Sympathetic Magic

By A Perplexing Puzzle and The Naked King

A pounding in Yuugi's head brought him out of an uneasy sleep. He groaned, then coughed painfully as the sound aggravated his throat. Attempting to swallow, he grimaced when he couldn't work up enough moisture. His whole mouth felt like sandpaper.

Squinting his eyes open, he immediately closed them when even that small amount of light sent a sharp pain through his skull, causing his stomach to churn in sour protest. He'd managed to glimpse the inside of… some sort of tent? Where was he? Had he been sick? He thought he remembered… something… a fuzzy memory of light, and falling, but his head hurt too much to pursue it.

His breathing quickened, edged with panic. What had happened to him?

"Do not fear. You are among friends." At the low, familiar voice, Yuugi immediately calmed. Something cool was pressed against his lips—the rim of a cup—and he took a sip, only to turn his head when the tangy sweet liquid burned his throat, feeling betrayed.

"Drink," the voice urged, and he reluctantly obeyed, taking another sip. It still hurt going down, but at least it was liquid, and he started drinking greedily. A small noise of protest escaped his lips when the cup was withdrawn, and he heard an amused chuckle.

"Not too quickly," the voice chided. "I did not save you from the desert only for you to make yourself sick."

Yuugi's mouth turned upward and he laughed weakly, pleased that the action didn't send him into another coughing fit.

"What happened?" he whispered, taking another, slower sip when the cup was once again offered to him. He heard the other hum in approval.

"My men and I found you collapsed in the desert. You were near death at the time, but you have recovered well." The cup was removed once more, and a warm, strong hand was placed on his clammy forehead. "I would not leave a stranger to die."

Brow furrowed in confusion, Yuugi struggled to raise himself up, dismayed by how easily the other kept him in place with just the light pressure of his hand. The more aware Yuugi became, the less sense his words made. "What…?"

"The rest you must tell me," the man concluded. "How did a youth such as yourself come into such disfavor as to be left stranded in the deserts of my kingdom?"

Something was wrong. Why was the other Yuugi talking like this? If this was his idea of a joke, he'd picked a poor time to develop a sense of humor. And… if his other self was talking to him… then who was holding the cup? His headache now abated to the point where he dared to open his eyes, Yuugi looked up.

"Other me, what are you talking about…" His voice faded off, leaving him speechless. The man sitting beside him was almost a mirror image of his other self. There were small changes that Yuugi couldn't help but notice; his lips were a little fuller, his face a little rounder, and his skin was a warm, reddish color that he had never seen on a person before. Still, the similarities far outweighed the differences in Yuugi's eyes. His voice was the same, as was his hair, sticking out in all directions. And his eyes, an intense red gaze that Yuugi had met many times, though there was a distance to it that he couldn't place.

Most importantly, he was alive—not a spirit confined to a puzzle, but a living, breathing man whose solid hand still rested on Yuugi's head. If he sat still enough, he thought he might feel the other's heartbeat.

"Other… me?" Yuugi said incredulously, clearing his throat. The stare he got in return was piercing, and he found himself looking away nervously, stomach fluttering.

"No," the man said finally with a restrained smile. "I am not another you, though the similarities are uncanny. It is fortunate for you that I found you, for more reasons than one." He spoke gravely. "Others might not have taken so kindly to your appearance."

Yuugi nodded shakily in response, though he didn't understand most of what the man said. "So… we don't know each other at all?" he said hesitantly. "We've never met before?"

His rescuer raised an elegant eyebrow. "I would not forget meeting one such as you. If you have seen me before, it was not to my knowledge."

A heavy layer of suspicion followed that statement, which Yuugi was anxious to diffuse. "No, I… guess I haven't. Sorry." He smiled apologetically. "You just look like a friend of mine. Maybe I'm just anxious for something familiar…"

The other relaxed. "The sun does strange things to a man's mind," he allowed, and Yuugi nodded vigorously. It wasn't the full truth, of course. The similarities between this man and his other self were too striking to be a product of Yuugi's sun-baked mind… but it was enough for now, until he had a better idea of what was going on.

