Hi readers,

I hope you enjoy chapter two. I especially liked writing this chapter, so I hope you enjoy it too.

-ForeverLilly

**Also, According to Wikipedia, "ankh, wedja, seneb" means life, prosperity, health. It was used with the names of the Pharaoh.

Higher Stakes Chapter 2: A bittersweet reunion

Yugi couldn't wait to get home. It was cold, the rain was assaulting him with large bullets, and his daughter was waiting for him for him to come home from work. There was something unsettling about the evil looking darkness in the sky. Maybe it was his time with the Pharaoh that made him a little paranoid, but nevertheless he picked up the pace.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw a figure cloaked in black come towards him. He hurried yet again but before he knew it something hard was pressed to his head.

"You are not to yell; do you understand me?" he couldn't remember hearing the voice before, but it felt familiar.

Yugi visualized the coolness of the Pharaoh's face when he dueled and took a breath. "I understand."

"Tell me where I can find the Nameless Pharaoh." He opened up his mouth to lie but he was silenced. That man was radiating smugness. It was clear that he had the advantage, and Yugi didn't like it one bit.

"I feel that I must inform you that it is in your own best interest to tell the truth. How easy it would be to find your precious daughter and give her a little greeting. Or maybe your wife would prefer a visit instead? I hear she is quite a charming woman, I would very much like to meet her."

Violence wasn't in Yugi's nature-that was what drew him to Duel monsters as young man as way to settle conflicts without fighting-but this was one of the handful of times in his life that he wanted to deck someone. "I won't."

A click sounded near his ear. "Are you sure?"

"I wouldn't tell you even if I knew, which I don't. Thieves, historians, and archaeologists have all been searching for five thousand years. If they haven't found it, what makes you think that I could?"

"You've even more stubborn than I remember Yugi. You look like him too-you've quite clearly grown out of your shrimpy stage."

A gasp escaped before he could stop it. "Who are you?"

"Why Yugi, I'm hurt that you don't remember me. But I do suppose that is has been quite a while. Five thousand years, perhaps?" A cloak bearing a striking resemble to the one worn by the Rare Hunters was thrown to the floor. It revealed a man with snowy hair and pale skin and a look in his eyes that he'd recognize anywhere.

"Yami Bakura! How did you -"

"Escape the shadows? The shadows know me Yugi. Instead of tormenting me they helped me to find my way back here. I will have my revenge on the Pharaoh; I will steal the millennium items. Even if he is gone he will know-A part of him will always be connected to the puzzle just like a part of me will always be connected the ring. But enough stalling Yugi, give me the location of the tomb and I'll let your family live."

"Never," he growled.

"Then what shall I do with you? I could always send you to the shadow realm, but I've grown rather fond of these…" he waved the metallic gun around. "Perhaps I'll duel you for old time's sake."

The assumption didn't surprise Yugi, but he didn't carry a deck everywhere anymore. The realization caused dread to fall into the pit of his stomach. He was done for. "I don't have a deck on me."

The formerly Great Thief King nearly dropped his gun. "The Great King of Games doesn't carry a deck around with him?"

"It's been a long time. I have a son that's that same age that I was when I met you. I've taken over my grandfather's business and I have a family. I duel for fun sometimes, but my life hasn't been in danger since the world of the Pharaoh's memories."

Once again Yami Bakura stared at him with barely concealed shock. "Well…" Yugi reconsidered, "There was that one guy during that tournament…but I haven't had to worry about that in a long time."

"Then tell me where it is!" Bakura demanded. "If you tell me I might consider letting you live."

"I told you, I don't know!"

Bakura pointed the gun at Yugi's chest. "Any last words?"

This was it. He was going to die and now he had just condemned his family to the same fate. His heart pounded in his chest. "My family has nothing to do with this-"

A bang echoed down the dark alley way that he couldn't remember walking to and felt a sudden intense pain in his chest before falling to the ground.

When Yugi woke up was on a bed breathing in balmy air that smelled of exotic spices that he couldn't name.

