Baniti heaved a great sigh to his companion, High Priest Mahad, who stood beside him, waiting. "There is still no explanation for it." The older man said. "There is just nothing that makes sense, there's no… plan or anything of the sort that would take young Yugi Motou back to his time period. There's no schedule, no time as to when this occurs. The boy just got caught it in, at just the right moment. For reasons unexplainable." Baniti reached up and pinched his nose out of utter frustration. "I'm not saying this is a bad thing, I know for a fact that His Majesty wants Yugi to be with him now. But I'm sure Yugi misses his loved ones—there must be a way…"
"Time travel is, indeed, a difficult subject to touch upon. I believe this has happened only one other time, but a long time ago. At least, that's what I was told. The problem was, that person was forced to stay here the rest of his life. He never did return home." Mahad said solemnly, crossing his arms behind him. The two men hummed in deep thought, unconsciously moving forward through the halls and up the stairs to the room where their dueling games took place. Mahad and Baniti glanced over at the wall inscriptions, taking vague interest in the tediously done carvings of the summoned monsters for said game.
"This isn't good, if Yugi wants to go home… but I suppose I will have to just break the news to him. There's nothing we can do. Not even our magic can allow such a thing to happen. The Millennium items, perhaps, but it would take much too long to seek them out and have them all together." Baniti said in a low tone.
Mahad stopped in his tracks while Baniti continued his excursion along the perimeter of the dimly lit room. The younger priest peered closer at one carving in particular, brushing a long index finger over it. A little gathering of dust dispersed at the touch, revealing the drawing of the monster more clearly. His eyes widened a little as a thought struck him.
"Lord Baniti… you should take a look at this."
Baniti turned to look over at the other priest, and silently approached where he stood.
"What is it?"
"This…" Mahad said in a low whisper, pointing to the carved picture again. "Isn't that…?"
Baniti leaned in for a closer look, and barely contained his gasp at the discovery moments later. "Mahad… Mahad, that is just pure genius. That is the solution!"
Meanwhile, in the gardens beside the palace, Yugi and Atemu were lounging lazily in one of the many plum trees. After recovering from the sad air, the new couple returned to the sunny, lush area that brought them a measure of happiness and contentment. Atemu lie on a thick branch, his back pressed up against the trunk, with Yugi sitting comfortably in his arms. One of each of their legs dangled off the branch. The boy had dozed off for a few minutes against the Pharaoh's lean chest. That was, until he felt something soft and plump press against his lips. His eyes opened and he found himself staring at a plum, which he presumed was plucked off just a moment ago by Atemu.
"You should eat something, Aibou." The taller murmured encouragingly in the other's ear.
"Atemu, I already ate over two hours ago." Yugi pouted.
"Yes, but that was two hours ago." Atemu chuckled.
"I'm okay, Atemu, really." Yugi said, granting the Egyptian a small nuzzle with his cheek, who in turn sighed.
"Fine, I'll eat it." Yugi smiled as he watched the Pharaoh take a slurpy bite into the fruit, then allowed himself to relax once more. Their gazes turned upward into the tree, loving the feel of the sun warming their skin in between all the cracks of protruding wood.
From behind him, Atemu watched the side of Yugi's face, listening to every breath the boy exhaled slowly. He observed the small blush that formed on Yugi's cheeks when he realized he was being silently studied. A little voice from within urged him to love every ticking moment that passed, to love the small being in his arms. And love he did, as he coiled his arms around Yugi's stomach and turned the smaller's face to look at him with his free hand, leaning in to press their lips together for a needed, deep and heartfelt kiss. Yugi quickly responded and pressed back into it, turning himself in such a way that allowed them to take it further.
However, it all soon came to an unwelcome and abrupt stop when they heard their names being called in the distance. They both recognized the deep and urgent voices of Mahad and Baniti. It was heard all the way across the garden, but too soon came closer and closer to their small hiding spot within the tree. Eventually, they were forced to untangle from each other and jump down in a swift movement, landing safely on their feet. Hands intertwined, without shame.
"Ah! There you two are. We have some news…" Baniti began, but trailed off upon notice of Atemu and Yugi's closeness, their locked hands. He shook his head, deciding not to say anything of it and continue. "We... have discovered how to bring you back home, Yugi."
