Chapter 10
She had been burning. Her skin slowly melting off of her. She knew why he had done it, but at the same time, she couldn't believe that he had done it to her. The Shadow Realm was unlike anything she had ever experienced before, even with her magic sometimes malfunctioning and sending her to other dimensions. The moment she had landed there, she heard dark voices, and felt painful things, as if she herself were being torn apart. When she'd been pulled back out of the Shadow Realm, she knew something was wrong. Everything felt wrong to her, and she couldn't open her eyes, as hard as she had tried. She wanted to cry out, to let someone know that she was okay, but even that proved to be impossible.
And then, suddenly, she felt herself slowly becoming stronger, her being becoming whole again. She wasn't sure how it had happened, but it had. And then suddenly, she heard the talking...
"Who knows? Maybe Mariah is meant for me like Mariah is meant for you."
She knew that voice, though she had been confused about why she was suddenly hearing it in Ancient Egypt. It was the curiosity that finally got her to force her eyes open. She had been momentarily blinded by the light in the room, and then it all came rushing back to her.
"Mana."
Mana's eyes flicked over to the sound of his voice. She sighed softly as she clearly saw Atem, not as a projection, but it was actually him who stood with Yugi several feet away. At first she was relieved to see him, and then she remembered. She had every right to be angry at him. With a huff of angry air, she glared at Atem and turned over, wincing at the pain she felt across her chest as she did so.
Here we go, Atem thought, his face burning slightly as he started to walk closer to the bed.
What did you say?
Atem's back went rigid. The voice in his head wasn't Yugi's like he had expected, but Mana's. She looked over her shoulder at him, her eyes wild, "What did you do to me?" She demanded as she sat up. "Why can I hear you in my head?"
"Mana, I-"
"It's not bad enough you send me to the Shadow Realm but now I need to hear your voice in my head too?"
"Mana, wait, it's not-"
"Why do you insist on doing this to me? First you tell me you don't want to go any further with me and then you send me to the Shadow Realm, which really hurt, by the way, and now-"
"MANA!" Atem growled, his hands on either one of her shoulders before he leaned down and kissed her deeply, effectively stopping her rambling. He moaned softly into the kiss, and he could feel that though she kissed him back Mana was not happy with him. Suddenly, as though someone had attached a rope to his middle, he was suddenly pulled back roughly and he spun through the air before he landed hard on the stone floor.
"Atem!" Yugi cried, running over to his closest friend. He knelt down beside the Pharaoh, helping him sit up. Atem's eyes narrowed at Mana as he looked back at her. Had his best friend really used her magic on him like that? If anyone else had dared to attack him like that, they might not be around to talk about it much longer, but Mana was... Yugi stood up and walked over to Mana's bed, his amythest eyes holding only concern for her, "Mana," He said in a soft voice, sitting down on the edge of her bed. "Do you remember who I am?"
"How could I forget?" Mana asked, her tone no longer containing any anger or hostility. The hint of a smile ghosted across her face, "You're Yugi. You helped me save Atem five years ago, and you're his host in the future." She sighed softly, "Is it true what you said, Yugi? You think Mariah might be meant for you?"
Yugi nodded once, "After you left she became really close to me and my friends. Though when things started going bad out here, it took its toll on her and she disappeared. I don' know what's happened since I came out here a few days ago, but that's why I came here, to see if I could help Atem try to return things to the way they were."
"Do you love her, Yugi?" Mana asked, tilting her head ever so slightly. There was just something about Yugi that had her completely entranced as she spoke to him. It was just like speaking to Atem when he was younger, and that made her relax somewhat.
Yugi's cheeks burned and Mana laughed, the sound music to Atem's ears. He silently thanked Yugi for what he was doing. Mana sat up with a wince and took Yugi's hands in her own, "You don't need to answer that, Yugi. I can see it in your eyes." Her eyes looked over at Atem, "It's the same look Atem gets any time he's alone with me."
Atem's cheeks burned as well as he dared to walk closer to the bed once again, "Not going to pull that trick on me again, are you?" He asked, his eyes cautious. He relaxed as Mana shook her head and sat down beside Yugi on Mana's bed. "I'm sorry, Mana. You just didn't give me a chance to explain. I sent you to the Shadow Realm to save your spirit. I knew that there wasn't another way to save you completely from the darkness unless you died, and that was the only way I could kill the darkness and save you."
"But why can I hear your thoughts now?" Mana asked, rubbing her forehead. "My mind is confusing enough as it is..."
