'You've made it through worse. Just think of seeing Mana, Mahad, and priest Seto again. It is for the best.' Atem thought to himself as he trudged through freezing waist-high water. The dank smell that dripped off the walls made his nose wrinkle, but he had to keep moving. Thankfully, he had found a flashlight in his backpack earlier, without it he would never have been able to see through the pitch dark of the deeper tunnels. He had no idea how far underground he had been the last hour, but it felt like he was finally coming back to the surface. This was something Atem focused on as he slogged forward.
Atem's light fell on a metal box halfway in the water. It was attached to the wall and had a lightning bolt grooved into its rusted metal. This was one of many boxes spread across the tunnels.
'Good thing they're not on.' Atem thought as he moved the light beam to the water below him. The water reflected back in a rainbow shimmer, splotches of black oil floating through the already dark water.
This is dangerous, you should turn back.
It was not quite a voice that spoke to Atem's mind, it never was an audible voice when two linked spirits spoke with one another. What made Atem shiver more than the random voice (he was used to those) was the fact the voice felt very much like his.
'Isn't this what you want though? For me to fall unconscious? Or are you scared of a little water?' Atem quickly thought back, using the tease to hide his uneasiness.
He then felt like the presences behind him pulled away, annoyed. Atem felt another thought flash through its mind. Frustration and anger. If this human's body was destroyed or damaged it could not fix it as it could with past hosts. It had already "fixed" Atem's body once, it did not have the power to do it again. Atem shrugged at the explanation he knew it had not meant to give and continued on through the tunnel. Occasionally, checking the boxes to make sure they weren't on.
Ever since Atem left the stadium Wiraqocha Rasca had been steadily growing stronger. The power that it had been holding back to hide its presences now bloomed and took over as much of the body as it could. The situation only grew direr when the feeling of the Condor turned into actually hearing the thing's thoughts. Atem was less worried than before however. Wiraqocha Rasca was at a wall. It could manifest itself as an illusion besides Atem and speak to his mind, but that was it. As long as Atem was in charge it was stuck.
'I've had my mind warped and ripped apart by thousands of spirits, shadow games, even by the Great Leviathan. You are nothing compared to them' Atem mentally growled. Atem's assurance made the barrier between it and its goal stronger. This made the beast pull farther away.
Atem soon learned about his new hitchhiker thanks to the Immortal itself. The thing told him everything, unintentionally. The Condor was unfamiliar with connections where both souls were equal. Atem was well practiced thanks to his years with Yugi. While it couldn't hide a thing from him, he made sure the Condor was completely in the dark regarding himself. It had spent so much time waiting to even get a hint of what would make the pharaoh break. However, it knew exactly what nerve to push now and once it had its chance...
'You shouldn't think your evil plans out loud. It is both annoying and counterproductive.' Atem cut in. He let a small smile slip as he felt the thing sulk. He knew very well he was playing with fire by taunting the beast, but he was confident he could take whatever this thing threw at him. If he wasn't confident how else could he keep moving forward?
Atem looked back to his path when the tunnel finally opened into a tall dome-shaped room. This might have been a cross connection for the subways system back in the day. Atem looked up to see a ray of light trickle down from a hole almost half a mile above him. He squinted his eyes and noticed thick green vines grow their way down from the hole. They stopped about twenty feet above him. Where they ended was the structure of crisscrossing metal beams in a grid-like pattern. Most of the metal supports were broken or had fallen into the water by Atem. Some of the bigger beams, however, were still balancing horizontally on one sturdy beam going vertically from one side of the room to the other.
Atem sighed with relief when he saw a ladder sticking out of the water that led to a metal platform above. He had to swim to it, but after checking to make sure it held his weight he finally climbed out of the water. To his left was a wide passage and across the many beams was another tunnel. Atem pulled out a compass that the Mutos packed and checked his direction.
After the little girl, Atem was able to meet a few more people that knew of the reactor, though none of them called it that. One woman was nice enough to even tell Atem the direction it was on the island instead of just a general tunnel to go through. Atem faced the tunnel closest to him and found that tunnel went the opposite direction of where he wanted.
