The day of the explosion, Yuugi doubled over. His chest constricted without warning. He cried out in pain before collapsing. By the time Mokuba sent men over to the Game Shop, Yuugi was unconscious.
Mokuba Kaiba was forced to release a statement that it was a malfunction, and no one was hurt. He bravely put face that his brother was too busy with this accident to address the press directly. With that out of the way, Mokuba rushed to Yuugi's side.
"It was a mild heart attack. Luckily it didn't kill you, Mr. Mutou." The doctor informed just as Mokuba entered the room.
Yuugi stared in utter shock.
"Thank you." Mokuba stated honestly. The doctor took that as his cue to leave.
"What happened?" Yuugi regarded with suspicion.
"Seto challenged the pharaoh in the After Life."
Yuugi stared unblinking for a minute.
"Excuse me? Are you saying your brother breached the After Life to challenge the pharaoh to a duel?"
"Yeah." Mokuba nodded, knowing this was stupid.
"...What happened after?" A part of Yuugi didn't want to know.
"The tower Seto built to achieve this exploded. But, seconds before that happened, the cameras caught sight of the pharaoh appearing. I think they escaped. I've gotten nearly the entire company scouring any signs of bodies and found none yet."
So some good and bad. There was a chance Kaiba was alive, but likely Atem, too. Which unsettled Yuugi to his core. Was that why he had a heart attack so sudden? It wouldn't be that far of a stretch.
"Say, do you have any ideas where the pharaoh could have taken my brother?" Mokuba asked.
"There's a number of places he could have chosen." Yuugi really couldn't say. He pondered over everywhere they had been that would be considered special enough to Atem to whisk them away to safety.
"Will you let me know if you learn anything?"
"Yeah, if you learn anything, too." Yuugi knew Mokuba wouldn't have that problem. But it was better to be safe than sorry.
"I promise." The young Kaiba swore.
That evening Yuugi sensed a visitor. He awoke in the middle of the night. At first the former duelist rubbed his eyes to double check who he was seeing. And his heart sank upon confirming.
"He's really back among the living."
"I'm afraid so." Shadi confirmed. "But, he has no regrets over it."
"But why? He was supposed to be at rest after all he's done saving the world a hundred times over!" Yuugi couldn't wrap his head around it.
"Seto Kaiba stepped into the After Life while alive. Such a crossing had thought to never be possible. When the duel was settled, he was close to dying himself. That explosion was meant to - "
"And Atem can't be bothered to let someone die like that." Yuugi knew it.
"His motive was a little more than that." The admission earned a frown.
"What do you mean?" Yuugi asked.
"The punishment would be erasing all memory of his existence. No one would remember him, and thus, he would remain a wandering spirit. Perhaps he would become twisted in turmoil, watching his own brother living on without knowledge of him."
"But that's...a worse fate than Thief King." Yuugi wondered why it would be such a harsh punishment.
"He achieved what none should be able to do. Even the Gods were unsettled by it. For if one can do it, then what stops others from doing the same? Then there would be nothing to stop the two dimensions from merging. That includes the darkness where Thief King currently resides."
With that perspective, Yuugi can kind of understand. But it would only serve to create something worse than Thief King. Seto Kaiba was a tactician who would carry all his schemes on his own. If he had become a twisted spirit, Yuugi couldn't think of any means to settle him. To think Kaiba might have become just as ruthless as Thief King made Yuugi shiver.
"I can't fault Atem then." Yuugi still hated it. But the alternative would be worse off for the world.
"Once he pointed out the same outcome you did on the punishment, I couldn't be angry at them either." Shadi admitted.
"So where are they?" Yuugi was eager to know. As unsettled as he felt that Atem is now among the living, he understood it was for a good cause. And his heart was eager to see him.
"They are in the ruins where the Sennen Items are supposed to be buried. Since Kaiba had them delved into for his search of the Puzzle, the ruins now serve as their shelter."
Couldn't Atem have chosen somewhere closer? Yuugi kept his mild frustration to himself. Perhaps Atem didn't have control where they ended up. Or it was the first that came to mind during a very intense situation.
"Thank you. I'll inform Mokuba as soon as I can."
