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Yugi stares into the Door of Wdjat, where his best friend in the entire world has just vanished. If he looks hard enough, he can still see the silhouette of Atem, hand held out in a thumbs up, still reassuring him that they’ll never truly be apart.
Bull. Freaking. Shit.
Atem has walked through the door to the afterlife, leaving them forever. Leaving him forever. It may be for the best, but that doesn’t heal the ache in Yugi’s heart. He falls to the ground and weeps. As Atem told him moments ago, a champion doesn’t belong on his knees. But Yugi doesn’t feel much like a champion now.
A reassuring hand lands on his shoulder: Joey. “C’mon, Yug’. Let’s go.”
He wipes his arm across his eyes. “Just…give me a few minutes, ’K?”
Joey nods, says “Okay,” and returns to his circle of friends. Yugi ignores Téa’s concerned look and turns back to stare at the doorway, watching as the blinding light begins to dim.
But wait. Is it dimming? Or is it getting brighter? In a trance, Yugi reaches out a hand to touch the light. As soon as he does, he feels a jerk behind his navel and is sucked into the doorway.
“Yugi!” he hears a voice call.
“Téa!” he responds, reaching out a hand. But the bright light engulfs him, and Yugi is whisked away to gods know where.
If this is what it’s like to die, it isn’t so bad, Yugi thinks. It’s warm here, unlike the cool dampness of the chamber he left behind. He doesn’t open his eyes yet, enjoying the pleasant touch of… just what is he lying on, anyway? He feels around with his fingers: it’s like a cloud made solid.
Is he dead? Is he dreaming? If so, it’s a nice dream.
“Yugi!” That voice sounds familiar. “Aibou, are you all right?”
Yugi flutters his eyes open. The first thing he sees is Atem’s brilliant purple eyes, mere inches from his own. A very nice dream, indeed. He reaches out a tentative hand. “’Tem? S’that you?”
Atem clutches Yugi’s hand in both of his. “It is me. Oh, Yugi.” He presses a tender kiss to the back of his hand. Yugi would certainly be blushing if he wasn’t so darn confused.
“Thank you,” Atem says. For a moment, Yugi is more confused than ever, until he realizes that his other self isn’t talking to him. He turns his head to see where Atem is looking and sees…
Ah, this makes more sense. This bright, shining figure looks familiar: Horakhty, Creator of Light. Only this time, the god is person-sized, instead of several stories tall. And he is flanked by others from the world of the Pharaoh’s memories: Mana. Mahaad. Priest Seto. All of Pharaoh Atem’s advisors and retainers are here to welcome him to the afterlife.
Gazing around in wonderment, Yugi sits up, though Atem doesn’t let go of his hand. “Where are we? Okay, dumb question. I think I know. But more importantly,” he looks questioningly at Atem, “why am I here?”
A chagrined smile tickles the edges of Atem’s mouth. “The Creator of Light was kind enough to grant me a final wish. And, well…” he rubs his neck, sheepish. “I wanted to see you again, aibou. One last time.”
Yugi is rendered completely speechless. What exactly is he supposed to say to that?
Atem rushes to fill the awkward silence. “I did not anticipate you being dragged in here with me! I thought I would get, well, one final vision of you walking away. I apologize, aibou. That must have been alarming for you.”
“Nah,” Yugi says with a grin. “I’m glad it happened this way. Though I’m sure Téa is worried sick. A little warning, next time?” The smile falls off his face. There won’t be a next time.
Atem droops at the sight of Yugi’s morose expression. He addresses this next statement to the Creator God: “I appreciate this gift you have given me, truly. But don’t you think Yugi deserves a final request as well? After all, I could never have defeated Zorc Necrophades without his help. He is just as much of a hero as I am. More, even.”
“Aww, jeez. I didn’t do that much.” The eyes of everyone present bore into him. Yugi wants to run away and hide, but there’s nowhere in this featureless void that he can go. Instead, he rises to his feet, pulling Atem up with him.
The Creator God speaks with the voice of a thousand ages, sounding neither male nor female. “This is most irregular. But…” The god turns the full might of his gaze upon Yugi. He blanches. It’s as though his entire soul is being laid bare.
But then the god smiles, as if satisfied by what he saw there. “Your heart is brave and true, young one. It is as your partner said: in another age, you could have been Pharaoh.”
