Note: This first half of the story is mainly what happened in the last episode, but with a lot of changes regarding what's going through Atem's mind at the time.

Yep, another oneshot, because I'm jammed with everything else. Seto is just NOT co-operating...

About this fic: This is actually based on the original planned ending to my Soul Destruction Trilogy, but I decided at the end of the first story (Soul Destruction) I didn't like this end very much... Darkened Soul was depressing enough, I didn't want to put Yugi through this. I still liked the idea, though, and today I just got the sudden notion to write it based on Yami. It's very different, but the basic end idea is the same.

Holy Crap! I just re-watched the ending of the anime to get script reference and now I don't wanna do it! Wah! This is so mean...

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh!

"This is talking"
'These are thoughts'

Silent Sacrifice

"Alright! Silent Magician, attack his life points directly!"

Atem clenched his fists as Yugi's magician leapt up from his masters side into the air, twirling it's staff in an arch as it did so. All too suddenly it was pointed directly at Atem, and in a blast of blue light a ball of magic exploded from the end and struck the floor by the Pharaoh's feet, then pressed hard against his form. It hurt, but the pain was nothing compared to the feeling of dread that now tore at his heart.

He'd lost.

There was no going back now...

As the smoke began to clear Atem quickly schooled his expression to it's usual serious mask, but shut his eyes for a moment. "I knew this was going to happen," he thought, opening his eyes to look over at his lighter half as his life points dwindled down to zero, "but somehow I... I had hoped..."

Yugi's monsters disappeared in a rainbow flash, and then the other duellist was on his hands and knees, tears streaming down his face. Atem, though a part of him felt guilty for it, couldn't help but smile.
"That's my Yugi..."
He may have grown over the four years Atem had been with him, but in many ways he was still the sensitive little boy Atem had met the day the Millennium Puzzle was solved. This may have been one of the now few weak moments Yugi had, but seeing his hikari vulnerable right now, at the moment he was meant to leave him... It just made the truth all the more painful.

The Puzzle Sprit took a deep breath and began to walk towards his lighter half, putting on the most convincing smile he could. He never wanted Yugi to know what losing this duel really meant for him.

"Congratulations," he said as he approached his other half, "Well done." Yugi didn't make any response, and Atem's heart twisted. "Please Yugi... Please don't fail now. Show me you can do this." He knelt down on one knee and placed his hand on Yugi's shoulder.
"Yugi?" he said, "A champion doesn't belong on his knees." he leaned a little closer, trying to get Yugi's attention, "You achieved a great victory for us both."

"I was focusing so hard on playing the game," Yugi's voice was broken and shaking, barely above a whisper, "that I forgot... what winning this duel would actually mean. By defeating you, I've sent you away...for good..." More tears spilled down Yugi's face, and the teen's hand twitched, as if he wanted to lift it up to wipe his eyes, but was afraid of giving up the little support they offered him.

"Please don't do this, Yugi..." Atem thought, a small part of his mind hoping Yugi still felt his thoughts, while another part found that thought terrifying, "Be strong for me, please..."
Atem found his voice, and through shear will he managed to keep it sounding calm and caring. Convincing. "No, you have opened the door for me," would Yugi be able to tell he was lying? "Thanks to you, my spirit can finally be at rest once again. I'll be back where I belong." Those words stabbed at Atem's heart, even as he spoke them. He managed to keep his voice under control, and said, "Fate brought the two of us together for a reason, and we fulfilled our destiny."

Yugi raised his eyes from the floor and looked right into Atem's violet orbs. He froze; could Yugi see the lies in his soul, the fear in his eyes? He couldn't give Yugi time to read his emotions. Placing both hands on Yugi's shoulders he continued;
"We protected mankind from the return of the Shadow Games," he tightened his grip on Yugi's shoulders slightly and helped the boy to his feet, "and we've both grown tremendously along the way."

"I'm gonna miss you..."

"Poor Yugi... he has no idea..."
"You do realize we'll never truly be apart, right?" Yugi looked confused, and Atem smiled genuinely at his hikari's naivety, "The gift of kindness you've given me, and the courage I've given you will remain with us. And that will forever bind us together..."

