Rated M

A/N: Hello everyone, back with another chapter, while it took me longer to write this than I expected, at the same time I'm surprised to be publishing it so soon (considering my usual track record). Really excited to have this come out! Heads up on horror elements in this chapter!

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh it belongs to Kazuki Takahashi

Chapter 1: A Rift in Rivalry

Bathed in golden rays that peered through the temple walls, a king, although many considered a god, sat on the radiant throne. He quickly rose up from his seat, the jingle of the Millennium Pendant rang through the hall. His cape flowed gently behind him. Bowing his head down and away from the bright light blocking his vision, the great pharaoh Atem looked upon his unexpected visitor. Tight lips appeared to be in a line, but it was actually forming a small smile. In fact, it was hard for him not to laugh at the situation before him.

Clad in his usual attire of black, white, and blue, Kaiba stood in his battle stance. A colorful distortion slowly evaporated of off his body. Most likely for being a living being existing in the realm of the dead. The man's intentions were clear, a rematch was demanded without a single word being spoken. Atem had to remember that the CEO was not present during his departure. Slowly but surely he descended the stairs but stopped at the last step in an attempt to meet with Kaiba at eye level.

"I must say this is quite the surprise. I'd never thought you'd take your obsession this far."

Kaiba dropped his arms to his side. "I thought you knew me better, Atem. I'm not one to leave things unsettled between us."

"Oh I can definitely see that now." With a snap of his long fingers, Atem's apparel changed to the familiar black tank top and blue school uniform he used to wear with Yugi. The only difference were the gold bands on his arms and his naturally tanned skin color. The change certainly earned the pharaoh a few glances from his loyal priests and guards. "I figured if we were going to do this that I'd be dressed for the occasion."

A duel disk then materializes on his arm along with a deck of cards. The Life Point counter sprung to life with the bright lights displaying 8000. Kaiba reassumed his position and he prepared his Solid Vision duel disk. Their moment had finally come, the rematch between two dimensions.

A ripple shot through Seto's vision. Initially he internally panicked that his tech was malfunctioning. He was in a completely different realm after all. Also he was probably the only person who had accomplished such a thing, so there were bound to be issues. The ripple happened again, but this time Atem reacted to it as well. The Egyptian staggered back, his guards became alert. A golden glow enveloped Atem's form and the Millennium Pendant around his neck began to float in the air. Light peered through the cracks of the item's pieces before sealing itself into one solid object. Atem attempted to remove the seemingly possessed item from his person but it was futile. The pendant forcefully shoved itself into the king's torso. He did not feel any pain from absorbing the object into his body, but once the glow dissipated, like his rival, a dark colored aura emerged around him.

"What is happening to me?" Atem's voice was shaken with a fear he had not felt ever before. His eyes traveled from his splayed hands to the man in front of him, almost pleading. "Kaiba…"

With that, the pharaoh disintegrated into particles. Seto's eyes widen. This shouldn't be happening. This CAN'T be happening. I WILL NOT allow this to happen.

He too was removed from the realm of the dead, but unlike Atem, Kaiba was wrapped through some sort of portable that emerged behind him. His vision went black for a few minutes. Or at least that is what it felt like. Occasionally, voices and odd sounds rang in his ears. He felt weightless, floating on nothingness.

A beeping pierced through the empty blackness his mind wandered in. It sounded like a heart monitor. Was I in the hospital? No I can't be…

A finger twitched. Then he was able to make a fist and splay out his fingers again. A needle had to be in the vein of his hand. Took a minute for his deep blue eyes to flutter open. The lights above him were bright, a little too bright to be honest. Another minute passed before his other senses came back to him. Between the bright lights, white ceiling, and sterile smell, he was sure he was in some sort of medical facility.

Was the malfunction that severe?

He attempted to sit up, that's when he felt it. The pain was searing. It was as if he weighed a ton. After a couple of tries, he managed to fully lift himself off of the bed. His breathing was heavy; like he ran a marathon. Then he felt another needle in his arm. Another IV. But the worst was the breathing tube that was down his throat. Raising his heavy arms, he carefully removed the intubation tube. It was difficult trying not to gag but he was successful in his endeavor. However, a loud alarm sounded off the respirator machine. A door opened from his left and a female nurse rushed into the room with a checkboard clutched to her chest. Her heavy breathing indicated she'd been running for a while. Eyes widened at the sight of the removed tube in the CEO's hands.

"Mr. Kaiba please you must lie back down. You are not in any condition to be moving about. The muscle atrophy alone could put too much strain on your body. It is miracle you haven't lost any more body mass than you already have." The nurse stated as she quieted the blaring machines.

