Chapter 1
"Yugi, you're going to be late!" Solomon called up the stairs. He waited for a reply but nothing came. After a bit longer, he sighed and trudged up the stairs before turning to the small bathroom.
Sure enough, there was Yugi staring in confusion at his own reflection while his hands constantly fiddled with his bangs. He was the same height as Atem now, and his voice and appearance had also followed suit.
"Sorry Grandpa, I'll be right there." Yugi shot Solomon a sideways glance and Solomon's heart jumped in shock. Yugi's hand dropped and his bangs fell back down his face. Yugi gave him a bittersweet smile.
"I really look like him now, huh?" Yugi asked. Solomon shook his head.
"When we knew him, he was using your body," Solomon replied. "You're still my Yugi." Yugi smiled at that and checked his phone. He gasped.
"Now I will be late," he muttered before barreling past his grandpa and running out the door. Solomon ran after him.
"Yugi, wait! I have a question!" Grandpa called out.
"What is it? I'm going to be late, you know!" Yugi replied.
"I was wondering…where is Anzu? I haven't seen her in the morning these days. Didn't you two used to walk to school together? Grandpa asked.
"We're not little kids anymore, Grandpa!" Yugi said in embarrassment before running off. Truthfully, Anzu had been working as an idol the last year, and it's been successful so far. But with her demanding job and school, she found it harder and harder to leave her house a little earlier to meet up with Yugi before going to school. Yugi had suggested an alternate route and meeting spot instead.
Yugi let his mind go blank as his feet went on autopilot. He joined the crowds of people heading off to work and school and relaxed. Despite his dramatic hair and celebrity status, no one paid him any mind. He rounded the corner and saw Anzu waiting up ahead on some steps. Yugi cleared his throat and slowed his steps.
"Anzu," he announced.
Anzu looked over at him and faltered. "Good morning Yugi!" she replied.
He smirked and dropped his head down. "Are you sure about that?"
Anzu stared at him in confusion. A second later Yugi burst into laughter and Anzu let out a squawk of indignation.
"Yugi! You do this all this time!" Anzu blushed. She bumped him with her shoulder.
"Sorry Anzu!" Yugi giggled. Anzu huffed with embarrassment. "Let's hurry." The two of them sped off to class.
Yugi and Anzu enjoyed their morning walk and chat as they entered the school. Yugi felt a swell of emotion looking around at Domino High. Soon he would be graduating, and he felt a lot of mixed feelings about the matter. His high school years were unforgettable.
No sooner had they sat down in their seats than the school bell rang. Jounouchi and Honda ripped the sliding doors open and stomped into the classroom before collapsing in their seats. Jounouchi sported a fresh bruise on his knee and his duel disk had a few new scratches. Yugi got out of his seat and slapped Jounouchi on the back.
"What happened to you Jounouchi?" Anzu asked.
Jounouchi shrugged. "I fell off my bike."
"Did you guys just get here before us? You two usually arrive earlier. What took you so long?" Honda asked.
Yugi dropped his voice and twisted his face into a glare. "Getting used to being alive takes a while, you know," he said dramatically. Jounouchi and Honda both jumped and then pounced on Yugi. Honda pulled Yugi back while Jounouchi ruffled Yugi's bangs.
"We know it's you Yugi!" Jounouchi shouted in mock anger. Yugi fell into helpless laughter as his friends retaliated by tickling him.
"No more, no more!" Yugi squirmed out if their reach and went back to his desk in front. He was still laughing joyously when the teacher called for attendance. In the corner of his eye he saw Ryou Bakura, sitting at his desk staring worriedly at the small pile of gifts and love letters he had received today. They met eyes.
Ryou smiled at him blankly and turned away.
Yugi smiled back. Yugi never tried to prank Ryou by pretending to be Atem. There was an unspoken agreement between them, and Yugi suspected Ryou had privately sworn to never pretend the spirit of the Millennium Ring was back. There were probably a lot of bad memories, unlike Yugi and Atem.
