Chapter 11: - Traveller, Remember Your Name
Memory World
In the skies above what remained of Ancient Egypt two blurs streaked towards the battlefield.
Around them the world was growing dark and ahead of them Zorc was bellowing in victory as three white dragons tried to protect their Duellist and take down the undefeatable.
It had been close. When the tomb had collapsed they'd nearly been trapped inside.
Luckily for them they'd just made it out of the entrance when the sands had sucked the tomb underground.
Now they were in a desperate rush to reach the fighting.
They both knew something was very wrong. They'd been able to hear the God monsters bellowing, and yet there was no signs of them and the way the world seemed to be fading around them wasn't a good sign.
Then they spotted them, Seto, who was on his feet and trying to direct his dragons and Yami who was…
"Yami!" Joey heard Yugi squeak.
Before Joey could react to Yugi's call, the hikari was diving to reach the side of his fallen, fading, link partner.
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"Kuriiii..."
Hermione let out a soft groan as something fuzzy and soft nudged her.
"Move furball." A voice Hermione recognised said, helping her into a sitting position as her eyes opened slowly. "Easy, you're hurt."
The teen's vision was blurry, her limbs felt weak and her head ached, the cost of losing all of her life points, and it took her a moment to realise why she was still alive. "Kuriboh?" She asked, reaching for the brown ball of fur, not that she could see it properly.
"Kuriii." It pushed itself under her outstretched hand, cooing gently.
"It worked then." Hermione breathed, relief coursing through her as she picked up the Relay Soul card she'd dropped when she'd collapsed. Then she looked up at who was holding her, "Joey?" She asked, "You're hurt too..."
"My name is Nen." The blonde blur corrected her, wincing as he helped her to her feet, where she wavered unsteadily, "Where did that creature go?"
"Sera!" Hermione's eyes widened and she tried to dart down the corridor towards the loud noises she could hear, only for Nen to get ahead of her.
"Let me go first." The Captain of the Guard told her, leading the way out, heading towards the sounds, only to come outside just in time to see the Egyptian God monsters fall in battle.
"The Gods fell?" Nen gasped, shock obvious.
"No..." Hermione breathed, tears building up, having only seen gold, red and blue blurs, but understanding what their fall meant. Sera had told her that only the Pharaoh could call the Gods and if all three had fallen...
Yami was gone...
It was all over...
A scream pierced the air, a woman's scream, startling Nen out of his horrified shock. The guard dragged her along, Kuriboh bouncing at her side, to find the High Priest Seth holding the body of the white haired woman called Kisara. Sera lay unconscious at the bottom of a wall and the creature that had nearly killed Hermione earlier, the former High Priest Akhenaden, was gloating over her.
Nen left Hermione by the wall and moved between Seth and Akhenaden, "In the name of the Pharaoh…" He began, only to be cut off as Akhenaden burst into laughter.
"In the name of the Pharaoh?" Akhenaden asked, "The Pharaoh is dead and the world is ending. You cannot stop it now!" Akhenaden turned to look at Seth, "Now, my son, rise and take your place in the new world."
Hermione pushed herself away from the wall, urging her Kuriboh to stay hidden, but before she could act Seth had set Kisara down gently, gotten to his feet and confronted his former mentor.
"You are not my father. The best part of him died years ago, honorably on the battlefield." Seth snarled, furious as Isis grabbed Hermione's arm and dragged her back, away from the conflict, "I don't want to rule, I never have! I only ever wanted to be your heir, the heir to the one who defended the throne, never the power on it!"
At his words a huge, bright white light formed above Seth, taking a shape that Hermione knew all too well even if she couldn't see the details properly.
"Kisara." The teen breathed as the huge dragon bellowed furiously.
"We'll drive you and your shadows out of Egypt!" Seth swore, "You will never destroy Egypt while I still stand!"
"If you refuse to bow to Zorc, he will kill you."
"Then I'll die protecting my country."
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"Yami! Seto!"
The CEO looked towards the source of the voice, but by the time he'd spotted Yugi and Joey the hikari had landed and seized the hand of his fallen dark, glowing brightly with a white aura which slowly drained into the fading Pharaoh, Yugi's life point counter beeping rapidly as his life points drained away.
"Don't look so surprised, Rich Boy." Joey smirked at him as he landed, having been completely unaware of the reports of his death, "You look like you've seen a ghost."
"You died. In Yami's tomb." Seto told him, suddenly realising what Yugi was trying to do and turning to his quasi-brother, "Yugi, he's..." Seto paused when he realised that Yami had turned solid again and the Ba meter on Yami's bracer was starting to fill.
"It was close, but we made it out. TOBIAS!" Joey said, shaking his head as put himself between the Pharaohs and Zorc, his Red Eyes Black Dragon appearing with a roar at Joey's call. "Now I need your help. We need to give Yugi time." He told Seto, who was still stunned that Yugi seemed to be bringing Yami back from the dead, "Oi! Rich boy!" Seto snapped his attention back to the mutt, glowering as he did so, "They're the same soul, they need each other. As long as one lives, the other will too, but we need to give Yugi time to bring Yami around."
Seto nodded, understanding, and turned to face Zorc, the sound of the continual beeping of Yugi's Duel Disk making him worried, though he would never show it if he could help it. How much would Yugi have to give up to bring Yami back?
"What's your point count?" Joey demanded, sending his dragon to attack the huge demon and distract it, only for Red Eyes to have to dodge around Zorc's talons.
"Enough." Seto lied, refusing to seem weak when those who he considered family needed him, sending his dragons to back up Tobias, listening to what was going on behind him as he did so.
"You don't stand a chance against me!" Zorc snorted, attempting to attack the dragons, who dodged his blows by millimetres.
"No, he wouldn't." Kaiba snorted, "But we would, Blue Eyes!" The three Blue Eyes White Dragons shot into the sky, out of the reach of Zorc's claws, "White Lightning!"
"Save some for us," Joey bellowed as Kisara and her sisters fired, "Tobias, Inferno Fire Blast!"
"Don't you dare leave!" As fire and light struck Zorc, causing him to let out an outraged cry of pain, Seto heard Yugi pleading with his dark side as his energy drained away, the hikari silently praying to anyone that would listen, that they would all get out of this alive. The world started spinning around him as his life points shot down past the 1000 mark, "Please, please come back to me."
Yami opened his eyes as Yugi's points passed the 500 mark and continued to fall. "Yugi?" He asked, shock and confusion obvious as he sat up slowly, trying to work out what was going on and how he'd come back from the Shadows and how Yugi was here, really here, when he'd been... "But you're..."
"I'm here, at your side, where I should be." Yugi whispered, letting go of Yami's hand. Yami looked his hikari over properly. The man was coated in sand, his shoulders were slumped, his eyes were half closed, his face ashen, his neck bruised, he was trembling with exhaustion, even his hair looked limp and yet Yugi was still giving him a reassuring smile even as he shielded the life point counter on his disk from Yami's vision.