Looking down, Seto felt his heart sink at how skinny his arms and hands appeared. Brushing anyway the thought, he continued on gentling removing the needle tips in his hand and arm. More protests from the nurse ensued has he moved onto the sensors on his chest. In trying to toss his legs off the bed he noticed quite the unpleasantry still attached to him. The catheter. His eyes darted around the room for a moment, luckily some clothing was packed in a clear bag on a table near the medical bed. With a deep breath he yanked out the last remaining device attaching him to all the life preserving equipment. Bare feet met the cold metal floor. At first he stumbled, but he grabbed the railing of the bed to maintain his balance. The worried nurse also came to his aid. He huffed, not wanting to feel helpless but clearly he had been bedridden for quite a long time.

How long have I been here? And where…

As quickly as his frail body allowed him to go he dressed him enough so that the shabby gown was no longer needed. Although a pair of socks or shoes were nowhere to be found. Instead medical booties were handed to him. He glared daggers at the small woman but he didn't have the energy to argue.

"Where are we and what happened?" Seto mumbled as he leaned back on the table next to him.

"We are at KC Lab 5. It was the place best equipped for you condition and that of the Quantum Cube. Two hours after you started the realm jump with the Cube, there was a malfunction detected in the system and your body was induced into a coma. When we retrieved both you and the Cube, we found the Millennium Puzzle in your pod." She pointed to the other side of the room. "Apparently the Cube has been keeping you alive so we made sure it stayed close to you. The Puzzle is here too."

Kaiba carefully hobbled to where the nurse pointed. His bed and all the medical machines were obscuring the view. There behind thick glass cases and floating in place were the two objects that both initiated and ended his journey to see the pharaoh. Had he really see him? Or was it all just a hallucination? A twisted and teasing nightmare. Although if it was all a dream, there was no explanation for why the Puzzle had returned, when he witnessed Atem take it away to the afterlife.

"And how long have I been in this coma?" He asked while not removing his gaze from the items.

She cleared her throat. "It has been twelve months and thirteen days."

Fucking shit. He nodded slowly. "I would like to see the report about the day of the malfunction."

Blue-eyes continued to peer at the glass, almost burning a hole through it. A minute or so passed in silence. He cleared his throat. More silence. He rolled his eyes.

"Mam…" Seto turned his head only to see the nurse frozen in a position facing away from him and staring at a blank part of a wall.

She had dropped her checkboard, but it did not hit the floor yet. Instead the object was floating just an inch from the ground. Unexpectedly, the atmosphere around him seemed to feel cold as ice. Time itself felt still or at least in slow motion. The section of wall that the nurse was staring at began to twist in shape. Something began poking through the white paint on the walls. Clawed hands scraped the surface. Reality appeared to split apart as a long white boney arm broke through the swirling distortion. Another arm joined it and stretched out reaching to the woman. She wanted to scream but no sound escaped her. A small oval shaped head pushed out of the portal and it slowly pulled itself from the space. It's hindlegs were not as long as its forearms but they were just as lanky. All appendages were equip with long dark claws. The face seemed non-existent, but its jaws were adorned with the teeth of a predator creature. Any movement from the beast's body were sporadic and rapid. With a twist of its eyeless head, the nurse began to float in the air. Another turn, and her body bent backwards. Then with a jerk of its pointed shoulder, bones began to crack. A twitch and a spine snapped. A twirl and her head was now facing in Seto's direction. The horror did not stop until all of the bones in her body were crunched and broken before dropping her mangled remains to the floor.

Fear. He never felt its cold grip this intensely. Seto knew there was another one crawling around behind him, but no amount of strength could get him to move. A trilling growl escaped the creatures. It took every fiber of his being to turn his head back to the Cube and Millennium Puzzle. A six digit clawed hand reached out to the glass. The nails tapped on the surface as if testing the integrity of the structure. Before any breakage would occur, both items glowed brightly with an intensity that shattered the casings. Both monsters staggered back from the light and hissed in dismay.

The shine only continued to intensify until the Quantum Cube exploded into various pieces before shooting out in rays of light. The puzzle, however, morphed into a glowing blob before collapsing to the ground with a heavy thud. Kaiba had to keep his eyes closed before the brightness burned out his retinas. Feeling the heat of the shine lessen, he snapped his eyes open. It was miracle the sight before him did not send him tumbling down.

There lying naked on the floor, was a frail body of skin and bones. But it was impossible to ignore the tri-colored mane of hair.

