"How do you think he got here?"

"I have no idea. Maybe he had some sort of break down and needed a rest?"

"Well, it was some break! Thin with that huge gash in his chest. I'm just glad they got him here before worse happened. Speaking of they, where is that creepy boy? He always seems to be here. Oh! You're finally awake."

Yugi groaned as he worked to lift his eyelids. In front of him were two Egyptian women in nurse uniforms. They had been speaking Egyptian Arabic which Yugi only knew a little of.

"Where am I?" Yugi tired. Hopefully, he did not butcher the language too badly. It had been five years since he last used it.

The two women glanced at each other. One left the room and the other came closer to Yugi. She started checking his bandages. Yugi winced as she worked on him. Everything hurt. He tried to sit up but was pushed back down by the nurse.

"Please hold still." She said in her language. Yugi sighed. He looked down at the many IVs coming out of his arm. He had not seen technology like this in the afterlife. Had he made it out? He looked around the room. Outside his window was a sprawling city at midday.

"You're in the Cairo Hospital." She eventually answered, or that's what Yugi could make out. This made him gasp.

"How long have I been here?" He frantically asked.

She answered, but it was something Yugi could not translate. The nurse started to check the IV bag hanging beside the bed, not noticing his confusion. Yugi laid his head back down on the pillow and stared at the ceiling. The last thing he remembered was battling Atem. Everything was going hazy, he could barely stand anymore then… Yugi's eyes widened. He shot up from his laying position much to the nurse's and his body's anger.

"Where is Atem?!" Yugi gasped in Japanese. The nurse forced him to lay back down. She didn't have to try very hard since his body was already screaming in pain. Fear shot through Yugi. In his weakened hazy he had ended the battle by surrendering. In his pain and delirium, he had not thought about the consequences of ending the battle like that. Yugi tried to remember more. What happened after they were surrounded by light? He remembered his friends' yelling and voices he did not recognize. Were they yelling at the strange voices or were they yelling at him? Then Yugi's biggest fear shot through him like a lightning bolt.

'Did my actions just forcefully pull Atem here…?' Yugi breathing quickened. He then did something he had not done in years. He reached out into mind.

'Atem, are you there?' Yugi mentally asked. This had been the way he talked to Atem when they shared a body. Yugi held his breath. 'Please, please, please, don't let me have dragged him here. Let him rest, let him enjoy all his hard work.'

Quiet, just like that part of his mind had been these last nineteen years. Yugi breathed a sigh of relief. The nurse sighed too, she was watching his vitals and the sudden rising in vitals had taken all her attention.

Two voices drifted in from the hallway. The door then opened. The nurse from earlier and a doctor came in.

"Ah, Mr. King of Games, you're awake." The doctor smiled. He said this in Japanese much to Yugi's relief.

"Hello?" Yugi hesitated.

"You gave us a real scare. We almost lost you at first, but thankfully your friends were able to bring you here in time for us to help you." The doctor said as he checked Yugi's vitals.

"Friends?" Before Yugi could ask more the door swung opened again and a mob of people came rushing in. Yugi soon found himself being hounded by Diva, Sera, and the entire Ishtar family.

"Hey, guys." Yugi breathed through their declarations of excitement.

"Hey, guys?! After all that, that's all you have to say?" Marik yelled. The whole group was soon shushed by the irritated nurses.

"Sorry." Most of them whispered. Yugi looked at them all with wide eyes.

"I-I, what happened?" Yugi eventually asked.

"You were gone for about ten months," Ishizu answered in a whisper.

"Ten months and a week," Sera added.

Yugi put his hand to his forehead. "Ten months? It felt like only a week... Was I gone as in, a coma?" he almost hoped.

"No, as in you were missing. Gone." Diva stated. Yugi's heart started beating faster again.

