Wow, things have changed a lot since the last time I posted. Hopefully all of you are staying safe. There's a light at the end of this tunnel.

I apologize for making you guys wait so long! Most of this chapter has been sitting in my folder waiting to be finished, but I struggled to figure out where it should stop. I hope I have met your expectations.

See the AN at the end for more details.

Until then, enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own YuGiOh!, only my OCs and the plot their stories revolve around.

Chapter 33

They'd been gone too long.

Tea had hoped maybe Atem and Erin had left to make real amends in private, but missing twenty minutes of Yugi's first tournament duel without him...that was very un-Atem-like. Tristan only made her more nervous when he leaned over and half-jokingly mumbled, "Either Atem and Erin's heart-to-heart ended really well or they've been kidnapped and we're the last people to have seen them alive."

That made her reach for her phone, buried deep in her purse, beneath a sheet of thick, folded paper - wait, how did that get in there? When she retrieved her phone, the paper came out with it.

The crowd around her cheered at the appearance of Yugi's Dark Magician. After he'd joined them, Tristan turned back to her and frowned down at the paper as she carefully unfolded it. "What's that?"

"I don't know." As soon as she read the first line, she recognized the handwriting - Erin.

Tea,

Don't be obvious about reading this. Someone is watching you guys.

She clenched her jaw and jerked her head up, looking around at the other spectators. No one seemed out of the ordinary…

Tristan gave her a dubious look, to which she responded by signaling the paper with her eyes. He read the first two lines, too, then stopped himself halfway through doing the same routine she had.

Devon's not Devon. He's a spirit from Ancient Rome who has murdered more people than you know. He may even be older than that. I have no idea. Just know he's dangerous. He has Astrid holding my brother prisoner.

If you're reading this and Atem and I have left, we've been taken by one of Devon's henchmen. I couldn't tell you out loud because of the aforementioned monitoring.

Before you even try going after us, please meet up with Ishizu and Marik and let them know what's going on. Make sure Miri is still safe with the Kaibas. And please, PLEASE find and save Landon first. He's the collateral Devon has over my head, and if he's off the board, I can safely get Atem out, too.

And if something goes wrong, save Atem next. I'm a last priority. If I don't make it, tell him I love him, I'm sorry, and he deserves so much better than me. This is all my fault, and I'm going to fix it no matter what it takes. I can only pray you find this before it's too late.

I love all of you. Be careful and save yourselves first.

-Erin

By the look on Tristan's face, he was stuck between rage and fear.

Next to him, Joey had taken notice of his friends' sudden disinterest in Yugi's duel. He leaned in, trying to get a look at the paper. "What's goin' on?"

Tea tucked it away before he could read the first words, talking over the beginning of Tristan's stumbling explanation. "Nothing! Just a note that Ishizu and Marik slipped under my door this morning. I forgot about it until now." The smile on her face was so dry that she could feel the edges crack.

Joey's eyebrows furrowed. He wasn't buying it. "What does it say? You guys looked pretty spooked."

"You must have been looking at us wrong!" Tristan said, scratching the back of his head as he, too, slapped on a fake grin. "We're actually excited!"

"About what?" Suspicion laced Joey's voice.

Hoping her own voice didn't reveal the anxiety beneath, Tea answered. "They're meeting us for dinner tonight to celebrate Atem and Yugi's wins!"

"That's great!" At the mention of food, the blond immediately lit up. "Where at?"

Tea and Tristan exchanged a look. Tea shrugged, hoping it looked more nonchalant than defensive. "They didn't say. We, uh, we get to choose!"

The crowd around them ooh'ed. Yugi had activated one of Devon's trap cards, but still had 3200 Life Points to Devon's 1700.

Joey's attention turned back at the duel. "You got this, Yug!" He shouted. The duelist in question grinned, sparing a glance at the stands where they sat before announcing his next move. Joey whipped his head back to the other two. "Can we go to that gyro place downtown? Their new Philly gyro has been calling my name!"

Tea's smile was cracking. "Yeah, maybe. We'll talk to them and see what they want to do after the duel."

Joey's grin was so excited that Tea's chest clenched. With one final wink, he went back to watching the duel.

