Chapter One:
I Find an Underground Nightmare

A T E M

I ran through the catacombs, hearing... Whoever it was cackling behind me.

"Come on, Atem." He taunted, "Duel me."

I turned around to face him.

In the dim light, I could hardly see him- but I could make out off-white hair, tan skin, and a horrible 4-stitched scar.

I considered the duel.

We were under The Sphinx, 10 feet underground, and if he summoned Diabound... He could bring the whole lot of it down on top of us.

"No." I said, my voice steady.

He gave a little chuckle.

"As you wish, Your Highness."

He said "Your Highness" with utmost disrespect.

His chuckle burst into laughter and the ground under me shuddered.

"Bakura..." I said warningly, but he just grinned at me.

"Farewell, My Pharaoh."

And I fell straight through the ground, towards my doom.

I awoke to an enchanted wet towel dabbing my forehead.

I wasn't sure why this didn't surprise me, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized I wasn't sure of anything.

The only thing I could remember was my name.

Atem.

My head pounding as if someone had ripped into my head and stolen my memories the way one might reach into a purse and steal a wallet.

The towel seemed to huff at my sudden sit up and floated away.

I looked around.

It was your average infirmary, just with balls of light instead of doctors. I wondered why there was no sunlight coming through the windows, despite the fact that the clock on the wall said noon.

A ball of light floated over to me.

You must rest. It said inside my head- which, by the way, was not exactly comforting-, The Chief Lector wishes to speak with you.

"Chief Lector..." I said quietly. The title seemed familiar, as if someone close to me was a part of whatever this Chief Lector person was. Wherever I was.

So, listening to the strange, mind-speaking ball of light, I lied down and tried to sleep, but I needed none.

In about an hour- filled with boredom, mind you- a man who just might have been 2000 years old came into the room, headed for me.

He had dark skin, but it was sagging. His eyes seemed thousands of years old, just as mine did when I looked at myself in the silver table beside me. He wore a leopard skin over his shoulders- which I was sure was illegal in about every country- but he smiled at me, none-the-less. He had hieroglyphs floating around him- literally. The things seemed to be coming out of his skin.

It was, needless to say, odd.

I assumed he was the Chief Lector.

"Hello." I said, holding my head proudly, but not arrogantly.

"Hello." He said.

He sounded as if he were dying.

"You fell through the cavern roof last night."

So we were underground.

"I did?"

"Yes. It was quite terrible. But we fixed you up. Not to despair, we have the best healers in the whole House of Life."

House of Life...

I rembered a face.

A girl.

She had lightly tanned skin, an dark green eyes. Her hair fanned out from her head as if it had been standing up that morning, and she'd brushed it down best she could and pulled a hat over her head. She wore thick eyeliner- kohl- around her eyes.

I had no idea who she was, but she was so familiar, it hurt.

"House of Life.." I repeated, "Magicians?"

"Yes." The Chief Lector said, "I assumed you are one, seeing as you found us."

His eyes now seemed a little guarded.

"I... I don't think I'm a magician, but, uh..."

I stared at the strange object on my right arm.

A long, gold, leg-warmer-on-my-arm, with a wing sprouting out the side. I had no idea what it did, or if it was even magical, but I knew it was important to me.

"Do you not remember?" Snorted a man with a very heavy French accent.

I looked over at the man- a forked beard, long dark hair, exactly what I think a stereotypical Frenchman would look like.

"No." I said, "No I do not."

The Chief Lector regarded me, then the object on my arm.

"What's your name?" He asked.

"Atem." I said.

Thunder rumbled, despite us being underground.

The Chief Lector then spoke to the forked-beard man in another language- Greek.

I understood the words "Kanes" "Zia" and "Jullian".

I knew they were names.

But... Who's names?

And what did they have to do with me?

I just had to!

The Kane Chronicles is like ASDFKL;

It's just beautiful.

This is post-series for YGO, and The Red Pyramid for KC.

K thanks, love y'all, BAI