Okay, my second and slightly-higher priority fanfiction, the tentatively-named Paradox. Its name'll probably change in the future, but whatever. xD As a disclaimer, I'll state the obvious: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! or the characters.

Chapter One

Acquisition

ac-qui-si-tion: the act of acquiring or gaining possession.

Atemu's P.O.V.

Strings of moonlight streamed onto the glittering balcony like pale threads to a spider's web, drawing me out of my bed and onto its smooth surface.

I should have been sleeping.

It had been a long day, I thought idly as I leaned over the railing to stare at the city below. I wasn't pharaoh yet, but when my father died, I'd take be taking the throne, and I was already being trained for the day. There wasn't much physical work besides the fact that I could barely feel my wrists from the pages upon pages of writing I'd done that day. That, and the fact that the headache settling in my temple was unbearably heavy.

So, logically, sleep should have been my solstice. But why, then, was I out here?

It was just something about the night, with its tragically romantic aura as fluid moonlight glittered on marble like streams of diamonds. Perhaps it was just its peaceful quiet as even the chaotic city below was silent for a few precious moments, the only sound the constant murmur of the River and the whisper of the wind against sand.

I sighed and pulled the linen blanket tighter around my tanned shoulders as a breath of a breeze caressed me. I wasn't doing any good standing out there like some moron. Tomorrow there would be more training, and the day after that, and every day until my father died and the morbid waiting ended.

And then it would be the same damn things, only the test instead of the lesson.

For the rest of my life.

That dismal thought made me scowl and lean a little farther over the balustrade, eyes straining to make out a duo wandering through the maze of streets…

And suddenly there was the sharp nip of steel at my throat and an arm pinning my arms to my side, a form pressing against mine and another's hot breath in my ear. I let out an involuntary gasp.

"So, you're the so-called King of Games, eh? Well, I have a new game for you, Prince. The rules are simple: make a sound and you lose. Stay silent and I won't gut you like a pig. Understand?"

There was someone holding a knife to my throat.

They could kill me in a second.

How had they gotten in? Why were they here? The questions were as endless as grains of sand. What was going to happen to me…?

"I said, understand?"

I nodded as best as I could, cringing away from the blade subconsciously. I could feel my captor laughing, but he made no sound until he murmured, "Good. I thought you were smarter than you looked." I couldn't tell anything from the voice except that he was around the same age as me, maybe two or three years older. How did an eighteen or nineteen year old man break into the palace? We had the best guards in the country, for Ra's sake. "Just do whatever I say and I'm sure you'll be just fine." He didn't move a muscle.

"Now," the stranger muttered, "Put your hands behind your back, wrists together." I complied, hands shaking a little as I felt rope knot around them.

He released my throat and arms for a few seconds, neatly tearing a strip off the blanket around my shoulders and forcing it through my jaws; I almost choked on it as he tore and wrapped another strip of linen around my mouth. A gag. Apparently, he didn't trust me to follow the rules of his so-called game.

And if I wasn't paralyzed, I would have shouted for help a long time ago.

"Pity, really." He murmured, releasing me a moment as he presumably rummaged through his pockets. "I'd have thought the high and mighty heir would put up a little fight, at leas--"

He never completed that statement, as I brought my heel as hard as I could down on his bare foot and ran.

I stumbled back inside, shoes clicking against the stone at a desperate pace as I made a mad dash towards the hallway at the mouth of the room. If I could make it into the hallway, there were two or three guards that could easily dispatch the stranger… but why hadn't they captured him when he surely passed him?

A low, sinister chuckle echoed behind me; I glanced behind me and caught a glimpse of my attempted kidnapper; he was built muscularly, yet lithely, like a leopard lurking in the jungle shadows. He stood still, appearing relaxed as he watched my retreat. He was tan, and though it was hard to tell in the silvery moonlight, he had been baked brown under the desert sun. A long scar marred the right side of his face, but what stood out most was the shock of ragged white hair that almost went down to his shoulders. A leopard playing with his prey.

