Author's Note: Hey y'all! This is the last chapter! Oh joyous day, you shall no longer have to put up with my sporadic updates and empty promises of attempting to fix them. Well, that being said, stick around, and read the very last chapter in this odd tale! The last one... until the... *drumroll* SEQUEL!

Kaiba stood staring at his dragon with a look of scared confusion on his normally stern face. He felt very out of place and out of practice. With the rush of adrenaline that had accompanied their battle, he had had no time to stop and ponder what was going on. Now he found that opportunity, and he didn't know what to do. How was he supposed to go about his life as if nothing had changed, with everything he had seen?

He did not notice Yami coming over to him under he felt his hand come to rest on his arm. He turned to his rival, and for the first time in his life had no idea what to say. His customary sarcasm just did not seem to fit here.

Yami looked into his eyes, and saw the torment that was there. He understood, for Kaiba's whole world had probably taken quite a tumble with everything that had happened this night, and it looked like he wasn't taking it too well.

They didn't have to say anything. For once, they were of the same mindset. Yami sympathized with Kaiba's desire to just forget all he had seen, and he cast a sideways glance at Blue-Eyes. The mighty dragon nodded at the Pharaoh, and Yami smiled.

"Keep him safe then, great beast." Yami whispered, and moved his hand to Kaiba's forehead. Kaiba started to ask what he was doing, but the words were lost as a great force rushed up inside his mind. His vision expolded in a burst of light, and the world before him shattered into a thousand tiny fragments.

XxxxxxxxxxxxX

Kaiba jerked forward with a loud gasp, sitting up violently and nearly catapulting himself off the couch. He sat there for a moment, trying so hard to force his mind to focus. When he finally calmed himself, he realized that he was back home, sitting on his couch, and staring into his fire.

A small movement on his legs made him jump, but he relaxed as soon as he looked down. Mokuba's head was resting on his lap, snoring softly. Then he gave a little yawn and rolled over, and Kaiba was convinced that he was safe.

Was it all just a dream? He wondered silently. But it was so real...

Slowly, gradually, with the same stubborn demeanor that had marked Kaiba's earliest days, he pushed the matter from his thoughts. He relaxed a little more every minute, until he was certain that all he had witnessed was indeed, no more than a bad dream.

In the shadow of the windowsill, just outside the house, Bakura slipped away with a satistfied smirk on his face. The threat to his ambition and goals had been dealt with.

One thing was for sure though, Kaiba thought as he settled back down and closed his eyes.

He was never drinking coffee before bed again.

XxxxxxxxxxxX

Yami stood confused in the shadows, wondering how on earth he was going to get out of here. The darkness is gone. He thought. Yet the shadows remain...

Suddenly, a small, soft, warm light started glowing behind him, and as he turned to behold it he lost his breath. Yugi floated down from above, slowly and gently, like a falling star across a black sky. Yami felt a surge of cold fear grip him. Yugi no longer held the lock... did that mean his soul had fled the mortal realm? No, he can't have. This is Yugi's spirit I'm looking at, so he cannot have left... Yami reached out and caught his falling form, again holding his partner as he had done only hours before. Hours? He thought. More like days...He was so still, sleeping as though he would never awaken again.

"Yugi?" he whispered, trying to rouse him. "Yugi?"

He did not stir. Yami voice cracked, tears pooling in his eyes. "Please Yugi... come back... We did it, can't you see? Atsu is gone, and we -Kaiba and I- were able to save you from the darkness." The words tumbled from his mouth without any direction. He kept talking, hoping to elicit a response from Yugi. "Come on, you have to open your eyes. You have to come back to the light. I know you can hear me! Please Yugi, I don't want to lose you again... this is all my fault. I'm so sorry. I would gladly take your burden upon myself, if only you did not have to suffer... you have to come back..."

Desperate, he held up the lock that Yugi had thrown to him before Atsu had filled his soul with his own evil presence. He tried to press it against Yugi, hoping to instill some life back into his spirit with the object that had kept him bound to its weilder. But his hand passed right through.

