Let the games begin. Time for Yugi to kick Shadi's butt and teach him a lesson for messing with Tea. Nobody messes with Yugi's girl. Review please!
Yugi made it to the roof where Shadi stood at the center. The young boy scanned the surrounding area and, to his horror, Tea was standing on a plank at the edge of the roof. Her waist was tied by the rope to keep her from falling, which was tied by four statues. Over the four statues was a bigger one, which held the Millennium Key.
Yugi's eyes narrowed and anger arose. Tea's life was in the hands of the four statues and Shadi. Yugi clutched his fists and grinned in anger and hatred. Atem was just as angry as his brother was. The concepts that Tea was in the mercy of Shadi was erased from Yugi. All he could think about was the situation Tea was placed in.
"What have you done, Shadi?" Yugi shouted in anger.
"I set the game up. As you can see, the four statues hold the girl in place. They also represent your weakness. If you show it, even a hint of it, the statues will break. My statue is over them. If you can break my statue, the key will slide down the rope holding your girlfriend and break her out of my spell. This game is a game of minds," Shadi explained.
"YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Yugi screamed.
"You're afraid aren't you?" Shadi smirked as Yugi made a firm line on his lips to keep himself from showing his true emotions.
Atem saw the statue crack and gasped, "Yugi, your statue!"
Yugi turned his head quickly with gasping fear as the first statue broke and the first rope holding Tea broke. The frightened boy gasped and quickly closed his eyes to try to remain calm. He now knew that feeling any type of fright could mean the end for Tea. Atem imagined him and Yugi playing at the park to calm the boy down.
"Your girlfriend is standing on the bridge of life and those statues represent your state of mind. If you show any weakness in your heart, the statue will reveal it. The same goes for your partner you share a body with. Hopefully, it should be easier for him than it is for you," Shadi explained as Yugi opened his eyes to show hint of anger.
"I won't let you hurt Tea!" Yugi promised. "I won't be scared. Her life is too precious to me."
"Then let the games begin," Shadi smirked as a gust of wind blew and surrounded the two millennium item possessors.
"What's the first game?" Yugi asked in a glaring manner.
Shadi showed a slight smirk as the ground shook. Yugi gasped at the ground of the roof breaking and corpses of the undead grabbing onto him. Atem wasn't sure whether to be disgusted or think this was the coolest illusion on the planet. He always wanted to see horror films up front and since he was transcended, the corpses couldn't touch him.
Yugi was annoyed that his brother was thinking about how awesome this event was when it was turning into his worst nightmare. The good news was that the annoyance was helping Yugi cope with the fear. He backed up and moved in different directions to keep himself from being grabbed by the crawling dead.
Shadi was amused and surprised that Yugi felt no fear. Then again, he seemed braver than he looked. Shadi decided to focus on the game and announced, "for your first game, this will test your mind." Yugi stared at the white robed man hardly. "Yugi, I ask you... I crawl from the earth and cling to a pillar. What am I?"
"Great, just what we need, riddles," Atem glared in annoyance. He eyed at the corpses crawling everywhere. "At least the 3D effects are nice."
'Brother, NOT HELPING!' Yugi yelled in his head. 'In case you've forgotten, I'm being swarmed by the things from the graves.'
"Give me a break. Ever since you decided to steal my body, I've been missing out on horror films because they 'give you nightmares,'" Atem smirked while rolling his eyes. "I wish I brought some popcorn."
"ATEM MOTO YOU'RE SUCH AN ASS!" Yugi shouted out loud, which Shadi found amusing. "I'M BEING EATEN BY SWARMS OF CORPS AND ALL YOU CAN THINK ABOUT IS BEING IN A F***IN HORROR FLICK?"
Shadi couldn't keep himself from chuckling at Yugi's annoyance. It was for that reason that he didn't keep Atem from interfering with Yugi's emotions. He also noticed Yugi focusing back on the riddle given to him. He had to solve it to save Tea. Shadi folded his arms while waiting for Yugi to answer the riddle. His statue was showing bits of cracks, probably from the zombies clinging onto him.
'Something that crawls from the earth and clings to a pillar... What is it?' Yugi asked himself.
"I don't know, but I think those things are in love with you," Atem teased.
"SHUT UP AND HELP ME!"