"There was no trace of you and trust me, people looked. It was all over the news how the King of Games was missing. There were many groups of fans that almost destroyed the city again to try and find you. Then you just suddenly appeared here in Egypt. What adventure did you end up in this time?" Marik asked. Yugi found he couldn't collect his words. He himself didn't quite know what happened. Where did he even began?

"I-I was. Gone." Was all Yugi could get out. He tried for many more minutes to string an explanation together, but it all ended up similar to Yugi's first attempt. It was not like Yugi wasn't trying to explain, but every time he tried to say something even closely referring to where he had been his mouth wouldn't work. It wouldn't even stay open. It simply looked like Yugi didn't want to talk. The nurses pointed at his elevated heart rate and said something to the doctor.

"Ok, he clearly needs rest. Please leave so we can give him some space." The doctor ordered as the nurses started to herd the complaining group out.

"Wait, don't leave yet. I'm fine-" Yugi's words dried up in his throat as he looked at the doorway to his room. There, leaning against the door frame, was an Egyptian Atem in very modern clothes.

It felt like Yugi's heart stopped. It must have because the nurses were moving around anxiously as they studied his vitals.

"Atem?!" Yugi gasped after seconds of silence. Atem slowly nodded to Yugi. His face was unreadable. The normal Atem look, but it was utterly infuriating right then. The doctor turned to Atem, then to Yugi.

"This boy was part of the group that brought you in." the doctor said. Yugi blankly stared. "If you truly feel up to it, we can allow one family member to be here. I'm guessing this boy is part of your family?" Yugi blinked and turned to the doctor. Words continued to stay stuck in his throat. "Or maybe I'm mistaken. I suppose you do have many fans that dress up like you. I just thought with the similar hair and facial features…"

"Wait! Yes, yes, he is my brother. I'd like him here with me." Yugi stammered. A small smile broke Atem's stone face. He walked into the room, passing the others who were still being pushed out. They looking a bit jealous as he passed them, but most still smiled back at Yugi.

"Get better soon!" Sera yelled as the door clicked closed.

Atem quietly walked up to a chair by the bed and sat down. His face was back to being unreadable. Yugi continued to stare at him, his eyes widening every second.

"Mr. can you face me, please? I need to do a few tests. Mr.?" Yugi barely registered the voice. It got to the point where the doctor had to tap his shoulder to get his attention.

"Sorry." Yugi breathed.

Atem stayed as close as he could to Yugi but didn't speak. He moved wordlessly when the nurses needed to be on his side of the bed. He answered any questions the staff had with quick, nonverbal answers. He didn't even say anything to Yugi. Not that Yugi had much of a chance to talk with the staff constantly working on him. Apparently, Atem had done this silent treatment to everyone for the last few days. There was something else about him though. Another reason the nurses had labeled him as the "creepy boy". Yugi felt it prickle down his spine every time he glanced at the pharaoh. A discomforting aura that seemed to radiate from him. He felt like a late-night intruder, he wasn't supposed to be here.

"That should do it, for now, Mr. King of Games. Rest, food will be up in about three hours. Push that button if you need a nurse." The doctor said as he left with the nurses, making sure to give Atem a wide berth. With a small click of the door, it was just the two.

Yugi still couldn't sit up without help. All he could do was turn his head to face the motionless pharaoh.

"How?" was all that Yugi whispered. Atem closed his eyes and exhaled. He then turned to Yugi with one of the fakest smiles Yugi had ever seen him do.

"I-We failed our test. We proved we couldn't be separated. You were very smart to think of that. It opened the gateway and-"

"I know that's not what happened," Yugi said in an even voice. "Don't lie to me to make me feel better. Did I force you here-?"

"No. Don't you dare think you did anything wrong," Atem commanded. Yugi could feel nearly 5000 years of force behind that voice. Atem rarely ever used that voice on him. He immediately closed his mouth as Atem studied his face.

"Have you tried…referring to the last ten months?" Atem asked.

"Yes…It feels like my body freezes every time that I…" Yugi still found it incredibly hard to even think of where he had just come from.

