The Ethereals Meet Their Last Dimensional Selves

It was a good thing that other gods wanted to play nicer with them now. Even if it was technically against Horakhty, it was just here and there. Other gods made friends with other gods because apparently there would be fights, and those with friends?

Just like on Earth. Win. Since him and Atem had helped save their dimensions and worlds so often, it made a difference between the power they would hold too, so everyone wanted to get on their good side.

And? Yugi and Atem were great at making friends. They always had been. They had already met Bes, Qebhet, and Seshat now. They would definitely make even more friends.

No one would help immensely yet, and they knew from conversations with the cats this wouldn't be easy. They wouldn't get everything. Now that they were almost gods, they could see the big picture of the balance of power. They would give and get power, to attain their goals.

Still, the almost God Atems knew what they wanted the most of anything. They even promised forgiveness of the Parts of Hathor against them, if they just gave them some guidance.

They really weren't gods yet. They couldn't travel by themselves, they were getting lifts. They couldn't just zap the children where they should be, and stealing them one time wasn't going to cut it.

They used what they had, what they had seen, and what they could gather to form a plan.

Lure Zorc to the last dimension of them and have them play against them, for a high stakes game. In that gods game, they would be able to change the demon in Silhouette. Even after Isis heard the demand, she wouldn't be able to change anything in it.

Yugi looked toward Yuugi, who looked a little surprised to see him. "Are we late?" he joked. He went over toward the last Yugi named Yuugi. The closer he was, the more he could feel his life. "I raised Hikaru and Silhouette as mine, regardless of who they were, Other Me. I'm sorry that your Hikaru was stolen from you, the gods are cruel like that. Just know, that he wasn't. A lot of things were hidden and happened during your god game. Hikaru wouldn't have even been born if you weren't in the process of the game. You see, he was only one half."

"It was conceived as the full tear, and as the full Atem." Atem took over the explanation. "These children really are from ten thousand years ago. We can't give you much information, but we do assure you, that they are yours. Both of yours."

"Your son was taken to another dimension, Yuugi," Yugi said to his other half, to make him understand. "Horakhty wanted the whole of what should have been, and she gave your light it's dark side too. When Bastet and Sekhmet were trying to pull off making new gods, it was Thoth and Horakhty that used them instead, to push them to what they could be."

"Horakhty pressed power into them, giving the illusion they were gods," Atem explained. "They are and they aren't, they cannot . . ." Atem didn't know if he could explain the energy. All of the process. Even now, they all looked lost. As almost gods, him and Yugi just understood things in different terms now.

///Yugi: We need to make it even more basic, Atem./// "It's hard to explain, but I would never lie to myself. You do trust in that?" Yuugi nodded. "Your Hikaru is the young boy you just saw crying on Jounouchi. His sister Silhouette, isn't his sister."

"It's your daughter," Atem said toward the Atem of that dimension. "Yours and Masika's. Horakhty joined light with light and dark with dark."

"They were supposed to be like goodbye and welcoming presents for us becoming gods," Yugi said. "At the end of the long road, but Horakhty isn't human. Horakhty doesn't see that we didn't want to just have a little time before it was all over. Am I going over the head? I can't tell."

"I don't know either, Yugi," his Atem admitted. He looked toward his dimensional self again. "Just know? Silhouette is yours."

"And that Hikaru, is yours," Yugi said to Yuugi. "You and . . . Anzu's. Don't worry about the age of him either, to run caused some time dilation or something. The cat goddesses mentioned that would happen. I think it's okay, having the kids older will be a benefit."

"But now, it's time for you to run after them. Parts of Hathor will not be able to retrieve them again," Atem stated.

"Some correction," Isis said. "They were welcoming gifts, it's interesting you figured that out. Yes, one is the son of light and the other is the daughter of darkness. The cats will not be able to retrieve them again. That is all you got right. This is just a new god thing. Please? I wish you two would quit this and just assume the rest of yourselves. You should not be down here," Isis criticised them. "You are not full gods yet, and the Earth's pain and sorrow is too incredible to bear for very long. You are too new and incomplete. I can't believe Bes took you down."

