Disclaimer –"Yu-Gi-Oh!" and all related characters, events, and concepts belong to Takahashi Kazuki and any other related owners/distributors/producers. The world of Reirinsei and all related characters and concepts belong to Lunnaei. Dragon's just havin' fun. We get no monetary benefit from this. Our benefit is the enjoyment of dealing with beloved characters.

"Otherworld I: The Door"
by Lunnaei and DragonDancer5150

Chapter 13 – Shadow Games

The stairs ended on a dais of stone flooring some six meters to a side, the edges dropping off into oblivion. The room itself was of epic proportions, the way across a labyrinth of intersecting walkways grooved in parallels with what looked like tram tracks. Dotting the labyrinth all throughout stood giant warrior statues on rectangular stone bases, each wielding a pair of very real, very sharp swords. A few still had the remains of bodies clinging wretchedly to the blades, including two on the dais itself, flanking the start of the walkway.

Atemu watched Jonouchi drag his eyes away from the mounded corpses along the forward edge of the landing, gulping down a rapidly-rising phobic panic, even as Anzu skittered back from the edge, looking dizzy from the height, and Mokuba paled at the bones and remnants of clothing hanging from the long rows of spaces in the walls to either side of the door. Kaiba merely took it all in as Honda shook his head in disgust. "Aw, man . . . this is that room you were telling us about, isn't it, Grandfather? The one where you have to walk with your left foot forward?"

Sugoroku grimaced. "Yes, it sure is, Honda-kun." Back on the cruise ship, the conversation had turned to the dead guides before he could explain why. "Though Atemu is with us, the Shadow Game here is to remember your place. The pharaoh was considered a god, and his tomb a place of the gods. All statues dedicated to the pharaoh or the gods stood with their left foot forward, a representation of taking your heart from your left breast and offering it as a token of absolute loyalty. And, by the way, no one step right there." He pointed out what appeared at first glance to be a flat-topped, golfball-sized stone wedged into the corner seams of four stone blocks, the trigger that would close the door and cause the walls to advance on them, rows of spikes emerging to further force the hapless trespasser onto the narrow walkway or off the edges of the dais. That detail Sugoroku had managed to tell them about.

Malik nodded. "One must always show humility in the presence of the pharaoh and the gods. Any who fails to do so is rewarded with death."

Out of the corner of his eye, Atemu saw Malik glance at him with that last statement, but he himself did not meet anyone's eye, gazing out across the elevated labyrinth. [There are a dozen of us all told, myself included,] he declared after a moment's thought. [I think it would be too risky for us all to cross at once. Move too hastily, even if we do keep the statues from reacting, and we run the risk that someone loses their balance and falls. I think we should cross a few at a time. I will go first.] If there were danger to be had, he preferred himself to be the one to discover it, unwilling to risk his friends.

"I have been this way many times, Phar – ah . . . Atemu." Malik grimaced at himself for the slip. "I would like to go with you if I may."

Atemu studied him for a moment, then nodded. [It would be my honor if you would walk with me, Namu.] He hesitated as he studied Yugi, then sighed. [I don't know how far apart you and I can get, Aibou, so I'm afraid you will have to come, too. I will trust you and Namu to guard each other, as I cannot catch either of you from falling.] With a wry smile, he passed a hand through Malik's arm to further make his point, chuckling when the sensation made Malik shiver.

Yugi turned to Malik with a big grin, teasing. "Don't worry, Namu-kun! I'll protect you."

Malik laughed in good nature. "I'm sure you will, Yugi."

The trio started out across the walkway, Atemu leading, followed by Yugi, then Malik. The statues did not react . . . until Atemu got ahead of the other two by several paces, paused, straightened, and attempted to walk squarely toward the nearest statue, meeting its red-painted eyes. In an instant, several golems scraped to life, bases grinding forward along the floor while sword-wielding arms swung wildly. Atemu backpedaled with a cry of surprise, even as the blades of the nearest passed harmlessly through his incorporeal form. He shifted his feet, so his left was forward, and the figures stopped.

"Other Me!" Yugi yelped, moving on reflex to go to his partner's aid.

Malik's arms around his shoulders prevented it. "Yugi, wait!"

Atemu, too, held up a hand by then to stay him but, before he could comment, Sugoroku's voice cut him off.

