Author's Note: Sorry for the long delay in updating! I moved to a new house and it's taken this long to get phone service (and, thus, internet access) back, since the phone company had to lay a new line for me. Hopefully, this extra long chapter will make it up to you all.

Chapter 21

Everything in Yugi's world was made of sunshine. Golden, shimmering, filled with a gentle heat that warmed him from the ends of his curling toes to the tips of his tingling hair. (Yugi thought that was a bit odd; you weren't supposed to be able to feel your hair… Were you?) But honeyed warmth surrounded him, buoyed him up through the layers of consciousness as he rose back into full awareness, and he found it hard to care about details like "supposed to" when he'dneverfeltso good in his entire life.

A lazy smile stole across his lips as he opened his eyes to find Yami staring down at him with open worry. Yami still looked like a pharaoh, but that didn't matter because Yugi was feeling very mellow. In a soft voice, he murmured, "Hey..."

"Hey, yourself." The worry mutated into a wide grin as Yami leaned down and captured Yugi's mouth in a slow, deep kiss that added to Yugi's pleasant lethargy. "How do you feel?"

"Mmm." Yugi practically purred. He gave a languid stretch, like a cat sated on heavy cream, and stroked his fingers down Yami's chest. Okay, so there were definite advantages to this whole 'Yami is a reincarnated pharaoh' thing, because Yami's mostly-bare chest was a Good Thing. "Sooo gooood..."

Yami laughed, a bright sound filled with relief and delight. Only then did it occur to Yugi that he shouldn't be feeling so good. Memory flooded back, filled with terror and guns and red-hot pain. "--Pegasus!"

"It's okay!" Yami curled protectively around him. "He's... not a threat to anyone right now. He can't hurt you."

"He tried to shoot you!" Yugi shoved Yami far enough away to give him a frantic once-over. "Did he hurt you? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, love." Yami's expression did a strange dance between amusement, anger, and remembered fear. "Don't you remember? You... got in the way of the bullet."

Oh. Yeah. Without conscious thought, Yugi reached up to rub at his shoulder. The pain was only a distant memory, dissolved along with everything else in the golden warmth still pulsing through him. "Pegasus... shot me?"

As if unwilling to trust his voice, Yami nodded and buried his face against Yugi's neck. Yugi felt him tremble. "It's okay, Yami. I'm okay."

"Aibou--" Yami's voice hitched, and his arms tightened their hold to just short of crushing.

Yugi held on until Yami regained control of his emotions. Confusion nagged at Yugi. If Pegasus had shot him, why did he feel so damn good? He guessed that Yami had healed him, but Yami's power hadn't seemed to have this kind of affect on the others. His face flamed as he recalled the last time he'd felt like this. That had involved Yami, too, as well as Yugi's bed aboard the River Horse...

A loud banging noise startled him from his reverie. He and Yami drew apart, both turning their heads to stare at the secret door. Someone pounded on it again, and a familiar voice called, "Yami! Yugi! Are you there?"

"Mahaad!" Yami sprang to his feet and hurried over to the door. "We're in here!"

"Are you all right? I cannot seem to open the door."

"Dr. Viridian?" It took Yugi a moment to place the second voice as Mai's. What was she doing here? "Can you open the door from your side?"

"Pegasus jammed it," Yugi said, joining Yami. "I'm not sure what he did to it."

"I'll take a look at it." Yami bent to examine the mechanism. "Just give me a minute."

"Yugi?" Mai called through the panel. "Is Mr. Crawford in there with you?"

"Yes. And Miss Ishtar -- and her brother Malik."

Her tone sharpened. "Are you in any danger right now?"

"No, I don't think so." Yugi glanced quickly around. Pegasus lay sprawled on the floor. His remaining eye was open, but he didn't seem aware of anything going on around him. His stupor reminded Yugi uncomfortably of the way Malik had been when the tall man had carried him into the chamber. The thought drew Yugi's gaze to Malik, who sat beside the sarcophagus, still rocking Isis as she murmured to him through her tears. "Yami... uh, took care of that."

"Got it!" Yami's triumphant exclamation coincided with the harsh scrape of stone on stone as the concealed door ground open. He glared through the opening at Mai. "Interpol, I presume."

"At your service, hon."

"You couldn't have been 'at my service' about two weeks ago and saved us all a hell of a lot of trouble?" Yami growled as she strode into the chamber, Mahaad at her designer heels.

