AN: Here's an early Christmas present for all of my readers - the final chapter of Yin Yang Shadows! This wasn't the ending I had planned, but I hope it's ok for everyone. At the end, please take a moment to read the last statement, as you may find it interesting.
For the moment, enjoy the chapter!
Epilogue: Is He Or Isn't He?
"This is Domino News with Kitty Docman and Sherman Woodlock. The investigation regarding the incident in central Domino City has been closed today due to lack of evidence to explain the events that occurred recently, from the destruction of Domino City Hall to the mysterious black fog that swamped most of downtown for several minutes. Witnesses claim to have seen large creatures battling in the fog along with the appearance of the elusive Yin Yang Shadows; the true identities of whom are still unknown. However, these masked crusaders are believed to be the force that stopped the mysterious fog from proceeding and harming citizens. Jane Roberts is at the scene to tell us more."
"Thank you, Kitty. As you can see behind me the area that had been covered in what seemed to be black fog just hours ago has left little to no damage to them. Just prior to the appearance of the fog, witnesses also claim sightings of the three masked individuals, the Yin Yang Shadows. Though it is still undetermined as to the cause of this strange phenomenon, it has been confirmed that the masked fighters, which witnesses have confirmed to have been named Shadow, Light and Basset, contributed in the reversal of the fog's progress in spreading throughout Domino City. I'm here with Sergeant Williams, would you mind telling us what you saw here earlier tonight?"
"Certainly. First off, one member of the Yin Yang Shadows swung by and headed one of the largest buildings in Domino, from which this black stuff just appeared. At first it looked like a black cloud, but then it just kept growing, and after a while these things started coming out. Some of them looked like dragons, others monsters, but then the other two Yin Yang Shadows came out of the fog and helped us stop them. That's when we found out their names were Shadow, Light and Basset. Anyway, they then took off back to where the cloud came from and for a little while we couldn't see them, but then the fog and the monsters were just sucked up into some kind of vortex, just like that. Not long after that we saw the three shadows leave, but one of 'em – I think it was Shadow – was so badly hurt that another one had to carry him. I hope he's alright. The last one was also carryin' someone else, but we couldn't see who it was."
"Thank you, Sergeant. Back to you, Kitty."
"Though there is no confirmation, several witnesses are certain that the member of the Yin Yang Shadows known as Shadow may have been injured if not critically wounded by the events. In addition, there have been no sightings of the Yin Yang Shadows since the event. We have already received several messages from viewers wishing this Shadow a swift recovery. We will provide more on this story as it develops."
Four Days Later:
The atmosphere had been tense and low since the return of Shadow, Light, Basset and Téa to the Motou mansion. Shadow had not moved or made even the tiniest sound since he had collapsed, Light and Basset were exhausted but otherwise okay, and Téa was close to tears. As soon as the four returned to the Motou Mansion, Simon had ordered Light and Basset to put Shadow to his room in extreme urgency. Shadow – now Atem after they had removed his mask – was breathing shallowly, his normally tanned skin was eerily pale and his body was very cold, forcing Solomon to raise the temperature in the room and cover him in several blankets in order to keep him from going hypothermic.
The worst was internal; Simon, Yugi and Amy could sense that Atem's very soul had been drained to a life-threatening point. That explained why he hadn't moved – his soul was dormant in order to build up enough energy to survive. Four days had passed and his reserves were only just starting to build up, worrying the Motous – not to mention Téa – to no end.
Yugi and Amy took turns waiting by his side, making sure that one of them would be there when Atem woke. Amy blamed herself for allowing Cobrakhan to brainwash her so easily; Yugi kept telling her that it wasn't her fault, but she would not accept it until she knew that Atem had forgiven her.
Solomon and Simon did everything they could to make Atem as comfortable as possible. Simon had tried to revive Atem using magic, but the youth's sheer weakness made it impossible to attempt anything without further risk to his very soul's survival, so instead he used his own magic to gently close and heal Atem's physical wounds so that his energy would not be used unnecessarily.
Téa did nothing but sit beside Atem's bed. She did not leave his side unless it was absolutely necessary, and would gently whisper words of encouragement. If it weren't for the Motous, she wouldn't have even eaten anything in the four days that had passed.
Simon gently knocked on the door before he entered, carrying a tray of food. Yugi was behind him with a bowl of cool water and a towel. They found Téa sat beside the bed, as she had been for days, and she glanced up at them as they entered.
"How is he?" Yugi asked. "Anything?"
"No, no change. He hasn't even stirred." Téa replied meekly as she looked at the form on the bed. Atem looked like he was sleeping peacefully, but his skin was still pale and his breathing was still shallower than normal. Khan lay at the end of the bed – the dog had also not left Atem's side either, sensing the trouble his master was in – and he looked up at Yugi and Simon before flopping his head back onto Atem's left ankle with a whine.
Yugi reached out and pet the dog on the head, hearing another soft whine. "It'll be okay, Khan. He'll wake up soon, you'll see." He paused to walk to Atem's side and closed his eyes, using his powers to check on his brother. "He's getting stronger. His soul has started building up reserves."