Atemu visibly froze where he stood, breathing deep but ragged as he tried to conceal his most obvious feelings on the matter. Yugi squeezed his hand, taking a slow breath as well to calm his nerves from the announcement. He looked up at the priests and smiled weakly.
"Wonderful. How?"
Mahad stepped forward, extending a hand toward Yugi. "I presume you have your deck of cards from your century of the Duel Monsters game. May I see them?"
"Huh? Yeah, sure…" Yugi was taken aback by the request, but obliged as he reached into his pocket and pulled out the deck tightly packed together. Atemu stared at it, remembering that deck he and Yugi held so dear—the deck they had built together. His eyes softened while he silently reminisced, but paid close attention to what was to come next.
It was as though the whole world was waiting in anticipation while Mahad flipped through the cards one by one, scanning the pictures of the monsters and their descriptions closely.
"What is it you're looking—" Yugi had started after the suspense was too much to bear for him, but was cut off by Mahad exclaiming:
"Aha! I found it. This, Yugi, is your ticket home." He handed the deck back to the teen with the special card on top, and Yugi raised his brows whilst staring at it.
"Time Wizard." He breathed. Of course, it made sense! The small monster was the master of time itself. Surely he could be of great usefulness to Yugi's current situation.
"Once you summon that monster, he can serve a great purpose in taking you back to the twenty-first century." Baniti smiled with a small nod of his head.
"But… when I play him, there are those skulls on his scepter as well… there is only a two-out-of-six chance that good would come out of it. What happens if it doesn't work? What if the arrow points to a skull?" Yugi asked, looking up fearfully at the priests who suddenly seemed very grave at the question.
"I was actually just about to acknowledge that… there is a consequence if you use Time Wizard. If the arrow lands on a skull, you are here permanently. There is no going back. That is the only risk you must be willing to take." Mahad explained, clasping his hands behind his back.
Yugi looked down at the card, brushing over the picture with his fingertips. "I see…" He whispered.
"You do not have to decide right at this moment, Yugi. We will leave you to think about it. It would be wise to have made a decision, though, by tomorrow."
"I will… I will think about it." Yugi nodded, bowing low to the priests. "Thank you so much for all of your help. I will never forget your kindness to me." He smiled, and the two priests returned it before making their way back across the garden and into the palace.
The rest of the day was saddening and tiring, in particular for the smaller of the two teens, who couldn't allow his mind to drift anywhere but the proposition made. Any other subject Atemu brought up somehow led to the earlier conversation, and it was almost maddening. But when Yugi finally asked to be alone for a while, Atemu understood that the weight and the pressure of his decision was difficult to register by all means. Atemu left Yugi as requested, and only now did he come to check on him in their bedroom again, two hours later.
"Aibou?" He called softly, knocking on the already-open door to let Yugi know of his presence. Atemu peeked more into the room and spotted Yugi exactly where the Pharaoh had left him those hours ago, standing beside the bed with Time Wizard on the blankets, just staring at it like a zombie. It was almost a frightening sight. Atemu strode over to the still form of Yugi and took him by an arm.
"Aibou? Aibou?" He pleaded urgently, searching Yugi's blank and emotionless eyes.
"Huh?" Yugi responded slowly, turning his head to meet Atemu's worried stare. Finally regaining some life, he reached up a fist and rubbed his eyes. "Oh, sorry. I'm alright."
"I sure hope so." Atemu frowned, sitting on the edge of the bed and running his fingertips over Yugi's forehead and down his face in an affectionate motion. "I was hoping you'd come out of your strange… trance, sooner or later."
Yugi nodded, but he still seemed slightly emotionless. "This is really hard…"
"I know, Aibou," Atemu whispered and leaned up to press a tiny kiss on the smaller's cheek. "But it will come to you."
"But by tomorrow?" Yugi suddenly cried. "I don't know! I just… I can't believe how much this is tearing me apart…" He whispered shakily, his eyes returning to the Time Wizard card.
Atemu noticed his switch in attention, his eyes locking back with the card again. Frowning, Atemu reached over and took the card and placed it on the nearby desk, facedown.
"Now you can't see it." Atemu sighed, leaning forward and resting his head against Yugi's chest, intertwining their fingers at the same time. "Aibou… please, don't obsess over this. It will just come to you, I promise you. Your stress is scaring me."
"Since when have you been scared?" Yugi snorted without humor.
"Aibou, please."
