Here is chapter two. Given myself a lot to do by promising this will be posted today, so the editing might be a bit rushed. I will try to get the next chapter either tomorrow of Monday, and the final chapter probably boxing day of the day after.


Chapter 2.

Surprise!

Christmas morning had finally arrived. Anzu awoke at eight feeling a sense of contentment and anticipation for the day ahead. It was so nice to be back home with her husband, her friends and her family. She hadn't let on, but after more than two years of constant touring and performing, her body was starting to feel the strain, from all the pulled muscles and blackened toenails. She had not discussed it with anyone yet, but she was seriously considering leaving the dance company after the latest tour concluded in the spring. She and Yugi had already talked about starting a family, so maybe it was time to admit to him that she was starting to feel a bit broody!

Smiling lovingly at her husband, still fast asleep beside her, she quietly got out of bed and tiptoed to the window to peer outside. It did not snow often in this part of Japan, but she nearly whooped with joy at the sight of snow flakes fluttering around outside. It was not enough to cover the ground, but it still made her smile happily. What was it about snow that always made Christmas feel extra special?

She found Mai already up, in the kitchen, quietly making herself a pot of coffee. "Morning Mai. Merry Christmas. Have you seen the snow?"

Mai shivered. "Brrr.. Not a fan unless I'm skiing. She leaned over and kissed Anzu's cheek. "Merry Christmas Hon. Coffee?"

Anzu shook her head. "Yugi and I will have tea. I'll make it."

"Is he still asleep?"

"Yeah... What about Jonouchi?"

Mai rolled her eyes. "Snoring like a Baby Dragon. Why do you think I'm awake this early? Even the dead couldn't sleep through that racket," she grumbled.

Anzu laughed. "At least Yugi doesn't snore.. very often."

"Jou only ever seems to snore when he's had a too much to drink."

"Yeah, I don't think the boys should have had that whiskey. At least Yugi only drank a bit of his. I don't think he really likes it that much, but he didn't want to look a like a wimp in front Jonouchi and Honda."

"How about we wake those two up?" Mai grinned devilishly, picking up two saucepan lids.

"Mai!" Anzu gasped. "That's mean."

"Yeah, I know. I'll get Katsuya, you can wake Honda."

Mai groaned when Jonouchi appeared, scratching the stubble on his face with one hand and rubbing his crotch with the other. "Did I just hear my name," he yawned.

"Oh! You're awake then?" Said Mai, sarcastically. "And stop scratching your balls! It's disgusting."

"Nah.. I'm not scratching, I'm massaging. They love a good morning massage."

"T.M.I..." Anzu grimaced, rolling her eyes.

Jonouchi noticed the pan lids in Mai's hands and a wicked grin appeared on his face. "We're you gonna wake Honda with those?" He chuckled. "Here, Lemme..." He grabbed the lids and scurried off to the other guest room in which Honda had crashed because he had drunk too much to risk riding his motorbike home.

Anzu and Mai looked at each other and shrugged.

"I'll take the tea to Yugi." Anzu grabbed both mugs and went back to the bedroom to avoid the inevitable ruckus that would break out when Jonouchi woke up Honda.

Yugi was just stirring when she got back to their bedroom. "Morning Yugi." She put the tea on the night stand and leaned over to kiss him. "Happy Christmas."

"Hmmm.. Happy.. Christmas." He yawned in her ear and looped his arms over her shoulders and then mumbled. "What time is it?"

"Nearly eight thirty." She climbed over him, onto her side of the bed and snuggled up to him.

From the other side of the hall, they heard yelling and swearing. Yugi raised an eyebrow. "Wonder why those two are fighting?" When Anzu chuckled, he gave her a cheeky nudge. "C'mon, spill? What's the joke?"

"Oh, it's nothing much. Jonouchi was snoring so Mai was going to wake him up by banging saucepan lids in his ear. But he woke by himself and took the lids into Honda's room. Honda obviously didn't find it very funny."

With a nod of the head, Yugi chuckled. "Best we stay here and drink our tea then," he decided, sliding an arm around her.

"It's snowing out," she informed him, playing with the buttons on his pyjama top.

"Snow?!" He said, sounding like an excited little kid. "They did say it might. Maybe we can all built a snowman later."

"I don't think it will be enough," she sighed. "But at least it makes everything feel more Christmassy."

"Yeah. Did you wanna get up yet? Or stay here for a cuddle?"

Anzu liked the idea of spending an extra ten minutes alone with him and asked him to pass her tea.

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

In the Kaiba mansion, Moukba was already up and dressed in his Christmas jumper.

