Sorry this has taken so long to do. I had no time at all to do any editing/writing while at Centre Parcs, as we were too busy with all the activities on offer. That, and catching Pokemon!

Anyway, here is the first part of the big finale! There is a little bit of swearing and mentions of death.

Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh.

Broken Dreams

Chapter 37. Final Hours

Remaining alert of the dangers surrounding him, Atem crouched down and watched helplessly on as his brother embraced Anzu. Her transformation appeared to have been halted but neither of them were moving. His biggest fear was that their souls were being consumed by the Shadow Realm. He didn't know what he could do to help them but he needed to do something, and quickly.

Hearing a screeching sound, he looked up to see Red Eyes Black Dragon had joined the Blue Eyes White Dragon that had appeared a handful of minutes ago. Red Eyes was Jonouchi's monster, so did that mean he was on the Island and had somehow learned to summon his monsters?! Atem was intrigued to know who had successfully summoned Kaiba's Blue Eyes?! If they had even a slim chance of saving Seto Kaiba, that monster could be useful. In the meantime, his immediate priority was saving Yugi and Anzu.

Steeling himself, he jumped down onto the ledge on which they were huddled. He wrapped his arms firmly around the inert pair, shaking them slightly, as if trying to disturb them from slumber. "Listen to me? Yugi! Anzu! Fight the shadows, don't let them get you. If you can hear me? Run towards the sound of my voice." He closed his eyes tightly and willed them to defeat whatever nightmare they were trapped in. "Please... wake up! You have to live!" He gripped Yugi's shoulder and shook him again gently, but there was still no response. They were in a precarious position on the ledge and Atem could feel the evil exuding from the endless pit beneath them. He was starting to feel desperate and was thankful that he had defeated the demon that had been possessing him, otherwise he might have given himself up to the evil emanating from the pit.

Inside Anzu's ruined soul room, Yugi held her tightly in his arms as she sobbed into his chest. "It's okay Anzu, I'm here," he soothed, glancing nervously at the approaching shadows. They had almost taken the whole room now and were threatening to engulf the bed too - which was their last sanctuary. "You have to fight it Anzu! You have to beat the demon."

"Yugi! I can't! Leave me and save yourself while you still have a chance," she cried weakly.

"No! I won't leave you! If you die, I die with you. You can do this Anzu... if not for me, for everyone else who loves you? Your parents, our friends. If you give in and let the evil win, it will destroy everyone. You can defeat this... we can defeat it together." He closed his eyes tightly as the darkness closed in over them. He could feel it tearing at his soul and very soon, they would be gone.

The sound of a voice calling to him made him open his eyes again. It sounded like... "Yami!"

Yugi gasped and looked down at his chest. A brilliant light was coming from the Puzzle. The light engulfed them and he and Anzu found themselves back on the ledge. However, they were still surrounded by the Shadow Realm and in a dangerous situation.

"Y...Yugi! Where am I?" Anzu was whimpering and drifting in and out of consciousness.

When Yugi looked into her face and saw her eyelids flicker open he was relieved to see her cerulean blue eyes. "You did it Anzu, you beat the demon," he breathed out softly.

She smiled lovingly at him as he cradled her in his arms. Her voice was barely a whisper as she tried to thank him, but failed to get any words out, as she slipped away into unconsciousness.

"Anzu?! No...!" Tears burned Yugi's eyes. After her courageous effort, was her soul was losing the battle for survival anyway?

"Yugi! Look out?!" He felt his brother's body weight on himself and Anzu, pushing them into the side of the ledge. He looked over Atem's shoulder and saw that a swirling black mass of disembodied demon was trying to attack them. It was the demon that had been possessing Anzu and it was trying to get back into its host – or any host it could find! But as long as he wore the Puzzle and held onto Anzu it could not harm them.

"We won't let you take her!" Yugi yelled at the demon.

"Anzu is still alive but weak." Atem was able to detect a feeble pulse in her neck. "We need to get out of here Yugi! Can you move?" Atem was worried about the stab wound in Yugi's stomach, just above his navel.