"Atem." His name slipped through his gritted teeth. He felt his body able to move again and he examined his surrounding more thoroughly.

Oh there were three of these things. Despite not having eyes, Seto could feel the daggers they were staring at him and the Puzzle was nowhere to be seen. On top of the current condition of his body, he had nothing to defend himself or the unconscious man on the floor. Within an instant all the creatures lunged forward. A golden staff swept around the two men, fully connecting with all three beasts and sending them across the room. Their beaten bodies then dissipated into dust. Descending from a portal above Seto, the Palladium Oracle Mahad directed his attention to the fallen king. Swiftly, he removed the blanket from the medical bed and carefully wrapped the body in the fabric.

"If you don't mind, it would be imperative for you to open the door and help get us out of this facility." The mage observed Seto's thin frame. "Here, I'll give you a spell that will increase you strength temporarily. Now we must make haste."

With flick of his wrist, Mahad threw the magical energy onto Seto's person. The tired daze that clouded his mind suddenly cleared. Viewing the mangled body of his nurse had more of an adverse effect on him then moments before. Unfortunately, Seto couldn't afford to be getting nauseous at this time. Rushing over to her body, he yanked the keycard from her twisted neck. A swipe of the card activated the sliding door, and Mahad dashed out of the room with the unconscious king in his right arm.

"Let us go Seto!" The mage pointed his staff forward.

His now thin legs moved at an unthinkable speed. From here on out it was all about survival. A majority of his laboratories were built with similar blueprints. If he was in the medical bay, then just down the corridor should access to an airship hanger. At least that is what Seto hoped to find. Another nurse and doctor emerged from one of the rooms. Expressions of shock painted their faces. The CEO rolled his eyes as he was forced to stop his momentum.

"Mr. Kaiba what on Earth…" The elder doctor's feature drooped down, almost as if his face was melting.

Mahad was becoming impatient. "We need to keep moving!"

Invisible forces lifted the two individuals in front of them into the air. No vocal objections escaped the doctors as they appeared to be frozen in fear. It was happening again. Just like the nurse. One was instantly bent over backwards, a bloodied broken rib had even pierced through the skin and clothing. The nurse had her neck turned completely horizontally, the skin instantly discolored from the unnatural stretching. A clawed six-digit hand then emerged from her gut. A round head with protruding teeth slide out of the spilling organs. Its once pale body now immersed itself in red. A line of eye balls stretched out from the top of its head to along the spine of the being. A golden wave of magically energy sent both the creature and its mangled body straight against the metal and concrete wall. The being's cry was muffled by the of shattering bone and squishing flesh entrapping its body upon impact.

Mahad forcefully pushed Seto toward the next metal door to open. Screams and various sounds of violence echoed throughout the complex. It took Kaiba everything he had to ignore the disturbing sights and sounds. He had to get himself and the pharaoh out of this place as quickly as possible. Reaching the door, there was a small screen for inputting the password to move to the next section of the building. The previous nurse's pass was no longer valid at this device. His initial hunch that this was the end of the medical bay was correct. His fingers went to work on overriding the system to open the door. In the same process he was double checking his theory. A blue outlined screen appeared in front of him following a location request input. It stated in bright yellow letters EMERGENCY AIRCRAFT HANGER. An internal 'YES' rang in his thoughts. The magician behind him was, however, growing impatient.

"Mr. Kaiba more of these creatures are coming, we need to hurry." Mahad spoke through gritted teeth as he continuously fired off spells in the direction of the danger.

As if on request, the metal door quickly slid open. The two dashed through the next corridor until they reached a heavy door with a large warning label. Instead of having Seto pick the lock, Mahad charged the door with armored shoulder. The metal brackets exploded from the immense force and the door practically flew about ten feet in front of them. Just a few hundred feet away from them was Seto's prized Blue-Eyes Jet. To his surprise, he noticed not a soul was on the hanger floor. Mahad floated ahead, not paying the oddity any mind. His frail body was started to become winded even with whatever spell was infused in him. Taking a brief moment to look up and he discovered where his employees had gone. Their bodies were all hanging by some sort of black ooze. Spider like creatures with definitely more than eight legs were crawling over the bodies and constantly securing them to the ceiling.

"Seto!"

The magician's voice broke Kaiba out of his brief trance. Mahad had already reached his jet. Luckily the cockpit was lowered so he could enter the vehicle. But there was one major issue…

"Cover me! I need to reach the control panel to open the hanger…"

"Forget it! I will open the damn thing myself! Just get yourself and my king in this machine!"

