The gravity of sleep lifted from him, slowly ushering in his awareness of his surroundings. He felt something soft slide across his skin as he stretched, his bones and muscles aching from being in the same position for so long. But once he had satisfied his body's need to be moved he cracked open his eyes, rubbing his face from any trace of sleep or fatigue and as he became more alert he instantly shot up, eyes darting around him and heart racing.

He was alive… awake… and in Yugi's room. He looked to his hands to see the tan of his skin, the length of his fingers and then to his arms to see the muscles his partner lacked. He was definitely not in control of Yugi's body… which meant he was in his own… it worked. He was alive.

Looking around the room was darkened. The blind over the sky window had been drawn but cracks of sunlight broke through to paint lines on the walls. The house was silent but that didnt mean no one was home. Clothes were folded neatly on Yugis desk with all his jewellery and a small note that read "Good your awake, i hope your feeling okay. These are for you. I hope they fit." In both English and Egyptian. It wasn't Yugi's handwriting though, it was neater... Grandpa perhaps?

He smiled at the gesture and graciously took the clothes left for him.

They were bought new for him but they fit perfectly, even as he stared at himself for longer than he realised in the mirror. The clothes were fine but his skin was so much more real than he expected. He remembered his tan and the length of his hair, the deepness of his eyes and strength of his body but seeing him stand on his own two legs and move his body as he wanted it to was so foreign to him. He spent so much time running his fingers through his hair and looking at the pores of his skin, memorizing the details of his body that he was sure an hour had passed since he had awoken and he still couldn't believe this was real. Even pinching his skin and lightly slapping his cheeks wouldn't wake him from this dream.

Excitement welled within him and quickly he eagerly left to find Yugi and Grandpa. Surely one of them were home.

The house was quite though. Yugis office was empty, no one was in the kitchen or in the living room. It was midday so it was probable Yugi wasn't home but Grandpa would be minding the shop but as he came down the stairs he was surprised to find Joey tapping boredly on the counter, seemingly minding the shop.

He cleared his throat nervously and his tired expression changed to one of pure happiness upon seeing him, completely freeing him of his nerves.

"Atem! Buddy your awake! How do ya feel man?" Joey asked happily, coming over to touch his arms and his cheeks, running his hand through his hair as if just making sure he was actually real. Atem more or less did the same to him, allowing himself to realise this was actually happening.

"I feel fine. More than fine, i feel alive. I cant accurately describe this feeling but its good. Im not sore or tired, just perhaps a little spaced. I still cant get over that im actually alive. My body feels oddly rejuvenated like everything i feel is a brand new sensation im still comprehending."

"You look great! Do you need a drink or something to eat? I remember Yug saying…" he started trail off then which immediately switched on the alarm bells… he had wondered why he was minding the shop. Where was he?

"Where is Yugi? Is he okay?"

"Yugs… in hospital. He's in some kind of coma. Grandpa's with him now, which is why I'm here. Tristan, Tea and I have been taking turns minding the house while Grandpa's not here for when you woke up."

"Coma…" Atem whispered almost inaudibly. His heart dropped like a weight, making his knees weak. He had to hold onto the bench just to keep from falling and he ignored Joey's vain attempt to catch him.

"Woah buddy. Maybe you should sit down, you've been through a lot after all."

"Yugi… is this … because of…"

"No. It's not do with the ritual. I mean it didn't help but no. Sit down, I'll close up and explain." Joey said as he helped him steady himself.

He didn't go far, he simply sat on the stairs as Joey turned the sign and locked the door.

"What happened?" Atem asked him.

"He was exhausted from the ritual. But I reckon even if he hadn't been he'd still be in this condition, so don't go blamin yourself for dis. We were coming home from the museum, this was straight after the ritual. Leon was here with Grandpa, holding him hostage."

"Leon!" Atem growled in disbelief. He did this to Yugi? He knew it… They shouldn't have gone through with this when they did, not with Leon on the prowl.

