Hello. An explanation for this is in order.

If anyone has checked my profile recently, they would see that 'Wings of Ivory' is basically discontinued. I can't resurrect it like I'm doing with 'Hold on to Time,' and I'm not going to insult my readers by simply hashing out something that I can't make decent. If anyone is interested in taking it over, send me a message.

As I mentioned in my profile note, I have been writing a pet project to motivate my writing. The talented Like Stars in Twilight has been reading it over for me, and if you end up enjoying this you really ought to go read her story, 'The Son of Day' because it is epic. It is everything cool and original that a YGO vampire AU could ever be. Even if you don't like vampire AUs, you should read it. It's good.

That being said, this story is in some ways similar, but it is my own story. It's rather weird; both of us were sending chapters at about the same time, and sometimes they had things in common. Personally, I think this is because we like similar vampire stories and are not terribly fond of 'Twilight,' and we agree on several points of fan fiction. Anyway.

Warnings to the readers:

-No yaoi or sexual content. There will be mentions of kissing, being in love, slight undescribed nudity (you'll understand when you get there) and occasional vampiric creepiness, but there is nothing in this that could possibly rise beyond a T rating. And that's for safety in dealing with violence. There will be warm moments and romantic ones, but nothing else. And while it may seem odd, there will be no yaoi/yuri/shonen ai/shojo ai. None. Not at all. There will be characters of the same gender that love each other insanely, but it is not sexual in nature. Please do not read that into it.

-Ancient Egypt, vampires, modern Atem. I feel as if I'm committing a Yu-Gi-Oh sin or something. There will be a variety of pairings, all het, but I can't tell you too much without giving away the story. I will warn you that it is mainly revolutionshipping - one-sided for a very long time. Yes, I know Teana is not canon. Yes, I know Ancient Egypt fics that feature her are sometimes...goofy, for lack of better words. And yes, YGO vampire AUs are notorious for being OOC, weird, and often hackneyed. However, I am of the opinion that if something can be uniquely written and done well, it is worth writing. If you don't like it, feel free to not read it. But kindly refrain from comments such as, "Another stupid vampire AU, you suck," as it is juvenile, rude, and silly. Constructive criticism is welcomed, but keep on a civil level please. We all have room for improvement.

And anyone telling me that vampires and Ancient Egypt together are dumb will be pointed to the fact that the YGO characters summon monsters that become part of a children's card game to battle each other in Ancient Egypt. In other words, it's fiction. Lighten up.

-Blood. Vampires. These things go together. Violence and scary things. I'm sure you can all handle it, but I just wanted to mention it.

-Religious references. While I will not wax preachy, I am a Christian and there will be references to Christianity, and in Ancient Egypt, Judaism. I know Yu-Gi-Oh is not a Christian story. I am not going to warp it into something it is not. But since vampire legends of the European sort do deal with Christianity in some ways - crosses, holy water, etc. - it seems very reasonable to include such things. If you can't handle a Christian quote, phrase, character, or idea, you are warned.

-Updating. I don't know how often I'll update. If this is met poorly, I probably won't. And again, it will not interfere with me updating 'Hold on to Time.' I am already ten pages into the next chapter of that, but that chapter will take a while considering it is going to be very large. This story will likely grow even bigger than that one if it is met well - perhaps into three large stories, actually - but I will finish 'Hold on to Time.'

-Wings of Ivory. It won't finish. At least, I won't do the finishing. Consider this an apology, and something else to read. This will be similar to 'Wings of Velvet' in some ways, but as it progresses it will deviate further and further. Give it a shot, and don't send hate messages. This is only the prologue, and it will move faster as the chapters come up.

Without further ado, please enjoy my latest labor of love; the beginning of 'Sudden Hope'.

Thanks, Anzu Fan

Yu-Gi-Oh! is the property of Kazuki Takahashi, and any other franchises mentioned - ex: Twilight - are owned respectively by their creators/publishers. I'm just having fun and writing, and sadly make no monetary profit from any of it. This is dedicated to my dear friend, Like Stars in Twilight, who has been supportive and helpful throughout my recent issues. Here's to you.

"And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil."

John 3:19

1352 B.C.

Approximately 1,300 miles from Luxor.

Rays of light were slipping through the stars, lighting the sandy earth and rocky crags. The tips of the cliffs were lit softly, like parchment beside a hearth, catching only after several moments of waiting. It would be an hour before the land was saturated in gold. But down inside the massive cliffs, inside the canyons, they lived without fear of the sun. If they remained here, only the few minutes of sunlight at noon could possibly harm them, burning overhead in the glorious dark.

