Author's Note: Hi guys! For this part I took inspiration from a myth that actually exists. I know it may seem like an odd choice for him, but I have my logic for it. Although it was hard to write it was necessary for the story and for Yugi. Hopefully you'll see what I mean. This is the second chapter this week, and next week I may be able to post two, but after that I will probably only managed to get one a week because I'm running out of pre-written chapters. I used the space in between to tweak them and edit them, but they were mostly written. Now I have to finish the second half of the story. I'll post as I finish each chapter so that I don't keep you waiting too long. Also, in case you were wondering about the name change, I've had two other names since I started using this site, and both have Lily in them, in honor of the Harry Potter series. I'm now in a different place in my life and I've grown as a writer, and I want a name to reflect that.

Thanks to angiembabe, lalalei, and all who have taken the time to read, review, and favorite Higher Stakes.

I hope you read and enjoy!

*I've changed the first paragraph for the sake of clarity. A reviewer pointed out that it seemed like Bakura has the scales (he doesn't).

-TheEagerScribbler

Chapter 10: The judgement of ma'at

Yugi took a deep breath and stepped onto the scales without a further word. By this point the memories were becoming dizzying and it was all that he could do to not fall off of his side of the scales. How had Bakura even managed to gain the power to do all of that? A shadow game that long should have been draining, and something as solid looking as the scales should have been difficult to create. For a brief moment Yugi wondered if Bakura had the millennium scales, but he realized that there was something off about it. When he concentrated enough to block out the loop of memories he could tell that the metal looked slightly different than what the items were made out of. The items were neither bronze nor entirely gold, although most archaeologists believed that they were made entirely of gold. It could only have a been metal forged by magic. There was real gold in the items, he supposed, but if you looked at the metal at just the right angle you could tell that it had something else that could not be named. The scale that he was standing on looked like true gold. Somehow in his panic he also managed to notice that although he was still surrounded by shadows they did not touch the scales or Yugi. Instead they made a circle to trap him, as if he wasn't already trapped in the penalty game. Yugi took a deep breath to steady himself while he prepared himself for whatever came next.

Bakura stared at him as if he were anticipating something, and when it didn't happen he looked away indignantly. What was he waiting for? Yugi looked across to the other end of the scales and saw a feather. He remembered something about the Ancient Egyptians believing that when a soul entered the afterlife it was weighed against a feather. "You tried to throw me in the shadow realm using the darkness in my soul? Isn't that a bit hypocritical considering that you're aligned with the embodiment of evil?"

"There's evil in everyone, I'm just not afraid to own up to it, and now you will be held accountable for it." Bakura accused.

Yami smiled triumphantly, much like he did when an opponent made a particularly stupid move. "Don't think this is over. Do you see how the scale is a fraction of an inch off? That is because it is slowly tilting towards the ground. You may not be sinful, but your soul still is marked by the shadows."

Familiar faces began to appear on the other side. "Because of you my big brother was hurt!" He heard a child version of Mokuba yell.

"You really scared me Yugi! I'm always afraid that something will happen to you! You force me to live my life in fear!" His wife cried.

"If it weren't for you playing hero with that damn puzzle I never would have experienced the shadow realm!" Mai yelled. "Can you imagine what I saw? Can you even begin to comprehend the torture that I went through for the sake of your silly games?"

"My family thought that I was insane!" A childhood bully protested. "It's your fault that I was locked away in some hospital!"

His daughter looked at him with tears streaming down her face. It was painful to watch her cry and not be able to do anything about it. "Dad! Why won't you save me? Please daddy!" She hadn't called him daddy since middle school, and it only made him want to take the phantom of his little girl into his arms and not let go.

The last person to appear was himself. "I'm not strong enough for this. I'm too weak! How can I save the others when I can barely stand up for myself?" His counterpart morphed into a teenager. Unexpectedly, the pharaoh stepped on as well.

The pharaoh was dressed in full Egyptian costume, and his eyes were free of the unnatural green hue that they had taken under the orichalcos. "I am your other self, so I am a part of your heart. You must face the darkness within or face the consequences!"