The Pharaoh didn't have much trouble moving Yugi's hand away from the counter and guilt coursed through the Pharaoh when he realised Yugi had sacrificed all bar 1 life point to bring him back from a fate worse than death, "What're you doing here?" He demanded of the hikari, getting to his feet to join Joey and Seto in the fight, knowing Yugi would no longer have the energy to.
"We found your name." Joey told him as Yugi tried to get to his feet but his legs gave out under him, his hand going to his throat as he tried to tell Yami what it was, only for a pained squeak to emerge, too tired to force the words out.
"You what?"
Joey didn't get a chance to repeat himself as Zorc destroyed his dragon, causing Joey to fall to his knees as he lost 2400 life points in one shot.
Seto surprised everyone by helping Joey to his feet. "Stay back mutt." Kaiba snarled. "We'll handle this."
At his words, the three Blue Eyes White Dragons struck at Zorc who fired back at them. The light met the flames in the middle and the explosion knocked everyone off their feet.
When the smoke cleared, the dragons were picking themselves up but Zorc was injured as well.
"Seto!" Yami yelped, moving to Yugi's side and helping him sit up even as he looked around for the CEO, surprising Seto with his concern, "Are you alright?"
"Fine." Seto glowered at the monster.
Yugi grabbed Yami's arm, pulling his dark side close so he could whisper to him, "Your name, it's..."
Zorc bellowed and unleashed another wave of flame.
"Your name," Yugi whispered, his voice just loud enough for Yami to hear him, "Is Atem."
Light exploded out as fourteen years worth of memories flooded the Pharaoh's mind, shielding them from the heat and the danger. Atem grasped Yugi's arm when it felt like the tide of memories threatened to wash him away and felt Yugi's hand on his in reply, the pair holding onto each other in the middle of the storm of images, sounds and emotions.
Then as fast as it had hit them, it died down leaving the pair reeling.
"Yams? Yuge? You, ok?" Joey asked as the light died down.
Atem shot to his feet, calling the Egyptian Gods forth. The stone tablets remained silent but the cards that Yugi had put into his deck responded, shooting out of Yugi's Duel Disk and hovering in mid air. Three lights shot from the cards, red, gold and blue, to the corresponding petrified Egyptian Gods, settling over the statues and bringing them back to life, just as Yugi's light had revived Atem.
With roars of triumph the three settled themselves between the demon and their caller.
"This can't be happening!" Zorc bellowed, furious that everything had changed so suddenly, launching another attack.
Atem scowled and, with a wave of his hand, a shield appeared in front of the gods and the dragons, protecting everyone by absorbing the attack.
"Bloody hell." Joey whispered in English, having moved back to give Atem room to work.
"Seto." Atem nodded to the CEO, unwilling to move from Yugi's side but needing Seto out of his way.
"Pharaoh." Seto, trying not to think about the implications of such a power boost, nodded and stepped aside, calling his dragons out of the sky.
"Zorc, it's time you met these three properly." The Blue Eyes White Dragons landed as Atem spoke, gesturing to his monsters, "Meet Ra, God of the Sun, Osiris, God of the Heavens and Obelisk, God of the Earth."
Zorc didn't say or do anything. There was nothing he could do to stop the Pharaoh now. The game was over, the Pharaoh had his name...
Zorc… had lost.
"And, in the name of the King, in my name, I fuse them together..."
"You can do that Yuge?" Joey demanded of Yugi, who gave him a confused look for a moment and then nodded as the God Monsters fused in an incredible light show, into a man with gold, white and red armour who looked almost sad.
"Behold, the Creator God of Light!" Atem bellowed as the light died to reveal a man, in gold, white, blue and red armour, "Horakhty!"
"Noooo!" Zorc bellowed, throwing everything into one last attack.
Horakhty just waved it off as if it was nothing.
"Zorc!" Atem called to the demon, who froze and looked at him, "Lord of Shadows! I banish you from this world! Sublime Light Djeseru!"
In a wave of light, Zorc was destroyed, bellowing right up until the moment he shattered into millions of pieces which, in turn, were destroyed by the light, leaving nothing of the shadow demon behind.
The skies over what was left of Ancient Egypt cleared.
"Is that it?" Joey asked, shocked as he looked upwards at the clear blue sky, "Is it over?"
"Yes."
Everyone jumped a mile as Horakhty spoke, turning to look at the monster, who was watching them carefully.
Atem helped Yugi to his feet as Horakhty spoke again. "Your mission's complete, Pharaoh Atem."
"I guessed as much." Atem replied, glancing at Yugi, who gave him a small smile.
"There is one final challenge for you." Horakhty continued, "One final battle that must be undertaken before you may leave. The Rite of the Duel."
"The..." Atem frowned, "Are you saying that there is one more Duel Monsters battle I must fight?"
"Indeed." The Creator confirmed, "You must be defeated in a fair duel by your successor." Everyone glanced at Yugi, who still looked woozy but nodded, understanding, "When he can defeat you, and you can accept defeat gracefully, the time will have come when the pair of you is to part."
And with that Horakhty vanished.
Atem and Yugi stared at each other, weighing each other up. Wondering when the final duel would be. Wondering how it would end...
"You should go." Atem said slowly when Yugi's eyes drooped and he had to shake himself awake, giving his dark an apologetic look once his world stopped spinning.
"We can't, Hermione's still at the palace." Joey told him.
"I'll send Hermione out to you, I promise." Atem disagreed, "But I need you three to get out of here. It's not safe."
"But Zorc's gone." Joey protested.
"I need to see this world through to its future." Atem said, hoping his friends would understand, "Please, I swear I'll send Hermione out and I'll be just moments behind her, but you need to go. Now."
Yugi hesitated but Joey took the weakened heir from his dark half.
"You'd better come home safe." Joey told the Pharaoh, holding on tightly to Yugi, who was too exhausted to break free, even though he wanted to stay back with Atem, "You dare die after everything we've been through, I'm going to bring you back just so I can kill you myself."
"I'm not going to die." Atem snorted, amused at the threat and nodding his understanding.
The trio left, heading for the door in the sky, and Atem headed for the palace.
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"Sirius!"
At Mai's cry the wizard wheeled around far too late to defend himself from the shadow creature who had launched itself at him, raising his wand as he turned.
Several spells and attacks from several sources all went to blow the creature away but it, and every other one of its ilk that was attacking the group, vanished into thin air as the heavy feeling that had weighed down everyone disappeared.
Some of the Duellists who, like Harry, had exhausted themselves and collapsed started to stir as Sirius darted outside, Wolf in tow, only to become surprised when to find the bright, warm sunny day from earlier had returned.
