Disclaimer: do I own Yugioh… why don't you figure that out on your own and get back to me?
Author's note: Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed/favorited/alerted this story! So here are the thanks/responses:
Tsuki: I dunno, you've got a lot of people who reviewed this that you gotta respond to…
Anevay: Shut it, Tsuki! Anyway, here we go... thanks to: Nick-Arach, me, Aqua girl 007, Sinares, jak dragon, princess atemma, and xMocha for reviewing! And to: crazy-ghost-girl & Sinares for favoriting/alerting this story!
*Princess atemma: thanks much for always reviewing! And darling, everyone sees the reviews, so there isn't much I can do not to let everyone see it.
*Sinares: heheh yeeee! I am so glad I was able to make your heart pound ^O^ thanks for the great review as always!
*Jak dragon: thank you so much! One of my favorite reviews!
xMocha: hahah the Guardians are my faves X) thanks for reviewing!
Well, that's about it, so here we go! Next chappy.
Catching up
Yugi wiped his eyes as discreetly as he could, beaming at his friend. "I thought I would never see you again," he managed.
"You should know better than that," the Pharaoh smiled, "We went through far too much together." He looked up at the guards, gripping Yugi's shoulder, "You will leave us, please." The guards left, cautiously looking back.
Atem studied Yugi. "You've grown," he smiled, "But Yugi…" he frowned, concern in his eyes, "You're not…? I mean, how did you…?"
Yugi laughed, "If you're wondering if I'm dead, then no, I'm not dead, Pharaoh."
The Pharaoh sighed with relief, "Good. I didn't think so. You don't feel dead. But then, how did you get here?"
Yugi shrugged, "How should I know? One minute I'm walking home and the next I'm here."
"I'm sorry, Yugi," Pharaoh said sincerely, but Yugi waved it off.
"It's not like it's your fault! Besides," he grinned, "I haven't seen you in a year!"
"Yes, and we have much to talk about," Atem smiled and turned Yugi towards the throne, his hand gripping his shoulder. "Yugi, my Sacred Guardians," he said, gesturing to them.
"You know me," Mana beamed.
Yugi grinned knowingly at Atem, "Hello again, Mana."
"Yugi Muto," the tall Guardian with the staff stepped forward, "I am Mahad, the Magician of the palace."
"Magician?" wondered Yugi, and then suddenly made the connection, his eyes brightening. He looked from the Pharaoh and back to Mahad, "Is he…?" he began hesitantly.
The Pharaoh nodded, "You're meeting the real Dark Magician, Yugi. Mahad is a dear friend of mine."
Mahad's eyes smiled and he bowed. "I remember you now, young Yugi," Mahad said, "You are welcome here."
Atem then gestured to his other Guardians: "Seto," (Seto bobbed his head), "Karim, Shada, and Isis."
The three smiled and Isis held out a delicate hand, "Yugi Muto, the vessel of the Pharaoh in the World of the Living—welcome."
Yugi shook her hand, thinking that she looked an awful lot like Ishizu. The Guardians all departed besides Mana and Mahad, leaving them in the throne room.
The Pharaoh put a brotherly arm around Yugi's shoulders, "Tell me, Yugi, how did you get here? To the palace, I mean?"
Yugi immediately set off on a tale of tunics, capes, horses and saddle sores. Mana got them walking by taking Atem's hand and pulling them along. Mahad stood beside Yugi and the four of them walked through first through the Jasmine Garden, where they listened closely to Yugi's story.
Yugi drew a breath, "So, I figured you needed my help."
Atem raised his eyebrows, "Just because you came here?"
Yugi shook his head, "I've been having dreams."
"Dreams?"
Yugi nodded, "They started out as just sort of glimpses of you here in the Afterlife, like you were trying to tell me you were happy. But they changed. For the six months or so I've been having the same dream: you, and a voice saying: Dark Realm. Veil. Soul Collectors. Darkness. Evil power. Hamon—Dark Soul Dragon. Have to stop him. Can't let him get hurt." Yugi shook his head, "I don't know what it means."
The Pharaoh froze in his tracks, his thoughts turning over and over. "Yugi," he said, turning to him and looking him in the eye, "Tell me what I'm thinking."
"What? But, Pharaoh—"
"Just try, Yugi."
Yugi did so, trying to hear the Pharaoh's thoughts in his mind as he used to. Mahad and Mana waited, looking between the two wonderingly. To anyone watching, it would have been a rather strange scene: Atem and Yugi staring in fierce concentration with Mana and Mahad standing beside them, their eyes darting between them like they were watching a ping-pong match.
Yugi.
Yugi blinked, Atem?
You can hear me?
Yes!
