Here it is, the final battle. The duel that you guys have so patiently been waiting for. Atem vs Seto! It's obvious how this is gonna turn out, but that doesn't mean it won't be a tense battle. This is gonna be one tense battle that either of them will ever face. Remember, this is one of the first duels, so the present rules of dueling don't apply here. There are even Seto's monster attacking despite the Swords of Revealing Light in both the manga and the anime. Review please!
Atem and Seto were shuffling their decks. After shuffling, they both handed their decks back to the owner. Atem had to prepare himself since he was aware of Seto's three Blue-Eyes White Dragons. If three of them were on the field, the only monster to beat them would be Exodia, which Solomon left in Atem's deck. Atem had to rely on his strength and the strength of his friends.
Atem drew his first card and said, "I summon Winged Dragon of the Fortress in attack mode!"
Winged Dragon of the Fortress appeared in the hologram of the duel box. It flapped its winged with brilliance and a tremendous growl. Seto smirked and drew his card.
"I'll let you win this one," Seto said with a smile up his lips. "I summon Hitotsu-Me Giant in attack mode. He attacks your Winged Dragon of the Fortress!"
Winged Dragon of the Fortress clobbered Hitotsu-Me Giant as Atem glared at Seto and said, "STOP F***ING WITH ME, SETO!"
"Fine," Seto shrugged. He still kept his smile. "I'll win anyways. I just wanted to give you a little boost."
Seto had 1800 life points while Atem still had his 2000. Atem was sure that Seto wasn't going to make another random move like that again. He knew it wasn't going to be an easy battle, especially with three Blue-Eyes White Dragons, but his friends and family had faith in him. Atem wasn't willing to give up on them, not even on Seto.
"I summon the Wicked Worm Beast in attack mode!" Seto announced as Atem kept his guard up. "TIME FOR BATTLE!"
Winged Dragon of the Fortress and Wicked Worm Beast started battling each other. Wicked Worm Beast attacked with venom spray, but Winged Dragon of the Fortress dodged it. Seto glared furiously. Winged Dragon of the Fortress attacked the Wicked Worm Beast and destroyed it. Seto showed a grim.
"Since both our monsters had the same attack points, your life points haven't gone down," Atem said and Seto showed a smirk.
"I'll set one monster in defense mode and end my turn," Seto declared as a monster arose in defense mode. Its face was so well hidden that nobody could tell what the monster was.
"I also lay a monster in defense mode," Atem declared since he didn't want to attack recklessly.
"Making yourself a shield huh?" Seto smirked. He turned his card to attack mode. "This monster has low attack, but I can increase it with Negative Energy Generator. This triples the attack of one dark monster." Atem gasped as Seto's monster, Saggi the Dark Clown, increased its attack to 1800. "Saggi, attack Winged Dragon of the Fortress!"
Saggi the Dark Clown attacked and destroyed Winged Dragon of the Fortress. Atem's life points were now 1600. Atem still had one monster in defense mode and needed a monster to help him out of this situation. He drew his next card and drew the right leg of Exodia. Atem smirked, he was closer to gaining all five cards of Exodia.
"Just only four more cards," Yugi said excitedly. "I've never seen Exodia. I bet he's powerful."
'He is,' Atem agreed. He narrowed his eyes, and then laid Sangan in defense mode.
"Well, that's pointless," Seto smirked with a dark chuckle. "Saggi, attack Atem's Sangan!"
Saggi the Dark Clown destroyed Sangan and other monsters Atem would summon out one by one. Atem was left with 1400 life points while Seto still kept his 1800. Things were getting very slim.
"Don't give up, brother. I believe in you and so does Grandpa," Yugi cheered as Atem gave a half smile and nod.
"This is just pathetic! You're barely even keeping up with your life points," Seto smirked. A dark chuckle escaped through his nose. "If I never get to use Blue-Eyes, then perhaps I was wrong about you."
