I first wrote this chapter six months ago. I have since been planning the story. I really wanted to know what happened after the end of DSOD, when Seto Kaiba made it to the afterlife and faced Atem. It was left hanging and really screams... sequel! We can but hope, but in the meantime, I have written my own sequel. I really hope you enjoy it.

Disclaimer: I do now own the rights to Yugioh or any of its characters.

Transcending Boundaries.

Chapter one: A Lesson In Power.

He had done it! His gamble had paid off!

Weeks of hard work and financial investment, had been worth the sacrifices he had needed to make in his own personal life in order to reach this goal. And as Seto stepped through the barriers that separated the dimensions, he smirked triumphantly at his own genius. Any concerns he had harboured about being ripped apart by the gravitational force of the dimensional portal were eased.

The Duel Links VR system had originally been designed to transport brainwaves not your entire physical being. But it seemed that the software upgrades he had made to incorporate the Cube and reinforce the specially designed skin suit he was wearing, was doing its job perfectly.

The sensation felt strange; reminding him of the time he and Mokuba had played on a roundabout until it made them feel so dizzy that they were still spinning when they got off.

Thinking about Mokuba caused him to feel momentarily guilty. The last words he had said to his younger brother, were not 'I love you', but, 'you're in charge'. Poor kid had been beside himself with concern when Seto stepped into the sealed airlock, sat down in the adapted gaming chair and plugged in the Cube, without first testing it was safe to use.

Was he reckless? Probably. But he did not care. For as much as he loved Kaiba Corporation and of course, Mokuba, they were far less important to him than his rivalry with the Pharaoh.

Moments later, he felt a rush when he passed through a dimension that resembled Egypt. He hit the button on the control panel of the transporter module that was built into his duel disc and stopped abruptly.

Rather than the Arnold Scwarzenegger style entrance from the Terminator films he had envisioned, he landed face down in a rather undignified heap on the sand – but at least he wasn't naked!

He quickly scrambled up so that he was in a crouching position, and spitting out sand, dared to chance a glance at his surroundings, studying it for threats. Was he in the correct dimension?

The temple in the distance and the warm sun on his back, indicated that he was.

Standing to his full height, he puffed out his chest and strode towards the palace.

By the time he reached the outer walls, the sun was climbing higher and the desert sands were starting to feel hot under his feet. The palace was far bigger than he had anticipated.

He looked up at the twenty foot tall statues of the Pharaoh and his Queen, proudly guarding the entrance gates. "Hmph!" He snorted. The Pharaoh was even more of a narcissist than he had imagined he would be!

"Halt!" Two burly, deeply tanned guards, dressed only in short kilts barred his way. "Who wishes to enter the palace?" They glared at him in confusion. He was Priest Set but in strange attire that was not familiar to them.

To Seto's relief, the language communicator that he had programmed into the system worked and he understood their words. It sent the same shiver down his spine as it had when he had been able to decipher the hieroglyphics on the Son of God Dragon RA!

"Let me pass! I have business with the Pharaoh." He ordered. The ancient language rolled off his tongue as though it were his own native Japanese.

"Yes, my Lord Set!" Both men bowed their heads low, with their left foot towards him as though he were some sort of God.

Without another word, Seto marched into the palace triumphantly.

A strange feeling of familiarity came over him; as if it were some residual memory that had lain dormant in him until now, and he instinctively knew where the throne room was situated.

The guards stationed at the entrance to the throne room hesitated when he approached and were unsure if they should meet his eye or bow in respect. Was this some trick of the Gods? They were certain Priest Set was already inside the throne room for the afternoon meeting!

All heads turned towards him as he walked in, and a series of gasps and mutterings could be heard among the priests and scribes.

His eyes locked on the one man that he was here to see.

A small twitch at the corner of the Pharaohs' mouth, signalled recognition.

Shifting his bodyweight a little, Seto assumed his battle stance. Raising his left arm, he primed his duel disk. "Duel me Pharaoh," he hissed.

The moment his duel disc lit up, two guards jumped forward hesitantly and angled their spears towards his neck.

The corners of Atem's mouth rose slightly, but his expression remained Godlike as he pushed himself to his feet. He raised his hand to dismiss the two guards and silence the protests from his priests. Everyone fell hushed.

