Chapter 1: Challenge

100 Years later...

"

Happy birthday, Atem."

Atem took the wrapped box from his stepmother with a look of surprise. "Thanks, Isa." He hadn't been expecting a gift this early in the day; he hadn't even finished breakfast yet. Abandoning his oatmeal, he pulled away the paper, then the packaging tape and cardboard flaps. A shine of gold peeked from a pile of packing peanuts. His eyes widened. Gently, he pushed them aside and lifted out a small, gold chest. Soft clinks were audible as something(s) shifted inside.

Atem set his gift on the table, tilting it upwards for examination. An Egyptian eye stared at him from the side. The design of the box overall looked Egyptian, though the shape and color reminded him of pictures he'd seen of the Ark of the Covenant, minus the angels. His fingers tingled somewhat on the cool metal. It felt ancient...and vaguely familiar.

Isa smiled. "What do you think?"

"I've... never seen anything like it. Where did this even come from?"

"Egypt. A friend of mine dug it up and... decided to keep it as a souvenir. I found it in his attic a few months ago when I was helping him clean it out. He let me keep it, and I decided it would make the perfect gift for you."

Atem set the chest flat on the table and removed the lid carefully. Inside was a pile of geometric gold fragments.

"What are these?" He asked, pulling one out.

"As near as David could guess, they're puzzle pieces. I'm inclined to agree." Her smile broadened. "You always love challenging yourself, especially with games and puzzles. That's what made me think of you."

"Did David ever put it together?"

"That's why he let it go to me so easily. He tried off and on for twenty years, but never managed to get more than two pieces together." Isa's blue eyes twinkled as she watched the gears turning in her stepson's head. "He also said he'd eat his pith helmet if you managed to get further."

Atem eyed the piece he was holding again, a devilish smirk growing on his features. "Challenge accepted."

The clock chimed. Isa glanced up. "You'd better get to school or you'll be late."

Atem nodded, replacing the puzzle piece as he set the chest aside on the table. He scarfed his oatmeal, grabbed his bag, and raced for the door. Halfway down the front steps, he skidded to a stop, then ran back to give Isa a quick peck on the cheek. "See you after school."

...

The short jog to Regent High School never failed to invigorate Atem – even though the destination tended to counter that effect upon arrival. Not today, though. His thoughts were still on his birthday present. Why was it made? Which pieces went where? What would it look like when it was put together? All the questions made his head buzz, and not just from the number of them. He almost felt like he should know the answers...

"Hiya, 'Tem!"

A hand clapped his shoulder. Startled, he looked up. "Joey! Hi!"

His friend pulled him into a headlock and noogied him. "How's my birthday guy?"

Atem couldn't answer between his chuckles and the struggle to make his lungs inflate from their cramped position.

"Let him up for air, Joey!"

"Yes, as amusing as this is, we wouldn't want it to be his last birthday."

Atem recognized the new voices as the Akefia brothers; Ryou and Bakura, respectively.

Joey looked up. "Oh, hey guys." He released Atem, who let out a few coughs as he straightened.

Ryou smiled. "Happy birthday, Atem."

"Thanks."

Bakura simply looked on with a smirk, his elbow resting on Ryou's shoulder.

Despite being two years apart, Bakura and Ryou were almost identical in appearance and height. Around school, they were known as "the twins."

Despite being inseparable, the brothers were complete opposites. While Ryou was a soft-spoken model student, Bakura was one of the school troublemakers, vying with Atem and Joey for the top spot in that category.

Each "troublemaker" had their own brand of mischief. Bakura was the resident prankster, known for seeking revenge long after an incident. There was never doubt of his involvement in such pranks, but there was seldom any proof. Joey was more reckless: he was hotheaded and eager to solve problems with his fists. He got the most detention of the trio. And then there was Atem. Subtle and deadly as Ryou aptly put it. Joey simply called him a con artist. Neither was contradicted.

Atem was a master manipulator. It was the whole reason he never got detention outside of skipping class (a habit Isa discouraged). Most of the teachers disliked him as a result, while his peers were divided between admiration, jealousy, and (at the extreme) fear. Atem's words were power, and the school knew it. Though, that wasn't to say he couldn't handle himself where and when words failed.

"So we're headin' to your place after school, right?" Joey asked Atem.

"Hm? Oh. Yeah. Isa said it was alright if your parents were okay with it."