The next morning the young Kaiba visited. It was clear he didn't get much sleep. Too anxious and stressed over the fate of his older brother. Yuugi informed him of what he learned.
The only downside was that Yuugi was forced to remain one more day to be monitored. The doctor was adamant since his patient was way too young to have a heart attack no matter how mild. On top of that, it had been hours until Yuugi had been found.
Mokuba promised to wait until Yuugi was discharged before making a trip to Egypt so they can go together. His reasoning when Yuugi protested was that Atem was there, which meant they will be safe. Although Yuugi didn't like making them wait, he knew Mokuba was right.
When Yuugi was finally discharged they reached out to the Ishtars. Yuugi had a feeling that they should be involved in the rescue. Mokuba was happy for their help, as they had insights that they lacked about anything magic. It was better to be safe than sorry.
"Hey, Yuugi! I was wondering if we would hear from you. So, I'm guessing Kaiba is alive?" Marik answered the video call.
"Yes. And Atem is with him."
Marik stared, his brain in shock as he processed. Behind him Rashid leaned into view. His expression was disturbed, and he had every right to be.
"Does this mean the pharaoh is staying?"
"Yes. But, according to Shadi, Atem did this because the alternative was too severe a punishment to Kaiba."
"So he saved a friend twice over. And not even a close friend." Marik comments.
"They might not be close compared to his circle, but there is a deep trust between them." Ishizou points out. "One cannot ignore how many times their paths crossed into saving the world a few times."
"I suppose. So let me guess, you want us to help you find them?"
"Yeah." Yuugi nodded. "We're on our way to Egypt. They're in the ruins."
"Do you want us to check on them before you arrive?" Marik asked.
"I..." I want to be one of the first to see him Yuugi felt selfish for thinking that.
"It's okay. We understand." Marik assured. "While you're on the way we can keep a vigilance near the ruins to make sure nothing happens."
"Thank you." At least now the ruins will be protected.
After this Yuugi accepted a group call with the others. Joey, Tristan, Anzu, Duke and Ryou have a very small window of their schedules lining up for this group chat. Yuugi nervously smiled when Joey immediately eyed Mokuba, who was fidgeting next to him.
"So let me guess, Mr. Big Shot got himself in a situation that you two have to save him?" For once Joey didn't have a mocking tone. That explosion was serious, and they all had been blowing up Yuugi's phone since then.
"Well, actually, Atem saved Kaiba. But we're on our way to get them."
A full minute of silence.
"What!?" A number of them exclaimed. While most of them were shocked, Ryou became apprehensive. Yuugi noticed, as he had a notion he would.
"Ryou, I don't think Thief King will be able to come back. Atem did this willingly in order to save Kaiba from a worse fate."
"...Okay." Ryou relaxed.
"What do you mean worse fate?" Tristan questioned.
"Well...Kaiba stepped into the After Life. Alive. I guess when he was supposed to die," Yuugi grew nervous. He hadn't gone into the finer details to Mokuba or the Ishtars. "His punishment would be that the world would forget his existence. There would be no one who would remember him. And he would have likely become a wandering spirit unable to rest in peace."
Mokuba looked like he wanted to cry. Yuugi offered a hug, and the younger Kaiba did so almost too tightly. Softly Mokuba began to cry. Yuugi held him with one arm gently.
"That's horrible, even for Kaiba." Joey was the first to comment.
"...He would have become a worse twisted spirit than Thief King." Ryou caught on.
"I don't believe that's the main reason why the pharaoh saved him at all, though." Duke countered.
"He's got a heart better than me when it comes to Kaiba." Joey agreed.
"So then...what does this mean for Atem?" Anzu timidly asked. "Does this mean he can't go back to rest in peace?"
"To be honest, I don't know." Yuugi admits. He has too many mixed emotions over Atem's return. "But first, we need to focus on bringing them home. Then once everything is calmed down we can start looking into Atem's situation."
A harrowing experience would have anyone unsettled. Yuugi doubted even Kaiba will just walk it off this time. A part of him hoped that the CEO felt some sort of guilt over all of this. Else it would mean Atem's sacrifice was pointless no matter the punishment.