He knew what he needed to do. He addressed Mokuba first."I never meant to hurt either of you. I was merely defending myself and wanted to help him. The mind crush may have been a difficult transition, but it crushed the darkness that was beginning to fester under his skin. Both you and Seto have forgiven me for it, so now I forgive myself.." The scale became more balanced.

The boy was next. "At the time my other self wished to give you a taste of your own medicine. While I don't condone what he did, you did need to be stropped. You took innocent people and slowly stripped away at people until they were left with nothing but shells of their former selves. What gives someone the right to use another human being like that? It is time that I forgive myself for that because I would never do that to another soul if I have a choice."

"You're right Mai, I can't imagine what you went through in the shadow realm, but it was not my fault. There's no interfering with a shadow game, and we had no idea who Marik truly was until it was too late. We didn't give up until everyone was saved Mai, including you. The blame lies with Marik's dark side, not with us."

Next he addressed his wife. "Tea, I know that being around me may put you in danger at times, but you yourself told me that one of the things that you love about me is that I always do what's right. You knew the kind of danger I was in when you married me, and you share my convictions, so I won't let my guilt harm our marriage." The scale tipped more towards the center.

"And Akari..." She gave a particularly loud sniffle. "I won't let him hurt you sweet heart. I fought as hard as I could for you, and I won't give up. Please have faith for just a little longer, okay?"

And lastly he addressed himself. "It's time that stop doubting myself isn't it? I've always hated that about me, but felt like there was nothing I could do about it. I will always be smaller than the people around me, and people will always doubt me, but I have responsibilities. I've never let that fear and doubt cripple me and I won't start now!"

"I understand now, Yami...I understand what you were trying to say. I was always afraid that I would become ruthless, but you've shown me that we all have a choice, and I can do what I need to in order to succeed without letting anger, hatred, and ruthlessness cloud my judgement. Most of all..." He started onto the proud eyes of his old friend. "You have taught me to believe in myself. Thank you." The scales rested evenly now as all of the phantom but the pharaoh disappeared." The pharaoh stood in front of the scales imperiously. "You have passed the judgement and are free to leave Bakura's game."

Bakura growled. "Since you won my shadow game I suppose I'll have to let you go, but don't think you've won just yet. I have more in store for you, and your daughter will witness it all!"

"Go Yugi, he cannot go back on his word without being claimed by the shadow realm."

"But you were only supposed a phantom!" Bakura exclaimed in shock.

"Did you think you were the only one with a measure of control over shadow magic? I resided in the puzzle as long as you were in the ring and received formal magical training. And further, I am pharaoh. I have control by divine right! When I saw what you were trying to do I was able to travel to the shadow realm to support him, although I could do nothing to help." He turned to Yugi. "Just consider it returning the favor." He winked.

"Thank you pharaoh." Yugi nodded his head in thanks, ran to the store, and returned home in record time. He knew that Bakura would need to time in order to plan his next move so he was safe in theory, but he didn't want to take unnecessary risks.

When Yugi arrived at the door Tea was anxiously staring out the window. She hastily ran to the door when she saw him wave at her.

"Yugi!" She exclaimed and wrapped her arms around him. "I was worried. You've been gone for hours. When Tristan called me and said that he thought he saw a shadow game I knew that you were in trouble! I nearly came after you but Priest Seto told us that if we did you'd be in even worse trouble! What happened out there Yugi? And don't you dare sugar coat it!"

He squeezed his wife back. " I think I needed to do it." He finally said after a moment of silence.

"Do what?" She asked.

"It wasn't the kind of shadow game with duel monsters cards. It was designed to take advantage of my insecurities and weaknesses. It helped me to remember some things that I had forgotten, and come to terms with everything that's happened."

She stared into his eyes questioningly. "I don't understand."

How should he explain? "Do you remember that bully from high school? His name was Ushio. Before I was aware that Yami lived inside of the puzzle he challenged him to a game, and when he cheated Yami called for a penalty game. Bakura recruited him. My first game was an imitation of the game he played with Ushio, and the second was a board game where I was piece and every move had to be precise. He tried to make me doubt myself. And there was one more component..."

"What was it? "

"He weighed my heart against a feather. I had to overcome all of doubts, regrets in order to win."