"Of course." Atem looked across the beams to the other side of the room. Over there was another platform with a tunnel going the right direction.
Atem sighed but he had no choice. With no other interruption from his hitchhiker, Atem took a running start and leaped across the water. He grabbed a metal beam and heard it creak under his weight. While the metal girder was about as big as him, he didn't want to take any chances. He quickly scrambled up and threw his weight over its middle, the part resting on the center beam. Atem waited for the horizontal beam to stop swaying before sighing in relief. He slowly moved his foot to the strong center beam and stood up. It held his weight. Atem raised an eyebrow and looked around. His confusion disappeared when he saw the vines that had grown and attached to the sides of the beams. He waited a few more moments and when nothing happened, he prepared to crawl over to the next horizontal bar. He was stopped when he heard three male voices.
"We haven't seen the kid in forever. Should we really have trusted that one armed guy?"
"He had the exact description of the kid and direction. It's all we have to go on."
Atem recognized the voice of Ren and quickly crouched down on the joist, unsure of where it was coming from.
"By the way… did that guy seem familiar to you?"
"Ya, kind of. I'd almost say he was that security Ojama Goodwin, but this guy had blonde hair." Ren's two friends said.
Atem then saw Ren and his buddies come through the tunnel he just left. Atem's eyes widened. How in Slifer's name did they find him all the way down here? He then felt it, a strange surge of pride from the Condor. Atem gritted his teeth and tried to look around for a place to hide.
"No place to go but up- Hey! There you are." Came Ren's voice. Atem's back stiffened. Quickly Ren and his buddy came crawling up the ladder. Just enough time for Atem to make it half-way through the obstacle course of beams and vines. While he was fast, it would not be fast enough.
"Hey kid, stop! Atem! We just want to help!" Ren yelled. His friend behind him echoed his call.
Atem didn't stop. He wasn't going to look back until he felt the whole structure shake. He turned to see Ren had vaulted onto the first beam. Atem felt and heard the rusted metal beast roar. He then saw Ren's other friend about to jump.
"Stop! This thing can't hold much more!" Atem yelled. The made the man hesitate.
"Ya stay over there. I'll deal with this." Ren called back as he pulled himself up. Atem held his breath as the structure settled.
"I'm not coming back with you," Atem said. His voice even, but forceful.
"Yes, ya are. It's too dangerous down here for a kid! Carefully make your way back to me and we can get ya home."
Atem shook his head. He then took off his backpack and held it out over the water. Ren and his buddy's eyes were glued to it.
"I'm sure, and if I dropped this bag would you really keep coming after me? Or would you just be happy with the FAKE gold." Atem yelled. The man on the other platform looked worried for a moment but Ren's eyes were determined.
"Don't try lying kid, I know what's really in that bag."
Atem just did not get it. Ren honestly didn't seem like a bad guy, anxious but not bad. On the boat, it seemed like he honestly wanted to help Atem. Yet here he was, chasing after some wild hope, risking life and limb. Did the Satellite really make people that desperate, or…? In almost a blink of an eye, Atem saw a purple outline of a spider appear then disappear on Ren's arm.
Not Uru's best shadow drone but it will have to do.
'Really, what is this about a shadow drone?' The Condor's thought was quickly stifled when it realized how much Atem heard.
'Is he a Dark Signer?' Atem sadly asked. Another thought came that the Condor tried and failed to suppress.
No, but another Dark Signer is controlling him.
'You won't get away with this.' Atem nearly growled out loud. He then did say out loud. "Turn back Ren! You're a good man and there is nothing for you here. Think about what your wife and son would say if they saw you doing this!"
Ren's eyes widen for a second before they shrunk back into slits.
"They would be thanking me for trying to keep them out of poverty. Ya already have everything Atem, just hand over the bag and we can be done."
Atem pulled the bag closer to him. Ren responded by jumping from one joist to another. Atem stumbled as the structure shook. He had to think of a way to stop this soon. He doubted he could outrun these men with his need to not tire himself out. What Ren had said about settling differences the old fashion way rang through Atem's head. There was no way he was going to win in a physical fight with grown men.
The old fashion way.