"Yugi, relax, this is all an illusion. You're not being attacked by the living dead. Shadi's just f***ing with you... well us, but I'm glad I get to see it," Atem smirked. Yugi shot daggers at his brother. "Look, just think about the riddle. What goes from the pillar to the ground?"
"THAT'S IT!" Yugi exclaimed happily.
"Glad I can help."
"The answer is my shadow!" Yugi said aloud as the illusion disappeared.
Shadi was amused and showed a slight smirk before saying, "I must say, I'm impressed. I especially love your little feud with your brother. My guess is that he liked my little illusion." Yugi sighed while rolling his eyes. Shadi's expression changed to a serious one. "NEXT GAME!" Yugi and Atem stood their ground as the ground shook once again. "The next one will be much harder."
Beside Yugi's feet, pieces of the ground fell into a deep hole that grew to the size of Texas. Both the boys gasped as the pieces kept falling into a huge hole was left from the floor of the roof. Two huge glowing gold eyes appeared from underneath. They stared at Yugi with hunger.
"Wicked," Atem grinned impressively.
"In case you haven't noticed, Tea's life is in danger. There's no time to think about the 3D effects!" Yugi glared.
"Hey," Atem shrugged. "Can't blame me for liking horror flicks." He then showed a smirk. "I wonder what would happen if I made Tea watch Halloween."
Before Yugi could argue any farther, the beast from the hole grabbed onto both the boy's arms with its huge hands with claws the size of his head. Atem was amazed at the size of this behemoth. He showed widened eyes and a gaping mouth. He was so amazed at the size of the monster that he was unfocused on the fact that this behemoth had his brother and it's gaping mouth that was bigger than a house was over Yugi's body.
"Oh shit," Atem responded. The monster revealed to be a crocodile the size of King Kong. Its big yellow eyes glared hungrily over Yugi with its drool licking at his face and body. He could feel the crocodile's warm breath beating on his back with huge teeth almost touching his behind. Atem continually stared bemused at the size of the crocodile. "I've seen huge crocodiles in my life, but that one takes the cake."
"Despite this being an illusion, if it eats you, you die. You will die just like the director you killed," Shadi smirked as Yugi started shaking in fear. His statue was showing more cracks.
"That is the coolest horror 3D effect I've ever seen in my life," Atem said amused. This ticked Yugi off, he forgot about the gaping mouth and huge teeth.
"YOU BASTERD! I'M ABOUT TO BE EATEN BY THE THING FROM THE DEEP AND ALL YOU CAN THINK ABOUT IS THE STUPID 3D EFFECT?" Yugi cried in outrage. "SHADI SAYS IF IT EATS ME I DIE!"
"Cool," Atem grinned. "Realistic 3D effects."
"YOU BITCH!"
"You boys are indeed amusing," Shadi chuckled before putting on a serious face. "In order to survive this game, you must despell Ammit's illusion." There, before Yugi, were nine stone tiles. They all had a question mark on top of it. "This game is Memory of Death. It's just like the game Memory where you turn over each card to make a match, but this will be different. You must guess what's under those slates without turning them over."
"WHAT?" Yugi gasped.
"You have five minutes to guess what's under those slates, leaving the middle slate as your last guess. Here's a clue: those slates reflect Ammit," Shadi smirked as Yugi gave a surprising reaction. "Now, shake off your fear and solve the puzzle!"
"Fear?" Atem glared. "That thing is awesome. I wish Joey and Tristan were here to see this."
"Ugh! And you call me annoying?" Yugi glared. Atem rolled his eyes uncaring. "Whatever! I have to solve this puzzle or Tea will die." Yugi started thinking of what could be under those slates. The clock was ticking and with the hot breath and Atem thinking about the 3D effects of the illusion, it was hard to think. 'I hope Joey's having a better time than me.'
Meanwhile, below the roof, Joey was running through the halls from the zombie professor. The blond boy wasn't sure how long he was going to keep running until he was out of breath. It was bad enough having to deal with Shadi and the whole magical mumbo jumbo, but now he had to run from a mad professor, literally.
Joey finally came to a dead end and was running out of breath. He peered behind him, and then stared at the very thing that could save his life. He grabbed for the Fire Extinguisher and sprayed it at the Professor.
"HA! Take that!" Joey smirked.
Zombie Professor Hawkins still got up and ran for Joey before he dodged the attack.
