Disclaimer; I still don't own YGO!

::Ryou to Bakura::

:Bakura to Ryou:

::Yuugi to Atemu::

:Atemu to Yuugi:

Do you know how frustrating it was to come up with something easy for the mental communication?! I hope what I finally did won't confuse you all. And you know... Why are you all so worried about Ryou? It's sweet really... but didn't I manage to give some gravity to Yuugi and Atemu's situation? /snort/ Just for that, I think I really should have had the first paragraph in this chapter as the last paragraph in the last chapter, so Yuugi would have gotten some attention! Well, not much to do about it, eh? Hope you like this chapter, and this is the last one before the epilogue!

And once again, THANK YOU all of you who reviewed! I heart you all!

i-love-Bakura1489; Heh, heh. Yup, another cliffie. But I think that's the last cliffie in the series. You think that? Thank you! I was trying to keep a certain nobility to him and at the same time keep him as a youth. And if I know it right, he's 15/16, possibly 17, and Bakura is 22/23. Old, ain't he? XD

Pharaoh Atemu's Angel; Thanks, and here. Next chapter!

YamiShadowcat22; Thank you. And yes, in this chappie it will be cleared up what happened with Ryou and Yuugi. A cookie to you for actually wondering what happened with Yuugi. And about the beings, you were one third right, Ra is in there.

Chika of the high Mts; O.o;;; Ryou being mistaken for the assassin? Interesting idea, but have no fear! That's not what happened.

Chibi B-channie; Hee, more BakuraxRyou fluffiness! And all your questions are answered in this chappie!

Hales713; Poo, rambling is fun! I checked your bio and, yay, you like Fullemetal too! XD Luffly isn't it? Anyway... yup, just dumping the memories on poor Atemu would probably not be very smart. Besides, there would have been no story otherwise! And the formatting for thoughts... I dunno, it's just that I've always have used the double slash... /shrug/. And the mental communication are being used in this chappie! I just hope it's not confusing... bleh.

Crimson-Eyed-Angel99; Glad you liked it! /hearts you for all the nice things you said/ And Ryou's fate is revealed in this chapter.

KNT; I'm just happy you review when you do! /glomps back/

The Sabbit; Yeah, Egypt is great, isn't it! XD And as for the beings, you had one third right too, Ra is there. Eheh.. Ryou's around and who killed Atemu... eh, it's a plot device, but the assassin itself isn't very special, the poor person was used as a catalyst for something else! Glad you liked it!

SoulDreamer; Thank you! XD Next update here!

Janie in da House; /snickers/ Yeah, I would have been worried if it was you who took him, simply because it would be hard to continue the story, buut, you'll find out where he went in this chapter!

Cenaia; Thank you, I try my best, since bad grammar and spelling is something I abhor.

Chapter 6: The Darkest Hour is Before the Dawn

"Look out!" Yuugi pushed Atemu away, almost stumbling before he got there since he'd more or less thrown himself off the horse, just as a sharp pain pierced him. Distantly he could hear the scream of thunder as the lightning flashed, but he wasn't too aware of anything but the shuddering beat of the blood in his veins. Fire in his back, comforting and familiar arms around him, the blood rushing in his ears, and he vaguely heard someone calling his name. A familiar voice at that. He should probably answer. Absently he wondered if he would die here. This was the afterlife/past and he was from the real world/the future... could he die here then? Wouldn't that be strange?

"Yes, mou hitori no boku?" The whisper ending in a weak cough which brought up a bubble of blood that rose from inside the injured boy, was barely audible in the suddenly very loud sound of falling water, the shouting guards and their footsteps seemingly having faded away in the distance. Atemu's hands shook as he tried to keep a steady grip on the suddenly too pale boy, despite the tan he'd gotten by spending so much time outside, in his arms. He could feel blood running down the slender back, soaking the cloak and being washed away by the rain. Nonsensically he thought that at least the cloak was red, so the blood wouldn't be visible... Then the words of the sentence Yuugi had spoken slammed into him like a freight-train (how did he know what a freight-train was? He'd never seen one in his whole life... they didn't exist here! Wait...), it wasn't ancient Egyptian... but yet so familiar... what... which language...?

conscious returning in a flash and taking over the small boy, Puzzle laying in front of him like a golden beacon, taking care of that towering bully, meeting the tomb robber in a RPG tabletop game, his grandpa's soul being taken, fighting for it, the disastrous fight against Kaiba in Pegasus' castle, making himself known to the gentle boy who was his light, winning back all the lost souls Pegasus had stolen, then Battle City, the arrival of Malik and his psychotic and dark other half, then again the tomb robber, and finally the duel against his light, and loosing... being free to go forward into his afterlife... but

"I'm sorry, so sorry. Should never have left... I'm so sorry! AIBOU!!" The scream sundered the air, the day darkened by the clouds, heavy sheets of rain still falling, and all the world seemed to have stilled.