Yugi gives Atem a side-eye and mutters, “You told them that?” Atem shrugs, a shy smile on his face.
“Very well. Speak your wish,” intones Horakhty, Creator of Light.
Yugi sighs. “I made a wish, long ago. I wished for true friends. And my wish was granted! But… I think I’m done with wishes. How much happiness can one guy get, before it becomes unfair to everyone else?” Yugi tries to ignore the puzzled looks of everyone around him, the line deepening on Atem’s brow.
“No, I don’t have a wish.” He strides up to the Creator God and looks him in the eye, unwavering. “But I do have a hope. I hope that Atem can experience the life he never got to live. The life that was cut short when he sacrificed himself to stop Zorc.”
He looks down at his clenched fist. “I don’t know much about the Egyptian afterlife. Probably should have studied it more, heh. So I don’t know if he’ll get to experience the life that could have been, or if he’ll be reincarnated, or whatever. But no matter what happens”—he looks back up at the god’s impassive face—”I hope that he’ll be happy. That he’ll get to grow up this time. That he’ll—” he chokes back a sob. “That he’ll—meet someone, and—and they’ll grow old together, and—”
It’s too much; he can’t do it. He tried to hold himself together, but he can’t anymore. The thought of Atem finding someone else is almost too much for him to bear. He collapses to his knees, arms clasped around his chest, trying to hold together the shattered fragments of his heart.
A warm hand touches his shoulder. “Yugi…” Atem’s deep voice trembles, as if he too is overcome by emotion. This only makes Yugi sob harder. He knows that he should have a bit more dignity, in front of a literal god and all of Atem’s ancient friends, but it’s hard to care at this point. He clutches Atem’s hand for dear life and pours his heart down onto the unyielding ground.
“Kind, brave soul. Do you understand what it is you ask for?” A cool fingertip presses up on his chin. Eyes still brimming with tears, Yugi looks into the face of Horakhty, a smile dancing on the god’s lips.
“Come, child.” And his wings envelop Yugi and Atem both, and Yugi once again feels as though he is falling.
This time, at least, the disorientation is less severe. Yugi manages to regain his footing on the luminous ground, and Atem is right there next to him. Their hands meet, and Yugi squeezes down tightly. Whatever is happening, they won’t have to face it alone.
A voice echoes, reverberating down to Yugi’s very soul. “I am Ra-Horakhty, a God amongst Gods. It is in my power to grant what you desire, my child.”
The ground underneath them starts to move. No, not the ground—a giant hand! Yugi clings to Atem for balance as the hand lifts them up in front of the god’s massive face.
“Yes, I can grant you this wish,” says Ra-Horakhty, voice ringing in Yugi’s ears. “For your heart is pure, untouched by malice. But first you must understand that which you seek, for it shall not come without a price.”
“I… I don’t understand.” Yugi throws a bewildered glance at Atem. His other self has a look of wonderment on his face, but with a touch of hesitation, as if he can’t allow himself too much hope.
Hope. Wait, that’s it! Not a wish, but a hope. “Are you saying…” Yugi says, voice trembling, “…that he can come back?”
“Yes. If Pharaoh Atem so chooses, he may return with you. But as I said, it comes at a cost.”
The god focuses his attention on Atem. “A life unfulfilled is a terrible thing. Restoring it requires sacrifice. If you so choose, you may proceed as planned: return to the Duat, make your journey across the afterlife, and face the judgment of Ma’at. Reclaim your lost memories, and your title as Pharaoh. And say goodbye to your partner forever. Or…
“You may return to the living world alongside him, to live out a fresh life. You will be formed anew, with no memories but those you have experienced at his side, including those you revisited in the World of Memory. Upon your death, you may still attempt to reach Aaru, the Field of Reeds, and rejoin your fallen companions. But your former life as Pharaoh will be lost to you forever.
“The choice is yours.”
The cool blue eyes of Ra-Horakhty bear down upon them. Yugi gazes back, dumbfounded. Lose his memories forever? The Pharaoh can’t do that, he just can’t! He turns to Atem, ready to give him a lecture, but the words die on his tongue.
Atem is staring downwards, face unreadable, eyes shadowed by his bangs. Then one corner of his mouth quirks up into a smile. That determined expression Yugi knows so well floods across Atem’s face as he thrusts his chin up, resolute.
“I accept.”
“Wait, shouldn’t we talk about this more?!”
“Wish granted.”