"Young man, what do you think you're doing?"

Atemu flinched in spite of himself at the scolding tone, looking over his shoulder at his former advisor and father figure with a sheepish shrug. [I . . . was curious if they would be able to sense me.]

"Boy, you are . . . well, I would say that you are going to get yourself killed, but . . . but even still! You were considered the embodiment of Horus in life, and would join him in death . . . but you are not there yet! Even you must show proper respect to the gods of our ancestors, Atemu. This may be your own tomb, but it is still ultimately the gods' domain and even you are not exempt from their wrath."

Atemu glanced up at the statue with a wry grin. [Yes, Si-Amun, so I see . . . ] He noted the positions of the other statues around the room. [But the gods also are discerning. Look! The ones behind Aibou and Namu did not move, as they would have had to come through them to get to me. Only the ones in front of me, that could reach me unimpeded, moved to react.] He saw Yugi nod, looking around and coming to the same conclusion.

"Good ta know, buddy," Jonouchi called back, the momentary fear for his friends helping to stave off the necrophobia, "but knock it off, will ya? Gonna give us all heart attacks over here!"

Atemu nodded as Yugi and Malik stepped up behind him. [My apologies, Jonouchi-kun. Listen! The three of us are about halfway across. I suggest the next group go ahead and start. Jonouchi and Honda will follow Si-Amun's lead, then Kaiba and Mokuba with Ishizu. Rishid, you are responsible for Anzu and Bakura.]

With nods and murmurs of assent, the groups rearranged themselves on the dais in preparation for their turns. Moving in cautious sets of three, they made their way across, the only moment of concern being when Bakura got too close to an edge while slipping past a statue, the rock crumbling under his weight. The warrior's arm came off at the shoulder when Bakura grabbed for it, and only Rishid's quick reflexes saved him from the oblivion yawning below. Finally, however, the company regrouped on the other side of the room, gathering at the base of another mammoth statue of Horus built into the wall. This one was seated, with the doorway gaping open under the throne between the figure's legs. Beyond, a short descent of stairs led into the darkness, the group's torches revealing yet more of the customary Pyramid Texts.

The group left the sloped corridor for a small antechamber, the walls surprisingly empty but for a single set of text to the right of the door opposite them. Sugoroku hesitated, hanging back a moment as memories replayed behind his eyes. Yugi slipped his hand into his grandfather's for a moment in comfort.

Mokuba was the first to reach the wall with the text, tracing the carvings with one finger. "What does this one say?"

Atemu rested a gentle, ethereal hand on the boy's shoulder as he stepped up behind him. ['The Ka sealed in the stone slabs shall judge you. The cowardly will be eaten by demons. The courageous will be shown the way.']

Anzu shivered. "Demons?"

Kaiba smirked, glancing back at Sugoroku. "Must have been quite a shock to you, old man, the last time you were here."

Sugoroku nodded. "You finished and magicked that room, didn't you? After . . ."

"I did. The tomb was still incomplete when you and Atemu died, and you had not left instructions as to your plans for anything past that Shadow-animated gauntlet, so I got a little creative." In spite of the smug confidence, few missed the deep flinch in Kaiba's eyes, remembered grief over the violent loss of his king and childhood friend. Sharp azure shifted to find dark amethyst, and Atemu allowed a small nod of silent appreciation.

Rishid gazed into the blackness of the doorway. "The room beyond is not wide, but it is long. A bridge spans the chasm below, carved in five sections. Each holds the spirit of a ka monster."

Sugoroku swallowed, stepping forward. "The monsters will allow us to pass. We are not here to commit evil. We have nothing to fear."

Malik nodded confirmation, though he paused, even pulled back a little, as the others began to file through the door.

Anzu turned to find him. "Namu-kun, what is it?"

"I . . . " Malik pulled a breath, then confessed. "I have never been past the doorway. I . . . I knew I would not be allowed passage across the bridge, nor truthfully was there anything beyond that I felt I wanted or needed." His head bowed, one hand coming up to grip his sister's as Ishizu laid both of hers on his shoulders from behind in silent comfort.

Atemu came back through the group to his side, head tilting a bit as he regarded the young man. [Namu, Malik Ishtahl . . . hold your heart strong, my friend, and come – walk with me.] He turned with a gesture of invitation. Malik hesitated a moment longer, then followed him to the head of the group once more, stepping onto the bridge shoulder-to-shoulder with Atemu.

