Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh—can't you just be mine already? Ra! Nope. Don't own Yugioh.
Author's note: WOW! Have I mentioned before how much I love you guys? XD I've gotten six reviews so far and already had more views than I have in the days past, and I haven't even updated yet! And to ALL REVIEWERS: You may PM me if you like! I don't mind ^-^
-Thanks to Aqua girl 007 and me for reviewing as always!- Along with the new reviewer random!
Sinares: Your review made me giggle! ^O^ I loved it! I'm glad you appreciate their relationship and the way Atem is portrayed ^o^ that was the way I intended to do it. Atem was, as you said, always the ah, bigger man (again with the pun) than Yugi. I mean, he's gotta let go sometimes. And with the six-year old thing—haha totally! If they decided they loved each other and just didn't play games anymore it would be lame! Hahah the fluff IS like that! XD Ra, I love your review—as you can tell from my lengthy reply. Feel free to PM me if you need! I'd love to chat ^D^ thanks much for the great (and long, though awesome) review!
xMocha: totally agree with your mention of Sinares' review ;) as you can see from above haha! Thanks for reading and well, reviewing! I've enjoyed your reviews thus far ^o^ and about that question… we'll get to that in just a minute, seeing as both you and Sinares, along with a few others asked!
JakeKontan: beautiful sweet and short review! Thank you much for the compliment and you are welcome for thanking you! ^O^ HUZZAH! I have a fan! Thanks for making my day!
Princess atemma: darling, in case you haven't noticed, this story is actually going to go to about twenty-seven or twenty-eight, but mostly likely twenty-seven. Also, I have the continuum story The Return of the Pharaoh, so there will be no summary ending. It will continue in another story.
*Sorry this is taking forever! :O there's ONE QUESTION TO ADDRESS! My dear Sinares and xMocha, about your joined question! Kids in the Afterlife—I was actually just thinking about that! I might put kids in at the end. And about the 'Is the Afterlife a heaven or spirit world' or something or other question—the answer is yes. It's sort of a heaven/place for spirits—it's divided into different sections: Realm of the Beasts, the Afterlife, souls to come (or something like that). Hope that answered your question!
IMPORTANT NOTICE: does anyone even read this? So this is NOT one single story—there will be another one, continuing with the plot and such. THE RETURN OF THE PHARAOH will be posted as soon as this story is done! Does anyone even read the Author's note?
-Well, I have done everything in my power to tell inform you of the important matters. If bolding, underlining, and italisizing,along with PUTTING IT IN CAPS doesn't get your attention, well, I don't know what will!
That's all—huzzah and onward with the story! We are coming to the resolution, so we're closing things up. Three more chaps, people! Then tune in to THE RETURN OF THE PHARAOH!
Note: I am not yelling at you ^_^ I'm simply trying to get your attention!
Eternally so sorry for the lengthy author's note :P I'll stop rambling now and get on with the story!
Interrogation
Atem and the Guardians combed the area for Hamon and any Soul Collectors, taking a whole three days to do it, but to no avail. It was as if he and every sign of the Soul Collectors simply disappeared.
They returned to the Palace feeling that they were right back to where they had begun. With no leads but the prisoner in the dungeons, who wouldn't talk. There was also the fact that they had no confirmed ID that it had been Hamon, just the word of Atem. And though he was the Pharaoh, they still had to be sure before they made assumptions.
When Hamon's position as head of the Soul Collectors was confirmed, Atem decided they would go to his kingdom. While it was at least three weeks away, it would be worth it in the end.
The only problem was the fact that anyone would recognize a royal escort, and with the Soul Collectors on the loose, they could either attack the party or run ahead and warn Hamon of the plan.
Either way, it would be an undercover trip.
But it would have to happen after the untimely wedding celebrations, and after the necessary precautions had been taken. Which, in short, meant weeks of waiting. The Guardians insisted that Atem and Mana take it easy for a few weeks as sort of a honey moon break, seeing as they couldn't leave the Palace.
And when the Guardians insisted on something, they usually got their way.
Atem sighed. He knew the day would come, but he didn't want to do it.
It was time to get some answers from the prisoner downstairs.
The interrogation began.
"What's your name?" Isis asked gently.
The man was shivering despite the soothing tone. Though the Guardians stood around him waiting, the air they gave was not threatening. They had tried this before, and Atem was hoping that this time it would do the trick so they wouldn't have to resort to other methods.
The prisoner shook his head frantically. "I told you," he said, "If I say anything, he'll destroy me."
"You are protected here," Mahad said quietly. "He won't harm you."
He didn't respond. The prisoner sat in a single chair in the center of a stone room, with only one exit and no windows. There was a bucket in one corner and a cot in another for his minimal comfort. There was still light in the room as the stones glowed faintly, giving off enough light to sustain them.
"We don't want to hurt you," Shada said, "Please, for your own safety, answer the question."
The man swallowed and muttered something. They all exchanged hopeful glances and Isis urged, "What was that?"
"Michael," he said quietly, "My name is Michael."
They were finally getting somewhere.
"Michael," said Isis, "Do you know a man named Hamon?"