"That means he's on the path of recovery." Simon said as he placed the tray on the bedside table, opposite where Yugi had put the bowl. "Depending on how quickly his soul builds up strength, he should wake soon."
Yugi sighed. "It may not be for a couple more days yet. The build up is slow. Although it's better news – last time he did that spell it was 5000 years ago, and he…."
No one wanted to voice what had happened so long ago, but they all knew that it was still possible.
"He was so brave… then and now…." Téa murmured. "But he's stronger this time, otherwise he wouldn't have made it this far."
Simon looked at her, but didn't speak. What Atem had done had only been accomplished once before, with tragic results, but the reincarnated pharaoh still did it. Even if it meant… none the less, Atem's survival was still at risk while his soul was this drained.
There was another knock at the bedroom door before Solomon entered the room, followed by Kaiser. The dog instantly hopped up onto the bed and rested his head on Atem's other ankle.
"Hey, Grampa." Yugi said.
Solomon nodded as he stood at the end of the bed and gazed at his older grandson. "The newsrooms in Domino have been receiving thousands of get-well messages for Shadow. We're not the only ones praying for his recovery."
Yugi gave a smile through wet tears as he knelt beside Atem's bed and grasped a pale, limp hand in his own. "See, Atem? Loads of people want to see you swinging about again. Don't let them down, bro."
The room fell silent, even the two dogs made no sound, as they each prayed for the welfare of Atem.
Another three days passed with prayers, tears and careful monitoring of Atem's condition. The Motous had noticed that Atem's spiritual build up was progressing slowly but steadily, giving them all new hope. Still, Téa and the two dogs continued to wait by his side.
Solomon entered the room quietly, only to smile fondly at the scene. Téa, who had refused to rest while she waited for Atem, had given in to exhaustion and fallen asleep with her head resting on the bed, and the two dogs were asleep at Atem's feet.
The elderly Motou crept into the room and picked up the tray on the table. The cheese sandwich that he had made for Téa only had one bite in it and had gone stale, but he couldn't blame the girl. The entire household had to force themselves to eat lately – even the dogs were reluctant to leave Atem in favour of their favourite meal, and usually they were pigs for the food. With a soft sigh, he placed a hand on Atem's forehead and whispered a soft prayer before heading to the door. Once there he cast one last glance at the room.
"May Horus take you upon his wings… and guide you home." He whispered before closing the door behind him.
What he didn't notice was the slight twitch of Atem's fingers. A few moments later Atem's head slowly moved to the side, and his eyelids flickered before they slowly peeled back only a little, just revealing pale crimson eyes, blinking repeatedly in an attempt to open further.
Khan stirred and sleepily lifted his head, only to instantly bolt awake at the sight of his master. He stood and immediately went up to Atem to proceed with licking his master's face, being gentle as his sixth sense told him not to be too excited.
Atem had not noticed the dog's presence before he felt the warm, wet tongue on his face, and he weakly chuckled as he tried to move. When he found moving very difficult, he looked around and found Téa fast asleep beside him, but then his vision was obscured when another tongue joined the first, this time belonging to Kaiser. The two dogs were giving relieved whimpers as they continued showing him affection, giving him the impression that he had been out for a while at least. As the two dogs continued licking his face and neck he looked over at Téa again and tried to rouse her. "Téa… Wake u-up…."
Kaiser paused in his licking to look over at the sleeping girl and, somehow knowing that Atem was trying to do, went to nudge her with his nose.
"Oh… Kaiser, go away…." Téa murmured as she pushed the dog away and rubbed her eyes.
"H-hey, Téa…." Atem weakly spoke, despite Khan still licking his face.
The girl looked around for the source of the voice, only to suddenly leap back in shock. "A-Atem?"
Atem gave a weak smile as he tried to move, but could only move his fingers a little. "Hey t-there…."
"Oh my God, Atem!" Téa nearly shrieked as she moved forward, wrapping her arms around his neck and hugged him. "Oh, god, you're awake!"
"Téa…" Atem said as she moved back. "W-where am I? How long h-have I been out?"
Téa was almost sobbing in relief as she sat down again, taking Atem's hand in her own. "You're… you're home, Atem…. In-in your room… you've been out for nearly a week… they-they said that your soul was… it was drained, and we were so afraid that you… you…."
"I-I'm okay… really…." Atem murmured. "Just a little… tired…." He paused. "D-did it work? Are the shadows…?"
"Yeah," Téa murmured, smiling. "They're sealed. Everything's okay…. People have been sending messages to the news for you to get well soon…."
Atem sighed. "Once I recover I'll be able to return them…. I think a swing around the city would do it. But I have just one question."
Téa blinked. "What?"
"What's a guy gotta do to get some food around here?"
That brought a smile to Téa's face as she stood and ran to the door, opening it and leaning out to yell, "Hey, he's awake! Bring some food!"
