Yugi

I woke at seven-thirty to find that the room was empty. I had hoped to find Joey waiting for me to wake up, but he was gone.

"Yami?"

"Yes, aibou?"

With his reply, Yami materialized from the Puzzle. "Is everything alright?"

"I woke up alone again," I said.

"You must be feeling like you're forgetting what it's like to be 17," Yami asked.

"I guess, but it's only been two and a half months since this happened," I said.

I got ready for the day and sat on my bed looking at my cards. About eight-fifteen, I noticed a shadow in the hall, just outside our door. My curiosity kicked in and I went to check it out. As I reached the door the shadow moved and I followed it.

"Aibou, be careful."

"I will. I'm just curious as to what this shadow is."

I followed the strange shadow to the cafeteria, where it vanished. "That's strange. Yami, did you see that?"

"Yes, I have a weird feeling about this."

"Can we see if it's still in there?"

I didn't wait for an answer and opened the door to darkness. Just as I stepped into the room, the lights shot on, blinding me instantly. "SURPRISE! HAPPY 18th BIRTHDAY, YUGI!"

I was in total shock. "Finally, the mighty Pharaoh's runt can't say a thing," Bakura crowed earning a glare from Ryou. "Besides, shouldn't he be re-celebrating his eighth birthday?" He just dug himself into a hole that Ryou wouldn't let him out of.

"You have an appointment tomorrow," Ryou told him. "An appointment with Mr. Mop and Mrs. Toilet Brush."

Everyone cracked up, drowning out Bakura's complaints. I had recovered enough to say something, "Thank you guys. I wasn't expecting this."

Ryou came over with a cake knife, "This party almost didn't happen. We were waiting to see of you'd wake in time for your birthday. Now, go and cut your cake."

I looked at Yami, "Shall we do it together, since today would have been your birthday as well?"

The whole room was silent upon hearing this. "Since you asked, I would be glad to," Yami replied.

I smiled and made one cut and handed the cake knife to him. After he made the second cut, he handed the cake knife to Sam and stood next to me.

"Thank you, Yugi."

"You're welcome, Yami. Happy birthday."

"Happy birthday to you as well, aibou."

Just after we had wished each other a happy birthday, half a dozen bright flashes went off, blinding us. Sam served out the cake as I was handed presents. I had decided to share the gifts with Yami, and handed him every other wrapped package to open. The majority of the gifts were Duel Monsters cards, puzzles, or games. Others were books and a box of band-aids (Bakura probably ripped these off from the infirmary.). The last package that Yami opened contained two sketchpads and pencils.

"I figured that you and Yami might like to sketch now and then," Daniel said. "I never realized that today was your birthday too, Yami."

"I never told anyone but Yugi about it. I was stunned when I found out that we shared the same day of birth," Yami pointed out. "I guess that is to be expected since he is my reincarnation of light and second chance at life."

Just before Yami and I could eat our slices of cake the room vanished and we found ourselves in a strange room with Ryou, Bakura, Jack, and Daniel. I was scared and held onto Yami, "Where are we?"

"We're on Thor's ship," Daniel pointed out. "He's an Asguard. We called him to see if we can get you two back to your normal ages. Think of it as a surprise gift."

Just after Daniel spoke an alien appeared in the room. I hid behind Yami, suddenly afraid. Perhaps Yami was right about my personality regressing into one that should belong to an eight-year-old. The strange creature was unable to see the four of us in the shadows that Bakura summoned to hide us.

"Where are the boys that I beamed up with you, Daniel," it asked.

"They are here, but two of them have the ability to hide the group well," Daniel replied. "Bakura, it's ok. Thor's a friend and he won't hurt your other half. The same goes for you as well, Atem."

I watched the look on the alien's face when Daniel mentioned Yami's name. It was utter shock. "Did you say 'Atem'," it questioned. "That name hasn't been heard in millennia. Since the Earth gate was buried in fact."

"I did," Daniel replied as the shadows dissipated, revealing the four of us.

