Author's Note:

Sorry for the long delay. I hope you enjoy the chapter and please review!

Marik scanned the desert as he walked, desperately looking for any kind of town. He, Bakura, and Ryo have been wondering for half an hour now. Marik was exhausted and he could tell Bakura and Ryo where doing worse. Ryo was unconscious again and Bakura looked like he could faint from exhaustion.

Marik stopped moving.

"Do you want to rest for awhile?" he asked. "You look tired."

Bakura growled, sweat pouring down his face.

"We won't last long out here without water or shelter. We need to find that before anything else."

He turned to Ryo.

"I don't think he'll last much longer either."

Marik nodded and took Ryo's weight off of Bakura.

"I'll carry Ryo for a bit. Scout ahead and see if you can find anything."

Bakura nodded and walked a bit faster as Marik dragged Ryo.

By Ra, he is a lot heavier then he looks!

After walking for another thirty minutes, Bakura jogged towards Marik.

"I can see a town in the distance," he reported. "It looks like it's only a mile away."

"Oh, thank Ra!"

Marik handed Ryo back to Bakura, who grunted in response. They then half walked, half ran towards the town. Once they were close enough, they steadied their pace and entered the town.

Marik and Bakura's eyes widened with shock as they saw the strangest creatures roaming the town. From giants to men with horns the aliens roamed.

And no one seemed to care.

"What in the name of Zorc…" Bakura stuttered.

"Try to act natural!" Marik hissed. "We're less likely to get help if you keep staring at everything that moves!"

Marik approached the towards the nearest human. "Uh…excuse me, but could you tell me where the nearest medical facility is? My friend needs help and fast."

Marik gestured towards Ryo, who Bakura was now carrying.

The man studied them. "What happened to him?" he asked.

"It's a long story," Bakura answered coldly. "Just tell us where we can get some help."

The man gave a puzzled look but nodded at the situation. "I guess I shouldn't ask. Anything can happen here on Tatooine."

"Tatooine? Is that where we are?"

"Yes, straight in the middle of the Outer Rim." The man studied Marik and Bakura. "Your…not from around here are you?"

What was your first clue?

"Yes," Marik said out loud. "But all we want is to get to a hospital."

The man nodded. "Of course, follow me."

The man led Marik and Bakura towards a small building near the edge of town. He opened the door for them.

"Step inside. I'll get someone to look at your friend."

Marik smiled gratefully and he and Bakura stepped inside. The inter looked like a small waiting room, but with few chairs and no counter. Marik and Bakura sat in the chairs. Ryo leaned against Bakura, clearly oblivious to everything. Bakura put his hand on his forehead.

"He has a bit of a fever," he said.

"Not a surprise, we're wondering the desert for a long time," Marik replied.

He sighed. "I hope we get some water soon. My throat so dry I can barely speak."

"Same here."

Bakura glanced down at Ryo, making sure his fever was going down. Marik looked out the window. He wondered how come the humans in this dimension where acting so calmly around the aliens. It was like an everyday thing for them.

Fitting in is going to be hard. I don't think I can keep a straight face while talking to those…whatever they are… Did that guy that just walked by have tentacles for a beard?

Suddenly, a human woman walked into the room with a clipboard in her hands.

"Is that the injured patient that I was told about?" she asked.

Marik nodded. "Yes, are you a nurse?"

"I am. Can you carry him? I have a room ready for him."

The nurse then lead Bakura and Marik down a long hallway. At the end, a small bed with a desk of basic medical supplies was there. Bakura placed Ryo on the bed. The nurse studied him.

"What's the patient's name? What is his medical history?"

"His name is Ryo," Bakura answered. "We don't have a record of his medical history, but I can assure you that he's pretty healthy."

The nurse nodded, her attention mostly focused on Ryo. "Are you two related to Ryo at all?"

"No, we're just friends. I'm Bakura and that's Marik."

The nurse nodded again, now looking at Ryo's right arm, which was bandaged up. "What happened to his arm?"

"He was in…a fight earlier."

"Was it serious?"

"No, it happened a few days ago. It should be fine."

The nurse was silent for a long moment, checking Ryo's pulse, breathing, and temperature.

"He seems to only be under extreme exhaustion and a bit overheated," she finally said. "After a long rest, he should be alright."

"How long tell he's better?" Marik asked.

"Maybe a few hours at the least, I'm not sure." She smiled slightly. "Do you have a place to stay for the night?"

"We don't. Do you know a place where we could stay?"

"Yes, I'll see if I can get a room for you two. I would like to keep Ryo here over night though, so that I can watch over him."

Marik and Bakura nodded in agreement.

"Good. I'll go see if I can get a room."

She then left the room.

Marik gazed down at Ryo. He looked better already from just laying in bed.