"Eh, my mom's okay wit' me doin' whatever tonight."

"Bakura and I have the go-ahead." Ryou shot a look at his brother. "Provided a certain someone behaves himself today."

Bakura waved him off. "Don't worry. I don't have anything planned till next week."

"I'd prefer if there was nothing planned at all."

Bakura rolled his eyes. Atem gave a small smile. He envied those two.

"Say, what about the shrimp?" Joey asked. "Can he come?"

Atem elbowed him in reply. "Will you quit calling him that? He caught a cold or something. He's not allowed to leave his room for another week."

"Ow! Okay, I get the picture. What about Marik?"

Atem shrugged. "I haven't heard from him. Ryou?"

Ryou shook his head. "Nothing since yeasterday. He said he'd see us before class, though."

Marik was Ryou's best friend. The two of them had been picked on by the same bully back in grade school, until Bakura had heard about it and given said bully a good thrashing (the resulting week of suspension prompted him to seek other means of retribution – namely, pranks). Ryou and Marik's common suffering had allowed them to confide in each other, creating a bond that had only strengthened since.

Ryou perked up. "Oh, I see him! Marik!" He waved his arm. "Over here!"

Marik was across the courtyard, reading a graphic novel. On hearing Ryou, he looked up. His face brightened.

"Hey, Ryou. Guys." He jogged up to the group. "Planning trouble again?"

"Not unless you count Atem's party," Joey quipped. "Can ya make it?"

"Sure. Might have to come late, though. Ryou and I still have some research to do for that paper next week."

"That was today?" Ryou gasped.

"Yup. We should be outta the library by three though." He raised a finger. "Don't even try to talk us out of it, Joey. I've heard it all before. You too, Bakura."

The latter shrugged. "I didn't say anything."

...

Everything had been quiet for several hours, now. Yugi was camped out near the eye of the puzzle with a scroll from the spell library. He was trying to finish memorizing this one incantation, but he had a hard time focusing on the papyrus.

He still couldn't believe it. The Puzzle had finally reached Atem. All he had to do was put it together.

That, of course, would take awhile, but Yugi had learned to be patient. Sort of.

A clatter of shoes and voices echoed through the puzzle. Yugi smiled. Atem was home. And from the sound of it, he'd brought friends.

"Well, it is his birthday. Why wouldn't he bring friends over?" He reminded himself.

Still, it was comforting to know that Atem had friends. Loneliness was no joke.

"Hey, what's dat?"

Yugi perked up at the voice. "Joey! It figures he'd be friends with Atem in this life, too."

"Hands off, Joey!" Atem yelled.

"Woah, chill, man. I just wanted to see what it was."

"Um, sorry. I'm not sure why I reacted that way."

Yugi chuckled. "I am. Old habits die hard."

"So... you gonna tell us what it is?"

"It's a puzzle. From Ancient Egypt. Isa gave it to me."

"Cool. Hey, maybe we can help you put it together!"

"Well..."

A new voice snarked, "what, worried we'll get more pieces together than you?"

Yugi stiffened. Bakura! The guy who'd fused with Zorc, Bakura! He'd been reincarnated, too? What was he doing here with Atem and Joey?"

Atem scoffed. "You wish."

"So what we waitin' for, here?" Joey asked. "Whaddaya say, 'Tem?"

A long pause. "Alright."

There was a metallic clink – assumably, the lid of the chest being removed. In spite of Bakura's presence, Yugi couldn't help being excited. After a century of waiting, it was finally-

Everything flipped on its head. "Whaa!"

Yugi picked himself up off the ceiling, rubbing his temple. "I guess I should have seen that coming with how everything was shifting around earlier," he muttered.

Even when the Millennium Puzzle was in pieces, its interior remained whole on a spiritual plane, staying connected no matter how far apart the physical pieces were. That said, while the pieces were moving, the interior rearranged itself accordingly.

While the puzzle pieces were being moved around, Yugi tried to listen to the familiar voices – Bakura's in particular – while hunting for his runaway scroll. The library tended to act up if any of its books were gone for too long.

Twenty minutes or so of carefully scrutinized conversation convinced Yugi that Bakura was part of the gang in this life – which was preferable to the alternative, he supposed. All the same, he made a mental note to keep an eye on the reborn thief once the puzzle was completed.

Footsteps approached just as Yugi (finally) spotted the scroll.

"Hello?"

"Is that Marik?"