The small figure stepped back, "How is this possible? These boys shouldn't exist. Atem was but a mere child when my people last saw him over 3000 years ago. There is no way that he should be alive without a Goa'uld." He said this pointing at me.

"Yami, I'm scared," I said gripping his jacket.

"I am afraid that you are referring to the wrong half, sir," Yami said. "Yugi is not technically from Ancient Egypt, I am."

"But how is this possible," the small figure questioned.

"Yugi is the result of the Shadow Magic that I used to seal away the Shadow Games. I had split my soul in half and the lighter, innocent side of me was sent to the future while I was sealed within the Millennium Puzzle," Yami explained. "Today I have many names, Yami, Atem, King of Games, Spirit, and the one which I feel is no longer necessary, Pharaoh."

"Then how do you explain the 'Prince of Thieves' being here," the alien pressed.

"I was the 'King of Thieves' when the baka Pharaoh sealed me away before giving himself over to the Shadows," Bakura shot back. "He split my soul in half and I knew nothing until my hikari received the Millennium Ring. It was then that I realized that if this had happened to me then the Pharaoh must have had the same done to him."

"Please excuse Bakura," Ryou said stepping out from behind him. "He's in a bad mood today, possibly due to the punishment set aside for him for tomorrow. I'm afraid that I am to blame for that."

"Now that I understand the situation," the creature said. "I am the one to apologize. I have the important records that were sent to me as well as the device responsible for your conditions, and I can reverse the damages done to you two."

He led us to a different room and instructed me and Ryou to lie on the beds so that he could check us before trying to reverse what was done. "I have reason to believe that the process may cay some pain or discomfort," Thor told us. "I can give you both a sedative to prevent that possibility if you like."

We informed him that that wouldn't be necessary; as we had discovered that if we entered our Items with our yamis, the pain our bodies experienced would affect us less.

Jack

Both spirits vanished into their respective Items so that they could comfort their other halves from the inside. This left me and Daniel to sit and wait while Thor fixed the boys. A few hours later, he came out and informed us that the process was complete and that the boys were resting. "They are very resilient, O'Neill, for ones so young," he said. "You are lucky to have them as a part of your team."

"I know, but I can't believe that they defeat a fragment of Anubis a couple of years ago with just a simple card game," I said.

"That 'card game' you mentioned was actually a real game with creatures from another dimension. These monsters were controlled with what was called Shadow Magic, and only certain people can wield that kind of power," Thor pointed out. "From what I was able to piece together, Atem and Bakura are two of only a handful of those that can use it. Plus their 'hikaris', as Atem insists on calling the youths, have a slight grasp on this Magic as well. But they have the capability to master it like their 'darker halves'. Their power cannot be allowed to fall into the hands of our mutual enemies."

"Wouldn't dream of it," I replied. "Besides, we've grown rather fond of the boys and their friends."

"We'll be sure to inform the General of this new information, Thor," Daniel said. "He had already told us not to allow anything else to happen to Yugi, Ryou, or the other three Item holders."

Thor nodded, "Since the boys have been restored to their proper ages, I assume that you would like to return."

"Yeah, we were sort of in the middle of Yugi and Atem's surprise birthday party," I said. "And boy did those two really turn the surprise on us when Yugi said that it was Atem's birthday as well."

Daniel and I went into the room where Yugi and Ryou were resting. We each picked up a sleeping form and told Thor that we were ready. A few seconds later we were in Yugi and Joey's room. Daniel laid Ryou on Joey's bed and I placed Yugi on his own.

"Let's go and let everyone know that they're back to their old selves again," Daniel said as we left the sleeping teens.

"Yeah, bet that'll get everyone's goat that Yugi's present from Thor topped their gifts hands down," I laughed. "Now they're gonna have a tough time trying to top the ultimate in gift ideas."

"Not to mention that Thor's 'gift' to Yugi was also a gift to Atem as well," Daniel added. "It was depressing him that Yugi was stuck as a child and he was suffering as well."

"Yeah, that whole incident was hard on all of us," I said solemnly, remembering what had occurred during the past few months. "I'm glad that Yugi recovered from it quickly."