So, yeah, I'm starting a second chaptered fic. Possibly not the most sensible thing to do, but this idea would not leave me alone, so here it is! This is my first try at citronshipping XD It's set underground in Ancient Egypt, and I have done something weird with the Ishtars. You'll see. It isn't very canon, but I liked the idea so thought I'd try it out - I hope it doesn't irritate anyone too much :S Anyway, I'll shut up and let you read. Enjoy! - Jem

Edit: I just made some changes to the end of the chapter, to try and make it flow better and to stop it from ending so abruptly. Also, Yami Marik (previously called Melvin in this fic) now takes the awesome name 'Kek' - Miss Macabre Grey came up with that name and I love it!

"Hurry!"

Marik ran as fast as he could, tearing down the dark passages with the bag bumping against his back, desperately following the sound of his brother's heavy footsteps. They had to get away. As far as Marik could tell, three guards were on their trail, but there were most likely more following. Damn! They'd never been caught like this before!

Reaching a crossroads, the brothers took one look at each other before pelting in opposite directions. At least if the guards split, one brother would only have one to evade. Listening closely, Marik cursed when he heard two pairs of footsteps pounding after him. At least Odion should get away...

Skidding through the dark dirt passages he rounded a corner, narrowly missing a wall. Drawing shallow desperate breaths he could feel his legs shaking, his hands loosening their grip on the bag. He knew he would have to stop soon, but where? He was still miles from their hideout! Taking stock of his surroundings he noticed there were several darker passageways leading away from the main walkway he was currently using – he figured slipping into one of them might give him enough cover for the guards to miss him. Making a split second decision – mostly influenced by the footsteps of the guards drawing ever closer – he turned abruptly and headed down one of the small alleys to his left, squeezing himself into a narrow crack. Holding his breath and trying to calm his racing heartbeat he pressed himself against the wall, holding the bag still in front of him, praying to all the Gods that the guards would pass quickly. He heard their footsteps slowing in the passageway and cursed under his breath.

"You know, if you don't want to be noticed, you might want to keep a little more quiet."

Marik jumped, shocked at the silent voice that breathed into his ear. The bag flew out of his hands, landing with a clatter in the alleyway.

The guards' footsteps halted in the passage outside. A gruff voice called out "Did you hear that?"

Marik snatched the bag up again and turned back to the wall, only to be faced with a stranger leering at him out of the shadows. "What do you think you're doing?" He hissed angrily. "I'm trying not to get caught!"

The stranger only rolled light purple eyes before taking his hand and tugging him deeper into the alley. "Come with me and you won't."

Marik reluctantly allowed himself to be tugged away, moving silently on his feet with the bag tucked close to his body. The sound of faltering footsteps behind them made Marik pick up the pace, now dragging the stranger along behind him until he felt the hand disappear from his own. Turning back with a frown, he realised he was once again on his own.

Well, almost.

There was a flickering that rather resembled the light from torches at the other end of the alley, and Marik shrank into the shadows, pressing himself to the wall as much as possible. The bag rattled slightly with his movements and he cursed silently again, berating himself. That's what you get for trusting a random stranger, I suppose. Congratulations, Marik. It'll be a miracle if you get home in one piece tonight.

The torches edged closer slowly and Marik desperately looked around, searching for a hidden crack, or entrance, or something that would at least conceal him for a while. That stranger must have disappeared to somewhere, after all...unless Marik was just hallucinating. It had been a good while since his last decent meal. Just as he was on the verge of stepping out of hiding and trying to fight his way past the guards – there were only two, after all – he felt a hand grip his wrist again, and that silent voice breathed "Idiot, did you want to get caught? Now follow me, and don't get lost this time!"

Not having many other options, Marik decided the best thing to do would be to follow him.