Seto nodded. A single hand print and facial scan is all want was need to start up the jet. A feminine voice sounded off.

"Welcome back Mr. Kaiba. Blue-Eyes White Dragon aerial system is now operational. Fuel is eighty-five percent full."

With that the cockpit window opened up, Mahad was able to place Atem's wrapped up body in the back seat, or at least to the best of his ability.

"Look I've got this from here on out. I just need to you to keep those things off the jet and have exit open. Understand?" Seto looked at the mage with stern eyes.

"Of course Seto. I will do whatever is necessary to ensure my king's safety."

The magician zoomed towards the massive doors of the hanger bay. Kaiba shook his head as he strapped Atem's motionless body with various seat beats. Once he was confident the unconscious king was secured, Seto jumped into the pilot chair. Just as the jet's door locked in place, several of the arachnid like creature fell onto the plane. Their clawed limbs banged on the metal plates in an attempt to reach their targets. Mahad spared no time to blast the bugs right off the vehicle.

Kaiba had to be quick with his departure. Carefully he turned the thrusters in a manner that turned the jet in the direction of the exit. The mage twirled his golden staff around his nimble fingers and used his power to pry the heavy gates apart. A cold blast of wind entered the hanger now that it was exposed to the outside. Seto had already aligned the aircraft to the exit and all it took was a push of the thruster gage to launch the vehicle forward. Yanking the yoke of the jet up, the dragon shaped craft flew upwards into the sky and far away from the base in which he was once kept.

Seto activated the auto-pilot function once he chose a location to reach from his satellite GPS

link. He was heading straight for the central KC Japanese headquarters. It was his best chance of finding someone that could help him. Leaning back on the seat, he breathed a sigh of immense relief. For just a moment he let his body fully relax in the ergonomic padding and closed his eyes. But a voice disturbed his moment of peace.

"Seto?" The radio sounded off. His voice sounded a bit different, but the CEO easily recognized it as his little brother.

He brought the receiver close to his mouth. "It's me Mokuba. I'm on course to central." He thought for a moment, suddenly remembering he was talking through the radio. "Over."

Silence ensued for a minute. "Okay. Okay, uh…" A sniffle came through. "I'll make sure we have our entire team waiting at the runway."

The CEO didn't arrive to his destination until much later that night. Mahad's energy inducing spell had long worn off upon his arrival. Both Seto and Atem were placed in an armored vehicle with medical personnel standing by. The Mokuba was sitting beside his brother now on the stretcher. Tears dampened his face and the younger Kaiba had a difficult time keeping his composure. The young man was on the verge of hyperventilating. Considering how long he had been in a coma, Seto was not surprised from his reaction. He extended his frail hand out to place it on Mokuba's shoulder. It was going to take the trio take some time to heal from this traumatic encounter.

One Month Later

Tanned fingers twitched and thick lashed eyes fluttered. An overall bright light was piercing his closed lids. It too quite a few tries to get his eyes to fully open.

"Took you long enough to wake up." A monotone voice spoke.

He knew whom the voice belonged to. Atem's mouth stayed agape for a moment. His throat felt so dry. After clearing his throat, he presumed to speak.

"Hello to you too Kaiba." His voice was low and hoarse. "Wait…"

It all hit him. His pupils rapidly darted around examining all the modern technology he was connected to. He was in a damn medical bed, perhaps a hospital. The vessel he was in certainly felt real, incredibly stiff and sore, but very real. Attempting to sit up quickly became futile after a couple tries. Seto raised his hand in an indication to stop.

"Trust me, you don't want to be moving too much for a couple more days. It's miracle alone that we were able to balance out your fluid intake."

The pharaoh took more time to examine the CEO's features. He looked oddly pale and skinny. "You look like you could use some fluids yourself."

Kaiba's gaze went down to his currently dry and bony looking hands. He'd have to ask his assistant for a thicker hand cream.

"Side effects of being in a coma for over a year." He intertwined his fingers together and rested his hands on his lap. "As far as your state…well you were a rejuvenated mummy. So naturally you are fairly dehydrated and anemic."

"Lovely." He sighed and blinked his eyes a few times trying to adjust to the brightly lit room. "Now can you explain why the hell I'm here in your world? Was your damn rematch so important that you had to bring me down here with you?"

Seto leaned back a bit and shrugged. "Why yes, that rematch is that important. But as you are aware, I was willing to meet up in your plain of the dead remember?" He cleared his throat. "Your body's reanimation is something done by the Quantum Cube."

"Surely the Millennium Puzzle traveled with me as a result."

