Return of the Kings

Chapter 5

"Is Yugi okay?" Grandpa asked him urgently. Atem offered his strongest smile, but even then he too was worried for him. The trauma he's been through was a lot deeper ingrained than he put on.

"He will be I'm sure, it's just... the torture he endured was intense... a lot more than he would care to admit, and to come from a friend no less... I'm afraid this is a lot more serious than he's letting on. I believe he's denying the severity even to himself." Atem said honestly. He was glad Yugi was in his room right now, there was no way he'd allow Atem to tell them this had he been present.

"I thought it would be. I've seen his charts, the physical trauma is a lot worse than he's making it seem. Home by tonight? That's optimistic." Tea said.

"But this is Yug we're talking about. He's the toughest guy we know." Joey said.

It warmed Atem to hear him say this.

"I agree of course. Physically I think his recovery will go smoothly. I wouldn't be terribly surprised if he is allowed home tonight. But mentally and emotionally... I think there's a lot he's repressing." Atem said.

"Repressing? Like memories?" Tristan asked.

Atem nodded.

"I didn't see the entire encounter. I came into the picture about the time he started blacking out, drifting in and out of consciousness, as he put it. He wasn't just drifting from consciousness though, he was visiting the afterlife, being repelled and pulled back to his body. He was dying... that's how I found him. I heard his cries and felt his presence and I went to find him at the thinnest part of the veil between the living world and the world beyond. He couldn't stay anchored to this plane and the more he appeared in the afterlife the harder it would become to keep fighting. So I followed him back and anchored him down. I took hold of his body, used my own power to fight this Leon back, and he left. You guys saw him leave and you were there when I took control. Just moments before you arrived he was dying."

Tea clapped her hands to her mouth as tears began to well in her eyes. Her cheeks were red, her eyes were wet but she contained herself as best as she can. Tristan looked at the bed in dismay, wrapping his head around the whole situation while Joey appeared furious, his knuckles white as she shook with contained rage. He empathised with them all, having felt each of their emotions already.

Grandpa nodded as if deciding something, grabbing their attention quickly with his determined eyes and brave smile.

"He's safe now. And thanks to our young Pharoah we have him back. And he has all of us to help him recover. Anything he needs, we'll all be there for him. He's a Moto, which means there's nothing that can keep us down for long, Yugi is no exception. He'll stand again and fight for a brighter future. Thats what we Moto's do best after all." Grandpa said cheerfully.

"I admire your positivity Gramps... you're right. Whatever Yug needs, we'll be there. And the same goes for you too Atem. Whatever you need, we'll do our darndest to make sure you get it." Joey said confidently, turning that rage of his into a positive force.

"Speaking of... you said you followed him back and then anchored him down. Does that mean you can't return to the spirit world?" Tristan asked.

"Oh my god, he's right. Atem what about your rest. The after life?" Tea asked.

"I have been through this with Yugi already and it seems we were all on different pages while also thinking about one another. I never wanted to leave, and he never wanted me to go, but we were both thinking about the other without actually asking what we wanted and assumed that me leaving was the best thing to do." Atem chuckled.