"Things haven't exactly gone according to--" She did a double take as she got a good look at him, and subjected him to a slow scan from head to toe. "That's a new look for you, isn't it, Dr. Viridian?"

A light flush stained Yami's high cheekbones. "It's a long story." He turned to avoid her stare -- and ran smack into Mahaad's. "...Shut up."

"I did not say anything," Mahaad protested. It would have seemed more sincere without the smirk.

"You were thinking it. Loudly."

"It is a good look for you."

"Hmph." Yami folded his arms over his mostly-bare chest and stuck his nose in the air. "You're courting the wrath of Pharaoh, buddy."

"Oh, I am trembling..."

"Yeah, with laughter." Shaking his head, Yami dropped the pose. "Shut up, already!"

"Some day, I have got to hear that 'long story' of yours, Doctor. The explanation for that get-up has got to be a doozy." Smothering a giggle, Mai turned to Yugi. "You okay?"

He nodded. "So, you were after Pegasus the whole time?"

"He was our top suspect," Mai said. She sauntered over to where he lay and bent down to examine him. He didn't seem capable of putting up any resistance, but she cuffed him anyway, then turned to examine the mummies in the wooden coffin against the wall. "Are these... what I think they are?"

"His wife and child," Yami said.

"Ew." She shook her head. "We suspected he was receiving stolen antiquities, but we had no idea he'd gone so far around the bend."

Yugi shivered, glad when Yami promptly put his arm around him. "Can we get out of here now? I think I'm going to cultivate claustrophobia, just on general principles, and I'd like to get started as soon as possible, preferrably somewhere the ceiling isn't likely to fall on me at any minute."

"There is a helicopter waiting outside," Mahaad said. "I believe there is room for all of us."

Yugi wanted to cheer ...but Yami was shaking his head. "I can't leave the tomb unguarded. I'll stay behind while you return to Aswan. Mahaad, contact the SCA and the Institute, and inform them of the find. The credit belongs to Sugoroku and Yugi Mutou. Then see if you can round up some trustworthy men to guard the tomb until the government arrives."

"Of course. I have some relatives in the area that will be happy to help."

Siegfried popped his head around the doorjamb, startling them all. "The area is secure, ma'am." He stopped just short of saluting Mai. "Your orders?"

"Get some back-up out here ASAP. We'll need a team to handle a couple of unanticipated bodies --" She gestured to the mummies. "-- and I'll need someone to take charge of Miss Ishtar's brother."

"Yes, ma'am." Siegfried departed as suddenly as he'd arrived.

Yugi looked at Mai. "Let me guess. He's not really your brother."

"No, that was just part of our cover."

Yugi shook his head. He wondered how much of what he thought he knew about his fellow tourists was true and how much had been manufactured for his benefit.

"Lieutenant Bahur, if you would be so kind as to lend me a hand?" Mai waved an elegant hand at Pegasus. "We need to get him to the chopper."

"Of course. I am glad to offer my assistance."

Between the two of them, they manhandled Pegasus to his feet and got him moving. As they neared the doorway, Mahaad hesitated. "What of Miss Ishtar?"

"That would be my responsibility, I believe." Bakura stepped over the threshold, already heading for Isis and her brother. Along the way, he shot a glance at Yami. "What the hell happened to you, Viridian? You look like a Cecil B. DeMille extra."

"Bite me." Yami did a double take. "Wait. You're an Interpol agent?"

"Got it in one, Pharaoh. Guess you're not just a pretty face, after all." Snickering, Bakura gave him a final, long look, then hurried over to the siblings huddled on the floor by the sarcophagus. "All right, Miss Ishtar. You'll have to come with me."

Stiffly, Isis got to her feet, reassuring Malik when the boy began to panic. Fortunately for all involved, Ryou showed up and took charge of Malik while Bakura restrained Isis. Ryou murmured something too soft to hear, but Bakura's response rang out in the still chamber. "No, I bloody well don't want to look around, Ryou -- You know I hate tombs!"

Yami threw his hands up in the air. "Was anyone on the damned cruise who they appeared to be?"

"Yugi was." Ryou smiled at them. "And the four from New York."

Bakura smirked. "Mai's team was assigned to Dr. Viridian from the very beginning, while I've been working on the Rex and Weevil angle for months."

"And I have been following Yugi since his arrival in Cairo," Ryou added brightly.

"Yes, and Mutou nearly spoiled the entire operation with his blundering."

