"So do you think you can track him down?" Joey asked Mokuba.
They were all seated in the hotel room and had been explaining to Mokuba and Kaiba of their situation. Kaiba begrudgingly listened but only because he was intrigued that they claimed Atem to be back and in the flesh. He refused to admit any of this to have any weight but his silence was at least appreciated. Mokuba on the other hand came through and believed them readily.
"I can, just let me get connected…. And … there. He's about 6 hour drive from Cairo." Mokuba said.
"6 hours… that means they'd have only been about 3 hours from where we were!" Joey complained.
"Yeah but we wouldnt have had the fuel to come back, nor did we know in which direction." Tea pointed out.
"I can send you the coordinates but guys, I wouldn't leave until tomorrow." Mokuba warned.
"Tell them not to go at all Mokuba." They heard Kaiba say deeply in the background.
"But Seto-"
"Kaiba we appreciate your brothers help but we're going to save Yugi and bring him back. We're not going to just abandon him out there." Atem said strongly.
"I never told you to abandon him, just that you shouldn't go. Wait until tomorrow at the Cairo airport. This time tomorrow you'll have a much faster way of finding him without getting lost or stranded." Kaiba said as he took the phone from Mokuba.
"Wait are you saying you'll meet us here Kaiba?" Joey asked.
"What do you think Wheeler? I won't be doing this out of the charity of my heart though dweebs. I'm doing this for two reasons: 1 to make sure the former King of Games doesn't get lost in some sand dune and 2, to see this Pharoah for myself and duel him to prove which one of us is better."
"You want to duel me, Kaiba?" Atem asked.
"I wanted to duel you 6 years ago but Yugi robbed me of that chance. If what you dweebs are saying is true, then this is my chance to duel you myself without Yugi interfering."
"Fine by me then. We'll meet you tomorrow at the airport, you'll help us rescue Yugi and only when the danger has passed will we duel, one on one." Atem agreed.
"Mokuba, get the jet ready. Dweebs, see you around this time tomorrow."
And with that the call ended and they sighed.
"Well that worked out better than I thought it would." Tea said.
"Does he seem…. Nicer to you?" Atem asked.
"Still sounds like a dick to me." Joey shrugged.
"Not that he'll ever admit it but Kaiba has grown to have a bit of respect for Yugi now he's not a professional duelist and has since found his own path. He still comes off as cold to the rest of us but hes at least warmed to Yugi more since he became an archaeologist. Something about finding his place in the world." Tea said, shrugging lazily.
***
"We shouldn't be far now. We should be coming up to some ruins and they're inside there." Mokuba said as he adjusted various dials and overlooked a very advanced looking screen.
He had grown a lot in 6 years. His hair was tied back neatly in a long ponytail, he was taller, resembling a young man now. His voice was deeper but recognizable as his own. Kaiba stood behind him as his men piloted the jet. He remained the same as ever. Standing tall and arrogantly with his arms crossed, a scowl permanently planted on his face and his white billowing coat flaring behind him unnaturally.
When he first saw them all he stared at Atem for an uncomfortable amount of time, saying nothing at all. He was completely unreadable, even as Atem had tried to greet him and thank him for his assistance. Even now he remained oddly focused.
"We should be able to see the ruins now, on the right guys." Mokuba said.
He was right. The ruins he spoke of was that of a large city, or what was left of it. The palace was half buried in sand, the districts only recognisable by the tall walls and pillars that broke through. The roofs of temples, of guard towers and the heads of once glorious statues poked through the sand like little stone trees. It was amazing to think that 3000 years ago, a once thriving city lived here.
Atem thought; wondering … if his geography was correct and his memory told him true, then this city used to be his. 3000 years ago this would have been where his father reigned, and where reigned for such a short time, and where Seto reigned after him.
As they got closer and found a solid place to land, it was confirmed. Most of his city was under the sand now, buried by time for thousands of years, but he recognised the palace, the layout of the city walls, the heads of these statues… this was home.
"Okay, Yugi should be somewhere in these ruins." Mokuba said as the jet purred to sleep.
"Mokuba. Stay here and keep the jet ready. This won't take long." Kaiba said, whisking past them.
They were met with the heat of the desert almost immediately coming off the air conditioned jet, yet even so Kaiba didn't seem bothered at all by the change in temperature, even with his thick coat waving behind him. Atem adjusted quickly, owing to his natural affinity to warmer temperatures but the others groaned and sagged.
"If you can't handle the heat stay in the jet. I don't want to listen to you carrying on." Kaiba complained.