They raced back along the dark passage, and Marik noticed with horror they were headed towards the guards. "What..." he began but shut up when he sensed a glare from his odd companion. Instead, just as they were getting dangerously close to those torches, he was tugged to their right and back down another tiny alley, the entrance so small that Marik had completely missed it the first time. The stranger shoved him into the wall, holding him in place, though it wasn't like Marik could have moved much due to the miniscule amount of space in the crack. "Now, if you want to live a little longer I suggest you shut up and stay put," the stranger breathed to him, pinning him with a light purple stare. Marik blinked once and nodded slightly, deciding not to put up a fight until the guards had gone. He didn't know what this man's game was, but he was willing to cooperate for now – he had probably just saved his life, after all.

The torches edged past the entrance to the crack without giving it so much as a second glance, but its two inhabitants still waited until they were long gone and far out of sight, back into the maze of alleys. Marik let out a breath he didn't realise he'd been holding when the stranger stepped away, pulling them both out of the crack and back into the passage. Marik turned curiously to the stranger, who just shook his head. "Not here. Come with me."

Marik frowned. "Why?"

A brief smirk flitted across his face. "I have something you want."

"What..." Suddenly Marik realised. The bag, the reason he had got into this mess in the first place, was no longer in his hands.

No. It was slung over the cloaked shoulder of the strange man in front of him.

Marik cursed loudly. "What do you want with that?"

The smirk just widened on the other's face. "I could ask you the same thing."

"What? Why? It's mine, so you just give it right back now and I'll be on my way, thanks!" Marik was fuming. No one ever got the better of him like this!

The stranger turned on his heel. "Oh, I don't think I want to do that." He started walking down the passage, the opposite way to Marik's hideout, but it wasn't like he had much choice.

Letting out a stream of curses, Marik followed him.

The stranger just laughed.

Odion separated from his younger brother and tore away towards the hideout, listening desperately to the sound of the guard's footsteps behind him. Thankfully, he heard only one set following him. Although it meant Marik would be in more trouble, Marik was also the faster runner, and if Odion was forced to admit it, he knew his younger brother was much smarter than him too. Following the twists and turns of the maze of passages he knew so well it didn't take him long to lose the guard, leading him in a roundabout route until he lost his sense completely and gave up the chase. Pleased that he hadn't had to resort to violence, Odion headed back to the hideout slowly, cursing himself silently when he realised that he only had petty treasures from the site. The truly powerful possessions were with Marik, in his bag. Too late to go back now – Odion could only trust to his brother's abilities, and pray that he was safe.

It didn't take him long to reach the entrance to the hideout, concealed artfully amongst the dark dirt passageways of the underground complex. It was used by many thieves, but Odion's adopted clan – the Ishtars – were one of the biggest currently operating. There were only five of them left, but they still held respect amongst the other small bands of rag-tag criminals that frequented these tunnels. Stepping through the entrance he was instantly greeted by small hands winding themselves around his waist. "Odion!"

He grinned, gently removing the hands and drawing the small body back. "Hello, Namu."

The blonde boy grinned cheekily up at him. "Have a good trip? And where's Marik? Did he get caught? He's such a big idiot, he's always getting followed or chased or..."

"Namu, hush," came a stern female voice, and Ishizu stepped out of the shadows, smiling at Odion before turning back to Namu. "Go find Kek and get him out here. We need to talk."

The small boy scampered off and Ishizu turned to her adopted brother. "Where is Marik? Is he alright?"

Odion shook his head. "I don't know, to be honest. We got chased so we separated. I shook off my guard but he had two on him."

Ishizu bit her lip. "Will he be..."

Odion took her arm. "Don't worry about it. You know Marik, he'll find a way out. He'll be back here before sunrise, I bet you."

Ishizu managed a small smile as Namu returned, tugging Kek along behind him. The huge Egyptian rolled his eyes when he saw Odion was alone. "What's that idiot gone and done now?"

"Kek!" Ishizu remonstrated as Namu giggled happily. "Be nice!"

"Why?" Kek flopped down onto one of the straw seats in a corner of the hideout, stretching his legs out in front of him. "It's his fault. He never just manages to get a job done, does he? No, he always has to go off and get himself in trouble."