Like Yugi, Ryou's face had changed as he grew older to more resemble his darker half but his eyes were clear and innocent unlike the spirit's malevolent orbs. As they headed into class, Yugi wondered if Ryou also stared at himself in the mirror, thinking about what they had lost. Was he grateful and happy the spirit had left? Or was he like Yugi, lying awake every night listening to the silence inside of his own head?
It was hard to focus on the teacher's lecture so Yugi didn't bother. He let his thoughts wander and before he knew it, the bell was ringing, signaling it was time for lunch. Yugi and his friends filed out of the classroom behind their classmates and headed up to the roof as usual. At first the conversation was light as Yugi and his friends shared their plans after high school.
"How have your college applications been going Anzu?" Yugi asked.
Anzu sighed. "It's a lot of work for each one. All the schools want personalized essays. And I'm still studying English."
"You have the best English grades in our school, you'll be fine." Honda took a drink from his water bottle before he continued. "At least you'll probably get a scholarship. I won't be able to afford college at this rate."
"Honda..." Yugi started but Honda held his hand up.
"I said I'll think about it, but I don't want to take your money Yugi. You could use it to go to college too." Honda sighed. "I guess I'm stuck with my old man's business after all. Maybe after a few years, I'll study mechanical engineering. I like working on my bike."
"I think I'll wait a bit before deciding on college. I just want to help with the game shop and learn more about games. I want to make my own," Yugi said quietly. "One that can bring people together the way Duel Monsters has."
His friends all grinned at that. "We know you can do it," Jounouchi replied. "Even if I wish you'd still become a pro duelist with me."
Yugi shook his head. "I already have the King of Games title. I'll have plenty of chances to duel anyway when I have to defend my title from Kaiba. Speaking of which, did Kaiba-kun come to school today?" Yugi asked.
Jounouchi scratched his head. "He hasn't been here for a few days now."
Yugi sighed. "I called him yesterday but he didn't answer."
"Try calling Mokuba," Anzu suggested.
"I'll try calling Kaiba again first," Yugi pulled out his cell phone. A few seconds later, KaibaCorp's dramatic Duel Disk jingle came on and Yugi's friends laughed.
Yugi heard a click. "Yugi," Kaiba's voice was coarse and unused like a rusty door.
"Kaiba-kun! Are you sick? You've missed almost a week of classes now; do you want to borrow my notes?"
"No," Kaiba replied tersely.
"Oh," Yugi said. "Have you been sick the last few days? Should we come visit you?"
"No."
"Ok…are you going to make up your classwork?"
"No. I don't care about school."
Yugi's eyes narrowed. "Kaiba-kun, you have to finish school to stay as Mokuba's guardian. What are you doing that's so -"
"Yugi," and his name was said with such disgust that Yugi paused. "Don't be deluded into thinking you have any right to tell me what to do. As far as I'm concerned, you're a 'nobody.' Don't call me again." Then he hung up.
Yugi lowered the phone from his ear, forehead furrowed in confusion.
"Yugi? What did he say?" Jounouchi asked. Yugi didn't reply.
He was about to dial another number when the bell rang. Students began to file back inside. Yugi sighed.
He waved off his friends. "He's fine. I'll deal with this after school."
Yugi spun his pencil absentmindedly, his eyes unfocused as the teacher lectured on. His notebook sat untouched. Although his body sat in Domino, his mind had flown hundreds of miles away, back to Egypt…
There is no 'Other Yugi' anymore. You are the only Yugi in the whole world…
It is a message. The dead should not linger in this world…
You are the only Yugi in the whole world…
Even if I never regain my memories, I want to stay with you forever…
I will share all my memories with you…all of them…
Yugi's cell phone suddenly sprang into life and the classroom was blasted with tinny rock music. His classmates laughed as Yugi jolted back to earth and turned red.
"Muto…" His teacher warned. Yugi fumbled for his phone and checked the caller. Then he stood up.
"I'm sorry Teacher, but I have to take this." Without another word he stepped outside and closed the classroom door. Jounouchi, Honda and Anzu all looked at each other for a moment.
The teacher went back to his lecture, but now everyone was distracted. A few minutes later, Yugi walked back in with a carefully blank expression. He happened to meet eyes with Honda, who raised his eyebrows questioningly.
