"Horus,"

In the throne of heavens, Horus shrugged. "Yes, my king?" He asked, for like the thousandth time this morning. "Horus," the sun God said again. Now the pharaoh of the heavens looked at the god with a sigh. "Yes, my king?" He emphasized his words, trying to get his point. He was ruling over gods here! "Horus, I am bored." For this? The old man had been bothering him all morning for this?

"Go play some human card games, you like it when they summon you." Horus was actually jealous though. Lord Osiris had a dragon form thanks to that card game, Obelisk, the Obelisk monument, actually got a cool form of blue giant. And Ra? Ra got a super badass forms: dragon and phoenix.

"Since the three God cards got collected by a human, I was summoned less and less. Even though I like this kid, Yugi Mutou and his yami who's actually Atem, I really like it when the Ishtar kid, both Malik and his yami summon me almost all his duels." Ra ended it with a sigh. Horus rolled his eyes. There he was, the most ancient god of Egypt, complaining because humans don't summon him as much in human's card game.

"Horus,"

"OH FOR NILE'S SAKE WHAT IS IT?!" Horus snapped. The man had been calling him for hours of morning just because he was bored. Didn't the god have anything else to do?!

"Oh yes! I always love it when you snap! It makes a good practical joke!"

"Do you want to know what a good practical joke is?" Horus asked snappily to the sun god, who perked to him now because he was clearly interested. "Go to those people you like, make them an opposite gender, and then throw them to some random time. And then you'll get your best practical joke of the year and amusement too." Horus was just blurting whatever he had in mind actually, but Ra looked absolutely ecstatic.

"Oh yes! Yes! That'd be so hilarious! Thank you Horus, you're awesome!" Ra then moved from his throne and burst on fire, heading to the Shadow Realm. "Finally, I can get my work done…" The pharaoh of gods sighed, thanking the silence that finally bestowed him.

"So Silent Magician, Change of Heart, and Humanoid Slime -you look nasty by the way. I want you guys to meet with your partners and speak some nonsense to them, tell them they can meet their darker halves again, do you get me?"

To tell the truth, Silent Magician, Change of Heart, and Humanoid Slime didn't really get it. But they said yes anyway. "Awesome. I'm going now, I'm expecting you to hurry though, since I'm too bored for long winded process."

"You mean our masters don't actually have a choice?" Change of Heart spoke up, oh, always the considerate one. "Oh please, of course they don't! But actually… what wouldn't they give to see the darker halves again? I'm sure you three saw how they live without them."

Silent Magician flinched. Oh yes she knew how her master lives without his darker half. It was like watching a zombie, a smiling and highly functioning one, but that was it. It also pained her sometimes to see her master staring at the mirror, hoping for someone to be there and everything.

Change of Heart frowned. It hurt her to see her master feel lonely. Sure, he was happy for not being controlled and his friends stopped being figurines, but his darker half was the only one who paid him constant attention humans' need as a social being. The only ones her master could count on was Silent Magician's master and Humanoid Slime's master, since they both felt the same thing about losing the half of their souls.

Humanoid Slime felt his body froze. Even though his master's darker half was different than the others, he felt that it was true. His master was emptier. Rage, hatred, envy, and all those things are necessary for humans to live, after all.

Realizing this, Ra smirked to the three monsters. "We have our deals, yes?"

The three of them shivered, but then bowed. "As you wish, my king."

"Malik, I think you should cut it out before the police caught you!" Yugi was shouting, ignoring his manly pride as he hugged Malik's waist like there was no tomorrow. "What? I can't hear you! The wind's too loud in my ears!" Yugi knew that his friend was lying, but before he could say anything, Malik sped up the motorcycle even more and made Yugi faint on his back.

It had been a year ever since his yami, Atem, and Ryou's yami, Thief King Bakura left, and a year plus a few months for Malik's yami's banishment to the Shadow Realm. The three of them didn't think that much about it at first, but then after a few months of solitary, they began to feel the emptiness.

Sometimes, Yugi would try to search his own shadows; maybe he could see the golden Eye of Horus somewhere. He missed his other self, he really did- still do, actually. Ryou would feel dangerously alone, and paranoia could attack him like it was a plague. And Malik… he was just plain… empty.

Unable to cope with those feelings by themselves, the three of them started calling each other, and then eventually arrange some meet-ups, and finally came down into the three of them sharing a room in Ryou's ridiculously big apartment.

When Yugi came to, he could see Bakura's brown eyes looking at him with worry. "Huh?" Yugi asked. "You fainted when you ride the motorcycle." Ryou laughed a little. Even when they both live with Malik, who avoid other transportations besides boat and motorcycle like a plague, they don't have high tolerance for them. Malik had insisted that they were both stupid, as the bike is the greatest form of transportation mankind has ever made. But they shrugged it with a laugh.

