Everything was getting worse. He had gone with Yuugi to try and reach Isis. They tried to reach Bastet and Sekhmet too. No one was answering them. As he was going back to his room though, he heard an outright screech from Masika.
He quickly moved toward his room, with the others on his tail.
Silhouette and Masika were both there. Masika was shaking, her full attention on Silhouette. Atem came toward Silhouette, trying to reach out with his wdjat.
"She's. Dead. Given as a gift, way too early," Masika said softly.
"No!" No! He tried to reach Silhouette again.
Yuugi and Jounouchi were checking for any signs of life, when Masika's eyes rolled back and she fainted.
Atem checked her. "What is going on?"
"They are dead. Well, more dead than alive."
Atem turned and saw Bastet.
"Isis took most of their soul, to use them in a gods game," she insisted. "The others are too weak to handle Earth anymore. I am here on their behalf, to tell you what happened."
She had their absolute attention. They listened to the betrayal. The deal. What they could lose. What they could earn. And.
They. Were.
"My Anzu was alive and safe!" Yuugi yelled in absolute rage. "She was fine! She was here and living and fine with me! Why all this?"
"Manipulation of feelings in hosts isn't hard for Isis. The weaker they feel, the easier it is to prey," Bastet said. "Most likely, she was anxious already. It was almost a guarantee that this secret would wound her enough. Normally, Isis uses this ability for good."
"She practically killed Anzu!" Yuugi yelled as he wiped his face. "We should have been enjoying our bed together, talking about what a great day we had with our son. Instead, not only is he gone, but she is too." He wiped his face again. "Where is her body, if she's like this, I need to get her. They better not have just left her behind the wheel!"
"No. I will fetch her." Bastet disappeared a moment, and returned with an unconscious Anzu. "There is so little life, I don't know how long they will breathe. This is being nice for her, but if they 'accidentally' die, it wouldn't be her fault."
"What do we do?"
"Not waste time in agreeing to her game."
"What about Hikaru?"
"Isis promised he would be safe no matter what."
"Then if we win, he gets to stay over here with Silhouette permanently!"
"While alive," Atem added.
"And no one else involved. No sacrifices. No one bothers Jounouchi, Honda, Kaiba, or anyone else!" Yuugi demanded. "Only me, Atem, and them."
Bastet nodded. "She agrees with that. Do you agree?"
"Not yet," Atem warned Yuugi. "I know we are pressed for time, but overreacting is what she wants. According to her game, someone goes to Bakura."
"If we had more time to figure this out." It was so unfair. He was just dealing with the fact that Hikaru had been stolen from his crib three months ago, and was now six. That he belonged to another dimension now. That he was taken. And on top of all that, he know he had to figure out this riddle? "No version of Anzu or Masika should be sent to hell or Bakura."
"At the end, All Yuugi's will be one. All Atem will be one. Two tears of Ra, and not four."
"Well, just leave me alone and don't turn me into a god," Yuugi insisted. "I won't become a god."
"I will reject it too," Atem agreed. "Then they can pair."
"Cute." Bastet smiled. "If only it worked that way. The Ethereal Parts of Atem will never agree to that. They want the memories that will come from you, the last piece of their reality that is still humane. Their family years, they stopped godhood just for it."
"As important as that would be, I doubt that was all it had been." Yuugi wouldn't be fooled. "I'm pretty sure it was hearing Silhouette going to hell that caused this."
"All they have left is the memories they want from having their family," Bastet disagreed. "They aren't human anymore, I know you felt the difference last time they were here."
"I know. I could tell Ethereal Yuugi got really, um, triggered by Silhouette." It was true, and that was putting it mildly. "But. Even gods can't win everything," Yuugi said. "As hard as the rest of the me's want it, I won't sacrifice Anzu for their happiness." Anymore than any normal Yuugi would have sacrificed their own.
"We will stay separate if we lose," Atem stated. "Regrets are hard, but they will remain."
Yuugi and Atem knew exactly what Bastet would state again. Someone was going, and there was no time to squabble.
"If we lose? We go," Yuugi stated.
"If we lose, we agree to never join our other selves, and send ourselves to Zorc."
"Yes," they both agreed. There wasn't any time to wait.
Masika woke up with a gasp, coughing and choking, trying to find her breath. Atem checked on her and then went to Silhouette as she did the same.