Only minutes passed before Yugi, Simon and Solomon came running. Yugi was holding a tray of food and Solomon was holding a glass of water while Simon had a cold washcloth. They were all grinning and yammering as they surrounded the bed.
"Bro, you're alright!" Yugi cried, placing the tray on the table and hugging his brother tightly. "Gods, we were worried!"
Solomon patted Atem's head affectionately. "You gave us quite the scare, my boy. For a minute there we thought we were going to lose you."
Atem sighed again. "I remembered…. When I used that spell the first time… 5000 years ago, I used all of my strength. This time, I was able to put myself into a coma before my energy ran out…. If I hadn't, I would have…."
Simon shook his head. "You need to rest, Atem. Your energy is still very low. It's a risk for you to even be awake."
"I know." Atem said. "But I had to…. I needed to let you all know that I was okay, I knew you would be worried…."
Nodding, Yugi placed a hand on Atem's forehead. "Rest now, Atem…. We can see it's taking all you've got to stay awake, but you need to conserve it. I can sense that you're up to your limits."
Téa looked slightly alarmed as she grabbed Atem's hand. "They're right…. Go back to sleep…. We'll be here."
Atem nodded slowly, his eyes slowly closing until he was in slumber once more. The three who watched him each wore a smile, for they knew now that Atem was going to be fine."
"No more news of that Shadow guy, Peter?" A girl with pigtails asked a boy with short black hair. They were stood at a newspaper stand, looking at the evening paper.
The boy shook his head. "Nah, Rachael. Still nothing. That makes it three weeks since that weird fog showed up and Shadow got hurt. I wonder if he's even alive…?"
Rachael's eyes widened. "He can't be dead! He's a hero!"
"But he's gotta be human." Peter said, closing the newspaper and tossing it back on the shelf. "And he's gotta have a weakness. Someone could have used that and taken him out."
"Oh, I doubt that."
Both children jumped at the deep voice, whirling around and looking up to find the owner. There, sitting on a street sign, was the very person they were talking about. The mask covering the face was slightly different to what they had seen on television, curving down like fangs over his cheeks, but the cat-like crimson eyes were still the same, if not even more intense.
Rachael was the first to speak, in fact she squealed. "Shadow!"
The leather-clad hero gave a friendly salute. "Hi there. I overheard you talking about me, so I figured I'd show up. I've heard that people have been worried about me."
"Yes, the whole city!" Rachael said, clasping her hands together in delight, before she practically screamed, "Hey, everyone! Shadow's back! He's back!"
That brought the attention of everyone within earshot, and they all ran over from across the street, next door's shops, and even from around corners to see if the girl had told the truth and grinning when they saw that she had.
"Glad to see you!" one said.
"Are you really alright?" another asked.
Shadow held up his hands to quiet his audience. "I assure you, I'm fine. I will admit, I was badly injured a few weeks ago concerning that fog, but now I'm okay. And my comrades and I are out and about again."
A man in the crowd raised his hand. "Who are you? Where did you come from?"
"I'm afraid I cannot answer that right now." Shadow replied, hearing disappointed mumbles from the crowd. "I would like to, really, but it's risky to me and to those I care about. If my identity were to fall upon the wrong ears, it would be bad for anyone I know and love. For now, though, you may all call me Shadow. I came to thank you all for your concern and to thank those that sent messages to the news regarding my recovery. It's good to see that my efforts were not wasted. Thank you all."
With that he launched a Shadowrope and swung up towards the higher buildings, smirking at the cheers he got from those who saw him. Tonight was going to be an entertaining night as he swooped high, allowing the moonlight to illuminate his form in the afterglow along with the lights of the buildings in Domino City.
AN: Well, that's it. This fic is officially done. Now, there are just a couple more tiny things that need to be sorted before anything else.
1: Disclaimer: Some scenes in this story arc are things I have taken from Spiderman movies and cartoons, but I do not own Spiderman, or the cartoons. I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! I also borrowed scenes from the fanfic On The Prowl, but I don't own them either.
AN: I had permision to borrow scenes from Fanfic writer Zephyr-Sombra's fic On The Prowl. If you like this fic than i suggest you read that one - it's what gave me the idea for this one! As far as I know it hasn't been completed, but maybe if more people send the writer reviews, they may update. Plus if you read it, you'll find the odd scene that I had borrowed.
2: I was going to trash this fic and my others because in the span of 6 weeks I lost my mother and my grandmother. However, thanks to several readers I decided to finish it. In short, this fic was completed in memory of my mom and nan.
3: Finally, the thanks part. Here's a thank you to the following;
Zephyr-Sombra: This writer allowed me to borrow a few ideas from his(?) fic 'On The Prowl'. I highly recommend reading that one.
My mother: The one who gave me the courage to begin - and end - my fanfiction. May the Gods rest her soul.
Finally... The readers! Thank you all for your support by reading my story and giving reviews. I couldn't have done it without you.
IMPORTANT!: I have an idea for a sequal, but the question is should I do it? It's up to you! The more people who ask, the more likely it is that I'll do it. Please let me know in your reviews. Thanks, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!