Tristan leaned closer to her so Joey wouldn't hear. "I'll go get them." He murmured, voice resolute.

"But -"

"You're too high-profile. Being Erin's best friend and all. Joey has to duel after this, Yugi's not an option, and we can't put anyone else in any more danger." He shrugged, giving a wry smirk. "Besides, half the time people forget I'm even a part of this group. They won't see me coming."

"Tristan, that's not -"

He held up a hand. "Seriously, it's not a big deal. It doesn't mean I think you guys love me any less." As she opened her mouth to remind him that he was wanted, he continued, eyes imploring. "Let me be the hero for once."

Cheers erupted around them. Yugi had whittled Devon's life points down to 300 with a trap.

Finally, Tea nodded. "Okay. Yeah, that makes sense. I'll fill Yugi in when his duel is over." After Tristan nodded back and made to get out of the row (giving Joey some BS bathroom break excuse that had something to do with the breakfast burrito he'd eaten earlier), she grabbed his arm. "Good luck. Be careful. And...whatever anyone else says, you matter just as much as the rest of us."

The edges of his lips turned up before he brushed past her and out of the row. All the thoughts and concerns going through his mind had converged into one train: Find Ishizu and Marik.

What they would do when he found them, he had no idea.

It was amazing how empty the service hallways were.

The thought occurred to me while four burly men in masks dragged Atem and I through them, two to each of us. After we'd been roughly pulled apart in the hallway upstairs, I hadn't been able to bring myself to look at him. I could hear him, though, struggling against them with everything he had. He was just behind us, and when we'd first started descending into the basement of the hotel, all of his shouts were for me: "Erin, no!" "Let her go!" "Get away from her!"

Now, it seemed, he'd resigned himself to trying to free himself first and me second. Maybe it was better that way - if he managed to break free and run, that would be one less stone weighing on my subconscious.

One of his captors sucked in a breath. Atem must have gotten a good hit in. "That's it, you maggot," the man growled. There was a sickening thud, a short grunt of pain from Atem, and then nothing.

For the first time since we'd been taken, I pushed against the two men flanking me to twist my body towards Atem. Between their shoulders, I could just make out his now-slumped form, hanging limply from the stark grip of his captors on his upper arms. "Atem!"

One of my captors grabbed my shoulder to push me back into a forward-facing position. "Relax, Sagira. He's not dead."

"Yet," mumbled the one to my right, which earned him a faint chuckle from one of the henchmen holding Atem.

Having recovered from the initial shock of being captured, my blood had begun to boil. "I won't let you hurt him." I growled. Every ounce of anger was channeled into my eyes as I turned to stare him down.

The one on my left twisted my arm, earning an undignified cry of pain from my mouth. "Says the siren that lured him into the trap in the first place."

My nostrils flared, but I had nothing to say to that.

He took my silence as a surrender. "That's what I thought."

We emerged from the service hallway and into the parking garage, where a large black van was waiting. The back door slid open to reveal - much to my dismay - Astrid, green eyes as poisonous as ever.

"Her highness' carriage awaits," she sneered, hopping out so I could be shoved inside, followed by Atem's limp body. One of the men had the decency to make sure I was able to catch his head before it slammed onto the floor of the seatless compartment.

Astrid made another snide comment, but I ignored it. I was too busy pulling Atem against me, leaning into the wall of the van so I could make sure the position wouldn't hurt him. There was a bruise forming on his right temple. Something cold gathered in the pit of my stomach. I wanted to kill someone.

I could feel Astrid staring at us as the door slammed shut and the van began to move. The only thing keeping me from glaring back at her was my attention to running my hands through Atem's hair, minding the spot he'd been struck. It was soft and smelled like the cologne he wore. If I couldn't help him, I could at least take care of him.

For a few minutes, the only sound was the creaking of the van as it presumably barreled down the road.

"He would've been better off without you," Astrid finally said.

I clenched my jaw.

She was sitting cross-legged against the opposite wall. "He came back from the afterlife to find you, and you only brought him right back to death's door. A love story for the ages, huh?"