"Seto," Atem said as Seto looked up with the same expression. "Have you ever believed in someone?"
"What do you mean?" Seto asked glaringly.
"I've always believed in my friends and my family. I even believed in Yugi when he played against your brother. Have you ever believed in someone with your whole heart?" Atem asked as Seto glared deeply in reply. "You never believed in your brother." Seto kept his expression, but rose his eyebrows to figure out where Atem was getting at. "Why don't you believe in anyone other than yourself?"
"Listen, are you gonna give me crap or are you gonna duel?" Seto asked furiously as Atem drew his next card. A smile appeared on his face.
"I summon Gaia the Fierce Knight!" Atem declared as he put his monster in attack mode. Seto growled with his fists shaking. "Gaia, destroy Saggi the Dark Clown!"
Gaia the Fierce Knight galloped across the table and sliced Saggi the Dark Clown. Seto glared deeply as his life points decreased to 1300. A smirk then appeared on his face.
"Now, we're showing real progress," Seto smirked as Atem showed a smirk grown on his lips.
Atem needed to focus on getting into Seto's dark core of his mind for when Seto lost. One by one, he was starting to break fragments of the walls protecting Seto's core. Questioning about whom Seto believed in was only the beginning. Atem still needed to break more barriers that were protecting the core of Seto's mind. Though, he could feel a familiar presents that was protecting these walls. It wasn't Mokuba since that wall was already broken when Yugi played against him in Capsule Monsters.
The core of any person's mind would be protected by friends, family, or people that person cared about. It could also be protected by pride and other things. The people Seto was close with were more difficult to break through, especially Mokuba. Atem had already gained entrance by these people Seto was familiar with, except one. There was one blocking the way, but who was it?
Seto drew another card. This one made him smile and laugh loudly. Atem knew exactly what card Seto drew: Blue-Eyes White Dragon.
"I SUMMON BLUE-EYES IN ATTACK MODE!" Seto smirked excitedly. Atem gasped, but kept a deep glare. He wasn't about to go down that easy. "ATTACK THAT KNIGHT AND WIPE HIM FROM THE FIELD!" Blue-Eyes White Dragon shot blasts of fireballs and blasted Gaia the Fierce Knight from the Field. Atem's life points were down to 700. Sweat was pouring down his face and fear swept through him. "It's you turn. Draw whatever worthless card you've got!"
Seto smirked with excitement written on his face. Atem knew he had to keep strong or he'd never help Seto. Speaking of which, how was Atem going to get Seto's mind core even if his friend lost? There was something blocking Atem from getting into the core of Seto's mind. Everything seemed hopeless in both directions.
"Don't give up!" Yugi said as Atem kept his head up and summoned Horn Imp in defense mode.
"Guess you're running out of ideas," Seto chuckled before showing a fighting face. "BLUE-EYES! ATTACK ATEM'S HORN IMP!" Blue-Eyes White Dragon sent more blasts at Horn Imp and destroyed the monster completely. "I won't be able to get to your life points if you keep summoning monsters. I guess I'll have to keep destroying them one by one until you have non left."
Atem had no monsters strong enough to attack Blue-Eyes White Dragon, so he kept bringing in monsters in defense mode. He summoned one monster in defense mode, but Seto decided not to attack it since he summoned another Blue-Eyes White Dragon. Atem was in fear of losing the game and his friend, especially since he couldn't get into the core of Seto's mind.
"You can summon another weakling, I'll still win this game," Seto smirked. Atem narrowed his eyes as he drew his next card. "Just like a Spartan, never giving up until the last man standing."
"I use the spell card Swords of Revealing Light!" Atem declared as glowing white swords fell down on Seto's field. Because of this spell card, Seto could not use his monsters to attack Atem. "Now you can't attack for three turns."
"What the hell can you do in three turns," Seto asked rhetorically. Atem kept his face focused, but he knew that there was not much he could do in three turns unless he could draw two more cards of Exodia. Until then, it was best to keep attacking and try to find the final pieces of Exodia.