Yugi's expression turned grim. Ishizu, he mouthed. Later, he added.
"What did Ishizu-san call you about?" Anzu asked the second school was over.
Yugi thought for a few minutes as the four of them made their way out of the school gates. "Just…she said there were people digging up Atem's burial site. There is a chance they will find his sarcophagus and the Millennium Items."
His friends paused. No one minded mummies in the museum when you didn't know them personally, but this one they did.
"What? How is that possible?" Jounouchi asked.
"She couldn't stop them?" Anzu added.
"Are you ok with that?" Honda asked.
"…No. I want him to rest. Ishizu said she had put that area under her protection to prevent such a thing from happening, but someone came in and took control of that piece of land. She talked to the government officials, but they already gave their official permission."
"Who?" Anzu asked. Yugi stopped walking.
Jounouchi crouched down a little (less than he used to) and grabbed Yugi by his shoulders. "Yugi, let us help you. Atem was our friend too."
"I don't want anyone to know it's him," Yugi explained. "I want to stop him before he goes any further."
"Yugi! Stop being so nice!" Jounouchi insisted. "Who is it?"
"Kaiba-kun," Yugi mumbled.
"Is he crazy?" Honda asked.
Jounouchi straightened up. "Kaiba? Why is he trying to dig up the past?!"
"I don't know. I need to call Mokuba." Yugi pulled out his phone once more.
"Yugi…" Anzu sighed. All of them were intently focused on Yugi and his cell phone, so no one noticed the high school student with blue spiky hair and golden eyes, watching and listening to them just a few feet away.
Yugi waited as the phone rang once, twice. Mokuba did not pick up.
Finally, Yugi hung up. "That's strange. Mokuba always answers his phone."
"Maybe he had to go to the bathroom?" Honda suggested.
"It's glued to his fingers," Jounouchi shot back. "He uses it in the bathroom too. He sent me a toilet snapchat once." The other three looked at him in shock. "He really did!" Jounouchi insisted.
"I didn't know you were such good friends with Mokuba," Honda said.
"It's not that deep. Mokuba and Shizuka are both on snapchat, so I'm on there too." Jounouchi explained, although his face seemed a little red.
Suddenly Yugi's phone vibrated, alerting him of a text. He began reading but then drew back. A flood of texts were coming in.
"Why is Mokuba texting me all this when he could have just answered my call?"
"Is he in danger?" Anzu asked, but Yugi shook his head.
"He said he's fine, but -" Yugi kept reading. Jounouchi peered over his shoulder but the message was very short.
'Stay at Domino High School. ETA 5 minutes.'
When Yugi finished reading, he put his phone away. His face was scrunched up with confusion.
"What did Mokuba say?" Anzu asked.
"He wants me to stay here at Domino High? Something about 5 minutes? I don't understand – " All of a sudden, the sounds of a helicopter disrupted their conversation, All of them backed up to see a KaibaCorp helicopter land in front of them. A KaibaCorp employee slid the door open and stuck his head out.
"Muto Yugi! You need to get onboard!"
"Why? Where am I going?!" Yugi yelled out.
"You're going to Egypt!" The man shouted back. Yugi jumped onboard and the helicopter flew away. The blue haired man also teleported away.
Yugi barely had time to text his Grandpa before he was loaded onto one of Kaiba's high speed jets and strapped in. He was still wearing his school uniform and carrying his school bag!
"Why does Kaiba-kun want me in Egypt?" Yugi asked the one of the pilots.
"Not Master Kaiba. Mokuba Kaiba told us to pick you up."
"Why?"
The pilot shrugged. "He said it was an emergency. We will be there soon, so you should take a nap."
Yugi tried to do so, but it was incredibly hard. After Ishizu's call, this sudden flight was making his nerves go haywire. Thinking of Atem's tomb being disturbed had rattled him. He could feel his heart thundering under his chest. Flying in this plane was also deeply uncomfortable. Yugi had no clue how fast they were going, but he could feel it in every atom of his body. If they had to go that fast, it had to be an emergency.