"No. It was absorbed into your body. Possibly what gave you life." He tapped his fingers. "At this point I'm just going by what I witnessed firsthand. My doctors and scientists can't really figure out what is going with your body. Well, outside of the effects of time."

Atem furrowed his brow. "I mean I was dead for like three millennia so…"

"Not what I meant." He held up a finger. "You and I know you died when you were just sixteen years old. Sixteen and a half if we want to get really specific. Once I got you here with my lead doctors, they determined your body had aged past its original point in death. They think our exposure to the Quantum Cube during my realm jump aged us by about five years."

"Well, out of everything you've told me, not being a teenager anymore is the best thing." A slight smirk twisted his dry lips. "It is unfortunate you that lost some years from your lifespan though."

Kaiba scoffed. "It doesn't really affect me as much as you think. For me five years is nothing. No one will even notice and that information will only be privy to us. You on the other hand, well in a way you've caught up to the rest of us." Seto stood up and placed his hand on the door to leave. But before making one last comment to his rival. "Also, congratulations on having a growth spurt for the first time in three thousand years."

Over the next year it was a strict focus on recovery. Well, recovery and figuring out what the hell happened with the Quantum Cube. The creatures that attack KC Laboratory 5 never returned nor did they leave any evidence of ever being there. Left behind, however, were the mangled bodies of every employee on that site. Over one hundred in total dead. Security cameras logs were unable to capture the other worldly beings either, as their bodies were either invisible to the cameras or their bodies were captured as blurry objects. Unfortunately, the same could not be said for the gruesome death caught on footage. Regardless of the ongoing investigation, Seto and Atem had to regain their strength and mental fortitude if they were to solve this mystery and reacquire the Quantum Cube.

13 Months Later since the KC Lab 5 massacre. (25 Months after the Quantum Jump)

A pop sounded from the Egyptian's hip as the physical therapist pushed his straightened right leg up against his body as he lay flat on the yoga mat. A grunt and a grimace followed the stretching of his Charley horse ridden muscles. The compression strap on his thigh wasn't helping his cause. It took another push and then release of his limb before the spasms stopped. The pain wasn't completely gone, but it had certainly subsided.

"Feeling any better Atem?" The feminine voice called.

Atem lean his neck upward to gaze at the woman speaking to him. And there she had that look in her eyes again. "Definitely much more relieved than before. Although I'd like this bandage removed if you would be so kind."

She smiled brightly. "Oh of course. I know these things aren't fun to keep on."

With his leg free of the squeezing torture, Atem kipped up to his feet. He was impressed with the results. Aside from a slight soreness, he felt cured.

"Well, I must thank you Sirena. It worked out better than I thought it would."

A light pink dusted the instructor's nose and cheeks. "Oh, any time Atem. It's my job to keep you in good shape."

There was tension between the two thick enough to cut with a knife. For the old pharaoh it was yesterday's discovery that his physical therapist and trainer had romantic affections for him. She even mustered the courage to ask the man to go out for lunch. A faux on his part was telling the woman he'd think about it.

Sirena bit her lip for a moment before returning to a smile. "Sooooo…"

And here she was about to ask him for his response. Sure, the woman was attractive. A fit body with a good head on her shoulders. Who would say no right? He had no affiliations with anyone and was in the best shape in his life. Well, more like existence. And yet, he really felt nothing but the awkward tension that he could have nipped in the butt the other day. Instead, the old king had to do so now before things went too far.

"I apologize Sirena, but I will have to decline on your offer. I just don't feel the same way as you do and I'd hate to waste your time or hurt your feelings."

She shook her head. "Please don't ever feel like you'd be wasting my time. I'd figure you decline anyway. The whole instructor and client thing would always be in the back of my mind. I just figure I'd be honest about it since we've been seeing each for over a year."

Atem remained silent and nodded while she continued.

"Even if all we got out of it would be a single nightcap, I'd say it was worth it. If you are more of that kind of a guy, I'd be down for that. No strings attached or anything."

The Egyptian certainly wasn't expecting for her to bring this subject up. But it was just the norms of the current culture. People being bold enough to casually hook up at any given moment. It sounded tempting. Atem could probably use the stress relief. He gave the woman one more good look. His lips formed a thin line when he came to a conclusion.

"As nice as that sounds, I will have to say no to that as well. I personally don't see myself as that kind of guy and I think you deserve a whole lot better than just something casual. I am definitely not a casual man to be with."

That last sentence made the trainer shudder, but she kept her cool for the sake of professionalism. "Okay, it's fine. Really. I should then go head for the showers. We had a pretty intense session today. Bye."