The exit up to the 'roof' was only there as a look-out spot, since you couldn't get up or down from that hill from the outside. Ba-khu-ra ran, more upset at Ryou's disappearance than he wanted to admit, even to himself. /That brat better be up there or I will kill him! Is he stupid? Didn't he see the storm clouds?!/ Thundering up the stairs that led up to the roof he had to slow down the closer he came to the opening; there was no door between the stairs and the outside so the rain was being blown in freely by the wind and making the steps slippery and dangerous.

Stopping a few steps below the opening to calm himself down he then straightened and squared his shoulders. It wasn't as if Ryou wouldn't be there. And if he isn't... not finishing that thought, Ba-khu-ra walked out on the top of the hill, eyes narrowed. Luckily, for the sake of his sanity and Ryou's health, he saw the boy the second the stepped out into the howling wind and furious storm.

Lightning crashed down around them every few seconds, making the intervals seem unnaturally silent, even the wind being blotted out by the deafening crashes of sound from the force of nature dancing all around them. The thief was about to stalk up to Ryou and drag him forcibly inside, but something made him stop. The long, silvery hair was plastered to his skull and shoulders, rain streaming down his face and upper body, as he apparently had neglected to wear his robes. Slender, pale arms were flung to the sides, as if embracing the wind and rain and his head was thrown back, eyes closed. Laughter rang out between the thunder, free and strong, and Ba-khu-ra couldn't remember ever seeing Ryou this happy. Wait... he'd met Ryou little more than over a week ago, so how could he know Ryou's moods enough to tell that he'd never seen him happier?

"Bakura!" Ryou's voice rang out in the silence between one flash and the next and the tomb robber looked up, into that ecstatic face, blue eyes sparking with life while one arm was extended towards him, hand up in invitation. This was also new... Ryou had never invited him willingly before... Where did that come from?! What...

taking over the boy at several occasions, sealing the souls of his friends and enemies into miniatures for the tabletop RPG games he so liked, moving, meeting the holder of the Puzzle, trying to take it, failing, trying so many more times to acquire what he hadn't been able to while alive, wanting the stupid Pharaoh to SUFFER as he had done, not treating the boy very well, but what did it matter? He was alive after all, and that should be enough for the weakling. And in the end, ultimate failure during the Ancient Egypt RPG, and loosing, loosing

Bakura staggered before catching himself, and this time when he looked up Ryou's hand twitched but he didn't withdraw it.

::Bakura?:: The question was simple, the sweetness of forgiveness and slight fear zinging through his brain, the connection pure and whole again. He wouldn't make the same mistake twice. If anything, he had learned that much. He strode up to where Ryou was standing, took his hand before roughly embracing his light, his other, pressing the shorter and younger boy into his own body.

"Never again, Ryou."

:Never again, little brother.:

The rain poured down on the two figures on top of the hill in the middle of nowhere, the almost invisible, dark shape of a town huddling at the edge of the hills with a magnificent palace sprawling above the city. But that didn't matter for the two on the hill; they just stood silently while the storm raged around them.

The darkness was absolute. First he didn't know if he was still unconscious or not, but the darkness was too lively, to full of energy to be any sort of unconsciousness. Looking around didn't reveal anything in particular, only more darkness and shadows... if that now was possible, for darkness to have shadows. So where was he..? Memory of what had happened suddenly made itself known and he looked around wildly. Was this what it was to it? Was it over for his part? Being stuck in the Shadow Realm for... well... the rest of his existence?

"Of course not, Guardian. We would not allow that." The silent, three-in-one, distant-but-close voice that rushed over him filled him with calm.

"Who are you?" He asked curiously, hoping the voice/es wouldn't be offended.

"You know us, Guardian. You have called on us before." And with something that could have resembled a flash of light (if light could be black but yet somehow lighter than the surroundings) Yuugi was surrounded by three utterly familiar, and terrifying in their presence, beings.

Stunned for a moment at the appearance of the three Gods, Yuugi collected himself and bowed.

"It was you who helped us, wasn't it? Thank you."

The three Gods of the Shadow Realm bowed their heads in deference to the young Pharaoh, and the golden-metallic Ra, his voice rumbling pleasantly through Yuugi, spoke.