"I left you in the Shadow Realm too long," Atem said gravely, his throat tightening slightly. He relaxed slightly once more as Mana took his hand, giving it a soft squeeze as she linked their fingers. "If Yugi hadn't been there to snap me back to reality, I might have lost you completely. I don't think you truly realize how pure your spirit is, Mana; the Shadows love pure spirits like yours. They managed to grab part of you before I could bring you back. You wouldn't wake up, and I went to talk to the Gods. Ra told me what had happened in the Shadow Realm and that there was only one way for me to save you. I had to give part of my spirit to you."
"What does that mean?" Mana asked, tilting her head to the side. She felt a little better now that she knew what was going on, but it was still a lot for her to take in at once. Her head throbbed slightly as she laid back down, taking Atem's hand with her.
"It means that you're stuck with me," Atem smirked.
Mana reached behind her and hit Atem with her pillow. The pharaoh laughed and grabbed the pillow before Mana could hit him again, "You dork, I was trying to be serious!"
"As was I," Atem said. He leaned over and rested his forehead against Mana's. Atem didn't miss the way that Mana's eyes shifted slightly, a familiar glint returning to them. "Yugi's right, Mana. Just like Mariah is meant for him, you're definitely meant for me. I'm sorry I didn't say all of this to you sooner. It was probably the biggest mistake that I ever made. Please, forgive me."
Mana bit down on her lower lip, "How could I not, my Atem?" She asked, moving her fingers along his strong cheekbone before she kissed him softly. "I've been waiting to hear those words from you for years."
A week later, Mana sat on Atem's lap in his room, Yugi standing in front of them, preparing to return to his own time. Over the last week, Yugi had seen a change in both Atem and Mana. He wasn't sure what it was, other than there being one explanation for it; they really were meant for each other.
Atem rarely let Mana out of his sight, and any time they were apart, he constantly used their new mind link to check on her. She wasn't back to her full strength yet, and the top of her scar was always visible over the top of her dress, a constant reminder to Atem for what he had done and the pain he had caused her, but he was determined to never let her get hurt again.
On the subject of hurting people, while Atem was happier than ever with Mana, he was still worried about Yugi. He knew that Yugi was going back to a time where hopefully Mariah would be returned to him, and that would help him, but they were both used having each other around and being able to rely on each other.
"Don't worry, Atem," Yugi said with a shake of his head. He smiled over at Mana, who sat contently on Atem's lap, rubbing his arm idly. The sight of them together made him want to return to his own time that much more to make sure Mariah was really back. "I know that you belong here. And it's not like we're never going to see each other again. The Puzzle will keep us connected, as will our own mind link."
Atem nodded once, leaning slightly against Mana, a content sigh escaping his lips, "That much is true. Just remember, any time you need me, all you need to do is call for me. Though, don't forget, my little tag-along here will be coming too."
"It's your own fault," Mana said teasingly, sticking her tongue out. She stood up then and Atem frowned, very much enjoying Mana's closeness. He tilted his head to the side as he watched Mana hug Yugi, "Be sure to take care of her, Yugi."
"Of course I will," Yugi said with a smile. "And you keep your own promise to me; make sure to take care of Atem."
"I give you my word once again, Yugi, no harm will ever come to Atem as long as I'm around."
Yugi sighed softly as he felt his feet hit solid ground. He was back in his bedroom in the Twenty-First Century. The time on his clock told him that only a minute had passed since he left. Mana had done her spell perfectly, it seemed. Now all that remained to be seen was if his journey had been in vain or not.
"Yugi."
Yugi jumped, his heart jolting as he heard the soft voice. He spun around and saw Mariah sitting on his desk. He blinked hard, trying to make sure that he wasn't seeing things. When her face lit up with a smile almost identical to Mana's, he quickly crossed the room and brought her into a close hug, "Mariah... You're okay."
Mariah hugged Yugi back, relaxing as she felt his arms tight around her, "I'm not really sure what happened, Yugi, but I feel like I have a lot to thank you for."
Yugi inhaled shakily trying to control his emotions, "I almost lost you, Mariah," He said in a soft voice. "And now that I got you back, I'm not going to let anything take you away from me. Ever."
END
AN: And thus ends Return to the Past. Fear not though, I'm going to do a sequel focusing on Yugi and Mariah, with some Atem and Mana, of course. I hope some of you will follow me to that story and at least give it a chance, especially if you liked this fic. I'm really bad at ending stories, so I apologize if it ended a little quickly. Thank you very much for reading this fic and giving me reviews throughout it.