"Yeah you'd like that rich boy."
"Of course I would Wheeler. That's why I suggested it. Now I'm going to make this clear. We go in, find Yugi and leave. None of this ancient destiny crap that your all fans of. I'm a very busy man and don't have the luxury of hanging out in an old sand castle." Kaiba said.
"This sand castle used to be my Kingdom Kaiba. I realise you don't believe it still despite all you've seen but can I ask you to please have a little respect for what this used to be." Atem said sternly.
"Hmph. If it was so great 'Pharoah' your people would not have moved on from these ruins."
"Need I remind you that it was your past self that took over this Kingdom?" Atem jabbed at him. He didn't like the idea of using his past self to silence him given that King Seto and he were actually quite close but it seemed to work. He turned his head away and his chin up arrogantly but he had nothing to say.
"Hey Atem, how great would it be if we could remove the sand from this place and reconstruct it? People could live here again!" Tea said to him excitedly.
"Yeah it could be like a desert resort, with like pools and shade." Tristan continued her fantasy.
"You dorks realise how much that would cost right? And not to mention who would want to visit ruins in the middle of the desert? Thats why people tend to go to beaches, to relax not to swelter." Kaiba complained.
"Sure, that's why Egypt is also a tourist destination." Joey sang with sarcasm. Kaiba rolled his eyes but Atem enjoyed the light hearted exchange.
"I remember this place." Tristan said quietly as they climbed the steps to the Palace.
"Yeah I remember sleeping outside cause the guards wouldn't let us in." Joey complained.
"That happened?" Atem asked.
"Oh yeah. But the guards couldn't see us Joey, not because we weren't invited." Tea pointed out.
"Think those guys will invite us in?" Tristan asked as they reach the last step.
Before the large golden door between the two massive statues of King's sitting in their thrones were 4 tanned men dressed in light linens, turbans and cloths. They wore curved swords at their hips, brightly coloured sashes around their waists and perhaps to ruin the aesthetic, duel disks on their wrists.
They stood guard, watching them approach and still as the statues guarding the door.
"We can do this one of two ways: you can step aside and let us in, or I could beat you down and go in anyway. Choice is yours." Kaiba declared proudly.
"You can try, Seto Kaiba, but we have been given strength by the rightful King of the Sands. Only those worthy may join him in his hall." One of the four stated loudly.
His hall. Atem dwelled on those words, feeling irritated at the sheer notion that Bakura would claim his city even like this.
Kaiba activated his duel disk and stood ready to fight. The four took on his challenge, each activating their own disks.
"Wait a minute Kaiba, 4 on one is hardly fair. Lets even the odds." Joey said as he took a spot beside him and activated his own duel disk. Atem hadn't noticed that he had been carrying a compact disk in his jacket; he admitted it made travelling with it a lot easier but how long had he had it for? And why didn't he know about it until now.
"2 against 4 still isn't even Wheeler but it can't hurt. They're screwed either way." Kaiba said.
Kaiba was right. After just a few turns each all four of them were on their knees either out cold or in shock at the sheer power both Kaiba and Joey displayed against them. Even Atem was impressed how sympatico Joey and Kaiba had become despite being pure rivals. Even after so many weeks being back on this plane he was still surprised by how things had changed.
Pushing on the large heavy golden doors they were met with the familiar sight of the grand hall. Or rather it was familiar to Atem, not so much everyone else. Atem remembered this place when the rugs were still vibrant and the walls still shone; but even dulled, aged and poorly lit the Grand Hall offered a spectacular sight.
"Wow." His friends breathed as they walked, mouths ajar and eyes wide open.
"This is incredible." Tristan said to himself.
"I thought you'd been here before." Atem said to them quietly so his voice would not echo.
"Nah man. We saw the outside, the kitchens, some halls… but not this." Joey said, matching his volume.
"Well, on behalf of my family, welcome." Atem said happily.
"Yugi would go nuts in here. I wonder who'll be the real threat. Bakura keeping him hostage or Yugi wanting to stay." Tristan joked.
"Yugi's seen this room in its glory. He's seen every bit of my Palace back when it was young. He was very much as you think he'd be." Atem giggled.
"He was? Wait… how?" Tea asked.
"When our minds were linked, I created my space to resemble that of this Palace. When he first saw it for himself he simply sat himself on the floor and looked around in awe." Atem said fondly.
"WELCOME! I WONDERED HOW LONG IT WOULD TAKE THE GREAT PHAROAH TO RETURN TO HIS RUINED KINGDOM." Bakura shouted from the Throne.
