Title: A Trial to the Afterlife

Genre: romance, pure fluff

Rating: T for mild language and some violence (might change)

Pairings: YamiXYugi; BakuraXRyou; SetoXJonouchi; MarikXMalik; HondaXOtogi

Summary: After the Duel between Yami and Yugi, Ra takes the souls of the two star-haired boys and places them into a trial, where, if they lose, then Yami passes into the afterlife. But, if he and Yugi win, then Yami gets to stay in his own body. With the help of Bakura and Ryou, whose bodies were broken up into the trial stage, spirits as their guides, and the mental assistance of their friends, will they succeed in winning this trial against the afterlife?

Me: This is the next chapter!

Lucy: After much consideration, there is a trial in which Yami and Yugi (and Ryou and Bakura) are together through this trial, and this time, they aren't against each other or apart from one another!

Louis: Please enjoy!

Chapter Twelve: Trial of the Sennen Key

Yami was once again surrounded by darkness.

He sighed from wherever he was, getting slightly pissed off that he was always unconscious whenever he transitioned from one Trial to another. He secretly hoped that Yugi was stronger than this, since the boy was a light, and therefore weaker in these shadow trials than Yami and Bakura both were. The same went for Ryou.

"Kura, what should be do?"

"Smack him with a stick."

"Whaaaaaat? Bakura, don't! Please?"

Yami's eyelids twitched slightly at the sound of familiar voices. One he annoyingly recognized as Bakura's voice, the other as someone he knew very well, but he couldn't place the name of the person, though it was on the tip of his tongue. The third voice that was begging Bakura not to hit Yami was a sound so sweet that it almost made Yami cry.

"Yugi..." Yami breathed softly.

"See?" Yugi's voice rang out with a hopeful laugh. Yami almost smiled gently at the softness of his love's voice. "He's conscious, Bakura! He's awake! You don't have to hit him!"

"Oh, very well, Yugi-sama."

"Arigato, Bakura."

Yami felt and heard a sudden silence, and then felt something incredibly heavy slam into his ribs. He let out a weak moan/cry of agony, curled up, and coughed so hard he thought he was going to vomit. He heard an all too familiar cackle, a scream/squeak of shock from Yugi, and the other boy start shouting at Bakura.

"'Kura!!" Ryou's voice yelled.

'So that's who it is,' Yami thought weakly, still moaning in pain.

"What?" Bakura asked innocently. "Yugi-sama specifically said not to hit him. That was not hitting. That was called a round-house to the ribs. Much different than hitting him like I did earlier in the Sennen Ring's Trial."

"Oye..."

Yami felt soft hands land on his shoulders, giving him a gentle shake. "Yami?" Yugi called. "Yami, are you all right?" Yami weakly opened his eyes and focused on his lover's calm face.

"Yu...gi?" Yami whispered.

"Oh thank God!" Yugi laughed. "We've been trying to wake you up for an hour. Are you sure you're okay? You wouldn't answer me no matter how often I called for you."

"S-sorry," Yami whispered.

The star-haired yami sat up and looked to the ceiling, blinking as a light flooded down. When his blurred vision cleared, Yami found himself sitting in front of the three figures that he knew all to well, but he also saw that they were in another tropical, warm place like in the Trial of the Sennen Ring. (A/N: Go back to chapter 7 if you don't remember.)

"What Trial are we in now?" he asked.

"The Sennen Key," Bakura and Ryou both said at the same time.

"I see," Yami nodded.

Yugi huddled closer to Yami and turned towards Ryou. "Ryou-chan, what exactly are supposed to do in this trial?" he asked. Ryou shrugged his partially revealed shoulders.

"I don't know," he answered.

"Neither do I," Bakura responded. He sat in mid air and folded his arms across his chest. "That must mean that Ryou and I have a part to play in this whole crazy thing as well. Isn't that just amazing?"

Yami ignored the thief and looked up at the ceiling, which was golden like the inside of the Sennen Puzzle. He ran his hand over the green grass underneath him.

"Something seems... odd about all this," Yami noted.