She hugged him again. "I've always known that you are stronger than you think you are." And then she softly whispered, "You've always been my hero Yugi. I love you."

"I love you too." He whispered back.

And then he kissed her, and he knew that somehow everything would be okay.

Yugi, Joey, and Tristan decided to have a guys night out at a local pizza place while Tea and Mai had a girl's night. Maybe decided wasn't the word Yugi was looking for. The decision was made for them by their well meaning friends. Neither of them felt like dealing with company, but he knew that they needed support and to remember what they were fighting for. They had initially refused the invitation until they were literally dragged out the door by their concerned friends. "No more of this mopin' Yugi! Bakura needs to regroup, and we know that he'll try to attack us no matter what, so why should we let him run our lives? We're goin' out!" Joey had exclaimed as he grabbed Yugi by the arm and tugged him out the door.

"Joey's right! You need to relax and Joey and I are going to make sure that you do! There's nothing we can do at the moment anyway, so why don't we rest so that we can regain our strength so that we'll be ready when the time to fight does come!" Mai said.

"Really Mai, I don't feel like going out." Tea pleaded.

"Sorry hun, you don't really get a choice. So either you come with us the easy way or you come the hard way."

Tea scowled. "Really Mai, I don't want to go!"

Mai sighed. "The hard way it is then."

That was how Yugi ended eating pizza with his wondered if they were afraid that he and Tea would do something stupid if they were left had tried to invite the others, but they all had work that they had hoped to get to during their stay in domino.

"Ah...just like the good old days." Tristan sighed as he leaned back in his chair and shoved half a slice of pizza in his mouth.

"Nah, the pizza's gotten' better since then. Now that I think about it, why did we eat here anyway? The pizza was awful!" Joey wondered.

"I dunno man, you have point. The pizza was burned half the time, and the other half of the time it tasted like cardboard."

"Because it catered specifically to teenagers with limited pocket money." Yugi snorted.

"Besides, teenage boys will eat anything." Tristan snorted. Yugi decided to keep his observation that Jou and Honda would still anything to himself.

"So I propose a rule for tonight." Joey declared.

Tristan sat his slice of pizza down for the first time that night and started shaking his friend's shoulders. "Who are you and what have you done with my friend?"

"I promise you'll like this rule. I propose that tonight we don't talk about any of the Bakura stuff. No magic, no shadow games, and no millennium items. Tonight it's just three pals and this delicious pizza!"

"Agreed. I think we could all use a break. It's a shame Seto and Mokuba couldn't come. If anyone could use a break it's them." Yugi leaned back and took a sip of his soda.

Joey snorted at this while drinking his soda and broke into a coughing fit. Both Yugi and Tristan waited for him to continue. "Please, the man's married ta his work."

"Moneybags wouldn't take the night off even if he was in the hospital, especially considering that hell's somehow frozen over and he hangs with us one night a week for dinner." Tristan agreed.

Yugi couldn't argue with that and reached for his second slice of pizza. He looked down and saw that they ate it all. "Come on guys, really? I'm so hungry I could eat a horse."

"Well so am I! I'm a grow'en boy." Joey protested.

Yugi rolled his eyes."If by growing you mean growing horizontally, then yes."

"I'm just going to order us two more pizzas. At least they can't kick us out if we keep ordering food." Tristan looked down at the menu. "How about we add sausage, chicken, and double cheese to these? I'm still starving!"

"Fine with me!" Yugi agreed. "I'm sure Joey won't mind either!"

"Sounds great to me! The more toppings the better." For a while they chatted aimlessly about mundane things. They talked about the latest tournament, movies, and work. Yugi decided that now was the time to tell them. He had been waiting for a good time to talk to them about what had happened with Bakura. He had told them most of it, but he hadn't gone into detail about what he saw.

"Hey guys…"

"Hm?" Both of his friends said through mouths of food.

Yugi found himself fidgeting in his seat. "I know that we promised to not talk about it...but I realized that I never told you about the game…"

Tristan swallowed the enormous bite of pizza that he had just taken (and Yugi could swear that he didn't even swallow)."That shadow game must have gone to your head because you've told us everything already."

