Everything was confused.

He couldn't tell if he was falling, flying, or something in between. All he knew was that the world had quit making sense. The rules of reality seemed to no longer apply as dark and light bled into one and became something more and something less. Time flowed up and down and forwards and back, twisting like a river of tears through a landscape of soft despair.

Though he would have thought it impossible, the jumble that was his mind slowly began to fall into place. The first thing he remembered was a name. It was strange because he knew it wasn't his name. It was stranger still because he knew it was more important than his name.

Soon after the name came emotions. The poured like rain across the desert, a shock to the system, yet not one that was unwelcome. After that images had blossomed. He could remember eyes. Eyes of red, cynical yet fun. Eyes of brown, soft and thoughtful.

But mostly he remembered violet.

It took time. It took far too much time before he could attach the name to those eyes. But the moment he did, the moment he realized how they fit, the world fell back into place.

Yugi.

Yami opened his eyes with a gasp, struggling to move into a sitting position. When he failed he settled for twisting his neck, hoping to figure out where he was so he could come up with a plan to get he and his aibou out of whatever mess they had landed themselves in this time.

It was difficult to get his bearings. The room was dark and dank. It smelled of dust and of ages long past. Yami could feel himself begin to panic as he placed the taste of musty air and dim light.

He had been locked in a tomb.

That thought had Yami surging to his feet. He moaned in pain as his muscles screamed in protest at their sudden use, but he held his footing, spinning to get a better look at where he was. He was alone, that was apparent, but it didn't mean he was safe. He could have been buried alive for all he knew. It would have been a bit extravagant on the part of whoever had dumped him here, but the enemies Yami collected tended to be . . . frivolous in their pursuits.

The fear of having been buried alive died as Yami spotted a plain wooden door. It was completely out of place and devastatingly familiar. Still, it took Yami a few moments for his mind to place the door. When he did he gasped in relief, glad he was alone so no one could see his weakness as he celebrated.

He was in his soul room.

And if he was in his soul room it meant that Yugi would be…

Yami didn't bother to finish the thought. He slammed himself against the door, staggering into the labyrinth that guarded his essence from intruders. His feet led him down the familiar path and soon he was standing on the cusp of his own mind, the dark door with the millennium eye standing open, waiting for him to pass.

Yami took a deep breath and stepped into the corridor between his mind and his hikari's.

Relief weakened his knees as he saw that a familiar door still stood across the hall. It was, as always, sitting slightly ajar. Soft light still poured forth, lessening the blackness of the corridor.

Still Yami steadied himself as he approached. The longer he was awake the more he began to remember. And as he dragged himself to Yugi's soul room he couldn't block the last sight he had had of the boy.

He could still see how in those brief moments Yugi's body had hit the ground like a discarded toy. Patches of flesh had been burned away, as though they had been exposed to acid. Yami shuddered as he remembered his aibou's face, half gone, on violet eye rolling grotesquely in his head, the eyelid that normally framed it completely burned away. Patches of Yugi's hair, Yugi's soft and wonderful hair, had been melted done, revealing a weeping scalp, though in places it had shown bone. Yugi's fingers, his slight and delicate fingers, the ones he used to elegantly move chess pieces across the board, were all but gone, melted away by the darkness. And Yugi's soft lips were twisted and bloody, drawn into a sick parody of a scream.

Yami paused at the door, resting his hand gently on the knob. He wouldn't turn from this. He wouldn't run. He was Pharaoh and this was his kingdom. But as a king he knew that there were times when you had to be prepared. And until he knew more he knew that the one thing he could do was not scream when he saw his aibou.

Yami pushed the door open.

Yugi's room was only slightly changed. The toys, which Yugi had eventually learned to shelve, had been thrown about, as though knocked out of their resting places by an earthquake. Some sat upside down while others had been buried. But the rest of the room seemed fine. The walls were intact. Light still shone in from a window. And the bed…

The bed had a giant lump in the middle, hidden by a blanket.

Yami slowly picked his way over to the furnishing, treading carefully so as not to step on Yugi's toys. He sat down on the comforter, his weigh pulling him into the soft surface. All Yami wanted to do was flop over and cover the body that he knew rested beneath the blankets. But he was Pharaoh, and he had responsibilities.