Frustrated, he put his hand on Yugi's face, without the pendant, and this time it stayed. His skin was so cold beneath his fingertips.

"What can I do?" he asked quietly. "How can I help you, my brother?"

Then, by the grace of some divine being, he was blessed with an idea.

"My brother..." he repeated, drawing strength from those words. He knew what to do.

He pressed the lock to his own heart instead, and then pulled Yugi in for a tight hug, so that the lock would not fall. He concentrated as hard as he could, opening his heart and letting all of his light shine forth, praying that this would work. He had his chin resting on Yugi's shoulder, and he breathed softly.

"Come back to us."

His heartbeat seemed to grow loud, beating so strongly it sounded like a great drum. He felt his whole body shudder, and then, slowly, it began to melt away. Or rather, his spirit melted, fleeing the confines of flesh and retreating to the Millennium Puzzle, which still hung around his neck. Yugi's spirit stayed upright, as millions of tiny flecks of light began detaching themselves from Yami's body, and surging forward to blend with Yugi's spirit. The sound of the heartbeat continued steady and strong.

Yami watched the line of light spread down his arms, tracing lines of heat as they went. He watched the hands holding Yugi become translucent, and knew the exchange was complete. He was a spirit once again. And hopefully, with the life force he had, he would bring Yugi's soul back home.

When the light at last faded, he watched Yugi with the most exsquisite expression of impatience stamped upon his face. He held his breath until it would have hurt if he still had lungs.

Please,he thought. Please, this has to work...

And then, miraculously, he could see the color returning to Yugi's pale face. His chest rose and fell softly, indicating breath. His eyelids wavered and cracked open, ever so slightly, revealing his wonderfully purple eyes, no longer stained with blood.

Yugi looked up blearily, puzzled. Deep amethest eyes drilled into his own, willing their life force into him. The image was fuzzy, and he faintly caught himself wondering who this man was, and why he was crying. And why his face seemed so very familiar...

Then a tear splashed onto his cheek and he understood.

"Yami?" he asked quietly, wondering why his partner had tears running down his face. His next coherent thought ran along the lines of figuring out what was making him sad, so he could figure out how to make him feel better.

"Yugi!" Yami cried, half-sobbing the words. He pulled Yugi into a sitting position and crushed him, hugging him so hard he robbed Yugi of breath. But Yugi didn't care. He never thought he would feel such an embrace again, and it felt so good to his weary mind.

After a second, Yugi found the strength to put his arms weakly around his "brother" and hug back. He felt so warm, and so safe, and everything in that one moment was exactly where it should be.

Yami let him go after an eternity, but he still kept his hands on the boy's shoulders. He wanted to ask so much,but he could find no words to speak. Yugi looked at him and smiled softly.

"It's okay. I'm alright."

It was all too much. Yami's lips trembled and a small, unsteady laugh escaped. All of the stress of these past few hours was weighing heavily on him, but he didn't care. Yugi was here, Yugi was safe and he was breathing and he was here... and that was all that mattered. He laughed until fresh tears were streaming down his face, and Yugi joined in too.

Just another crazy adventure.

This time Yugi was the one who pulled Yami into the hug, for he was steadily growing stronger and his limbs were not so weak.

"I love you Yami," he whispered into Yami's hair.

"I love you too Yugi, you know that?" Yami whispered back.

"Of course I do." Yugi laughed. "Thank you for saving me."

Yami pulled back again and smiled. "Anytime."

The Shadow Realm began to dissipate and dissolve, fading away to flee before their bond. Both looked around at the park they knew so well, reflecting the early morning sun. They looked at each other.

"Brothers?" Yugi asked, holding out his hand.

"Brothers," Yami agreed solmenly, taking the offered grasp.

For always.

A/N: And that's that, ladies and gentlemen! The end. Fin. Uhhh... adios... No, wait, that's goodbye. Oh well. Hope you enjoyed it! Thanks for reading! Until next time. Because there will be one. In the sequel. Um... I just have to write it first XD.