"You were falling apart, little Pharaoh, you and the other Guardian. And since the Shadow Realm had been awakened, but not sealed away, after the duel that allowed your darker half his rest, we needed both of you whole in mind and spirit. That meant giving you the help you would need. Your will to change how things were, was enough to work with."

Yuugi frowned, and hesitantly spoke up after a few seconds.

"Not sealed away? Wasn't that what happened after my other... left." The last part had to be choked out, but the three beings waited patiently.

"Not really, Guardian. The Items were sealed away, but only in the most rudimentary of ways. Nothing permanent. And nothing was done about the Shadows. So we needed the primary Guardians' whole. And that meant bringing light and dark together. Which shouldn't really have been separated at all. We misjudged in that instance." The whisper-bellow of Osiris conceded, the frown apparent in its voice.

"Heal and rest, little Pharaoh. Heal and rest. The rest of your life will be spent in protecting the Shadows from the people and the people from the Shadows." The distant roar, so much like the storm that had broken loose just as he got injured, of Obelisk's voice echoed through the nothingness of the Shadow Realm and Yuugi found himself start to slip back into reality... or at least wakefulness. Then he realized they didn't know...

"How do we get home?" He called the now-distant shadows of the three Gods.

"The same way as you arrived, little Pharaoh." Came the far-away answer, ringing down from all around him, again in that three-in-one voice. And then there was no more darkness.

Dead silence reigned in the room, except for the continuous, soft slapping of feet against stone as the Pharaoh stalked back and forwards, a forbidding frown marring his face. No one dared to suggest that he should go rest, or leave the room, indeed, such an action would probably have met a very swift and unpleasant fate. Mana's large, brown eyes followed the young ruler as he paced, every now and then straying to the body on the bed, and she hoped that their guest would survive this. Because it was clear that if he didn't, they would not have a Pharaoh much longer. The rain had stopped come midnight, and now the creeping fingers of dawn was slowly lighting the sky, painting it in pale gold and oranges.

Atemu had never thought time could crawl as slowly as it had done these past hours. It had happened a few times before, heart-stopping moments of fear or insecurity, but never in the way it had felt this night. Especially this last hour, just before dawn had come, when the shadows had stubbornly lingered, cold seeping in from everywhere and Yuugi had seemed to stopped breathing every time he had exhaled. He did not dare to retreat to their shared mind in fear of finding nothing. In fear of finding the sunlit and messy room that housed his light's soul dark and cold, the bright and innocent soul it once had held gone. Because there was a very real possibility of Yuugi's mind already having fled and the body simply going on autopilot.

::Silly, silly Atemu. I wouldn't go before saying good-bye, my other.::

The dark-skinned man jerked as if he'd been shot, ruby-violet eyes widening. Had he even heard that? Was it just his imagination..?

"Mana? Did you hear something just now?"

The magician-apprentice looked up and shook her head, soft brown hair dancing around her face and delicate shoulders.

"No, Pharaoh-sama. Nothing..." The soft groan from the other side of the room interrupted the girl and both Mana and Atemu whipped around to stare at the bed. Had it only been their imagination? Another soft, almost imperceptible sound from the bed and one hand twitched slightly, and Atemu was up at the side of the bed immediately. Mana hopped of her chair and got to the door, retreating out of the room when she was the blinding (and very much not meant for the public) smile that suddenly spread across Atemu's face.

"Yuugi?" He didn't dare hope, so what was that happily glowing, shivering little ball in his stomach then?

"Y-yes?" the whisper sounded scratchy, and he almost missed it, but then those wide, brilliantly purple eyes fluttered open, and he couldn't contain the smile that threatened to break his insides in two if he kept it there any longer.

"I'm so-"

::Hush, my other. No excuses, everything's fine now, isn't it? You remember.::

Atemu was about to protest some more, everything wasn't alright. Yuugi was still hurt after all, but the fiercely determined expression (loosing much of its force due to Yuugi's paleness and the exhausted air around him) that graced Yuugi's face made him reconsider and he nodded obediently.

:If you say so, aibou.:

::I do. Now kiss me.::

Yuugi broke out into a bright smile and a few, weak giggles at Atemu's surprised sputtering.

"Yuugi!" But Atemu was smiling and bowed down over the bed, pressing a gentle kiss against his light's lips. When the darker half retreated Yuugi frowned and was about to protest, but Atemu raised a hand.

"Later, aibou. I promise. But you need to rest."

"I feel fine!" Yuugi said huffily, crossing his arms over his chest and glared frustrated at his other.

"Yes, but if you rest, you will continue to feel fine, and be allowed out of the bed that much faster." Atemu said patiently, a teasing smile lurking in the corners of his mouth. Yuugi pouted, before sticking his tongue out and smiled.