"What do you plan to do after this?" Bakura questioned.

Marik was silent for a moment.

"I don't know. It will depend what Ryo can handle."

Bakura nodded and turned back to his injured host.

Marik let out a heavy sigh.

What are we going to do?

Ryo felt a huge pain in his right arm as he slowly tried to open his eyes. His body felt a bit numb, like he fell off a cliff.

What the hell did I do to deserve this?

He opened his eyes. He found himself in a hospital room, lying on a bed. Moonlight shown in through the window as a cool breeze came through. Ryo blinked as he sat up.

Where am I?

His memory was a bit fuzzy, considering that the Spirit of the Millennium Ring had been in control of him for a very long time. Ryo's eyes widened as he looked down to see his Millennium Item was gone from around his neck.

Ryo began to panic.

The Millennium Ring was his most prized possession! He couldn't afford to lose it…even if it did cause him pain at times.

Ryo stepped out of bed, still feeling a bit weak. He limped towards the door and opened it. But to his surprise, a nurse was standing outside, about to enter his room.

Ryo gasped.

The nurse gave him a sympathetic look.

"What are you doing out of bed, Ryo? You need to be resting."

"'Resting?' What are you talking about? Who are you, where am I?"

"Shh…"

The nurse guided Ryo back to his bed and made him sit down.

"It's alright, Ryo. You've been through a lot. Your friends brought you here to Tatooine earlier this afternoon."

"'Friends?'"

"Marik and Bakura."

Ryo's eyes widened.

So it wasn't a dream. Ryo thought he had made all that up. That he, the Spirit of the Millennium Ring, and Marik where in a desert in the middle of nowhere.

How did we get here? Weren't we in Domino City earlier?

"…Do you know where Bakura and Marik are?" he finally asked in a low voice.

"They are in a nearby inn," the nurse answered.

"…Can you get a hold of them for me? I would like to speak to them as soon as possible."

The nurse was silent for a long moment before she replied, "I'll see what I can do. Just lay in bed until I get back."

Ryo nodded and sat back down in his bed, waiting anxiously. Soon, the nurse came back.

"I have a call waiting for you in the other room. Please follow me."

Ryo gave her a confused look but he did as she said.

Is it really that hard to bring me a phone?

After walking down the hallway a bit, the nurse opened the door to a small room. There, a large table sat in the middle of the room with a blue hologram in the middle of it. Ryo's widened in amazement.

The nurse closed the door and Ryo then approached the it. And the hologram was none other then Yami Bakura.

Ryo felt sweat go down his face as he looked into the Spirit of the Millennium Ring's eyes.

"Uh...hello, Bakura," Ryo said nervously.

Can he see me?

"Hello, Ryo. You look well."

Apparently, yes.

Bakura narrowed his eyes.

"What are you doing up?" he demanded angrily. "Do you have any idea what time it is?"

"I don't, nor do I have any idea where I am! What the bloody hell is going on? Where are you and Marik?"

With a lot of irritation, Bakura then explained to Ryo what happened in his battle with Yami Marik, how they were stranded in the desert, and then got the civilization.

"Marik and I don't know much either," Bakura finally concluded. "We'll be coming after you tomorrow morning and we will figure something out. If you are up to it, of course."

"I'll be alright," Ryo said.

He was quiet for a long moment until he had the courage to ask, "…Do you have, by chance have…the Millennium Ring with you?"

Bakura was silent.

"I do. I don't know why we have separate bodies, but I'm sure it is connected to the Millennium Ring. I don't know if our souls are connected to the ring, but we must have it under our possession at all times. Do you understand me, Ryo?"

"I understand."

"Good, we will discuss this more tomorrow. Goodnight, Ryo."

He turned off the connection.

Ryo sighed. "Goodnight, Bakura."

Making sure the hologram phone was turned off and walked back outside. The nurse was waiting for him and led him back to his room. When they got back, Ryo laid back down in his bed.

"Do you need anything else, Ryo?" the nurse asked.

"No, I would just like to sleep."

The nurse nodded and left the room.

Ryo sighed heavily and closed his eyes. Even though a part of him was happy to have his body under his full control again, a part of him missed Bakura.

Once again before he got the Millennium Ring, Ryo felt alone.

Marik put his duel disk onto his arm, making sure everything was in place. Even though it was still early in the morning, he could feel the heat coming from the window. Marik sighed heavily as he was not looking forward to wondering in the desert land again.

Out of all the realms we could have gotten into, why a desert? Really, my darker self? A desert? Why not a tropical forest or something?

Marik turned to Bakura, who was staring intensely at the Millennium Ring. Marik raised an eyebrow.

"What's wrong?"

Bakura blinked. "It's nothing. I was just thinking."

Marik stood up.