I tensed against Atem's back, focusing on not letting my fingers in his hair grow too harsh with the anger boiling up inside me. My eyes finally turned up to meet hers. "Because yours is so much more amazing? Went back to your ex in desperation, let him rope you into aiding in an ancient cult murder? I can't wait until Disney writes a movie about the two of you."

Her nostrils flared. "I wouldn't expect someone like you to understand."

"Someone like me? You mean someone who wouldn't hurt other people just to get something I wanted?" The words tasted like acid on my tongue. Isn't that exactly what you've done to Atem?

Astrid wasn't stupid. She caught my slip-up, and her lips turned into a smug little smirk. "Clearly you're not the saint you think you are. That boy literally fell into your lap and yet you drag him to execution all the same."

The van hit a large bump in the road, and my arms instinctively braced around Atem to hold him upright. He was heavy. I glowered at Astrid. "Do you even understand what's happening? Do you know what Devon's planning?"

"So what if I do?" She asked. "Like I would tell you anything."

"Is that what you're going to say to the cops when there's a missing persons investigation, and you two pop up as suspects? When Atem and I are found dead?"

She rolled her eyes. "Honestly, I wonder how much you even know about what's going on. Sure, maybe Atem will die, but he's not really supposed to be in this time, anyway. But you? What makes you think the end waiting for you is death? You get what you deserve, and death would be too merciful for you."

It took a long minute to digest what she'd said. I could feel my pulse in my ears. Every bump on the road became a shock to my heartbeat. Atem twitched in my arms, and I looked down to find his eyelids scrunching. "You don't know anything about me, Astrid."

"Born in ancient Egypt, fell in love with a king who was too good for you, lost your mind when he died to save you, made a deal with a mage that you didn't fully understand and now you're stuck in an endless cycle of death and rebirth until the deal expires." Her smirk fell, and all that was left to burn me were her eyes. "I know enough."

I didn't even realize that my fingers had tightened on the fabric of Atem's shirt until I felt a warm hand cover mine. He shifted out of my grip, wincing, but wouldn't let me help him as he sat up.

"Welcome back, your highness," Astrid said. "I hope you're ready to finally face the music."

For his part, Atem seemed awfully present for someone who had just been unconscious mere seconds ago. He simply regarded her with a level stare, his poker face firmly pressed in place. "What will you do with us?"

The van stopped. Astrid simply smiled sweetly at him as the engine cut off and the sound of the front doors opening and closing pierced our eardrums like hot needles.

Without warning, the door behind Atem and I slid open, and I found myself being ripped from him once again. He shouted my name, grasping for the hand I'd just had wound in his shirt, but it was no use - he was injured and slow, and the men who'd had him before were quicker, pulling him out after me. On the other side, Astrid hopped out onto the pavement.

I blinked in the harsh sunlight after what felt like hours in dim hallways and poorly-lit vans. When my vision cleared, I wasn't at all prepared for our location.

"Devon's house?" Atem asked, voicing my own confusion.

No one answered, except to roughly shove us into the open garage, covering us in shadow once more. The heavy door rolled shut behind us.

The inside of the house was mind-numbingly silent save for the shuffling of our feet across the tile and wood. Our forced path followed roughly the same one Tea and I had taken the night of the party, through the kitchen and down the basement stairs. As Astrid led us past the bar and headed for the last door in the hallway downstairs, I realized with horror where she was taking us.

Sure enough, I was once again greeted by the pristine, basketball-infested bedroom of Devon's former life. Trophies, coated with a thin layer of dust, still sat in the same order on the same shelves. The bed was still perfectly made, unwrinkled.

Did the real Devon know the spirit that possessed him?

Or worse, was he still in there, fighting, as he watched his life crumble at his feet?

Not until we reached the glittering light at the back of the closet did I begin to actually panic. Astrid had stayed in the bedroom, though she watched as my captors brought me forward and roughly forced my hand to touch the stone beneath the light, bringing forth the lapis lazuli blue Eye of Horus.

And then we were in the stone room again. It gave me chills, breathing the old air among the flickering torches. Though my captors held me still, Atem's pushed him against the wall, locking his wrists in steel cuffs attached to short chains that extended from the stone.