"That wasn't everything," he sighed. "The truth is that he uses the shadow magic to find your fears and insecurities. I couldn't make a single mistake, I had to face my demons, and my heart was weighed against a feather. When my heart was weighed I saw Tea, Ushio, Kaiba, Yami, and myself…"

"Why?"

Yugi looked away. He almost couldn't get the words out of his mouth. " Well...It's just that...um...I...I've always felt guilty for dragging you all into this, and for what the Mind crush put Seto and Mokuba through. I mean...I've always been afraid that I couldn't handle the power and that by becoming involved with magic I was putting you all in danger."

"Yugi…" his old friends murmured.

"I know that's not true…" How egotistical was it for him to have believed that he could make them do anything?

"Of course not. Yugi, none of that was even your fault man. You were chosen for this, not the other way around. There's no way that anyone else could do what you've done. Let's face it man, fate's had it out for you since you solved the puzzle. You've never had it easy. Before I knew you I thought that you were weak, but that wasn't true then and isn't true now. Even with the odds stacked against you, you don't cower or back down, and you'd risk your own life in order to save someone else's. You've got nothing to feel guilty about except for suggesting that movie we went to last month." Tristan grimaced. "I still can't believe that I let you convince me to waste two hours of my life on a spy movie without any action!"

"I shoulda known that you would feel that way. Yugi, I'm going to say something that I don't think I've ever said before-listen to Tristan. For once the guy's finally started make'n sense." He glanced at his old friend. "Enjoy it while you can 'cuz who knows when that'll happen again."

"Hey, I resemble the remark!"

"Any way, my point is that you put too much on yourself. Yug, I hate ta break it ta ya, but do you seriously think that just anyone could have survived all of that without becoming a total nut case? Do you know how few good guys like you would have been friends with morons like us in high school? We chose to stay by your side 'cuz we like you. That's all there is to it. We could have walked away any time we wanted but we chose to take those risks." Joey was suddenly embarrassed. "Enough of that-the only cheese I want to hear about is the double cheese we ordered on that pizza. Leave all of this touchy feely stuff for the girls."

Yugi didn't know what to say to that so he was glad that he had been allowed to avoid it. "You guys are the best."

Tristan took a bite of his pizza and casually agreed. "We know."

Yugi and Tristan got home at the same time. They hurried inside of the house and bolted the door before greeting each other with an embrace.

"Did you have a good time with the boys?"

"Yeah. They're the same as always," Yugi said fondly.

"Let me guess, Tristan tried to shove half of a pizza into his mouth didn't he?" She guessed knowingly. When he nodded she sighed and shook her head. "Of course he did. Some things never change."

Yugi brushed a stray strand of hair out of her eyes. With relief he saw that the light had returned to her eyes. The whole situation had taken a toll on her because she felt helpless to save Akari. He was glad that Mai had noticed too and decided to help. "How about you and Mai?"

She grinned excitedly and held out her hands to inspect. She had painted her nails a dark pink color. "We decided to go to a spa. It was heaven! By the time our appointments were up I was so relaxed that I could've fallen asleep right there! Afterwards we went to a little cafe that opened up a few weeks ago and just talked. You know, I was worried about going out because of Bakura, but you were right when you said that we couldn't go into hiding forever. He knows where we live, and since you defeated him only yesterday he'll still need to regroup. Even though it might be hard, we can't let that creep keep us from living our lives."

Like always, Tea' grin was infectious and found himself grinning too. "I'm glad you guys had a good time. I think we both needed some time off, don't you."

"You're right! Now...why are we still standing in the doorway."

"No idea."

"Come on then!" She began dragging him towards the couch. Dancing with the Stars is on and I don't wanna miss it!"

Yugi found Dancing with the Stars boring, but decided against saying anything because she had watched countless tournaments with him without complaint even though she was never as interested in duel monsters as him. For her it was just a casual hobby, but for him it seemed to consume his life. Despite the many years since he was first introduced to the game his interest had never waned. "I'll get the popcorn."

Author's Note: Thank you for reading! This was kind of a short chapter because Yugi needed time to recover after the game. Yugi had to come to terms with himself, and that isn't an easy thing to do.

-TheEagerScribbler