"They made it purposefully like that. They don't want any connection between …and this world." Atem said. He looked up to the ceiling, his hands gripping his knee. "That is why I can't tell you why I'm here in this form." Once again that wasn't the truth and Yugi knew it. He wanted to sit up, just a bit. All so he could get a better look at Atem's face. His body wouldn't allow it so he stayed laying down, trying to understand what Atem was hiding. That unsettling aura was now stronger than ever. It was making goosebumps grow across Yugi's skin. No matter how much Yugi tried to tell himself otherwise every cell in his body was screaming that Atem was something that should not be here. A shadow creeping across the floor without anything to make it.

"I'm sorry." Was all Yugi could whisper. Atem snapped his attention to Yugi. The aura lessening a little.

"Do not start. It was all out of our control. Just know…you…did not force me here. I absolutely had a choice and I would do it again and again." Atem firmly said. He finally looked Yugi in the eyes and this time, he had a true smile. "If it takes a little bit time being in a mortal body to keep you alive, I will do it, gladly."

"Only a little time?" Yugi whispered. A strange battle inside Yugi's head started over those four words. One between feelings of relief and sadness. Atem said no more and the two remained in silence for what seemed like hours. Eventually, Yugi was able to smile back at Atem, one side of the little war winning out.

"How is being mortal again treating you? I still remember the last time you had to take care of a body alone. You ate a single onion, raw I might add, then walked in the desert for days lugging a duel disk. When I finally got my body back after Dartz I thought I was going to collapse from malnutrition." Yugi joked.

Atem gave an embarrassed laugh. "Taking care of the body had always been your job. It was kind of hard to remember what needed to be done after five-thousand-years and the world about to end again. But do not worry, I'm taking much better care of this body. In these last three days, I have eaten two much need onions." Atem proudly said. He had to make it clear it was a joke though after Yugi gave the teen a worried look.

The two continued to laugh and talk through the hours. The topic of what had just happened in the last ten months never making it into the conversation. Instead, they talked like old friends, brothers even. Joking and teasing, making sure the other never had a chance to even think of being gloomy. The aura Atem gave off didn't go away, but Yugi got used to it. He only ever barely noticed it when he saw nurses tense up as they passed Atem.

Soon enough the others were allowed back in during dinner time. Yugi now felt strong enough to sit up. They all surrounded his bed, but Yugi noticed most did their best to give Atem a few feet of space.

"Diva had to go back to the shrine to catch the others up on what happened. You two did just suddenly appear out of a ray of light. It frightened most of the workers there." Sera said in between bites.

"Sorry, we weren't planning it like that. I promise." Yugi laughed as he ate his own food. He then turned to Atem. He gave him a questioning glance. Did they have to do that battle again? Atem shook his head then pointed to the others.

"I can tell. The whole place started to collapse as soon as you guys came through. It's going to take at least half a year to dig it out again. Maybe more." Sera sighed. "We weren't just protecting the items there. It was also a great archeology dig. We were able to find out so much more about the ancient shadow games from that site."

"You do know I just about killed myself to lock away those games. For my sake do not go releasing them again." Atem quietly said as he slurped up his soup. Yugi recognized the pharaoh's joking voice but the others seemed to have missed it. This group did know the least about Atem out of all his friends.

"Oh no, no! We're not doing anything like that. Most of the people we have working for us don't even believe that the shadow games existed. We're simply using it to better understand the past." Sera quickly said. "We want to know the world our master knew so well." She then added. Atem nodded to her in approval.

"Yugi, have you had a chance to talk to the others yet?" Odion asked. Yugi looked up in surprise.

"The others? Oh Gods, my family! Rebecca, AJ, Chell! Are they ok?! How is everyone doing?! I don't know how they slipped my mind!" Yugi yelped. His heart rate started raising again and the other immediately made him lay back down.