Eventually, Malik joined them with three cans of colas in his hand. "Here, cool down a bit." Ryou and Yugi smiled at the rashest member of their trio. "Hey Malik how is Ishizu-san?" Yugi asked as he gulped down his cola. Malik finished his cola and replied, looking as non-committal as he could. "Ah she's fine. Wouldn't shut up about me being in Japan, but so what." It wasn't even a question. Yugi trembled a little.

Ishizu-san found that Malik actually missed his darker half horrifying. After all, Malik's yami wreak havoc and chaos and tried to plunge all of them to the Shadow Realm. If anything, Malik should be relieved… but he's not.

Just like with Yugi, and Ryou. They all once feared their yamis, but then… their yamis always, always look out for them.

For Yugi's yami, it was obvious for naked eyes, but for Ryou and Malik…

Ryou's yami trapped all of Ryou's friends in figurine because Ryou had thought that he wanted the games they played to last forever, he trapped the gym teacher because the teacher had been mean to Ryou. It was all for Ryou's sake. And nobody was ever willing to do that much for him.

Malik's yami was born out of hatred and anger. But then, he made all of the most horrible times in Malik's life a blur. Malik had hated his father; his yami killed the man for him. Malik had endured the pain of the scar on his back; his yami shared those pains with him. And like Yugi, who was bullied before, or Ryou, who had no friends in general… nobody but his yami had been there for him.

The three of them sigh.

"Nothing would change." Malik was the one who spoke up, and Ryou only ruffled Yugi's hair to comfort the boy. "Wrong. Something could change,"

Suddenly, the portal to the Shadow Realm opened, something that was supposed to be impossible since the pharaoh's departure. Malik and Ryou shielded Yugi instinctively, seeing as he was the youngest of the group.

"Master!" A small magician appeared, hugging Yugi on his neck. "Master," Change of Heart smiled in relief to Ryou. "My lord," Humanoid Slime said to Malik, who looked utterly shocked.

"What the hell?!" Malik exclaimed.

"We're here under the orders of Lord Ra," Silent Magician said, peering her ruby eyes to her master's amethyst's ones. "The three of us were to tell you…" Change of Heart kneeled until she was at eye-level to Ryou, who was also kneeling.

"That you will be able to meet your darker halves again." The reaction was ecstatic.

"R-really?!" Yugi.

"A-ah?" Ryou.

"What?" Malik.

They all shared the same happiness in their eyes. Meeting their yamis again? That'd be awesome!

"We understand, we'll send you to them, now." Silent Magician's eyes glinted, like she was trying to tell Yugi about something. But, as the shadow engulfed all three of them, Yugi missed his chance to ask.

He was expecting a long trip, but it wasn't.

Suddenly, he appeared in thin air and fell down to something- or someone.

He also heard a muffled yelp of Malik and Ryou, who also fell down.

"WHO ARE YOU?" A voice boomed, and Yugi swore that it wasn't Japanese, but he could understand it anyway. He saw that Malik and Ryou fell in front of two men who have spears pointed to their necks. But something was odd…

Was… was Malik's face had been that round?

Was Ryou's chest that… big?

"Excuse me," a calm, deep, rich, smooth, and regal voice that Yugi could recognize from anywhere said to his ears. But the events that follow after distracted him from that voice. "Who are you?! Who are all of you women?! How dare you interrupt a procession of Millennium Court?!"

Wait, what? "I'm not a woman-" BUT HE WAS!

Yugi's chest… it wasn't big, but it was there. Yugi's waist… it went slimmer. "WHAT THE FUCK?" Malik shouted, but before he- she could say anything more, the man behind him - her had broken away from the restraint and grabbed her by her waist and slung her on his shoulder. "I dunno who you are, woman, but thanks for saving me. BAKURA, WE'RE GOING!"

Ryou's captor did the same to Yugi's other best friend. "Sure thing, Marik! WE'RE GOING TO SEE YOU AGAIN, PHARAOH!" As the four of them run, Yugi could hear Malik's screams of obscenity.

"DON'T LET THEM RUN!"

"OH MY RA! RYOU! MALIK!"

"Excuse me," the Pharaoh said on her ears as the guards and the sacred guardians left to chase the thieves (actually, one of them is an assassin). Yugi turned, and realized where she had landed. "Who are you, miss? And can you please get off of my lap?"

Apparently, she had landed on top of the Pharaoh's lap. She didn't even notice that the King's advisor, Siamun Muran, had passed out because of it.

"M-Mou hitori no boku…" Shit.

"That is hilarious!" Ra laughed from his throne. His laughter vibrated throughout the world as an earthquake. Suddenly, a red dragon appeared and took a human form, just like the sun god did. "What brings you to utter laughter, my friend?" He asked.

"Osiris, your son is a genius." Ra invited his friend to sit on a chair he just made. "First class entertainment!" Osiris narrowed his yellow eyes as he sat down. "You tampered with human's fates again, didn't you…" He said suspiciously.

"Oh c'mon, my friend, what's life without a little practical joke?"