A blinding light fills Yugi’s vision, and he feels himself once more being ripped away from the other half of his soul. But not for long. Not this time. Yugi would never have made this choice for himself, but clearly Atem wanted this, too. He can only hope that his partner made the right decision.
“Gah!” The wind is knocked out of him as he skitters across the cold, stone ground in front of the Door of Wdjat.
“Yugi!” A chorus of cries rings out, and several pairs of hands pull Yugi to his feet.
“What’s going on?” “You alright, bud?” “What happened in there, man?” “Oh, we were so worried!”
Yugi tries to fend off his friends’ concerns. “Guys, guys, it’s fine! More than fine, actually.” He can’t stop the grin from bursting across his face.
“Huh?” says Joey, looking more confused than usual. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Look.”
A tendril of light snakes out from the doorway, then coils upon itself. It coils and coils again, molding into the rough shape of a man. Light fills out the center of the form, blazing strongest where the heart should be. Slowly, it takes on a more definite shape. Téa gasps as she recognizes the distinctive, spiky hair forming on the figure’s head.
“It can’t be!” she whispers.
“It can,” Yugi whispers back.
More features shape themselves onto the glowing figure as the golden light begins to abate. Blazing violet eyes, with dark lashes unmarked by kohl. A broad, russet brown chest. Ten delicate fingers. And—Yugi averts his eyes out of a sense of propriety. No bangles, no crown, no clothes. The former Pharaoh is coming out of this as naked as the day he was born.
In a trance, Yugi feels his legs start to move on their own. Barely aware of what he’s doing, he finds himself walking, striding, running up to his other half. His missing puzzle piece. He doesn’t care that everyone is watching them, doesn’t care who sees.
Yugi runs right up to Atem, grabs him by the spiky black hair, and plants a big, fat kiss on him.
Did someone just whistle? Yugi pulls away, the embarrassment catching up with him now. Duke holds a hand up to Tristan, who slaps a wadded up bill into his palm.
Yugi gazes up at Atem, his light, his sun, his shining star. He positions his body between him and the crowd behind them, trying to preserve a bit of the naked man’s modesty. It really should be time for that lecture, but with Atem here, in the flesh, it’s hard to find the words.
“You dummy,” he says, but he can’t stop smiling. “You absolute idiot. I can’t believe you just did that for me.”
“Not just for you,” replies Atem, also unable to keep the grin from his face. “I must admit a bit of, ahem, selfishness on my part as well.”
“But, your memories! Your life as Pharaoh! After all we just did to get them back, I can’t believe you would sacrifice them like that!”
“As I once told you, aibou,” Atem says, clasping Yugi’s hands in his, “I don’t care if I never recover my memories. I have my name, and I have you. That is enough for me.”
“But…shouldn’t you have thought it through? At least, a little bit more?”
Atem chuckles. “It wasn’t much of a decision. You are quite persuasive, aibou.”
“Who, me? But I…”
“What you said. About finding someone, and growing old with them. Well, I’ve already met someone.” He gives a crooked smile. “And if you’ll have me, I’ll gladly spend the rest of my life with you.”
Yugi’s heart thuds in his ears. The room fades away, and it’s just him and Atem, professing their love for one another. “You really mean that?”
“I do.” Atem presses a tender kiss to the back of Yugi’s hand. “As I said, I must confess to some selfishness on my part. I can’t wait to live out a new life in this world, with all its modern charms. See things I never got to see, experience things I never got to experience. Enjoy the pleasures of the flesh.” This last line is growled into Yugi’s ear, making him shiver.
“People are watching!” Yugi hisses in a loud whisper.
“Ah, yes.” Atem clears his throat. He looks down, finally noticing his nakedness. “Ah. Now this is awkward, isn’t it?”
Yugi smiles guiltily. “I didn’t want to say anything, but…” If he just keeps looking at Atem, blocking his body with his own, he can keep pretending that no one can see them. Right? Right.
“Psst, Kaiba,” comes a voice from behind Yugi. “Gimme your coat, Rich Boy.”
“Excuse me?” comes Kaiba’s offended remark. “Get your paws off me, Wheeler. This costs more money than you’ll see in a lifetime.”
“I knew it. You just want an excuse to ogle the Pharaoh.”
