It Was Fate (Part 2)

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

Yugi waited with Bakura. "Didn't foresee this happening tonight."

"Neither did I," Bakura agreed. "So you are officially the boyfriend of Téa now?"

"Yep," Yugi said. "Official."

"Great. That's great." Bakura patted all of his five fingers together. Not in a clap, but more in a manner of waiting to think of something to say next. Anything to take their minds off of things. "So Hikaru is straddled between dimensions inside of Téa. Hard to believe that's even possible. I'm guessing that is somehow saving her and Masika from completely blending with the other half? Maybe."

"Maybe. I don't know. Those goddesses don't give much time. I don't think Bastet would have done it if she could help it." Yugi stroked his cheek as he heard the sounds of torture again. "So?"

"So." Bakura said it right back. "I hope Téa is okay."

"I'm sure she will be. No, I know she will be," Yugi insisted. "So will the new one. The son of ours, and yours." He watched as the machine started to work in the back.

"Oh, the smelting part is below. I just turned on a track to put the people on and dump them off below in it," he said. "I thought that would work better."

"Yeah. Yeah." Yugi scratched his eyebrow as he heard more screams. He watched as Bastet showed up in her true form and started to gather pieces on the track. The pieces started to head downward.

Yugi didn't feel like looking down.

"Oops?" Bakura said as he heard a torturous scream from the track. "One of those blokes still had life in them. That must have been unpleasant."

"Yeah. It probably was," Yugi agreed. "I guess? I mean, you are part of the baby too, and you did help save them. So? Téa recommended we all live together, or we share custody equally."

More torturous screams. "I want to be part of Hikaru's life, Yugi. I don't have a very close family. I don't tend to stay very close to many people. I'm not a real social butterfly. But. I want to be there for him, all the time."

"I don't like the idea of Téa leaving back and forth," Yugi said. "The Game Shop isn't real big, and if she keeps leaving back and forth, she might eventually want to move back and forth in New York."

"The Game Shop doesn't really make a ton of money," Bakura pointed out. "It's only going because you are keeping it going. When's the last time it made any profit for your grandfather?"

"Oh no, please no, please!" More torturous screaming.

"Umm . . ." That was a good question. "Grandpa loves the Game Shop. I do too." But? "New York has some really good game shops, great suppliers, and ample customers. I want Téa to have anything that makes her happy after all this."

"If she makes it, then she deserves it," Bakura agreed. "Can Bastet rescue Hikaru? She didn't seem disturbed by his death, yet she and Sekhmet had been beside themselves over Silhouette."

Bastet came back over dragging a string of about thirty dead bodies attached to each other. "Yay for this conveyer belt." She put on one and let them lift up bit by bit. "Joey ended up striking another two. We got the rest out of his area since everyone is cooperating nicely now. It turns out we may have more than 99. That God's Brew made Skeezy ultra possessive. We will take care of any extra bodies."

"Could you perhaps . . . just take care of Skeezy too?" Bakura asked.

"Hm? Oh yes, we already did that," Bastet told him. "Probably wasn't such a good idea, got Sekhmet in the wrong frame of mind. Great idea on the conveyer belt, human. Nice job." Bastet held her thumb up toward him awkwardly. "This is how you do the good job?"

Bakura matched her. "Yes. Thank you. Is Hikaru in real danger too?" She walked away again. "Okay, no answer. Where were we? I got sidetracked. I don't want to stay sidetracked, I'm in a place people are murdering each other and my only ever son is stuck in another dimension. Another subject please. New York! Téa loves New York."

Yugi understood exactly what he was saying. They were trying to distract themselves as much as possible. "Téa loved her job. I know she misses her dancing. Maybe I should bring Grandpa and the Game Shop to New York?"

"I don't like a whole lot of bustle, and New York has a lot of that. Yet? I guess. If I'm not too far from family?"

"Houses next to each other? Or?"

"If we get a great big house it wouldn't be much different than people living in an apartment complex. So, very similar to home," Bakura pointed out. "The only real problem is . . . well, what about the dark energies and their daughter goddess?"

Atem came back toward them with a proud look on his face. "Done."

Bandit King also emerged. "99 at least."

Yugi moved out of the way as Bastet brought another huge load of mainly burned body parts this time. ///Yuugi: I can't believe we really did this.///

///Atem: We didn't do anything. You messed with a pipe and I had a monster do the work. It's okay, Yugi. I never wanted Zorc to come back, but it's obvious fate would not let it be that way.///

///Yugi: We worked so hard to get rid of Zorc, and we had to be the ones to bring him right back.///

"There was a chance Zorc might not come," Bastet said as she lifted the train of bodies through the conveyer belt again. "He will now though. The winners will want their wives back, and without sacrificing yours, then it is what must be done."

That again? "Why do you keep calling them wives?" Yugi asked.

"They are," Bastet told him. "The whole of Atem was once married to the whole of Masika. Not only that, they each did marry in the other dimension."

"What?!" Bandit King screamed. "They did not, not without some motive!"

"Yes, very good motive. They wanted them to stay out of the wretched hands of that Pharaoh. It was your other side that thought of the lie claiming ownership that led them to really claiming them as their wives." She smiled. "The god's game is almost done, so we can reveal these things to you now."

"Then . . . Téa?" Yugi pointed out.

"We'll see, we still need to get these bodies in the solution. I need everyone to give me their millennium item card that participated."

Everyone handed over their cards.

"If he comes to threaten this world, I will beat him in a game again," Atem assured her. "Zorc will never win, no matter how many tries he gets."

"Fine." Bastet looked irked, but didn't dwell on it. Her expression changed. "Zorc is gone now from the game. I hope this is far enough for Isis, the game won't last much longer. Thoth is communicating again too. Tell Seto Kaiba that he now owes us the Azure card."

Yugi sighed. "Tristan and Joey's not gonna like that. One night?"

"Yes, he won her hand in a night too, he's a very good gamer. I mean, persuader," she corrected herself.

"Oh, Tristan and Joey's really not gonna like that either," Yugi said as he looked at Atem. "He made moves on Serenity in a night. How did he manage that?"

"Thoth said he bought an ice cream outlet for her, took her to her favorite place in the world, bought her a favorite pet that she told him about in her childhood, rented out a dance hall for her, showed her where she would work and how, let her pick the ring that felt nice on her, let her pick the wedding dress that felt the best against her, and I believe Azure came when it came to her favorite kinky activity she always wanted to try."

"And we went from not enough information from gods, to too much information," Dark Bakura complained. "Just smelt the rest of the bodies, make the cursed thing, and then leave!"

"Actually? We need to discuss the future," Bakura told him. "Yugi and I think getting a big house for all of us in New York might be a good idea. Maybe a couple."

"What? When did you ever have time for that casual conversation?" Bandit King looked confused.

"Now," Bakura said. "It helped to distract."

"But, you guys have your own lives now," Yugi helped explain. "It's all up to you."

"Don't mind me, just dragging along more bodies," Bastet said as she indeed dragged along more bodies. "I need to move fast before Isis summons us. The more we have the better the chances they-."

Bastet and Sekhmet had both disappeared.

They left, with the bodies still not on the conveyor belt.

"Was that enough?" Bakura asked skeptically. "She wanted all the bodies dead and in the solution. There's at least 30 short."

"If it's not." Atem looked around again. "Téa, are you there? Masika, can you hear me?" No answer. "Both of you! Do your best, it's almost over! Do your best for us! Just hang on." Atem looked at the line of bodies and looked toward Dark Bakura.