With she quickly turned tail before Atem could even say anything. Probably for the best honestly. Although, considering her suggestion to have a nightcap, that shower was most likely going to be a cold one. Perhaps he will need to ask for a new trainer as well.

One Hour Later.

Dressed in attire that was not covered in sweat and refreshed from a quick shower, Atem sat on the comfortable long sofa awaiting his psycho therapist. Unlike physical training, working on his mental health was a much harder task to get used to during his time at the Kaiba estate. The doctor he was talking to mentioned that today's topic was going to be a lot heavier than their previous sessions. Something about digging into his past.

"Oh, you are early today." The therapist, Dr. Saito, clutched her folder and notebook to her chest. "Usually, I have to wrestle you out of the gym."

Atem laughed. "Oh no, we ended it early. I got a cramp in my leg so I couldn't finish my usual routine."

She took her usual seat at the singular red sofa. Crossing her legs, she laid out her notes across her lap and then organized them into her notebook. Saito locked eyes with the pharaoh before her.

"Charlie horses sure can be nasty but I can't help but think that having an infatuated physical therapist is even worse."

The Egyptian raised his brows rather high. "You can read minds now?"

She laughed. "No, I never told you but your trainer and I have been good friends since college. Naturally she told me about how she felt about you and her plans to ask you out."

"Ah. So I'm guessing she told you about my answer to her request."

"Not directly, but I could tell by your early arrival that it did not go as she would have liked."

Atem bit his lip. "I can't help but feel like I caused a tension between us. Perhaps I could have used my words more carefully."

The therapist sat back and readied her pen. "This is a good starting point then. Only if you wish to talk about it of course."

His mouth was agape for a moment. "Uh sure, why not. I tried to politely let her down initially. Then she brought up if I wanted to engage in something like a causal nightcap."

Dr. Saito kept a straight face. "I will say I'm not completely surprised. But what was your response after that."

"That's the part I feel I could have worded differently. I told her that I don't see myself as the type of man to be that way with a woman in such a causal manner. In my opinion she deserves something much better than that. And then for some reason I told her I was not a causal man to be with."

"Interesting. A statement like that could be both intimidating and arousing. Knowing Sirena, I'm sure you just got her more hot and bothered than she initially was. But her business is neither here nor there." She scribble a note. "Let us delve into why you regret telling her you are not a causal individual to be engaged with. Particularly romantically or sexually."

His lips formed a thin line. "I'm not sure how to answer that if I am to be honest with you. But the first thing that comes to mind is that I was cautioning her to not be engaged with me in such a way."

"Did you caution her because of your protective nature or is it something you've done in a previous relationship?"

This definitely got his attention. "Well, I guess it is from my protective side as I have not been in any sort of romantic relationship, causal or not."

Saito exhaled deeply, knowing the documents in her hands could bring an intensity from the man before her that personally she would rather not see. But as a licensed therapist and psychologist, she needed to keep her patient honest and evaluate his reaction.

"Atem, remember when you first set foot in this room, that I made a promise we would be honest with each other. That this was a safe space and there was no need to lie."

He nodded firmly. "Yes of course. I have been very honest with you throughout these sessions."

She wrote down another note. "While I agree, I cannot help but point out that you have just lied to me not but a moment ago."

His brows furrowed. "And what do you think I've lied about?"

The doctor flipped through the paperwork and pulled out a handful of photographs. "While Mr. Kaiba was on his search for the pieces of the Millennium Puzzle, he took the liberty of acquiring any and all artifacts that would have belonged to you during your time as king. Including the mummified remains of your priests and relatives. Even funding the restoration and upkeep of your old tomb and palace, at least what remains of them."

"That I am fully aware of. He transferred my calculated net worth to me as well. Even restoring my old jewelry as an act of kindness." He sat up and leaned over. "But what does any of this have to do with you suspecting me of lying."

"We know about your mistress." She flatly stated, holding the papers on her lap tightly.

That shut him up. "Alright. Go on."

"They found her remains in a tomb not too far from your own." She took a breath. "There was an inscription on her sarcophagus that is believed to be written by your cousin and successor King Seto."

He kept up his straight face. "And what did the inscription say?"

Flipping through her notebook, Dr. Saito pulled out two pieces of paper and leaned over to hand one copy to Atem. The former pharaoh reached to grab the document and read along with his therapist.