'It's like when I was putting the pieces of the millennium puzzle together. I kept on trying until I finally solved it,' Atem thought to himself.
"And we met," Yugi mentioned with a bright smile. He held his brother with two arms around his neck, then kissed his cheek. "And I don't regret ever meeting you."
'I don't either. I'm going to gain the five pieces of Exodia if it's the last thing I do!' Atem promised as he drew his next card, which was The Right Arm of Exodia. "I'll put Beaver Warrior in defense mode."
"FINE!" Seto smirked as he drew his next card. Victory was written on his face. "I will summon Judge Man to attack your Beaver Warrior."
Judge Man slashed its sword through Beaver Warrior and destroyed it completely. Atem drew another card, which was Dark Magician. He hoped in his heart that Dark Magician can help in some way. It may not have enough attack points to destroy Seto's Blue-Eyes White Dragon, but it can still attack Judge Man.
"I summon Dark Magician!" Atem declared as Dark Magician appeared bold and strong. He looked back at his master and gave a fighting smirk. "ATTACK JUDGE MAN!" Dark Magician flew up in the air and used his dark magic to destroy Judge Man, leaving Seto with 1000 life points.
"It's still pointless," Seto chuckled before drawing another card. His smirk grew wider and a laugh escaped from his mouth. "I summon my third Blue-Eyes!"
The third Blue-Eyes White Dragon appeared, cornering Atem. Sweat and fear poured through him. He didn't know what to do. Three Blue-Eyes White Dragons were staring down at him and he knew the one Seto just summoned was going to attack Atem's Dark Magician.
"DESTROY YUGI'S DARK MAGICIAN!" Seto declared as Blue-Eyes White Dragon attacked Dark Magician with blasts of fireballs. Dark Magician was destroyed and Atem was left with 200 life points. "You have no chance of winning, Atem. There's no sense in fighting. Why don't you just give up?"
"NO!" Atem declared, with pride taking over. "Not till the bitter end!"
"You just need the final piece of Exodia!" Yugi mentioned with a cheering smile. "I know you can do it!"
Atem reached his hand to grab the top of the deck, but fear was keeping him back. He couldn't get to Seto through his mind or the game. He still hadn't been able to reach the core of Seto's mind. Yugi could sense the fear in his brother and tried to cheer him up, but there was so much stress inside Atem. He felt hopelessness overwhelm him.
"Brother, don't give up!" Yugi said.
'I know, but even if I do summon Exodia, I haven't broken the last wall to Seto's mind. Something strong is blocking my way to get to the core of his mind!' Atem glared with frustration.
"What's blocking it?"
'Something strong. It's someone Seto's close to. Very close.'
"Mokuba?"
'No, he's already let me go through after your battle with him.'
"You know. Sometimes the only thing blocking our path is ourselves. I mean isn't it our choice to walk that path or not?"
Atem looked up and saw the wall blocking the path to Seto's mind core. There, in front of the door, was a duplicate of himself. It was himself that was blocking the passage, but why? The answer was obvious, he was afraid. Afraid of the power, afraid of losing his friend. Atem came face to face with himself.
"I have to help Seto! If I don't, than I'll lose my friend. I can't lose Seto. LOSING IS NOT AN OPTION!" Atem declared as he felt the presents of four other people. They were Joey, Tea, Hanaski, and Tristan. Atem turned his head toward his friends as they put their hands forward and showed the friendship star on their hands that needed the final piece. Atem smiled and put his hand forward, with that hand joined by Yugi's hand.
"Atem, let us through," Joey said to the duplicate as he nodded and granted passage to the core of Seto's mind. Atem was now in the center core of Seto's mind, thanks to his friends who were with him.
Seto was still staring down at Atem as he brought his head up that was erased of any fear. All that fear that kept himself from Seto's mind core was gone. This made Seto gasp as Atem drew his last and final card. It was the fifth piece of Exodia. Atem brought a smirk up his lips as he placed the final piece with his cards.