:Aibou... don't stick your tongue out if you aren't going to use it.: The Pharaoh thought mock-sternly to his other and Yuugi grinned cheekily.

"If you get down here, I'll use it alright!"

Atemu retreated then (with dignity of course, the Pharaoh of Khemet would never admit to fleeing out of a room in his own palace), hunted out of the room by Yuugi's bright and mischievous laughter.

"Yuugi-kun!"

The anxious shout by a familiar voice had Yuugi almost bouncing in bed.

"Ryou-kun! You're here! I knew Bakura would find you." He said with a grin and gave a soft oof and groan as Ryou enthusiastically (for Ryou) hugged him.

"Find me? He grabbed me in the market and dragged me away." Rolling his eyes, both omotes looked back at where Bakura was lurking in the doorway, looking extremely unhappy at having to be anywhere near Atemu... and having to behave civilly at that! The Pharaoh, on his side of the room, by the archway leading to the balcony, was glaring at the tomb robber as if trying to petrify him where he stood.

"Tomb robber." Clipped and curt tone, ruby-violet eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Pharaoh." A near-growl, arms crossed over his chest as he slouched against the wall, glaring sullenly at his younger nemesis.

"Oh, come ON, you two. We could cut the animosity in here with a dull knife and serve it as cake with lots of helpings for everybody!" Ryou said frustrated, flinging his hands in the air. Yuugi nodded and rolled his eyes.

"Yes, and with hate as frosting and an eyeball or two on top for cherries!"

Yuugi and Ryou looked at each other and burst out laughing, leaving their darker halves to stare at them with annoyed looks. Calming down the two boys looked up snickering from where they'd collapsed on the bed.

"What?" They said, more or less in unison with matching innocent smiles, but their eyes were sparkling mischievously. Both yamis shook their heads, reluctantly smiling at their happy omotes. They could overlook being the butt of this joke, since Yuugi and Ryou were so happy right now, almost bubbling over with excitement.

Waving the two reluctant yamis over to the bed Yuugi explained his meeting with the three Gods eagerly, but trailed off, looking out the archway to the sky beyond it.

"We... can get home. They told me how to do it, but if you don't want to..." Yuugi and Ryou looked up at their respective yami earnestly, nervousness fairly vibrating off of them.

"If you don't want to leave, we can always stay." Both muttered, not being able to continue to meet their darker halves' eyes and looked down. Yuugi didn't say what Obelisk had told him, which clearly showed the Gods' expected them to return to reality, with their yamis, to keep an eye on the Shadow Realm. But it was simple really, if Atemu and Bakura didn't want to leave, then they shouldn't, and Ryou and Yuugi would stay here. Nothing more to it.

"IDIOT!" The twinned voice echoed through the room, bouncing off the stone before dying away. Yuugi and Ryou jumped, sheepishly looking up at their yamis, but with identical grins on their faces due to Atemu and Bakura having spoken at the same time. Atemu turned with a cordial smile to the thief.

"You, or me?" He said with a raised eyebrow, one hand indicating their omotes. Bakura shrugged, looking indifferent, but with a gleam in his shadowed violet eyes.

"By all means, be my guest." The tomb robber said regally, a small smirk on his lips. Nodding, the Pharaoh of Khemet turned to the confused boys on the bed and shook his head, affecting a disappointed look and his hands placed on his hips.

"You two are going back, and we are going to go with you. That was never in question."

Grinning, Yuugi and Ryou nodded happily, feeling much better. Then the short teen cocked his head and looked curiously at his other.

"Atemu, how could Ryou and Bakura just waltz in here? Or did you sneak in?" The last part was directed towards Ryou, who shook his head. Atemu shrugged, the many gold ornaments he wore glinting in the sun that streamed through the archway.

"After I got my memories back, and you had been taken care of, I told the Captain of the guard to allow anyone looking like Bakura or reminding of him, entrance and to be brought immediately to me. It was only a guess, but I suspected that since I had gotten my memories back, Bakura would already have them, or would soon get them."

Yuugi nodded, and then grimaced.

"And the assassin?" He asked, clearly not happy at having to ask that question. Atemu's burning eyes darkened and looked like they were in flames as he looked away shortly.

"The assassin was caught, and is... taken care of." The dark threat and deep anger had the others in the room deeming it better not to ask, but Bakura nodded appreciatively. Icy-blue eyes met deep purple and the two boys, who had traveled through life, death and time itself to look for their other halves, grinned triumphantly.

"We are going home!"