"Damn!" Joey responded. "What's it take to get rid of you, seriously?" He dodged all of the zombie's attacks before the zombie professor knocked the Fire Extinguisher out of the blond's hands. Joey responded by punching Professor Hawkins in the face before he took the boy by the collar and shoved him out the window. "OH FUUUUUUU," he screamed while falling out the window before catching the window curtain, "GAH! That was too close." The zombie professor stuck his head out the window with the crazy look in his eyes. "Oh f***." He looked up and noticed the curtain ripping off before catching himself on the side of the building on the ledge. "At least things can't get any worse than..." Joey said before looking from the corner of his eye to see Tea on a plank at the edge of the roof. "Me and my damn mouth."
The zombie professor started reaching out for Joey as he scooted away to get away from Professor Hawkins' reach. He started thinking in his head about what was going on. First the professor turns into a zombie, now Tea is on a plank at the edge of the roof to her death bed. Joey was starting to get the feeling that this was worse than the horror flicks that him and Atem would watch every Saturday before Atem stopped for some odd reason.
"At least Atem is okay. It's not like he's being eaten by a giant crocodile," Joey told himself.
On the roof, Yugi was still thinking and sweating from the pressure building up on him. He had to think fast or Ammit would gobble him up like a loin. Atem was still admiring the 3D effects of Shadi's illusions and liking them all the more. When he sensed the pressure building on Yugi, Atem decided to help his brother a little since the clock was ticking.
"Shadi says those slates reflect the monster. What do you see in your own reflection?" Atem hinted. Yugi gasped as the brother nodded with a smirk.
"I know the answer!" Yugi smirked. "The pairs are eyes, nostrils, hands, ears, and the middle is its mouth!"
The slates turned over to reveal two eyes on the middle sides, two hands on the bottom corners, two nostrils on the top and bottom middle, and two ears on the top corners. In the middle was its mouth. After they were revealed, Ammit disappeared and Yugi felt safe once again. Atem walked over to his brother with a victorious smirk before being punched in the stomach.
"What the hell? We're playing a shadow game, a crocodile tries to eat me, and you're not even fazed by the fact on how dangerous the game is?" Yugi asked pissed off.
"But you never showed weakness did ya?" Atem smirked through the painful jolt in his stomach.
Yugi's eyes widened. Yugi now understood his brother's intentions through his admiration of Shadi's illusions. It was to keep himself and his brother busy and not worry about the surrounding fears. This prevented the statues from breaking. Yugi peered at the location of the three remaining statues that were still solid. One of them showed a few cracks, but were was still holding firm.
"You... were trying to keep my mind busy from being fearful," Yugi suddenly realized. Shadi's eyebrows rose.
'Interesting, while Yugi plays the games, his brother helps support him. They indeed share a tremendous bond. It seems Atem knows Yugi enough to know how to distract the boy from showing fears,' Shadi thought. He knew the next test would be different. "It is time for the next game!"
"Bring it!" Yugi glared. 'It's time to face my fears.'
"That's the spirit!" Atem smirked.
Shadi smiled, showing amusement. He said, "it seems you've passed two tests surprisingly easily. There are three of your statues still supporting your friend. Still, the next game will break all of them!"
"We'll see," Yugi smirked. "I beat your games once and I can do it again. Maybe I'll even break your statue."
"That's impossible! My mental strength is like a diamond. You cannot possibly break it," Shadi declared.
"That's bull," Atem smirked. "Everyone has a weak point, even me."
"Let me introduce your opponent for the final game!" Shadi announced in a glaring tone.
Yugi stared down at whatever figure was appearing from the shadows. He knew it was an illution like Ammit and the undead. Atem knew this as well, but neither he or Yugi could prepare for the one standing before them. It was Atem himself, or what used to be him.
"Son of a bitch," Atem responded. "So much for monsters."
"What's going on Shadi? Why do you have a duplicate of my brother in front of me?" Yugi asked in outrage.
"That is what used to be your brother before solving the millennium puzzle. I've read your brother's weakness. It is himself apparently or what he used to be," Shadi replied.
The other Atem snatched the puzzle from Yugi's neck, showing a deep smirk, mocking, "You want this? You have to stop chickening out! You always stay here in the classroom all day and read comic books like a fan-boy geek!"