Yugi shook his head. The exertion had been too much for him. The knife had angled upwards and to the right when it entered his body, puncturing internal organs and causing him to slowly bleed to death internally. He was not sure how much longer he could last.

Atem frowned at how pale his brother looked. Yugi suddenly coughed and vomited blood.

"No! Yugi!" Atem was starting to feel desperate. They were trapped on the ledge, surrounded by evil. He could probably climb up and get himself out, but there was no way he could lift Yugi and Anzu out and he was not going to leave them alone on the ledge, to die.

Yugi blinked and tried to focus his vision on his brother's face. He opened his mouth to try and talk, but gagged, spitting out more blood.

"Here!" Atem pulled a handkerchief from Yugi's tattered jacket pocket and wiped Yugi's mouth. Yugi smiled at him halfheartedly. "Yami... please.. take the Puzzle and save everyone. L... look after Anzu..."

"Yugi... n.. no.." Atem felt tears welling up in his eyes and sniffed emotionally, trying to choke them back. "Please.. you can't go, I can't do this without you..."

"D... don't cry Yami!" Yugi reached up with one hand and brushed away a tear. "Leave me, take the Puzzle and save Anzu." His voice was quiet and strained.

"I'm not leaving you." Atem took his brother's hand and squeezed it comfortingly.

"S.. summon a monster... I don't have any strength left.. Maybe you can.." Yugi coughed up some more blood.

"But I don't have my cards!"

"Th.. the Puzzle..."

"Of course...! The Puzzle can help me summon without cards! Why didn't I think of that?!" With everything going on, he had forgotten about the Puzzle's powers to summon monsters! Atem placed his hand on the Puzzle. He had no idea if it would work, but if the monsters had the same special abilities as they did in the card game then maybe... "Gift of the Mystical Elf! Please come to me?!" He called desperately.

He nearly cried out with joy when she appeared before him. "Yugi is hurt. Are you able to heal him?" The Elf was clearly nervous at being summoned into the opening to the hellish dimension of shadows and darkness, but gave a tentative nod and started humming an ethereal, magical song as she set to work.

Gently, she placed her hands on his abdomen and moved them slowly over his torso as her senses sought out the internal damage. Had he not been close to death he would have blushed, but he was too far gone to care. The ethereal song she was humming made him feel strange and almost euphoric. A warm, tingling feeling spread inside his body as the torn blood vessels and organs were repaired, and the blood leaking from his liver, into his body, was absorbed back into his bloodstream. All of a sudden he felt renewed and invigorated; just as he would after a good night sleep.

While the Elf worked her healing magic, Atem decided to call on another monster to destroy the dangerously persistent demon entity, and also to get them off this precarious ledge. There was one monster he knew he could really trust. It was his favourite – the Dark Magician.

Atem grinned when the mage appeared. "Hello my friend! Do you think you can protect us from that thing?" He gestured to the entity that was becoming more persistent in trying to re-possess the unconscious Anzu.

"My Pharaoh," Not realising that he was not actually the Pharaoh, but his son, Dark Magician bowed humbly before him. "I will protect you with my life." Using his Dark Magic Attack, he obliterated the demon entity, vanquishing it once and for all.

Sugoroku, noticed a sudden vibration from inside the pocket of his jacket where Yugi's cards were. The deck contained cards that both Atem and himself had given to Yugi to strengthen his deck and help him beat Kaiba in the tournament. The deck contained the hope and hearts of all three of them. He grabbed the leather pouch and flipped it open to see the Gift of the Mystical Elf card glowing. A second later, the Dark Magician started to glow. "My grandsons!" He gasped emotionally.

"What is it Gramp's?" Jonouchi asked. "Hey! Those are Yugi's cards!"

"Yugi forgot to take them with him when he went to meet Mana from work, so I thought I had better bring them along to give to him when he all met up at Mahado's, but in all the commotion I must have forgotten I had them! Oh dear! Old age," he said sheepishly.