"It's over?" Sirius asked, both confused and relieved.
How?Wolf demanded, having not expected the sky to ever be clear again. The Pharaohs were dead! The Shadows were free! The game was over!
"You sound sorry that the Shadows are gone." Sirius commented, as he headed back inside to give the others the good news.
Don't mistake confusion for disgust. I didn't want that thing free in this world any more then you did. Wolf snarked back, sending his pack away as they re-entered the room to ease the drain on Harry. If the heir found a way to triumph with the Pharaoh dead, then I am glad.
"The Shadows are gone." Sirius told the others.
"They are?" Mai asked, relief obvious, sitting down heavily.
"I don't know how he did it, but he did it." Sirius nodded, joining Mai on the floor, "Yugi saved us."
"Yugi?" One of the Muggles who had come for the tournament asked, "Yugi Mutou?"
"Yugi's alive?" Mai asked, hope tinting her voice.
"Wolf thinks so." Sirius shrugged.
"Mai," The Duellist's head shot up to look at her Harpie, who was looking worse for wear, "May I go?"
"Of course. Thank you Airo. Thank you so much." Mai breathed, still stunned that she'd managed to summon Airo in the first place.
"Pack Leader, will you guide me home?" Airo asked Wolf, who nodded, before turning back to Mai, "If you need me, I'm in your deck." Airo bowed to her Duelist and the pair was about to leave when a couple of the other summoned Duel Monsters, ones who didn't know their way home either, spoke up.
"While the wolf's taking our protectors home," One of the security guards, who'd turned out to be a Duellist, took control of the situation when it became obvious that no one else was going to do it now the crisis was over, "We should spread out and tend to the wounded. We have a medical centre, we can take them there."
"We need to get to Domino." Sirius said, putting his hand on Mai's shoulder when she started to get to her feet, "That's where this all started."
"We need to do what we can here first. It's what Yugi and the others will do, no matter how injured they are."
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When the skies over Egypt had cleared Akhenaden was stunned.
He hadn't believed that the Pharaoh could win, still didn't want to believe it, but Zorc was dead, destroyed by Horakhty...
Now the only person who could defeat the Pharaoh was his son, Seth.
He gazed over at his son as he backed up towards a chasm that had opened up in the ground during the earthquakes which had torn Egypt asunder.
The earthquakes that had, with Zorc's demise, stopped.
"Seth! You must kill the Pharaoh! And steep the world in Shadows!"
Hermione, who was watching events unfold through blurry vision and from behind a protective wall of Nen and Mana, watched as Seth shuddered and turned to face down the High Priest of the Shadows.
"Everything is in ruins... Egypt is doomed!" Hermione could hear the anger and pain in Seth's voice, the feelings of betrayal so evident in Seth voice, where Seto wouldn't have allowed them to be heard, even now, "What does it matter if you defeat the Pharaoh?" He demanded, "Who cares about power anymore?"
"My son," Akhenaden said, making Seth shudder, as just the words reminded him of how much he owed the man, "With your power," Akhenaden took off the mask, revealing the twisted and malformed face underneath, the most prominent feature of which was the Millennium Eye, "I can erase the stain of failure in our blood!"
Nen hissed, unsure what Akhenaden was going on about but knowing it wouldn't be good.
"Seth, your flesh and blood are a part of me. For my last gift, I give you my soul." Akhenaden took another step back, putting him at the very edge of the precipice, "Son, I love you from the very bottom of my heart. I call to the blood in your veins, flow with my love and boil with my hatred for the Pharaoh!"
With that, Akhenaden jumped.
Seth couldn't help himself, he darted forwards, hoping to save him, but it was too late.
"Seth! Join with my soul and become King of the Shadows!"
Seth's hand went to his head and he let out a stunned cry but before anyone could find out what had happened, Nen and Mana were swept aside by a wave of Shadow magic, Kisara had let out a furious bellow and was sucked into a huge stone tablet, and, before Hermione could move, Seth was in front of her, grabbing her by the collar of her t-shirt.
"How are you alive?" Seth demanded, except, Hermione realized, it wasn't Seth. She could hear an echo behind Seth's voice, an echo that sounded disturbingly like Akhenaden. She'd been warned about this by her friends. Akhenaden had taken over the Priest's body…
"Hermione! Mana! Seth!"
"Yami!" Hermione cried out, relief and fear both coursing through her at the sound of the Pharaoh's voice, having been half afraid that Yami really had fallen, "YAMI!"
The Pharaoh darted into sight, letting out a soft, frustrated sigh as he saw the scene before him and moved towards them, "Let her go, Seth. There are bigger problems to deal with right now."
Hermione yelped as Seth dragged her around so he could face the Pharaoh, the Kuriboh she'd summoned with Relay Soul squeaking indignantly and going to attack Seth, only to be pounced on by Mana, who'd picked herself up quickly.
"Don't." Mana whispered to it as confusion crossed the Pharaoh's face, only to then be replaced with frustrated understanding, "You'll get her killed."
"Whoever you are," Atem growled as he realized what had happened to his High Priest, "I suggest you release my friend and relinquish control of my High Priest. Now."
"Yami… I…" Hermione trailed off as Seth's hand tightened on her collar.
"Let her go." Atem snarled.
Seth chuckled, a maniacal chuckle that was completely unlike anything anyone present had ever heard from him, confirming Atem's suspicions, and tossed Hermione aside. Nen caught her before she could hit the floor and the pair turned around to watch what was going on as Atem moved between them and his priest.
"Pharaoh, I will defeat you here and win the crown of the Kingdom!" Seth laughed.
Atem scowled and glanced over his shoulder, "Hermione, leave. I'll deal with this."
"What about…?" Hermione trailed off at the look the Pharaoh gave her.
"I've already sent Yugi and the others home, but you need to go, now, before the game ends."
Hermione nodded, scooping up the Kuriboh and thanking Nen and Mana for their help before pausing and looking at Yami, "Before I go, what is your name?"
"Atem. My name is Atem."
Hermione smiled at him and took off, wavering in mid air for just a moment, before shooting towards the door in the sky.
"Pharaoh!" Atem turned his attention back to the possessed priest, "I challenge you to duel for the title of the King."
"Seth… You have to fight this."
"They say that you are the only one who can summon the Gods," Seth continued, ignoring Atem's plea, "But I too have a God."
'A god?' Atem asked himself, confused, trying to work out who was speaking through… "Akhenaden! Release Seth now!"
"I will defeat you here and now!" The Shadow Magus laughed, "I will become the King of the Shadows and I'll use the white dragon to do it!"
