A/N: Welcome to Sands of Time! Please forgive me if there's any inconsistencies; I've just started coming to this fandom so I don't know much. There will be Atem x Yugi, Set x Joey, Ryou x Bakura, Marik x Malik, Yami x Yugi, and Seto x Joey. There will be no Tea or Anzu bashing. Enjoy! DISCLAIMER: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! or its characters. I only own the plot of this story.
Full Summary: Rated M for swearing, mentions of character death, and some mpreg. Blindshippping, Puzzleshipping, Gemshipping, Bronzeshipping, Puppyshipping, and Eternityshipping. AU! When Yugi, Ryou, Malik, and Joey accidentally send themselves back in time to ancient Egypt, things heat up with they get tangled in affairs they weren't meant to. If they find a way home, will they go or want to stay?
"C'mon, guys, hurry!" Malik called over his shoulder as they neared the pyramid.
"Easy for you!" Joey yelled back, huffing as he tried to catch up.
Yugi let Joey catch him and ran at the same pace until they arrived at their destination.
As they looked up at its beauty, Ryou whispered, "Wow...it really is the tomb they told us about."
"Well, I'll be." Joey caught his breath and put a hand on his hip.
"Should we really go inside?" Yugi asked, a little worried. "Some traps may still be active."
"We'll be fine. Besides, I already called ahead and told the guys that if anything happens or we don't come back for a while, they should come investigate." Malik answered with an idle shrug.
"Well, that settles it. I'm going in." Joey started to look for any entrances, followed by the others as they exchanged uneasy glances.
Why does this give me a bad feeling...?
"Very dark in here..."
"Ow! Who stepped on me?!"
"Sorry, all me."
"Say, anyone see an exit?"
Yugi probed his way through the crowded passage, until his fingers met something solid and cold. As he traced the intricate patterns, he called over his shoulder, "Hey, guys, come check this out!"
The others stopped behind him, Joey's phone functioning as a flashlight, as the light caught the bright gold of the door.
"Even though it looks the same as everywhere else in this dark place," Joey muttered. "I'm actually curious about what's behind the door."
"What's in there?" Malik asked, his voice a little uneasy. "It can't be something important...can it?"
"I don't know." Yugi answered, giving the door a push.
...Nothing happened.
"It won't budge!" Joey pressed against it harder than Yugi had, once again recieving nothing. "Geez, heavy...!"
Ryou began to trace the wall in hopes of finding a button or a panel to open it, while Malik just watched in amusement.
As he leaned up against the wall, his hand made the wall cave in slightly, and the door opened.
Joey and Yugi let out startled yelps as they fell to the floor, while Ryou tried to hold in his laughter.
"Whoops...sorry." Malik grinned sheepishly. "Looks like I found it."
"Ha-ha, very funny." Joey grumbled, trying to get off the ground.
"Whoa, check it out!" Ryou pointed inside, where there was a multitude of items - furniture, jewels, a crown... "It looks like a treasure chamber of some sort. But why keep it so poorly hidden...?"
Yugi felt his breath taken away. "Is this...his resting place?"
"Can't have been that easy to find it." Malik scratched his head. "Well, we won't find out if we keep standing here. Let's investigate."
The four split up, some walking into other rooms whilst some staying in that chamber, picking up random objects, testing some other walls to find anything else that could be hiding; whether a trap or some more treasure.
Yugi had been looking through some candles when he caught glimpse of a shining object next to a giant...thing, in the centre of the room.
Curiousity pricked at him as he approached it, to which he let out a startled gasp.
"It's...!"
He was interrupted by a loud crash and Ryou's startled cry.
"Ryou, what happened?" He called out, stepping towards said male.
Ryou chuckled nervously from underneath a pile of heavy-looking jewelry. "I kinda...knocked it over. Could you help me?"
"Be more careful next time!" Yugi ran to him and helped him up. "I don't want someone getting hurt."
"I'll be fine, Yugi. Don't worry." Ryou smiled and ruffled his hair, earning an annoyed huff.
"Oh, Ryou! I found something." Yugi grabbed his hand and led him to the same golden box he'd found before.
Ryou squinted, but stopped short as his eyes opened wide. "That's...that's the puzzle box, isn't it?"
"Ryou, you okay?" Joey and Malik walked in, unfazed by the noise. "There was nothing in those other rooms, so we decided to come back."
"I'm fine; I just accidentally knocked over some furniture." Ryou blushed pink in embarrassment.
"Really should be more careful, Ryou." Malik shook his head, an amused smile playing on his lips.
"Sh-shut up!" He cried. "Just open the box, Yugi."
The teen nodded, and as the box opened, a couple hearts dropped, some from disappointment, some from shock.
"It's..." Joey stared. "...Gold?"
"Not just any gold," Malik breathed. "It's the pieces to the Millennium Puzzle! Yugi, I thought you had this!"
"I thought I did, too! But I woke up a few mornings ago and it was gone." Yugi stared at it, trying to piece the puzzle together, so to speak. "Anyways, how'd you know just from looking at it?"
"Well, for one, you always wore that thing," Malik rolled his eyes with a grin. "and second, my father used to tell stories about many trying to find it and assemble it. Of course, either they died trying or failed and put it back."
Ryou nodded towards the pieces. "Try to solve it again, Yugi! It may not release a spirit like last time, but I'm sure something's bound to happen."
"Uh, okay." Yugi tried to shrug off the bad feeling he was getting just by looking at the pieces, sat on his knees, and picked some pieces out of the box.
The other three watched apprehensively, as Yugi slowly began to form the shape of the pyramid.
"Yugi, I'm impressed." Ryou complimented. "I've never seen anybody solve it in front of me before."
"Thanks." Yugi smiled, finally getting to the last pieces.
Just as he finished it, the floor began to shake and, after a moment, gave way beneath them, frantic screams echoing after them as they fell into the depths of the tomb.
Joey grasped Yugi's hand, eyes shut tight. "Hold onto each other, guys!"
As Yugi managed to get the puzzle around his neck once more, and grab Ryou's hand, his head hit the floor with such intensity that stars danced before his eyes, and, with his friends yelling at him, the world around him faded to black.
A/N: I apologize for all the impending puzzle puns. I swear, I didn't think of them as such when writing this! Anyways, please tell me what you thought, and I hope to see you next time!