"Bes likes music, and Yami and I know a sick beat," Yugi laughed at her. That and Bes knew the truth about Silhouette too. They were purposely leaving that out, if Isis didn't help the first time in their vision, there might be reasons not to trust her.

Bes also helped them realize by sharing some history reminders just how much gods didn't just like games, but liked competition and winning. Whether it was Isis or someone else, there might be someone who wanted Silhouette to grow up as a demon and face them some day. God Atems would have a lot of power, and the more power a higher god had, the more threat they faced.

He had no problem seeing what they were doing, and was going to help however he could. Bes also said that Horakhty tended to be on the good side, but they didn't often explain themselves, because it was hard to find enemies when you couldn't tell what side it was on in the first place. He said most likely?

It was Isis.

"Oh. Anger is sewn the hardest in first formation, Isis, you know that," Bes said, "and I hate being on bad terms with anybody." Bes would hide their secret too. "Sorry, I was just the taxi." He disappeared but Yugi and Atem's glowing selves remained.

"Ethereal Yugi. Ethereal Atem. You are burning energy and power being here on Earth," Isis warned them.

"Ethereal?" That was good, Yugi liked that. If they weren't quite gods, Ethereal would work.

"We don't care," Ethereal Atem said. "Ethereal Yugi and I, we trust in ourselves, and we won't let this go by, without a fight."

"We told them we wanted one version of us, the ones Hikaru and Silhouette originally came from, to continue on with them," the Ethereal Yugi said. "That's all we wanted, Isis. It doesn't matter whether Horakhty wanted it or not. If it's in Horakhty's plans or not. We won't become complete until we get what we want."

"Selfish." Isis glared at them. "That you'd risk so much. This Earth that you saved so many times, for such a selfish wish. Zorc will sense this dimension. You yourselves could stop Zorc right now when he came with one wave of your hand if you would form. Yet, you are going against Horakhty for this."

"Yes," Etheral Atem stated.

Yuugi watched as Ethereal Yugi came toward him. Yet, although he glowed, he didn't seem much different. His explanations were hard to understand, but otherwise?

"Hi. Um? Me. What's left of me," he said awkwardly. "I know what she said sounds bad, but I'm you. I'm every you of every dimension. I remember everything every Yugi ever went through. I'm basically me. I mean, I'm basically you?"

Yeah, he was him. "Uh. Hi."

"I had to come down, and I'm really sorry that I have to put myself through this. Literally," he almost joked. "I just want some selfish things though, and this was what I managed to get. I don't want it taken away. One day, you are easily going to join me. You'll know everything I know. You'll be everything that I am. But? You'll have precious memories, that I won't get until afterw you pass. And, you see, I want that." He looked toward Anzu. "I want to grow old with Anzu. I want to raise Hikaru. No other me's can do that, or get that anymore. Most of the people I once knew in other dimensions don't even remember I ever existed. That's kind of heart breaking, you know? But, I want to give you that chance."

"You picked me?" Yuugi asked. "Out of how many?"

"Oh, there's a lot out there," Ethereal Yugi answered him back. "This dimension though is where our children were made. We saw it. We know it and it's strong enough to . . . basically put everything on the line for. I have so many wonderful memories with Hikaru, but I won't have anything but sad memories knowing his time with me was over at six. I don't want him joining the afterlife at the age of six."

"Ten thousand years is a long time to wait to be born, and then to have it taken away so abruptly at the age of six," Ethereal Atem spoke. "Isn't fair. We tried to get Bastet to go against Horakhty and Isis to bring them here."

"You know though? That doing things against Horakhty, doesn't always lead to easy paths," Etheral Yugi spoke.

"You are both going to be gods?" Atem spoke to his ethereal self. "I thought once Yuugi passed on, we would be joined as one again?"