"'Bout time you two showed up!" Joey called. "Hey, why don't ya give us a hand puttin' Atem's new puzzle together?"

"What's it of?"

Yugi straightened as he grabbed the scroll. "Bakura? Ryou Bakura?" He thought to the other Bakura currently handling the puzzle. "...Well, how do you like that?"

"Dunno yet. It's gold and Egyptian, whatever it is."

"Complicated is what it is," Marik observed. "This doesn't look like something you can put together in one day."

Bakura – wait, no – Ryou – hummed. "I'm surprised you're helping with it, Bakura," he commented.

"To be honest, so am I. But I find it intriguing for some reason."

Yugi flinched. "Oh, boy."

"Intriguing how?"

"Well... why would someone even make this, for starters."

"Perhaps it had some religious function?"

"I hope not." Yugi could hear the smirk in Atem's voice. "I'd rather not be cursed."

"Cursed?!" Joey hollered.

"Take it easy, Joey," Marik said. "He's just messing with you. Again."

"Am I?" Atem asked darkly.

Oh, ha-ha, Atem," Joey growled.

Bakura chuckled. "You don't seem to learn, do you, Fidel?"

"Zip it, Kura. Ooph!"

"How many times do I have to say it? Don't call me that!"

"I'll call you that as many times as I wanna."

"...Fair enough."

Ryou's voice took on a warning edge. "Bakura, no."

"No, what?"

"You're only polite when you've got something planned. So whatever it is, don't."

A friendly argument ensued, Ryou going so far as to cite Bakura's plans to prank "Trent" next week (a normal occurrence, from the sound of it).

The sounds of metal on metal also continued as the pieces of the puzzle were fitted together in various ways. Yugi was on the edge of his seat. He could hardly believe he was hearing his friends' voices again after so many years (Bakura being the exception)!

After a while, the boys got bored with Atem's baffling puzzle and moved into the next room to hang out. Their voices still carried to Yugi, so he continued to eavesdrop in an effort to learn all he could about his friends' new lives. From what he'd heard so far, Marik had found a new manga he liked, Atem had managed to weasel his way out of a beating several months back, a friend whose name Yugi didn't catch had gotten his phone confiscated for trying to sneak out while he was sick, and Coach Taylor (nah, it couldn't be... could it?) had given Joey detention for arguing with him. Again.

"Say, how come we don't got any girl friends?" Joey asked during a lull.

"Because you're lousy at pickup lines," quipped Bakura.

"I don't mean dates! I mean just regular friends who are girls. Ya know."

There was a sinking feeling in Yugi's stomach. "They don't know Tea."

Bakura scoffed. "What kind of a question is that?"

"One I'd like to see you answer, wise guy!"

"Is that a brown recluse, there?"

"A what?"

"A poisonous spider."

"Gah!"

Bakura snickered.

"Okay, now you're askin' for it!"

Thumps and grunts ensued for the next several minutes, until –

Crack!

"Ow! Watch it, Kura!"

"You're the one who jumped me, moron!"

"Are you alright?" Ryou asked.

"Sure, I'm alr-ouch!"

"I'll get some ice," Atem sighed.

"Nah. I've got it." Joey's footsteps clumped into the room the puzzle was in. There was a rattling, then the snap of a fridge closing. Joey sighed. A chair dragged across the floor, and a pair of elbows connected with the table.

New footsteps arrived, bringing Bakura's gruff voice with them. "Taking your time, I see. You're not going to pass out on us, are you?"

Joey snorted. "Not a chance."

"Good. I'd hate to think you were fragile."

"Watch it."

Yugi managed a smile. Maybe this Bakura wasn't as bad as the old one after all.

There was a soft clinking. The puzzle's interior shifted.

"What are you doing now?" Bakura asked.

"I think I spotted a couple pieces that fit together!"

Yugi's smile widened. It had taken him forever to put the puzzle together a hundred years ago (the first time, anyway), but with friends helping out, maybe Atem would get lucky.

"They don't fit that way, moron."

"Sure they do – watch."

Atem's voice approached. "Joey? Bakura? You two had better not be fighting ag-"

Several sharp clangs forced Yugi's hands to his ears.

"Whoops. Where'd they go?"

"Joey-! If you lost my puzzle pieces, then so help me-"

"It's ok, I see 'em. Mmph. Rrgh... Uh, boy. Anybody got a broom? I can't reach 'em."

Then again, maybe not.