A Different Sacrifice (Part 3)

DIMENSION: ANIME (The One That Pays to Save the Day)

Kaiba had a hell of a day. Serenity had to give her statements of what happened to the hospital, why she went to Tristan's, and why she had a key.

If that wasn't enough, she wanted to stay at the hospital with her brother and Yugi's friends.

Mai and Joey weren't fighting. Téa and Yugi were being quiet in the chairs, both just staring down. Even Bakura had shown up with the Bandit King.

The final decision? Unknown causes were causing Tristan to slowly slip away, but everyone there knew it. Everyone was just hanging on by a thread, mainly waiting for-

"Atem," Yugi finally said. He made contact. He didn't say anything out loud, but he was probably conveying the story. Téa seemed to find her own spirit as she started to act strange, finally moving away from the crowd.

"Bastet and Sekhmet!" Clearly, Atem was now in charge. He pushed through the hospital doors, through the main doors, and went outside. The rest of the group followed so Kaiba did too. He was interested to see what the Pharaoh of long ago was really going to do against goddesses.

"Bastet and Sekhmet, no one has cleared any sacrifice of Tristan Taylor!" Atem yelled to the sky. "I revoke this card and will not help save any reality until you come and have a discussion with me!"

Kaiba took a step back when he saw it was Sekhmet who answered the call. At least it wasn't his butt on the line this time.

"How dare you call down like that!" She appeared in her lion form, almost ready to eat him.

"Wait, Sekhmet." A cat appeared on top of the tiger. "Wait. Let's hear them out."

Sehkmet looked at her strangely. "Too much humanity for you again."

"Just give it two seconds," Bastet said. "What do you wish to discuss?"

"Our given sacrifices will not take lives," Atem insisted. "That is not the way this world handles things. We will do what is necessary to help save the other reality, but in a different way."

"Oh, Bastet. I do believe he's saying he isn't permitting actual goddesses to take anyone's life? This small, simple man think himself a god."

"No, I do not, but I do not condone this." Atem moved himself closer together and to the side, seeing Sekhmet wanting to get closer. "We will help, but it will be in our way, and it will not hurt other people in this world."

"Not hurt other people in your world." Bastet seemed to be thinking. "Thousands of years of deceit, I felt proud but bad. The looks in their eyes. They'd been through enough."

"Please?" Atem eased up. Sekhmet bared her teeth and saliva started to drop from her jaw. ///Atem: Yuugi took this chance to survive. I need to take this chance to grant more audience./// Even now, it was clear Bastet was willing to listen, but she was thinking about something else.

Atem bent down on the ground, the action Masika had taken right away already. "I beg you. We will take any deal." ///Atem: This world shouldn't be hurt in exchange of another. Anything.///

Bastet started to twitch her tail on top of Sekhmet's head. Sekhmet looked annoyed but didn't say anything. One swipe of the tail. Two swipes of the tail. "Ooh! I have an idea. Sekhmet, watch over the humans, I must talk to Isis!" She disappeared.

Some of them started to slowly stand, feeling Sekhmet's predatory gaze upon them.

"I know what she thought of," Sekhmet chuckled at him. "Really. You should have gone through the original deal. This world tends to get off nicer in events. It tends to have a few more happier days than the other dimensions. Be ready to write the biggest check of your lives."

At least Sekhmet was not moving toward them. Bastet seemed to have an idea for something different and no one wanted to dismiss it.

When Bastet came back, she twirled around Sekhmet's neck like a happy kitten. "Isis has a wonderful idea with it, even better than mine." She landed near the ground near Atem. "A different deal. Ebonnee." Ebonnee came from the side of the Game Shop.

Game Shop? Of course, it seemed Bastet had transported them all to the Game Shop now.

Ebonnee stopped, looking at Atem.

"Have you forgiven him?" Bastet asked.

"Is this really going to be based on whether a cat forgave Atem for killing it?" Joey asked out loud.

Atem faced the cat. "I am sorry. I can say this several times over, but it will never change the fact that I did shorten your life." He spoke to it like a person. "If you find it in your heart to forgive me, I will honor you once each day for as long as I am here."

Ebonnee crept closer. She moved toward Atem and jumped into his arms. She meowed curiously.

Kaiba watched the cat move back toward Masika, which like some slave to be sure was bowing down to the goddesses the entire time, from the hospital to the Game Shop. She only moved up to take her cat.

"The others really don't want to, and they've been through so much. We know this," Bastet said to the tiger. "We can make a much better exchange. Let's make them pay in a different way. The humans over there will appreciate it when they understand."

Bastet strolled toward Masika as well. She moved her head down to be petted. A goddess wanted to be petted? Masika pulled up, bowed and stroked the goddess' head. What was up with her?

"I haven't seen you this playful in at least a thousand years," Sekhmet said to her.

Bastet moved toward Atem while Ebonnee stayed next to Masika. "You wish for another way that does not include the gods causing human sacrifice, and that will save your friend Tristan Taylor?"

"A way to help without taking innocent lives," Atem announced, "Yes."

"Hold out your arms." Bastet jumped in them and strangely rubbed against him before disappearing and reappearing on Masika's shoulder. She said nothing, and seemed to almost slump forward even more.

Hang on? "Don't Téa and Masika each have their own body still?" Kaiba could have sworn that had been the case now.

"The times have been shifting around on what has been happening," Atem answered him.

"Yeah, they do, but this is getting weird." Yugi walked out the door of the Game Shop. "I guess I got my body back again?"

Well? Whatever the hell these goddesses were planning wouldn't be good. ///Kaiba: I better keep near to Serenity./// She was on the other side of Joey. He moved over slowly. Atem was the one barking about new deals, not him.

Bastet moved away from Masika's shoulder and moved toward Yugi. She climbed up him, leaving a few scratches on the way up. "Do you accept this deal too? To help, without gods sacrificing all of the human lives we had wished to sacrifice?"

"What is it we need to do?" Yugi asked.

Oh no, they weren't going to be answering that. Kaiba could see that right away. ///Kaiba: Promising Tristan. Nobody dies. Their bodies back. Whatever the hell they want, it's nothing I would ever choose.///