AtemLeonardo: I had to flippin write this twice...Im so pissed cause I forgot to save...

Chapter2: The hospital

Dying...?

"ATEM? YOU IN THERE?! OPEN UP!" Yugi cried, falling to his knees as he pounded rapidly on Atem's soulroom door."

PLEASE! I DON'T WANT TO LOSE YOU!"

The door opened, and out came the Pharaoh.

"Why are you crying?" he asked camly.

"You... you're dying...and you aren't scared?"

"Well... I'm a little. I'd want to stay positive and hope for the better. After all... I'm in excruciating pain..."

Atem explained before falling to the ground.In the outside world...Yugi jerked and opened his eyes."A-" he stammered. He noticed that he was outside the Emergency Room, with Joey standing next to him.

"Yuge, you okay? You passed out in the ambulance..."

Yugi nodded as he held his puzzle."I...was talking to Atem...but he fell at the last second..." he explained with tears dripping down his cheeks. "What are we waiting for?" he asked.

"The results. The nurse said that the doctors are performing an operation now. All we can do is to hope for the best." Joey sighed as he slumped onto the chair next to Yugi.

It was pretty much silent. With Atem unconscious in both the puzzle and in real life, it was useless to have hope. The Pharaoh had completely shut his mindlink, thus Yugi couldn't really check up on him. He was extremely worried.

What if he doesn't make it? What happens then?

A few hours later..."Mr...Muto, you may come in." The nurse whispered, not wanting to wake the sleeping patient up.

Yugi crept into the room and noticed the number of wires surrounding the poor older him.

"What the..." Joey mummured.

Yugi rushed up to Atem and hugged him tightly.

Words could not explain how hurt Yugi was to see his partner lying in that bed, no longer having that confident face that he once had."Promise me you'll make it..." Yugi mumbled, convulsing in sobs.Just then, he felt Atem's palm twitch."Atem?" Yugi asked. No answer came out of the Pharaoh, but the boy knew that he was definitely there, wanting to burst out of his body.

"Mr Muto, your...brother is deprived of oxygen and water, so I hope you can understand if we had to stick those tubes into him like that...we are also trying to control the amount of pain he receives...if not his body can just give way."

Yugi glanced at her, then back to Atem. He knew how it felt to be so...covered with tubes...

Flashback...

A few years back...Yugi was born with weak lungs, thus for 6 straight years, he had to be hospitalized and be stuck eith a million tubes stuck up into his nose or arms. He had trouble breathing from all those 6 years and immediately fell into depression as his parents weren't there, and only his Grandpa which wasn't enough. He then forgot about them and only considered his Grandpa as his guardian.

At the age of 7, his lungs started to function on its own, but...

at the age of 10, his lungs suddenely stopped functioning and Yugi was rushed to the hospital once again.

Thus he spent another 4 years in that cold place.

He hated to see the number of machines and tubes around him. Till this day...those equipment still haunted him.

End of flashback.

Just as the nurse left, Atem yelled out in pain, but as Yugi glanced at him, his eyes were closed.

"Maybe it's a bad nightmare..." Yugi mummured.

"You sure Yuge? I don't think it's a nightmare..." Joey mumbled, wiping the sweat off Atem's forehead with a cloth.

Though Atem's expression softened after that, he still continued struggling to breathe and groaning.

"Atem! Hold on--"

Suddenly, Atem gripped onto Yugi's shirt tightly and pulled him closer for warmth.

"Are you cold?" he asked.

The Pharaoh did not let go, let alone say anything. He was afraid.

But what was he afraid of?

Joey sighed and quickly called a nurse to come over.

Meanwhile, Atem's face softened, but then lost his grip on Yugi's shirt. His arms were slumped against the bed, and his breathing was completely unstable.

Unfortunately for Yugi, Atem had completely shut his mind link off, and he could not communicate with his sick partner.

I need him to respond! Open up Atem!

Yugi knocked on the soul room door, bursting into tears.

Soon, the nurse arrived. She gasped when she noticed the state that Atem was in.

She called for a doctor, and they agreed to send the poor Pharaoh for an operation.

Yugi buried his face into his arms as he waited for the results. Joey tried his best to comfort his crying friend, but it was futile. The poor boy didn't want his partner to die.

Seconds turned to minutes, then to hours. It has been 4 hours since Yugi had seen Atem.

If he's gone this long...something is definitely wrong! What if he's dead...what if he has some sort of disease that will kill him? No! I'm...no...

2 hours later, the nurses pushed the bed into the room. Atem lay atop, sleeping soundly.

"He's okay?" Yugi asked worriedly.

"Yes. Although there is a bad news."

"What is it?" Yugi mumbled, gripping Atem's right palm tightly.

"When the boy was shot, the bullet had reached so deep into him that it paralysed him. However, he will be able to recover from it as long as he doesn't move." she explained before leaving.

The smaller boy sighed as he glanced at his other self in tears.

Why must this happen? Out of all the bad times? Why now?

Flashback

"Father! Are you alright?" Atem asked his father, upon seeing that his father was being laid in bed.

"Oh my son...How I wish I could stay longer...to see you grow into a man..."

"Father! Please don't do this to me!!! Don't leave me..." The young Prince cried, falling to his knees as he buried his face into his father's arm.

"Do not cry...my son...you are now Pharaoh...take care of Egypt...okay?" the sick king asked.

"N-no! I'm not ready!" Atem shouted before bursting into tears. "If you leave...I won't have anyone..." he mumbled.

"You are ready...and you have Mana and Mahad...the priests...Egypt..." The king smiled before shakily handing him the puzzle. "Rise...my son."

Atem did as he way told as he unsteadily held the puzzle in his arms.

"I love you..." Atem's father gave a weak smile before his energy was wiped out.

"NO!" Atem yelled, slamming his fist against the wall.

PresentAtem flinched as he opened his eyes. His entire body was stiff and hard to move.

Yugi? Why can't I move?You're paralysed...