“I do NOT—” An exasperated sigh. “Fine.” A rustle of clothing, the sound of brusque footsteps, and Kaiba’s trademark white jacket is shoved into Yugi’s arms. He drapes it gently around Atem, fastening the buttons in the front. Yugi turns around, a “thank you” on his lips, but Kaiba has already stormed off.
Ah, well. Some things never change.
The next few moments are a blur. Mokuba jumping up and down, congratulating them. Ryou politely stating his own congratulations. Ishizu and Marik praising them for a job well done. Grandpa blustering about future living arrangements. Téa’s watery eyes, mirroring Yugi’s own. Joey’s teasing voice, “So…was that a proposal, or what?” Kaiba sulking in the corner, a muttered admonishment: “I’ll be expecting that coat back.”
They all head back to the ship. It’s time to go home.
Together.
On the boat ride back to civilization, Yugi and Atem finally get a moment alone. They stand at the bow of the ship, locked in a lover’s embrace. Yugi stares off into the distance, enjoying the feel of Atem’s warm body pressed against his back. Being in separate bodies has its perks.
“So, was it?” Yugi asks, breaking the silence.
“Was it what?” Atem murmurs, nuzzling into the back of Yugi’s hair.
“You know, like Joey said.” Yugi forces himself to say the words. “A—p-proposal.”
Atem hums into Yugi’s neck. “Don’t those traditionally involve an exchange of rings?”
“Yeah, but… well, we’re anything but traditional.”
“You make a fair point.” Atem laughs. “Even so, you are quite young for such a commitment.”
“Says the guy who was only sixteen when he died!”
“Hmph.” Without even looking, Yugi can feel Atem pouting at him. “I meant what I said, aibou. I intend to experience all that life has to offer, with you at my side. For as long as you’ll have me, at least.”
“Good.” Yugi spins around in Atem’s arms to face him. “Because if you tried to leave me again, I think I’d have to kill you.”
Atem’s chest rumbles with laughter, and Yugi seizes the opportunity to pull him into a kiss. They melt into each other’s arms, having both found the place they belong. Yugi is never letting go again.
Well, not literally, he supposes. He feels Atem pull back slightly, breaking the kiss. There’s a small crease in his brow, betraying some anxiety.
“Yugi,” he says. “You must know, there are a few more terms to this, this, arrangement. Our lives are tied together now, more closely than you know. And Horakhty told me… well, I didn’t quite understand, something about a ‘balance that must be maintained’…”
“I don’t want to worry about that right now.” Yugi presses a finger to Atem’s lips, cutting off his protests. “There’ll be plenty of time for that later. Let’s just enjoy this moment while it lasts, ’K?”
“Very well, aibou.”
“Good.” Yugi spins around and presses his back into Atem’s firm chest. In return, Atem grasps him around the waist once more, pulling their bodies closer together. They remain this way for a while, sailing off into the future, the setting sun at their backs.
Night settles over the Valley of the Kings. The moon rides low in the sky, casting deep shadows across the craggy rocks. A laughing dove coos softly, then cuts off with a strangled croak. It flutters away, whistling in agitation.
A hand bursts from the ground. A mangled hand, a skeletal hand. But as it gropes around in the cool night air, flesh begins to weave around the bones. Muscles first, then sinews, then skin as brown as the desert sands.
A second hand joins the first, and both hands scrabble against the dirt, seeking purchase. The ground bulges, and a pale skull emerges from the rocky soil. Flesh the color of burnt umber knits around the skull until it resembles a human being once more, wisps of white hair thickening into tangled locks.
The figure drags itself from the ground inch by inch, like a moth struggling from its cocoon. At last, freed from his ancient tomb, the man collapses onto his back, gazing indifferently up at the empty night sky.
He stares at his hands in wonderment, then rubs his face to convince himself that it is truly there. He is surprised to feel smooth skin beneath his right eye, instead of a jagged scar.
His shoulders begin to shake. A rumble builds in his chest, starting as a small chuckle, then growing into a deep belly laugh. The man rolls onto his side, laughing maniacally, though at what, only the gods can say. His features contort into a mask of delirium that more closely resembles a grinning skull than a man. The grinning skull that he himself was, mere moments ago.
The laughter dies away as the man recovers from his fit of mania. Seizing the nearest boulder, he pulls himself up to a standing position. Hunched over, he rips apart the frayed threads that were once his beloved red coat, exposing his body to the cool night breeze.
“Yugi,” he says, voice raspy from disuse. “I’m coming for you.”