"I haven't given up on you yet, Seto!" Atem declared as he showed the five pieces of Exodia. Seto gasped and cold sweat was dripping from his face. "I SUMMON FORTH, EXODIA!" Exodia's five pieces were summoned and formed together into one powerful monster known as Exodia. Fear was now sweeping through Seto as he came face to face with the most powerful monster in the game of Duel Monsters. How could it even be possible that someone could actually summon Exoidia? "EXODIA ABLITERATE!"
"NOOOOOO!" Seto cried as Exodia made a huge energy ball and swept the floor of three Blue-Eyes White Dragons.
At this point, Seto could feel something inside him breaking out. He knew this was a shadow game, but wasn't aware of what was happening to him. Atem was able to reach the inner core of Seto's mind, which would activate the penalty game that was about to unfold. The pressure of the penalty game, that was about to occur, was so enormous that Seto had to use every ounce of strength to keep himself up before he collapsed.
Seto felt himself falling before being caught by strong arms that belonged to a pitied Atem. Tears were starting to build up in him. He never wanted this to happen. He never wanted to do this to his friend, give him a penalty game. Atem looked directly into those cold blue eyes that were filled with pressure that built up as time passed by. Seto, for some reason, felt the strength, that once was used to push everything he loved away, falling.
"Seto, I never wanted this to happen," Atem sobbed. Seto didn't feel the strength to push his rival back any farther.
Atem dug in his pocket and took out a permanent marker. He got out Seto's hand and drew "Atem Moto" on the back of one hand and "Mokuba Kaiba" on the other. Seto looked at his rival confused.
"These are the guards that blocked my way to the core of your mind. I was trying to reach you and these two guarded the path to prevent any harm," Atem explained as a faint glow of the third eye appeared on his forehead. "You must look for them if you ever want to put the pieces of your mind back together again." Seto felt the inside of his mind about to burst. A round puzzle was shown from his heart. "MIND CRUSH!"
At that moment, the puzzle inside Seto's mind crushed into thousands of pieces. Seto laid there unconscious with his eyes hallowed and opened as if he was paralyzed. Atem closed his eyes and retrieved a piece of the puzzle to Seto's heart. That piece settled into Atem's heart. There was another piece that floated in Atem's hand as Mokuba walked in with a tearful face.
"Take this," Atem muttered as he gave Mokuba a piece of the puzzle to Seto's heart. Mokuba held onto that piece as it merged inside him. "The only way Seto will ever be well again is if he retrieves all of the pieces of his heart. For now, he will have to pick up the pieces in his own heart, but soon will look for the two remaining pieces. The remaining ones lie within the names that appear on the back of his hands."
Mokuba saw the names. "Atem Moto" was on Seto's left hand and "Mokuba Kaiba" was on Seto's right hand. Mokuba smiled before turning his head with a face full of tears.
"Thank you," Mokuba thanked as Atem nodded.
Meanwhile, in front of the entrance to the elevator door, the two guards were holding the two friends at gunpoint. They all watched the whole event and were angry that Seto lost and received a penalty game. Joey felt helpless since he couldn't do anything about the gunmen. There wasn't much for him to do since there were three men, and Tea wasn't much of a fighter.
Then, one of the guards got punched from the back of the head by a mysterious person. Joey, Tea, Hanaski, and Jouji gasped as they eyed Tristan with his casual smile.
"Hey, missed me?" Tristan asked before the two other guards pointed their guns at him.
"HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!" Guard #1 commanded before Joey punched him and the two boys began fighting off the gunmen.
The two boys started throwing punches at the two other guards while avoiding attacks from them. Tea and Hanaski stood back while the boys fought. Jouji stood behind Tea and cheering for Tristan.
"YAY TRISTAN! GO KICK THEIR ASS!" Jouji cheered.
"THAT'S IT!" Guard #2 shouted with frustration as he put the gun to Joey's cheek and was about to shoot.