Atem's eyes widened as he looked at the tablet, recognizing the shape on it. "Kisara…"
'My son. Now is the time for my wish on the Millennium Eye to be fulfilled.' Akhenaden informed Seth as he controlled the priest's body, drawing strength from his son to stay in control, 'With the power of the Millennium Rod I removed the God from that girl and trapped it in the stone tablet, all so that you could be King…'
Seth groaned, exhausted and trying to push Akhenaden out of his mind, struggling to regain some sort of control over his actions.
"Diaha!"
Atem felt like banging his head against a wall, frustrated. He knew Seth, he knew the Priest would never willingly move against him, and Akhenaden's control over Seth seemed as unbreakable as Marik's control over Joey had.
"Seth, stop! You're stronger than him!" Atem called to his priest.
"Behold Pharaoh," It didn't matter, as Akhenaden directed Seth's magics "The power of my God shakes even the heavens!"
The dragon burst from the tablet, taking form and bellowing at him.
Without a second thought Atem summoned Mahado to his side. The Dark Magician scowled up at the dragon as Atem tried to work out how to break through to his cousin. He couldn't let Seth win, but at the same time he didn't want to kill him…
'Mahado! Don't aim for the dragon, take out the tablet!'
"White Dragon! Attack the Pharaoh's servant!" 'Seth' ordered. "White Lightening!"
"Dark Magic Attack!"
Mahado's tablet exploded first and the Dark Magician faded away, leaving Atem on his own.
"Mheh heh heh," Akhenaden laughed, "You've lost your last servant, Pharaoh." Atem didn't flinch even as Kisara bellowed at him, facing down defeat with poise and dignity, "Prepare yourself son of Akhenamkhanen, all my years of hatred will come together in my next blow and kill you, once and for all."
"Seth." Atem spoke, ignoring the ramblings of Akhenaden to talk to his priest, "Can you hear my voice?"
Inside Seth's mind, the weakened and exhausted Priest opened his eyes, raising his head at the Pharaoh's voice.
"Even if you defeat me, you can never become a true King as long as you are ruled by the darkness. Take my light, kill me if you have to, but take it and ask yourself, what kind of a King are you? In the prison of your soul do you shine with pride?"
The words struck a chord with Seth and Akhenaden felt his control over his son's body wavering.
"Nothing you say will help!" The High Priest of the Shadows bellowed, furious, "White Dragon! Kill the Pharaoh!"
Kisara didn't move, didn't roar, didn't even threaten to attack, if anything the only thing that happened was that she gave Atem a sad look as she started to fade away.
"What?" Akhenaden demanded, shocked. "Why won't you attack!"
Kisara started fading from the tablet too.
'Where in the world…' Akhenaden trailed off as the Shadows he held his son prisoner in were torn apart by a burst of light, the huge white dragon appearing to light up the corners of Seth's mind as the woman who the dragon had once been helped Seth to his feet.
"Lord Seth. You must not be captured by the Shadows." She murmured to him, pulling him aside as the dragon blew Akhenaden away.
Seth shuddered as his father screamed, the light burning away the Shadows and the Priest who had put them there.
Then he was back in control of his body, on his hands and knees, blinking in the bright Egyptian sunlight and not quite sure what had just happened.
"Seth?"
Seth's head shot up, causing his world to spin. The Pharaoh was watching him, a mixture of concern and wariness on his face.
Then it hit him. Akhenaden had died and had tried to drag his soul into the Shadows with him. If it hadn't been for Kisara…
"Can you stand?" Seth was dragged out of his thoughts by Atem's concerned question, the Pharaoh looking incredibly worried.
"Yes, I'm fine." Seth accepted the hand that the Pharaoh was offering, and allowed Atem to help him to his feet.
Sera finally came around as the Pharaoh and his cousin turned to look at what had once been a thriving town.
"The darkness is gone." Seth murmered.
"Yes, but it has left deep wounds in the Earth…" Atem sighed, "We've lost many lives for this."
"Every living person must keep a light for the fallen in their hearts and yet work to build a new future." Seth nodded, still not quite able to believe that the five of them, the Pharaoh, Sera, Nen, Mana and himself, were the only survivors in the palace and wondering what had happened to the foreign priestess.
Atem was about to say something when he saw his hand. It was fading.
With the destruction of the last of Zorc's player characters, the game was over…
"Seth!" Atem turned to his cousin, taking off the Millennium Puzzle as his legs disappeared, "I need you to do me a favor."
"My Pharaoh? What is…?"
"I want you to take the throne," Atem offered him the Puzzle, "And become the new Pharaoh."
"But… then you have to stay and duel me once more, here and now!" Seth protested, horrified as Atem faded further and further, "I can only become King after I've defeated you!"
"I… don't have time." Atem sighed, wishing he did, feeling that, somehow, this inability to duel Seth was the cause for his current day rivalry with Seto Kaiba. "It seems I've remembered everything… the ending is different this time, but, because I lost my body when my soul was sealed, I don't belong here any longer…"
"Pharaoh…" Seth could hear the sadness in Atem's tone and it wrenched at his heart.
"But we defeated the Shadows without shattering the Millennium Pendant…" Atem sounded quite pleased by that as he shoved the Pendant into Seth's hand, "Seth, the Pendant is the symbol of the Pharaoh, become Pharaoh! Make Egypt great again and most of all bring peace to the land."
Atem smiled at his cousin peacefully, "I'm counting on you."
With those parting words, Atem vanished from the world of memories, leaving Seth on his own.
Except he wasn't. Sera came to his side, taking the priest's hand in her own. Seth pulled her close, unable to just let go of the grief he was feeling, but needing the comfort.
And it wasn't only Sera offering. Kisara, the dragon that now rested within his soul, wrapped herself around them, protecting them.
"We won't forget him." Sera promised.
"No, we won't." Seth murmured, about to add something else when someone came into view, one of the very few surviving guards who hadn't fled during the quakes.
"Lord Seth? Lady Sera?" The guard asked, catching their attention, "There's someone, a foreign dignitary I think, wishing to speak with the…" He trailed off when he saw the Millennium Pendant in Seth's hand.
Seth could feel a headache coming on already. He didn't need this on top of the mess his cousin had left him with, though it was quite possibly that 'Prince Yugi' he'd been told about.
"My Lord," Sera gave him a watery smile as she attempted to move away from him, only for him to keep hold of her hand, "We can mourn later, for now let's fulfill his last wish."
It hurt, stepping into the Pharaoh's shoes, but Seth nodded, turning his full attention to the problem at hand, "The palace is unstable after the quakes, I will speak with them here."
The guard darted off and came back a couple of minutes later with a foreign looking woman who had seen better days but held herself with a regal air and was wearing a pendant in the shape of a golden orb.
This wasn't Prince Yugi then…
She looked around, confused for a moment, before working out who was in charge and bowing to Seth.
"I am Princess Shani, I come from the Eastern tribes seeking an alliance." She paused and looked around, "Though I do believe I may have come at the wrong time."