I didn't remember those…

….Nor did I remember the beaten-looking sarcophagus in the center of the room, made of partially-rotted wood instead of gold. Above it hung my amulet, glittering ominously in the torch light. I realized I hadn't checked for it after my mysterious trip to the park.

And hovering next to them, hands clasped before him, was the hooded figure I'd met the last time I'd been here. Just seeing him again sent shivers down my spine, my mind reeling back to the memory he'd forced back into my head, the one where Atem had been -

"I thought I told you to be careful with him," the hooded figure said, approaching Atem and reaching a gnarled hand toward the blossoming bruise on his temple. Atem snarled and lunged at him, though he didn't get far with the chains holding him back. The hooded man didn't even flinch, simply dropped his hand to his side.

"He was causing too much trouble." Said one of the henchmen.

"Unsurprising. Even three thousand years ago, he would have done anything to save his precious scribe," the hooded man turned to me. In the darkness beneath his hood, I saw his teeth flash in a feral grin. "Hello again, Sagira of Khemnar Uk. Have you finally remembered your true purpose?"

I glared back at him. "Purpose? You're holding my brother hostage."

A dark chuckle echoed around the chamber. The hands gripping my arms tightened. "It still baffles me the lengths you will go to protect the families you've infiltrated. You've had dozens of brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers...and yet you choose one of those expendables over your own true love."

My eyes briefly met Atem's across the room. He was watching the exchange with a poorly-sealed mask of indifference. Those words had hurt him.

"Isn't that why you bargained with me in the first place, child?" The man continued. My gaze snapped back to him, and more worn edges clicked together in my mind. It hurts, doesn't it? Knowing everyone you've ever loved is gone forever? The embers of a somber, dangerous Egyptian night rekindled.

"Bargained?" Atem finally croaked. At my inability to look at him this time, he coughed, then forced a bite into his next words. "Ira, what is he talking about?"

I continued avoiding him. My throat had closed; my tongue - my guilt - was strangling me.

The man's smile widened. "So, you haven't told him, though you've known it for some time. Oh, what tangled webs we weave." He leaned in conspiratorially. When I recoiled, he asked in a stage whisper, "Shall I tell him, then?"

My body felt as if it were falling to pieces, chipped away at by thousands of years of ignoring the most reckless thing I'd ever done in any of my lives. My lip trembled. My voice wouldn't work.

I felt Atem's eyes on me. He always saw the good in me, but now he's going to see me for the walking nightmare I've always been.

The figure strode casually to the center of the room, brushing reverent fingers over the pungent wood of the coffin. "You remember the old tales of the God of Darkness, don't you, Pharaoh?"

"Zorc is long gone," Atem growled. "I defeated him."

My fingernails dug painful crescents into my palms as I pushed down the urge to struggle against my captors. Though every fiber of my being told me this was when I should fight, some sick part of my mind wanted to hear more of the story, to fill in the gaps where my emotions begged me to believe my memories were false.

The hooded man did not disappoint. He laughed. "Another hero in a line of righteous men who thinks they can create a world that knows no evil. A wise man, however, recognizes that there must be balance in all things. Day for night, land for sea…" He gestured to Atem - "light" - then to me - "for darkness."

A dim room full of men in robes not dissimilar to the one adorning the man standing before me flashed through my memory. It had been a nightmare to me for so long, a psychological response to my father's strange obsession with the old gods. I'd convinced myself that I'd made it up.

Now I wasn't so sure.

Atem's eyes bore down on me before turning back to the man with a glare. "Whatever you think Erin is, she isn't evil."

I sighed. "Atem…" I murmured.

His gaze darted back to me. When he saw the look of utter defeat on my face, his expression darkened as he visibly hesitated.

"By all means, Sagira," the man purred, tapping his fingernails on the sarcophagus. "Tell him the whole truth. Does he know the real meaning behind those horrible nightmares you have? Does he know the part you're meant to play in his death?"

My lips trembled. Atem's face had hardened into an unreadable mask.