Odion shook his head, smiling slightly. "We were both surprised by three guards. We separated, and he got two following him. I lost mine pretty quickly and came straight back here, and he'll be back too, you'll see."

"He'd better be, cos he's got the Items, right?"

Ishizu frowned at Kek. "How do you know that?"

"Well, it's pretty obvious Odion doesn't have them." Kek grimaced slightly when Namu clambered onto his lap and started playing with his hair. "So stands to reason Marik's the lucky one this time. Namu, gerroff."

The child just laughed and pulled harder on the spiky blonde strands. Kek winced.

Odion rolled his eyes at the pair before turning back to Ishizu. "Anything to eat around here?"

Marik hesitantly followed the stranger through the twisting alleys, cursing his stupidity at losing his grip on the bag. He had lost track of where he was at about the sixth turn, so now not only was he trapped with someone he didn't know, if he did manage to escape he would have no idea of how to get back to his hideout. Great. This day was just getting better and better.

The stranger stopped abruptly in front of him and Marik walked straight into his back. "Ow!"

The stranger merely snorted. "Oh hush. We're here."

"Fabulous," Marik muttered darkly, looking around. "And where exactly is 'here'?"

He caught a glimpse of a smirk on the dark stranger's face. "Oh, you'll see. I think you'll be impressed."

"Not very likely..." Marik trailed off when the stranger brushed aside some of the dirt on the wall of the tunnel, revealing a concealed button which he then pressed. The whole side of the tunnel shifted, sliding to the right and revealing an entrance to a large, lavish chamber covered in drapes and glinting attractively. Marik's mouth fell open as he followed the stranger inside, barely noticing the secret door shut behind him.

All of the walls were shining with gold.

Precious stones the size of his head littered the corners, mountains of priceless jewellery were tossed carelessly in piles around the chamber, and from the ceiling hung various drapes of expensive cloth, casting weird shadows around the otherwise well-lit chamber. The stranger grinned at Marik's expression. "I said you would be impressed."

"Well, yeah, but I didn't believe you..." Marik barely thought of what he was saying as he stared around. "...You must be some thief. Where's the rest of your clan?"

The other's tone was neutral when he replied. "Non-existent. It's just me."

Marik sent him a disbelieving look. "Just you."

"Yes."

"Responsible for stealing all of this."

"Yes. Well, mostly. I inherited some of it."

Marik raised his eyebrows. "Rich boy, were you?"

"...Something like that."

Marik shook his head, turning away to regard the wonders of the chamber again. "No way you got all this on your own. Most of this stuff looks like it belongs in a Pharaoh's tomb, for crying out loud!"

He was met with silence, and turned back to see an amused expression light his companion's face. Marik's jaw dropped. "...No way. You do not steal from a Pharaoh's tomb."

The stranger made no reply other than to smirk.

Marik shook his head. "No way. That's impossible."

"Not impossible, no." The stranger lifted a brow before turning away, unconsciously giving Marik an opportunity to study him. His skin was darkly tanned, more so than Marik's, which contrasted strongly with his white hair and light purple eyes. Marik noticed a scar under his right eye, and was about to ask about it when the stranger spoke first.

"Now, why don't you tell me what you were doing stalking my tunnels in the dead of night holding two of the Millennium Items?"

Marik's jaw fell open. "How do you..."

He merely smirked. "I have my ways. Now answer me quickly, before I lose my patience. Gods know you've already tried it enough today."

Marik crossed his arms irritably. "Why would I answer your questions? Just give me back the bag – it belongs to me rightfully."

The stranger snorted. "Oh, come now. We're both thieves. I doubt there's anything in this world that is rightfully yours."

"Just give me my bag."

"No." The stranger stepped away as Marik tried to grab for it, throwing it away so it hit the wall with a thud. As Marik moved to pick it up the stranger blocked his path, eyeing him dangerously. That cool voice said "Don't make any move to get it back."

Furiously, Marik stood upright and met the stranger's fearsome gaze; he was stalking Marik with a feline grace. "Just who the hell do you think you are?"

The stranger sighed loudly. "Will you just answer my question already? Or did you not want to get home tonight?"

