Chapter 1: Only One May Enter
In the desert, a black horse and a cloaked rider waited. Then, from the west, came galloping another horse.
The horse stopped, and a rider with beetle-blue hair and round yellow glasses jumped off.
"You're late, Weevil," the cloaked rider whispered coldly.
"A thousand apologies, O patient one," Weevil replied in an insect-like voice that matched his looks.
"I will assume you have it, then?"
"I had to slit a few throats," Weevil smirked, "But I got it."
He held up a piece of gold that was shaped like half a scarab. The cloaked rider extended his hand for it, but Weevil held the piece out of his grip, shaking a finger at him.
"Ah, ah, ah," Weevil mocked, "The treasure…? OUCH!"
A parrot on the cloaked rider's shoulder had taken flight, snatching the gold piece out of Weevil's hand and into the cloaked rider's.
"Trust me, my adamant friend," the cloaked rider said quietly, reaching into his cloak, "You'll get what's coming to you."
"Awk! What's coming to you!" the parrot chirped on his shoulder.
The cloaked rider took out a mirrored piece of gold to the one he'd just taken from Weevil, and then fitted them together.
The newly fitted together scarab shone a bright yellow, before darting toward the sand dunes ahead, leaving a long gold trail flowing behind it.
"FOLLOW THE TRAIL!" the caped rider shouted, forcing his horse into a gallop to follow, and Weevil did the same.
At last, the trail ended, and the scarab split into two once more to bury themselves into a sand dune. The sand dune then started to become larger and larger, like flour making a cake rise, growing ears and a nose before opening up a giant mouth and eyes where the pieces of the scarab had been.
The sand dune was now a cave shaped like the head of a tiger.
"At last," whispered the cloaked rider, "After all my years of searching…the Cave of Wonders."
"Awk! Cave of Wonders," chirped the parrot on his shoulder.
"Ra Almighty," Weevil muttered.
"Now, remember," the cloaked rider got back on task and snapped at Weevil, "Bring me the Millennium Puzzle. The rest of the treasure is yours, but the Puzzle is mine."
Weevil smirked as he jumped off his horse. "Yeah, yeah, sure, sure…"
The insect-like thief started into the sand-formed mouth served entrance, when a gust of air from within the cave blew him backward into the sand dune.
The tiger-cave's mouth moved with the words, "Who disturbs my slumber?"
Weevil was shaking all over. At last, he was able to stammer, "I-it is I, Weevil…a h-humble thief-"
"Know this," the cave growled, "Only one may enter here: one who's worth lies far within…the diamond in the rough."Weevil looked back at the cloaked rider, as if to ask what to do.
"What are you waiting for?" spat the cloaked rider, "Get in there!"
Weevil turned back to the tiger-cave, looking like he'd rather eat live piranhas whole, but did as the rider said and stepped further into the cave.
Weevil took his first step onto the staircase leading down into the cave, and held his breath…
Nothing happened.
Weevil heaved a sigh of relief, which then turned into a scream of terror as the tiger-cave's jaws slammed shut, trapping him inside. The sand swirled around, as the tiger-cave began to fall back into the sand dune.
The two scarab pieces fell at the cloaked rider's feet, as the tiger's voice echoed, "Seek thee out the diamond in the rough…the diamond in the rough…diamond in the rough…"
The parrot from the cloaked rider's shoulder snatched the two scarab pieces in his feet, before flying up to drop them in the rider's hand."Weevil was obviously less than worthy," the rider said coolly.
"Oh, that's a big surprise," squawked the parrot sarcastically and out of his own accord, "Next you're going to say that humans will one day grow wings and fly…"
"Pegasus, that's not necessary," the cloaked rider snapped at the parrot coldly, "It's bad enough that I'm going to need to search for this 'diamond in the rough,' in order to get the Millennium Puzzle, I don't need to worry about your squawking too."
Pegasus chirped reproachfully. "Whatever, Kaiba. How are you supposing we'll find this diamond, huh?"
"Not sure yet," Kaiba admitted, "But I'm not letting anyone get that Puzzle except me."
"STOP, THIEF!"
A white-haired thief with a scar on his left cheek ran around the marketplace, trying to outrun a group of the royal guards.
'Ra,' he thought to himself, 'All this for a loaf of bread?'
He then noticed some ladies chatting and laughing at his antics.
The thief smirked. Sure, he usually liked guys, but girls weren't that bad either, particularly to flirt with.
"Morning, ladies," he greeted.
"Getting into trouble a little early today, aren't we, Bakura?" teased one of the eldest, named Mai.