Michael's eyes flashed around the watching Guardians and the Pharaoh. His breath hitched in his throat and they took that as a yes. "You have nothing to fear, Michael," Atem finally spoke, his baritone voice gentle, surprising the prisoner. "Hamon revealed himself to me as the leader of the Soul Collectors yesterday. All we need is you to confirm it."
Michael nodded, his eyes speaking for him. "It's him," he managed.
"Thank you," Isis said. "Can you tell us anything else? Any of the important members?"
Michael shook his head hesitantly. "I-I don't know."
"Then tell us this," Mahad spoke, "What do you mean when you say he can destroy you?"
"He has dark power," Michael's voice shook, "He controls the darkness in our hearts and destroys us with it."
Atem had only ever seen one soul destroyed, and that was the man at the gate. That event seemed so long ago now, but it still haunted him. He had heard of the destruction of a soul with the darkness in their heart, he had even had it almost happen to him—it had only been a rumor, a thought, and now he was having it confirmed.
Mahad was thoughtful. "How is it he can reach you here?"
"He can reach us anywhere," Michael said immediately, the fear eminent in his eyes, "He has a gift that allows him to control dark souls."
"Where did he get it?" Karim wondered.
Michael shook his head. They decided not to push it. Since he was giving them invaluable information, they wouldn't ask for what he couldn't give.
"What happens when a soul is destroyed?" Shada asked.
"Their energy is stored," Michael shuddered, "Stored where, I don't know."
Atem stared off into the distance, the wheels turning slowly in his head, gaining speed. He had an idea, but until he had more clues, he wouldn't say anything.
Mana studied the man, only just now speaking, "Michael, can you tell us any of their plans?"
Michael looked away, and they took that as an answer.
"Is there anything else you can tell us?" Atem asked, not unkindly.
Michael thought long and hard, honestly trying to find something that was just enough to give them a hint and small enough to keep him alive. Unbeknownst to him, the darkness in his heart was lifting.
In his life, he hadn't been a terrible person, but he hadn't been a terribly good person either. Now maybe he could make restitution.
"The dragon," he whispered, "He had a dragon, didn't he?" They nodded and Michael said: "It's called the Dark Soul dragon. If he was just trying it out, it will get stronger as he destroys more dark souls."
That information was useful. "Thank you, Michael," Atem said sincerely, "If there is anything you can or want to tell us in the future…" he left the sentence hanging so it was open to Michael's conscious, causing him to perk and wonder. "You would be a great help."
Michael nodded, and the words popped out of his mouth: "It's my pleasure… Pharaoh." It wasn't said with malice or disdain, but rather, there was a degree of respect there.
A small smile lit the King's mouth and he left the dungeon room with his cape sweeping behind him. The Guardians were quick to follow, closing the door behind them.
"I'll have him banished," Atem snarled under his breath, pacing the throne room, "Thrown into the Dark Realm!"
"We have to find him first, Pharaoh," Karim said reasonably.
"Hamon," Atem muttered, "I knew he was selfish, but he had a reasonably good heart. How could he have grown so dark in such a short amount of time?"
"Foul play?" wondered Mahad, "Interference?"
"Maybe," Atem said, "But by whom?"
"There are a number of people," Isis said, "Old enemies. Bakura, Zorc, Anubis…"
"Not Zorc," Atem disagreed, "Whatever remains of him is in some nonexistent form in the shadows. Maybe Bakura or Anubis, or even Malik, but I don't believe he had anything to do with this."
He sighed and stopped his pacing, "We don't have much to go on. All we can do it prepare and wait."
"Do you have any theories, Pharaoh?" Mahad asked curiously.
Atem hesitated, "Perhaps, but if I do, they are in the early stages of development and need not be discussed."
Mahad nodded, and after a moment of silence there was a sudden sound.
A groan.
The Guardians jumped, jerked from their thoughts. They looked around to see none other than Mana, lying spread eagle on the floor of the throne room—and looking very… bored.
She groaned again. Her lips puckered in a pout and her face twisted in terrible boredom. "Mana?" Atem asked with a slight smile, "Something wrong?"
"No," Mana said sarcastically, rolling her eyes, "I'm just lying on the floor for fun—of course something is wrong!" When they waited, Atem with his eyebrows raised in amusement, she continued, "I'm bored out of my mind! We spent like, and hour in the dungeons and now we've spent a whole other hour talking about it! I want to go outside," she finished, crossing her arms tightly.
Atem strode over to her and bent down, hauling her over his shoulder. "Why didn't you say so?" Atem asked, "Let's go."
Mana squealed, "Ah! Atem!"
He laughed and swung her into a more comfortable position. Carrying her bridal style, he looked to Mahad as he left, "You know the necessary precautions for our trip, Mahad."
The Guardians chuckled to themselves and went about their tasks, glad they had Mana around to keep Atem's mind off serious matters—at least for a little while.
That's that! Two more chaps and we're done here, then on to THE RETURN OF THE PHARAOH. No matter how many times I say that, there's always going to be someone who doesn't see it.
What was I going to say…? Hm…
Oh! Yeah, so Hamon is an OC, and so is Michael (obviously) and yeah, um… I can't remember what else I was going to say. Oh well—I'm sure it wasn't that important!
Review, please! ^O^ Random thought for this chap? Hm… never try to eat a marker?
-Anevay