Atem gripped the Millennium Puzzle. His eyes glanced around at the environment. Yes, he could make a game out of this easy. Atem was about to open his mouth when he felt something that shut it tight. The Condor was happy, even excited.
'Why do you want a shadow game so bad?'
Another thought, this one harder to make out. The Condor was slowly getting better at hiding. Yet, Atem could still see it, a memory of him back during his first seven months. Shadows flowed through his soul freely, all because of his dark acts. A perfect environment for a being like Wiraqocha Rasca to take over.
'One shadow game won't turn my soul into what it was like back then. That was thousands of years of nothing but shadows.' Atem shot back at the thought.
You spent so much time the last few months trying to prove you are not what you used to be. It would be a blow to your soul to suddenly go back on all of that.
Atem wanted to grimace but he couldn't show weakness to these men or to Wiraqocha Rasca.
"Ren! We are going to keep running in circles at this rate. Let us end this quickly with a simple game!" Atem called. Wiraqocha Rasca seemed delighted until it realized that Atem was not going to use shadow magic.
'Simply outsmarting an opponent is not regression.' Atem smiled.
"A game? Winner gets the bag?" Ren asked.
"Yes, that way we can finish this before someone gets hurt," Atem said. Ren shakily stood up on his beam and faced Atem, his arms crossed.
"How do I know you won't just run when I'm distracted with this 'game'?"
"That would be cheating. I am many things, but I am not a cheater."
Even Ren's friend on the platform felt the power behind Atem's statement. This person in front of them felt like royalty, not some snot-nosed teen. He couldn't help but take a step away from the aura he felt radiating from the kid.
"Are you sure about this Ren?" His friend called out. Ren turned to his friend briefly then looked back to the bag, then the boy. Atem stood straight, never taking his gaze away from Ren.
"You expect me to just trust you?" Ren asked.
"It's the same trust I give to you. You could just physically fight the bag away in the middle of our game, but that would also be cheating. I will not run and you will not attack me." Atem said more to the thing controlling Ren then the man himself. The spider outline returned for a brief moment before disappearing again.
"You're on."
Yugi was frozen in place. All color and emotion had drained out of his face.
You're going to lose Atem.
His mind was running a million thoughts a second but nothing made it past its initial stage.
You are going to lose Atem.
Jaden started worriedly tapping his duel disk as the crowd began to murmur. Up in the skybox, Seto stood straight up and stormed out, followed by Mokuba.
You. Are. Losing. Him. Again!
"Master! What's going on?" Yugi glanced to his side where Dark Magician Girl appeared. "I know I'm supposed to be in the graveyard but I felt as your emotions took a nosedive. I know a simple duel couldn't have done that to you. What happened?!" She nearly squeaked. The Gandora head of the Five-Headed Dragon also looked back at Yugi with worry in its eyes.
'A-Atem is…' Yugi realized he didn't have long before he forgot this. He had no paper on him but he did have a pen.
'Sorry Silent Magician.' Yugi thought as he started writing on the back of the card.
"This is… an interesting turn of events, folks." The announcer was trying to hide his confusion but even he couldn't figure out what the old King was doing.
Yugi looked over at his messy handwriting. It had everything Yugi had just found out thanks to his epiphany. He then looked back up to see if anyone was stopping the tournament. Seto was still gone but the rest of his friends and family were in the skybox.
"Finish dis Yuge! We have to go!" Joey's voice carried through all the murmurs of the crowd and hit Yugi.
Maybe he should just run out, he could care less of how the public saw himself. He could explain later how it was a family emergency. This was Atem! Then again, doing that would also put more eyes on the pharaoh and when he completed his mission… how would they explain his disappearance?
"Yugi… If something's wrong…" Jaden's words cut into Yugi's thoughts. Jaden had walked closer so he didn't have to yell, but not close enough to disqualify him. This was still not a private conversation, despite the microphones being covered.
Yugi looked to the very troubled face of his opponent. Through these five years, Jaden had become a real friend to Yugi and his family. He still vividly remembered all his battles with Yuki, the two official, and the one non. Each leading to this moment.