Hammering on his brother's door, he called out for Seto to get up and come and have breakfast with him.

None too pleased at being woken up, Seto propped himself up on his elbow and pleaded with him to quit his infernal banging. Mokuba took that as an invitation, threw the door open and came bounding into the room like a big puppy.

"You look like shit Seto! What time did you get to bed?"

Seto had been working in his home laboratory and had lost track of time. "I don't know. Three, or maybe four. And what on earth is that abomination you are wearing?" The bright red, green, blue and white snow man jumper was hurting his eyes. What a colour clash! And to make it worse, the snowman had bright blue, flashing L.E.D. beads for eyes.

"What? Oh! This," Mokuba laughed, looking down at his jumper. "He reminds me of you. All frosty with bright blue eyes. Well, not this morning because your eyes are all red and you could put Christmas presents in the bags under your eyes."

"Shut up Mokuba. Go away and let me sleep?"

Mokuba groaned at him and scowled. "Breakfast is in thirty minutes. I'm making pancakes, so be there. That's not a request, that's an order," he snapped, using the sort of tone Seto would use.

Seto watched him leave with a mortified expression. Did he really piss Mokuba off that much that his younger brother would imitate him like that? He groaned and flopped back down onto his silk pillow. If only Mokuba and the others knew what he had been working on, they might cut him some slack.

Seven years he had been planning and working on Project Pharaoh. The original cube may have been confiscated when he visited Atem's afterlife. But unbeknown to the Pharaoh and his cronies, Seto had already anticipated they might take it from him and had stored the details of its composition in his computer system. However, the technology required to replicate the ability of the original Cube had not been available. But technology had progressed rapidly and it looked like he might have finally cracked it.

But being Seto, he had not stopped there. He had actually gone one better and improved on the original design by adding a new function, that would not only enable him to teleport himself if he wanted to, but also enable him to locate, pluck a person from their own reality and bring them here. Bringing Atem here, would not only enable him to use a duel disk and give Seto a proper re-match, it could also be televised, giving the whole world the opportunity to witness Seto's victory.

Once he had beaten Atem, he would then force Yugi and Atem to duel him as a team. He had run simulations of Yugi's deck teamed with Atem's, and Seto had come up with several ways to beat them.

It would be the duel to end all duels, and it would finally give him the closure that he had been denied for so long. He could kill two birds with one stone and be crowned the true King of Games.

Feeling pumped that this would be his day for glory – the ultimate Christmas – he glanced at the time. It was best not to upset Mokuba, so he got out of bed and pulled on his dressing gown.

Mokuba was in the kitchen, waiting for him. He smiled when Seto walked in.

"Promise me you won't be rude to Yugi's friends when they arrive? And don't you dare fight with Jonouchi."

Seto huffed. "The Mutt's coming then?" He scowled.

"Yes! And don't call him that. He's actually a decent guy when you get to know him."

"I'll take your word on it," he snorted. "But don't worry. I'll be in my laboratory working on my surprise."

"Surprise?!" Mokuba cast him a confused, concerned look. "What surprise?"

"You'll see... If I'm successful." He smirked knowingly to himself.

"Seto..." Mokuba groaned. "What are you up to?"

"Nothing! Well, nothing that concerns you. It will be revolutionary if I succeed." Or evolutionary, he thought to himself, smugly.

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

Loaded with presents for everyone, Yugi and Anzu drove over to the game shop to pick his parents and grandfather up for the party, leaving Mai, Jonouchi and Honda to go and get Shizuka and then Ryou.

The snow that had been falling earlier had stopped, and apart from a very light sprinkling on the grass verges, most of it had disappeared. But it was still very cold.

As soon as Yugi's family were all squeezed into the car, Anzu called her parents and told them they would meet them at the Kaiba mansion in fifteen minutes. When they arrived, Mai, Shizuka and the guys were already there. Anzu's parents arrived five minutes later. Having made his peace with Sugoroku, Ryuji Otogi's father also came.

Mokuba had invited his latest girlfriend, Kimiko. And much to Ryuji's delight, she had brought her older sister, Machiko, with her.

Mokuba greeted them all with smiles and took them all into the huge sitting room, where a roaring log fire was burning in the hearth. In the corner of the room, next to the extremely wide patio doors, stood the huge Christmas tree, with it's baubles twinkling as they reflected the fairy lights and also the dancing flames from the log fire. Underneath the tree sat a mountain of presents. The mouthwatering aroma of mulled wine spices and hot mince pies filled the room with Christmas cheer.

