marik screamed.

"What?" Ryou opened his eyes, smearing light-induced tears away from his face. The warriors were gone, but so was Bakura. Only rusted weapons, tarnished armor, and cracked, dry bones remained in the dirt where a military company had stood seconds before.

"Bakura. Is gone. Where is he?" Marik shouted again.

"I'm sure he'll be back." Seto placed a hand on Marik's back in a rare display of physical comfort. "He said he had to show them-"

"How long does it take!" Marik turned, glaring at Seto. "I've already lost him twice, I'm not going to-"

Kek grabbed both of Marik's shoulders. "Marik, hold yourself together because we're about to fight-"

The jinkai gave a last wail and Tametomo rose from the scattered weapons and armor. His helmet shadowed his face, but his eyes burned in rage. Seto snorted, sending Duos to make the first attack. Ryou scanned the courtyard, hoping to see Bakura, but he wasn't there, and they didn't have a way to stall to wait for him.

"Marik. Trust Bakura. He always comes back, and if he comes back and we're all hurt he's going to nag, so let's defeat Tametomo before he returns." Ryou sent Rishi to fight beside Duos while casting shields to protect himself and the others.

"I'm screaming at him when he comes back!" Marik growled, but Yin and Yang joined the battle.

Tametomo wailed up to the sky. Several of the bones lifted up from the ground, shattering and re-fusing as longer, almost insect-like limbs. The appendages pierced through Tametomo's armor, digging into his dead flesh and snatching up additional weapons from the ground. The rust and tarnish sloughed away in the ghost's hands, gleaming with- not sun- but their own ethereal light.

"Really, Ryou?" Seto asked.

"It was cool when I carved the figurine for the game!" Ryou gave a helpless gesture.

"I think he's great." Kek snickered.

"You would." Seto snorted, returning his focus to the fight.

Tametomo used a naginata to swipe at Rishi's ankles while swinging a sword at Duos. He blocked both Yin and Yangs attacks with a shield and spear while using his original arms to shoot an arrow at Kek.

"Not this time you don't!" Ryou shouted, converting his ba into extra heka in order to double his shield around Kek. The wooden arrow shaft exploded into splinters as the arrowhead ricocheted into the dirt.

"Thanks, habibi." Kek blew Ryou a quick kiss. "Fuck this. I hate standing back and fighting with ka." He dashed forward, dodging arrows as he grabbed a rusted spear and plunged it into Tametomo's stomach.

It did nothing.

"Fuck!" Kek snarled. He snatched a sword from the ground, but the rusted, dull blade shattered when it struck Tametomo's katana.

"You idiot! Get back over here and attack with magic!"

Tametomo screeched and noise shook the earth. They fell to the ground, holding their ears. Ryou whimpered, his head throbbed from the sound. Rishi knelt beside Kek and he climbed on the kirin's back so he could regroup with the others. Ryou did what he could to heal them from the scream attack, but his head still throbbed afterward.

Ryou thought of the situation they were in. Strong versus physical attacks, weak versus magical, Tametomo had high attack and defense, but nothing for evasion. If they could hit him with something strong enough, they'd kill him.

But their attacks weren't strong enough. They kept him busy, cut him and made him bleed, but it was as effective as chipping away at a tree with four daggers.

"I'm... low on ba." Ryou panted after blocking another arrow, sweat stinging his eyes.

"I'm sick of this!" Seto clenched his teeth. "Duos! Get rid of that bow!"

Duos flashed a moment, and then cleaved through Tametomo's longer left arm. It dropped to the ground, arrow still in hand. When the limb hit the dirt, it evaporated in a cloud of crimson steam.

"Again!" Seto demanded, and Tametomo's bow arm dropped to the ground as well.

The other's cheered, and for a glorious minute, Ryou had hope for the battle. Then Tametomo focused all his attacks on Duos at once. The sword caught Duos' chest, the spear plunged through his ribs, and the naginata cut into his shoulder. Rishi, Yin, and Yang counter attacked, but- although they left bleeding, opened wounds- the damage didn't prevent Tametomo from twisting his sword.

Duos disappeared. Seto coughed blood, dropping to his knees and slumping over.

"I got you. I got you. I got you." Ryou cradled Seto in his arms, but all Ryou could do was cry.

He didn't have enough ba to cure Seto- didn't have enough skill points to even cast a high enough spell for the damage he sensed. Tametomo marched towards them. Ryou unsummoned Rishi, saving the last of his strength for shields. Marik and Kek used their ka to slow Tametomo's progress, but they couldn't stop him. Ryou remembered the burn to Kek's hand when he punched one of the ghosts, and prayed his shields would stand up against a melee attack.

"I don't regret making the game more difficult." Seto offered a bloody smile to Ryou, but then his eyes fluttered shut. "You'd better win."

"Seto, Seto, Seto- Seto!" Ryou clawed at Seto's back, bringing him into a crushing embrace.

Light flooded the courtyard. Diabound wrapped his tail around Tametomo's neck and slammed the ronin to the ground, leaving him open for Yang to blast him with fire. Ryou stared, mouth ajar in shock, and then he felt Seto being lifted out of his arms. He turned and saw Bakura resting his hand on Seto's chest and filling Seto's body with light.

