"Ugh!" Yugi groaned, landing on something hard. He began to rub his back because hurt like hell. That was not something he wanted to repeat. Slowly, Yugi got up and brushed himself off. He stared up at where the slide should have been, but instead just saw roof.

"Yugi!" Atem said, suddenly beside him.

"Atem?" Yugi asked shocked, only now realizing where he was.

They were back in Atem's kitchen, as if the Shadow game hadn't happened. Yugi could also feel his strength coming back to him. It no longer felt as though he were carrying bags of potatoes. Sighing in relief, Yugi relaxed. He then froze, realizing something else.

"Where's Ryou?"

Atem paused, as if unsure of something. He cautiously looked behind him and scanned the area. "I have not a clue."

"What about Bakura?" Yugi asked, still weary.

"I...dealt with him." Atem replied, giving a evil smile. Yugi felt his heart began to beat faster and not in a good way.

Atem's purple irises glimmered, reflecting the light that was shinning through the sink window. Yugi's eyes narrowed. They had to have been in there for at more than three hours. How could the sun could still be shinning?

Atem must've seen his facial expression and simply said. "Time freezes in my puzzle."

Yugi nodded, still feeling some what scared.

The Prince wandered over to the front his couch, where his Father should have been laying. Yugi gulped, scared to follow Atem. He dared to look down, expecting a corpse, but surprisingly Atem's dad wasn't there...and neither was the pool of blood. Atem didn't seemed surprised. Nor did he seem to care.

What cleaning detergent was that? I got to get me some! I bet it was Mr. Clean...Yugi joked in his mind, trying to lighten his mood.

Atem looked out the window, facing away from Yugi. He appeared frozen. Yugi slowly walked towards him, saying nothing. They stood there in silence for a moment.

"Yugi..." Atem murmured. He turned to face the young teen, making eye contact. His eyes had turned to a crimson red, full of hate. Yugi gasped, eyes wide.

Before Yugi could get a word out, Atem had thrown a punch at Yugi's face. It almost immediately began to hurt. By reflex, Yugi's hand shot up to his face, which felt numb and raw. He began to feel dizzy and faint-like.

Yugi turned to where Atem was, but instead saw Bakura laughing menacingly.

"I can't believe you fell for the old switch-a-rho!" Bakura's voice sounded far away and distant. "You should have seen the look on your face! Absolutely, priceless!"

Yugi mustered all his strength and got up. He returned Bakuras punch by kicking him in the balls. Hard. The shock was clear on Bakura's face, who fell down and curled up in the fetal position. It was easy to tell he wasn't expecting that.

A feeling of urgency filled Yugi's stomach. It told him to go to the door 'fake Atem' was looking at earlier. Yugi obeyed the feeling. He waddled over to open it, feeling confused.

Inside, Atem and Ryou were tied together with ropes and silenced with cloth.

Atem looked terrible; dried blood and cuts outlined the frame of his narrow face. Bruises on his mouth and eye were purple. Dirt was sprinkled on his face and hair. What a handsome prince he was...but on the other hand, Yugi probably looked terrible too.

"UWWW! Kkkelp! Uggehhh!" They both cried, making no sense.

Yugi untied the mouth cloths and then began on the ropes. He was glad they weren't tied as tight as possible. He got them out, and dropped his head with relief.

"How did you get in here?" He asked.

"Got dropped off from that slide, then Bakura found me and demanded the notebook... but I told him you had it." Ryou replied, rubbing his wrists.

"I don't have it though!" Yugi protested, having a mini-heart attack.

Ryou pulled it out from his waist-band, smiling. He held it out to Atem, who took it reluctantly.

"How did he...transform into Atem?" Yugi questioned, pondering the thought.

"A special dark arts potion." The (hopefully) real Atem replied. "Once you take it, you begin to act drunk. That's just how the magic works. Unfortunately for me, Bakura likes to hurt people more than usual when he's in that state."

Yugi looked over to where he had last seen the white-haired man, but he had vanished. "He isn't dead."

Atem solemnly nodded. "No, only weakened." He focused his glaze on the notebooks. "Sometimes I think these notebooks are more trouble than their worth!"

"I can't believe this... we made it!" Ryou spoke up.

"I had faith and both of you were very brave. " The young Prince said, bowing. "Thank you. I shall ever be in your debt."

"It was fun...sorta." Yugi laughed but it sounded like something was dying, so he stopped. He felt his headache resurfacing.

"Is there anything I can do to repay you?" Atem asked, bowing to them. "Anything at all?"

"Become our friend." Yugi said, holding out his hand. Ryou held out his too. Atem, who was still smiling, took them. " Our friendship will then last forever."

"Forever." Atem agreed.

That was the last thing Yugi heard before he passed out.

Check out my other story that i'm co-writting with YoungBountyGirl ? (.net/u/1083434/Youngbountygirl)

"Shippings that don't work out." (.net/s/6986621/1/Shippings_That_Dont_Work_Out)

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