Atem's memory started clicking. Those words that just came out of his doppelganger's mouth. Were those really the words said to Hanaski? Atem knew if someone ever said that to Hanaski, he could beat him in a heartbeat. This person, the one saying it to Hanaski in his face, was one himself. Atem felt so ashamed at himself for bullying Hanaski like that. Tea was right!
Shatters of statues started breaking and the two ropes holding Tea in place snapped from the fence. Yugi gasped in horror as he turned his head and found Tea safe and sound. There was still a crack on the last statue from Yugi's fear of Tea's death. Yugi now knew the final game was set to arouse Atem.
"Brother, I need you to stay calm. This game is set to show your weakness and not mine!" Yugi warned as Atem nodded.
"Sorry," Atem apologized with a hint of blush on his cheeks. "I'm okay now."
"No matter how long you live. You can forget a bad memory, but it will always lie within your heart. This includes Atem as well," Shadi declared as the floor started breaking again, leaving only an island for Yugi and the other Atem to walk on. "To play, you and your brother must drop the puzzle like a dice and whatever direction it points to, you must go that direction two squares. Although, if your illusioned brother loses, his soul is lost as well."
"NO!" Yugi gasped as his last statue started cracking.
"YUGI!" Atem warned his brother as he imaged happy memories and dreams to calm his brother down. After that, Yugi was able to focus. "Listen, don't worry about me and finish the game."
"I can't help it!" Yugi shouted. More cracks started forming and Atem had to release other dreams in his head to keep the last statue from breaking.
"Don't worry about me. Save Tea!"
Yugi was so confused. He had to think of happy things to keep his last statue from bursting. The game was so hard. If the illusion fell, Atem's soul would vanish. It was hard to not feel scared knowing that a loved one was going to die. It didn't seem to matter if the last statue broke or not. Yugi knew there was only one thing to do.
Yugi took a deep breath, let go of all his fears, and stared at the ground coldly.
"I'll go first," the other Atem smirked before dropping the puzzle. It pointed toward an end of the valley. "Go that way two steps." Yugi walked two steps. "Your turn."
"No," Yugi replied. The real Atem rose two eyebrows. "I won't do this to you, brother."
"Yugi," Atem muttered as he saw another crack form on the last statue. He gained control of himself and not think about the thought of Yugi possibly slipping from his grasp.
"Then it's my turn again," Other Atem smirked as he threw the puzzle and it pointed the same direction. Yugi kept going that way. He was now at the edge as Atem was trying to gain his sanity.
"On the next turn, you fall," Other Atem smirked while holding the puzzle.
"I'll pass," Yugi replied.
"Are you forfeiting?" Shadi asked in pure shock.
"No," Yugi replied. "I believe in brother. He would never hurt me and put my life at risk. I know he'd do the same for me."
Atem looked up at Yugi and no longer felt pressure to gain control of his fears. It was only now that Atem understood his brother's intentions. Yugi held a smirk up his lips, which certified to Atem that his brother knew what he was doing. Shadi, on the other hand, seemed to be in a blank mood with no emotion. It was like he was sure of what he was thinking about, whatever it was.
"You believe..." Shadi repeated, before giving a small humph. "You cannot break away from the past. You lose! If you believe in others too much, you lose." Atem watched his brother stared coldly at Shadi. "Put your trust in others and that trust will break like those statues. Only fools gather in friendship to feel the need of comfort and warmth. If you would have forced your brother into the valley, you would show true strength."
Atem would've objected this and told Yugi it was a bunch of "bullshit" as he would put it, but Yugi never thought of the matter. In fact, his trust in Atem was so strong, it was like a true diamond. Yugi turned his head to Shadi to reveal a true passionate face.
"You don't know brother. You've never had trust or built any, if you think that," Yugi said with a small smile. "Man was never made to live alone. He must have someone, a companion, with him. Brother loves me and that love will last forever and all eternity."
"Finish this game!" Shadi shouted with command.
The other Atem kept his hold on the puzzle and stared at Yugi anxiously. He looked back and smiled at the illusion of his brother with violet eyes that shined like diamonds. Other Atem showed a soft smile as the illusion started fading away. Shadi stared in horror as the illusion of Atem disappeared and the puzzle dropped on the ground.
"Friends don't exist in the past or present," Atem said directly at Shadi despite him not being able to hear. "If you believe in yourself, your friends will believe in you. The same applies to two companions."