They landed on the ground hard, spraying sand everywhere. The bodyguards next to him immediately unstrapped Yugi and released him from his harness, before nearly picking him up bodily. They opened the door and tossed Yugi out. Yugi started running.
They were in the desert and Yugi knew in his heart this was the spot. Atem's tomb. The location of their ceremonial duel, their fated showdown. Yugi ran around a giant Blue Eyes White Dragon jet, his heart hammering way. Yugi descended down the stairs and into the darkness.
His eyes were blinded by the adjustment from light to dark, so he let his feet take him. When his eyes cleared, he found himself in the large ritual room, with its tall ceilings. To Yugi's surprise, there was a crowd of people on both sides, Kaiba standing next to a large hole, and in the center of the room was a blue haired man…
"Aigami?" Yugi asked. When the man turned around, it was no mistake. It was the new kid, their classmate from school.
"The vessel of the Pharaoh," Aigami murmured. At Yugi's appearance, the crowd began to whisper, staring at Yugi in astonishment. Yugi couldn't understand them, but a few pointed at his hair and prostrated on the ground.
"Yugi, what are you doing here?" Kaiba growled.
"Kaiba-kun! Are you digging through Atem's tomb?" Yugi asked.
"Yes."
"Why?"
"I need to find the Millennium Puzzle. The Pharaoh must be resurrected."
Yugi ran forward and saw there was a glass column surrounded by lasers. Inside were familiar golden pieces.
"Kaiba-kun, you need to stop! Let Atem rest!" Yugi shouted. "Hasn't he done enough? What gives you the right to try and resurrect him? The puzzle is not yours!"
"Be quiet!" Kaiba snapped at Yugi." I have nothing to say to you! You're nothing but a usurper, a thief! I want the real champion, the real King of Games! You're a nobody!"
"Nii-sama!" Mokuba cried out.
"Kaiba-kun, don't push it!"
"I'm really not interested in anything you have to say, Yugi." Kaiba advanced menacingly at Yugi. "All you need to do is sit quiet and wait while I reassemble the puzzle, and then the Pharoah can be resurrected inside your body."
"Kaiba! Atem isn't in the puzzle anymore! He has lain down his sword and moved on! You need to move on too! He wouldn't want you to resurrect him!" Yugi argued.
"Let Atem rest and bury the puzzle pieces back where they belong!"
Suddenly Aigami spoke up. "I too, am here to stop you from resurrecting the Pharaoh, Seto Kaiba. Bringing the Pharaoh back would imbalance the world and create tears between the divides of alternate dimensions. It would damage the fabric of reality. You will not be allowed to leave with the puzzle."
"Neither of you have the power to stop me. Men, knock them both out." Kaiba ordered. Yugi felt cold metal dig into his back, and the sound of a gun cocking. To his right, he saw henchman do the same to Aigami. They were both trapped. Yugi didn't think Kaiba would really shoot him, but he wasn't too sure if he wanted to risk it.
Aigami raised his hand and a golden cube suddenly appeared in it. To Yugi's shock, the man disintegrated in a shower of golden light, screaming. Ghostly children appeared all around as the cube kept glowing, picking off Kaiba's henchman one by one.
"To protect the Plana, to prevent the Pharaoh's resurrection, I will erase everything and send everyone to the alternate dimensions if I have to. Seto Kaiba, say goodbye. Vessel of the Pharaoh, you're next." Aigami said coldly.
"Kaiba-kun!" Yugi watched as Kaiba's body was engulfed by golden light. Then Kaiba brought his duel disk forth and began to duel Aigami. Yugi was still in the clutches of the armed henchman and unable to do anything.
"Kaiba-kun, watch out!" Yugi shouted. He watched in horror as each of Kaiba's precious dragons were turned immobile and destroyed.
Just when Kaiba looked like he was about to lose, he slapped his hand on the ground.
Yugi felt something in his chest grow hot, burning like the sun, and fell to his knees. It was intense and familiar, like when Atem would take over his body. The power of the gods. The power of the Pharoah, of Atem. Yugi watched Kaiba summon Obelisk, his chest burning for so many reasons now.