"Remarkable," Atem said aloud, "I can still hear your thoughts!"
"You can?" asked Mahad. He frowned, thinking aloud, "Perhaps there is still something left of your former mind link."
Atem agreed, "There must be if we can still hear one another think." He looked at Yugi, "Those words in your dream. They have been my thoughts for the last six months, ever since all this Soul Collectors business started."
"What are the Soul Collectors?"
Atem heaved a sigh and sat on a nearby bench; Mana was next to plop down beside him, yawning and leaning in to him. Yugi set himself on the other side of his friend, waiting for the story to begin. The Pharaoh began from the top.
"About seven or eight months ago, a man appeared at the gate. He was drunk, yelling and shouting nonsense about these Soul Collectors and a rebellion. He disintegrated on the spot minutes later from some unknown force, a force we now believe to be Hamon, a king in charge of one of the provinces—an old, small province from 450 BC. It isn't much, but it's what he rules." He paused, "Or, ruled, I should say."
Yugi cocked his head and waited. Atem gazed up at the sky, lost in thought, while Mahad set himself on the opposite bench, lost in his own thoughts. The Pharaoh continued: "Later, when I was out, a man attacked me." He glanced hesitantly at Mana, who had her eyes closed, leaning on his shoulder. "He didn't do any damage, but he was locked away in our dungeons, where he was interrogated. For a long time, we couldn't get anything out of him. Later, Hamon attacked the palace with what our prisoner called the Dark Soul Dragon. He lost to Slifer and has been missing ever since."
"What about the prisoner?" Yugi prompted, "You said he spoke. What did he tell you?"
"He told us a few things were already knew, and a few things we didn't. He said that the Soul Collectors are gathering valued souls, but to what purpose, he wouldn't say," he let that sink in before continuing, "He said that Hamon wanted to take over the entire Spirit World, and by 'collecting' these valued souls, conquering them, in a sense, he would do so."
"He also told us that Hamon, whom he confirmed as the leader of the Soul Collectors, had been given a gift that allowed him to capture souls and control dark ones. When we interrogated the prisoner, Michael, before, all he would tell us was that 'he' would destroy him. We asked him how he could be destroyed here, and he said that Hamon could control the dark souls and even destroy them. Their energy was then stored."
"Stored where?" Yugi asked.
Atem shook his head, "We don't know. I do know that when a soul is destroyed, it doesn't come back. That is why it is imperative that we stop these Soul Collectors."
Yugi's head was spinning, "So what about Hamon?"
"You know how I said he used to rule a small kingdom?" Yugi nodded. "It's gone. Vanished. Just like souls all over our world and yours."
"But why?"
Atem held out his hands in a gesture of confusion, "That's what we've been trying to figure out. However, we got a lead today just before you came in."
Yugi frowned, "What was it?"
"Rebellion in the Dark Realm."
There was a moment of silence during which they were each lost in their own thoughts. "Well," Yugi said, surprisingly cheerful, "I guess you do need my help."
Atem grinned, but his smile faded. "Yugi, I don't want to…"
He stopped when Yugi interrupted: "Don't want to include me because you've already put me through so much?" he shook his head, grinning, "It's like you said, Atem. We've been through too much together. If you're in trouble, I'm going to help."
"Thank you, Yugi," Atem said sincerely, "But I don't want to put you in danger."
"I don't care," Yugi said stubbornly, folding his arms.
The Pharaoh just smiled fondly, knowing he would never get Yugi to leave if he was determined to help. He stared down at the ground, his eyes tightening. How could he protect his family, his Guardians, his people, Yugi and the entire world from these people?
He closed his eyes. He had done it before, he supposed he could do it again with the help of Yugi, Mana, Mahad, Seto, Isis…
Yugi broke through his thoughts with a playful nudge. "So…" he began, changing the subject and smiling rather slyly, "Anything happen since you left?"
The Pharaoh blinked, "What?" then he laughed, "Yugi!"
"What?" Yugi asked innocently, "It's been a year. We might as well not linger on the bad things right now and just catch up."
Atem nodded. Yugi always seemed to get to the heart of things. A gusty breath escaped his lips, "You're right, Yugi. I forget sometimes that not everything has to be bad."
Yugi squeezed his shoulder, grinning. Again, he nudged him in the arm. "So—you and Mana?"
Atem laughed, "Yugi!"
Hehe! End it all happy ^o^ I just had to. Hope you liked it!
Just kind of a background story and stuff on the plot. If you're wondering about the details, go read THE AFTERLIFE! Warning: it does contain Vaseshipping X)
Anywho, you know what you gotta do: review, blah, blah.
Tip: if you're taking a test and you don't know the answer…
Well, when in doubt choose C!
-Anevay