Chapter XI: Fallen Angels at My Feet

Hello again, original Yu-Gi-Oh fans and welcome back to "Whisper." I again hope that you are still enjoying this tale. Thank you, everyone who's been reviewing and reading! And thank you to Immortal Fallen Angel, Hermione494 and Kazuma250 for their help with selecting this chapter's title, which is taken from the lyrics of Evanescence's Whisper. And now, on with the story!

We've seen the people around Yugi come to grips with his attempt to kill himself. But what of Yugi himself? What's happened in that place between life and death where he's hovered all this time? Read on, everyone to find out.

Disclaimer: I don't own the Yu-Gi-Oh franchise or Evanescence's Whisper. I'm just borrowing stuff. I also don't exclusively own the imagery Yugi sees after Joey's dad dies. That's from the 1990 movie, "Ghost." That was just freaky. I hope no one minds that I used the imagery.

Warning: Descriptions from what happened with Yugi might be a bit painful to read and just a touch bloody. Also, mentions of non-consensual intimacy. Thanks for your attention.

Author's note: This part of the story goes back to Yugi's suicide attempt.

Two days earlier— Yugi shut the bathroom door but didn't lock it, knowing that his grandpa wouldn't be able to unlock the door without breaking it down. He doesn't need to pay for another door. He doesn't need to pay any more for me. Yugi felt guilty that his grandfather had to take care of him and work too hard when the old man should be retired and enjoying the good life. After this, he can be free too. He won't have to watch me drift away and be sad. The razor blade Yugi had taken from his locked desk drawer felt cold in his hand, and the young man knew it would hurt when he did what he was about to do. But it won't hurt as much as I've hurt all of them. This wasn't true, of course, but in Yugi's present state of mind, he felt he'd hurt everyone in his life and therefore deserved death.

And now, Yugi held the razor over his left wrist. "I'm sorry," he whispered to his friends, his grandfather, to God, to no one. All he knew was that in the silence, he needed to apologize. Joey'd just left the game shop to head home, little knowing that the goodbye they'd had was for all time. And then, Yugi laid the blade on his wrist, slicing along the vein, releasing his blood. Before he could lose consciousness, he did the same with his right wrist. And then, as he fell backward, the room spinning and a copper scent filling the air, he heard his best friend in this world calling for him. And then, all was darkness. For a second, he could vaguely hear screaming, but then…nothing.

He came to sometime later in a gray place. "I did it…I'm dead," he said softly, looking around that gray place. "Where am I? This doesn't look like Heaven or Hell," he again spoke to himself. "But I'm alone here…"

"No, you're not, Yugi. You're never alone…" The boy lifted his head in shock as he heard a voice he hadn't heard since April, and then he saw the figure clad in the garb of an Egyptian Pharaoh walk toward him. "Hello, young one," Atem, the King of Egypt said gently.

"Atem!" Yugi cried out, running into the Pharaoh's arms. He felt the warm tanned arms around him as he sobbed. "Big brother," he whimpered.

"Shh, Yugi…It's all right," the Pharaoh murmured, knowing Yugi needed this comfort. He knew what had happened but chose to ask the boy what had happened anyway. "I'm here…but how did you end up here? You're too young…"

Yugi finally managed to get control and looked up into the eyes that were so like his, but perhaps a little more steely. "Pharaoh…Atem…I just killed myself. I was so sad without you, I couldn't stand it anymore." He felt the ancient ruler tighten his grip on him. "Please don't be mad at me…"

"Yugi…how could I be mad at you?" Atem asked, trying to brush away the boy's tears, with some sadness in his own eyes. "I have looked in on you…but why didn't you tell our friends you were hurting so badly? They would've helped you…"

"I didn't want them worrying…They've worried about me enough…And I've caused them enough hurt. At least this way, it's over…"

"Sweetie, you're not dead," said a voice that Yugi hadn't heard in about 15 years. And when the boy looked up, he saw his mother and father, young and happy and unharmed. "Yugi, honey," Abby Muto greeted lovingly as her son raced into her arms. In life as here, she had red hair and kind brown eyes. "Sweetie…oh, what a big, sweet boy you became."

David Muto too joined in the hug. He oddly looked like the Pharaoh, with the same eyes and hair, leaving no doubt that Yugi's hair was hereditary, not the result of hair gel. "Yugi…my big boy…You make us proud every day. Just remember that Grandpa needs you, your friends need you, and…your sister needs you…"

Yugi was stunned enough that his mother and father were hugging him and loving him, but… "My sister? But you guys didn't…did you?" he asked in disbelief.

David looked at Abby. "Yugi, you have a half-sister. You know her already. And she's right there with you. She's had trouble, but she's coming out of it…"

Yugi realized. "It's Mai, isn't it? Mai's my sister. But Dad, doesn't that mean..?" Was his father admitting to infidelity?

