[closed]

[pregames]

Characters: Atem and Yuugi
Location: Egypt, various
Rating: PG for mission violence
Time June 28th - July 1st
Description Catch all log for Atem and Yuugi's mission in Egypt and their subsequent travels.


The second they stepped through the mirror it was like entering another world, another time, where the past and the present collided with immensity and Atem stumbled forward before he could get his bearings. The mission mentioned tombs. What it had failed to mention was that they would be fighting within the most famous tombs in the world. Towering before them were three magnificent shapes, not covered in pristine white limestone but the color of dusty dessert sand. The pyramids of the earliest kings.

They stood in the embrace of a chorus of car horns and exhaust fumes and children playing football in the crumbling streets and the run down tightly packed honeycombs of housing that was the heartbeat of Giza. A heart sustained by a skeleton of the past.

Atem had all of two minutes maybe three to take it all in and render the image, to strip away the processing and filters and realign it with the place of memory, before an agent approached them. He was a portly man clad in a galabiya who bowed and bid them Salaam and Welcome And Shukran and thank you for coming.

It was a terrible thing to have the iconic monuments afflicted by kishin eggs; they were a national treasure and a huge source of tourists after all. They would be venturing into the grand gallery to confront their foe. He explained all of this quickly and eagerly and never once did he comment on the strange pair who looked so similar but were obviously of different stock. Shibusen had a reputation for such oddities, even one that looked as if he were plucked from the very walls they were now changed with protecting.

Atem, with one foot firmly planted within two different lands, looked ahead as the words washed over him, unheard. The assignment was clear, resolve firm, and he turned to give Yuugi a curt nod.

“Take us there.”

Comments

July 30th - Valley of the Kings

[pregames]

"It should be just over here"

Atem has a hand raised to his eyes, looking down on Yuugi from the top of the ridge he had just surmounted. The pharaoh is light on his feet, sure footed even among the rocky pathways and his sense of of direction has eroded little with the passage of time. He seems to know exactly where he's going although he implies little in answer to Yuugi's questions about it.

[mieru_mienai]

Yuugi makes his way up the path, less graceful but certainly determined, following in Atem's footsteps as best as he can. He's only somewhat out of breath when he joins his partner at the top of the ridge, cheeks ruddy from the heat and effort and not a little sunburn after their adventures of the day before, but his disposition remains fresh and enthusiastic. He could follow Atem all day (and he probably will, since he managed to leave his new map behind at their hotel.)

"Okay, now which-- whoa." The view before him cuts him off mid-sentence.

[pregames]

That reaction is all Atem needs to hear to smile. Stretched out within view of the holy mountain of al-Qurn, the famous valley, with it's fabric-like folds etched into the earth, looks much more pristine and impressive from above, without the crush of bodies and voices all vying to get into the tombs. It was a display that had frankly disgusted the pharaoh but he maintained composure. He was on a mission.

"Come on." He takes Yuugi's hand before long and turns away from the view, and down into a deep, natural ravine, careful to avoid the guards that decorated the lookouts all around.

[mieru_mienai]

Yuugi isn't quite finished looking but he lets Atem lead him away; obviously his partner has somewhere for them to be. He keeps up pretty well, aware that this particular choice in pathway is meant to keep them out of trouble, though he does learn to appreciate the hold Atem has on his hand before they reach their destination.

"You know where we're going, don't you?" It's hardly that he has any doubts, but he hopes the question will prod the pharaoh into telling him a little more.

[pregames]

"Not as well as the workers who scales these hills every day but I would not forget this place."

As the path angled downward, the monolithic hills rose all around, channeling them to the source of all the secrecy. The ground beneath them crunched agreeably, the pharaoh slowing with every step and it wasn't long before the valley opens up around them to reveal a small oblong clearing that slops gently up to the horizon. It's plain. Devoid of any indication of disturbance, an understated climax to all the anticipation.

[mieru_mienai]

Again with the vaguest of hints, Yuugi thinks to himself, giving a slight shake of his head and unable to keep from smiling faintly. He drops Atem's hand when they reach the clearing and steps forward by himself, turning his head every which way in an attempt to find some kind of clue as to why they've come all this way, to here. But he draws a blank and ends up facing his partner with a questioning look on his face.

"Here...?"