Reluctantly, Yuugi realized that magic must have something to do with it. How else had he ended up in the middle of a desert, with his other self's younger, tanner twin?

What do you think, other me? he asked, raising a hand to his chest to caress the puzzle… only to grasp air where cool metal should have been. Belatedly, Yuugi recognized the vast emptiness in his mind, and froze in horror.

"Other me!" The outburst startled the man beside him enough that he jumped in surprise, but Yuugi barely noticed, searching frantically for the comforting presence that had become so familiar, he'd started to take it for granted. It wasn't there. "My puzzle! Where's the other me? Where's my puzzle?" His heart clenched. What if it had fallen where they found him? Desperately, he sought out the stranger's gaze. "Please, when you found me, did I have… I-I'm missing a golden necklace, about this big, shaped like—" As he gestured with his fingers, his eyes fell on the golden ornament adorning his rescuer's chest and he cut off with a sharp breath. "You did find it!"

The man followed his gaze down. "You mean my pendant? I'm afraid you're mistaken. This has belonged to me since the day of my… coronation."

There was the slightest hesitation in his speech, but Yuugi didn't notice. He was too busy staring incredulously. "What are you talking about? Please, it's very important to me." The man said nothing, and Yuugi frowned, incensed. Did he actually think Yuugi would forget his own possessions? "Please give it back! You must have taken…"

The accusation died on his lips as the stranger's eyes became red ice.

"You are mistaken," he repeated coldly, and Yuugi flinched. "But I will allow you the benefit of the doubt. You have recently been very sick."

Yuugi opened his mouth… and closed it again warily when he noticed movement out of the corner of his eye. There were people in the tent with them, standing so quietly that he hadn't noticed them until that moment. Though they did not move, they radiated a sense of readiness, as if one command would set them in motion—and Yuugi was sure by the offended looks they gave him that they would be more than happy to obey any order they received. He shivered.

"However, I believe you are sufficiently recovered now to answer my questions," the man continued, speaking imperially with every assurance of being answered. "Who are you, stranger? Where are you from?" His eyes flashed dangerously. "Why were you traveling in this desert?"

"I…" Yuugi stared helplessly for a moment, then slumped back in defeat. "I'm Yuugi. Yuugi Mutou," he said, with one last glance at the golden puzzle around the other's neck. At least it was still unbroken, which meant that the other Yuugi was safe. For now. "I'm from… Domino City. Japan? I can't answer your last question, though." He laughed bitterly. "I don't know how I got here… or where I am… or who you are. Thank you for saving me, though. I'm… sorry for accusing you." The words burned his tongue, addressed to the person who had taken his puzzle, but they were necessary.

The man half-smirked at him, as though sensing this. "You would give me your name so easily?" he asked softly, something dark hidden in his voice. "Names are powerful things, stranger Yuugi. Now I have power over you, power that I do not think you understand."

A cold shiver ran down Yuugi's spine. It was all he could do not to shrink away.

"I am not familiar with your land of origin," he mused, seemingly oblivious to Yuugi's discomfort. "This is strange, as I have a thorough knowledge of nearby nations… though it also makes sense. You are like nobody I have ever seen." He studied Yuugi a moment longer, then slapped his knees. "As for how you arrived here… if you speak the truth, then I suppose we will have to discover this together."

"We?" Yuugi repeated, startled. He hadn't intended to leave the other until he found a way to retrieve his puzzle, but he hadn't expected it to be that easy, either. "You'll let me stay?"

"Of course." The smirk was back, an expression so achingly familiar to Yuugi that his heart clenched in longing. "You did not expect me to let you leave so easily, did you? As you are, you endanger yourself and others. You have no possessions." He raised one finger, counting. "Your resemblance to me would bring nothing but trouble for both of us. You meet my eyes without shame, which tells me that you do not know our customs." Two more fingers went up, and he gave Yuugi a significant glance as he raised a fourth. "Though you can understand me, and I you, your lips do not match the words I am hearing. You speak an unfamiliar language, yet I understand it as my own tongue." He held his hand up for emphasis, then let it drop. "I had intended to keep you close before, but now… now I must keep you with me."