"Never mind! You're a star Gramp's. If the cards are glowing then Yugi must be alive somewhere. All we gotta do is see where his monsters are and we find him!" Jonouchi exclaimed brightly.

"Look?! There!" Mana pointed, animatedly.

"My Master!" Dark Magician Girl squealed happily when she saw the Dark Magician.

They were unable to see the Mystical Elf as she was tending Yugi, but they could see that the Dark Magician was attacking and destroying something very evil.

"He's right over the entrance to that hole in the ground where all this evil stuff is coming from!" Honda observed with concern.

"Oh Crap! Yugi, Yami and Anzu might be trapped in that hole!" Jonuchi shouted. "I have to..." Before he could finish, Mai grabbed his arm.

"Are you crazy? You can't go in there! It's too dangerous!"

"You kiddin! This whole place is dangerous. I ain't leaving my friends Mai." He yanked his arm free and with his swordsman cutting down any Shadow Ghouls that tried to block his path, he ran over to where he hoped to find his friends.

"Jonouchi, wait for me?!" Mana and her Dark Magician Girl went with him. Mana needed to find her prince.

"Yami?!" Atem turned around when he heard Yugi calling him and saw that he was now perfectly healthy again. There was no sign at all of the wound – not even a scar! "Thank you," Yugi smiled gratefully to the Elf. She nodded, and weary from using her healing powers, she faded back into her own realm to recover her strength in case she was needed again.

"Yugi! Thank God! You're alright!" Atem hugged him. "How is Anzu? That demon entity is destroyed, she should be free now." While Atem felt a sense of relief for his brother, Anzu had still not woken up.

"We need to get her away from this place," Yugi said sadly.

"Hey! Guys?" Jonouchi appeared, peering over the ledge followed by Mana.

"Jonouchi! Mana!" Yugi was surprised to see Jonouchi was here on the island and relieved to see that Mana was unharmed.

"Get away from here now! Both of you. It's too dangerous!" Atem ordered. "This is the entrance to the Shadow Realm. If you fall in, you will be lost in eternal torment."

"We ain't goin anywhere until you get outta there," Jonouchi retorted.

"Prince?! Take my hands." The Dark magician Girl grabbed Atem and lifted him up. Meanwhile, Yugi held Anzu tightly in his arms and refused to let her go, so Dark Magician lifted them both off the ledge together, and away from the pit.

Once they were out, the group made their way to the others.

"Yugi! What has happened to Anzu?" Ishizu rushed forward to meet them, her face etched with concern.

"She defeated the demon but she won't wake up!" Yugi carefully laid her down on the ground.

"Yugi! Is she...?!" Mokuba worried, kneeling down next to him.

"She is still breathing, but I don't know if she's okay," Yugi mumbled tearfully. "I don't know if her soul has survived... Ishizu?!" He looked to her pleadingly.

Ishizu knelt down and gently laid one hand on Anzu's head and the other on her heart. She looked at Yugi's worried face and tried to reassure him as best she could. "Where there's life there is always hope. But her soul has suffered immensely and needs time to recover. I am hopeful that she will wake up, but I'm afraid I cannot say when that will be... I'm sorry."

Yugi nodded sadly. "I understand Ishizu.. It just seems so unfair," he mumbled.

Behind them, the battle was raging on and Mahado was beginning to tire. His Magus of Illusion had taken several hits and his life force was getting dangerously low. Things were becoming so desperate that Mahado was now considering merging with his Ka to become the Dark Magician and fight alongside his ancestor – the other Dark Magician, who had been summoned by Atem. With two powerful magicians and the two dragons fighting, they would stand more chance of victory. Mana realised what he was about to do and grabbed his arms to try and stop him.

"No! Mahado! You can't..." she cried. "Ishizu?! Stop him?! He's going to sacrifice himself to merge with his Ka!"

Ishizu leaped up and went to intervene but Mahado was adamant. "We are losing the battle, I have no choice if we are to stand any..." He was interrupted by Atem's commanding tone.