To them, a blessing. To their prey, just an additional curse.

Kisara looked at the girl, then back up to the cool gaze of the master. "You wish me to train her?"

"She will not respond to me. I do not have the patience to explain to her. Therefore, you will." His eyes narrowed. "Do I make myself clear?"

Kisara watched the young woman, who was staring up at her, heaving with fear. At Kisara's glance, she whimpered, and clapped her palms to her neck. Her lips were bleeding, raw from being bitten with new fangs, teeth that didn't belong in a human mouth. Clasping fingers wrought damage on her scalp, furrowing her new claws into the flesh beneath her hair.

Heart aching with pity, Kisara wished to wipe the dirty hair out of her face, and to take the poor girl out of this wretched hole of sculpted stone.

In the black of the master's room, tapestries dangled from the wall, the red thread reminiscent of entrails. The thick smell of the human blood the girl had so recently shed stained Kisara's nostrils.

"Of course. I understand." Kisara knelt to examine the girl, who covered her face and sobbed in helpless fear. It took a great deal not to wrap her wings around her, to comfort her. "You took her from a nearby village and turned her here, master?" she added, false reverence chilling her teeth and heating her throat.

"Yes. She seemed young and healthy, and she is not completely unfortunate-looking. I felt she might make a suitable candidate. As she was alone, it seemed prudent to go after her."

"I see." Kisara stood up, and watched as her master dragged the girl up by the arm. The sobs intensified, and as the girl cringed, Kisara took her wrist, and said, "I will train her. She'll be ready for hunting in a week."

Kisara's voice was soft, but his eyes glittered; it was hard to tell if he felt her hatred.

000

"So…we're dead, but we're not dead?" She picked up her cup, and – closing her eyes and holding her breath – drank a little of its dark fluid.

"A simplistic explanation, but basically true. It was a curse, and it has spread, as I told you, through the blood."

Teana had been the girl's name. Kisara had coaxed her into coming to her home –one of the rooms high in the canyon, where the wind grazed the stone – and drawn a bath for her. The bath and fire of her little abode seemed to help the girl, Kisara observed, selecting a comb of wood from the little box she kept in her washroom, clutching the figure of the bat carved into its edge.

With Teana's head over the washing basin, she poured water over her hair, watching as the blood trailed lightly from the edges, tainting the water. Mixing oils and chalks together, she rubbed the odd concoction into the girl's hair, and rinsed it several times. She was careful around the cuts Teana's claws had gouged into the sensitive flesh of her head.

It had been from one of the temples of Hera that Teana had been taken. Her parents had sent her there to be blessed, hoping their prayers would aid their daughter in finding a suitable husband.

Kisara imagined their anguished faces when they realized their daughter was never coming back, and closed her eyes, shutting in a whirlwind of images.

"And…we drink blood?" Teana's cup of said substance sat by Kisara's knee.

"Yes. We need it to survive. Once a night is best, but less often is feasible. We cannot go more than a few days without…consequences.

She tapped Teana's shoulder, and when she sat up, Kisara began to comb her hair. Now that it was clean, it was much lighter and prettier. It went past her shoulders, but only a little. The comb went through with difficulty. Her movements were exceedingly delicate in picking out the tangles and snarls.

The priestesses of Hera had not known. Teana had been in one of the chambers within the temple, and had thus been easy, solitary prey for a master of stealth.

"That's why that white-haired man bit me?"

"That was our leader, Bakura. He is very powerful, and you would be wise not to cross him. I am only surprised he selected you to drink from his veins." Perhaps he had sensed she would be useful. Perhaps he was simply a deranged monster. Kisara favored the latter.

"And turned me into a…whatever we are?"

"Precisely." The comb's slipping, flowing sounds were the only ones heard for several minutes.

"Do we…" she faltered.

"Yes?" Kisara prompted, putting the comb aside and handing her the cup. Teana stared at it, and wrapped her towel more securely around her chest.

"Do we…have to take blood from people?"

Kisara gave her a long, considering look. Glancing at the window, she got up, and put a curtain in front of it, and took Teana's hand, leading her into the next room. She motioned her to sit on the edge of the bed, and Teana obeyed, curiously.

"I am going to tell you something you must never reveal to anyone, if you value your life. Do you understand?" Kisara asked, eyes searching Teana's face. When she nodded – albeit fearfully – Kisara continued, "I do not drink the blood of man. I drink the blood of cattle, sheep, coyotes…anything other than human blood. I do not take the life of man when that of a beast will suffice. The blood in that cup is that of a camel."