Yugi swallowed and nodded, "Right..." he said, though rather breathlessly. Atem knew how he felt; Yugi did not want Atem to leave, and so the idea of being able to hold on to a piece of the person he had been bound to for so long was a welcome thought. Atem... he needed to be remembered... He couldn't go through with this without that security. But he had it now; he had to go.

Atem gave one last, sad smile to his hikari as the Eye of Wdjat flared to life behind him. Yugi blinked and Yami inwardly flinched at the sudden look in his hikari's eyes. He knew something was wrong.

The former pharaoh turned and walked slowly, but meaningfully, towards the alter on which the Millennium Stone was placed. When he reached the centre, he turned to face the glowing eyes on the back wall.
"This is it..." he thought, "This is really the end..." He glanced down at the stone before him, the golden surface of each Millennium Item shimmering in the light caused by the glowing eye. Cursed items...

"... Tell the Eye of Wdjat your name."

He hadn't been listening to what Ishizu had been saying, he had been trying to collect himself before opening the doorway. But now that she had told him what he had to do, he couldn't wait. He didn't feel ready, he wanted a few more minutes. But waiting would invite questions.

Straightening his shoulders, he stood tall, and spoke in a powerful voice, "I am the son of King Aknamkanon," he stated proudly. "My name is..." The final word... He could still stop. But he wouldn't. "Atem!"

There was a moment of silence and Atem's blood ran cold. Had he been rejected?

But a split appeared right down the middle of the eye, and continued down the wall until it reached the floor. There was a pause, then the stone wall began to slide apart. Gusts of wind blew from the world beyond; spiritual winds that carried the breath of souls, the dust of memories...

Atem wanted to say something. Anything - a formal, 'Farewell', or perhaps he could try a casual 'See you later', or something like that - But his words were caught in his throat. If he turned back, he may never go through with this. He didn't even wait for the door to finish opening, he took one step forward, then another, then another. One at a time. He just had to keep going, before he changed his mind.

"Pharaoh!"

Atem froze were he stood. "No Yami, no!"(1) he thought. He had stopped.

"Don't go!" Ta's voice called behind him.

"So that's how it ends, huh?" that was Tristan. Atem clenched his fists as the teens voice began to break, "Nice! You think you can show up and change everyones lives, and then just leave?"

"What Tristan means is..." Yugi spoke up, his voice shaking once again. "We don't want to say goodbye."

"I can't do this..." Atem shut his eyes tightly, his body beginning to shake. Ta was speaking now, but the Puzzle spirit was deaf to her words, mind rushing with a mixture of thoughts and emotion.

"I know we should be happy for you," Ta's voice was shattered now. Such an emotional girl, and so open. Atem was struggling to hide the pain in his own heart, while she showed hers through tears and words, "but it's really hard to do that when your losing your best friend and you just don't understand why it has to be that way!"

"I don't want to disappear..." Atem thought sadly. What if he left now, when they were unprepared for it? Would they force themselves to forget him, to be rid of the pain of loss? They couldn't! If they did, it would be as if...

Suddenly words broke through Atem's thoughts, words that brought more light to his heart than Joey would ever know, though spoken with sadness.

"... but I know that true friends may be hard to find, but they're impossible to forget!"

"Im...possible... to forget?" Atem's fists relaxed.

"And even though his stay wasn't as long as we would have liked," Joey continued, his voice stronger now. Atem didn't need to look, he could here the smile in Joey's voice, and that gave him strength. "We're lucky we knew him at all..."

Atem sighed slightly to himself, "Thank you, Joey..."

"Hey Pharaoh!" Joey called, now sounding like his usual confident self, "I hate to break the terrible news to ya, but you're not going anywhere!"

Atem's head jerked up and his eyes shot open. "What?" Did they know what was happening? Were they going to stop him? No... That's not what Joey meant, Atem knew it.

"'Cause everything you've given us," Joey said, "stays right here in our hearts!"