David read his son's expression. "It wasn't that way…Her mother drugged me at a hotel bar in New York. She was a model then, and her husband wanted her to get pregnant, but he wasn't interested in her. So I guess I caught her interest. Yugi, are you sure you want to hear this?" he asked, knowing his son was horrified.

But Yugi surprised him. "Dad, I have to know the truth. You wouldn't have cheated on Mom, so I need to know…"

And so David told his youngest child how Mai's mother had apparently drugged him, and had forced herself on him. He'd awakened the next morning in his room, and found a letter from that woman. He'd gone home and told his then-fiancée what had happened, and she'd understood that he hadn't betrayed her. About nine months or so later, David and Abby Muto had been watching TV when he saw his rapist on TV holding a tiny girl with big amethyst eyes. It had shaken him, but he knew he would have no chance in court to get custody or justice. It was his word against hers, and she was very rich. He and Abby could only pray for that precious little girl that she'd be safe and loved.

"We prayed for her, and then we had you, Yugi. We hoped someday that you'd meet your sister, but we hoped we'd be there too," Abby said, keeping her son in an angelic hug. "But then…the accident happened. And you lived with Grandpa after that. We've been watching and we were so glad when you two found each other…"

And then Yugi's expression changed from one of sadness to one of joy…to one of disgust. "Oh, no…No, no, no…oh, that is so gross…"

"Yugi? Kiddo, what is it?" David asked curiously.

"Dad…I had dirty thoughts…about my sister," the teen boy said in horror. "I mean…I didn't know she was my sister, but…oh, that is so wrong! It was back when I was going to Duelist Kingdom…" It could've been a minute or a millennium, but Yugi sat with the people who cared about him the most and told them about what had happened in the past few years, taking the time. And when he finished, he realized something. "I haven't gone back yet. If I'm not dead, why am I here?" He looked around and noticed the area he was in had gone from gray and featureless to something that looked like the hall of a really nice house. It had warm walls and several doors. "And…what's going on?"

Atem moved close to the boy. "We're going to show you what's going on down there, aibou… You need to know just how much you have changed people. You probably don't even realize just how much you've done and that you did and will have help to get through all of this." They went through one of the wood doors into what looked like an entertainment room, complete with a huge flat-panel television and several overstuffed easy chairs. Yugi sat down while his parents got close to him and Atem got the TV on. He sat down with them as an image of Yugi being raced into emergency surgery came into sight.

"That's…that's me!" Yugi yelped. He saw himself on the operating table and then his grandfather in the waiting room. "Grandpa…I'm sorry. I'm so sorry…" Then… "They came…" All of Yugi's closest friends were in the waiting room by his grandpa's side, consoling him.

The four watched for a bit longer, Yugi exclaiming happily when he saw Mai and Joey's reunion. And then, he saw the white-blonde girl. "That's that girl! The one that held the Blue Eyes!"

"Right, Yugi. Her name is Kisara in this lifetime too," Atem explained, "and I think she and Seto may be right for each other in the present day. They were…cheated last time." The ancient Pharaoh's eyes became sad. "My cousin should've had the great love of his life, but she died trying to protect him from his own father…I didn't even know I had a cousin. Father never told me. But Seto and Kisara belonged together. And had she lived…had we all survived, Seto would have been able to marry her. I would have proclaimed her a princess. But…perhaps in this lifetime, they will be happy…"

"I think so, Pharaoh," Yugi answered gently, smiling. "He deserves it after all he's gone through this lifetime. Hey, that's Pegasus…he's here…" Pegasus had just entered the hospital room. And then… "Joey's mom and Serenity! But it's so late…"

"Sweetie…look at all these people in your room. They care about you, honey," Abby explained. "All of them do. And you saved Max Pegasus from himself. He didn't know he needed saving, baby, but he realized it and he is there for you now…" They watched for a while longer and then they heard Kisara's song to a frightened Mokuba. "She's good with him…Yugi, I remember singing to you…"

"I remember, Mom…You sang to me about the bunnies," the boy answered.

"Uh…the bunnies?" Atem asked, remembering his young partner asking Tea to read "the story about the bunny," and now understanding why. "You had a book? And a song about them?"

"Yeah…Mom sang the bunny song after she read my bunny book," Yugi explained. "Kisara sings really pretty. That song…I've heard it before…" And then he was shocked. "Seto knows the song?! Okay…he has really been holding out on us!"

"He's just been…unable to trust," David explained calmly. "His adoptive father…went down for what he did."