In the skies above what remained of Ancient Egypt two blurs streaked towards the battlefield.
Around them the world was growing dark and ahead of them Zorc was bellowing in victory as three white dragons tried to protect their Duellist and take down the undefeatable.
It had been close. When the tomb had collapsed they'd nearly been trapped inside.
Luckily for them they'd just made it out of the entrance when the sands had sucked the tomb underground.
Now they were in a desperate rush to reach the fighting.
They both knew something was very wrong. They'd been able to hear the God monsters bellowing, and yet there was no signs of them and the way the world seemed to be fading around them wasn't a good sign.
Then they spotted them, Seto, who was on his feet and trying to direct his dragons and Yami who was…
"Yami!" Joey heard Yugi squeak.
Before Joey could react to Yugi's call, the hikari was diving to reach the side of his fallen, fading, link partner.
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"Kuriiii..."
Hermione let out a soft groan as something fuzzy and soft nudged her.
"Move furball." A voice Hermione recognised said, helping her into a sitting position as her eyes opened slowly. "Easy, you're hurt."
The teen's vision was blurry, her limbs felt weak and her head ached, the cost of losing all of her life points, and it took her a moment to realise why she was still alive. "Kuriboh?" She asked, reaching for the brown ball of fur, not that she could see it properly.
"Kuriii." It pushed itself under her outstretched hand, cooing gently.
"It worked then." Hermione breathed, relief coursing through her as she picked up the Relay Soul card she'd dropped when she'd collapsed. Then she looked up at who was holding her, "Joey?" She asked, "You're hurt too..."
"My name is Nen." The blonde blur corrected her, wincing as he helped her to her feet, where she wavered unsteadily, "Where did that creature go?"
"Sera!" Hermione's eyes widened and she tried to dart down the corridor towards the loud noises she could hear, only for Nen to get ahead of her.
"Let me go first." The Captain of the Guard told her, leading the way out, heading towards the sounds, only to come outside just in time to see the Egyptian God monsters fall in battle.
"The Gods fell?" Nen gasped, shock obvious.
"No..." Hermione breathed, tears building up, having only seen gold, red and blue blurs, but understanding what their fall meant. Sera had told her that only the Pharaoh could call the Gods and if all three had fallen...
Yami was gone...
It was all over...
A scream pierced the air, a woman's scream, startling Nen out of his horrified shock. The guard dragged her along, Kuriboh bouncing at her side, to find the High Priest Seth holding the body of the white haired woman called Kisara. Sera lay unconscious at the bottom of a wall and the creature that had nearly killed Hermione earlier, the former High Priest Akhenaden, was gloating over her.
Nen left Hermione by the wall and moved between Seth and Akhenaden, "In the name of the Pharaoh…" He began, only to be cut off as Akhenaden burst into laughter.
"In the name of the Pharaoh?" Akhenaden asked, "The Pharaoh is dead and the world is ending. You cannot stop it now!" Akhenaden turned to look at Seth, "Now, my son, rise and take your place in the new world."
Hermione pushed herself away from the wall, urging her Kuriboh to stay hidden, but before she could act Seth had set Kisara down gently, gotten to his feet and confronted his former mentor.
"You are not my father. The best part of him died years ago, honorably on the battlefield." Seth snarled, furious as Isis grabbed Hermione's arm and dragged her back, away from the conflict, "I don't want to rule, I never have! I only ever wanted to be your heir, the heir to the one who defended the throne, never the power on it!"
At his words a huge, bright white light formed above Seth, taking a shape that Hermione knew all too well even if she couldn't see the details properly.
"Kisara." The teen breathed as the huge dragon bellowed furiously.
"We'll drive you and your shadows out of Egypt!" Seth swore, "You will never destroy Egypt while I still stand!"
"If you refuse to bow to Zorc, he will kill you."
"Then I'll die protecting my country."
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"Yami! Seto!"
The CEO looked towards the source of the voice, but by the time he'd spotted Yugi and Joey the hikari had landed and seized the hand of his fallen dark, glowing brightly with a white aura which slowly drained into the fading Pharaoh, Yugi's life point counter beeping rapidly as his life points drained away.
"Don't look so surprised, Rich Boy." Joey smirked at him as he landed, having been completely unaware of the reports of his death, "You look like you've seen a ghost."
"You died. In Yami's tomb." Seto told him, suddenly realising what Yugi was trying to do and turning to his quasi-brother, "Yugi, he's..." Seto paused when he realised that Yami had turned solid again and the Ba meter on Yami's bracer was starting to fill.
"It was close, but we made it out. TOBIAS!" Joey said, shaking his head as put himself between the Pharaohs and Zorc, his Red Eyes Black Dragon appearing with a roar at Joey's call. "Now I need your help. We need to give Yugi time." He told Seto, who was still stunned that Yugi seemed to be bringing Yami back from the dead, "Oi! Rich boy!" Seto snapped his attention back to the mutt, glowering as he did so, "They're the same soul, they need each other. As long as one lives, the other will too, but we need to give Yugi time to bring Yami around."
Seto nodded, understanding, and turned to face Zorc, the sound of the continual beeping of Yugi's Duel Disk making him worried, though he would never show it if he could help it. How much would Yugi have to give up to bring Yami back?
"What's your point count?" Joey demanded, sending his dragon to attack the huge demon and distract it, only for Red Eyes to have to dodge around Zorc's talons.
"Enough." Seto lied, refusing to seem weak when those who he considered family needed him, sending his dragons to back up Tobias, listening to what was going on behind him as he did so.
"You don't stand a chance against me!" Zorc snorted, attempting to attack the dragons, who dodged his blows by millimetres.
"No, he wouldn't." Kaiba snorted, "But we would, Blue Eyes!" The three Blue Eyes White Dragons shot into the sky, out of the reach of Zorc's claws, "White Lightning!"
"Save some for us," Joey bellowed as Kisara and her sisters fired, "Tobias, Inferno Fire Blast!"
"Don't you dare leave!" As fire and light struck Zorc, causing him to let out an outraged cry of pain, Seto heard Yugi pleading with his dark side as his energy drained away, the hikari silently praying to anyone that would listen, that they would all get out of this alive. The world started spinning around him as his life points shot down past the 1000 mark, "Please, please come back to me."
Yami opened his eyes as Yugi's points passed the 500 mark and continued to fall. "Yugi?" He asked, shock and confusion obvious as he sat up slowly, trying to work out what was going on and how he'd come back from the Shadows and how Yugi was here, really here, when he'd been... "But you're..."
"I'm here, at your side, where I should be." Yugi whispered, letting go of Yami's hand. Yami looked his hikari over properly. The man was coated in sand, his shoulders were slumped, his eyes were half closed, his face ashen, his neck bruised, he was trembling with exhaustion, even his hair looked limp and yet Yugi was still giving him a reassuring smile even as he shielded the life point counter on his disk from Yami's vision.