Ryou reached around Malik to swat at the back of Bakura's head. "Stop that. It wasn't Yugi's fault." He smiled apologetically at Yugi. "I'm sorry I couldn't tell you sooner, Yugi. I know how worried you've been about your grandfather. I'm glad that he's all right."

A low rumble shook through the chamber, toppling a statue from its pedestal. It crashed to the floor, knocking over a stack of wooden boxes that spilled their contents in a glittering pile of gold and bright colored stones. A chunk of painted plaster detached from the ceiling and shattered against the top of the sarcophagus.

Bakura kept a firm grip on Isis with one hand. With the other, he grabbed a fistful of Ryou's shirt and towed him toward the door. "We are leaving. Now." He hustled them from the chamber, his voice drifting back with a final complaint. "I bloody hate bloody damned tombs!"

Ryou called back over his shoulder as Bakura pulled him along. "I suggest you wait outside the tomb, Dr. Viridian. I don't think it's safe in here!"

"I'll take that under advisement."

In another minute, Yugi and Yami were alone in the burial chamber.

"Was that another aftershock?" Yugi asked as Yami stalked over to the sarcophagus and examined the Millennium Items.

"Yes." Yami glanced at him, a thoughtful frown furrowing his brow beneath the rearing cobra on his crown. "Ryou is right. It may not be safe to remain here. You should go with them --"

"I'm not leaving you!"

"Somehow, I knew you were going to say that." Yami didn't sound all that unhappy about it, despite his words. He motioned Yugi over. "We'll just have to hurry."

"What are you going to do?"

When they met his, Yami's eyes were troubled. "The Millennium Items... They were created to protect Egypt during a time of great strife. That time has largely been lost to history, but I... I remember some of it now. I know that I commanded the Items to be created, though I did not know at what cost."

"What do you mean?"

"The Items feed on human souls. For every act of power, they consume another soul. They hold many of them still, locked within the very gold from which they were fashioned." Seeing the look of horror on Yugi's face, he hastened to add, "I did not know, mery-i. I swear it! My priests knew I would not condone such a terrible thing, so they hid it from me. After I discovered the truth, I shattered the Puzzle so their full power could never be used again, even though it meant my own death."

Yugi shivered. "So, when you used the Items' magic to heal me and the others--?"

Yami looked uncomfortable, and he couldn't seem to meet Yugi's eye. "The power was already inside the Items. I merely called it forth."

The power… But the power of the Items came from souls. Did that mean that each act of power, each act of healing, that Yami had performed at Yugi's behest had consumed a human life? "Oh, god… Did -- did it kill someone when you healed me? Did I kill someone? Yami--?"

"No!" Yami's head snapped up and he met Yugi's gaze squarely again. "No, aibou. The… the souls were trapped long ago. You had nothing to do with it."

"But… If a soul is consumed each time you use the Items, and you used them for me…."

Yami sighed. "I'm sorry. I should have warned you."

The guilt in Yami's voice made Yugi's frantic thoughts grind to an abrupt halt. He stopped panicking and thought about things for a moment. "No. I mean, yeah, I wish I'd known. But… I couldn't have let Pegasus die. And I wouldn't have wanted Malik to suffer any more, either."

"And I would not have let you die, no matter what," Yami added firmly. "Yugi, I could have refused your requests--" He exhaled an indignant huff at the skeptical look Yugi gave him. "I could have. I just… didn't want to. Any guilt that attaches to using the Items is mine, not yours."

Yugi remained unconvinced, but decided to let it go for now. "How many souls are still trapped in the Items?"

"I don't know." Yami's gaze seemed to turn inward for a moment. "Pegasus and Isis both used their Items, though without all seven together, neither of them could utilize their full potential." He sighed. "I cannot say exactly how many souls remain, but I can feel them there, in at least some of the Items."

"Can you free them?"

This time, Yami's hesitation was longer. Yugi wondered if Yami was searching his memories of his past life as Atem for the answer to Yugi's question. Finally, Yami said, "…In a manner of speaking."

That didn't sound very promising. Yugi furrowed his brow. "What do you mean 'in a manner of speaking'? Can you do it or not?"

"I can."

"But…?" Yugi prompted. "There was a distinct 'but' in that pause, Yami."

"But--" Yami grimaced. "--I can't release them."

That sounded like splitting semantic hairs to Yugi. "What am I not getting, here?"