"This bitch made the battles difficult and then passes the fuck out. I am never letting him live this down." Bakura shook his head.

"How bad is it?" Ryou squeezed Seto's hand.

"Not as bad as you were, so don't worry. He'll be okay."

"Thank goodness." Ryou dropped his head. The relief stole his breath away.

"Where the fuck were you!" Marik screamed. He kept looking over his shoulder, but couldn't for long before going back to the battle.

"The Afterlife. You know, getting rid of 150 enemies at one time? You're welcome? Yeah, we'll probably level up. You're welcome again."

"You fucking asshole, who told you to take that long?"

"I went to the Spirit World!"

"I was worried about you!"

"I'm sorry!" Bakura snorted, looking down at Seto. "Didn't know how the spell would work. Thought it'd be quicker."

"You're here now." Ryou looked up. "I'm not sure how much longer my shields can last."

Bakura turned towards the battle. Yin and Diabound were herding Tametomo as Yang attacked, but they were only holding their own against him, and at their current rate, they wouldn't last long enough to win.

"I can fight." Seto struggled to a sitting position, frowning. "Why am I happy?'

"Isn't it wonderful?" Ryou asked, remembering the love he felt flowing through him after Bakura's healing spell.

"It's… unsettling. Help me to my feet." They both helped Seto stand. He glared at Tametomo, gritting his teeth. "It's time to end this battle and get the hell off of this island."

"Thank the gods, I'm sick of this vacation." Marik ground his teeth together, dropping to his hands and knees. "Low on… ba."

"I got you." Kek scooped Marik up into his arms, holding him bridal style.

"Ignore me and fight, you fool."

"Fuck you. I have to protect you."

"You not my defense mechanism anymore!"

"No. I'm not, but that doesn't change how I feel." Kek growled. "I have to protect all of you."

"Shit." Seto swore. Duos managed to slash through Tametomo's chest plate, and sever the arm wielding the naginata, but even with Bakura's healing, none of them had the ba to continue the fight.

"We… did win the game, right?" Bakura asked, glancing at Ryou.

"I mean, of course we did. Right? I wouldn't let us die."

Yin and Yang vanished. Kek dropped to his knees, still clutching onto Marik. At the same time Seto felt like dead weight slung against Ryou's shoulder and he wasn't sure how long he could stand himself.

"If we had any tricks saved for the end, now's the time to use them."

Ryou wracked his brain, desperate to remember anything. He thought of nothing, and Diabound was the only ka left keeping Tametomo from taking their heads with his katana.

"Can Seto have his wish back?" Kek asked. "Send me away again, and use that to kill this asshole instead."

"No." Seto clenched his jaw. "We just need to be stronger."

"Nice sentiment, but we can't level up if we don't survive the battle."

"Ryou, is there a way to-"

"Look," Ryou interrupted. "I wouldn't let you do that. That's not how I DM. I- ngh." Ryou dropped to his knees as well. Bakura couldn't hold Seto up alone so all three of crashed to the dirt and grass below.

"Ryou, I'll cover our retreat with Diabound. The rest of you-"

"Bakura," Ryou whispered. "It's obvious none of us have enough strength to run."

"Five more minutes and he'll disappear for another day," Seto said "Just hold him back."

As if jinxed, Tametomo broke through at that moment. He struck Kek and Marik. Ryou's shield held, but Ryou felt like he was ripping apart inside. He fell to his side, dirt caking to his sweat-soaked hair and turning his white hair into grime.

"Seto, if you did have an extra chance for a wish. What would you wish for?"

"For the Blue Eyes White Dragon to come and blast this fool to oblivion." Seto grit his teeth. "Too bad the remote control to my robots hasn't worked since we crash landed on the island."

"I wouldn't sacrifice Kek, not even to save us, but I bet I gave you a Good Samaritan bonus for using your wish for something we all wanted. Bakura, if I pass out, use Diabound. Keep everyone alive."

"Ryou, I can't cast that healing spell more than once a day. Don't-"

"It's okay. It's okay." Ryou whispered as his vision dimmed. "Just protect everyone else."

Tametomo struck again. A crack licked up the forcefield, and Ryou felt a stabbing pain in his head. He knew the next attack would shatter the shield. Kek did too. He curled around Marik to make sure the sword cut into him instead. Marik pushed in protest, but wasn't strong enough to stop Kek.

Something whistled through the air. Ryou saw a flash of light. It glowed bright enough that even his bleary vision saw the intense, stark color of the beam. It tore through the tormented spirit, and he shrieked. The weapons dropped from his hands, falling to the ground and landing in a cloud of rust and dirt. The remaining limbs fell next, dead bones once again. Another laser shot through Tametomo. The ghost himself vanished with a blood curdling scream echoing through the air.

"I love the Blue Eyes so fucking much." Seto passed out again.

It wasn't the Blue Eyes White Dragon exactly. It was Mokuba, in a BEWD jet.