Yuugi stared back at him, too stunned to even respond. He hadn't even noticed the difference in their languages before, though now that he did, it prickled the back of his neck. Magic was definitely involved, but without the help of the puzzle, Yuugi was defenseless. Having his dismal situation so succinctly summarized… he suddenly felt very alone.

"I want to go home." He wasn't sure why he said it, though he hated how small his voice sounded, choked by the burning tears he was trying to hold back. Closing his eyes, he imagined for a moment that he was back at the game shop, laughing with his friends under the watchful eye of his other self… an illusion that was shattered by the hands that came to rest on his shoulders. Yuugi looked up in surprise.

"I did not mean to give a false impression," the other man murmured, compassion in his voice. "I shall only keep you with me until we find a way to send you home. It is clear to me that you do not belong here." He gave a reassuring smile. "In a few days we will arrive at my palace. Once there, we will find a solution together."

"Your palace?" Yuugi echoed, and the stranger laughed outright.

"You truly do not know who I am, do you?" he asked, amused. He seemed refreshed by the concept.

"I told you I didn't," Yuugi said, slightly annoyed, but the man only smiled.

"I am simply unaccustomed to it. You are a rare find, indeed, stranger Yuugi." Stretching, the man stood up, adjusting his long violet cloak. "I regret that I must leave you now. There is much to attend to, and you must rest if you are to journey with us by boat to Mennefer. However, I shall leave a person with you to attend to your needs."

"No!" Yuugi protested quickly, then flinched at the looks he received from their silent watchers. "I mean… I'd rather be alone, please. If that's okay…"

Noticing the fearful way Yuugi's eyes flitted around, the stranger's face softened. "You are under my protection," he said gently. "I have given the order that you are not to be harmed, and my word is law."

Yuugi flushed. "Thank you," he muttered, embarrassed at being seen through so easily. "For saving me, for helping me… for everything."

"It is no problem at all," the man assured him. "My heart would have to be cold indeed to never open up to others."

Yuugi bit his lip. The more they spoke, the less he could believe that this man had actually taken his puzzle. Unless every good deed he'd performed so far had been a deception… "Who are you?" he blurted out before he could stop himself.

The man smiled enigmatically, drawing himself up. "I suppose it is only fair that you know. I am the king of this desert country, this land. You may call me 'Pharaoh.' It's a… habit that people have picked up as of late." Turning around, he gestured to the people watching with a short, barked order, and they began to file out. "I shall respect your wish to be left alone. Rest, if you can." He started to duck through the tent flap himself, and then paused, looking back. "I will help you get home. You have my word."

With one last glance, he was gone, the tent flap falling shut behind him. Yuugi realized he was holding his breath and let it out slowly, eyes wide. That… wasn't possible. If that man was actually a pharaoh, then that would mean…

"He's the other me," Yuugi whispered, awed. In some weird, magical way, it made sense. The stone tablet hanging in the Domino museum, the search for an ancient past… the strangely garbed people who had come to Battle City and addressed his other self as "pharaoh"… as bizarre as it seemed, it was the only thing that made sense. "He's the other me," he repeated. "Which means… that I'm in Egypt. Ancient Egypt," he corrected, repressing a hysterical giggle. He was losing it. Part of him was ashamed to be talking out loud to himself like this, but the larger part didn't care. He'd just woken up in a foreign land with no puzzle and no friends… in a place where his friends hadn't even been born yet…

He sobered abruptly. How was he supposed to get home? The pharaoh—his other self?—whoever he was, had promised to find a way, but was he even capable of such a thing? And… this pharaoh wasn't his other self, not really. He might become the other Yuugi someday, but right now they were strangers. Another thought occurred to him that made his throat tighten. What if his real other self wasn't here at all? The puzzle that the pharaoh wore had to be the original puzzle, which meant that the other Yuugi's soul wouldn't be housed within it yet, which meant that Yuugi… was completely alone. It also meant that Yuugi had offended his rescuer for no reason. The pharaoh had been telling the truth, after all. He probably had received it on the day of his coronation.