They were both greeted with her opening her eyes again. She glanced toward Masika. "Momma Masika?"
Masika exhaled such a deep breath. "You gave us a fright, child."
Atem looked at her, noticing this time. She had his eyes.
Silhouette rubbed her nose. "The dark is out of the darker darkness." She pursed her lips and looked around. "Where's Hi?"
"Your light is safe," Atem promised her. He looked toward Masika. It was better if he told her the truth of what just happened. "Yuugi, could you watch her?"
"Sure." Yuugi came nearer.
Atem watched as she stretched her arms out toward Yuugi.
Yuugi didn't scoop her up. "They won't be gone long. Let me get your drink again."
Good. Atem left with Masika out of the room. "We had to agree to a God's Game to save everyone."
"Everyone? More than Silhouette?" Masika was of course confused.
Atem didn't know how to approach the whole thing. Just, professional. Just the facts. "We are playing a game that will either turn you and children into deities, or it will break us apart from the Ethereal forever staying with Zorc." Yes, he understood that look. "The Ethereal forms were probably tricked."
"This. Feels ridiculous. Sorry," Masika apologized. "Atem, I understand the story of the other dimension wanting to join with you and Yuugi when you are older. What does that have to do with me or Anzu? Why do we need to be Deities? Does it keep Silhouette safer somehow?"
"They believe that you and Anzu must choose the same fate, since you are of the same tear. And, Anzu wishes to stay with Yuugi."
"For eternity?" Masika rubbed her chin. "I don't understand what happened to her. We went from 'okay, I think I'm ready to choose Japan for Yuugi' to 'I want my eternity to be with this man?' She should have been focused on getting her child back, not that."
"We believe Isis used her power on Anzu to make her look deeply within the decision," Atem said.
"I would say so. A part of Anzu was still yearning for America again. She had a child with Yuugi, which complicated it. Then it no longer existed, and her heart was too broken for decisions."
Masika cared about her light greatly. Focusing on Anzu's dilemma, she missed the other part. "For the time being, believe that she wishes to spend her eternity with Yuugi. You are a part of her, as I am a part of Yuugi. Eternities need to match."
"Who ever said that?" Yes, she should be annoyed. "Fine. For Anzu, I would follow her eternity."
"Lights with Lights." He wasn't getting blamed if she didn't understand.
"Darks with Darks, I understand," she insisted. "You've already been my Master Husband. I could do fine with you for eternity as this."
Hmm. That was the answer that he needed. Why did it feel like it was not enough?
"It sounds like you and Yuugi took the brunt of it to agree to go to Zorc," Masika mentioned, already moving on. "What happens to Anzu, Silhouette, or I if you fail? Did you compress everything onto yourselves again?"
A small smirk. "We tend to do that, don't we?" He sighed. "We will not become gods and we will serve with Zorc for eternity. That is the deal. You and the others will be fine."
"Who is everyone involved?" Masika asked.
"Just us four. We aren't involving anyone in this, that does not need to be in it." Honestly, Jounouichi would be right there with a simple word, but this didn't involve him. This was their afterlife.
"Will the souls be changed right away?" Masika asked. "Or do we get to enjoy the rest of our life first?"
"I believe it will all be dished out at the end of our lives," Atem said. He looked back toward the door. It was a good idea to get back in there.
As he went in, he saw Silhouette out of bed, moving around. "You are feeling much better."
"It looks like Zorc completely took his claws out of her for this game," Yuugi said. "Your daughter is much better. I hope that means-"
"Get your paws off of me, I am going to ring Yuugi's neck for this!"
Ah. "Anzu is back, and she sounds more normal." Atem watched as she entered into the room.
"I am this close, Yuugi!" She held her fingers together. "To just forgetting everything and going back to America!"
"Hi?" Yuugi didn't know how to react. "What part are you mad about?"
"What part am I mad about?" she growled. "First, our son disappears, I find out you were lying about what happened to Silhouette, and then I am getting hauled back by a hairy pixie uber called Bes, telling me you bet your eternity to Zorc to make me a goddess?!"
Bes waited by the door. "Hi. So, her enchantment from Isis is off. So, good luck with that and all." Then he disappeared.
"Yuugi, what is going on?" Anzu demanded. "Please tell me everything, be honest about everything!"
"Okay, okay." Yuugi grabbed her and hugged her. "After you give me the greatest biggest hug, Anzu. I promise. I'll tell you everything I know."