No, Yugi had to finish this here and now. Not for himself, not even for Atem, but for Jaden.
This was Jaden's first duel as the King of Games. Sure, they could reschedule the battle, but it would never be the same in the public's eye. There would forever be complaints of cheating and underhanded deals. Jaden's accent to the throne had to be perfect. There were still so many people that wouldn't accept him as king even though he had won it fairly, Yugi leaving mid-battle would add to the problem. Jaden wouldn't care, but he would. Yugi could never do that to a friend.
It hurt Yugi more than anything, but he sucked in all the breath he had and pushed away the thought of Atem. He had to focus on the living, Atem was dead, Jaden still had a future.
"Get back to your place, Jaden," Yugi said through gritted teeth. Jaden blinked, not quite understanding.
"Attack him directly! Five-Headed Dragon!" Yugi yelled. This command was Yugi's loudest. It cut through the stadium's whispers with its raw emotion.
Jaden jumped at the order. He quickly recomposed himself and ran back to his spot, but he knew something was still up. He looked to Yugi and noticed tears starting to rim his eyes. This made Jaden's heart stop more than any dragon's attack.
"He's falling apart." Yubel appeared at Jaden's side, her two-colored eyes looking into Yugi's soul. Jaden quickly activated his only trap card but he wasn't worried about the duel.
"I know. This isn't right."
Atem nodded. He waited as Ren made his way over to the middle. He even helped the man stand on the sturdy center beam. Once Ren was steady Atem explained,
"See the joists ahead? They are all barely balancing on the beam you're standing on, like seesaws." Atem then threw his backpack to the next beam. Both Ren and his friend gasped as the bag went flying. Atem lazily slouching back as the bag landed safely on the next beam, a little right to the middle. The beam started to slowly tilt towards the side with the bag.
"This is a game of balancing, speed, and trust. I will jump across to one side of the beam, and you will have to judge where you need to jump to balance me out. If you or I fall into the water before we both get to the other side, you lose. I run away with my bag and you'll never find me in the tunnels again. If we both make it to the other side, you get the bag and I'll be on my way."
Ren was on edge through the entire explanation thanks to the tilting beam. He barely looked at Atem and instead focused on the bag. Atem had hoped for this.
"This can't work. There is no way I can equal your weight even with your backpack!" Ren quickly pointed out. Atem shrugged.
"You think I'd put out an unwinnable game?"
"Stop this now! The kid can't survive a fall like this!" His friend yelled, pointing to the drop below them.
"This is also a game of trust. You don't have to equal me exactly, just give me enough time to throw my bag and self to the next beam." Atem then jumped, landing lightly a little way away from the bag, closer to the edge. Ren's friend gasped. The beam started tilting even farther. Atem did not appear bothered, he simply rested his hands behind his back.
"Finally, this is a game of speed. You don't have a lot of time Ren." Atem said matter-of-factly.
Ren growled in frustration and took a wild leap. He landed farther out on the other side of the beam. It creaked in protest and started sliding the other way. Ren quickly scrambled up, preparing for the beam to start sliding his way. The girder groaned but then balanced out. Ren had the same confused expression Atem had when he first landed on the metal joists. Atem then gestured behind him, there and also behind Ren were vines attached to the beams. When the beam started tipping too much to one side or the other the vines would pull on the beam.
"They may appear weak but these have survived a Zero Reverse ravaged environment. They won't hold forever though, they absolutely will break if too much weight is put on them. Like right now." Atem then tossed his backpack and quickly followed.
Ren threw himself at the sturdy beam in the middle as the vines did indeed snap. The joist behind them slide and fell with a great splash into the murky water below them. Ren's friend looked absolutely horrified but Ren kept his eyes on Atem. Atem remained standing straight as his beam once again began to tilt down. Ren growled and looked to see how many vines were attached to the next girder. A lot on his side, not many on the boy's. Ren thought and then leaped closer to the center. He counterbalanced Atem's sliding, but by putting more weight on the center the fewer number of vines on Atem's side could still hold them up.
Atem nodded and then threw his bag to the next beam before Ren could fully get up. This next beam was the second to last beam.