"Down?" Yugi asked, his eyes wide, understanding. "So he was that bad…"

"Yes, he was, son," David answered as Rebecca Hawkins came tearing into the room. "Oh, dear…" And then came the explosion between the small girl and Teá. "Yugi, have you noticed that stuff?" Yugi could only nod dumbly as the young woman he loved raced out of the room and to the hospital chapel.

"She…loves me. And not just as a friend!" Yugi realized at long last. "I thought…"

"Aibou, I knew…She loved you all along. If there were any feelings for me," Atem said thoughtfully, "it was because she saw in me the man that you have become. I know I told you how she was when you were away. She loves you and only you. It has always been that way. That she could accept you as you were, that she had it within herself to accept and love us both, tells me that she is very special. Don't push away her gift. Yugi, it is very rare to find a young woman like Teá. When you get back, tell her how you feel, though I think she knows."

"I will, Atem," Yugi promised. The group continued to watch as the June day went on and became night. "I'm glad Teá and Rebecca made up. And…I'm glad Rebecca knows the truth now. I just didn't want to hurt her feelings…But…" The teen boy didn't finish his thought because something else was happening. "What's going on out there?" he asked as the view onscreen changed outside the hospital. "Oh, my gosh…That's Joey's dad?!" The teen boy had known of his best friend's father, but had never actually seen him. And yet, Yugi could recognize the man too well. "He…He looks bad…" The boy meant that to describe Jacob Wheeler's outer state as well as his inner state. "Why?" he muttered. Yugi wondered why Joey'd never let him meet his father and now wondered why the man looked so angry and malevolent.

"Joey never wanted you to know what he lived with, or the abuse he's endured," David explained gently. When Yugi started at this, his father took a deep breath. "Yugi, you know that Joey tries to protect you from things. This was one of those times…"

"But why wouldn't he tell me after all we've been through?"

"Especially after all you've been through together," Abby answered softly, hugging her child to her. "Joey's lived with this since after his mother and sister left Domino. They did it to escape Jake Wheeler's drunken abuse, angel." And so she told her son of just how mean Joey's father was and how, if Elizabeth had taken both her children on that fateful day, it might have led to a triple homicide and a suicide.

"So…he would've killed them all just for leaving?" Yugi asked, feeling sick and disgusted at the evil he was hearing. "That's terrible. How could he do that?"

"For the same reason he's trying to get into the hospital and to Joey now," Atem explained, aching for the boy who, besides Yugi, had been his closest friend in the present day. "Men like him, if they can call themselves men, want power and control at any cost, even if it means they take innocent lives. And right now, Joey's father feels that he can regain control by getting in that room and killing his ex-wife and children. And then he will turn the gun on himself."

"Can't we do anything?" Yugi asked, pleadingly. He didn't want to see the people he cared about hurt or killed, especially when he couldn't be there. "I'm so stupid…"

"Yugi, it won't turn out the way that you think," David soothed. "Jacob Wheeler will not survive this encounter."

"But…No!" Yugi yelped. "Joey's dad can't..!" No matter how bad Joey's dad was, Yugi didn't want his best friend to lose his father. "No matter how bad he is…he needs a chance to make up!"

"Yugi, Jacob had many chances to make up for what he did. Even now, he would have a chance to redeem himself. But he has made a choice that will lead to his death. He will not let go of that gun," Atem sighed. "And he will face his Maker in a short time…" The four watched the situation unfold and Joey run out to try valiantly to stop his father.

Yugi's eyes widened in horror at just how hellish the older man looked. "It's like looking through a mirror. And in that world, Joey's evil and he has been for years," he murmured, shivering at the image of the very angry man. "That's why Joey didn't want me to know…He was worried…" They watched the whole confrontation and Joey trying to talk his father down. And then the horrible moment when it ended… "Joey," Yugi moaned, agonized. He could see his best friend on all fours as Seto and Mai got to him and Kisara checked the corpse. "There's nothing…WHAT'S THAT?!"

"That" was Jacob Wheeler's spirit standing to the side of the scene. He looked puzzled, seeing his dead form. And then, out of the shadows of trees and light posts, strange inhuman figures came. Atem, David and Abby drew close to the teen boy, knowing what was coming. The inhuman figures surrounded Jacob's spirit and grabbed onto him. He began screaming as they started to drag him. They dragged him down, and with a final horrifying shriek, he was gone.

"Wh-where…where did he go?" Yugi asked, shivering. "What were those things?"

David took a deep breath. "Yugi…what you just saw is what happens when a person does evil in the living world and doesn't change his ways and doesn't repent. Those…were demons, kiddo. And those demons dragged him down…" He didn't say where they'd gone; he didn't have to. Yugi hugged his father, trembling.

"So…he…he went to…" Yugi wasn't able to say it. His parents and Atem nodded sadly. "Oh no…I know he did bad things…but…was he sorry?"