"No! I will not allow you to die. Your ancestor was my father's friend and he gave his life to protect my father. I will not let you do the same. This time, my father is not alone, he has Yugi and myself. This time we will succeed in destroying Zorc once and for all! " He looked at Yugi and their eyes met knowingly. It was strange, it was as if the spirit of their father was calling to them, guiding them somehow.

"Please can you look after Anzu for me Mokuba? There is something we have to do." He kissed Anzu gently on the lips and slowly stood, patting Mokuba on the shoulder.

"Yugi! Can you save Seto... please..?" Mokuba pleaded.

"I don't know. But I will do my best, I promise." Yugi smiled weakly. He did not want to get Mokuba's hopes up. The boy was clearly distressed, and after witnessing the devastation of Seto's soul room, Yugi did not know if his soul still existed. He walked over to join his brother. "Ready Yami?"

"Yes, there is not much time left, we have to hurry."

"Prince?!" Mana threw her arms around Atem and hugged him. "Please come back to me safely."

"I will Mana. I don't intend to die."

"Hey! What are you guys doing? I ain't gonna let you sacrifice yourselves! I'm coming with you." Jonouchi pushed between them.

"Sorry Jonouchi, but that is not possible." Atem pushed him aside. "This is one battle only Yugi and I can fight." Atem and Yugi gripped hands in solidarity and walked forward, leaving their friends aghast.

"Like fuck you are! I ain't gonna let you two do anything stupid!" Jonouchi angrily tried to protest, but Mai grabbed him.

"You have to trust them Jonouchi. It is their destiny."

"Destiny?! Bullshit!" He pulled himself free from Mai and this time Sugoroku and Honda stopped him.

"You must not interfere Jonouchi! The Gods and the spirit of their father are with them," Sugoroku said sternly. "Remember? Keep your hearts strong, my boys!" Sugoroku called out tearfully to his grandsons.

"Yeah, were rooting for you guys," Honda sniffed, placing his hand on Sugoroku's shoulder. "They will succeed Gramp's. I just know they will."

As Yugi and Yami stepped forward, the demon Zorc sneered and towered over them as it prepared to strike them down. "I see that the Pharaoh's bastard offspring stand before me! If he could not destroy me, what makes you think two little worms like you will succeed?"

"Because we have faith in our father to protect us!" Yugi gulped and called back.

"And we trust in our friends and family! What do you trust in... Zorc?" Atem spat out the demon's name derisively.

"I don't need to trust in anything! I am all powerful! I will crush anything and everything that crawls before me. I am GOD! Prepare to die, worthless humans!" Zorc raised his hand, ready to fire a blast that would obliterate the two princes.

Even though he was terrified, Atem squeezed Yugi's hand gently to give him some courage. Yugi glanced at his brother nervously, and lifted the Puzzle in his free hand. Atem deftly raised his free hand and placed it over the Puzzle and together they lifted the Puzzle out in front of them.

Meanwhile, Jonouchi was still prepared to do whatever he could to help. "Come on Red Eyes?! Everyone?! Let's protect them while they do whatever it is they gotta do!" He yelled out.

Before the blast could leave Zorc's hand, the Red Eyes Black Dragon swooped in to attack. At the same time the Blue Eyes White Dragon attacked as well. The demon was forced to aim the blast at the dragons instead instead of Yugi and Atem.

The dragons tried to dodge but the blast caught Red Eyes in his side, sending him spinning into the ground, severely injured. Jonouchi screamed out as he felt his dragon's pain and collapsed to the ground, gasping for air.

"No! Jonouchi." Mai rushed to support him.

"No! Red Eyes Black Dragon..." Jonouchi cried out sadly. "I'm okay Mai. It's Red Eyes we have to worry about." He took her hand. They could only watch on from a distance as the Red Eyes Black Dragon was re-claimed by his own realm.

Luckily, the Blue Eyes managed to hit Zorc with her own attack. The demon appeared slightly stunned for a moment and sensing an opportunity the Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl mounted simultaneous attacks on Zorc, but although the demon flinched and had scorch marks to its body, it still stood. The demon let out a mocking laugh.