"Yugi." The voice was deep, affectionate, and tinged with bittersweet happiness. It was a voice that he could not bring himself to forget no matter how many times he wished he could in hopes of making the pain go away.

"Pharaoh?" He tried to sit up and was met with intense pain. Gentle hands pushed him down. "Easy Yugi, do you remember what happened?"

"No Pharaoh I don't…I've been shot." It sounded so strange. In the many times that he had confronted the possibility of his own death he had never even considered a gun.

Atem nodded."That's right. The Thief King shot you in the chest. You're lucky that he missed any vital organs. Otherwise, you'd be dead."

Yugi was confused. How had he survived that? "You mean I'm not dead?"

"No Yugi, you're not. You're here because you'll recover faster here. You are family Yugi, and such bonds are sacred, that is why I was able to bring you here."

The Pharaoh smiled sadly."The last time I saw you, you were little more than a child. You could barely fathom taking a girl on date to burger world. Now you're a grown man."

Yugi smiled widely. He couldn't stop the feeling of giddiness that overwhelmed him." I wasn't that young! But still…A lot has changed since then. I've married my soul mate and we have a daughter named Akari. She's the best thing that's ever happened to us, so it's only fitting that we'd give her a name that means light. She's the best part of Tea and I. She has her mother's kindness and my stubbornness." He smiled. "We've agreed that our first son-if we have one-will be named Joseph. If it's a girl she'll be named Mai."

"Who is it, if you don't mind me asking? It's Tea isn't it?"Yugi grinned.

This time the pharaoh smiled a real, joyful smile, one that did not hint at the bittersweet memory of the last time they had seen each other. He was genuinely happy for Yugi. "I'm glad that you've finally decided to stop being so dense. I was worried that she'd give up on you."

"You knew and you didn't tell me?"

"It was something that you needed to find out for yourself. Honda figured it out. Even Joey knew. I knew that you would too, eventually."

Suddenly something occurred to Yugi. "Wait a minute, if I'm here…my family's still in danger." Yugi jerked up again and caused himself more pain.

The Pharaoh pushed him back into bed. "You need to stop doing that Yugi. You're here to recover, not get worse. They are fine. Mahad and Mana are watching over them. In most circumstances we can't directly interfere but they still have a few tricks up their sleeves."

Yugi didn't pretend to understand everything that was happening to him. For all he knew, days could have passed or it could only have been seconds. "So how does all of this work?"

"Hm?"

"You know, I'm here, so does that mean that I've just disappeared and everything's happening at the same time as there? Or is there a difference in the way time works here? There has to be some sort of difference; you don't look like you've changed a bit!"

"You may not be dead but I am. But yes, there is something to the theory that time isn't the same here. I can't explain it myself, but it seems that time passes more slowly here than…" there was a short pause in which the pharaoh tried to find the most tactful way to put it, "where you're from."

Yugi really liked the sound of that. Less time passing meant that there was still a chance to protect his family. He hoped…

"What now? Am I supposed to wait while they are in danger?"

"No Yugi, you just have to wait for Isis to arrive. Normally injuries like these require magic to heal, but because Mahad and Mana are both protecting your family, Isis will treat you instead. After you are successfully healed you may leave." The way he narrowed his eyes told Yugi that he meant business. It was the same face that he wore when someone put them in danger. In this case he must have considered Yugi a danger to himself.

Atem pulled up a chair and sat next to the bed. "It looks like you could use the rest anyway. You're almost as busy as I am!" Yugi stared and when Atem saw the expression on his face he laughed. "You, Tea, Tristan, and Joey will always be my friends. I like to keep up with what you're doing-it's nice to know that everything's alright there. You run the shop, take care of your grandfather, raise your children, make appearances at the duel academy, and attend Kaiba's and Pegasus' tournaments…it's a wonder that you even find the time to sleep."

