It took some time before Noah realized that his bare feet were on a cold, stone floor. The only thing he could do was walk, until he saw he was getting closer to a faint light.

'What…?' Noah's brow furrowed. It was very dark, the few torches to his sides doing next to nothing to bring light to the room, but he could feel the stone on the walls, too, and he could see the faint outlines of pillars. It seemed almost temple-like, the pillars lining the room, and Noah could see a very large tablet at the far end opposite him, on the ground.

Arching a brow, Noah only took two steps before white light exploded from the end of the hall, near the tablet. He shielded his eyes from the light, but just as soon as it had appeared, it began sucking every bit of dust from the chamber. It drew Noah in a couple feet before he latched onto one of the pillars nearby.

Except, a desperate scream of "NO!" snapped his attention to the light.

Noah's eyes widened. "Atem…!?"

He let go of the pillar and sped over towards the light (occasionally brought off the ground from the suction effect), and only when he was ten feet away from the tablet did he see Atem, being pulled into a strange pair of doors with the Eye of Wdjat over them. The light from it was still blinding, but it looked like spirits were grasping at Atem's sleepshirt and hair to pull him in while he struggled to get free. The two heavy doors were slowly closing down around him.

Faintly, Noah could hear the spirits screeching: "Why did you go back…?" "Why did he choose you…?" "What about us…?" "How could you leave us…?"

"Hey, let him go!" Noah hurried forward and held onto one of the tablet's indents to reach a hand out to Atem. "Atem–! Take my hand!—Hurry and take my hand–!"

It looked like for a moment that Atem was suspicious, but after being tugged on again, he struggled an arm free and reached forward.

"C'mon, reach–!" Noah tried reaching further himself, though they were still a good six inches apart.

Atem was tugged into the light another inch with a groan, and looked to Noah with wide eyes. "I can't–!"

"Yes, you can–!" Noah said back, letting go of the tablet to grab Atem's hand.

The moment he gave a tug to try and get him free, everything around them froze before disappearing entirely into white light.

—!

Noah shot upright in his bed with a terse gasp, disoriented for a moment to be under his covers instead of in a stone chamber. His brow furrowed with confusion for a moment of what he just witnessed. He took a moment to breathe, before realizing he was back in his bedroom at home.

Then he heard a creak of the trundle bed across the room, flinching and looking over.

Atem was already sitting up in bed, facing away from Noah with his knees drawn up to his chest. His hands were folded over his mouth, and it sounded like he was trying to slow his too-quick breathing.

Noah frowned, quietly moving from his bed to the trundle bed, the springs creaking again as he put his knees to it.

Putting a hand to Atem's shoulder, gently, Noah spoke in a whisper. "Was…W-Was that the first time you've had that nightmare–?"

Atem shook his head no.

Noah scoot a little closer, giving Atem's shoulder a squeeze. "I-Is it…always that bad…?"

Atem nodded.

Noah's eyes narrowed, and wrapped his arms around Atem's shoulders in a hug, waiting until Atem calmed down before he spoke again. "Atem…H-How long have you been having that dream…?"

Atem hesitated, bringing his hands away to rub at his eyes. "A while now…After Yugi…I-I mean since I…with, with the three of you, s-since I…"

He sighed and didn't finish, but Noah gave a nod. "Since…you became part of the family."

Atem nodded, and he let go of another sigh, this one much more shallow, while he subconsciously shrank into Noah's hold.

Noah's brow furrowed. "That…was more than a month ago, though. Wh-Why haven't you said anything–?"

"I didn't want any of you to worry…"

Noah gave a quiet hum of dislike, but then mimicked Atem's position on the bed and looked over at him. "I-Is that the first time I've been there?"

"Yes, actually," Atem's brows rose thoughtfully at that. "Maybe because of our connection—we have noticed it getting stronger…All the other times, it's usually just me…and I never make it out of the tomb…"

Noah frowned once more, but then he sighed gently. "And…d-did you know those spirits? Th-The ones that were trying to pull you in?"

A grim finality came into Atem's eyes, and he frowned at the wall. "Yes…I knew all of them, back in Egypt…in the afterlife…"

It was then quiet for a time, the clock on the desk flipping to 12:31 am.

"Atem…?" Noah questioned softly. "Ar-Are you…upset that…I-I brought you back, again?"

"No," Atem responded quickly, a little too loudly.

They both waited for a moment to see if Téa or Yugi had heard, and relaxed when no sounds of movement or doors opening followed after.

Atem put a hand on Noah's knee, bringing his voice back down to a whisper. "No…Really, Noah, I'm not upset. I mean…what spirit—what person—gets a second chance at life? I'm thankful that you brought me back."

He hesitated, before his hand fell from Noah's knee and he folded his arms. "It's just…complicated, how I feel…" He looked at the wall. "On one hand, I do miss my family and friends from Egypt."

He frowned briefly, before looking at Noah. "But…on the other hand, I have you now. And Yugi, and Téa. And you're just as much family to me, all of you. I would miss you too much." Then he gave a sigh. "I guess…this might be coming from…from guilt that not everyone can get this second chance, but I have…I still don't quite believe it."

"And why not?"

Atem looked over at Noah with surprise, and Noah frowned. "D-Don't take that the wrong way—I-I don't mean no one else deserves this, I-I just mean…You of all people do."

Atem's brow furrowed, and Noah stiffened. "Atem—you gave up your life at sixteen and sealed your soul away to protect Egypt—protect the world. I-If anything, you're way more deserving of a second chance than anyone."

He put a hand to Atem's shoulder. "You deserve this, Atem. You really do."

Atem's eyes narrowed, looking away and taking a deep breath, before clutching onto the fabric of his pants. "It's just…hard for me to accept. I still keep thinking I'll disappear."

"You won't disappear," Noah reassured. "You n' Dad have been checking that daily. And you've been fine. And, pretty soon, you'll be heading to school with me, right?"

"Yes," Atem agreed with a shrug. "That's the plan, anyway, if Kaiba can come through with the papers."

"Right; which, knowing that egomaniac," Atem stifled a chuckle, which made Noah smile weakly. "He will come through with all the paperwork and junk, just to prove a point. A-And I can help you adjust to school life."

It was quiet for a second, before Noah smiled again, a bit more fondly. "You'll be okay, Atem. You don't have to go through all this alone. You really do deserve this chance."

Atem's eyes stung again, but he smiled himself, wiping at his eyes once more before nodding.

Noah went ahead and hugged Atem around the shoulders, before looking to the clock again. Almost one in the morning.

"You should get some sleep," Noah pointed out after seeing the time.

Atem smiled again and nodded in agreement, and Noah moved back over to his own bed, getting under the covers.

He laid there for a time, hesitant to fall asleep as he looked at his wall. He hummed softly with worry before flipping over to his other side to check the trundle bed.

Atem was already asleep, facing Noah on his side and his face calm. One arm was tucked under his pillow, and he exhaled deeply as he pulled the covers up over himself a bit more.

Noah smiled, and closed his eyes, soon returning to slumber as well.