"Trouble?" Bakura scoffed, "No way...you're only in trouble if you're caught-"
Suddenly, the Captain of the Guard, Kimo, grabbed his collar. "Gotcha!"
"And I'm in trouble," Bakura muttered.
But he wasn't for long, for down from a rooftop, landing on one vender's cart and then tackling Kimo came a tanned, white-blond haired Egyptian.
The Egyptian smirked at the befuddled Captain of the Guards.
"Care to dance?" he scorned, before whirling Kimo by his wrists straight into another vender's cart, making it crash on top of him.
"Let's scram, Bakura!" the Egyptian cued.
Bakura nodded, and the two thieves ran out of the marketplace, around some corners and up a few stairs to their little run-down apartment, hidden away from most and with the best view of the city you could wish for.
As they caught their breath, Bakura broke the bread in two and handed some to the Egyptian.
"That was perfect timing, Marik," he praised, "As usual."
Marik smirked. "I always have to save your ass, don't I?"
Bakura smirked back. "Seems that way…"
It was then that Bakura noticed that two pairs of eyes were peeking at them in the dark.
Bakura's eyes narrowed, and he growled, "Show yourself!"
Then, slowly, two children came out. One, a blond-haired boy, seemed to be trying to look after his little auburn-haired sister. Their eyes were lingering on the bread in Bakura and Marik's hands.
Bakura looked at Marik reproachfully. Marik glared back, before taking a big bite out of his piece of bread.
Bakura shook his head, before standing up and walking over to the little kids.
The kids shrank back. Not that Bakura blamed them; he knew he looked rather intimidating.
"Here."
He held out his piece of bread to them.
"Go on and take it. I can always get another."
The little boy meekly took the bread, smiling up at him in gratitude. He almost looked like a small puppy dog.
Bakura smiled in a very expressionless way, before heading out of his and Marik's little space and heading back into town.
Marik followed him. "Bakura, you're such a nimrod."
"I know," Bakura replied, "Damn this heart of mine; it always makes me starve for the night."
"Hey, look!" Marik pointed at a grand procession heading north through the streets.
"Wonder what's going on," muttered Bakura, "Let's find out, shall we?"
The two thieves ran into the crowd, and all around came whispers.
"On her way to the palace, I suppose-"
"-Another suitor for the Prince-"
"-I think she's Princess Tea of Syria-"
Bakura finally clawed through to the front to see a rather dressed-up young woman on top of a golden carriage being led in by two white horses. She had short brown hair being adorned by a crown, and blue eyes highly shined with gold. She also looked highly vain, as she was adoring herself in the mirror.
It was then the little girl darted toward the princess's carriage, her older brother trying to grab her back into the crowd.
"Serenity, no!" the boy cried, when the little girl tried to pet one of the horses.
The horses reared, the carriage stopped, and the mirror in the princess's hand fell to the ground and shattered.
"OUT OF MY WAY, YOU FILTHY BRATS!" the princess shouted, as her personal guards closed in around them and pointed their swords at them. The little girl clung to her brother in terror.
Bakura, in a justified fury, jumped in the middle of the pack of soldiers, grabbed all of their swords in one hand, and threw them into a building wall a few inches away.
"If I were as rich as you, lady, I could at least afford some manners," the thief snarled, pushing the kids back into the crowd and out of harm's way.
The princess looked insulted. "I'll teach you manners, you riffraff! Guards, handle him."
The princess's guards pushed Bakura, making him fall in a puddle of sand-like mud. The crowd laughed as Marik helped his friend up.
"You okay, man?" the Egyptian asked.
"Look at that, Marik!" crowed Bakura without paying attention, "It's not everyday you see a horse commanding its own carriage!"
There was an "Ooh," in the crowd, as Tea whirled around to look at him.
"You are a worthless street rat," the princess hissed, eyeing Bakura furiously, "You were born a street rat, you'll die a street rat, and only your fleas and your little sex-toy there will mourn you!"
Bakura, enraged on his friend being insulted, he ran over, ready to rip the princess limb-from-limb, but the door to the palace gates slammed in his face.
Bakura's eyes narrowed. "TAKE BACK WHAT YOU SAID! COME BACK AND FACE ME, YOU COWARDLY BITCH!"
Marik put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "C'mon, Bakura. Let's just go home."
Bakura looked at Marik for a minute, before sighing. "Alright."
And so the two thieves walked back to their little dig-in apartment, and went to sleep that night rather peacefully. But the next morning, the palace's fuss could have woken just about anyone.