Then he heard footsteps and felt a hand grab his shoulder. "Run, Yugi!" Mokuba hissed. Yugi and Mokuba were running, and Mokuba jumped onto the glass column holding the puzzle pieces incased inside its laser prison. Yugi ran for the exit too, but not before he saw Aigami teleport onto the glass column too and punch his hand through. Yugi felt Kaiba push him, and he kept running. There was no time to talk, and no one could hear anyone over the shouting and noise.
They reached the Blue Eyes White Dragon jet and Kaiba grabbed Yugi by the waist and tossed him in.
"Kaiba!" Yugi shrieked, scrambling for his seat belts as Kaiba took off. Kaiba shouted something at Yugi but Yugi couldn't hear it over the roar of the engines. He squinted at the sky and nearly jumped out of his skin.
Aigami was standing on the nose of the dragon jet, looking at them calmly. He didn't seem affected at all by reality. Slowly the cube appeared in midair again and Yugi, transfixed, watched as the beam of golden light pointed straight at his chest. Kaiba pushed the throttle, shouting, and reached back with one hand to grab Yugi.
Yugi felt the spell of the cube take hold of him for a moment before all reality fell away from him. One moment, he was sitting in the Blue Eyes White Dragon jet and next moment he wasn't. He was outside of the airplane, in midair, floating in the sky above Egypt, above Atem's tomb. He began to freefall, the sandy desert ground racing rapidly to meet him.
How fitting. For this place to be his tomb too. Yugi closed his eyes.
There was a shift in reality. Yugi hit the water instead, gasping, and paddling his arms for dear life. He swam to the edge and climbed out, coughing and choking out the water he inhaled. His body was aching. He looked around and saw he was in the Domino City Park. He had hit the lake before climbing out onto the grass.
He had no idea what happened. All he saw was the afterimage of a young girl with reddish-brown hair and a purple dress. Above his head were only the nighttime stars, twinkling cold witnesses to Yugi's life.
That night, Yugi had trudged home to the Kame Game Shop and went to bed without even showering. He felt it the next day, body aching and sore. Yugi jumped into the shower right before he had to leave for school.
"Yugi!" Anzu was waiting for him outside the game shop. "What happened yesterday? You didn't answer any of our calls. We were worried!"
"Uh – nothing happened. Mokuba-kun just wanted me to talk to Kaiba-kun for a bit.
"What did you guys talk about?"
Yugi felt nervous every time he lied. "Nothing serious! Don't worry about i!"
"Just tell me! How often does Mokuba send a helicopter for you?"
"Kaiba-kun…is just having a hard time." Yugi sighed. Part of the truth was okay right? "He hasn't been doing so well with…him leaving. He's not coping well, so Mokuba asked me to try and talk some sense into Kaiba."
"I see. Did it help?"
Yugi's expression turned darker. "I don't think so. But I can't give up."
Yugi filled the rest of the gang in between classes. It was terribly hard to keep the details a secret, but Yugi didn't want to burden his friends. The entire day, his head was full of buzzing thoughts like a hornets' nest.
After school, he received another notification. He read it grimly, and when Jounouchi tried to peek over his shoulder, he turned away.
Yugi put his phone away. "I need to do something right now before I go home," Yugi announced. "You three go on without me. I'm going to text Grandpa."
"Yugi, where are you going?" Anzu asked.
"…It was Mokuba. He wants me to talk to Kaiba again."
Honda rolled his eyes. "Kaiba is such a drama queen. If you're about to do something crazy, at least tell us so we know when to bail you out."
"You need someone to punch Kaiba for you?" Jounouchi cracked his knuckles.
Yugi smiled. "Thank you, but no. Mokuba just wants me to swing by KaibaCorp for a few minutes, but he told me to come alone."
"Do you have to talk to Kaiba?"
"I guess." Yugi replied. "Mokuba thinks I'm the only one that can get through to him, and having other people around might make him clam up."
"I don't know, the whole situation sounds fishy," Honda added. "Yugi, I think we'd feel better if we went with you."
"I'll be fine, it's just a talk! Just Kaiba. If I need help, I have my cell phone." Yugi headed off in the opposite direction, and his friends reluctantly let him go. A black car drove up to Yugi and stopped, and Yugi got on.