Yugi sighed. "I just… what if it doesn't work? What if I'm stuck? And I can't see Jii-chan and Anzu and Jonouchi and everyone, ever again…"
"The choice is up to you," Atemu muttered hopelessly. "Whatever you decide to do, Aibou… I will always be with you, every step of the way."
"Or worse," Yugi continued in his rambling, "What if I do make it back home, and I try to use Time Wizard to come back here to see you, but I can't because of the damn skulls, leaving me stuck in my own century?" Yugi frowned. "I don't think I can love anyone else as much as I do you, Atemu…"
"I will always be with you every step of the way…" Atemu repeated in a whisper, disconnecting their hands and lovingly stroking Yugi's arms. When Yugi stopped in his talking, Atemu raised his head from his chest to look into Yugi's violet orbs. It broke him when all he could see was fear and coming, relentless tears.
"Listen to me, Aibou. It is a hard decision. But you must remember our time together in your century, and you must remember our faith in the Heart of the Cards with every duel we went through. That, my partner, that faith, is what brought us together and brought us victory. I believe very strongly, Aibou, that Time Wizard knows exactly what you desire most, and he won't let anything happen to you that would cause you to lose that faith. You have to keep believing in your deck and it's inhabitants and just trust that everything will be okay in the end."
Yugi said nothing in response to this, gazing softly at the Pharaoh and complete admiration. He nodded. It was then at that moment, he made his decision.
Mahad and Baniti stood side by side in the throne room, watching the ancient city and the rising sun, announcing morning, and yet another glorious day.
They heard footsteps padding softly along the stone floor. Turning, they found Yugi approach them in a surprisingly confident manner with Atemu trailing closely behind with his hands on Yugi's shoulders like a gesture of support.
"I have made my decision." Yugi announced. "I will use Time Wizard and return to my time period."
Mahad and Baniti smiled a little, nodding understandingly. Mahad then spoke: "We are ready to begin, then, whenever you are."
Yugi breathed lightly, nodding. "Please, just a moment…" He said quietly, turning to Atemu and taking him by the hand. The Pharaoh complied, letting him be taken out into the hall.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Atemu asked, furrowing his brows and taking Yugi's face in his hands, gently.
"Yes. I have to go back, like you told me. What kind of grandson and friend am I to keep everyone worried sick?" He half-smiled.
Atemu returned the smile, his eyes softened. "I will miss you more than you know."
"It's not goodbye." Yugi grinned. "Trust me, I'll be back. With Time Wizard, it'll now be possible to come and go as I please!"
"Quite true… I did tell you to invent a time machine, but I suppose that's out of the question now." Both teens laughed lightly at the comment.
"Well… it'll be interesting to explain this to everyone, to say the least." Yugi added with a snicker.
"I'm excited to hear all about their reactions when you return." Atemu murmured warmly, leaning in quickly to bring their lips together. It ended faster than the previous kisses shared, but enough to convey what could not be expressed with words. Finding no words left when they parted, Yugi shoved himself into Atemu's arms for a tight embrace, savoring the feel of his unique warmth and rich desert scent, and overjoyed as Atemu returned the intimate hug.
Baniti and Mahad waited ever so patiently for the couple to bid adieu, and smiled when they reentered the room.
"I'm ready." Yugi nodded.
"Excellent. Summon your Time Wizard with your commanding words. We will accompany you with some of our own magic to solidify him."
Yugi glanced over to Atemu once more, who now leaned against the doorway, arms folded with his signature smirk. Yugi couldn't help smiling wide at the sight.
"See you later, Mou Hitori no Boku!"
"Until next time, Aibou!"
Yugi walked into the middle of the room, taking out his deck, with Time Wizard placed first. Yugi took said card and raised it to the heavens. "Time Wizard, come forth!"
Mahad and Baniti had their eyes closed as they concentrated on the summon. They lifted their hands up so they were parallel to each other in midair, and soon, a faint glow emerged from the card. Within seconds, the Time Wizard was floating in physical form before it's master.
"Time Wizard," Yugi spoke confidently, happily. Atemu watched, a rush of pride coming over him for his Aibou. He knew, this wasn't going to be the last visit. Now that the key of time travel was in Yugi's hands, he would be back, many more times. "Take me home!"
Aww, yay! So, kind of happy? Ish? Don't worry, this isn't totally the end. I think it's pretty obvious now what the next and last chapter will have, though. XD Review and look out for the last chapter!