"Atem! Slow down a bit will ya?" Ren gasped.
"Can't, I rather not get wet."
The bag landed near center and Atem jumped nearly to the end of his beam. The bar titled near vertical. Atem was about to fall when Ren heaved himself to the opposite side, barely hanging on to the beam by his fingers. The joist creaked its protest and slid back towards the man. Ren with a wild grunt swung his whole body's weight, making the beam slide diagonally on the middle bar it balanced on. Atem felt the whole structure shudder as the beam the two were on rested on the middle beam at an angle. It now had more stability thanks to more of its middle balancing on the sturdier structure.
"Thought you were going to get me with that one, huh?" Ren grinned as he shuffled his way over to the middle area and pulled himself up. Atem's face remained confident but he did show some surprise.
"As I said this is a winnable game. I'd never make something impossible, just tricky." Atem said. He then looked to the last girder before the platform. This one was resting on two more smaller planks coming out from the platform. Making it the sturdiest of all the beams.
"Thinking of backing out now? I've already proved I can calculate where I need to be, there's no way I'm going to fail on this easy beam. Just give me the bag already. Or are ya trying to think of a way to cheat your way out of this?" Ren grinned. The smile was not like the one Ren had given Atem back on the boat. That one had been good-humored but sad, this smile was, cold. Atem hid his apprehension and remained outwardly confident.
"Trust, Ren," Atem said. He pulled the bag closer to him and watched as Ren's eyes became glued to the bag. There was a reason why he never let the bag remain on a girder long. This was a game of trust, and Atem never trusted his opponent.
In one movement Atem jumped and threw his bag at the same time. Ren watched the bag as it arched through the air. It landed, dangling by its strap at the very end of the beam. Atem landed near the middle and waited. The backpack alone was not enough to sway the joist. What was enough was the weight of the heavy bag and a full-grown man. That is exactly what happened as Ren leaped to the end of the beam, next to the bag.
"I finally got it!" He yelled as he pulled himself up and hefted the bag into the air. He looked back just in time to see Atem gently step off the beam. The entire structure roared as the weight became too much on Ren's side. Before Ren could right himself the planks fell away and the beam toppled over. Ren fell, angrily screaming into the water below. This was one moment Atem did use a bit of shadow magic (not enough for Jaden to be affected by, hopefully). The bag floated into the air before it landed in the water and flew back to Atem's side. Atem felt the combined fatigue it took to levitate the backpack and leap across all those beams. He bent forward and rested his hands on his knees.
He watched the water below as Ren came up. The man was angry but seemingly ok. He thankfully jumped away from the beam when he realized it was falling. He was lucky, maybe too lucky. Atem shook his head in disbelief as Ren stormed across the water and started climbing the ladder on the other side.
"Enough of these games! Get that kid!" Ren yelled. His friend was frozen in place but Ren seemed ready to try and leap across the girders again.
Atem quickly looked around for something, anything. Then he saw it, a power box much like the ones he had seen earlier. He rushed over and was able to pull it open thanks to its age and rust. Inside was many switches, most broken but a few still looked like they connected to something. Atem closed his eyes, knowing well this would have been the moment he opened the door of darkness. He took a deep breath and threw as many switches as he could. Only one sparked, it led down to a broken light fixture near the other side of the room. That was all the oil on the water needed.
The room nearly burst into flames and the fire desperately climbed any surface it could find. Atem could only hope that Ren would break out of his control long enough to leave. He and his friend had a tunnel right by them to get away.
That tunnel might lead to a dead end.
Atem felt his heart stop at that thought. He might have just doomed these men to… No, he couldn't stay here any longer. The world was still in danger. Atem prayed to whatever gods still liked him and ran into his tunnel. Maybe the smoke would attract some help from the hole above if the men really were trapped. Atem fixated on the thought instead of the Condor's growing power.
You cannot play these games without someone getting hurt. It is simply your nature Atem. Just think back to the construction site, the shadow games, the train-
Atem broke into a run like he could outpace the voice.
This was not how Jaden thought the duel was going to go down. He had expected Yugi to be tough, he had expected to refight Gandora, he had even expected Yugi to pull out some other nearly unbeatable monster, what he had not expected was Yugi to be the one to break down.