"Whatever, but I will say that we shouldn't keep secrets from each other. We'll only get out of here if we work together."

Bakura nodded but his mind seem to be somewhere else.

Marik sighed.

Hooray for teamwork!

"Come on. We need to go see Ryo. You said he called us last night, right?"

"Yes, which I'm still amazed you where able to sleep through the constant ringing of the phone," Bakura said. "From the way he sounded, it looks like he has fully recovered.

"That remains to be seen."

They then left the room and walked downstairs towards the main lobby.

"So how are we going to be paying for this?" Bakura asked.

"I...have no idea. Hopefully we can just walk out and nobody will notice."

Bakura stared at Marik like he was crazy.

"What? Do you have any better ideas?"

Once they were at the main lobby, Marik and Bakura moved quickly and quietly. Marik glanced back at the man at the front desk. It was the same alien with the tentacle beard. His eyes seemed to be distant and he looked like he wasn't paying too much attention to them.

Yes! This foolish fool won't even realize we are gone!

"Hey, where are you two going?"

Marik stopped dead in his tracks.

Damn it!

"Uh...we're just getting some fresh air," he explained turning around. "We will be back shortly, I promise!"

The tentacle man narrowed his eyes. "Really? Why don't you pay for your room right now so that you don't have to do it later."

"Uh..."

Marik turned to Bakura, hoping for some support. But Bakura only glared at him, as if to say, "This was your idea, you fix it."

Marik glared at him back and then turned to the tentacle man.

"Uh...I would pay you, but you see...we have no money. We've been stranded on Tatooine and lost all of our money."

"Aw...I see. Well, I can accept a trade."

The alien's eyes glowed with greed at the sight of the Millennium Ring.

"That...ring would do just fine," he said pointing at it. "Give it to me and your room will be paid off."

Bakura narrowed his eyes and growled. "Over my dead body!"

"Bakura!"

The tentacle man growled a bit and left the counter. "Then how else are you going to pay?"

"Are you threatening us?"

Bakura took a step closer, the Millennium Ring glowing bright gold.

Marik's eyes widened. The last thing they needed to do was to start a fight. Quickly, he pulled a card from his deck and set it on the duel disk. The hologram of Worm Drake appeared between them. The worm opened its mouth, saliva falling down its razor sharp teeth.

Wow, the effects of the monsters are more realistic here then back home!

Both Bakura and the inn keeper back up.

"W-what the? What is that thing?" the tentacle man exclaimed.

Marik smirked. "Stay where you are and Worm Drake won't hurt you."

He turned to Bakura.

"Go get Ryo."

Bakura nodded and ran out of the inn. Marik turned back to the inn keeper.

"Now, were where we... Ah, yes, about our payment?"

The giant worm slivered towards the frightened alien, who was so scared his tentacles where twitching. He stared at Marik's monster for a long moment until he suddenly screamed, "Help! Somebody help! There is a madman in my inn!"

Marik flinched back but Worm Drake was getting ready to strike.

"Freeze!"

Marik looked out the corner of his eye to see three armed men. They seemed to be in the military as they all wore white armor and helmets.

"Call you pet off and we won't shoot," one of them said.

Marik smirked and chuckled trying to seem intimidating, when he was actually scared shitless.

"Alright, I surrender."

As if by mental command Worm Drake returned to Marik's side. Marik then drew to cards from his deck and placed them onto the duel disk.

"What are you..."

The military man stopped speaking as a new monster, Humanoid Slime appeared next to Worm Drake. The spell card, Polymerization appeared above their heads and Worm Drake and Humanoid Slim fused together. The transformed into Humanoid Drake.

The military men flinched back.

Marik smiled.

"Humanoid Drake, attack!"

Humanoid Drake charged at the armed men. It tackled one of them and tried to rip his arm off. Real blood could have been seen from the wound Humanoid Drake's claw like arm made on the man.

Marik flinched at the sight.

The monsters where real!

Having his chance, Marik ran out of the building. The citizens of the town where staring at the scene, too paralyzed to do anything. In the distance, more military reinforcements where on the way.

They even had a tank.

Marik cursed and looked around desperately for Bakura and Ryo. He couldn't see them anywhere, so he hurried towards the hospital.

Hopefully they are having an easier time then I am!

Dogging pass the crowds, Marik arrived at the hospital. Now leaving the building, he saw Bakura and Ryo. Marik approached them, gasping for air.

"Marik...what's going on?" Bakura asked puzzled and alarmed.

"...To make a long story short, we are in trouble and need to get out of here and fast!" Marik turned to Ryo. "Can you run fast or for very long?"

"I guess," Ryo answered.

Marik turned around to see some of the military men running towards them.

"Good, now run for your life!"

Marik sprinted past Bakura and Ryo, who wasn't too far behind him.