"Pathetic humans. None of you can touch me! I defeated the Pharaoh's whole army. The pathetic Pharaoh cried out in pain for the destruction to stop but I just laughed at him. I have the advantage because I fear nothing and have no silly sentimental attachments. The Pharaoh was so desperate to save his kingdom that he gave his soul to send me back to the Shadows! And while his soul was crushed and consumed, I have risen once again!" More evil laughter erupted from the demon as it raised its hand, ready to strike them down with a blast of shadow energy. "I will never be defeated!"

"Don't be so sure of that!" The commanding sound of the Pharaoh's voice seemed to emanate from where the two princes were standing.

"Huh!" The demon seemed slightly taken aback for a moment.

"MY SOUL LIVES ON!" The sound of the Pharaoh's voice seemed to surround the two princes.

Yugi and Atem held the Puzzle aloft. "Our father was with us all along!" They chorused emotionally.

They closed their eyes and started chanting in an ancient language that neither of them knew but somehow rolled off their tongues, as if they had always known it:

"Oh great Gods of Egypt hear our plea? We are Atem and Yugi Mutou; sons of the chosen Pharaoh Atem. We ask that you grant us your power, so that we may join together with our father in defeating the evil demon known as Zorc; which once again threatens to destroy all living things. Please release our father from the Puzzle so that he may bring his strength into our hearts and together we will banish Zorc once and for all into the darkness of the underworld."

As they spoke, the Puzzle glowed so brightly that they had to close their eyes. They were unaware of the brilliant flames of golden light that started surrounding them. Jonouchi scooped Anzu up and carried her to safety as everyone was forced to take steps backwards to shield themselves from the intensity of the light.

Everyone gasped as the flames of golden light flicked outwards, touching their skin. They thought they would be incinerated but the light was surprisingly cool.

Inside the brilliant epicentre of the light, Yugi and Atem were joined by their father, who stood protectively in front of them in his full Egyptian finery, arms outstretched, his cape billowing out behind him. There was very little time for the three to enjoy an emotional reunion because the world was in peril, but the two boys did manage to gasp out "Father?!" To which the vision in front of them responded by turning slightly to glance at them, smiling warmly.

"My sons. Join with me and together we shall defeat this evil." The two princes felt reassured as they stepped forward to stand, one either side of their father. He placed an arm around each of them and they felt their spirits melt into his essence as their souls became one powerful godlike soul. It was not a painful transition, but a warm comforting one. Like two small boys curling up in the arms of their father as he read fairy-stories to them at bedtime.

Neither Yugi or Atem had any real idea of what was happening, but they felt as though a massive burst of energy had somehow erupted from within their bodies. Everything was golden one moment and then white hot flame the next. But to them the flame felt cool and soothing.

They were both fully aware of the demon towering in front of them looking slightly surprised as it was incinerated into nothingness.

Shielding their faces from the bright light, their friends and family watched on in sheer amazement as the two brothers and what appeared to be the vision of the Pharaoh, merged to become one glowing being, with wild tri-colour hair adorned with a flaming crown depicting the wings of the Sun God Ra. With his strong arms reaching outwards, he looked almost as large as Zorc. The Godlike apparition still wore the Puzzle; it was resting against his bronzed, muscular chest, while the Eye of Horus appeared on his forehead. The lower half of the body was adorned in a golden kilt, with flames of light licking up his strong legs. The three had become a God.

"Holy crap! What the fuck just happened?!" Jonouchi gasped as he watched Zorc burn.

"I don't know." Mana had her hands clasped together in front of her face, almost in prayer.

Dark Magician Girl was in awe of the sight before her. "They have merged together to become a God," she informed them, kneeling, head bowed.

"Not any God, the Creator God... Atum," Mahado and Ishizu breathed, mesmerised by the vision before them.

Jonouchi did not care for Gods or Atum, or whatever they now were. All he wanted now that Zorc was dead, was for his friends to come back safely!

Yay, the Pharaoh has appeared. I hope you enjoyed, and there will be more of Pharaoh Atem in the next chapter. It might even be a weepy.

Please review.