[pregames]

Atem rubs the back of his neck in response, perfectly aware of what this must look like to his partner. It hardly looks any different to him in away but beneath the veil draped over the landscape of this world lies something deeply important that resonates with the pharaoh even now.

“Here.” He confirms, gliding past Yuugi and leading him to sun burnt red walls to their right. He faces one, a bit smoother than the rest of their surroundings and runs his hand along the surface as high as he can reach, as if searching for something, a crack or a crevice or some switch to part the way to the unforetold secret.

“In our world this place would look quite a bit different. It is the final resting place of the pharaoh Osiris Akhenamkhanen.”

[mieru_mienai]

If this place is important to to his partner then it's important to Yuugi, even though he doesn't immediately see why. He isn't disappointed by the seeming plainness of the place, just confused, at least until Atem explains. Then, the shadow falls from his face and he lifts his gaze, wide-eyed, as though seeing where they are for the first time.

"Osiris Akhenamkhanen..." he repeats slowly, treating each syllable with care, unconsciously stepping closer to Atem again. The next words are spoken even more carefully as understanding dawns further. "Is he... your dad?"

[pregames]

Why is he suddenly overcome with the need to pick at a few stray thread on his cloak. The urge is there but he smothers it properly, his fingers twitching then falling loosely to his side. He brought Yuugi here for a reason and this was it.

"Yeah." But it's so much more than that. Father and pharaoh and mentor and even a curse. So much of his life has been influenced by one person, so much blood had been shed on the very same ground where they stood in another place and another time. Even now, as Atem looked to Yuugi, he was standing in the same place where a blank tablet had awaited for the dawn to give it a familiar and heartbreaking form.

"Yeah he is."

[mieru_mienai]

Yuugi watches him, and as he does he almost senses the murky stirrings from within the depths of Atem's soul. It makes his heart ache a little. There's no way he can know what it's like to stand at the grave of one's own father, and yet there is no uncertainty in his response.

"Tell me about him?" The prompting is gentle, deliberately open-ended--and genuine.

[pregames]

Atem hesitates, not out of uncertainty so much as not knowing exactly where to start. Yuugi had already seen his mother for whom he still felt an overflowing love, especially at the memory of leaving her behind, a thought that does nothing to ease his anxiety. It was his mother who had encouraged him with wonder and grace. His father, the former pharaoh, was a monolith of expectation. Even now he stood in its shadow as the sun sank into the western sky.

“He was the most important person in the world.”

[mieru_mienai]

Even the words have a weight to them. Yuugi is silent for a moment, his fingers thoughtfully tracing the edge of the Sennen Puzzle--an item that had once belonged to the man in question. It felt a little heavier too, when he thought of it that way.

"That sounds like a lot to live up to," he realizes, stepping closer to join Atem in that shadow now.

[pregames]

Turning, with his back pressed firmly against the solid foundation behind him, Atem peers up into the vibrant sky. He shouldn't be surprised by Yuugi's foresight but it touches him all the same.

"Exactly."

He falls silent again, allowing that to sink in. It was perhaps the first time it had ever been put so plainly. But he owes his partner more than that. I was bound to come out eventually so he would rather it be like this.

"He was a good man. I used to think he was infallible, that I had to be just like him. But in the end he was still... just a man. Who did his best."

[mieru_mienai]

Yuugi wants to move even closer and join him against the wall, but he can't quite bring himself to lean against what in another world was such an important person's tomb.

"Mm... That's what I would've expected," he admits, flashing a brief and gentle grin, his shoulders rising and falling almost sheepishly. That kind of person--it's easy to imagine Atem looking up to him, and Yuugi can see the influence as plainly as the clearing around them. The pharaoh lives on in his son.

[pregames]

"What do you..."

The look he turns on Yuugi is querulous one, fed by the slow drip of understanding until the enlightenment overflows in a rush. Yuugi had a way of doing that, and Atem turns his head down to hide the smirk, the utterly contented feelings that well up inside.

"Maybe I did turn out like him after all."

[mieru_mienai]

And then it's Yuugi's turn to be utterly contented, a warm happiness rising in his chest when he sees the response his words bring. He smiles at his partner, though with his head turned down Atem might miss the absolute fondness in Yuugi's expression.

"Maybe you did," he agrees simply, but he speaks with such faith that says a great deal more. Standing in the shade, he's able to lift his eyes up to the bright sky without being blinded.

"Thank you, for bringing me here."