The group passed without so much as a breath or a tremor from the spirits in the bridge, and twelve people gathered around an empty altar. Sugoroku was the first to break the heavy silence. "Here. Right here is where I found the box with the broken Millennium Weight – the Millennium Puzzle – inside." On subconscious reflex, Yugi's hand came up to grip the chain of the Puzzle, even as the company turned almost as one to Atemu.

The spirit, however, only barely noted. His attention was more on the bridge now behind them, on the left-hand edge of the nearest slab. He stood a long moment in silence, then dropped to a knee, breathing a single word. [Si-Amun . . . ] Vaguely, as if from a long-forgotten dream, he thought remembered doing the same thing somehow. Or rather, somewhen. But . . . how was that possible?

He felt Yugi watching him in confusion. "Nakama?"

"What are you remembering?" Kaiba queried in a low tone.

Atemu shook himself and looked up at them, his eyes sweeping them all before they settled on Sugoroku. He could not begin to fathom how he knew it, but he felt sure. [Y-you . . . you'd fallen . . . ]

Sugoroku nodded. "My guide betrayed and shot me, the bullet grazing my shoulder. I wasn't really hurt, not badly, but the force of the blow and the sheer shock of having been shot threw me off-balance, and I slipped off the edge of the bridge . . . right about there, must have been." He nodded again, this time to point with his chin at the spot by Atemu's knee where, even now, faint fingermarks could be seen scuffing the dust. "I caught myself with the hand of my good arm, but I couldn't pull myself back up – and my fingers started slipping."

Atemu frowned in thought, eyes falling away from Sugoroku's as his mind grasped at wisps of memory. [A sharp sound broke the endless darkness, like sudden thunder but . . . not, a-and . . . I remember a voice. No, not a voice, per se, but a sensation, a sense of presence . . . one that I knew, I was sure of it. Someone I loved was in danger, and there was no one to save him . . . ]

Jonouchi gaped. "You'd been asleep an' in pieces for three thousand years, an' you still felt that?"

Kaiba shrugged. "Besides his own parents, Si-Amun was probably one of the few people closest to Atemu in life. Si-Amun acted as personal advisor in public and, more privately, as a sort of foster father to Atemu after Pharaoh Akh-khnum-ka-nen died."

"Family." Rishid nodded, his voice soft. "Even by adoption, ties of family can be very powerful." Ishizu and Malik both smiled at him.

Sugoroku chuckled. "I passed out even as you knelt. When I came to again, I was lying on the bridge, and you were gone."

Atemu nodded. [I remember kneeling and reaching for you. I . . . don't remember actually pulling you up,] he admitted with a small shrug and sheepish grin.

"Come, my pharaoh," Ishizu murmured. "The final chamber still awaits."

8 8 8 8 8

Anzu stood near the back of the group, eyes glued to Atemu. He was even more handsome than she had imagined and, throughout this journey so far, she had found it hard not to keep watching him. Was it so wrong that part of her wanted their time in this tomb to last forever?

At Ishizu's words, Atemu nodded and pushed to his feet, his appearance shifting even as he did so, and Anzu's breath caught in her throat. His skin darkened, white linens wrapping his trunk and thighs. Gold glinted in the torchlight from his shins, waist, fingers, wrists, upper arms, ears, and a backwards-sweeping headdress with the stylized Horus Eye worked into the center. A tatter-edged cloak of royal blue billowed behind him as he stood. He paused, seeming to note the expressions on his friends' faces. [What is it?]

Jonouchi crossed his arms, eyeing his spectral friend. "Now that's more like what I saw."

Grinning, Yugi stepped up to Atemu and took one hand in both of his. Anzu knew that Yugi alone could "physically" touch him because of the bond between their souls, allowing their living energies to interact – she remembered him telling her once. Yugi chuckled at the startled catch of breath as Atemu seemed to realize the difference in skin tones between them. The spirit looked down at himself, free hand lifting to finger the weight on his brow.

Anzu did not realize how she was gaping and blushing until Ishizu bumped her, whispering in her ear. "I have to agree."

Anzu jumped. "Eh? W-what do you mean?"