"Yeah," Yugi agreed. "In a way, it feels like we are being watched."

"Of course we are!" Bakura yelled. "The gods are watching our every move! If I so much as stand up, they know! If I blink, they know! If I flip them off, they know!! They're watching everything we are doing, guys!"

Bakura turned and flipped off the incredibly high ceiling. "You hear me, ya fucking perverts!" he yelled. "Stop watching everything we're doing! You're starting to piss me off!!"

"Is he okay?" Ryou asked, pointing to his yami.

Yami waved his hand and sighed. "The crocodile god of the Nile, Sobek, kinda screwed him up, I guess. He'll be fine after getting all that yelling out of his system. Just give him some time to get all his rage out."

Ryou chose to give his shouting yami some space. He and Bakura had already made out with each other while Yugi and Yami were unconscious, so they were good for a while. Though, Ryou had to admit, it was hard to take Bakura serious when he was sporting cute little black and red kitty/dog ears. It made Ryou giggle each time he saw him.

After a while, Bakura was still ranting. He was shouting to the ceiling, when the ground started shaking. Though he was floating in the air, and therefore not effected by the ground trembling, the silverette thief king fell silent.

Yugi shrieked in horror as he was bounced up and down. Yami latched onto him as the ground shook. Ryou and Bakura huddled close, eyes darting around, focusing their new magical powers to be able to fight off whatever was coming their way. The ground stopped shaking after a short while, but not a single word was spoken.

The ground close to the four boys suddenly burst open, and a massive white figure emerged from the hole. It arched its spined back, roaring loud, a noise that they were use to hearing. The roar was ended with a loud snarl, and a puff of smoke erupted from the white dragon's nostrils. Its blue eyes blinked once, scanning over each and every one of them.

Yami swallowed the lump that appeared in his throat at the sight of the massive Blue Eyes White Dragon. He looked over and saw similar shocked looks on the faces of Yugi, Bakura, and Ryou.

"Ho..." Yugi started.

"Ly..." Ryou finished the word.

"Fuck..." Bakura and Yami breathed at the exact same time.

The dragon roared into the skies, a noise that rumbled the ground. Its mouth filled with a bright blue beam, a mixture of lazers and bright blue fire that the spirit of the Sennen Puzzle was use to seeing after the many duels with Kaiba. Yami didn't need any more of an explanation than that. He grabbed the wrist of the boy he loved, Yugi.

"RUN!!" he shouted.

Yugi tore after Yami, Bakura and Ryou right at their heels. The lazer/fire ball nailed into the ground, sending them flying into the air. Yami cried out and smashed into the ground, rolling until he smacked against the wall that suddenly seemed to appear.

"Oww..." he groaned, sitting up and rubbing his head. "Yugi? Are you okay?"

Yugi sat up and rubbed his head. "Y-yeah," he groaned.

"Bakura, are you all right?" Yami glanced over and snickered when he saw the other yami laying against the wall, upside down. He groaned and threw himself into a summersault, landing on his feet before levitating into the air again. Ryou flew to his beloved's side and sat right beside him, smiling at him and asking if he was all right.

"Besides the fact that a fucking dragon is gonna kill us, I'm perfect," the silverette yami stated.

Yami turned his gaze towards the dragon. It was still staring at them, a loud roar escaping its throat. The young Pharaoh could feel the heat from its breath where he stood. This dragon was here to hunt them down and stop them, he knew that much. Yami figured that, in order to win the Trial, they would have to defeat the dragon.

"Bakura!" Yami called over his shoulder.

"What, Baka Pharaoh?" Bakura called back.

"How can we defeat this monster? The same way we fought Yugi and Ryou in the Trial of the Sennen Rod?" the star-haired youth asked. He saw Bakura thinking for a moment, trying to recall said situation. Yami didn't blame him for needing time to think. So much had happened over just a short amount of time.

"I say it's worth a shot," Bakura shrugged after a moment.

"All right," Yami nodded and turned to face the Blue Eyes White Dragon. He remembered what had happened right before he summoned a monster before, and then turned to Bakura. "Any rules on Level with this one?"