The man laughed once again, throwing his head back in savage glee; I tried to shout around the gag and almost choked instead, stumbling over my own sandals as I skidded through the first hallway. In that doorway ahead would be another hallway, one with guards –

I'm not quite sure how it happened. He probably grabbed my forearm and simply pulled. Maybe he did the same thing with a handful of hair instead. Either way, I barely had a second to comprehend the crack of my head against the tile, no time to sense the pain.

---

Bakura's POV

I stared down at the fallen 'prince', expression easily shifting from mirth to disgust. I'd barely touched him, and he was already unconscious… on the other hand, it was easier to deal with a comatose spoiled brat than a conscious one.

I scowled, lightly grabbed him and threw him over my shoulder like a sack of rotting potatoes; he was surprisingly light for all the feasts stuffed his face with. I'd come in through the balcony originally – its walls had been difficult to scale, but no real challenge – and incapacitated the guards directly outside his quarters, but there was a swarm just outside that hallway that could have easily heard his fall.

I darted back into his bed chambers, hurrying onto the balcony; I moved without a sound, not by design but by habit. Now, to go down… This part of the plan wasn't as carefully planned out as the entrance, but it would be easy enough. I slipped over the balcony rails – almost dropping the little bugger on my way – crawling down the face of the palace, easy as a spider, occasionally pulling the prince back into his pace as he slipped. It was easy to find steps scattered out on the wall… next part of the way out was a little more difficult, but still nothing for the Thief King.

After about ten minutes, I'd left the King of Egypt's palace with his heir.

That just said something about their security.

---

I found my horse tied exactly where I'd left it, dozing off in the coat of moonlight that fit it like a second skin. I tossed the prince over its hindquarters, fumbled with the post it was tied to, and climbed onto its back, pulling my new prisoner in front of me and slapped the beast of burden. It didn't need a second reminder – it was almost as eager as I was to escape this hive.

After we were a mile or two out of the city and into the dunes, we slowed to a steady trot. I roughly undid the prince's gag – wouldn't want the bastard to choke, now would we? – but he was still unconscious. Must've hit his head harder than I thought.

Hour passed.

Another half.

I was tense, my fingers automatically curling into claws as I considered my position. I had kidnapped the Prince of Egypt. The price on his head – and mine, for that matter – would grow rapidly. I smirked at that; a thief was to be heard about and not seen. Without a little infamy, life would get boring. I'd probably kill him and dump his body in the river once he annoyed me enough, so no real consequence there if the weeks stretched on.

Still, if I was caught, I had a slow, painful death ahead of me. It was nothing more than a high-risk game, really.

This could be fun.

I heard a quiet whimper and glanced down with annoyance; he was still asleep, but his expression was pained. What…? And then I noticed that my ragged nails were digging into his stomach through his shirt. I scowled, readjusted my grip so that he had his back to me, and licked the smatterlings of blood off my fingers. It was sharp, tangy, a little salty, a bit thick.

Another half an hour passed before he finally stirred. He tried to pull apart his bound wrists like he was stretching, and then paused when he found they were bound. I carelessly shifted him so that I we half faced each other, smirking at his perplexed, pained expression. He opened his mouth, but his tongue didn't obey: all I heard was a strangled slur of syllables. "Wherrwegoin?"

"Where are we going?" I repeated, snorting. "To Thieves' Oasis, where the wine flows like water and coins fall like rain."

He still looked bewildered, trying to pull away from we weakly, eyes still as sleepy and puzzled as a bat in the sun. I scowled and pulled him straight, readjusting my grip yet again so that my nails dug into his chest. This dissuaded him from moving, and within moments he'd fallen asleep yet again.

Pathetic. Just pathetic.

Still, the words sounded good, and I repeated them softly to myself, a, mantra for luck and safe journey. "Thieves' Oasis, where the wine flows like water and coins fall like rain… Thieves' Oasis, Thieves' Oasis…"

It was the closest I had to home, after all.

Song playing at time of finish: Icky Thump by the White Stripes and Blood by My Chemical Romance
Egyptian God of the Chapter: Horus - son of Isis and the deceased Osiris, Horus is the Egyptian god of the sky, of the sun, and of war. He represents the pharaoh, and is shown as a falcon or a man with the head of a falcon. Go read Wikipedia.

I'm not above requesting reviews. xD

Currently working on the next chapter,

Incorrectly Captioned