"That's all I ever wanted," Atem smiled, feeling as if a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders. No matter what happened after he walked through that door, it didn't matter. His memory would live on in the hearts of his friends. Smiling he turned to looked back at his friends; Yugi, Joey, Tristan, Ta, Ryou, Mr Mouto, Mokuba, Kaiba, Marik, Ishizu, Odion... They were all there to see him off. He nodded, "Right!" he said confidently, though his heart was aching. He would never see them again...
"Like we always say," Yugi said, eye's shining but fists clenched and a smile on his face, "It's your move!"

"It's my move..." Atem thought, turning back towards the doorway. "My final move."

"My friends..." he thought, stretching his arm out beside him as he began to walk towards the door, "Thank you... Thank you for loving me... and for remembering me..." He couldn't bare to face them again, so he resorted to giving a thumbs up with his outstretched hand. A simple gesture, but it was all he could muster the courage to do.

As he approached the wall of light just beyond the doorway, he reached deep within himself and brought forward magic from within. He skin grew darker, and his clothes melted away to form a cream tunic and long cloak. A crown of gold appeared on his forehead, a number of rings on his fingers, two large golden earrings, and bands of gold appeared around his arms and legs. The image of Pharaoh, an image of perfection to his people. He could not cross over in a image any less.

Something appeared before him, but he quickly through up a wall of magic. His father, Mana, Seto, Mahad... all images that had become familiar to both him and his friends appeared before him. But they were mere illusions. They masked what was truly there.

Atem felt a slight push as he met the wall of light, but forced his was through with little effort. His eyes stung, but he would not shut them. He would face his final moments. He would not turn away.

The wall of light ran over him like a sheet of warm water over his skin. But though the warmth was welcome, it was followed by an ice-cold sensation, and the light that once blinded his eyes turned to darkness. A mask of light to hide the shadows.

He took his final step through the wall of light, and then all was gone. The floor disappeared from under his feet, the light around and behind him quenched and he was left suspended in pure darkness.

"Welcome, Atem..." a deep, throaty voice echoed through the darkness, mocking. There was a strange sound to the Pharaoh's right, like the scuttling of insects, only louder. Atem took a deep breath and straightened himself as best as he could, remaining silent. He had no right to speak here.

The dark voice chuckled around him from all directions, but Atem remained firm. "Look at the great Pharaoh now... Like a helpless lamb to the slaughter..." the voice sneered. The spirit felt something run across his chest, not exactly a hand, but something similar. It ran up and slithered across his face, making him flinch at the odd sensation. "I don't know Pharaoh, what makes you think you're a worthy trade for the souls of Kul Elna?" Atem remained silent. "No no, you may answer, I'd like to know..."

A command.

"I don't," Atem stated simply, "But you seem to think otherwise. You would never have opened the doors otherwise, am I correct?"

The voice chuckled, and Atem couldn't help but jump as the creatures limb slid across the small of his back. "Yes... Why would I want the souls of thieves when I can have the spirit of a God?"(2)

The noises around Atem grew louder, but he continued to stare straight ahead, face serious while his heart was pounding. Excited breathing, like that of a hungry wolf that had just found a meal, joined the sounds, multiplying.

Atem felt the dark spirit reseed. "Very well, Pharaoh. We will accept your soul, and in return release the souls of Kul Elna."

"And the Millennium Items?" Atem asked, "They will be destroyed?"

"Without the souls of Kul Elna, they were useless..."

Atem narrowed his eyes, "They can't be left there to drain the souls of anyone who touches them. They must be taken from the surface, or the deal is off."

The voice chuckled again, but this time it was join by dozens of other voices, like childrens giggles, but eerie. "Oh, you are perceptive Pharaoh...Very well, we will take them back." There was a groan like that of hunger from the creature, "We wouldn't want to lose our precious Atem, would we?" The little voices by Atem's side moaned in agreement, and the Pharaoh's blood ran cold with dread.

There was a sudden shimmer of light in the darkness, and weak though it was it was blinding after the intense dark. Atem blinked, but turned his eyes towards the source; the seven Millennium Items. A large, clawed hand came up around them, and Atem shut his eyes as the sharp fingers clenched around them, followed by and explosion of screams. He forced his eyes open and glared in the direction of the hand. "Don't hurt them!"