"Here lies a woman of renowned talent with a heart as pure as the light in her soul. She traveled to the Field of Reeds much sooner than we would have liked but it was in the cost of bringing life to her third child. All whom will be carefully watched over by the caretakers of the royal palace. Before settling with her merchant husband, this woman was a beloved dancer and a lover of the great king before I, Pharaoh Atem. She was his close companion from his last birthday until the day of his great sacrifice. I bless this body with the spells reserved for members of royalty to both honor this woman and to honor my cousin. Had it not been for his sudden passing, perhaps this may have been the body of a queen. For holding the seed of our former king, no matter how short a time it was, she is welcomed into the arms of his family as a spiritual mother of Atem's potential heir. While it is unfortunate this did not occur, I King Seto, will pray that this passing soul meet with her lover again. This is my gift to you, Atem, take her in your arms as you once did."

The doctor's voice was almost soothing to listen to while she read the note from his cousin. He was unaware that he wrote such a thing. Although Seto would never admit to it anyway. His heart had already become heavy just from the words, but the next object handed to him is what finally dropped his stiff expression. In her hand was a photo.

"This is a digital rendition of her scanned remains. I hope the artists portrayed her as close as possible to what you remember." She observed Atem as he took the item and looked at the image with piercing eyes. "I can tell from your expression that it must be fairly accurate. So before you think of another lie, I'd advise you just come clean and answer a few more of my questions."

Atem stared at the photo for a good minute. It was as if he was taken back in time. Her coffee colored skin, the sapphire eyes, supple lips, and even her intricately braided black hair. An index finger slightly caressed the photo.

"You know, I never thought I'd have this topic brought up since I left for the afterlife. Even my priests don't really bring this up." He placed the photo face-down on the sofa. "Clearly your boss really wants to pull all the skeletons out of my closet. So go on ahead with your questions. I've caught been red handed."

His tone felt very sarcastic, almost angry. It was understandable. This was a very tender subject. She certainly had a lot of unpacking to do with him, that is if he would allow it.

"Teana was her name yes?"

He remained silent and nodded.

"Okay." She wrote in her notebook. "Now it said in the inscription that she was considered as your lover. Would you care to elaborate on your relationship with her?"

He sucked in his lips for a moment. "I was involved with her definitely."

"Atem…" Dr. Saito had to not get frustrated with him. "I understand the term is more modern, but would you consider her your girlfriend at the time? That you two were monogamous?"

Atem shrugged his shoulders. "Uh…we weren't really in a committed relationship. It was more of an arrangement."

"For marriage possibly?"

He quickly shook his head. "No. We weren't planning on getting married. Don't even think that would have worked out even if we wanted to."

"Was there a friendship or just a purely sexual arrangement?"

"I really don't understand what this has to do with anything. What does an old mistress have to do with preparing to figure out why the hell I'm back here?! Or what happed to the Quantum Cube?!" He nearly stood up from his seat.

"We need to make sure you are sound for this journey. Whatever we are dealing with has severe psychological effects on those involved. So we'd rather bring up old wounds and baggage here than out in the field. So please, I know this isn't easy but we need to go through this process, Atem."

The Egyptian took a few deep breathes. I guess this was going to come up eventually. "Alright. Alright. Yeah, I slept with her. A lot. Well, a lot for the six months I knew her."

"Okay so a royal mistress. Would you say you got along with her outside the bedroom?"

Atem grinded his teeth. "I never liked that term, but even our friends at the time used to call her that. My mistress. And, yeah, we were able to strike a conversation. Of course I admired her profession as a dancer. Quite the artform I must admit."

Dr. Saito scribbled again. "I can't help but notice this mistress of yours seems to be very similar to one of your current friends. Ms. Gardener right?"

He nodded. "Probably a case of reincarnation. Just like your boss."

"Well, you didn't sleep with my boss in ancient times, so let us keep this on you. I am aware that you are scheduled to see your friends in a couple months. My next inquiry will whether you have feelings for your friend Tea just as you did for her ancient counterpa…"

Atem chuckled aloud breaking the doctor's concentration. "How'd I figure that was coming huh?" He scratched his chin. "I mean yeah I like her. She's gorgeous and a great dancer. But I left, so any of those feelings are pretty much null and void right?"

"Left as in going into the afterlife, correct?"

Atem nodded. "Yes."

She flicked her pen's spring. "Does it bother you knowing that Ms. Gardener is reported to be in a relationship with your former vessel Mr. Muto?"

To the therapist's surprise the man cracked a smile for the first time this either session. "Not at all. I've actually been trying to edge him on about perusing her for the years I was sharing his body. I'm glad that they are finally together."