"Your family is fine. Please calm down. If the staff see that every time we come into your room your heart rate raises, they're going to kick us out of the hospital." Marik said. Yugi slowly breathed in and out until the monitor stopped rapidly beeping.

"They were still in America when the Zero Reverse happened. They are in Japan now with the others. The house you guys bought is still standing." Ishizu answered.

"The others?" Yugi asked.

"Téa, Joey, your friends. They are all in Domino city. We were all going to the city to help rebuild when you two showed up. Marik and I stayed here for obvious reasons, but the others all met at Rebecca's, or, your house." Odion added.

"They've been contacting us nonstop these last few days, but we really didn't have anything to update them on. Especially since you were in no state to talk and this royal pain wouldn't speak to us at all." Marik gestured to Atem still sitting next to Yugi. Atem gave a small wave as his answer.

"They managed to move in…" Yugi breathed as he imagined his family moving into a destroyed house.

"Don't worry, your street had very little damage. The least in the city in fact. I guess it's good that you guys decided not to move close to the Kame shop. That part of town is now floating miles away from the rest of the city." Marik said.

Yugi looked to the group for more answers. They explained how a small satellite island had been pushed away from the rest of the city thanks to it being closest to the earthquake and tsunami. The city decided to abandon that island and work only on fixing the city that was still part of the mainland.

"An earthquake? Wasn't it actually…?" Once again Yugi found he couldn't speak. Specifically, he couldn't say reactor.

"It's sad what happened. An earthquake cut the city and the tsunami pulled it apart. Nature can be terrifying sometimes." Sera said.

"Kame game shop was relatively close to the earthquake's origin point, it's part of that satellite island now," Ishizu said sadly. Yugi suddenly remembered his father and mother who had been in the shop that night. He then remembered all his friends he had met in the afterlife. They probably had been farther away from the explosion than his parents had been. A sad nod from the group told Yugi all he needed to know. A strange pain dropped into Yugi's heart. It felt like ice, but it didn't feel strong enough for what should have been a piece of devastating news. Atem slid closer to Yugi and put an arm around him.

"You ok?" Atem asked. The others looked away from the two. Either at a sudden phone call or something interesting out the window. They probably did it to give Yugi some privacy.

"Yes, too accepting in fact. I should be sad, miserable even, for all of them. But I keep imagining the journey they are about to go on and the sights they are going to see. I know they're all going to be fine. Is that bad?" Yugi whispered. Atem gave Yugi's shoulder a squeeze.

"I don't know, but if it keeps you from hurting..." He whispered back and pulled away.

An actual pinging came from Marik's phone. In surprise, he looked at the caller.

"It's Téa again. Do we have more to tell her this time around?" He asked as he looked to Yugi and Atem. The two nodded and Marik answered the phone. The group helped Yugi sit up and they all turned to the phone propped up on the footboard.

"Hey, Téa." Yugi smiled at the video call. It took a few seconds for her to realize who she was talking too. Her wide eyes filled with tears. Her hands covered her mouth as she stared through the camera.

"Is dat who I think it is?!" Téa was soon roughly pushed aside by Joey. He smiled through his own tears at the camera. "About time Yugi! Any longer and we would have come down to Egypt ourselves! Rebecca, AJ! Guess who's up!" Yugi felt tears starting to welling up in his own eyes. Joey was just about tackled by a short plump woman with long blonde hair.

"Yugi, Yugi is that you?! Are you ok?! Did you defeat another villain?! Is the world in danger?! Please tell me you are ok!" Rebecca cried into the camera. She was soon surrounded by other faces.


Atem smiled at Yugi's welcome to the world of the living. He slowly pulled away from the bed. He had not been in the phone's shot to begin with, this was Yugi's time.

Atem left the room without much notice. The sun was almost covered by the horizon so Atem grabbed a jacket from a locker the hospital had given him. The Ishtars had been kind enough to buy him some modern clothes after they checked Yugi into the hospital. It certainly helped lower the amount of staring. His clothing from the afterlife was still folded inside the locker. He was a little worried someone would steal the gold jewelry inside, but he would deal with that as it came. At least he did not have to worry about the Millennium Puzzle, that was still in the afterlife.