Yugi smiled and stared at his most trusted brother. The brothers stared into their dark violet eyes with anxiety and longing. They would always belong with each other and they knew it. It wouldn't matter where their destiny took them. They would face it together for the better or worse. Atem floated to Yugi and placed a hand on his gentle face. Yugi leaned against the transient hand as his own hand held kept Atem's hand firm on that soft gentle face.
A sound of the breaking rope caused the boys to gasp as they saw the last rope holding Tea in place was breaking. Yugi ran from where he was standing and over toward the love of his life who was about to fall.
"TEA!" Yugi cried while the last statue was still cracking. Before the rope could break anymore, a quick hand pulled on the rope to pull the girl to her safety. It was Joey, who came right on time while trying to escape from the zombie professor who was still chasing him. "JOEY!"
"ATEM! Are you okay? What's with Tea?" Joey asked.
"Shadi's controlling her and... it's a long story," Yugi grinned.
"That grin is still creeping me out, man," Joey glared. By this time, Atem didn't care that Yugi was acting weird or not. Atem just wanted Yugi and Tea safe and sound.
"I... I don't understand," Shadi muttered to himself.
"That is because you only rely on yourself," Yugi glared. "Me? I rely on my friends and family to support me. Man wasn't created to fight alone. True strength is relied on many things and one of them is trust. The trust friends have for each other, especially brothers!"
Shadi stared in horror as his statue above Yugi's last and only statue shattered into pieces. Yugi and Atem smirked victoriously as the key fell due to the loose rope from pulling Tea back. Joey thought quickly and grabbed the key to place it on Tea's chest area. Tea blinked before seeing Joey's face.
"Joey, what are you doing and..." Tea asked glaringly while sitting up before looking down. "YAH!"
A foaming hand from the Fire Extinguisher reached at the edge of where Joey was kneeling. He cringed and backed away as the zombie professor climbed up on the edge of the roof.
"Dang! You're still following me?" Joey cringed.
"Use the key!" Yugi called. Joey looked up at his friend and gave a nod before touching the key on the professor's chest area. He blinked and looked down at the edge of the roof.
"OH MY WORD!" Professor Hawkins responded, clueless of where he was at and how he got on the roof from the office. Tea was wondering the same.
"Let's get outta here!" Tea cried as the plank started tipping and she ran across it, about to slip and fall. "AH!" She screamed, about to wait for her fall, but felt a firm hand grab onto hers. She opened her eyes and saw those gentle, childish, violet eyes before she was quickly pulled to his chest. Yugi wrapped his arms around Tea's waist as the girl held on for dear life with two firm hands on each shoulder. Their eyes met and their faces were only one millimeter apart. Tea whispered, "Yugi." It was so soft that only Yugi and Tea could hear it.
"Are you alright?" Yugi asked.
"I am now thanks to you," Tea replied as she pulled herself into a tight embrace, since she couldn't kiss Yugi in front of Joey. He would get the wrong idea of Tea kissing Atem and not his brother. "Thank you."
"Anytime," Yugi blushed as he put one arm around Tea and the other hand to hold them against the fence.
"Hey!" Tristan called, who was next to Solomon and Hanaski. They all woke up from their knockout from Shadi. They could not remember the events that happened before meeting Shadi. "What the hell are you guys doing on the roof besides Tea making out with Atem?"
Yugi changed to Atem and he yelled, "SHUT THE HELL UP AND GET US OUT OF HERE SO I CAN BEAT THE CRAP OUTTA YA!"
"What's going on?" Solomon asked.
"What do you mean what's going on? I was chased almost through the entire school by..." Joey replied in an outburst before Atem covered Joey's mouth.
"They only remember what happened before meeting Shadi," Atem muttered. "Shadi used his key to make them forget. Trying to lure me on the roof to play his game."
"You're kidding right?" Joey asked rhetorically.
"Tea, you think you can climb on top of me and get out over the fence?" Atem asked as Tea nodded in reply.
Atem carried Tea a little above the ground to make it easier for her to climb over the fence. She climbed over, hoping to cover what was under her skirt, not that Atem and Joey would think of doing something so perverted. After Tea made it to the top, she jumped right onto the ground on her feet. Atem climbed next before Joey, and then Professor Hawkins.