"As you wish, Pharaoh.." the voice said, and if the creature had a face Atem knew it would be smirking. The fingers unfurled slowly, light spilling out between them but not reaching further than a few feet. Little balls of light shot out of the palm of the black hand the moment there was a chance - the souls of Kul Elna, sacrificed to create the Millennium Items. They spiralled in the darkness for a moment, as if unsure where to go, then as one darted directly upwards, squeals of delight and laughter echoing from them as they travelled. Atem watched them go, they're light fading quickly, disappearing into the eternal darkness all around them. But rather than be consumed by darkness, then appeared to travel through it, through a wall of shadows and back into the world of light the Puzzle-spirit had only experienced for a brief moment.

Oh how Atem wish he could go with them...

The creatures around him began to chuckle again, and Atem lowered his gaze from the spot in which the spirits had disappeared. His golden bangs fell and shielded his eyes, his arms hanging limply by his side and his stance slouched. This, for Atem, was truly the end.

But he would not let himself be defeated. Taking a deep breath he held it for a moment, then released it. He raised his arms out and turned his head upwards, offering himself to the darkness.

There was an exclamation of delight from something inhuman, a rush of wind and then something latched itself around Atem's arm. Another creature leapt at him from behind, wrapping it's arms around is waist, while another clung to his leg and another to his shoulder. The first creature chuckled and nuzzled the Pharaoh's arm, making excited, hungry noises that turned Atem's stomach.

Another creature leapt up and latched itself around Atem's neck from behind as the creature on his shoulder dug it's claws into his chest and crawled onto his front, digging it's hind claws so deep in his chest it was able to perch there like a bat clung to a wall. It reached up and ran it's claws hands over Atem's faced, muttering happily to itself. More and more little creatures leapt and clung to his body, trying to pull him down.

Then a fiery pain erupted in his wrist, he clenched his teeth and hissed, though he wanted to scream. He refused to close his eyes. Though they squinted, trying to close, he refused to let them. Tears of pain brimmed in them, blurring his vision, but he didn't blink them away.

Then the pain was gone.

Atem sighed shakily; he didn't need to look he knew his hand was gone. The creature that had taken it squealed and floated away, a few of the other devils that had not already attached themselves to Atem scuttling after him. He could hear them hissing and spitting, fighting over what would appear to be a tiny shape of glowing white.

Various parts of his body flared, and all at once parts of Atem's soul were torn away. Tears of pain mingled with those of distress and fear, but still Atem keep his eyes looking upward, trying to ignore the creatures tearing at his spirit, praying that perhaps he would catch a glimpse of the next world, the world he would never see.

"All I wanted... All I wanted was to be with my family..." Atem felt his eyes burning as fresh tears escaped him, "I just wanted to go home... But if my soul was the only cost to free those of Kul Elna, and destroy the Millennium Items... I had to do it, the Gods would never forgive me if I didn't... I, would never be able to forgive myself..."

"Yugi... I'm sorry I lied to you... But I could not stand the thought of you blaming yourself for this... I made this choice...

"Just please, don't forget me..."

The creature that had been perched on Atem's chest had tore it to shreds, tossing it away in strips of white light. He clung to Atem's face and reached up, placing it's clawed hands over Atem's eyes, muttering darkly.

"... For now... I only exist in your memories..."

The creature dug in it's claws and tore out the spirits eyes, and in an explosion of light the Pharaoh's soul became undone, splitting into shreds of light. Broken. Shattered. Destroyed.

Dark creatures snatched them up greedily, some racing away quickly to avoid losing the fragments they had caught. Others choose the remain, feasting on the shimmering pieces of the Pharaoh's soul. Every emotion ever felt, every thought ever pondered, every memory, cherished and loathed...

Destroyed.

(1) I wanted him to say 'Yami' to show he sill wasn't used to his name. He had only just found it out and this was the end for him already.
(2) Pharaoh's were seen to take the place of Gods on earth, but were aware they weren't Gods themselves. When they died, though, they were given divine status and considered Gods.

Oh man... that was depressing... Poor Atem... -huggles-
I've been reading way to much Darran Shan books.
It came out over twice as long as I thought it would, and not as good, but I still like parts of it.
Hope someone enjoyed. Please review!
Bay Bay!
Bayleef