He pulled away the blanket.

There was a sleepy protest. Yugi yanked the blanket back, trying to use it to cover his head to block out the light. Yami peeled it away again. He watched as a hand flitted itself across the cloth, searching for a purchase so it could reclaim its shade. When it found no way to win the blanket from its capture, the owner of said hand grumbled and slowly began to sit up.

Yugi gave Yami a purple glare. "You know," he grumbled playfully, "If all you ever do is come here to wake me up I might just start locking that door."

Yami just pulled him into a hug, the Pharaoh's tears falling on Yugi's unblemished face. Yugi wrapped his arms around his darkness, murmuring soft reassurance as Yami's hands flitted across his skin, making sure that his soul was intact.

It was Yugi who pulled away first. "I'm fine, Yami," he smiled to prove his point, "but how are we doing?"

"We?" Yami echoed, still preoccupied with searching Yugi for hidden wounds.

"Yes 'we.'" As Yami stared blankly Yugi rolled his eyes in comic exasperation. "The body? The thing we share? Do you know how it is doing? Or even where it is?" He sighed as Yami's expression became thoughtful.

Finally the Pharaoh broke out of his reverie. "I suppose we should check on that."

"I suppose we should."

It was Yami who opened his eyes to be greeted by the blank stare of a plain ceiling. He and Yugi had both agreed that if they were somewhere disagreeable Yami would be the better choice to rectify that. And though he wouldn't say it out loud Yugi was still feeling drained from whatever it was that had happened.

Yami shifted his gaze, making sure he was alone in the room before trying anything else.

He winced as he sat up, aches and pains making themselves known. Most of it came from his muscles. From the stiffness Yami could tell that they had been lying here for a while. But part of the pain came from other things such as the needle resting in the crook of his arm.

/It's an IV./

Yami frowned. //This isn't a hospital.// He glanced around the room, taking in the evidence that proved his statement.

It was an airy room done up in neutral colors, dark reds and faded maroons. A large and vibrant window shed little light through the dark curtains. There was a nightstand on both sides of the bed and a set of wooden drawers at the foot.

/Is this a hotel?/

Yugi echoed Yami's incredulity but couldn't deny the observation. There was nothing in the room that marked it as belonging to someone and the blankets held that for the customers feel. There were also a grotesque number of pillows. Even if this wasn't a hotel it certainly looked like one.

A small, plastic table was the only thing that looked liked it was out of place. On it sat various pieces of medical equipment. Yami winced at some of the needles.

Seeing no immediate danger he slowly eased himself up until he was sitting on the edge of the bed, wincing as he struggled against the stiffness. But he didn't let it prevent him from pulling the needle out of his arm.

Ignoring the thin trail of blood that seeped from the new wound, Yami stood. He was pleased to find the body in working condition. Other than the stiffness there seemed to be no injuries. So far everything seemed okay.

Which was strange considering Yami's last memory was of a serial murderer trying to kill his hikari. Waking up unhurt in a hotel room after such an experience was weird, even for Item Bearer standards.

The soft clicking of a turning doorknob promised a few answers.

Yami moved swiftly, pain forgotten, as a distracted man entered the room backwards, carrying a tray as he mumbled to himself. " 'Matsuda, go make coffee. Matsuda, go wash dishes. Matsuda, go play maid instead of doing your job.' Well, at least you haven't started ordering me…" Matsuda trailed off, looking at the empty bed. He drew his weapon, eyes scanning for signs of an intruder.

A flash of almost black violet was all he caught before he found himself staring at the floor, his arm twisted back an up over his head and the back of his knees bruised. Matsuda shifted his weight; ready to fight when he heard a soft click. He stilled.

"Very good," whispered a midnight voice. "Now allow me to explain how this will work if you wish for both of us to survive. I will ask questions. You will answer them honestly. You will not yell for aid, nor will you attempt to escape. If you were to do either of these things I will be forced to kill you. Understand?"

"Yes," Matsuda whispered, cursing his luck.

"Very good." There was a pause. "Why am I here?"

