Parts of Masika (Part 1)

DIMENSION: MANGA (The One That Saves the Day)

Yuugi, Atem, Kaiba, and Bakura all waited below.

"Oh, it feels better to be back," Ryou Bakura said to Yuugi. "I didn't like the separation from my body. Forget ever wanting to try astral projection."

Yuugi didn't answer back. Atem was gifted with his own body back too.

Horakhty showed in all it's glory. "You played the game well. You have almost saved the Earth."

What? "Almost? You mean, we need the gods first," Yuugi said. That must be what she meant. "I don't want to undo everything that happened. I don't know how to handle this, Jounouchi loves Mana."

Horakhty didn't stay for long though. Instead, someone else appeared.

"I am Isis. You may have your winnings of two gods," she told them. "With one, you could wish to have Mana reborn as herself if you wanted, and you could turn back time. They are options."

"Careful, Yuugi. I think we should be mindful about this," Atem said toward him.

"Yeah, no one mentioned Hikaru or Masika." Yuugi looked at Isis. "We were promised Anzu and Satiah."

"Wait!" Bastet showed up as a cat near Isis' feet. "Don't do it. Don't try this."

"Try what?" Atem insisted.

"Just because Masika will split, and one side will be named Anzu? It will not be your Anzu. Anzu is just a name anyone can have," Bastet said. "Once fused, nothing can undo them perfectly again."

Atem and Yuugi both made a strange sound from their throats, while Isis just looked displeased.

"It will be okay," Isis told them. "Atem may return back to his afterlife, uncursed and happy. Yuugi can return back to the life he had, building and enjoying games."

"Anzu!" Yuugi demanded. "That's what you are trying to make me do? Forget her?"

"No, just . . ." Isis paused. "If you never saw her again because of this, you would not have any regrets."

"You want to take Hikaru away from Yuugi, and his best friend and lover," Atem said with a mighty voice. "Take everything he's ever wanted, and call that justified?!"

"Time backwards will restore this world back to the way it was before this chaos. Domino City will be back to normal. The residents will return. Your fallen friends will be returned with no problems," Isis insisted.

"Except Anzu," Yuugi barely breathed out. "She's . . . Masika. Forever."

"You were promised two gods," Isis tried again. "Masika will be split-"

"Into two different beings, that will never be Satiah or Anzu!" Atem yelled. "A name means nothing in this instance, a person named Anzu will not be Anzu. Only Zorc knew where they split because it was in her."

"Not exactly," Bastet said from Isis' feet. "Others will suffer to split them if you split them, without him." She looked at Isis like she really wanted the biggest favor. "Close."

"No one should suffer. Zorc let me speak to Anzu," Yuugi agreed. "Zorc could do it. We are the winners, force the loser to do something!" It sounded blown up and egotistical, but Yuugi was doing everything he could to get Anzu back. "I want my friends back. I want my city, I want my family safe, but I want that time too. Anzu and I, we connected in that time. Only that time. And Hikaru." He held her son tightly. "He's ours."

"I." Atem dropped to his knees, and did something Yuugi never saw. He bowed and begged to someone else. "I will give whatever it takes. Take this body back, force me into some kind of contract, place me a thousand years into the puzzle, I don't care! Save our friends and family along with the world. Please."

Yuugi bowed his head. "Please. Anything."

"Please?" Bastet looked toward Isis. "They will do it, they will pay for their wives. They must for all the illegal power anyhow. We can spare so many, they will finish. I promise, they will finish!"

"I don't care about any of this," Kaiba insisted from his spot. "I want Mokuba and Shizuka back. Where are they?" A light glimmered in front of Kaiba.

"Seto!" Mokuba ran toward his brother. "Brother, I was so scared."

"Mokuba." Set hugged his little brother.

"He is safe, Shizuka separated her monster from herself. She gave her life points for defense against the Blue Eyes," Isis said. "Her sacrifice helped win the game. You also now wield the Blue Eyes White Dragon for the future, Seto Kaiba."