It was all too much. Yuugi's headache had returned with a vengeance, and he leaned back on his cushion, gritting his teeth. "There has to be a way home," he muttered, stubbornly determined to be optimistic. "There has to be!"

Something hard jabbed into Yuugi's side, and his heart leapt in realization. Scrambling beneath the thin sheet covering him, he unlatched the small case at his waist and pulled out a thick stack of cards with shaking fingers—his deck. The pharaoh had been wrong. He still had one possession left.

Automatically, he checked the top three cards, sighing in relief when the faces of the three gods looked back at him. He would have to guard these carefully while he was here—they were the key to retrieving his other self's memories. He paused, frowning strangely when he realized that he was currently living his other self's memories… but he pushed the thought away for a later time and flipped the next card.

Magical Hats. Laughing quietly, he flipped another one. Monster Reborn. The Celtic Guardian. Kuriboh.

Yuugi stopped, fingering the card with a smile as he remembered the many times his other self had held it, drawn to it by some connection that even he didn't understand. Many hearts had gone into the making of this deck—his own heart, his grandpa's… his other self's… Holding these cards, he thought he could feel them with him, cheering him on, supporting him. He held onto that feeling. It wasn't quite like not being alone, but it was as close as he could get.

Trembling, Yuugi flipped his next card. The Dark Magician.

He almost didn't notice when the first tear fell.

Footfalls struck the rugs that covered the ground beneath the vast canopy of his tent, his brow furrowed in intense concentration as he paced the length of his temporary living space. Today had been a long day, and there was much on his mind, though none of it was his usual fare. For once, matters of state, religion, and agriculture were far from his mind. Instead, he thought of the young man that he had now taken into his protective custody.

Yuugi Mutou, an enigma if he had ever seen one.

He had a feeling Yuugi was every bit the victim he said he was. He truly believed that the other had absolutely no idea how he had arrived here. After all, if he had been a hostile, he would have more knowledge of the customs here, and he would certainly know who Atem was. Somehow, Atem doubted he was faking stupidity. Those violet eyes were honest, and if there was one thing about Yuugi Atem knew for certain, he knew from looking at those eyes that he was nothing if not earnest.

Being earnest did not help him when he accused the king of the world of thievery, however.

"Other me," he muttered, his fingers brushing against the gold surface of the living metal beneath his fingers. The Pendant throbbed with great strength, a power that had already melded itself to Atem's own personal magic, the frequency of his being.

Yuugi had wanted the Pendant so badly. Atem could see the desperation in his eyes, the longing, and when he had repeatedly pleaded for "other me" … Part of it had broken his heart, though most of what he had felt in that moment had been defensive outrage. The Pendant was his, his last connection to his father and one of the few things they shared. More than a symbol of his position, more than an amplifier for his natural magic, the Millennium Pendant was his heirloom, a reminder of his father.

When Yuugi had demanded the Pendant he had panicked. His words had come out abrasive, and it took all his restraint not to call foul on the person who had threatened to take away his only physical link to his father. It was only through great self-control that he was eventually able to dismiss Yuugi's outburst to his guard as the result of the heat, though in retrospect he was incredibly glad he had been able to. Yuugi did not deserve to die because of his jealousy, especially since it appeared to be an honest misunderstanding.

Finally ceasing his pacing, Atem sank to the floor with a sigh, lying down and folding his arms behind his head to use as a head rest. This was so harrowing, and he had the feeling that it was not going to get better any time soon.

Closing his eyes, he attempted to find some measure of rest while he yet could. Before long, he would have to return to Mennefer, and all the work he had forsaken for this trip to Upper Egypt. There was still awhile before his journey's end, however, for a noble had invited him to stay at his villa only a few miles down river. It would be a chance for him to rest, and also for Yuugi to adjust to life here, as he had no idea how long it would take to return the other to his home.

"You are restless, my dear king."

Drawn from his thoughts, Atem turned his eyes upward to meet the stare of Mahado, who kneeled across from him, his robe pooling about his ankles. "I am able to tell because you have not yet relaxed. Your muscles are still so tense, my king."