Abby sighed. "I don't think he saw his actions as wrong, honey…He was so full of anger and the desire for power and control that he willingly lost his sense of right and wrong. And so, you see what happened, Yugi."

"Mom…" Yugi hugged his mother now and then watched as… "Oh, my gosh! Seto and Kisara are…Wow! He does like her, and she likes him!" The boy had a huge grin on his face. "All right!" And then, he watched as Joey took his sedative and fell asleep.

"Yugi, that's what's been going on," Atem said gently. "Can you see all of the people who love and care for you in the living world? And look there," he added, pointing as the scene changed from Yugi's hospital room to the outside of the hospital and to Kaibaland Domino and Kaibaland Anaheim. There were hundreds of people at each place, including some faces that looked familiar to the small King of Games. Each of the people at the locations were holding up candles in a vigil for the young man they admired, hoping and praying that he would be okay and wake up loving himself again and knowing that he was loved.

"They're holding a candlelight vigil for me?" the boy asked, stunned. "Why? I mean…I tried to kill myself…I wasn't hurt on accident, so I don't deserve this…"

"Kiddo, you're a hero to them and they know you need them now. Look at those crowds. How many in those crowds may know that they owe you their lives and maybe a little more than that?" David asked his son. "Yugi David Muto, you couldn't have possibly known just how much of an impact you've made on the world. People don't think about that when they do what you did, son. They think some people will miss them when they're gone, but they don't think their lives had much value. Or they think that somehow people will be better without them. Yugi, it's not true. The people they leave won't be better off; in fact, they'll spend the rest of their lives wondering if they missed signs or if they didn't do something that might've saved the dead person's life."

"Honey, your father is right. And now the thing you need to do is go back and tell them everything you've felt, how you feel now, and how you feel about all of them. It's going to be hard, but we are right there with you," Abby smiled.

"I haven't left you, either, aibou," Atem added gently. "We are all here for you, even if you can't see or hear us. Our love is right with you." He got up and turned off the TV and then they all stood. Yugi was enfolded in his parents' arms and Atem's too, feeling their love through his being. And it was in that moment that he knew he could face anything.

"I…have to go back now, don't I?" he asked them. "I need to go back. And I need to say I'm sorry to everybody…But I…" He wasn't sure how to say what he wanted to say to his mother, his father, his soul brother. "I need to tell you…"

Atem looked at David and Abby, who let go of the hug and allowed the ancient ruler to enfold Yugi alone. "We know, Yugi. You love us and don't want to go back, in some ways. But we want you to go back and be the man that you are meant to be. The best way to love us is to live. Live, Yugi…Live every day and remember that we're with you. We're here," he said, pointing to his head, and then to his heart, "and here."

Yugi nodded, unable to keep away the tears. But somehow he felt better. He released from Atem, and walked with the three people that had loved him on Earth and would always love him and be with him. 'I'm going to be okay,' the young man told himself as they headed out of the room and into the hall again. They walked down the hall to a doorway painted in white.

"Honey, we can't go with you through this door," Abby said as they approached. "Only those who belong in the living world can go back through this door. When you go back, you won't wake up right away. But when you do, sweetheart, you will find yourself surrounded by people who love you and will help you get better."

"I know, Mom. I know that now..."

"And you won't forget it and try this again, Yugi?" David asked his son.

Yugi shook his head. "No, Dad…I'll be all right." And then, he met Atem's eyes. "I guess…I didn't quite have a pharaoh's courage."

Atem moved close and hugged his protégé, his spirit buddy, his partner, his brother. "Yes, you do, little one. Sometimes, the toughest thing for a leader to admit is that maybe he did something wrong. Do you think you did something wrong the other day?"

"Y-yeah…And I'm glad I'm going back. I just wish…" Yugi couldn't speak for a long moment, held in that hug.

"I know…But Yugi…I am always there with you, even if you cannot hear me like before. You see me every day… You see me in yourself."

Yugi said his last goodbyes to all of them, and stepped through the doorway. For a moment, he was bathed in bright light and then it faded. He could feel himself returning to his body, and could feel the mattress and sheets beneath and around him. He could hear soft voices, a hand brushing his bangs and then footsteps. But he couldn't move any part of himself yet. Sometime later, he felt a soft, familiar hand clasp his right hand. His hand felt like it was half-asleep, and yet he could still feel that familiar slim hand in his. And so he remained in that state, until what seemed like an eternity later, when he suddenly moved his fingers around the hand that clasped his…

Yes, everyone, the moment has arrived. Yugi is finally going to wake up. So what will happen when he does? Next time, we'll see in "Dawn." Please read, review and stay tuned! Thank you!