"Yeah. He wanted Yugi so he used Grandpa to get him to leave the museum. We were already on our way home anyway but he didn't know that. I don't know what he did, but when we got here he gave Grandpa up, pushed us out of the house with some freaky force of magic o his and then everything inside went all purple and dark, electricity was going nuts… we don't know what happened in there but when it was over both of them were on the ground. Yugi was completely unconscious and Leon was trying to wake him up… he was crying… he apologised to us, told us he understood everything now and he regretted everything he had done to Yugi. He told us he was heavily influenced by an evil spirit but now it was gone and he feared for Yugi. He passed out after that and we took them both to hospital. They're both in coma's at the moment. Leon's malnourished and exhausted but most of his condition seems to be mental trauma… Yugi's just unresponsive. The doctors aren't sure whats wrong with him… all they can do is monitor him and keep him on life support."

"An evil spirit… so Leon's not trying to kill him anymore. I mean if he wasn't in a coma right now."

"I don't think so. I mean we're still hesitant to believe it but he seemed honest about it."

"How long has it been?"

"3 days."

"3 … can I see him?" Atem asked absent mindedly. "I mean… no. You're busy. I can wait."

"It's fine pal. Grandpa said I can close if we're not busy and you wake up. Let me get the keys and we'll go see em. Tea's with grandpa at the moment." Joey said kindly.

"Thank you." Atem said sweetly.

He felt incredibly sad right now. He was hoping that Yugi would be okay, that everything would have been fine. Yugi was so confident and sure that everything would have been fine and in a way, he supposed it was. If what Joey said was true then the ritual went off without a hitch and had Leon not attacked then he would have been fine… it's just he didn't have the strength left to defend himself against him… he was left vulnerable and Leon took the opportunity to strike… he was just thankful that he was alive somewhat.

When they arrived they were greeted by Tea outside Yugis room who was quietly excited to see Atem, hugging him tightly and breathing in his scent, squeezing his arms and touching his face.

"You're so real." She giggled as her fingers brushed against the baby spikes on his jaw line.

"I'm still getting used to it myself. How are you?"

"I'm fine. Joey tell you what happened?"

"He did."

"Still nothing?" Joey asked.

She shook her head sadly.

"No. It's like he's just being kept alive. I just wish we could speak to him." Tea said.

"We can speak to him. Maybe if hears Atems voice he'll wake up." Joey suggested optimistically. They knew it was unlikely but they appreciated the thought.

Grandpa greeted Atem warmly when they went inside, shaking his hand respectfully and smiling brightly. He looked so calm considering Yugi behind him hooked up to various machines.

"I'll give you guys a moment. I need to go find the cafeteria. Can I get anyone anything?" He asked everyone.

"I'll come with." Joey said happily and the two left them.

Atem stood beside him. His skin was pale and his cheeks appeared hollow. The mask over his face breathed for him and his brow furrowed in either discomfort or pain or fear or some other kind of sensation he was unable to communicate to them. There was no eye movement, no twitching… just the repetitive and even breathing of the machine and the quiet beeping of the monitors nearby.

The hand closest to him had a heart monitor on his finger and tube fed water into him to keep him hydrated. He wanted to touch him but he feared it. He feared hurting him, he feared not feeling him there, he feared what would happen if his touch made his condition worse.

"You can touch him." Tea said sweetly as she took his hand gently to place onto Yugis.

His skin was cold but oddly felt so real… the only times he had actually touched Yugi was within his mind; even when Yugi came through the puzzle to help him reclaim his memories that too had been spiritual despite how real it felt. But this… this was the first time he was actually touching him and Yugi was comatosed.

He felt the tears threatening to fall and he quickly pulled his hand back to catch them.

"Hey…" Tea said gently to him, rubbing his back and shoulders to comfort him.

"I'm sorry. I just want him back. I can't help but feel responsible for this." Atem said, his voice hoarse as he held his tears back.

"You're not responsible for this at all Atem. That evil spirit is to blame for all of this." Tea said.

"I know but if we didnt go through with this then maybe he'd still be here-"

"And maybe we would have lost you… for good… again. We don't know what could have happened but for all we know it could have been worse. Yugi will wake up, you'll see. And when he does we'll all be together again."

Her words touched him. They felt weak but he appreciated them all the same. He knew she was right … but he couldn't help but take on the responsibility that he might have been able to prevent this.