The Pharaoh didn't have much trouble moving Yugi's hand away from the counter and guilt coursed through the Pharaoh when he realised Yugi had sacrificed all bar 1 life point to bring him back from a fate worse than death, "What're you doing here?" He demanded of the hikari, getting to his feet to join Joey and Seto in the fight, knowing Yugi would no longer have the energy to.
"We found your name." Joey told him as Yugi tried to get to his feet but his legs gave out under him, his hand going to his throat as he tried to tell Yami what it was, only for a pained squeak to emerge, too tired to force the words out.
"You what?"
Joey didn't get a chance to repeat himself as Zorc destroyed his dragon, causing Joey to fall to his knees as he lost 2400 life points in one shot.
Seto surprised everyone by helping Joey to his feet. "Stay back mutt." Kaiba snarled. "We'll handle this."
At his words, the three Blue Eyes White Dragons struck at Zorc who fired back at them. The light met the flames in the middle and the explosion knocked everyone off their feet.
When the smoke cleared, the dragons were picking themselves up but Zorc was injured as well.
"Seto!" Yami yelped, moving to Yugi's side and helping him sit up even as he looked around for the CEO, surprising Seto with his concern, "Are you alright?"
"Fine." Seto glowered at the monster.
Yugi grabbed Yami's arm, pulling his dark side close so he could whisper to him, "Your name, it's..."
Zorc bellowed and unleashed another wave of flame.
"Your name," Yugi whispered, his voice just loud enough for Yami to hear him, "Is Atem."
Light exploded out as fourteen years worth of memories flooded the Pharaoh's mind, shielding them from the heat and the danger. Atem grasped Yugi's arm when it felt like the tide of memories threatened to wash him away and felt Yugi's hand on his in reply, the pair holding onto each other in the middle of the storm of images, sounds and emotions.
Then as fast as it had hit them, it died down leaving the pair reeling.
"Yams? Yuge? You, ok?" Joey asked as the light died down.
Atem shot to his feet, calling the Egyptian Gods forth. The stone tablets remained silent but the cards that Yugi had put into his deck responded, shooting out of Yugi's Duel Disk and hovering in mid air. Three lights shot from the cards, red, gold and blue, to the corresponding petrified Egyptian Gods, settling over the statues and bringing them back to life, just as Yugi's light had revived Atem.
With roars of triumph the three settled themselves between the demon and their caller.
"This can't be happening!" Zorc bellowed, furious that everything had changed so suddenly, launching another attack.
Atem scowled and, with a wave of his hand, a shield appeared in front of the gods and the dragons, protecting everyone by absorbing the attack.
"Bloody hell." Joey whispered in English, having moved back to give Atem room to work.
"Seto." Atem nodded to the CEO, unwilling to move from Yugi's side but needing Seto out of his way.
"Pharaoh." Seto, trying not to think about the implications of such a power boost, nodded and stepped aside, calling his dragons out of the sky.
"Zorc, it's time you met these three properly." The Blue Eyes White Dragons landed as Atem spoke, gesturing to his monsters, "Meet Ra, God of the Sun, Osiris, God of the Heavens and Obelisk, God of the Earth."
Zorc didn't say or do anything. There was nothing he could do to stop the Pharaoh now. The game was over, the Pharaoh had his name...
Zorc… had lost.
"And, in the name of the King, in my name, I fuse them together..."
"You can do that Yuge?" Joey demanded of Yugi, who gave him a confused look for a moment and then nodded as the God Monsters fused in an incredible light show, into a man with gold, white and red armour who looked almost sad.
"Behold, the Creator God of Light!" Atem bellowed as the light died to reveal a man, in gold, white, blue and red armour, "Horakhty!"
"Noooo!" Zorc bellowed, throwing everything into one last attack.
Horakhty just waved it off as if it was nothing.
"Zorc!" Atem called to the demon, who froze and looked at him, "Lord of Shadows! I banish you from this world! Sublime Light Djeseru!"
In a wave of light, Zorc was destroyed, bellowing right up until the moment he shattered into millions of pieces which, in turn, were destroyed by the light, leaving nothing of the shadow demon behind.
The skies over what was left of Ancient Egypt cleared.
"Is that it?" Joey asked, shocked as he looked upwards at the clear blue sky, "Is it over?"
"Yes."
Everyone jumped a mile as Horakhty spoke, turning to look at the monster, who was watching them carefully.
Atem helped Yugi to his feet as Horakhty spoke again. "Your mission's complete, Pharaoh Atem."
"I guessed as much." Atem replied, glancing at Yugi, who gave him a small smile.
"There is one final challenge for you." Horakhty continued, "One final battle that must be undertaken before you may leave. The Rite of the Duel."
"The..." Atem frowned, "Are you saying that there is one more Duel Monsters battle I must fight?"
"Indeed." The Creator confirmed, "You must be defeated in a fair duel by your successor." Everyone glanced at Yugi, who still looked woozy but nodded, understanding, "When he can defeat you, and you can accept defeat gracefully, the time will have come when the pair of you is to part."
And with that Horakhty vanished.
Atem and Yugi stared at each other, weighing each other up. Wondering when the final duel would be. Wondering how it would end...
"You should go." Atem said slowly when Yugi's eyes drooped and he had to shake himself awake, giving his dark an apologetic look once his world stopped spinning.
"We can't, Hermione's still at the palace." Joey told him.
"I'll send Hermione out to you, I promise." Atem disagreed, "But I need you three to get out of here. It's not safe."
"But Zorc's gone." Joey protested.
"I need to see this world through to its future." Atem said, hoping his friends would understand, "Please, I swear I'll send Hermione out and I'll be just moments behind her, but you need to go. Now."
Yugi hesitated but Joey took the weakened heir from his dark half.
"You'd better come home safe." Joey told the Pharaoh, holding on tightly to Yugi, who was too exhausted to break free, even though he wanted to stay back with Atem, "You dare die after everything we've been through, I'm going to bring you back just so I can kill you myself."
"I'm not going to die." Atem snorted, amused at the threat and nodding his understanding.
The trio left, heading for the door in the sky, and Atem headed for the palace.
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"Sirius!"
At Mai's cry the wizard wheeled around far too late to defend himself from the shadow creature who had launched itself at him, raising his wand as he turned.
Several spells and attacks from several sources all went to blow the creature away but it, and every other one of its ilk that was attacking the group, vanished into thin air as the heavy feeling that had weighed down everyone disappeared.
Some of the Duellists who, like Harry, had exhausted themselves and collapsed started to stir as Sirius darted outside, Wolf in tow, only to become surprised when to find the bright, warm sunny day from earlier had returned.