A smile crept across Yugi's face. "Actually, I don't duel as much anymore. My family and the shop come first. Things got so hectic that I was afraid of losing sight of what's important, so I cut back. It's not easy…but I love my life. I wouldn't have it any other way. Not even this…" gestured towards the still bleeding wound. "It brought me here didn't it? I never turn down a chance to see my old friends."

"I never hoped to see you like this…I had hoped that you'd be old and grey and die surrounded by grand children playing card games on motorcycles."

"What?"

"The point is that you're supposed to live a long time-preferably without being injured on my behalf. Thank you Yugi, for keeping my secret, although I would have understood if you could not keep it. You have a family to look after."

Yugi was insulted. "I'm not a child anymore. Sometimes we have to be willing to stand up for ourselves and…stick to our guns," he smiled.

The joke made the pharaoh unhappy, clearly, because his face grew grim as he stood up. "I must leave for a few moments. I will return shortly with Isis."

"Alright," he nodded. "Thank you."

In about five minutes (according to Yugi's best guess) the Pharaoh returned with Isis, as promised.

Isis looked exactly the same as the last time he had seen her. "It is a pleasure to meet you. I have heard much about you." Isis greeted him. "And might I say, you look remarkably like our Pharaoh! Yugi, please lay down. I am not a healer, but I do have some skill with healing."

With hands placed just above the wound whispered just barely loud enough for him to hear, "Great goddess Isis, I your humble servant, ask that you grant me the gift of healing so that I may serve the pharaoh as I have sworn to do in all things."

She laid her hand over yugi's heart and closed her eyes. "Ankh, wedja, seneb!"

Before his eyes the wound began to close. Although he tried not to think about it, he could feel it He ignored his discomfort and looked from his leg to Isis in astonishment. "Incredible! You did it!"

"I am no healer, so I am afraid that it will scar, but what matters is that your health has much improved."

"Thank you Priestess Isis; I owe you my life," Yugi said with a bow of gratitude.

In response Isis bowed to him. "There is no need to bow to me. You are the one who should be honored, not me. You were the vessel of our Pharaoh. It was you who saved his soul."

Yugi smiled a bittersweet smile. He remembered how he was bullied as a child. Years of that sort of treatment could leave someone cold, distrustful, and frightened. It could twist you into a bitter person and leave a permanent stain. It was the Pharaoh who built him up into a more confident, more determined person and kept that from happening. "And he saved mine. I will never forget that." When he saw the pharaoh hovering in the doorway he knew that he would have to leave soon.

"I'm ready."

His old friend put a hand on his shoulder. "Yes, you are. Go in peace with my blessing and my support! I may not be there in person, but I will always be by your side."

"I know," Yugi said with a smile. "Now we, uh, I mean I should go. I need to stop Bakura!"

A flash of bright light lit the room and Yugi found himself standing where he had earlier encountered Yami Bakura. "I need to find them fast!" He muttered under his breath, and then he took off running towards his house. Luckily he knew an alternate short cut that he doubted Bakura knew. He was wrong. One should never underestimate the King of Thieves.

"I shouldn't be surprised that you're still alive. I imagine that you're still standing here thanks to… divine intervention," He smirked, "But you can hardly be so lucky a second time."

This time Yugi actually agreed with him. Luck had to run out some time. Well, if he was going to die, he was going to die defending his family with everything he had, which admittedly wasn't much at the moment. The Ally had nothing that could double as weapon, since when were alleys supposed to be clean? Weren't they supposed to be littered with trash or something?

He saw a brief flash of light and took it as a sign. Suddenly he was aware of something heavy in his pocket.

"Well Bakura, it seems like the tide has turned," he smirked.

The man appeared seemingly out of nowhere. "And why is that?"

"Because I have this!" He pulled two cards. He didn't know if it would work, maybe their spirits were still with his family, but he had to give it a shot. "Dark Magician, Dark Magician Girl, I summon you. Please come to my aid!"

They appeared in front of him with a respectful nod.

With a smirk, Bakura grabbed the Diabound card and held it up."Well then, if that's the case…Diabound, take care of these two once and for all!"