Teana looked at her cup, and seemed very relieved. "That's good. I was scared…wait." She looked at Kisara's eyes, scrutinizing as Kisara moved to the fire, adding a little wood to it. The room was small, and required only a few paces for Kisara to reach the hearth. "Why is that a secret?"

Kisara's hair flamed gold and red in the light as she looked up. "Because the others are not like us – they take pleasure from the blood of men. And if they found that we were such traitors to the creed of murder they pursue, they would kill us, like the weaklings they think we are. You must promise to never speak of this secret, if you wish to continue breathing."

Teana nodded, fearfully, and Kisara smiled wanly as the girl got up and buried her face in her shoulder, seeking comfort from this strange and frightening new existence.

It was in that moment the two became friends, and Teana's new life – if you could call it that - started.

But that's only half of the story.

Modern day

Domino City

"In the past few weeks, there have been reports of unusual creatures in the night sky. We've yet to get any footage, however, the supposed eye-witnesses claim that the creatures are, in fact, people with wings."

Somebody off screen seemed to say something. The anchor glanced to the side and grinned, and his lips could be seen mouthing, "No, Bigfoot hasn't been sighted yet, but they're looking." He returned his gaze to the camera. "Many are questioning whether hysteria has tainted the evidence, or are even going so far as to call the entire thing an elaborate hoax. Others claiming the appearance of these odd creatures herald the apocalypse."

The screen cut to an older woman with watery eyes and peppery hair, wrinkles deep and dark on her face. She seemed to be sitting on a porch, looking at a dapper interviewer. "I was just sitting here last night when I saw two people fly by. One of them had long, flowing hair," she said softly, eyes never wavering. "I think they were women. The one with the long hair seemed to glow, and she looked like an angel. I thought she might be coming to take me on-"

The television went black, and the shopkeeper inside flipped the cardboard sign from 'Yes, We're Open!' to 'Sorry, We're Closed!' The man turned away from the window, disappearing into the dark of the shop.

Atem blinked in the sudden absence of light. He wasn't sure what to make of the strange news break.

The street lights were coming on, and a few shops were switching on the lights intermittently along the street. One car drove by, sending litter across the sidewalk where he stood. He stepped back, watching the papers for a moment, before he put his hands in his pockets and began walking along his original path.

Crazy people saw things all the time, but he would have been a liar if he claimed that he thought such things were impossible. Improbable in the extreme, sure, but "impossible" was a strong word. It was the fact that the news had reported on something so strange that had stopped him. It hadn't been a slow news week - the billionaire CEO, Gozaburo Kaiba, had committed suicide, leaving his sixteen-year-old son, Seto Kaiba, to inherit the massive establishment. There were already rumblings about how the boy was converting the military company into a gaming corporation. There were also whispers about Seto having a hand in his father's untimely demise. Atem wondered if the rumors had any merit. He'd seen the boy in passing, often buried in a laptop or Nietzsche compendium, but while he seemed to be a jerk, he didn't look like a murderer. And yet people were saying he'd been the catalyst for Gozaburo's plummet from his meeting through the skyscraper window.

And yet the news had found time to report about the appearance of strange creatures? It didn't make much sense. Maybe they were afraid people would hear rumors before learning what the "experts" thought, and panic. Or perhaps they thought it was funny, like when hicks blathered on about how Bigfoot had popped up and left a footprint. A distraction from the depressing suicide accounts.

The smells of nearby restaurants wafted by, temptingly, and he paused for another moment. His mother wouldn't be home for another two hours, and he wasn't sure if his grandfather had picked up any groceries. Yuugi would be at home, studying, and possibly hungry.

Atem checked his pocket, wondering if he had the money to pick up something on the way. Other than a few hundred yen pieces, nothing met his fingers. Smiling ruefully, he started moving again. He'd have to see what they could scrounge up at home, if Grandpa hadn't already made something.

The Game Shop's earnings were meager as it was, but if Kaiba's company really did turn to gaming for its money, the shop would never last. Kaiba Corp had billions of yen behind it to create new games and perfect the old ones; no one would be interested in a rundown, antique gaming shop. The thought depressed him, but there was nothing that could be done about it.

The sky was clear and warm, stars popping out from the dark. With that sight, all thoughts of the Game Shop faded.

Were there strange creatures out there, really? Or was it all simply the ravings of the insane and attention-seeking?

Atem shook his head, and continued walking home. It didn't really matter.

As he walked, he never looked up in time to see a white figure with dark red hair and slotted yellow eyes smile vaguely, eying him. And he didn't see it open horrible red wings to bear itself away in the dark, moonless sky.

Review and let me know what you think, please. Thank you for reading.