He sat lazily in it, one leg draped over the arm and a goblet of wine swirling in his hand. He was dressed in fine silks, golden jewellery not fitted for him, and the smuggest grin painted on his scarred face.
The sight of him made Atem's blood boil. Not only was he already awake and seemingly healthy, but he was also lazing on his Throne in such a disrespectful manner.
"You came quicker than I expected though Pharoah, well done. I've barely had time to tidy the place up. Do forgive the mess, I assure you I have grand plans in store." Bakura continued.
"Bakura! Where is Yugi?" Atem demanded.
"He's fine… for now. As I said I have grand plans and one of those involve Yugi. Others involve filling this Palace with the riches of the Kings but one thing at a time, right?"
"Tell us where he is, you creep!" Tristan shouted.
"Such disrespect. This is the company you keep now Pharoah? Someone of such low class should know how to mind his tongue!" Bakura barked. In one smooth motion he slipped out the Millenium Rod from beside him and used it to silence Tristan. He grabbed at his mouth, clawing his lips to open them but he couldn't… all he could muster were panicked noises.
"While I approve of silencing the scooby crew I'm a very busy man Bakura. I don't care what your plans are or what your angle is, all I care about is retrieving Yugi so this one and I can duel. So I'm going to offer you the same chance I gave your lap dogs out there. Tell us where he is, or I'll beat it out of you instead." Kaiba said.
"Seto Kaiba…. How intriguing it is to have 2 former Pharoahs in this very hall… how very fortuitous. Unfortunately for all of you, any power you had means nothing now. I hold the Millenium Items, my power has been restored and soon, I will be adding Yugi's to my arsenal as well. As far as hierarchy goes, you two are now merely peasants compared to me. How does it feel?"
"Bakura that's enough! Tell us what youve done with Yugi!" Atem shouted angrily
"I haven't done anything to him and to prove it, let's bring him out." Bakura clapped his hands and a side door opened loudly revealing two men, dressed similarly to the men outside, dragging a barely conscious Yugi between them.
"Yugi!" Atem called to him.
The men dragged him to the floor before Bakura, dropping him heavily to the floor before standing in guard at the feet of the Throne.
Yugi was conscious, as evident by him recoiling in pain and his grunts of discomfort but he was very weak.
Atem moved to get closer but Bakura clicked and in one smooth motion the men drew handguns on them, threatening them all to remain where they were.
"Bakura!" Atem shouted.
He shrugged lazily.
"I haven't done a thing to him. This is how he's been since he set me free."
"Then let us take him. You're done with him now right?" Tea asked desperately.
"Done with him? Not even close. Yugi set me free, but there's one more thing I want from him." Bakura said.
"And what could that be? There's nothing left in him Bakura." Seto stated. Something in his voice struck a chord within Atem… was he mad? Atem couldn't place it but Kaiba seemed almost just as angry at Yugis state as they were.
"Oh there's something left in him… not for long though. I thought you'd be happy Pharoah. This is my gift to you. Removing the Demon within him… you've met it too haven't you? You've seen what it's done to him. Well allow me to remove it from him!"
Bakura stood tall, pointing the Millenium Rod at Yugi as the eye inside it glowed brightly.
Atem had seen this before… This was how Seto used to rip the darkness from people's hearts but… there was a procedure to do it safely… Just ripping it from someone was dangerous! He couldn't allow Bakura to continue with this.
"BAKURA STOP! DOING IT THIS WAY WILL HURT YUGI!" Atem shouted. He moved to dash to him but his guards shot a warning shot at his feet.
A glowing gold wall rose around Yugi like a barrier and weakly he looked up to see it.
"What?" He whispered weakly.
"YUGI!" Atem shouted to him. He saw him, his eyes sparkled and briefly Yugi felt his strength return as he saw them.
"Atem!"
The gold wall pulsed brightly, bringing his attention back to the impending crisis at hand. "What's happening? What is this?" Yugi asked quickly as he pushed himself up onto his knees.
"Yugi! Your monster belongs to me now!" Bakura commanded, laughing maniacally as the Rod pulsed brightly.
In seconds Yugi released a heart wrenching scream, his hands clasping his hair as he screamed to the heavens above. The shriek echoed off the golden halls and pierced their hearts with such sharpness they recoiled, even Kaiba winced from it.
"YUGI!" They all shouted desperately, but their calls to him and Bakura's laughter was drowned by his painful, tearing scream.