Yugi took a deep breath to steady his nerves and prepared to defend himself any moment. He planted his feet firmly on the ground and narrowed his eyes. Although it had never occurred to him before, being in his current position was like stepping into old shoes. It came way more naturally to him than he ever hoped it would for daughter. He was proud of himself as a kid, but as a parent, he would have been terrified if it had been his kid risking his soul in mad men's games. "Give it up Bakura. You lost the first two times-you aren't going to win again."

Bakura laughed. "And who will stop me?"

"I will."

"With your two puny magicians? If I recall I'm the reason they are in this form in the first place."

Someone like Bakura who had been steeped in the darkness for so long was incapable of understanding that the strongest force in the world could transcend even death."You're wrong Bakura! They chose to stay behind in this form because of the strength of their loyalty and friendship, things you'd know nothing about! Friendship is stronger than any hatred. Haven't you learned that by now?" Dark Magician, Dark Magician Girl, you know what to do!" Yugi was startled. For a moment he felt as though his words weren't his own, and thought that he saw someone standing by his side.

"Without the puzzle you're worthless!" He taunted. "You're still the same scared little boy. You should give up now and save yourself the trouble."

"You're wrong. I don't need the puzzle anymore in order to be strong. I get my strength from my friends and my family. No amount of distance could take away everything that the Pharaoh has taught me!"

Light filled the ally and dust began to swirl into the air. Diabound was nowhere to be seen, and Bakura was unconscious. For some reason Yugi himself felt exhausted too. He pushed the feeling away. He couldn't afford to focus on that. He had been in worse condition before and there were things that needed to be done.

Dark Magician girl turned towards Yugi and smiled apologetically. "By ourselves we aren't strong enough to defeat Diabound, but we've bought you some time."

Dark Magician added, "He will be unable to access his ka to use Diabound, but the effect is only temporary. One day he must be confronted. It does not have to be you-you've done much for the pharaoh-but someone must face him."

It had to be Yugi, even if he did it alone. After his time with the Pharaoh and everything he had done for him, after all of his experience fighting for the safety of his friends and the world he felt that he was the one who had the duty to fight and the best chance of survival."We'll be ready." Yugi said with determination. If his deck had to come out of retirement so be it.

Mahad bowed reverently.

"Thank you Yugi, both for defending our Pharaoh and for what you've done for him." Mana said with a smile.

"What?"

She paused, trying to find the right way to phrase it. "He was my friend before, but he had a sort of harshness that he hasn't had since he met you. He's become a warmer person, and it's all thanks to you!" At first Yugi had wanted to protest, but she was right about his harshness. There had been a time when the Pharaoh had believed that the ends justified the means no matter the cost, and it had frightened him. To think that someone so ruthless had occupied his body for any amount of time had terrified him. What Yugi didn't add was that it wasn't just Yugi that had brought about the change in him. All of their friends were there to support him.

"Mana, please be more careful about what you say about the Pharaoh!" Mahad chastised. "That is not for you to judge! Being pharaoh is a great responsibility, and he had many worries on his shoulders. However," he added, "I am inclined to agree with her. He has grown stronger because of you. So thank you." He then turned to face his pupil.

"Now come, student, we have work to attend to."

Mana pouted. "Aw! I wanted to-"

"Mana!" He shot a harsh glare.

She sighed. "Yes teacher."
"I haven't been your teacher in a long time. Thank the gods for that!"

"But you'll always be my favorite teacher!" she winked. Together they vanished without a trace.

Yugi wondered briefly about what they had been doing for all this time. Almost as soon as he thought it he changed focus. "I need to go home to make sure they're safe." He ran home faster than he could ever remember running. He took every short cut and alley that he could think of. "Please let them be okay," he desperately panted as he rounded the corner to his home.

He twisted the door knob and found that it was locked. He stuck his key I in the lock and turned. He wasn't sure what he would find. His heart pounded as he twisted the knob and entered. Broken glass from the lamp littered the floor and there were strange marks on the walls. Were those burn marks?