Everyone placed their own gifts with the presents already under the tree and then Mokuba rang a bell to get everyone's attention. "Thank you all for coming," he grinned. "I know you're all dying to dive into the presents, but first... Who wants a glass of champagne?"

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

Underneath where they were all standing, Seto was busy working in his private laboratory.

The huge underground complex had been built by Gozoburo. Part of the basement was used as a wine cellar and private cinema. But behind that was a vast network of secret bunkers that served as a shelter should one of Gozoburo's weapons of mass destruction ever be used against him.

Seto still kept part of it as a nuclear bunker, but also used it to work on his most secret technology. It was unofficial Kaiba technology that not even his most trusted staff knew about. The room was sound proofed and any noise he made should be completely undetectable to the party goers above him.

Setting the parameters, he double checked the maths and then re-checked the parameter settings again; he was opening a doorway into Atem's world and any mistakes in his calculations could result in catastrophe. At the very best, Atem's soul could be destroyed. At the very worst, Atem's soul would be destroyed, along with himself, the people upstairs and half of Domino.

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

"Aw.. come on, please Mister Mutou?" Mokuba held out the red outfit to Sugoroku.

"Yeah Gramps... Don't be a spoilsport," Jonouchi snickered, earning a smack on the back of the head from Mai.

"If he doesn't want to wear it, he doesn't have to," she scolded her on-off boyfriend.

"Why don't you wear it Jonouchi?" Anzu suggested.

"Me?! You gotta be kidding! I ain't..."

"Come on Jonouchi?" Yugi interrupted with a smirk. "Don't be a spoilsport."

"Yes, please Katsuya?" Shizuka pleaded, with puppy dog eyes.

Jonouchi pouted – he never could resist his sister when she gave that look. "Meh... Alright. But if anyone laughs its coming off again." He snatched the outfit and marched towards the bathroom to change.

"Don't forget the beard..." Mokuba called after him.

With a scowl, Jonouchi returned and snatched the beard out of his hand.

As soon as he was kitted out in his Santa outfit, Jonouchi bounded into the sitting room with a loud, "Ho, ho, ho." Everyone laughed, including Jonouchi, who was secretly enjoying himself.

"You actually look pretty cool dude," Honda remarked.

"A little bit skinny for Father Christmas though," Ryou commented, with a smile.

"Now that you're ready Jonouchi, you can start handing out the presents. You can read, can't you?" Mokuba teased.

"Watch it kid. Or Santa will keep your present for himself." Jonouchi snickered and knelt down in front of the pile of neatly wrapped gifts. "Now, who shall... Ah! Ladies first. Shizuka." He picked up the gift he and Mai had bought for her and handed it out. Just as he did so, there was a loud rumble and the whole building shook.

"Damn, an earthquake!" Honda grumbled, and everyone looked at each other with concern.

Relief appeared on their faces when it stopped after a few seconds.

Mokuba kept quiet. He was not sure if that was really an earthquake.

A few seconds went by and then there was a second, more intense rumble. The lights on the Christmas tree flickered and went out as the power was cut. A few decorations also fell from the branches, along with some ornaments from the wall units.

"A second earthquake." Yugi nibbled his lip nervously and reached for Anzu's hand. He hoped that they were not precursors for an impending big one to strike.

"That's odd! The emergency back-up generator should have kicked in by now," said Mokuba.

"Maybe we should go and check," suggested Yugi's father. "Where's the circuit breaker and generator?" Being an electrical engineer, he figured he should be able to fix it.

"It's down in the basement," Mokuba explained. It then occurred to him that Seto was working down there.

Just as they all stood up to go and investigate, the ground beneath their feed shook violently and then there was a loud bang. A large crack appeared in the floor, wide enough to reveal the outer casing of the bunker underneath their feet.

Anzu's father peered down into the crevice. "What on earth is that?"

"There is a large underground basement complex," said Mokuba. His face reddened. "I think Seto might be down there working on something. You should all stay here while I go and check."

Yugi and Jonouchi both shook their heads. "I think we should come with you," said Yugi, firmly.

"Yeah," Jonouchi added, "If anything's happened to Dork Face, you might need us there."

Mokuba took a deep breath and sighed. "I shouldn't really. It's secret.. but... I guess, if something's happened then... Okay." He decided, quickly. If his brother was hurt, then he would need help. And Shizuka was training to be a nurse so she might be helpful in giving emergency first aid.