He soon found himself walking up to the roof of the hospital. He had not left this hospital since checking in. Giving him many hours to explore it and find the best spots to hide. He knew very well the effect he had on most people now. He was not supposed to be here and they were forced to know it. Atem opened the door and a gust of chilled night air hit his face. He walked into the night sky. No stars could be seen in this city, much like Domino. He breathed in and felt the air around him. He remembered back to after the light had enveloped him and Yugi.

He cannot leave without losing something proportional to how long he has been here. A week is the longest any living thing has known this place and he will be punished accordingly. Only a truly twisted soul would purposefully stay in the afterlife so long.

Just thinking about the many voices of the Higher Ups made Atem's newly flowing blood boil. Sure, they had been kind earlier to Atem. The piece of paper the other leader had given him was a note of approval. He could now follow Yugi on his journey. But when the Higher Ups found out that Yugi was indeed alive after the ceremonial battle alerted them… They thought the only adequate punishment for staying so long in the afterlife was to be there permanently.

He did not know! He is innocent in all this!

Ya! Yugi would never purposefully break the laws of nature. I have been his friend almost all his life. Look it up, I'm Tristan Taylor and I will vouch for him!

Me too. Mai Valentine!

Duke Devlin!

Serenity Taylor, we all will vouch for Yugi's character.

Yugi's friends defending him so adamantly was the only memory that let Atem's fist unclench. They were willing to fight what could very well be the creators of the afterlife for their friend.

Unless you have something equal to his soul there is nothing you can do. He has to lose something and that is what he shall lose. His body will be alive but his soul will remain here. Now go, do not we all have enough to worry about with these Earthbound Immortals trying to break free?

Atem looked up at the bright moon above him. He never thought he'd see it again like this. With blood flowing through his veins and breath from coming from his lungs.

I believe I have something equal to his soul.

Pharaoh Atem, think about what you will lose with your next words. It has been your goal since locking yourself away in that puzzle around your neck.

Atem, what are you doing?

Oh, please Atem, you don't have to do that! We'll find another way!

Atem smiled, at the time it had not been hard to give away. He supposed Yugi must have felt the same feelings when he pushed the pharaoh out of the closing Seal of Orichalcos.

I will trade my place in paradise for his soul. My place in the afterlife if I have to. Yugi must return to the world of the living.

Atem knew very well it was an idiotic idea. Trading his eternity for what would be in comparison a very short time for Yugi. All his ancient friends and family would never see him again. But he had to do it. He could not let them hurt his partner.

He had expected to become a wandering spirit or be trapped once again in a prison like the Millennium Puzzle.

Are you sure?

Absolutely.

Fine, your trade is acceptable. You are now locked out of your own paradise. You will have to earn it again if you ever wish to go back. That means you will have to save the world again.

What?

Atem was pulled out of his thoughts by loud thumping. A strong wind started to push against the pharaoh, making him step back towards the doorway and cover his face. Through the harsh wind, he saw a helicopter hovering in front of him.

"Pharaoh!" Atem jerked his head up to see the cold eyes of Kaiba jump off the helicopter. The CEO only stumbled a moment on his bad leg.

"This is not a landing spot!" Atem yelled over the chopping. The large craft hovered back into the sky leaving the two on the roof.

"Not my problem," Kaiba said as he looked over the pharaoh. He studied Atem like a piece of misbehaving technology. Atem was surprised by how right Yugi had been. Seto had not grown a bit since he last battled him in the afterlife.

"So, it is true. Your back in the world of the living." Kaiba stated. Atem gave him a curt nod. "Then you'll need this." With that Seto threw a briefcase at Atem. He caught it and opened it suspiciously. Inside were documents. Things like a birth certificate or a passport. "Happy birthday, Atem Muto."