He made his way to the broom closet guessing that Tea had probably hid there.

Before he could register what was going he felt something cold pressing against his neck. "What have you done with Yugi!" She yelled.

"Tea, it's me! I'm so glad you're safe. I was so worried about you!"

"Liar! Yugi's dead. Bakura said so!" She shouted.

He gave a nervous laugh. "Since when do you believe anything that comes out of his mouth? I'm alive and I'm standing right here. The Pharaoh saved me!" The hands that had been restraining him were removed.

"Oh Yugi!" She dropped the knife and engulfed him in a tight hug. You're safe! Akari and I were so worried about you!"

"How is she?"

"She's too much like you. When Bakura and his henchmen showed up at the house she grabbed your deck while I grabbed the knife and tried to fight him. The Dark Magician and Dark Magician girl protected us."

"I'm just glad she's okay!"

"Dad?" A voice called from behind him. "You're back!" The girl ran up to her dad and hugged him. "You're okay! He told us you were dead, but I knew you were alive the whole time!"

"Yes, I'm fine. They're gone for now. I'll explain everything in the living room, I promise."

So the family sat down on the couch. Yugi and his wife exchanged questioning glances. Exactly how much did their sixteen year old need to know?

"Akari, I need you to promise me something."

"Promise me that you won't interrupt. It's a long and complicated story."

"Okay." And so, with Tea's hand resting on his knee he began to tell the story of Atem.

"So much has happened at once that we didn't want to overwhelm you with too much information at once, but now I think that it's time to tell you about the Pharaoh." He had her attention now. She had been pestering him for information since that night she was cornered into a shadow game, but he was hesitant to tell her because he wasn't sure how to handle it. Would she have been safer if she could claim plausible deniability? Now that his theory had been proven wrong he had no choice. "Around five thousand years ago seven items were created by a pharaoh to protect Egypt. These items, known as the millennium items, each had a specific ability that could only be harnessed by someone who was fated to use them. Although these items could be used for something good, they came at a terrible cost. These items are called the millennium items. I've told you about them before, right?"

"Like the puzzle that Bakura guy kept going on about?"

"Yes. I used to wear one. You can it see in some of my pictures from high school"

"Awesome! Can I see it?"

"I don't have it anymore. Now, I thought we had agreed on no interruptions?"

Akari smiled sheepishly, "Sorry."

"This was back in the time when humans could use their spirits to summon monsters to fight each other, which is the origin of duel monsters. The son of the Pharaoh who created the millennium items became the target for a very clever thief bent on revenge. In order to take his revenge he summoned an evil creature to destroy the world as he knew it. In order to stop this, the Pharaoh sealed his soul inside of the millennium puzzle and his memories and his name were erased from history in order to protect the world."

"How was that supposed to protect us?"She wondered.

That was something that he and the pharaoh had both wondered in the beginning."Think of it like protecting computer files with a password," He responded. "It took five thousand years for them to resurface-my grandpa was a part of the team that found it, so it laid in the back of the shop for years until he gave it to me.

When I put the puzzle together I awoke the spirit of the pharaoh. We became friends, and your mom, Uncle Tristan, Uncle Joey and I helped him to get his memories back and discover his name. It wasn't easy-we had to obtain and protect all of the millennium items and then take them to Egypt in order to enter the world of his memories. That meant that we had to fight off people who wanted the power for themselves. One of the biggest threats was spirit of the millennium ring, who had tried to destroy the world. One of my schoolmates became the owner of millennium ring, which meant that when we made it to Egypt and went into the past he was the one we fought. I'm not sure how he came back, but that was him you saw tonight, not Bakura. Somehow the ring found it's way back to Bakura and took over his body. He's gone for now, but he'll be back. Mana and Mahad said that they were able to temporarily keep Bakura from using Diabound, but it won't stop him permanently."

"Who's Mana and Mahad?"