Ishizu grinned, breathing, "He's quite handsome, especially in full regalia."

Anzu felt her heart stop, and she turned back toward the altar before the hot flush of her face could further embarrass her. "S-so . . . how do we . . . get . . . ?" She gave up, her throat and mind both refusing to cooperate. She scowled back at the smirk on Kaiba's face.

8 8 8 8 8

Kaiba shook his head. Even he had long ago noted the girl's feelings for the spirit, and he could not say which secretly amused him more: her crushy, school-girl fluster, or the fact that Atemu, so far as Kaiba had ever observed, was completely oblivious to it.

In any case, it was not important to the matter at hand, and Kaiba pushed it from his mind. He slid through the group and around the altar to stand by a column abutting the wall, one of four supporting the stone canopy over their heads. The section of wall between the columns had been carved with a collage of images in wide rows, a square of blank plaster bordered in hieroglyphs at its center. "'Only those to whom the Pharaoh has opened his heart may enter his sacred burial chamber'," Kaiba read, his voice soft, then pressed his palm to the blank square. Several startled gasps sounded from the group as the ornate wall panel between the rear columns began to rise, sliding away to reveal a blackness that failed to give way to the torchlight even of those standing closest. Kaiba tossed in his torch, and it seems to vanish at the doorway. No one even heard wood clatter on stone when it should have hit the floor.

Bakura shuddered. "Must we go in there?" He flinched back from Kaiba's silent glare.

Mokuba, however, agreed. "Big-Brother, why is it so dark? What happened to the torch?"

Kaiba's expression softened some as he noted his little brother's fear, then he lifted his gaze to take in the rest of the group as well. Even the Ishtahls stood studying the impenetrable blackness with a measure of apprehension, and Kaiba guessed that not one of them had ever been beyond the altar. "This doorway opens on a short corridor that is phased out of sync with the Prime Material Plane, dipping through the Shadow Realm itself. Only one who carries a Millennium Item can get through. This door must be closed before the next one will open, which means we all have to go in, then Yugi can get us into the final chamber, currently being the most in tune with his Item." He saw Yugi meet his gaze with confidence, nodding as he gripped the chain of the Puzzle. "The Shadow Realm may try to separate us, so we would be wise to keep a tight grip on one another."

Kaiba opened his briefcase to pull out the Millennium Rod, and Sugoroku slipped off his pack to retrieve the Millennium Key. Only Yugi could touch Atemu, so Atemu led alongside his aibou, followed by Jonouchi, Ishizu, Mokuba, Kaiba, Honda, Anzu, Rishid, Bakura, Malik and finally Sugoroku, thereby placing an Item wielder at each end of the line and one in the middle, just in case.

One after another, the companions stepped across the threshold, hand tightly in hand as the utter blackness swallowed their senses. Not one of them managed to keep from shivering at the whispers of sensation flowing around them – curiosity, challenge, vexation at the intrusion. The living did not belong in this domain of the Underworld. Finally, Sugoroku crossed, and the four Items began to glow, including the approximation of the Puzzle that Atemu wore, pushing back the darkness around the company. Neither walls nor ceiling could be discerned, although an impression of a stone floor could be made out in the shadows at their feet. Then, the Horus Eyes of Yugi's and Atemu's Puzzles flared, twin beams of brilliant light firing out into the blackness ahead, converging on a single point on a stone wall some six to seven meters away. Power limned the etchings across the surface of a square panel, glimmering gold to outline opposing Horus Eyes flanking a solar disk, and a carving of the Millennium Puzzle below. A seam split the surface down its center, bisecting disk and Puzzle. The beams from Yugi's and Atemu's Puzzles had targeted the Horus Eye of the carven Puzzle of the wall.

Kaiba was the first to break the silence. "That's it – the door to the final chamber." The Shadows around them tried to swallow the sound of his voice, making it seem as though coming from far away even in his own ears.

Atemu lifted his free hand to the door, the other still gripping Yugi's against the pull of the Shadows, and spoke a reverberating command in the language of his birth. Shadow power flared from his outstretched palm.

Light seared down the seam of the door, and the two panels slid apart, revealing more blinding light as the group was violently yanked across the threshold without warning.

Author's Notes: Please be sure to check my bio page for any updates, etc. Thanks!