Jaden had managed to survive his first two round with Five-Headed Dragon thanks to his trap cards but he was still backed into a corner. No cards, not monsters in the field or his hand, and that behemoth was still out. He would usually be thrilled mixed with utterly terrified but seeing Yugi's destress stopped any fun from reentering the duel. The old king was almost pacing these last few turns. His calm and regal features gone and replaced with worry and pain. Jaden had tried to talk to him but every time Yugi or the crowd cut him off.
'Have you figured out what's going on?' Jaden mentally asked Yubel. She reappeared and shook her head.
"Even Dark Magician Girl doesn't know," Yubel answered. "I'm going to keep looking though." With that, she disappeared again. Jaden sighed and pulled out his next card.
His deck was getting low and at this rate, he would deck out. He looked to the still fidgeting king, then to his new card. It was the spell card, Fifth Hope. Jaden smiled a little and activated it. With it, he could select 5 Elemental Hero cards from his graveyard, shuffle them into his deck, and draw 3 cards. The entire time he did this Yugi did not get any calmer, in fact, it seemed to agitate him more.
Jaden exhaled and looked at his new cards. His eyes widened, two monsters and one spell. He could do it, with all these cards he could win. Yugi only had Five-Headed Dragon, no monsters, and by how he was playing the last two turns, no spells. Jaden still had Necroshade in the graveyard and now was the time to use his ability. The thought of actually winning brought some light back to Jaden's face. He was about to begin his combo when Yubel reappeared.
"Atem's dying! Or more he's purposefully going back to the afterlife!" Yubel screeched.
Jaden, in horror, looked up to Yugi. Yugi had heard what Yubel said and sadly nodded, giving up on being secretive. Dark Magician Girl covered her mouth to hide a gasp as the Five-Headed Dragon began to roar, unsure of its own feelings on the matter.
Jaden froze, he glanced around at the stadium. It was then Jaden noticed most of Yugi's friends were gone from the skybox. The audience members were also getting uneasy. Most had noticed by now Yugi's change in demeanor and how he started playing much more recklessly. Jaden was just glad Duel Spirits could never be caught on camera, even by the minute percentage of seers, or else Yubel's proclamation would have been broadcasted to the world. Jaden then felt something worse, an empty, draining feeling. It was small, almost unperceivable if he wasn't expecting it. Yubel felt it too.
"Atem just used shadow magic." She said. It looked like Yugi was about to collapse when he heard that. Jaden knew what he had to do. He changed his strategy.
"I activate Neroshade's ability, with it I summon Elemental Hero Neos to the field," Jaden said as he quickly slapped the card on his duel disk. Neo appeared once again from the grave, making most of the dragon heads growl. "I also activate my spell Battle x 2. With it, I can double Neos's ATK during damage calculations."
Yugi stopped fidgeting, he watched in astonishment as Neo came flying at the dragon hundreds of time his size. With the card both monsters' attacks were equal and Neos was a LIGHT monster. In stunned amazement, Yugi saw each of the five dragon heads open their mouths and summon their signature attacks. They all fired at once and the beam combined into one rainbow blast streaming at Neos. The spell Jaden played made Neos's white light glow even brighter, enveloping him and making him seem like a speeding comet. He collided with the blast and broke through it. He never stopped, even at the dragon's chest. Neos shot through the dragon then disappeared into a shower of sparks. The dragon fell soon after, disappearing into smoke that covered the stadium.
Yugi remained silent and still, the wind from the attack blowing his jacket and hair back. When the smoke cleared Jaden had one of the biggest smiles on his face.
"My goal in this battle was to prove that you were right in letting me become the King of Games. I defeated the dragon that had stopped me before, destroyed an almost unkillable monster, and gave some of my best friends the battle of their lives. I think I did pretty good all things considered." Jaden grinned. Yugi couldn't help but smile back.
"You have rightfully earned your title, Jaden. I couldn't have passed it on to a better man." Yugi found himself saying. He meant every word of it.
"Then let's finish this Yugi." Jaden ended his turn.