Atem's lips parted in a sigh. How could Mahado see through him so easily? "I simply have much on my mind," he pushed himself back up to rest his weight on his palms. "It has been a long day and my nerves have been worn a bit thin."

As if he anticipated a long conversation, Mahado shifted his weight so that he sat with his legs crossed before him, his hands resting on his knees. "It is the boy."

It wasn't a question. Between them, it never needed to be, at least not when they were alone. "Is it so obvious?"

Mahado simply fixed Atem with his stare, prompting the monarch to continue speaking.

"I simply do not know what to make of him. He is a helpless victim, but at the same time he accuses me of stealing his possessions!" Unable to sit any longer, Atem stood and once more began to pace the length of his tent, Mahado's eyes following his movements intently. "One second he elicits my sympathy and the next my rage!"

"You are letting your emotions get the better of you, Atem."

If the stern tone had not captured his attention, the use of his given name certainly would have. Frozen in his place, Atem stared at Mahado in a numb sort of shock, his arms hanging uselessly at his side.

Without bothering to wait for a response, Mahado continued. "Though you handled the situation quite admirably at the time, now that you are alone you are over thinking the situation. You already gave your word to help him, and if you have any further questions he is under your custody."

"I do not like waiting for answers, Mahado," Atem said, raising his arms to cross them over his chest. "Though I know you are right, technically, there is just something about him … It's different than it usually is … He affects me strongly, and I cannot explain to you why."

Mahado and Atem spent a long moment starting at one another before Mahado finally closed his eyes with a long release of breath. "Might I make a suggestion, my dear king?"

Blinking slowly, Atem uncrossed his arms and rolled his shoulders, tempting his sore muscles into relaxing. "You are free to speak, Priest Mahado." As always, Atem thought before lowering himself to the ground once again.

"If he affects you so strongly, perhaps it is best if you keep your emotional distance from him," the other suggested gently. "I hate to see you so stressed, your highness, and I know that Priest Set would not be pleased if I allowed you to worry yourself into a rut while you are under my care."

At the mention of Set, Atem's eyes narrowed. He had known Set for longer than he had known nearly anybody else in the court, and they suffered a special kind of closeness born of an old and familiar rivalry and respect. To say their relationship was complicated would have been the greatest of understatements.

"Hngh," was his noncommittal response, causing Mahado to snort.

"I am being quite serious, your highness. If you want your emotions to be spared, do not grant yourself the luxury of closeness with the boy," he stood up. "You will only be hurt in the end."

Straightening his robe, Mahado prepared to leave, Atem's eyes seemingly bound to watch his every movement. "Now, if you excuse me, my dear king, I am going to secure the camp's perimeter." He nodded once before bowing low from the waist, his eye contact once again averted. "I know that this is our last night here, but one can never be too safe, my king. I must ensure your safety."

Leaving the young monarch no chance to answer, he pushed the tent flap back and stepped out into the cold night. The king's eyes never once rose from where Mahado had stood, staring listlessly into space. It seemed that he was once again alone with the jumble of his thoughts and emotions.

Sighing, Atem attempted to sort through the sting of anger he had felt when Mahado suggested he distance himself from Yuugi. The feeling that he would never understand why the stranger Yuugi provoked such strong reactions in him was overwhelming, and forced him to the conclusion that Mahado was correct. In order to spare himself any future pain, he had no choice but to heed his priest's words and distance himself from his charge.

Pushing all other thoughts from his find, he busied himself with preparing for sleep, removing his jewelry to slip into the comfort of his lavishly furnished tent. He thought about how he could have whatever he wished, how the King of Two Kingdoms could have all of his whims obeyed, but he was ultimately powerless to the pleadings of one bizarre foreigner.

I want to go home.

The words still echoed in his head and Atem realized that not only would he do anything to make that wish a reality, he would not be able to follow Mahado's advice. Much as death was inevitable, so was the nurturing of his connection to Yuugi.

The only question in his mind as he finally slipped off to sleep was how long he could keep up his charade of indifference toward the other.