"Stop!" Mokuba commanded. The guards stared at him dumbfoundedly. "The game's over. You can let go of them now."
"He's right," Atem said before adding a smile. "Besides, I think Seto will need a hospital."
"Y... yes," Guard #1 replied before clearing his throat. "Of course. We'll get the ambulance right away."
"Hey, is that Kaiba's brother?" Tristan asked dumbfounded.
"Yes. He's a brat, but has a good heart," Atem said with a hint of trust for the preteen. "Take care of your brother."
"I will," Mokuba promised. He turned to Tristan with guilt. "I'm sorry for what my brother did. He... was confused in a lot of things since Gozaburo adopted us. I just want to see him happy again and Atem has given him that. I just wish that Seto could've seen how much good Atem has done for him."
"He saw strength as a weakness. Hopefully, when he wakes up, he'll realize his true strength and weakness," Atem promised.
"I never got the chance to thank you for getting me out of that room," Tristan thanked as he held his hand out to Mokuba and he shook it.
"Wait, he got you out of that room?" Joey asked dumbfoundedly.
"Yep."
"It was the least I could do for helping me back there," Mokuba said, looking at Atem. "or Yugi that is. We had fun."
"Huh?" Tristan wondered with question marks in his head. He was never around when Atem confessed about Yugi to his friends.
"We will see each other again, in time," Atem promised as he and his friends exited from the Tournament. Tristan was still confused.
"Uh Atem, what did Mokuba mean by 'Yugi'? Isn't that your nickname that Hanaski calls you?" Tristan asked.
"It's... a long story," Atem replied before they all entered inside Tristan's car. "I'll explain it to you later."
"Wait, why do you get to sit by Tea?" Jouji complained with his arms crossed.
"I just find it amusing when I piss you off and Yugi has something to say," Atem smirked as Jouji's eyes widened. Tristan's eyes were widened in confusion as Atem changed to Yugi.
"So... you're Yugi huh?" Jouji asked with a hint of jealousy since Tea kissed Yugi on the cheek before he dueled Mokuba.
"Yeah. I wanted to say that you're awesome and the cutest thing I've ever seen," Yugi cooed Jouji before glomping him in a hug.
"AHHHH GET OFF ME! I LIKED ATEM BETTER! GET YOUR ASS OFF ME!" Jouji cried and wail while Atem's spirit was gawking up in laughter. Tea, Hanaski, and Joey were laughing too. Tristan, on the other hand, was beyond confusion. If it wasn't for the fact he was driving, he'd be looking back there and try to break up Yugi and Hanski.
"CAN SOMEBODY PLEASE TELL ME WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?" Tristan shouted before Joey gave his friend a light punch.
"Let's just put it this way. There are two Atem's, the cute one back there, and the pipsqueak we all know and love," Joey explained in a teasing manner before Atem changed to his own body.
"Pipsqueak huh?" Atem smirked before whipping his arm around Joey's neck like he was about to choke him.
"Cu... common man ak... you know I was just bluffin!" Joey defended with a glare.
"You shoulda thought of that before messing with me."
"Would you guys stop that before we get into a wreck?" Tea glared before Atem rolled his eyes and released Joey before leaning back in his seat.
When the kids finally made it to the hospital, they entered into the room where Solomon was resting at. He was doing very well, in fact he was talking with Uka when the kids entered. They all brought up smiles before huddling around Solomon. Atem held onto his grandpa tightly with happiness in his heart.
"I'm glad you're okay," Atem said.
"And I'm glad I'm okay," Solomon grinned as everyone laughed. "How's Seto?"
Atem sighed and put on a small frown before replying, "he's in the hospital, but when he gets out, he'll be better. I'm sure of it."
"Don't ever stop believing in your friends, Atem."
"I'll never give up on Seto. No matter how much of a jerk he is."
"Well, I'd prefer a better choice of friends, but if you want to make friends with an asshole, that's fine with me," Joey shrugged.