"Good to see you are positive about the situation. Being a supportive friend fits your profile." She sighs. "I just can't help but think you are holding in a lot of unresolved grief. From your past relationship, the loss of an heir, and…"

He held up his slayed out hand. "Hold up. Loss of an heir? I never had any children. I was a young king."

"Is it not a reasonable assumption that all the time you privately spent with Teana didn't at some point result in a pregnancy. It is even suggested in Seto's note to you that she was at some point…"

"No. There was no child period."

Dr. Saito wrote as she spoke to Atem. "I never said the pregnancy kept. Its seems she lost…"

"Stop. Just stop." His voice almost came out like roar. "Look take this information…my response…however you may want. Write you notes. Report it to Kaiba. I don't really care at this point. Just know this thing you brought up…it WASN'T meant to be. Okay? Never was and never will be. End of story." He took a quick glance at his phone clock. "I'd say we are in overtime, so if you'd excuse me, I'll see you next week."

Dr. Saito could not stop him from practically leaping out of his seat and speed walking out of the room. But she couldn't let him go without saying something.

"Atem! You won't always be able to walk away from this. If you can't talk to me about it then at least find someone you can trust to confide in."

The Egyptian stopped in his place for a moment. His fists were clenched. He wanted to say something, but couldn't find any sort of retort to relay to his therapist. Instead, Atem absorbed her words with an open heart. Still her words of advice could not calm the intense emotion rising in him from her recent inquiries. Instead of responding with something hostile or rude, Atem continued to walk out of the room. He was kind enough not to slam the door, but Dr. Saito could sense the frustration seeping from her client. A part of her knew this session would end something like this. At least he didn't explode on her. Though surely he was damn near close to it.

Atem hastily walked to his designated room. He never truly felt at home in this mansion. It felt more like an extended hotel visit. Finally entering the closest thing he had to privacy, a short woman with wild wavy hair and emerald eyes sat on his maroon colored bed, kicking her feet in a childlike manner. The old king jolted.

"For the love of Ra!" He took a breath. "May I ask what is the occasion for this visit?"

The woman frowned. "Wow I can't visit one of my best friend's? Geez you've really become a grouch in your old age."

"Well, I apologize if I may seem that way, but I haven't exactly had the best day."

"Oh, I'm aware." Mana tapped her fingers on her lap. "I couldn't help but tune into your session today."

Atem peered daggers at the mage. "I thought you and Mahad agreed that those were private been me and Dr. Saito."

"And we honor that agreement entirely. But then Mahad sensed you were on the verge of killing somebody and well, we chimed in at the end."

He couldn't help but chuckle. "Why do you always have to exaggerate everything? Okay so I was a little aggravated. I wasn't going to hurt anyone."

"Atem, Mahad was able to see what your therapist was handing to you. The documents…that picture…"

He bit the inside of his cheek before joining the woman on the bed. "I can't say I'm completely surprised that they would go this far in digging up my past. What did surprise me is my dear cousin didn't mention he left that note and had her buried in a would-be royal tomb. Little details I would have liked to know when I came back into the fold ya know?"

She shrugged. "You know how Seto is with mushy shit like that. And I told you we made sure she was well taken care of."

"Still." Atem looked down for a moment. "I guess you guys heard the questions she was asking me about her."

"Yeah." Mana placed her hand on his. "I didn't think she meant any harm though. She probably just wanted to know if that trauma was still affecting you after all these years."

"I know she isn't trying to hurt me but perhaps I'd deal with it a little better if I just forget about it."

She gasped. "And dishonor her memory like that? Just pretending all of this didn't happen?"

"She moved on Mana." His leg started to bounce up and down. A tick he hated for developing. "Got married and had her own family. Something I couldn't provide her, so it's only fair I move on too."

The mage leaned a bit. "I'm sure she would have stayed in the palace had she not had that miscar…"

"Don't!" Atem caught his breath. "Like I told Dr. Saito; it just wasn't meant to be."

Mana stood up. "So, what about Tea huh? I know you have feelings for her."

"She's with my better half. Like she should be." He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Now if you would so kind, I'd like to be alone for a while. I've got quite the headache."

She sighed in defeat. "Sure, get some rest Atem. But just know I think you've been alone for much too long."

With that the female mage, dissipated in the air.

Finally some peace and quiet. The Egyptian thought to himself. Perhaps his dreams could provide him with an unconscious comfort.

Can you believe this was going to be longer? Figured the extra parts I wanted to include would be better off in the next chapter. Anyway, you know the drill, please like you Favorite, Follows, and much appreciated Reviews and I will catch you all next time!