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

Seto started running the program that would open a portal to the afterlife. If successful, it would lock onto the Pharaoh and pull him back through the wormhole. He just had to hope that he didn't catch the Pharaoh on the Royal toilet, with his underwear round his ankles, taking a dump, or something obscene like that. He frowned at himself for having such an obscure thought – did spirits in the afterlife even take dumps?

Nothing was happening yet.

He checked the parameters again and realised that he might have underestimated the amount of power he would need to open the portal. But drawing more power would mean re-routing some of the power needed for upstairs in the mansion. He just had to hope they didn't notice or that Mokuba did not suspect anything.

Oh well! Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Gritting his teeth, he hesitated a moment before increasing the current.

Turning up the power was working but it was also overloading the system. The monitor was starting to overheat, but Seto was not ready to give up yet. "Come on... just a little more," he growled at the monitor. He glanced over at the wall where the beam was being focused. The portal really should be opening by now.

The room started to shake and he could only hope that the concrete and steel structure surrounding him would hold up to the forces; it was designed to withstand a powerful earthquake, so it should. However, the forces he was dealing with were far more powerful than any earthquake!

Suddenly, there was a loud bang and the computer monitor caught fire. Seto grabbed the fire extinguisher and put it out. Shit! Had he failed yet again? He had been so certain that his calculations were right this time.

Through the smoke and fumes, he checked and found that even though the computer monitor had fried and was no longer showing the lines of code that had been running, the replica cube was still glowing and emitting an electromagnetic beam.

Eyes wide, he turned to the wall to see that a portal was actually beginning to open. An unusual sensation of fear ran through him, making him shudder. His fear was then replaced with anticipation and excitement.

At last, something was happening.

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

It had been yet another long but enjoyable day in the afterlife for Atem. He had risen at the first light of Ra, eaten a good breakfast with Queen Teana, before going chariot racing. Most of his friends in the living world had only really known him as a master of Duel Monsters, but little did they know he was also a talented athlete. He particularly loved horse racing and chariot racing, especially when he won.

Today had been his day. Today he had raced in the premier division of the afterlife league and he'd made it through to the final; against Tut, Ramesses II, Amenhotep II, his friend and cousin Set and Cleopatra's ill fated muse, Antony. They were tough opposition but he had triumphed. Admittedly, he'd had a bit of luck, and of course, an amazing steed. But a win was still a win. And while all the different eras and sections of the Egyptian afterlife got on well together and had a great relationship, there was still a friendly rivalry; they all wanted to be champion of the different games and sports on offer.

After his victory parade, and still covered in dust and a few minor grazes, he marched into his chambers and placed his trophy down on the table.

A bath had been prepared for him, with soothing oils for his tired, aching muscles and grazes.

Stripping off, he sunk into his relaxing bath to enjoy some moments of quiet reflection on a good day's work. He would make the most of this chance to rest, because a celebratory feast was being prepared in his honour and he would be expected to remain awake throughout.

Closing his eyes, he found himself thinking about Yugi and his friends. He was happy here but he still missed them. It had been a long time in living world years since he had seen them; not since Kaiba had upset the Plana.

Atem chuckled and sunk down into the warm water to wash the grime and sand from his hair.

Shaking his wet hair out, he then rubbed his skin with the oils. Sometimes, it was nice to not have servants hovering, waiting for his instruction for them to wash him.

All of a sudden, he was hit by something that knocked the air from his lungs. The water around him swirled like it was being sucked up by a mini tornado. He felt himself being twisted and spun with the water. He tried to shout for help but got a nose and mouthful of his dirty, soapy bathwater.

He and his bathwater were then dragged through a wormhole and then spat out the other end.

Atem felt himself crash against another person, before he landed uncomfortably on a cold, concrete floor.

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

Seto staggered backwards as a rush of water came out of the portal at his end, soaking him. Less than a split second later, a naked body was spat out as well, hitting him in the chest and knocking him off his feet.

He quickly gathered himself and sat up. His mouth fell open when he saw a bedraggled, naked and completely confused Pharaoh, groaning and rolling around on the ground in front of him.

Trying to make some sense out of what had just happened to him, Atem spluttered and rolled onto his hands and knees. Gagging, he coughed up some bathwater.

Rubbing his hand over his forehead and pushing his messy, wet hair away from his eyes, he sat back on his haunches and glared around the room. His vision was all fuzzy and he was feeling so dizzy and disorientated that it caused him to throw up the remaining water, along with the contents of his last meal.

Seto continued to stare in disbelief. What was wrong with the Pharaoh? He had just puked on himself!

He hoped that he had not been damaged in transit, or something. "What is wrong with you, Pharaoh?!" were the only words that managed to escape from Seto's mouth.