Matsuda blinked, at a bit of a loss. "Um, because when a man loves a womAH!" his statement ended in a pained gasped as his arm was twisted upward. Not that he was surprised. Matsuda had had a feeling that that was the wrong answer.

"Why was I brought here!" the other voice was just a hiss.

Matsuda blinked again as the pieces began to click. "Mr. Mutou?" he asked hesitantly.

Had his hands not been busy, Yami would have grabbed his face in frustration. Who the hell had the man thought he was? Ewan McGregor? Questioning this idiot was like pulling teeth!

/Be nice!/ scolded Yugi. /You jumped him form the side. He probably didn't see us. And he's younger than you. Besides, he might be a friend./

Yami frowned, looking again at the man. Yugi was correct about the man being younger than Yami although considering it was between he and Bakura for oldest living person that was hardly surprising. What was surprising was that the man he pinned couldn't have been a decade older than Yugi. Yami would have placed him at twenty-five.

/See? He's young. Be nice./

//He's older than you!//

/I bet he hasn't saved the world./

//Yugi, this isn't the time to be nice.//

/Then settle for being less mean./

Oblivious to his captor's internal argument, Matsuda closed his eyes, concentrating on keeping his breathing easy as he waited for a response. His lips moved in a silent prayer as the silence continued to stretch.

//Fine! I'll be less mean!// Yami rolled his eyes as Yugi bubbled happily. He shook his head, returning his focus to his prisoner. The man on the floor was tense, probably near panic and therefore ready to do something stupid.

Yami sighed, easing down Matsuda's arm, relieving a bit of the pain. "Yes, I'm Yugi Mutou."

Matsuda bit his tongue to keep from sighing in relief. Not only had he not been shot (hurray!) he had also gained a valuable piece of information (double hurray!). His relief was diminished by pain as his arm was moved again. Oh yeah. Questions. "Um, I missed that…"

Yami looked down at his prisoner in horror. //This man is an idiot! And has ADD!//

/At least he doesn't have a dragon fetish./

//Touché.// Yami took in a deep breath and asked his question again. "Why am I here?"

"You had a heart attack."

Yami gritted his teeth. "And this is not the hospital I had it in! This isn't even a hospital! So why the hell are we in a motel?"

"This is our base."

"Your base."

"Yup."

"A base."

"That's what I said."

"What are you, ten?"

Matsuda blinked. "Um, I don't think I look ten."

Yami moaned in frustration. "By Ra, I've been abducted by mentally challenged adults playing king of the hill."

"Hey!" barked Matsuda, insulted. "Show some respect! We're detectives!"

"Detectives?"

"That is correct."

In the blink of an eye Yami moved, twisting Matsuda's arm down so it was behind his back and manipulating the young detective's body so it served as a shield. Yami kept the gun pointing at Matsuda as he peeked around his shoulder to see who had joined the conversation. Yami's eyes narrowed.

"Ryuga."

L smiled. "Hello Yugi-kun. I am pleased to see you have regained consciousness.

OMG! I AM SO SORRY! I wanted to put this chap up the day after the last one but I got sick again. And the meds I'm on are throwing me for a loop. This is the first time I have been able to write in about 2 weeks! I feel so awful! T.T I didn't mean to leave you guys with the other cliffhanger for so long! I am such a schmuk!

And to those waiting on my other crossovers, I still haven't had a chance to work on them either. My drugs are making go WHEEEEE*sob sob sob* WHEEEEE. It is very trippy and not in a good way (I lied, it is kinda fun. Just not productive). So as soon as I get this mess figured out I will be back with more! Please be patient!

Oh, and I used Ewan McGregor because he was big in Japan for a while.

To those who are all "They're alive!" you don't get to be mad at me because there were some really obvious clues.

1. There was no body. The laws of drama state that if a person is dead but there is no body then they aren't dead. If there is no body and they *might* be alive its a different ball game, but otherwise they are definitely alive.

2. Yami & L are listed as main characters.

3. As Ning Jun pointed out, I have a bit of a love affair with twists.

Anyway, hope this satisfies you and I'll be back when I can, though I owe SoP more updates first ^^0