"It's over?" Sirius asked, both confused and relieved.
How?Wolf demanded, having not expected the sky to ever be clear again. The Pharaohs were dead! The Shadows were free! The game was over!
"You sound sorry that the Shadows are gone." Sirius commented, as he headed back inside to give the others the good news.
Don't mistake confusion for disgust. I didn't want that thing free in this world any more then you did. Wolf snarked back, sending his pack away as they re-entered the room to ease the drain on Harry. If the heir found a way to triumph with the Pharaoh dead, then I am glad.
"The Shadows are gone." Sirius told the others.
"They are?" Mai asked, relief obvious, sitting down heavily.
"I don't know how he did it, but he did it." Sirius nodded, joining Mai on the floor, "Yugi saved us."
"Yugi?" One of the Muggles who had come for the tournament asked, "Yugi Mutou?"
"Yugi's alive?" Mai asked, hope tinting her voice.
"Wolf thinks so." Sirius shrugged.
"Mai," The Duellist's head shot up to look at her Harpie, who was looking worse for wear, "May I go?"
"Of course. Thank you Airo. Thank you so much." Mai breathed, still stunned that she'd managed to summon Airo in the first place.
"Pack Leader, will you guide me home?" Airo asked Wolf, who nodded, before turning back to Mai, "If you need me, I'm in your deck." Airo bowed to her Duelist and the pair was about to leave when a couple of the other summoned Duel Monsters, ones who didn't know their way home either, spoke up.
"While the wolf's taking our protectors home," One of the security guards, who'd turned out to be a Duellist, took control of the situation when it became obvious that no one else was going to do it now the crisis was over, "We should spread out and tend to the wounded. We have a medical centre, we can take them there."
"We need to get to Domino." Sirius said, putting his hand on Mai's shoulder when she started to get to her feet, "That's where this all started."
"We need to do what we can here first. It's what Yugi and the others will do, no matter how injured they are."
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When the skies over Egypt had cleared Akhenaden was stunned.
He hadn't believed that the Pharaoh could win, still didn't want to believe it, but Zorc was dead, destroyed by Horakhty...
Now the only person who could defeat the Pharaoh was his son, Seth.
He gazed over at his son as he backed up towards a chasm that had opened up in the ground during the earthquakes which had torn Egypt asunder.
The earthquakes that had, with Zorc's demise, stopped.
"Seth! You must kill the Pharaoh! And steep the world in Shadows!"
Hermione, who was watching events unfold through blurry vision and from behind a protective wall of Nen and Mana, watched as Seth shuddered and turned to face down the High Priest of the Shadows.
"Everything is in ruins... Egypt is doomed!" Hermione could hear the anger and pain in Seth's voice, the feelings of betrayal so evident in Seth voice, where Seto wouldn't have allowed them to be heard, even now, "What does it matter if you defeat the Pharaoh?" He demanded, "Who cares about power anymore?"
"My son," Akhenaden said, making Seth shudder, as just the words reminded him of how much he owed the man, "With your power," Akhenaden took off the mask, revealing the twisted and malformed face underneath, the most prominent feature of which was the Millennium Eye, "I can erase the stain of failure in our blood!"
Nen hissed, unsure what Akhenaden was going on about but knowing it wouldn't be good.
"Seth, your flesh and blood are a part of me. For my last gift, I give you my soul." Akhenaden took another step back, putting him at the very edge of the precipice, "Son, I love you from the very bottom of my heart. I call to the blood in your veins, flow with my love and boil with my hatred for the Pharaoh!"
With that, Akhenaden jumped.
Seth couldn't help himself, he darted forwards, hoping to save him, but it was too late.
"Seth! Join with my soul and become King of the Shadows!"
Seth's hand went to his head and he let out a stunned cry but before anyone could find out what had happened, Nen and Mana were swept aside by a wave of Shadow magic, Kisara had let out a furious bellow and was sucked into a huge stone tablet, and, before Hermione could move, Seth was in front of her, grabbing her by the collar of her t-shirt.
"How are you alive?" Seth demanded, except, Hermione realized, it wasn't Seth. She could hear an echo behind Seth's voice, an echo that sounded disturbingly like Akhenaden. She'd been warned about this by her friends. Akhenaden had taken over the Priest's body…
"Hermione! Mana! Seth!"
"Yami!" Hermione cried out, relief and fear both coursing through her at the sound of the Pharaoh's voice, having been half afraid that Yami really had fallen, "YAMI!"
The Pharaoh darted into sight, letting out a soft, frustrated sigh as he saw the scene before him and moved towards them, "Let her go, Seth. There are bigger problems to deal with right now."
Hermione yelped as Seth dragged her around so he could face the Pharaoh, the Kuriboh she'd summoned with Relay Soul squeaking indignantly and going to attack Seth, only to be pounced on by Mana, who'd picked herself up quickly.
"Don't." Mana whispered to it as confusion crossed the Pharaoh's face, only to then be replaced with frustrated understanding, "You'll get her killed."
"Whoever you are," Atem growled as he realized what had happened to his High Priest, "I suggest you release my friend and relinquish control of my High Priest. Now."
"Yami… I…" Hermione trailed off as Seth's hand tightened on her collar.
"Let her go." Atem snarled.
Seth chuckled, a maniacal chuckle that was completely unlike anything anyone present had ever heard from him, confirming Atem's suspicions, and tossed Hermione aside. Nen caught her before she could hit the floor and the pair turned around to watch what was going on as Atem moved between them and his priest.
"Pharaoh, I will defeat you here and win the crown of the Kingdom!" Seth laughed.
Atem scowled and glanced over his shoulder, "Hermione, leave. I'll deal with this."
"What about…?" Hermione trailed off at the look the Pharaoh gave her.
"I've already sent Yugi and the others home, but you need to go, now, before the game ends."
Hermione nodded, scooping up the Kuriboh and thanking Nen and Mana for their help before pausing and looking at Yami, "Before I go, what is your name?"
"Atem. My name is Atem."
Hermione smiled at him and took off, wavering in mid air for just a moment, before shooting towards the door in the sky.
"Pharaoh!" Atem turned his attention back to the possessed priest, "I challenge you to duel for the title of the King."
"Seth… You have to fight this."
"They say that you are the only one who can summon the Gods," Seth continued, ignoring Atem's plea, "But I too have a God."
'A god?' Atem asked himself, confused, trying to work out who was speaking through… "Akhenaden! Release Seth now!"
"I will defeat you here and now!" The Shadow Magus laughed, "I will become the King of the Shadows and I'll use the white dragon to do it!"