"I…" I began, voice cracking. "I was scared the night you…" I didn't have to finish the sentence for him to fill in the blank. "Scared and...and angry. My village had been burned to the ground in the battle. And my family…" I swallowed the lump in my throat as tears gathered in my eyes. "In one fell swoop, I had lost four of the most important people in my life. I didn't know what to do. I felt there was nothing left."

As I spoke, Atem's mask slowly softened, turning down into a sad frown. He's probably blaming himself for this, too.

"I didn't realize what he was when he showed up," I continued, glancing at the hooded figure who waited patiently for my explanation, teeth bared. "He told me he could help me, that he could bring you back. And I...I believed him."

Sadness turned to pity. I could no longer look Atem in the eyes. "We made a deal. My service for your life. I didn't know - I didn't realize - that...you were sealed away where not even the gods could save you. The deal wouldn't be filled until you returned to the world of the living in your own body, so I was placed in a state of constant rebirth to ensure I could still uphold my end when you did. Three thousand years, a hundred lifetimes later, and now his part is done. And now I…"

"Owe a debt." The hooded figure finished for me.

There was a long silence. My heart was one glance at Atem away from ripping itself out of my chest. I imagined he felt the same. I felt his gaze burning into the side of my face, likely a combination of disbelief and disappointment.

Finally, the hooded man spoke up. "You shouldn't be so upset, Scribe of the Gods. You were quite literally born for this."

"Take me instead." Atem's sudden interjection echoed resolutely off the stone around us. I finally gathered the courage to look at him, and found two determined violet eyes boring into the other man.

More laughter, this time joined by the two men holding me still, rang in our ears. Another, more familiar, voice chimed in. I found myself face to face with Devon, who had just appeared in the chamber. His duel must have ended.

I hope to Ra that Yugi won.

"A valiant offer, Pharaoh," Devon said, smirking coldly as he grasped my chin. He ignored my attempts to fight him, squeezing my jaw until I stopped moving. "But you don't seem to understand what your girlfriend really is."

"Innocent." Atem stated firmly. Gods, his faith in me doesn't end.

Devon's dark eyes were alight with amusement as he stared down at me. "Do you even know what you are, pulchra?"

I glared back at him, unwilling to show my fear.

"What are you talking about?" It was hard to categorize the words coming out of Atem's mouth as a question - they were an angry fire, a demand.

Dark eyes turned to Atem. "Perhaps you're familiar with a particular religious faction your father was famous for disbanding during his rule."

There was a long moment of silence while Atem reflected on Devon's words. Then, his eyes widened. "The Old Ones. Worshippers of Zorc."

Devon's smile widened, revealing pearlescent teeth. "At least someone has studied their history. However, what you might not know, your highness, is that we saw our end coming. So we created our own little insurance plan." His eyes once more slipped back to mine. "Sagira."

It took a frighteningly short second for every other missing piece to snap together in my mind. The men in robes. My nightmares. The voice I could hear on sunny days, giving me the exact right words to use in spells and prayers. I was shaking.

"That's right, little one," Satisfaction dripped from his tongue, "All along, it was you who should have been destroyed. Instead, the palace welcomed you with open arms. Gave you food and shelter and personal proximity to the very young Light of Egypt. And you even did so much more than we needed."

His grin was absolutely feral. "You tricked the poor bastard into falling in love with you."

I tried to shake my head, vigorously, a panicked denial of his words even if they made so much sense. Devon's hand wouldn't let me.

"You're lying!" Atem hissed, though even that was beginning to fizzle out. I couldn't look at him, but I could feel his facade slipping.

"It hurts, doesn't it, Pharaoh? Being betrayed? An unfortunately common consequence of love," the hooded figure purred. "Perhaps a future monarch should have known better."

Atem answered with a growl.

"So," Devon said, pulling me closer to him. "Are you ready to make your payment, Perdidit Regina?"

"Xavier," came a new voice. Deep and as familiar as the face it belonged to. "Unhand my daughter. She will do that which she is meant to."

"Yt," I breathed. Devon's hand released my jaw, his face twisting into a sour look.

Osaze smiled fondly at me. A silver aura shone around him, blinding me despite my inability to look away. His eyes were hollow. "Do not be afraid, tayir. I am here." His hands extended to me, offering a warm embrace.