Bakura shrugged. "Summon whatever you think will beat this thing. Just know that anything with more than 5 stars costs a bit more energy to summon, so be careful with your choices," he said.

"Noted," Yami said with a nod. He closed his eyes and felt Bakura settle behind him. He threw his arms into the air and tried to summon up a monster that he knew was going to win him this fight against the Blue Eyes White Dragon. "I summon you, O spirits trapped within the tower of Wdyjt! I, Yami Atemu Sennen, call upon ye to assist me! Come forth, Dark Magician!" he shouted.

Yugi mirrored Yami's motions and threw his arms into the air. Ryou took his place right beside him and got ready to summon. "I summon you, O spirits trapped within the tower of Wdyjt! I, Yugi Dante Mouto, call upon ye to assist me! Come forth, Dark Magician Girl!"

A bright amount of light surged under their feet.

Two large pillars of gold and black light errupted from the ground. Two figures emerged from the cocoons like butterflies. Their forms were conceled by the light until it faded and revealed their forms.

One of the figures was a tall young man, reaching a height of about 7 feet. He was clad in all purple, his long hair matching the color of his clothes. His teal eyes flashed when he appeared, and he clutched a long, green staff in his hands. He levitated in the air before the young Pharaoh, glaring towards the dragon.

The second figure was that of a young woman. She sported long golden hair and bright green eyes, cheeks tinted a bright pink. She wore a fairly revealing blue outfit that looked somewhat similar to that of her Magician master's, and she held a tiny blue and golden staff in her fist. She winked and stood before Yugi.

The Dark Magician glanced back to Yami. "My Pharaoh!"

Yami waved. "Nice to see you again, Mahado!" he called.

The Dark Magician flashed him a small smile and turned his attention to the giant Blue Eyes White Dragon. He stared at it for a moment, opening his lips, closing them, opening them again, and then turning to lock eyes with Yami. Yami saw the confusion that was written across the Magician's pale face.

"Uhhh... My Pharaoh?" the Dark Magician spoke.

"Yeah..." Yami gave a nervous chuckle, rubbing the back of his head. "We're kinda having some dragon troubles. So, if you wouldn't mind helping us take care of it?"

The Dark Magician Girl smirked happily. "Of couuuuurse, Yami-sama! We'd be more than happy to!" she said with a wink. She raised her staff into the air and summoned some of her Spellcaster's magic. She threw the staff forward once enough energy had built up on the end of it to cause some damage to the dragon. "BLACK BURNING!!"

The black ball of energy collided with the dragon. It let out a familar roar, but the blast of magic didn't seem to have any effect on it. It merely shook its head and snarled at the figures before it. Smoke billowed from its mouth.

"Shit! It's going to fire again!" Yami shouted.

The dragon opened its jaws and laughed what appeared to be a fire ball at Yami. However, before it got too close to him, it broke open like a pinata and scattered poisonous darts towards the star-haired Pharaoh. They came at such a speed that Yami could neither duck to avoid them, nor could anyone shove him out of the way without being hit themselves.

Yugi's eyes widened in horror. "Ya-"

Yami suddenly dropped to his knees, hands flying forward like a blur. His bangs covered his eyes from view as his hands snatched some of the needles that came towards him, the others dropping around his body. He held countless numbers of them inbetween his fingers, still managing to stay on his knees.

Ryou blinked in confusion. "Yami, what-"

"Phew! Ah, daaaamn that was close!" Yami said with a laugh. He dropped the poisonous needles to the ground and stood up, dusting off his knees from the dirt that coated them. His long blond bangs still managed to cover his eyes. He shook his hands off and checked to make sure that none of the needles had pricked him.

Yugi hesitantly stepped up to Yami and touched his shoulder. "Yami?" he whispered.

Yami glanced over and smirked an all to familiar smirk. Yugi drew back with a gasp when he noticed the color of Yami's eyes. He noticed that they were not their usual soft crimson color that he had fallen in love with.

They were an all too familiar purple-brown color.

