Countdown to Appease Isis

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

Joey's Place

"Joey!"

That sound snapped him out of his sleep pretty quick. "Mai?" Was that a dream? He grabbed his gun he had ready, left his room and headed to hers. He wouldn't leave anything to chance. "Mai!" He opened her door.

Three people were there trying to get her out the window. He had to move back to avoid a bullet. So much for Kaiba's bodyguards! He aimed and shot one that was grappling her the best.

He heard a strange chime when he did that, but ignored it. "There's no way you are taking her."

The other one tried to cover and aim, but the aiming was way off. He shot the other one struggling with Mai again. He heard another chime.

One more. He held his gun tight, as the guy missed him by a mile again. He shot him. He heard a third chime.

Mai was stunned, just standing there. "Joey?"

"It's okay." He went over toward her right away. "Nothing wrong, Mai, you're safe." He looked out the window. No one else was coming. "Looks like they took out Kaiba's bodyguards."

"Skeezy's relentless. Professional bodyguards that Seto Kaiba trusted can't even beat his goons." Scared. "I can't turn back and go 'sorry, Skeezy, I messed up'."

Those bodyguards had been around them all the time since they came. Most times, no one even saw them. "They couldn't have such bad aiming skills and take down Kaiba's guards." He picked up his phone and called Yugi. "Hey."

"Téa and Silhouette just disappeared, Joey!" Yugi told him first.

"Mai almost got nabbed out of the room. People who are good enough to take down Kaiba's bodyguards weren't good enough to escape me. Wish I could take full credit." He tried to lighten the situation. "Yug, get out of there." He started to hear glass breaking. "Yug!" He heard a tussle, definitely fighting, and then some chanting. "Yug?"

"Joey, they disappeared," Mai said from behind him.

Joey turned and looked behind at the unconscious bodies on the floor. They were gone now. "Bodies of Skeezy's gangs disappeared. Yug?"

"They sort of did here?" Yug was answering again. "After they were smoldered. There's still more coming! Joey, watch Mai closely." He hung up.

Atem and Bandit King were both glaring at each other while Yugi started to drive. They had tried to reach out to the goddesses, but all they got was a dropped slip of paper from the sky with an address. "Okay, God's Brew factory location is in California? That's several hours away."

"You shouldn't have messed with Masika's mind," Bandit King finally spoke up. "This is not tradition, what you caused!"

"She does not have to follow tradition. Silhouette was made by the goddesses," Atem reasoned.

"And people were married off or taken as slaves, what's your point?" Bandit King came right back at him.

"It isn't Ancient Egypt," Atem reminded him.

"If you didn't want her, that was fine. She still had me," he continued to complain. "It was still ours. That makes her mine."

"Silhouette is Masika, mine and yours," Atem said once again. "Something will be worked out on how she is taken care of. The mother does not come along as a free gift with the situation. She is your friend, Bandit King. Trying to pressure her for more if she doesn't want more will not bode well."

"There is no security in this situation!" That seemed to be what aggravated him the most.

"Hey?" Yugi tried. "You don't have to try and use this to secure Silhouette and her. She hasn't said no to anyone not being with Silhouette."

"She is feeling out her territory, learning how to live in this era, and the choices she makes are hers," Atem added. "If you want more, you have the right to pursue. You have no right to actually get her."

"Yeah, nothing's official without papers and things," Yugi agreed.

"And if somehow you manage to trick her into that by bribing her somehow? There is divorce too. Give it up," Atem told him again.

"Working with the crown. This is so disgusting," Bandit King complained again.

"Ah, some warning!" Yugi stopped the vehicle as it suddenly ended up next to a factory. "Just skipped a ton of hours."

They each left the car and headed to the factory. It was all lit up with doors unlocked.

Atem went in first, heading to the area that was glowing. Rashid was there along with . . . "I see. We didn't really get a choice in making the millennium items, did we?"

"There is choice," Bastet told him, in her full form. "Téa and Masika have already been taken. They are already in peril and at death's doorstep. Their souls will forever spend eternity with Zorc. Every single one of you took too long, this is on all of you!"

Bastet crossed her arms. "They will not last long, and they are not guaranteed back now because Isis does not believe you will make the items. Whether they live or die is now left up to chance."

"Chance?!" Yugi yelled. "What do you mean chance?"

"They are joined with their other selves. Isis decided if Zorc won, they would be the last line of defense. Once the god's game is over, if Zorc wins, he will be destroyed from the inside."