"We will duel, but on my terms, Kaiba," Atem responded, raising his diadank.

However, one of his priests was less than pleased: Set stepped forward. "Pharaoh! I must protest. Whoever this...this imposter is, let me deal with him?"

"No!" Atem snapped. "Set, I know this man. He is from the future. He is a modern incarnation of yourself. He and I share a great rivalry. But it seems we still have unfinished business." Atem turned back to Seto. "How did you transcend the boundaries that divide dimensions? It should not be possible for anyone other than a God!" Or a fool with the cube.

"Then maybe I am a God!" More murmurs could be heard from the priests.

"He should face a trial for insulting our Pharaoh!" The old bearded one with the eye patch, shouted out. Aknadin had been spared by the Gods and granted his place in the afterlife, but as a reminder of his treason, he had been cursed with a hole where his left eye should have been.

Seto rolled his eyes. "Will you please tell Popeye to be quiet?"

To everyone's surprise, Atem turned to them and asked them not to interrupt.

Stepping down off the dais, he walked to the centre of the throne room to face Seto. He held up his hand and a grating sound could be heard as four stone tablets pushed up through the floor behind Seto, causing the brunette to raise an eyebrow at them.

"What are they?"

"These are an ancient form of Duel Monsters card. If your mind is powerful enough, you may summon up to four monsters of your choice with which to fight. Few people are capable of summoning even one monster, without being trained to do so." Atem smirked at him.

"I accept your challenge! How do I summon my monsters?"

Atem explained that the monsters at their disposal were mainly Ka that had either left their deceased host and been captured and placed in the stones to prevent them causing trouble, or been forcibly removed from criminals. To summon them, you merely connected your mind with them, calling them from where they slept in the Temple of Wedju. If successful, the monster would appear on one of the slabs. Atem finished by demonstrating; calling forth Kuriboh from his one and only slab.

"Are you trying to insult me by summoning that pathetic runt, Atem?" Again, more shocked gasps from the priests at Seto Kaiba's lack of respect towards the Pharaoh. It was considered an insult to call Atem by his name, rather than title.

Atem ignored it and smirked. "Kuriboh is a loyal servant. He is my monster of choice."

"I had hoped you might summon your Egyptian Gods for me to crush."

"It is not always about power, Kaiba."

Seto merely snorted. "You may live to regret that choice, when I summon Obelisk The Tormentor!"

"Go ahead and try! He will not answer to you in this dimension," Atem knowingly stated.

"We will see about that!" Seto tried to will the God of Destruction to come to his slab, but nothing happened. "What?! But I summoned him before! In the temple.. when I was fighting Aigami."

Atem shook his head. "No, you did not. When I sensed that your life was in danger, I sent him to protect you."

Seto startled at the revelation. "You mean, you knew?! "

"Shadi informed me that his young protege, Diva, had given himself over to his dark side and was causing trouble. The dimensions were becoming unstable due to Diva's misuse of the Cube and its power. We observed your duel in the tomb and your desire to summon Obelisk was so strong that I answered your plea for survival, by ordering the God of Destruction to protect you." Seto's lip curled into a snarl at the knowledge that it had been Atem who had saved him.

"Why didn't you come yourself? It would have neutralised Diva's power."

"Unfortunately, without the completed Puzzle to use as a conduit, I was unable to return. And even then, only Yugi has the power to summon me in person."

Kaiba pulled a face that showed he was clearly not amused. He took a breath and grunted. "In that case, I summon Battle Ox." He tensed up and appeared to be visibly concentrating on trying to summon a monster. The priests all expected him to fail, but Atem had confidence that he would succeed. A few seconds later, the monster appeared in the slab. Seto smirked. "That was easy," he hissed. "If that is your monster, then this is all I need to defeat you. Battle Ox, destroy his slab!" Battle Ox immediately materialised and smashed his sword onto Kuriboh's slab, shattering it.

Seto let out a roar of laughter. "That pathetic creature did not stand a chance against my monster!"

To the side, the priests were smiling. In particular, Priest Set, who was watching with a sense of deja vu. His cousin was teaching his rather obnoxious, future incarnation a lesson in humility and abuse of power.