"Bakura!?" Ryou squeaked. He glanced around noticed that the silverette thief wasn't here anymore. He looked back and noticed the strange aura of magic that grew from Yami's body. He sighed and shook his head, arms folded across his chest. "You just had to possess Yami, didn't you?" he asked.

Bakura/Yami flashed the silverette hikari a grin. "Oh, you can read me like a book, Hikari-love," he laughed. He glanced down and noticed Yugi staring at him with a confused look. Bakura/Yami reached down and pet Yugi's head. "Don't worry. Yami is fine. I did this so that I could save him. If I hadn't gone transparent and possessed him, I would have been hit by needles, or I would have missed. Trust me, it's a lot easier this way."

Yugi sighed and nodded. "All right," he murmured.

Bakura/Yami flashed the boy a grin and turned towards the Blue Eyes White Dragon. He jabbed a finger at it. "All right, reptile! Bring it! Thief King vs Ugly Son of a Bitch Round Two!" he taunted.

The dragon seemed to snarl with rage at the insults. It slowly prepared an attack, and when it was about to fire a blast at him, its mouth wide open, Bakura/Yami snapped is fingers.

"Do it!" he yelled.

The Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl cast their staffs forward, taking perfect aim to the dragons unarmored mouth. Giving it a quick thought, they blasted their dark magic from the staffs right into the creature's jaws. The dark magic comingled with the white-blue lightning, causing the dragon to become enveloped and swallowed by it. Its roar of agony seemed to vanish from this world with a huge explosion that sent waves of energy sailing through the field.

By the time the lights vanished, all that was left of the dragon was char marks on the grass.

"ALL RIGHT!!" Bakura/Yami hollered into the air. He turned and flipped off the ceiling. "Who else wants some!? Come on! I'll fight you all at once if that's what it takes!"

"Bakura!" Yugi snapped. "I would appreciate it if you not use my boyfriend's body to cause god-destruction!"

Bakura/Yami turned towards Yugi and grinned. "Oh, very well, Yugi-sama," he responded. His eyes closed for a quick minute, and Yugi saw Bakura emerge transparent from behind Yami.

Once the thief king was perfectly visible, and floating beside Ryou, Yami's eyes snapped open, back to their usual crimson red that Yugi had fallen so madly in love with.

"Yugi!" Yami glanced around in horror, having seen the char marks.

"Yami!" Yugi called, rushing up to the Pharaoh and embracing him as tightly as he could. Yami wrapped his arms around the star-haired youth and just held him for as long as he could. He knew that they had won the trial, since the dragon was gone, but that meant that they would have to go away from each other.

"Yugi, you know this means we have to pass on and be seperated again, right?" he whispered.

He felt Yugi tense up. "Yes," the boy admitted after a moment. Yami drew him back and locked eyes with him. There was a long, loving silence between the two of them, before Yami spoke again.

"We'll win this. We'll make sure that we can be together. Nothing's going to stop us," he said.

Yugi smiled and nodded. "Yeah," he whispered.

"All right," Yami said. He turned towards Bakura, who was busy hugging his hikari. Once their moment had finished, Yami cupped his hands over his mouth. "Yo, Bakura! We have to go!"

Bakura glanced over. "All right, Baka Pharaoh! I'm coming! Sheesh!" The thief king turned and gave his hikari one final kiss on the lips before returning to Yami's soul, vanishing totally from sight. Yami looked over and saw Ryou vanish to his place inside Yugi's soul, leaving the two star-haired young men all alone.

Yugi glanced up and waved his good-byes to the Dark Magician and the Dark Magician Girl. They both wished them both a lot of luck before vanishing back into the Tower of Wydjyt.

Yami turned to Yugi and flashed him a grin. "I love you, Aibou," he said.

"I love you, too, Yami," Yugi said with a faint smile.

The two star-haired young men stared at each other in silence before each going off towards the doorways that just seemed to appear beside the both of them. They flashed each other one final look, silently wished each other luck, and then went into the doorways, which sealed up behind them.

The next Trial had begun.


Me: Yay! They passed the trial!

Lucy: Now, they move onto the next one, miina! But what will happen at this rate now?

Louis: Please review if you wanna find out xD