"No. In the dimension that Hikaru and Silhouette were raised, an agreeance to be together forever, yet forever apart was reached," Ethereal Atem said to him. "It was the same for our version of Anzu and Masika. Obviously, it was that same agreement that split the children up. I prefer it this way anyhow."

"It's no fun talking to yourself, it's always better to have your best friend to talk to," Ethereal Yugi said to Atem. "Please take care of Hikaru and Silhouette? When you pass on, we all become one, and I'll know I had a happy life with them and grew old with the woman I loved." And saved them an eternity of hell not being with the ones they loved, or being in an eternity of hell.

"I'm not stating my own wishes so widely," Ethereal Atem said to Atem. "I know myself. It wouldn't bode well right now. Just, I will be happier, if you and Masika stay here with your counterparts, until their ending days on Earth."

"Every version of myself, is asking me for this favor," Atem said to him. "I cannot ignore my own words."

"I want to talk to Hikaru now," Ethereal Yugi said.

"I wish to see Silhouette," Ethereal Atem also stated.

"That is not a good idea, you should return," Isis stated.

"If you don't give us what we want, then we will find a way to get it for ourselves, and burn more energy," Etheral Yugi stated. "That's more energy that I could use in the future with grudge matches lost." He knew that line from Bes.

"Stubborn." Isis sighed. "Only a couple of minutes."

The children both returned, confused and clinging to each other.

"Hey, it's okay." Ethereal Yugi reached out toward Hikaru. The boy turned around. "I'm right here."

"Daddy?" Hikaru asked.

"Yep. It's okay now, Hi." Ethereal Yugi accepted the rapid hug that came to him. "It's okay, Hi. Everything's fine."

"Where'd you go?!"

"Daddy!" Silhouette started to hug him too. Ethereal Atem stayed near.

"It's okay. It's going to be okay," Ethereal Yugi said to both of them. He picked up Hikaru, but held Silhouette's hand.

Ethereal Atem picked up Silhouette, which seemed to scare her at first. "Hello."

"Hello?" She was confused.

"You have a very nice dolly," Ethereal Atem said to her.

"Mana gave it to me," she said to him.

"Mana is a wonderful person," Ethereal Atem agreed. "So are you."

"You are burning as hot as the Earth sun's expenditure," Isis complained. "You would not even have to say goodbye if you just take them and the last version of yourselves with you. You could visit the afterlife whenever you wanted, and you could see your girlfriends more often."

"No. They kids get a full life, with a human us, that gets to grow old and-"

"-and hope they defeat Zorc with very little power," Isis reminded them. "Even saving a shred of power could help them when things get tough. If you leave only one version to fight, he will choose this world. You know that."

Ethereal Yugi hugged Hikaru. "Hikaru. I'm still going to be here, okay? For you. I know you won't understand what's happening, just know that? I won't have my memories of you, but I still love you just the same, and I am going to find my way back to you."

"Where's moms?" Hikaru asked.

Ethereal Yugi pointed at Anzu. "She's right there. Silhouette's mom is right over there." He pointed to Masika. "They don't remember things either, but we all still love each other, and we are going to find you again. Okay?"

"I don't get it," Hikaru said. "Where did you go? Uncle Joey and Aunt Mai and Uncle Tristan and Aunt Miho and Uncle Kaiba and Aunt Serenity and Bakura all said you were dead. They even held a funeral."

"Every single one took the word Uncle for you." Ethereal Yugi almost laughed. "Each one but Bakura, that's still funny." He patted his head. "It's okay, Hikaru. It's just grief, but they will be alright, and so will you."

"We followed a talking cat. We thought it was Ebonnee, Daddy," Silhouette said to Etheral Yugi.

"It was a talking cat," Ethereal Atem answered her instead. "We've all been whisked away into another world to live. It's a good place that you will join one day soon."

Silhouette looked toward Atem. She didn't say anything at first. She eventually made her dolly wave to him, making him smile.

Then, the children disappeared again.