"The magicians who protected you and your mom. Mana and Mahad were magicians who served the Pharaoh. They died protecting him, and they took the form of their duel spirits, which we call the Dark Magician and Dark Magician Girl. When Bakura shot me-"

Tea gasped and immediately ran to him and began checking for injuries."He shot you? Why didn't you tell you idiot? We need to get you to the-"

"It's healed."

"What?"

"When I nearly died I spoke to the Pharaoh and Isis saved me."

"Oh Yugi!" a tear slid down her cheek. "We came so close to losing you!"

Yugi squeezed her hand. "You didn't. The Pharaoh was looking out for us. He sent Mana and Mahad to help us."

"Why didn't you tell me all of this before now?" Akari asked with wide eyes.

"It's dangerous. We had to wait until you were old enough to understand how serious this is. Some of the stuff we did as teenagers was very dangerous. Do you remember text books talking about that odd phenomenon where duel monster look-alikes took over the city? Did they tell you about that time the weather began acting strange and it was as dark as night for several days?"

He nodded. "Both of the those times the world was about to end." That first time was a Prince of Atlantis trying to destroy the world, the second time was the being summoned by the Thief nearly destroying the world."

"Oh."

"Yes, 'oh'. I'm not telling you this to frighten you."

Tea added, "We just want to protect you. For now you'll need to carry your deck with you at all times. With that being said, we expect that you'll turn around and run unless there is no other choice, do you understand?"

"Mom! You and dad both saved the world when you were teenagers."

"And we nearly died and had our souls stolen. We don't want you to have to go through what we did." Yugi firmly said.

Tea added,"They may try to force you into a shadow game, which is why you need a deck that you believe in. Pay close attention at the duel academy from now on."

Yugi nodded in agreement and added, "Never go anywhere alone, always carry your cellphone, and always tell us where you are. Okay?"

"Okay, so now what?"

"We prepare. I'll make a few calls to my friends in Egypt. This time we'll be ready. He'll try to challenge us again and we cannot let him win!"

"Alright! We'll totally kick his-"

"Language!" Tea chastised.

"If by we you mean your mother, uncles, aunts and I, then yes. You will stay away from all of this."

"But dad!" whined Akari. "I'm a duelist. I can help too!"

"No buts! This is going to be dangerous and we don't want you anywhere near it." If Yugi had to play the bad guy then so be it. There was no way his daughter was getting involved in all of this.

"Fine. I'm going to go do some homework."

Tea turned to Yugi. "Did I just hear what I thought I heard? Since when does she do her summer assignments without being badgered?"

"I guess we're both going insane then."

"Yugi…" Tea trailed off.

"Yes Tea?"

"Did you really see him?"

"Yes."

"Oh Yugi!" She threw her arms around him. "That must have been hard for you."

He held her and took comfort in the soft floral perfume she was wearing. He had never been so terrified, but his visit with the Pharaoh had helped him to gather his courage. So even though had been a little sad, seeing the pharaoh had hardly been hard for him. In some ways it was as natural breathing or blinking."We've had years to come to terms with it. "Besides, he's never left us. He's always been with us. Death couldn't stop a friendship like ours," he reassured her. Suddenly it occurred to him that he needed to tell his friends. They were in danger too."Speaking of friends, we need to tell them."

"I'll get Joey on the phone." She quickly dialed his number. "Joey , you'll never believe what's happened!"

Author's Note #2: Hi guys! Thanks so much for reading and reviewing! I love the Pharaoh's relationship with Yugi-I always saw him as a mentor or maybe an older brother to Yugi. I absolutely loved writing about it. I think that people often underestimate how important friendships are and how much losing them can hurt (I know they never stopped being friends, but parting ways must have hurt them both). That's why I love them meeting again!

Also, I just had to point out how young they were. They were forced into fighting the forces of evil while they were still teenagers. I couldn't imagine watching that happen as a parent, so Yugi is especially horrified at the thought of his own kid going through that. Thanks for reading and please review!

-ForeverLily