Seto stopped gloating when he noticed that Atem was still standing tall and proud, with a smirk on his face. He gasped when he saw that the broken pieces of the shattered slab, each contained a miniature Kuriboh. Thoughts of the time Yugi had used Multiply on Kuriboh to cripple his Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon, came back to haunt him.

He decided to act before Atem had chance to make his move. "Battle Ox, finish..." He did not get to complete his sentence before Atem called forth hundreds of tiny Kuriboh's.

Battle Ox was engulfed by the fur balls, which started exploding on impact until Battle Ox disappeared. Seto was defeated – yet again!

"Grrr... that was cheating!" He bellowed.

Atem just smiled with amusement. "It was you who destroyed my slab! Let this be your first lesson in humility Kaiba. If you ever wish to beat me in a duel, you have to overcome your jealous obsession with me and see me as a friend rather than an enemy."

"You can't dismiss me like this! Not after I sacrificed so much to come here!" There was a slight note of desperation in Kaiba's voice – not something Atem was used to seeing in the usually overconfident man.

"You are welcome to stay here as my guest. Priest Set will show you to your guest quarters. I have a meeting to attend now, but I would like to invite you to have dinner with me in my chambers later. We can talk then." He turned and calmly walked back towards his throne.

Seto could not believe that Atem could be so dismissive of him. "Don't you dare turn your back on me!" Atem ignored him and calmly signalled to his guards to escort him to the meeting room.

For once, Seto did not know how to react. His lookalike approached him and gestured for him to follow. Seto scowled at him. His lookalike rolled his eyes and Seto wanted to slap his face for being so pompous. It then occurred to him that it would be like slapping himself!

Without argument, Kaiba followed.

They were silent as they walked towards the guest quarters. After a few moments, Kaiba felt the need to break the silence. "Why do you serve him? Do you not want the throne for yourself?"

Priest Set smiled at him. "I once challenged his authority in the same way that you just did. Oddly enough, the duel was almost identical. Except that my monster of choice was my Spirit Ka, Duos. But the outcome was the same; I lost and I learned a valuable lesson."

"And what was that lesson exactly? Because it was so boring that I have forgotten."

The lookalike just laughed. "You are so like me, it scares me!"

"I scare most people," Seto answered, blandly.

Smirking, Priest Seto showed him into a large, elaborately decorated room. The bed was big enough to rival his own back at the mansion.

He scanned the room, and then turned to his lookalike. "I asked you a moment ago. Why do you serve him?"

"Because it is my duty as a priest."

"Don't you crave his power?"

Lookalike shrugged. "I once had his power. But I am content with who I am now."

Seto Kaiba was intrigued. "Care to explain why?"

Lookalike smiled and sat down on a chair. "It may take a while!"

"I am in no hurry to go anywhere."

The Lookalike nodded. "My mother left the palace when I was very young. I grew up without privileges and was unaware that my father was the brother of the Pharaoh. My mother taught me to read and write. When she died, I went to the palace and demanded that they take me on as a scribe. I was turned away. But Aknadin spotted me and took me under his protection. I joined the priesthood as a trainee and rose rapidly through the ranks. I later discovered that he had taken me in because I was his son..."

While he had been talking, Seto Kaiba had been chewing over the connection between his ancestor and the Pharaoh. "Are you trying to tell me that you and Atem are related?" He frowned.

Priest Set nodded. "My father and Atem's father, are brothers. Our mothers are sisters and also cousins to our fathers." Seto's lip curled in slight disgust that their mothers had also been related to their fathers, but that was common in ancient times so he did not remark on it – at least they were not all brothers and sisters!

"You could have taken the throne and ruled as Pharaoh if you wished. Why didn't you do so?"

Priest Set fixed him with an intense glare. "Aknadin craved power and it destroyed him. He sold his soul to Zorc to become the High Priest of Darkness. He invited me... or rather, forced me to join him. It was his intention to make me Pharaoh. Had I succumbed, I would have ruled over a world shrouded in darkness and fear. Populated by demonic creatures from the depths of the underworld."

Seto suppressed a shudder at the thought that Aknadin sounded a bit like Gozaburo. "He offered you power and you refused? You should have taken his power and then dispensed with the old fool. You could have then shaped his empire into a world of your choice."