Isono had just stepped outside the building for some fresh air when Yugi Muto appeared in front of him. Isono lowered the cigarette he had just pulled out and greeted him.
"Muto-sama, are you here to see Kaiba-sama?" He asked.
"Good afternoon Isono-san," Yugi said politely. "Yes. Kaiba-kun asked me for help on his little project. He told me not to wait for him, and go inside first."
Isono nodded. "Of course. I'll take you in myself." He could take his break later.
Isono opened the doors. "After you, Muto-sama." Yugi straightened his back.
Isono led Yugi inside and watched as the King of Games confidently strode in and punched the elevator button. Then Yugi waved at excited onlookers, and Isono smiled. Even KaibaCorp employees were fans of Yugi Muto.
The two of them stepped inside once the elevator doors opened and Isono punched in the secret code. The elevator smoothly shot down into the earth, deeper and deeper. Beside him, Yugi stood unmoving.
The elevator let them out in an underground bunker. When Yugi entered, many overworked and exhausted engineers looked up at him and started shouting.
"Yugi Muto! Yugi Muto!"
"It's the King of Games!"
Yugi waved nervously at everyone. "Hello! Mokuba-kun sent me. Could someone show me where it is? I'm here to help."
A woman with coffee stains on her shirt and bags under her eyes hurried forward and took Yugi away from Isono. "You are a godsend Muto-sama," she babbled. "We are all going mad over this project! No matter what we do, we can't get him to work."
"I know," Yugi smiled at her. "You can relax now." The woman's shoulders slumped with relief and she gave him a giddy smile back.
They walked past the other engineers until she got into airlocked door. She deftly pulled out her key card and swiped it, before entering a password and submitting to a fingerprint and retina scan. Then the door finally opened and Yugi gasped.
The room was dark and devoid of people, because the entire floor was covered in thick cables. Some were insulated and secured in place with metal strips, while others were covered with messy tape. Yugi gingerly crept in over the cables to the center of the room, where a giant supercomputer waited. The woman began typing on the interface, and the computer started on with a hum.
"Muto-Sama, let us explain. Kaiba-sama has been hard at work in the last few years developing virtual dueling, a new world for duelists to battle using Duel Monsters Cards. In addition, he also wants to create a new way for duelists to connect to each other. To that end, Kaiba-sama started two research projects."
"The first one is this Dueling AI. Kaiba-sama had us input the data of all duelists that ever existed to create a super genius AI that can duel. This dueling AI designed to help duelists improve their skills. We have spent the last few weeks developing its programming so that not only can it learn every Duel Monsters strategy ever, it is capable of coming up with its own. Muto-sama, please enter that room." The woman pointed, and Yugi looked at another door. A male scientist pulled out his key card and the door slid open. Yugi entered.
It was a large metallic room, and as the computer hummed the lights turned on. In a few seconds, Yugi found himself facing a generic looking man wearing jeans, a shirt, and a cap over his eyes.
The man raised his blank face and gave him a smile and a friendly waved. Yugi waved back nervously.
"That's amazing," Yugi murmured.
"But this is not Kaiba-sama's main purpose in developing this AI," she admitted. Then she pulled up another password screen, and typed in a string of letters.
MynameisAtem
The entire room rippled and changed. Lights shattered and reformed into the shapes of stained-glass windows, tall ancient walls. Yugi watched in shock as the generic duelist model changed to a young man with wearing skin-tight pants, a black shirt, and a jacket slung over his shoulders like a cape. Perched atop his head was hair to match Yugi's. The AI opened his red eyes and Yugi looked into the face of his other half.
"This is the ," the woman continued over the microphone. "An AI Kaiba-sama created of you. He has the same programming as the robot, but for some reason he doesn't work. Kaiba-sama had successfully completed a duel yesterday with it, but he seemed displeased. Kaiba-sama said it still doesn't match the Pharaoh. Today, it won't work, and nothing we do helps. Anytime someone tries to start a duel with this interface, it malfunctions after a few minutes. Kaiba-sama himself has been working on this interface day and night but we don't know why it isn't working."