"You know, this might be unique enough that the pharaoh can just sit back and adjust being alive again." Joey had hope.
"Don't jinx it!" Tristan and Duke yelled at once.
"No, he just might be right." Ryou defended. "I don't think someone will come forward to put the world in danger anytime soon. So maybe there's a silver lining even if pharaoh is stuck here."
"Should we plan to meet up for a welcome back party?" Anzu wondered. "Once we've all accustomed to this, of course."
"Maybe. Let's see how he feels about it." Yuugi didn't want their lives to be put on pause. A few of them weren't all in Japan let alone in Domino City.
Still, it would be nice that for a brief moment all of them were together. Atem would be relieved to see familiar faces again. His presence had been dearly missed among all of them.
The conversation switched to updates on their lives. Anzu landed a big role in an upcoming performance. Duke's company was taking popularity. Ryou started his collage, and he had to leave for his studies. But informed he chose anthropology as his current major. Tristan gave the good news on his new job as a mechanic on bikes. Joey was excited to see his sister again, they made plans to meet in a few weeks.
Yuugi happily took in all the news. He couldn't wait to tell Atem all about how their friends were thriving. The pharaoh would be delighted to hear it all. And it made Yuugi feel a little guilty he was still uncertain while he maintained the Game Shop to pass time.
When they were close to landing, it was almost evening in Egypt. Yuugi accepted an unexpected call from Ishizou. Her expression seemed a bit concerned.
"What's wrong?" Yuugi noticed.
"I'm telling you this now that I've had a few hours to process and speculate something."
"What happened?" Now Yuugi and Mokuba were alarmed.
"It's nothing bad. Only, a few hours ago, we felt an odd wave of magic. It wasn't threatening or dangerous. If I am correct on what this was, two souls are joined together in a way that if one dies then so does the other."
"...Care to elaborate?" Yuugi wasn't the only one confused.
"Back when magic was prominent, there used to be rituals for two people to join their lives together by binding their souls. This was one of the theories of the term soul mates come from. Once it is done it cannot be reversed. And, should they be reincarnated, they will remain as soul mates."
"So you're saying you felt this happen?" Yuugi was still clueless why this was being told to them at all.
"Yes. And we determined the origin of where this took place was in the ruins." Ishizou allowed the information to sink in.
"Wait so they're bound together?" Yuugi felt too many emotions to fully process. The most prominent was anger. If it wasn't enough that Atem sacrificed his well earned peace, now he was bound to Kaiba of all people?
"I understand why you're upset. But, I have a theory."
"Okay. Let's hear it." Yuugi still had a tone.
"What if Kaiba was still technically dying? Although we don't tap into our Ba, our spirit and soul to use magic, but surely he had to in order to even accomplish stepping into the After Life. And the pharaoh sensed it, thus he tied their souls together using this ritual."
"But they're not even a couple let alone admit they're friends!" Yuugi didn't like this any better.
"I know. But this ritual can only succeed if there is a level of trust that is seen within couples. And I know it succeeded." Ishizou had no doubts.
"But Atem didn't have time to even like people that way." Yuugi frowned. There was the one time he set up a date between Atem and Anzu, but he didn't pursue further for many reasons. Plus, the pharaoh was secretly questioning his sexuality.
Although it was unspoken between them, Yuugi knew Atem had no preference on gender. All that mattered was that there would be a mutual trust that ran deep. Love and trust walked a fine line in relationships.
"...My brother did." Mokuba softly admits.
Yuugi had to excuse himself to process alone. He knew nothing can be done about this. Still, he was upset that Atem would continue to selflessly aid Kaiba. Yuugi felt that saving him from the consequences of this last mistake was enough of a sacrifice.
He must have felt there was no other choice. Yuugi wished he had asked the Ishtars to check on them.
When they made it to the ruins with the siblings, Yuugi felt bittersweet. His stomach dropped at the sight of how tightly they clung together. Kaiba burying his face into Atem's chest. And the pharaoh protecting him even in slumber.
"Guess we're a family now." Yuugi accepted the reality now that he's seen it. Beside him Mokuba blushed.