Ryou came to, he was lying in a bed. His arm hurt, and he glanced down and noticed an IV needle taped to his arm.

"Thank the gods you're awake!" Yugi's voice called out in relief.

"Head hurts," Ryou muttered.

"That's because you're dehydrated and weak from playing a game that you promised you'd get rid of."

"Yugi, my head hurts," Ryou whimpered, hoping it'd get him out of the lecture he knew was coming.

"I can't believe you lied to me. I can't believe you-"

A soft mechanical sound interrupted Yugi as the door opened and the others- bonus Mokuba included- walked into the room.

"Told you he'd be fine," Seto said.

"Stop nagging him, Yugi. I already told you that keeping the game was my fault."

"Where are we?" Ryou asked.

"Kaiba Corp boat," Marik answered as he combed Ryou's hair with his fingers. "How are you feeling, habibi?"

"Okay. Sorry if I made you worry again."

"Your shields are the reason we're alive right now."

"Yeah, that was close. Remind me not to let Seto choose the boss next time."

"Next time?" Yugi screamed. "No. No next time, Ryou. You can't play the game anymore."

"He's not a child, Yugi." Seto crossed his arms over his chest. "Don't speak down to him."

Mokuba spoke up for the first time. "Seto, we were worried. Your plane crashed. We thought you might be dead."

"We tried to make it like a vacation," Marik explained. "We thought it'd be good for Seto to relax for a few days, but the game has a way of making sure it's played properly."

"Which is why you shouldn't play it." Yugi wrinkled his brow.

"Okay." Bakura pouted. "We're really sorry for worrying everyone, and we promise to never-"

"Bakura! You're obviously lying!" Yugi shouted.

"Damn. He saw right through your bullshit." Kek laughed. "If it makes you feel better, Marik doesn't want to play on our birthday."

Yugi stared at Kek, as if he didn't know what to make of him, probably trying to reconcile how much of him was the alter ego from Battle City and how much was the ka from their last game. All Ryou could think of, however, was Kek in those last few minutes of battle, offering to give up his life to save them, curling around Marik in hopes of saving him.

"Don't you realize if something happened to you we'd be sad?" Yugi sighed, running his fingers through his hair. "No game is worth your lives."

"We promise we won't play for at least another year," Ryou said, feeling bad. "And we'll talk about it more before making any sort of decision."

"At least don't play alone." Yugi gave up, sitting in a chair next to Ryou's bed. "We'll all play. I'd rather make sure we're all together so you don't get hurt."

"Yeah, because we didn't get hurt at all the first time," Bakura grumbled.

"It was supposed to be a fun game." Marik said, specific with his tone of the word "fun" so that Yugi caught the meaning.

"And Ryou still found a way for us to win." Bakura sat on the opposite side of the bed, dragging his fingers down Ryou's palm in an affectionate gesture.

"Thank goodness DMs are allowed to cheat within reason." Ryou grinned. "And I'm fine, Yugi. Please don't worry."

"I'll make sure he gets the best medical treatment," Seto said the words to Yugi, but then he winked at Marik. "And a proper vacation."

"Good. I've earned it." Marik smirked.

"What about you?" Mokuba crossed his arms across his chest as well. He looked like a miniature version of Seto and Ryou had to repress a lighthearted laugh at the sight. "When are you ever going to take a break that doesn't involve almost getting killed in a game?"

The corners of Seto's mouth twitched upward- more and more Ryou noticed Seto's lips trying to smile despite the rest of his face trying to stop it.

"Where would you suggest I go? If I ever was going to take time off."

"I've never even thought about it. Not really. You'll never take time off work to go anywhere, so I guess it doesn't really matter."

Seto crouched down, resting his hands on his knees and getting eye level with Mokuba.

"You have three days. You better start thinking about where we're going and be ready to go by the time we get everyone else back to Domino safely."

"Really?" Mokuba's arms dropped from his chest. His eyes rounded and his jaw slacked.

"Yes. I took a week's worth of vacation time before we played the game. These last three days were for us."

Mokuba looked up at Ryou and the others clustered around his bed. "What did you do to him? Seto's never taken a vacation!"

"I promise I didn't use the powers of an evil game to force Seto to take a few days off." Ryou smiled. "But if that's what you were thinking, I can understand why. Your brother is a little stubborn."

"A little?" Marik raised an eyebrow.

"Maybe a little bit more than a little." Ryou giggled.

"Not half as stubborn as the rest of you." Seto snorted. "I suppose all your nagging about taking time off finally seeped into my head."

Mokuba opened his arms wide and clamped them around Seto. This time, Seto smiled, and reached out to ruffle his brother's hair.

"I'm going to go book our hotel!" Mokuba ran out of the room.

"Well, if nothing else, it's good to see you spending time with your brother." Yugi sighed.

"Ryou, you need a bigger bed." Kek jumped over the rail at the foot of Ryou's bed so he could sit at the end.

"Agreed." Marik sat down as well, careful not to disrupt the IV.

"Don't worry." Ryou smiled at all three of them. "We'll be home soon, and our bed is big enough for all of us."