"And if he loses?" Atem asked.

"If he loses, then they will have a chance to be safe if Isis believes that you will build the millennium items."

"A chance to be safe?" Yugi complained.

"How dare you." Bastet hissed at him. "You knew, you all knew. If you had made the millennium items so long ago, your dear ladies never would have been in danger. They are now in great pain, trying to stay alive to last through the battle. God's cannot interrupt the battle. If they are still alive at the end, if Isis is convinced the millennium items will be built, and the other you's have won, then they will be safe."

"But . . ."

Bastet gestured to the bodies. "You have over 100 of the worst people with the best skills after each one of you now. Joey has already done his part."

"You can't just-!"

"-This means when Zorc comes back to your dimension he cannot possess and/or use any magic against him. Mai is also protected, it was her presence that lured this incident all together." Bastet licked her hand. "It's time. There is no more time for this, the battle is happening. Will you make the items and protect your wives, or sacrifice them?"

"You can't sacrifice Téa, she has-"

"Hikaru, I know. We still have Silhouette to pay the debt, and we'll just take 15 mllion lives." Bastet said. "There was no time to collect, Isis' commands come first."

"Téa and Masika are saved as much as we can do!"

Bakura's voice? Yugi looked to his side and saw the power button turned on.

"I turned on the power button," Bakura said to them. "Well? I didn't want Hikaru to grow up without a mother, and I rather didn't want to kill physically." He rubbed his arm. "They gave me the easiest job since I'm the light side."

"The power button?" Yugi asked.

"Yes, I am protected from Zorc too. That's really nice," Bakura pointed out. "Okay. Can we get them back soon? Please?" Bakura held out his sacrifice card. "It's a very nasty spot they are in, and I would like kindly for you to get them and my unborn out now?"

"The game has to be won, and the items have to be made in full." Bastet gestured to the dead bodies. "Three were from Joey Wheeler. Ten were from Bandit King. Thirteen is a long way from 99 and none of them are even in the solution. It's not enough to convince Isis, I can't take the card yet."

Atem rubbed his face with both hands. "If Zorc comes back, he will want to fight to possess someone and gather the items all over again."

"You've seen his best tricks. The more your loved ones are protected? The less he can do. He cannot put magic over any of them you know, so magic won't work." Bastet came closer to Atem. "Honestly, the best idea? Is just to protect the items. He has to fight to attain the last one, but if you keep those items from any would be hosts knowledge? Then it will be past your time before he even has a chance to find them."

"And the Ishtars are all protected, so we could hide most of them, and he could do nothing." Rashid spoke up.

Sekhmet showed up with Mokuba in her teeth. "I'm here. Masika would want him protected. After what Isis made us do, I had to do this. Sorry." Mokuba fussed. "I'm going to drop him off far away and I will be back."

"I told you not to play around," Bastet warned her. She disappeared and then reappeared. "Any news from Seto Kaiba yet? We really need more power to crank these numbers up."

"Thoth is upset he didn't foresee Seto Kaiba's actions. He's busy calming down, he won't answer," Sekhmet stated.

Atem noticed Yugi's look at him. ///Atem: I know. I don't think we had much of any choice, Yugi. Zorc is destined to come back to this dimension. Try and take something very light like Bakura did.///

"Already intended for the light, you can redirect the pipe a little," Bastet recommended. "Just askew it a bit."

Yugi went over to a loose pipe and moved it just a bit. "There?"

"Good, you are covered. Now? The big ones who do the heavy lifting. I see one here. Potentially two if Atem accepts he will be killing very bad guys."

"You had Duke Devlin betray Mai, creating a scenario that sent out Skeezy's best men after us, and even told them we could be found here, didn't you? That means each one coming will be his best men. They already hurt many people, and Téa and Masika are already in peril with no guarantee of success," Atem reasoned. "If I don't join and kill who is coming." A bullet went off from outside. "Then they kill us, and our friends are dead without even a chance. Goodness, do gods really like to make sure you play their games, whether you want to or not!" He carried the millennium puzzle, but heard chanting behind him.

Masika was standing there.

"She might not be able to communicate. She is in pain, straddling the line, so she can be kept between dimensions. It is the best chance of her survival," Bastet informed him. "Eventually she will move to the power side when she succumbs to it. Téa is also around there. She is straddling closer to the other side."

"Téa!" Yugi called out. "Téa, are you there too? Can you hear me?"