Atem's eyes widened as he looked at the tablet, recognizing the shape on it. "Kisara…"
'My son. Now is the time for my wish on the Millennium Eye to be fulfilled.' Akhenaden informed Seth as he controlled the priest's body, drawing strength from his son to stay in control, 'With the power of the Millennium Rod I removed the God from that girl and trapped it in the stone tablet, all so that you could be King…'
Seth groaned, exhausted and trying to push Akhenaden out of his mind, struggling to regain some sort of control over his actions.
"Diaha!"
Atem felt like banging his head against a wall, frustrated. He knew Seth, he knew the Priest would never willingly move against him, and Akhenaden's control over Seth seemed as unbreakable as Marik's control over Joey had.
"Seth, stop! You're stronger than him!" Atem called to his priest.
"Behold Pharaoh," It didn't matter, as Akhenaden directed Seth's magics "The power of my God shakes even the heavens!"
The dragon burst from the tablet, taking form and bellowing at him.
Without a second thought Atem summoned Mahado to his side. The Dark Magician scowled up at the dragon as Atem tried to work out how to break through to his cousin. He couldn't let Seth win, but at the same time he didn't want to kill him…
'Mahado! Don't aim for the dragon, take out the tablet!'
"White Dragon! Attack the Pharaoh's servant!" 'Seth' ordered. "White Lightening!"
"Dark Magic Attack!"
Mahado's tablet exploded first and the Dark Magician faded away, leaving Atem on his own.
"Mheh heh heh," Akhenaden laughed, "You've lost your last servant, Pharaoh." Atem didn't flinch even as Kisara bellowed at him, facing down defeat with poise and dignity, "Prepare yourself son of Akhenamkhanen, all my years of hatred will come together in my next blow and kill you, once and for all."
"Seth." Atem spoke, ignoring the ramblings of Akhenaden to talk to his priest, "Can you hear my voice?"
Inside Seth's mind, the weakened and exhausted Priest opened his eyes, raising his head at the Pharaoh's voice.
"Even if you defeat me, you can never become a true King as long as you are ruled by the darkness. Take my light, kill me if you have to, but take it and ask yourself, what kind of a King are you? In the prison of your soul do you shine with pride?"
The words struck a chord with Seth and Akhenaden felt his control over his son's body wavering.
"Nothing you say will help!" The High Priest of the Shadows bellowed, furious, "White Dragon! Kill the Pharaoh!"
Kisara didn't move, didn't roar, didn't even threaten to attack, if anything the only thing that happened was that she gave Atem a sad look as she started to fade away.
"What?" Akhenaden demanded, shocked. "Why won't you attack!"
Kisara started fading from the tablet too.
'Where in the world…' Akhenaden trailed off as the Shadows he held his son prisoner in were torn apart by a burst of light, the huge white dragon appearing to light up the corners of Seth's mind as the woman who the dragon had once been helped Seth to his feet.
"Lord Seth. You must not be captured by the Shadows." She murmured to him, pulling him aside as the dragon blew Akhenaden away.
Seth shuddered as his father screamed, the light burning away the Shadows and the Priest who had put them there.
Then he was back in control of his body, on his hands and knees, blinking in the bright Egyptian sunlight and not quite sure what had just happened.
"Seth?"
Seth's head shot up, causing his world to spin. The Pharaoh was watching him, a mixture of concern and wariness on his face.
Then it hit him. Akhenaden had died and had tried to drag his soul into the Shadows with him. If it hadn't been for Kisara…
"Can you stand?" Seth was dragged out of his thoughts by Atem's concerned question, the Pharaoh looking incredibly worried.
"Yes, I'm fine." Seth accepted the hand that the Pharaoh was offering, and allowed Atem to help him to his feet.
Sera finally came around as the Pharaoh and his cousin turned to look at what had once been a thriving town.
"The darkness is gone." Seth murmered.
"Yes, but it has left deep wounds in the Earth…" Atem sighed, "We've lost many lives for this."
"Every living person must keep a light for the fallen in their hearts and yet work to build a new future." Seth nodded, still not quite able to believe that the five of them, the Pharaoh, Sera, Nen, Mana and himself, were the only survivors in the palace and wondering what had happened to the foreign priestess.
Atem was about to say something when he saw his hand. It was fading.
With the destruction of the last of Zorc's player characters, the game was over…
"Seth!" Atem turned to his cousin, taking off the Millennium Puzzle as his legs disappeared, "I need you to do me a favor."
"My Pharaoh? What is…?"
"I want you to take the throne," Atem offered him the Puzzle, "And become the new Pharaoh."
"But… then you have to stay and duel me once more, here and now!" Seth protested, horrified as Atem faded further and further, "I can only become King after I've defeated you!"
"I… don't have time." Atem sighed, wishing he did, feeling that, somehow, this inability to duel Seth was the cause for his current day rivalry with Seto Kaiba. "It seems I've remembered everything… the ending is different this time, but, because I lost my body when my soul was sealed, I don't belong here any longer…"
"Pharaoh…" Seth could hear the sadness in Atem's tone and it wrenched at his heart.
"But we defeated the Shadows without shattering the Millennium Pendant…" Atem sounded quite pleased by that as he shoved the Pendant into Seth's hand, "Seth, the Pendant is the symbol of the Pharaoh, become Pharaoh! Make Egypt great again and most of all bring peace to the land."
Atem smiled at his cousin peacefully, "I'm counting on you."
With those parting words, Atem vanished from the world of memories, leaving Seth on his own.
Except he wasn't. Sera came to his side, taking the priest's hand in her own. Seth pulled her close, unable to just let go of the grief he was feeling, but needing the comfort.
And it wasn't only Sera offering. Kisara, the dragon that now rested within his soul, wrapped herself around them, protecting them.
"We won't forget him." Sera promised.
"No, we won't." Seth murmured, about to add something else when someone came into view, one of the very few surviving guards who hadn't fled during the quakes.
"Lord Seth? Lady Sera?" The guard asked, catching their attention, "There's someone, a foreign dignitary I think, wishing to speak with the…" He trailed off when he saw the Millennium Pendant in Seth's hand.
Seth could feel a headache coming on already. He didn't need this on top of the mess his cousin had left him with, though it was quite possibly that 'Prince Yugi' he'd been told about.
"My Lord," Sera gave him a watery smile as she attempted to move away from him, only for him to keep hold of her hand, "We can mourn later, for now let's fulfill his last wish."
It hurt, stepping into the Pharaoh's shoes, but Seth nodded, turning his full attention to the problem at hand, "The palace is unstable after the quakes, I will speak with them here."
The guard darted off and came back a couple of minutes later with a foreign looking woman who had seen better days but held herself with a regal air and was wearing a pendant in the shape of a golden orb.
This wasn't Prince Yugi then…
She looked around, confused for a moment, before working out who was in charge and bowing to Seth.
"I am Princess Shani, I come from the Eastern tribes seeking an alliance." She paused and looked around, "Though I do believe I may have come at the wrong time."