His ancestor shook his head sadly at his descendant's attitude. "Not power. Enslavement to an evil darkness that no mortal can resist. I was almost consumed but it was Kisara who saved me." His face became saddened at the memory and Seto noticed how his fists clenched as he spoke. "Aknadin knew I was in love with her but he still took her life." He composed himself once more. "But when he killed her human body, her true nature as a Goddess was released. She destroyed Aknadin and became my guiding light. She watches over you too. You may know her as your Blue Eyes white Dragon."

Upon hearing this revelation, Seto felt himself shiver in awe. In an attempt at hiding his emotions, he smirked. Somehow, he had always known that there was more to his Blue Eyes White Dragon than it just being a card. Whenever Yugi and his grandfather had banged on about the heart of the cards he mocked them. But his mockery had been a way of disguising his love for the Blue Eyes White Dragon. The knowledge that she had once been a beautiful young woman made his heart feel lighter.

Priest Set smiled knowingly. His modern counterpart was more spiritual than he would admit. It was obvious that he liked to think he was above silly sentimental emotions – just as he also had been throughout much of his own mortal mortal life. "Kisara's soul was unique; she was born as a human but carried the soul of a Dragon Goddess. When I became Pharaoh, her soul continued to guide and protect me as I rebuilt the kingdom and made Egypt great once more."

As he spoke, Seto's jaw dropped open. "I was.. I mean, you become Pharaoh?! How?"

Priest Set smiled. "Are you surprised that I would be content as a priest in this life?"

"Surprised? I'm horrified! You were given ultimate power! Yet the moment he shows up again, you give him back his throne!"

"The throne was never mine to keep. I ruled in his place for three millennia, while we awaited his return. To be honest, I was quite bored at times; being Pharaoh involves quite a lot of sitting around listening to other people droning on about their insignificant problems. And I don't have time for people who can't sort out their own problems."

Seto Kaiba chuckled. "I know what you mean. If people complain, I fire them."

"That is not so easy in the afterlife. We have rules that are designed to ensure everyone is happy and fulfilled, and for the most part it works. Atem is the Pharaoh who watches over our Nirvana, and as his priests, we too are responsible for helping him preserve Maat. Those souls who grow restless and do not wish to stay, are offered the chance to be re-born as a new person, but the person they were I the past, is lost. Only in rare cases are they banished to the underworld."

"Harsh... But fair," Seto nonchalantly responded.

"Do you have any more questions?"

Seto scratched his chin. "Just one for now. Why am I more or less identical to you?"

"I wondered if you might ask. Those connected to the Millennium Items were given the ability to crate new souls from their own, so that when the time came for our Pharaoh to be re-born, our future selves would be able to assist him. It may not have gone entirely smoothly, but worked out in the end."

"Okay, sounds ridiculous, but I get it. But, one thing is still unclear. If the Pharaoh was sealed in the Puzzle, where did Yugi come from?"

"Not all of Atem's soul was sealed. When his soul was fragmented, some of it was preserved by the Gods for when the chosen one was conceived."

Seto snorted in amusement. "And Yugi Mutou; one of the most pathetic kids in class was the chosen one." He remembered how Yugi had whined at him when he took the Blue Eyes White Dragon card. Yugi had irritated him so much, that he had clobbered him with his metal briefcase. He had expected him to stay down, but Yugi had got up and shown that he did at least have some guts. When they duelled, Yugi's whole demeanour had changed. He also remembered how Yugi's better half and Ishizu, had waffled on about destiny. At the time he had mocked them for what he perceived to be a load of mumbo jumbo nonsense. When Yugi had sat in the helicopter and told Seto that he was once a Pharaoh, Seto had been quick to castigate him. But deep down inside, he had known. He just could not accept it.

Priest Set smirked slightly at the perplexed look on his descendant's face. He understood that look.

"Anyway, I have business to attend so I will take my leave now. Should you require anything, ask one of the guards outside and they will send a servant to assist you. I would strongly recommend that you wash and change into more appropriate attire for your meal with the Pharaoh. You smell of sweat and you also stand out like a septic thumb." With that, he turned on his heel and left the room.

Pouting, Seto slumped onto the large bed and sniffed his armpit. Hmph! What a nerve, telling him he smelled! And then he smirked. He would have been just as blunt.