Yugi and Atem stood in the chapel together, ancient facing modern counterpart.
"Yugi-sama, as this AI is based off of you, please duel with it and tell us what can be improved on. Perhaps you will have some good insight."
Based off himself. Yet the scientist had said Pharaoh without hesitation or questions. Perhaps it was a nickname that Kaiba regularly used, and the scientists thought he was just referencing the program name. But Yugi knew better.
Without prompting, Yugi's duel disk appeared on his arm. But Atem did not have a duel disk. The AI said nothing and did nothing. It only stood there, a blank smile on his face.
"Please wait a moment, Yugi-sama. I will try and start the Pharaoh's programming and have it initiate a duel." The woman said apologetically. With a beep from the door, she entered the chapel, touching the hologram walls and opening panels to check things.
Yugi's face was a storm of conflicted emotions. For a moment he could imagine him dueling the AI, dueling Atem. It would be as if Atem never left. Yugi could already imagine coming here regularly, or logging onto this Duel Links regularly, to see Atem. To see the other him and spend some time together. To try and fill the empty void Atem had left behind in Yugi.
Yugi was so tempted. So, so tempted. The AI was so close. Yugi's eyes did not move from Atem's face. "Maybe the problem is that it is working."
"Excuse me?" She asked. Yugi smiled and grabbed her arm before steering her back out the door. It immediately slid open and Yugi pushed her through. When she turned around, the door had closed.
"Muto-sama? You can't be alone with it-" She pulled out her key card but the light flashed red instead of green.
"What-? Muto-sama? Muto-sama!" Yugi turned back to the computer. He looked up again at Atem and his eyes softened.
"Just wait, other me. I'll free you." Yugi reached down and grabbed a handful of the cables. They resisted for a few seconds, and then ripped off the ground and out from the computer with a terrible bang.
The engineers all raced to the door and frantically tried their key cards, but the door didn't open. They banged on the door and shouted in alarm as Yugi methodically destroyed their setup. They watched in horror as Yugi piled the sparking cables in a corner like a pile of discarded vines from a garden.
"Call Kaiba-sama!" The woman shouted. "Tell him Yugi Muto is destroying the AI!"
Yugi meanwhile had opened up a wall panel and was typing on the computer inside. He looked up and saw that Atem was staring down to watch what Yugi was doing. Yugi smiled and Atem fixed his stare at Yugi.
"I look like you now," Yugi said gently. "Can you tell?" Atem kept staring, but his face stayed blank.
A new screen popped up, showing two rows of five rectangles each. Yugi pulled out his deck and drew out the Dark Magician. He set it down in the first row. Atem's interface rippled. The chapel began to glitch, fading in and out of existence.
Dark Magician appeared on every engineer's computer, startling one so bad he spilled hot coffee onto his pants. He yelped and jumped up, and then sat back down screaming in horror. The image of Dark Magician was shooting off magical blasts inside his computer, wiping out his code line by line.
"Save the backups!" He cried, and all the engineers ran to their computers to try and rescue their files. Yugi set down two more cards and Atem's image rippled again.
Chain of Destruction shot across their screens and their backups disappeared one by one. Then Dark Magician Girl appeared and joined Dark Magician in decimating their computer files and locking out the engineers. The engineers could only watch helplessly as Yugi's entire deck appeared on their screens and wiped all their files.
"If they get into the network, they'll destroy everything!" The woman shouted in alarm. Just then, the door behind them slid open and Kaiba ran in with a brown box. His gaunt and bloodless face was twisted in anger and panic.
"Kaiba-sama! He's in there!" Someone shouted and Kaiba ran towards the AI room and pulled out his key card. It beeped once, and then flashed red.
"Yugi!" Kaiba banged his fists on the door. Both Yugi and Atem looked up and turned to look at Kaiba. Yugi quietly walked across the plain metalic floor until he and Kaiba were face to face.
"Yugi! What are you doing?" Kaiba shouted.
"What are you doing?" Yugi shot back. "You are trying to bring a dead man back to life – for what? For your pride? For your obsession?"
"You have no right to judge me!" Kaiba screamed.