The Border Between the Afterlife
Isis waited. The game was agreed to, which gave her a plus.
Bastet and Sekhmet were both bowing towards her.
"For the last time, don't do that," Isis said.
"You are so smart. We should have known," Bastet said to her. "We are sorry."
"You shouldn't be. You played your roles how I needed you to," Isis smiled at them. "Calm down."
"That was my demoness," Zorc's voice complained. "How dare you move that fast!"
"The yes has been reached. The game has been decided," Isis said.
"You and your little-!"
Bastet chuckled. "He's grumpy."
"Bastet." Isis held her hand towards her. "I don't need admonishment. Besides, there are several things to the game that must come to be. They have already agreed to it, so there are things that Zorc can add."
"Not much," Sekhmet couldn't help but say.
"He wasn't prepared for your swiftness," Bastet agreed. "Horakhty must be proud of you."
Isis held her hand out again toward her.
"After this is over, can we tell them?" Bastet asked. "It would genuinely make them so happy."
"The game is not won yet," Isis said yet again. "I am sure their mortal selves will be relieved. We will deal with that later. Okay?"
"Yes, Isis," Bastet and Sekhmet agreed.
"Good." Isis called to the voice of Zorc again. "Everything has been decided on the prizes themselves. Everything is ready. The games have been selected. The restrictions have been added. No sacrifices."
"You are such a bitch," Zorc complained. "Fine! Then if I get only a teeny, tiny, part to your ridiculous game? I choose an option of . . . humanity!"
"Hu . . . humanity?" Isis repeated. "In a game of divinity? Most of him is already Ethereal."
"Humanity. For the game, you must block the Ethereal from accessing itself. Turn it back into just the plain pair that died," Zorc decreed.
"Well? They don't need any superpowers to do this game," Isis agreed. "Fine. Humanity. Time limit."
"Endless," Zorc said. "They get all the time in the world, to solve the games."
"Endless?" Isis looked toward Bastet and Sekhmet. What was he up to? "They don't need endless time, they are good at games."
"I want endless time. You have to give me so many options, those are the rules. I want humanity, and I want endless time," Zorc insisted.
Oh. "Fine, there is no time limit." Still, what an odd request. "Level of difficulty."
"Pop Quiz."
"A pop quiz?" Oh, he was definitely up to something. However, Isis could not tell what it had been. "Fine. A pop quiz for level of difficulty. Questions over?"
"Feelings."
"You don't have feelings, Zorc." That's why it was a demon.
"They do."
"Do either of you see anything Zorc is doing?" Isis asked Bastet and Sekhmet.
"Probably just wanting to annoy them as much as possible," Bastet said. "It's all Zorc has left. He cannot attain much from this."
If Zorc wanted that though, why choose an endless amount of time? "Agreed. Pop Quiz over feelings will determine the difficulty level."
"Environment. Split. All four of the First Tears of Ra's dreamscapes."
Uh? "The First Tears of Ra's dreamscapes?" Isis tried to be careful. Demons were tricky, but he wasn't . . . really doing anything vindictive. They were just very surprising choices. "Okay."
"Advanced Options or walking mechanics. For walking mechanics, I want them to crawl around everywhere on hands and knees. For advanced options, memory material."
The walking mechanics were horrible. "Advanced Options. Memory only. It cannot harm them physically, nor cause any sacrifices or any other breaks in the applied rules," Isis reminded him.
"Second Advanced Options or Environmental Additions. I want the ground to be water. Endless water. For second advanced options, more memory material."
"What are you doing with the memory material?" She didn't like that. Zorc was clearly leading her somewhere.
"Just their memories. Each Parts of Atem and Parts of Masika, including the Ethereals, will have both sets of memories. The Ethereal's place before they died, and the living pieces left."
"Just their memories?" What harm could be in that? Goodness, the memories were what the Ethereals wanted in the first place. "Fine."
"I want playing order too please."
"You are up on your slots," Isis said.
"I've hardly chosen anything bad at all. One more slot!"
"I am not trusting you, Demon."
"Then I will change one of my tiny slots and put in psychological torture!"
"He can't do anything," Sekhmet reminded Isis. "Don't let him thrown in harm. It's almost complete."
"Fine, the playing order," Isis decided. "That is it. Now. Let's iron out the rest of the details."