"I can remove the souls from the Items by invoking the magic. I can… disperse the power after I've called it forth, but I cannot release the souls from the hold the Items have over them. I can use them, remove their power from the Items, but I cannot send them on their way to a proper afterlife."

"Why not?!" Yugi wailed.

"With each use, the souls have fragmented, losing pieces of themselves. They are no longer whole, no longer entirely human. If I release them, they will be no more than angry wraiths, doomed to haunt the earth."

Yugi thought that sounded more like Atem than Yami -- or, rather, whatYugi assumed was Atem. That awful declaration that Pegasus deserved to bleed to death had to have come from the spirit of the ancient Pharaoh, accustomed to being the arbiter of life and death. Yugi couldn't -- wouldn't -- believe Yami could be so cold. And that triggered another worrisome idea. "Yami… Where did Atem's memories come from? It happened when the Puzzle touched you, didn't it? Does that mean that his soul was trapped in the Puzzle?"

"I am Atem, Yugi. Or, rather, I was. A part of me was drawn into the Puzzle when I shattered it. That part contained Atem's memories of his life as pharaoh."

"But the Puzzle released that part of his -- your -- soul, right?"

"It gave me back what it took from me, yes. But I cannot reunite the stolen souls with bodies which no longer exist."

"Are you sure they don't exist? Not even as mummies?" This was Egypt, after all.

Yami gave him a Look. "Would you want to be trapped inside a mummified corpse?"

Ew. Good point. Yugi gave it some more thought. "When you broke the Puzzle, did you believe you were destroying the Items' power forever?"

"I knew I could not destroy the Items, because I had tried. I hoped only to seal the power so that no one else could use them." Yami shrugged. "It worked, for a time. However, with Atem's ka released from the Puzzle, the seal is broken. Anyone who possessed the Items could use them, if they were willing to pay the price."

Pegasus had been willing. He hadn't cared how many souls he had to sacrifice if it would bring back his family. Yugi was certain there would be others equally willing to 'feed' the Items, and with far less cause. "If you break the Puzzle now, what would happen? Would it …kill you?"

Yami lifted the Puzzle from around his neck. Cradling it in his hands, he stared into the mystic eye at its center. "I do not know."

"You can't take that chance!" Yugi wrapped his fingers around Yami's wrist as if his grip could anchor Yami to life. "I don't want to lose you!"

Yami's smile rivaled the sun. "Really?"

"Yes, really, you idiot!" Burying his face against Yami's chest, Yugi wrapped both arms around him as tightly as he could. "If you get yourself killed, I'll never forgive you."

"Then I'll try my best to stay alive," Yami promised. "Besides, I don't think breaking the Puzzle would be enough. The Items were scattered before, hidden. Now that they've been reunited, I'm afraid simply taking one of them apart won't do much good."

"Yeah. Okay. So... What can we do?"

"Releasing the spirits will temporarily render the Items powerless, sort of like a flashlight with rundown batteries. They'll be useless to anyone who doesn't know how to 'recharge' them. That should make them safe enough until we can figure out what to do with them on a permanent basis."

"Can you do that -- release the spirits?"

"Let's hope so. Because my other plan involves chucking them into an active volcano -- and we seem to be fresh out of those, at the moment."

Not knowing what else he could do, Yugi simply stood beside Yami and offered his silent support. Yami placed the Puzzle with the other Items, then lifted his hands over them. He began to chant softly in what Yugi had finally realized must be the language of the ancient Egyptians. Gradually, the Items began to respond.

At first, Yugi thought it was his imagination painting a slight golden halo around each Item, but soon they were shining as brightly as miniature suns. Their light chased the shadows from the corners of the burial chamber, growing more incandescent, until Yugi had to throw his arm up to shield his eyes from the glare.

Unable to see, he had no warning before a terrible cacophony of shrieks and moans split the air above them. The light vanished. Yugi lowered his arm in time to see shadows erupt from the Items to fill the air with a thundercloud of writhing, wailing phantoms. None of the tortured shapes looked remotely human. All of them looked angry.

Uh-oh. This didn't look good, at all.

Yugi gulped as Yami grabbed his hand and took a long stride backward, away from the Items and the wraiths hovering over them. The movement drew the attention of the spirits. The writhing cloud stilled for just an instant, hovering, as if plotting its next action.

Then, with a blood-curdling scream that turned Yugi's insides to ice water, the shadowy spirits dove directly for Yami's heart.