Marik rolled his eyes at the thinly veiled threat. "If you must know, those Items rightfully belong to us."

He raised one white eyebrow. "Us?"

Marik nodded. "My clan. They were taken from us years ago, and now we want them back. Problem?"

The stranger seemed to muse over this information, one fingertip on his chin. "Your clan, you say? And which clan would that be? With your purple eyes and blonde hair, I'm guessing...you would be an Ishtar?"

Marik started slightly. "How did you..."

The stranger waved him away. "It isn't important. What is curious is that you choose to take them back now..."

"What business is that of yours?" Marik watched him carefully, placing one hand on his hip.

The stranger smirked at him. "It is solely my business, Ishtar."

Marik scoffed, frown decorating his features. "What exactly is your problem?"

"You are stealing my items, and I want to know why. So if you would..."

Marik interrupted him angrily. "What right have you got to drag me in here and quiz me on my motives? I've never seen you before, and I know most of the thieves operating in this area..."

He was silenced by a raised hand. "Hush. I am not easy to find. Tell no one of what you see here today, understand?"

Marik frowned at him. The stranger returned his look coldly. "Now, back to the Items...you're right. Due to your family's history, you do have more of a claim to them than most, so I will allow you to have them for now. But I will be expecting them back sometime in the near future. Look out for me, Ishtar."

Marik gaped. "You're...seriously just going to give them back to me? Do you even know what they are?"

That seemed to anger the white-haired thief, as he advanced towards Marik with a growl. "Do not attempt to patronise me, child. I know more about the Items than you could ever hope to." The venom in his voice sent Marik stumbling back a step, which only served to make the stranger chuckle darkly. "You're learning, Ishtar. Now, I am going to give you the Items, but you must watch and guard them with your life, and when I come and ask for them, you will give them back to me without complaint. You would do well to obey my commands." The stranger eyed him for a moment longer before stepping aside and sweeping an arm in a broad arc, indicating the bag still lying in a corner. "So take them, Ishtar, and I will see you very soon." With one last hard stare, the stranger whirled and disappeared into the shadows in the back of the room. Marik heard a click and a whir, and the cold voice said "Make sure you shut the door on your way out. And remember, not a word to anyone about this, because I will know, and I will find you." Then he was gone, and all was silent once more.

Marik stared after him in shock. What the hell just happened? He ... he is seriously giving me the Items? But, why? Who was he? Cautiously, Marik made his way over to the back corner where the strange thief had just disappeared, running tanned hands over the smooth surface of the walls. He felt nothing but loose dirt and clods of soil. There must be another hidden chamber...Shaking his head in surprise, Marik turned and retrieved his bag from the corner of the room, glad to have the comforting weight of the items in his hands again. He cast another look around the incredible chamber, eyes gleaming at all the gold and jewels just shining, there for the taking. Oh, what the hell. Bending down, Marik scooped up a couple of other golden treasures from the chamber for good measure. Well, that stranger did leave me on my own in a room full of riches. What did he honestly think was going to happen?

Once he had filled his pockets with a few worthwhile-looking trinkets, Marik exited the chamber the same way they had entered, finding his way back through the winding passages as best he could. It didn't take as long as he thought it would to finally be back somewhere he recognised, and so he turned his feet homewards, back towards the hideout of the Ishtar clan. No doubt Odion would already be there, filling them in on his misadventures, and he'd have to have something to tell them. The last words of the strange white-haired thief rang true – he would know if Marik revealed his whereabouts, and for him to have stolen (and managed to keep hold of) so many riches he mustn't be afraid of murder. Marik decided that in general, it was probably safer to keep his mouth shut.

Something was telling him it wouldn't be long before he saw the white-haired thief again.

So yeah, that's the first chapter XD I made Kek and Namu entirely separate entities from Marik because I wanted him to have a proper 'clan' without his parents involvement, so I really hope that hasn't bugged anyone too much. :S Next chapter hopefully out tomorrow, depending on how much typing I get done. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed! - Jem