"Hey, are you guys alright?" Hanaski asked in concern, seeing three of his friends on the roof.
While the gang was regrouping, Atem walked toward Shadi for their final talk. Atem stood in front of the white-robed man with crossed arms. Shadi seemed like someone who won third place at a science fair. He looked up at Atem with a face of defeat.
"You've passed every test and defeated me. You and your brother," Shadi said. "I used my millennium items to bring out illusions. Because you and your brother's minds are so closely connected, the only way to mess with your mind is to hit two birds with one stone." He admitted as Atem kept his stern face. "Anyways, the illusions were to tempt you into darkness. Even in my illusions, you believed in your friends and your brother. Your friends even helped you along the way." He showed a soft smile for the first time. One that neither of the boys had seen. "Perhaps this loss won't be a bad thing."
"Shadi," Atem said. "You once wanted to know the power of the millennium puzzle. Grandpa says it's of Unity and I think he's right. When my brother was alone, me and my friends were still there to help him. As long as we wear the puzzle, we're NEVER alone."
The gang paused from their talk at that point. They all slowly lifted their heads and stared at Shadi with glares. Most of them couldn't remember what he did, but they knew it was bad. Joey stared at Shadi very coldly with his hard brown eyes.
"Hey! Shadi right? Get lost and don't go messing with my pal!" Joey glared.
"Of coarse," Shadi nodded before turning around and walking across the roof. He turned his head and faced Atem. "Atem, my family has been searching for generations for people like you." Atem cocked his eyebrows while his friends and grandpa stared in confusion. "We will meet again and by that time... we will no longer be enemies."
Atem watched as Shadi left and disappeared without a trace once again. He felt happy that this whole catastrophe was finally over. Yugi smiled and floated over by his brother, then put an arm over his shoulder. His face leaned against Atem's shoulder. Atem stared at the area where Shadi had left and let the rest of his breath out. It was over. The Shadow Game was finally over.
Joey smiled and walked over by Atem's side. Atem looked up at his friend and gave a small smile. Tristan smacked a hand on Atem's right shoulder and showed the same smile the two were sharing. Hanaski walked over between Tristan and Atem and gave a childish smile as his friend returned it with a smirk. Solomon just smiled widely while watching his grandson.
"How about we get some burgers? My treat," Solomon offered.
"ALRIGHT!" Atem shouted in joy.
"All this craziness has made me hungry," Joey grinned while rubbing the back of his neck.
Everyone left except for Atem and Yugi. They turned and stared at each other before giving each other tight bear hugs. Atem placed a firm kiss on Yugi's neck before Yugi placed a kiss on Atem's left cheek. The brothers looked at each other and gave chuckling smiles. They gave another hug, this time more looser.
The boys watched the sunset slowly descending into the ground. The boys broke from their hug and walked toward the sunset. They sat near the edge of the roof. Yugi sat in-between Atem's legs that were pointing to his right. Atem had his arms wrapped around Yugi under the arms with his head leaning on his brother's warm chest. They glanced at the sunset together with soft smiles.
"Atem, I'm glad you solved me," Yugi said.
"And I'm glad I solved you," Atem replied while playing with Yugi's gold bangs. "I never dreamed the day I would have a brother to love like this."
"I want you to always love me like this," Yugi grinned before glomping on Atem with arms around his neck and staring at his face with a grinning smile. "Hold me close and giving me lots of love."
Atem chuckled before holding Yugi chest to chest. Yugi felt his back on the ground with Atem looking into his brother's face and playing with his golden locks. Yugi did not care how hard the ground of the roof was. He did not care that it was getting dark. He didn't even care that his friends and grandpa were worried about them. All that mattered was that they were together forever and a lifetime as it seemed. They stared at each other without saying one word. The world was so quiet and soothing. Neither of them knew how much time had passed or even cared. The world would turn dark and yet they could still see the sparkle within each other as Atem continued to play with Yugi's locks until his muscles were so exhausted that he had to lie down on the roof, still staring into Yugi's soft sparkling eyes. Their faces only millimeters appart and eyelids becoming heavy, but not willing to close them.
The next day, the boys woke up with major sunburn. Uka grounded Atem for a week for not coming home that night. Though, the sunburn was probably worse than the grounding. It took forever to heal and Yugi forever called it "the burn of love" much to Atem's embarrassment.