"Watch your mouth!" Uka rebuked.
"Hey, I'm just saying."
"This is boring," Jouji complained. "I WANT ICE CREAM!"
"Aww, someone wants a hug," Atem smirked with a tent of evilness to it. Jouji knew exactly what Atem was planning on doing.
"No, NO! It's fine, I can live without ice cream," Jouji said quickly with sweat pouring from his face. 'Please, don't change into Yugi.'
"That's what I thought," Atem smirked. 'You know. I think you might come in handy in controlling this kid.'
Yugi rolled his eyes, but showed a small smile. Atem yawned while stretching his arms saying, "this whole adventure has made me pooped. I think I might need some shut-eye."
"Here, I'll take you home," Uka offered as Atem held his mom tight as a thanks.
As soon as Atem made it home, he plopped onto bed with no clothes on him except his boxers since he was too tired to change into a nightgown. Yugi floated on top of his brother's back and played with his brother's hair. Atem turned his body and brought Yugi on the bed face-up. He rested his head on Yugi's warm chest before a moan escaped his nose.
"Someone's tired," Yugi with one arm around Atem's waist and his other hand stroking his brother's cheek.
"Very. I think we both had a very long day," Atem said groggy. A smile peeped through his lips.
"You should get to sleep."
Atem moaned like a whisper as he brought his head over Yugi's face and cupped it with his hands. It felt so soft and gentle under Atem's fingertips. Yugi gave out a chuckle before Atem buried his face in his brother's neck. It felt so warm and soft, especially with that mass of hair being felt upon his face. Atem shifted his body in twisted directions to snuggle himself cozily with Yugi. Yugi placed a kiss on the back of Atem's neck as he felt his brother's arms hold onto a tighter grip. Atem soon loosened his grip and his face rested against Yugi's neck with his lips barely touching the skin.
Yugi imaged every single adventure he ever shared with his brother. All the shadow games faced in order to protect their friends. They all lead to here and now where they would share and cherish all of their adventures. Yugi loved those adventures and loved sharing them with his brother, who would always be lying here with him in the end. He would always be with his brother and Atem would always love him like his. There was so much that he could say or wanted to say to Atem, but didn't know the right words.
Atem felt his brother's memories that Yugi cherished. Atem loved the spiral of memories that coursed through his mind link. He felt all the memories passing through that they've been through together. They all would end and lead up to this moment. A moment where they could love each other like this and think back to all the memories they've shared together. There was so much for Atem to say, but he didn't know the right words.
"Yugi," Atem whispered, his lips now barely touching the neck under Yugi's ear.
"Hm?" Yugi replied while stroking the hair out of his brother's face.
"I'm sorry for being ashamed of you. I love you so much."
"Shhhhh," Yugi hushed before placing a soft kiss on his brother's top head. "You need to sleep."
"Can I keep you?" Atem asked, bringing Yugi's face toward his. Their nose and forehead touched. "Please?"
"Of course, just get some sleep."
Atem brought his face under Yugi's face. Yugi smiled and brushed his fingers through Atem's hair. He wanted to wait for the dreams, so he can possibly hear what Atem dreamed about. His talking would always put Yugi to sleep like a lullaby. Yugi moaned quietly and waited to hear one word or sentence from Atem coming from his dreams.
"Be mine, Yugi," Atem whispered, but not in his sleep. "Be mine forever. Never leave me, never leave my heart. I want your spirit to be with me forever and ever. Please be mine."
"I'll always be yours," Yugi promised before Atem took his brother's face and kissed both sides of Yugi's cheeks.
"And if you're gone, I'll come seek you out," Atem promised before his heavy eyelids closed and the darkness filled his world.
"Sweet dreams, brother. I shall always be yours," Yugi promised in a whisper as he traced the lines on his brother's bare chest. "And you shall always be mine, my sweet dear brother that I cherish from the bottom of my heart."