Checking the control panel on his wrist, he noticed that the monitor had switched to standby, meaning that it was not needed to sustain him. This was good news, because it meant that the skin-suit he was wearing might not be needed to sustain him while he was here, after all.

When he designed the suit, he had taken into consideration that the afterlife was only meant to sustain the spirits of the deceased, and had been unsure what effect this might have on a body which still had fully functioning vital organs.

But it seemed that the environment here was no different than what his body was used to. Either the afterlife had adapted to him being here, or his body had adapted to its surroundings. Whatever it was, he did not really care.

Under normal conditions, the battery held approximately ten hours of charge, after which, the safety feature would kick in and transport him back to his own dimension to prevent permanent cell damage or death. He had brought a spare battery with him, just in case, but now it seemed that the only time he would need the suit would be to travel home again. He could keep the suit safe in his room and stay here for as long as it took to defeat Atem.

He called for the servants and watched as they filled a large terracotta tub full of water. He thanked them and told them they could leave. Placing a wash cloth and clean robe on the dresser, the two servants left.

After they had gone, he nervously peeled off the suit. When his heart did not stop or his body disintegrate, he heaved a sigh of relief. A soft breeze wafted in through the window, caressing his skin. It felt good to be naked.

Picking up the wash cloth, he stepped behind the screen and into the wash tub. It was big enough for him to sit down with his knees up, but not big enough for him to lay back and relax. Still, it was better than nothing. Pouring some of the scented oil he presumed to be some sort of liquid soap, onto the cloth, he dunked it into the water and started scrubbing away the sweat and sand. He noticed that there was an extra jug of water next to the tub, which he assumed was to rinse the soapy stuff out of his hair.

Lifting the heavy jug, he slowly poured it over his head and sucked in a breath as the cold water ran over him.

Feeling refreshed, he picked up the other cloth and dried himself off before pulling on what appeared to be wrap around knickers. It took him a few moments to fathom out how they fitted but once on they were remarkably comfortable. He pulled the loose fitting robe over his head and tied the sash around his waist. He looked down at himself. Was he really wearing a dress?

He carefully folded the suit and placed it under the pillow for safe keeping. However, he decided to wear his duel disc because it contained the translation device and the cube – which had the remarkable ability to melt itself into the device - and then flopped down on the bed to rest and wait for the guards, or someone, to fetch him for his meal with the Pharaoh.

::::::::::::

Alone in the control room, Mokuba sat, glued to the monitor. When Seto had said that he was going to find Atem, Mokuba had not believed it possible. But as usual, his brother stubbornly refused to drop this stupid obsession with Atem. Instead of working on their dreams for the future, he had shut himself away in his private laboratory to study the cube, only coming out to shower, change his clothes, eat and sleep.

When, six weeks later, he told Mokuba over dinner that he had worked out how to transport himself into the multiverse without being torn apart, Mokuba was amazed – his big brother was a genius.

But when he found out that Seto did not intent to test the system first, and planned to use himself as guinea pig, Mokuba began to worry. "Is your rivalry with the Pharaoh really that important for you to risk your life over Seto?"

Seto had just smiled at him and asked if he doubted his calculations. "No, but..."

"Exactly Mokuba. I do not make mistakes."

The following day, he took Mokuba to see the satellite pod containing the modified gaming chair. "This is how I will travel. My engineers are taking it to be installed in the space station."

"But shouldn't we test it first? What if it malfunctions?"

"It won't. And it is not possible to do a live test because the pod can only be used once."

Leaving Mokuba to operate the monitors in the ground based centre, Seto stepped into the space elevator and made his way to the space station.

White light had filled the monitor that Mokuba was glued to. It was like watching a new universe being formed. The thought that his brother was at the epicentre terrified him. But when the light cleared, the satellite pod had vanished, along with his brother.

The only proof that Seto was still alive was the transmissions being sent from the suit he was wearing, indicating that his body temperature, brain waves and heart rate were all within normal parameters.

Mokuba had no idea how he would bring him back if anything went wrong!

He picked up his sandwich and took a bite. All of the readings on the screen in front of him suddenly went to zero. The half chewed pieces fell from his mouth.

His worst fears were unfolding. He was unaware that it was because Seto had removed the suit.

Let me know what you think.