"She also saved Mokuba." Yuugi barely spoke. "He would have gone back as Heba probably. Can't . . . be undone."

"Uh?" Mokuba looked confused.

"Forget it, it's fine," Kaiba insisted. "Everyone will be restored after the game, that's what we were promised. Where are they?"

"Waiting for the whole of Atem to decide it's decision about the demigods of the tears of Ra," Bastet said softly.

"What decision to even make?" Yuugi said softly back. "Anzu can never come back. To separate Masika into two other beings? It's . . ."

"The price," Atem said softly too. "Isn't it? For all the high powered monsters we were wielding with no tribute? Attack and defense, nothing else given. We played like gods, but we aren't them."

The price? "Anzu was sacrificed for this game? It's not fair, we agreed to this game to save the world, we didn't know any of the rules at all!" Yuugi came unglued. "We've done everything we could to help the Earth, and all you want to do is punish us for it, for playing a game that we had to?!" He grabbed his head. "It's not fair!"

"Is she worth it?" Bastet asked Yuugi. "Is the tear of Ra a worthy tribute to you? Worth the world. Worth the price of the high powered monsters used in the game? Worth the price of the living cards gifted to you? Worth the price of another body for Atem? To save everything you hold dear, is one simple being worth it?"

Yuugi cried and wiped his tears as he squeezed Hikaru tighter toward him. "She's worth all of creation and then some to me."

"Another payment?" Atem insisted. "Is there anything else that we can offer instead? All my previous offerings. An eternity dedicated to the gods. I will leave my kingdom to someone else and ferry Ra across the sun everyday for eternity."

"You see? I told you, if they would do anything, when it comes down to it, then they would do anything," Bastet insisted to Isis. "If they would, then others would. Please?"

"They did nothing before," Isis muttered.

"Anything, we'll do anything!" Yuugi didn't understand the nothing, but he wouldn't argue. "Anything that could bring the woman that I knew as Anzu back."

"Very well. This price will be paid too," she warned them. "Time cannot bring anyone back that split. Once they are together for enough time to share every memory, that being is now one. We've yet to split Masika from Zorc, we are in the middle of processing the winnings. Therefore, we can force him to split her exactly as you want her to be. Anzu and Satiah again."

"Yes!" Yuugi declared. "Yes, please!"

"You will make a deal with Zorc?" Atem asked.

"No, you will make a deal with Zorc," Bastet said. "Afterwards, you will all receive your rewards. The lives you want brought back that were lost in these times, and the immortal souls you choose to save." Then, Bastet disappeared.

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They watched as Zorc, still as Masika, showed up. "So? You had no choice but to see the truth, huh?"

"Split them," Atem commanded. "Anzu and Satiah, fairly, as the people they once were in this lifetime. You did it before."

"For free, I should just do that?" Zorc complained. "They'll be split as the deal, but why should I be the one to split them? All I promised was the light inside of them."

"You may have them punished," Isis said to Zorc, "They would pay anything."

Punished? "Couldn't we have been the ones to make the deal?" Atem insisted. That was so broad, and she didn't say who or how they would be punished.

"Atem will need a punishment for something at another time," Isis said suspiciously. "He'll need you, he won't be able to reach you in time, but he'd pay the price."

Zorc stared at her, much in the same way Yuugi stared at Atem when talking. "Ah, I see. Hm. History is a funny thing, tends to repeat itself in some way. Gods just can't work well without demons, can they?" He glanced back toward Atem. "Do you accept that?"

"What form of punishment?" Atem asked. "I have the right to know what is expected of me."

"You owe him nothing in your afterlife," Isis answered. "You will only be expected to pay it, when you need it."

Those were strange words, but Atem couldn't dwell on them. "Yuugi?"

"Whatever the cost," Yuugi insisted. "Anzu and Satiah. They deserve to be free. Atem?"

"Yes," Atem agreed. "We agree to the punishment when we need it." Whatever those strange words meant.

"Fine then," Zorc said as it disappeared.