That voice! Atem recognised it and his head snapped round to glare in the direction the voice had come from. His top lip twitched into a furious snarl, as he blinked and tried to focus his glare on Seto Kaiba. The blurry vision of the CEO was clear enough to tell him that the man was uncharacteristically horrified. "Kaiba! What have you done?" He snapped angrily.

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

Pushing aside the panelling, to reveal the secret entrance, Mokuba looked into the retinal scanner and the door opened. He ran down the steps and was followed by Yugi, his father Jonouchi, Mai, Anzu and Honda. Since there was limited space, everyone else waited in the living room.

Mokuba halted at the door to the laboratory and hesitated a moment. The hazard warning lights were flashing which meant something disastrous might have happened. But the system had not gone into safety lock down so it couldn't be that bad, could it?

Deciding to risk a burst of radiation for the sake of saving his brother, he inserted the key card and the door buzzed, releasing the locking mechanism. He pressed the button and it slid open.

The room smelled of burnt electronics and fire extinguisher and there was a think veil of smoke.

"Seto?! What happened?" Stepping into the room, he gasped when he say his brother staring down at a nude person on the ground. He jumped when the man shouted at Seto. That voice?

Yugi was right behind Mokuba and was the first to instantly recognise the voice. "Atem!" Without any consideration for his safety, should there be any toxic radiation, he ran into the room and knelt at the Pharaohs' side. He placed a gentle hand on his friend's shoulder. It was cold to the touch and shaking slightly, and he was not sure if it was rage or hypothermia. "Atem..." he said emotionally, "What happened? How are..." He trailed off and turned angrily to Seto. "What have you done Kaiba?" He sounded just like the Pharaoh.

Seto smirked. "I thought you would be happy to see him Yugi."

"Not like this!" Yugi responded. "Can someone at least get him some clothes?"

Mai and Anzu were both peering in at the naked Pharaoh with blushes. They both felt embarrassed and knew better than to ogle, but he was an attractive sight. It then occurred to Mai that she was getting on for thirty and the boy on the floor was probably no more than eighteen.

"Geez Kaiba, you ass hole." Jonouchi elbowed his way past the CEO and joined Yugi, kneeling down in front of a shivering Atem, he shrugged off his Father Christmas coat and wrapped it around the young man. They both helped Atem get his arms into the sleeves.

His modesty covered, Yugi asked him if he was okay to stand? He nodded feebly in response.

"Yes.. I think so. I'm a little disorientated."

"It's okay buddy. We gotcha." Jonouchi looped an arm underneath Atem's armpit and steadied him as he stood. It occurred to him just how much younger than them he now seemed. Even Yugi looked more mature than Atem.

"Bring him upstairs you two and we can get him warmed up. He looks frozen," said Mokuba.

As Yugi and Jonouchi helped Atem to walk, Anzu watched on. It made her heart hurt so badly to see Atem looking so vulnerable. She had once thought she was in love with him, and yet now... he looked so young. She rounded on Seto, furiously. "You selfish jerk Kaiba! Why can't you just let him rest in peace?"

Kaiba spun on her. "Shut your mouth. You have no idea what you're saying."

"Oh! Don't I?" Her hands were now on her hips as she faced him. "It's about time you grew up and moved on. You're never going to beat him, and you're never going to beat Yugi either, so just.. just.. Ughh... I give up. It's like talking to a brick wall."

"Have you done ranting?" Seto replied, coldly. He really didn't mean to be that nasty to her, but she had touched a raw nerve. He was also feeling a slight pang of regret for how pitiful the Pharaoh was looking.

"It's okay. Come on Hon." Mai put her arm around Anzu. She turned to Seto who was trying to look defiant, but in reality, looked extremely guilty. "You really have crossed the line this time Kaiba."

Seto could not be bothered to start arguing with her.

After they had gone, he turned to look at where the portal had been. It had gone but there was a nasty scorch mark on the wall – and something else!

He walked over to the wall cautiously. The wall seemed to be fazing in and out and behind it was a void. He reached out to touch it when the clawed hand of a Shadow Ghoul lashed out and tried to gore him.

He jumped back in alarm. What just happened? The clawed hand was now gone but there was now a jagged crack in the wall where it had been, and through the crack, a dark, greyish purple mist was seeping into the room. Crap! Seto quickly grabbed the important equipment he had used to open the portal and left the room.

Initiating the lock down sequence in the hope that it would contain whatever it was that had been released, he retreated to another room to observe using the hidden cameras and investigate what might have gone wrong.