My lips turned to a sad reflection of his smile. I didn't even register that my captors had let go of me until I reached for him.

"Erin!" Atem's voice snapped me back to reality mere feet away from my father. "Look at me!" I frowned and found his gaze, frantic even in his state. "It's not real! He's not real!"

Osaze chuckled, bringing my attention back to him. "It seems your Pharaoh isn't too fond of me."

My frown deepened. "Father, the man in the robes -"

"You will be safe from him. Just come to me, my child." His fond smile remained firmly plastered on his face, beginning to match the unforgiving coldness in his eyes.

"But Atem -"

"I will protect you." He extended a hand to me. "Just take my hand."

My eyes shifted to his offered palm. Thin lines indicated use, but they were too shallow for a lifelong scribe. His skin was ashen and dry-looking. His favorite gold ring was missing from his index finger. I met his hollow eyes again and stepped back. "You're not my father."

The smile cracked. "Why do you doubt me?"

"My father was a good man," I said, rooting my feet to the spot and dropping my arms to my sides. "He would never let an innocent man die."

The smile dropped. "You foolish child." Osaze's face became a blur as he lunged for me, far too quickly to be human. I wasn't fast enough to dodge - his hands enveloped mine, yanking me towards him until I was staring into two churning pools of darkness where his eyes had been. I screamed and fought, but his fingers, now tendrils of smoke winding around my forearms, held me in place. "Your father plotted the Pharaoh's demise! You were born and bred to be the instrument of Egypt's destruction! This is your destiny!"

Atem shouted my name again. I could hear him struggling against the chains on the wall.

My eyes remained locked on the pools of darkness, unable to shake the terror of their depth. "L-let me go!" I cried as cold seeped over my body.

Osaze's laughter was like a sword dragging on metal. "It is far too late for that, Sagira. I have waited millennia to finally exact my revenge on the Pharaoh. You are mine."

"No!" The tendrils grasping my arms tightened, then sank into my skin.

It was like a snake had slithered under my skin, filling my veins with venom that paralyzed me. My hand, then my arm, then my shoulder. I heard Atem shout my name once more.

Is that my name? As soon as the word reached my ears, the syllables broke apart, melted into the acid overflowing in my head. My eyes moved to the source as if by pure instinct, and they found the face of a boy.

He was bound to the wall behind him by iron cuffs on his wrists, which he struggled against as he continued shouting that odd combination of sounds. Er-in. Er-in.

I felt a strange kind of empathy for him and his familiar voice. Somewhere in the back of my mind, a thought about something called "guilt" drowned in the sea of darkness. It was human in the way I no longer was, vulnerable and easy to vanquish.

"How do you feel, pulchra?" Asked another voice. This one I knew. I turned to the other boy in the room. The air around him glowed silver.

Amazing. Murmured a gravelly baritone in my ear. I repeated his statement out loud, wondering what the word even meant. My fingers flexed before my eyes, as if I were using them for the first time.

Finally, my gaze locked on the first boy once more. His face had become a mask of horror. A brassy, inhuman chuckle left my mouth. "Any last words before Zorc ends your entire being, once and for all?"

"Zorc." The word was little more than a growl. His eyes stared into mine as his expression softened slightly. His voice trembled over the next words. "Ira, please."

"Sagira is nothing more than a vessel now, Pharaoh," said the other man with the hood. "How poetic it is - the last thing you will see is the face of your beloved as she kills you."

My lips turned up into a chilling rendition of a grin, my steps toward him slow and sure. "Time to die, Chosen Pharaoh."

As I approached, he sank into the wall behind him, waiting for the end.

Boy, I'm bad about leaving you guys on cliffhangers, huh?

What do you guys think the full story behind Erin's deal is?

What will the gang do when they reunite with Ishizu and Marik?

What's happened to Erin?

In all seriousness, I greatly appreciate everyone's patience, likes/reviews or not. I'm doing my best to make sure I get the rest of this story finished, no matter what. This project will 100% never be abandoned.

Life has been weird lately. Again, I hope everyone is staying safe and taking care of their physical and mental health.

Until next time,

-creativelybored