Yugi surveyed him for a moment, and then shrugged. "I understand you, Kaiba-kun. I might be the only person who understands you. But that's exactly why I can't let you do this." He turned around.
"Don't you dare Yugi!" Kaiba shouted. "Don't you dare! You can't do this!"
"Gandora, Dragon of Destruction!" Yugi called out. He slapped the card down. This time, Atem disappeared and in his place was a giant black dragon with red orbs all over its bodies. It roared with fury and red beams shot out from its body in all directions. As his engineers scrambled in vain for a solution, Kaiba could only stand there speechless. Every file, every line of code destroyed felt like a knife wound in his gut.
Gandora disappeared. Only Yugi remained, breathing harshly as he stood in the center of the room. Kaiba ripped out his desk and pulled out a card. Without even looking he slammed into onto the computer interface and the data entered.
"Resurrection of the Dead!" Kaiba yelled as activated the card. But the next second, the card hologram shattered into pieces.
"Kaiba, haven't you learned your lesson?" Yugi asked coldly. "The dead cannot return."
Atem returned. But his image was weak and transparent, unlike the life-life interface Yugi had first seen. Yugi pulled out one last card and played it. A white-haired magician formed in front of Atem. They stared at each other.
Silent Magician raised her staff and pointed it directly at Atem's heart.
"Noooooo!" Kaiba screamed. He slammed his fists on the computer, over and over again.
"Silent Magician, attack!" Yugi ordered. Atem shattered like glass and the supercomputer gave a great rumble before exploding and falling apart like a pile of bricks.
"Goodbye, Other me." Yugi whispered.
Yugi stood up unharmed, coughing from the dust. With a beep, the door slid open and Yugi slowly walked out, still waving his hands from the smoke.
Kaiba's hands shot out to grab Yugi's collar but Yugi slapped his hands angrily away. Kaiba was so stunned his hands dropped to his side and did not come up again.
"Where is the puzzle?" Yugi asked.
"The…puzzle…" Kaiba muttered.
"Ishizu-san told me you've been secretly digging up Atem's grave to find the Millennium Items, and you had the nerve to conceal it from her for weeks!" Yugi angrily raised up his hand. "I know you brought it back. I want you to hand it over."
"I'm not giving it to you," Kaiba muttered. Yugi scoffed in annoyance in a way that was so like Atem, Kaiba had to resist the urge to run screaming from the room.
Yugi scanned the room until his eyes fell upon the brown box Kaiba had brought in with him. He grabbed it and ripped the packaging open. The underground bunker light reached through and hit a myriad of gold puzzle pieces. Yugi closed the box with triumph.
"I'm taking this," Yugi said.
"Like hell you are," Kaiba snarled.
"I am going to return this to Ishizu and Egypt," Yugi continued.
"You walk out of this room and I'll kill you!" Kaiba shouted.
"Ni-sama!" Mokuba raced into the room and stood in front of Kaiba. "You can't!"
"Mokuba, he destroyed my work and he's taking the puzzle! I'm going to make him pay-"
"I destroyed your AI!" Mokuba shouted. "I called Yugi and asked for his help! I helped him destroy the AI!"
"Mokuba, why?!" Kaiba groaned.
"Because you've lost your mind!" Mokuba shouted, and Kaiba was struck by how much Mokuba had grown. "This obsession is ruining your health, and I can't let you do this anymore! I won't let anyone hurt my brother, even if it means I have to save you from yourself!"
Kaiba reeled back as if Mokuba had physically struck him. "My own brother…" he swayed on his feet. "No one understands me…. none of you are on my side…"
"I'm your brother!" Mokuba shouted. "I'm always on your side!"
Kaiba raised one shaking finger at Yugi. "This Saturday, you and I are going to have a duel. If you win, you can keep the puzzle. But if I win, you will give that puzzle. I will remake that AI and none of you are going to stop me!"
"Fine but you won't win," Yugi said confidently.
"Pray that I don't," Kaiba replied ominously. "Because you're nothing but his vessel to me. When I get the puzzle back, I'm going to reassemble it, and you're going to put it on. I'm going to use you to bring him back."