Yugi drew his next card. Jaden was at only 100 life points, he just needed a normal monster. The Silent Magician LV1 card with the writing on it stood out to Yugi. He felt his mouth dry up. He looked to Jaden's two remaining cards and tried to figure out how they would save him. Jaden wasn't even looking at his cards. He was resting his card hand on his hip and still smiling at Yugi. Yugi shook his head, there were still too many thoughts racing through him.
"I summon Silent Magician LV4 and have her attack you directly Jaden!" Yugi expected Jaden to activate a spell or monster ability. He did nothing, he simply closed his eyes and took that attack.
The crowd shouted and roared, the duel spirits even came out of their hiding places to add their own thoughts to the ending of the duel, but no one could change the outcome.
Jaden lost
Soon enough the tunnel returned to pitch darkness and the smoky smell disappeared. Atem realized he was wasting too much energy and stopped, he couldn't get tired yet. He leaned against a wall and let his heart slow. He looked where he had just come from, frowning as he panted. He then shook his head and glanced down at the Millennium Puzzle. After staring at it a few moments he reached up and laid his hand on its flat edge. He felt along the flawless grooves until he got to the rounded corners. They originally were as straight and perfect as the other designs, but years of using them to cut into things to save himself had rounded them. Of course, they would not have been this smooth without Yugi. He had hugged the puzzle close to himself almost every night when he was a teen, making the corners even duller. That thought helped Atem tune out the buzz of worries and fatigue.
Atem once again stood up, ready to continue his search. Then, he heard footsteps behind him. He fumbled for his flashlight and pulled it out in time to see Ren's other friend turn the corner.
Atem froze, three men had entered the big room before, two had climbed the ladder and stood on the platform. Atem then felt an almost condescending memory flash in the Condor's mind. The entire time Atem had been focused on the two, the other man had been carefully picking his way up to the other platform without going across the beams. When Atem had gotten across he had hidden just out of view in the tunnel. Atem must have run past him when he started the fire, but how had he not noticed him sooner?! Then Atem remembered the hallucination the Condor gave him back before he came underground. The thing could still control his perceptions. What made Atem's heart beat faster was the fact this Condor was able to hide that fact from him, despite their connection.
"Kid, what happened back there?!" The man started storming over to Atem. Atem didn't know if he had bad intentions but he wasn't going to take another chance. He turned and was about to run again when the man grabbed him by the hood. Atem's muscle memory went into action as he turned to the man at an angle and used the man's own weight to throw him forward. The self-defense move was not made for the cramped tunnel however. The man in surprise did not let go of Atem's hood, pulling the boy headfirst into the stone wall. This was enough for the Condor to finally pull Atem into unconsciousness.
Yugi was the one to find himself on his hands and knees at the end of the duel. He was still fighting tears, but it was for a much different reason then earlier. Jaden tossed his cards and duel disk behind him and ran to Yugi's side.
"Great battle, but I think we both know it could have gone better."
Yugi looked up in amazement at the still chipper Jaden. Jaden helped him to his feet and put his hand on Yugi's shoulder. Yugi suddenly felt very cold, he looked at his shoulder to see an almost black light come out of Jaden's hand. When Jaden pulled away, he stumbled. He quickly collected himself and rubbed the back of his head.
"That's all the shadow power I can give you without collapsing. I think you're gonna need it." Jaden said. Yugi blinked, unable to process. "Don't worry, the Supreme King knows. We've been…ah… talking as of late. While we're never going to have the relationship you and Atem have, I think we are slowly working our way to annoyed neighbors."
Yugi let out a confused chuckle then faced Jaden. "Thank you."
"Don't mention it. I only ask that you give me a true duel when you get back, k? I want a real duel with the king. No crowds and no family emergencies. I want to know if I really could beat you." Jaden patted Yugi on the shoulder one more time and turned away. Across the stadium, all of Jaden's friends came running out. Jesse was the first to bearhug Jaden and was then followed by everyone else, including Jaden's army of duel spirits. Yugi smiled. He knew Jaden and the dueling world was in good hands.
Yugi turned and ran from the stadium. He had to get to Atem before it was too late.