Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! All OCs belong to me and you may not use them for anything without permission. Please respect that :)

A/N: So, hopefully, you have stuck around long enough to read this chapter. Either that or, you were at least intrigued enough to find out more. Well, I hope you will enjoy the story in its entirety and can be patient regarding my erratic updating. For what it's worth, writing through this person's *pulls the Pharaoh over* POV is a major pain in the arse. I hope he is not OOC at all! Now then, enjoy!

Atem's POV:

Hurriedly my feet flew down the street, one hand covering my nose and mouth against the stench. Everywhere I turn, my ears fall prey to the anguished cries of my people. I can do nothing to stop their pleas or to help them. "My King, please help me!" "Pharaoh, save us!" "Pharaoh, do something! We beg of you!" "Why aren't you helping us?" "What have we done to deserve this punishment?" "Pharaoh!" "Pharaoh!" "Pharaoh!"

Faster and faster I run, hoping to escape the pleas, the accusations, and the hopelessness of it all. My people need me; my people are…dying… My heels dug into the dirt so suddenly I flew forward, landing on all fours. I became so quickly overcome with sorrow and anger that everything seemed to stop. What am I supposed to do? What can I do? I am just one man…No! I cannot think like that. I cannot allow myself to give up; my people need me to be strong when they cannot. They need me to be their hope. Without a second thought, I pushed myself to my feet and took off once more. Where am I going? What am I doing? Out of nowhere, my surroundings changed. The world faded to black and the Egyptian people were shouting at me, blaming me for their deaths, accusing me of causing this horror.

"No," I shouted over the voices, "No, stop it! This is not my fault! Please, stop it!"

My shouts were futile. My people were turning against me. Nothing I can do. The voices grew louder and I felt myself becoming ever more claustrophobic the nearer they got to me. "Shut up," I commanded. "Back away!" Now I was growing angry. How could they blame me for such a thing as this? There is no conceivable way that I could have caused it in the first place.

"Pharaoh!" They shouted repeatedly as if expecting me to give in and beg for mercy.

"Silence!"

With a jolt, I shot up into a sitting position. My pulse racing and paranoia at the maximum, I glanced all around me. I was safe, in my quarters, within the palace walls. It was simply a dream, one very vivid dream. I sighed in relief and slumped against my pillows again. Sleep eluded me, however, because I was desperately trying to discover the meaning behind such a dream. Mentally I noted to ask Isis if her Millennium Necklace had revealed anything strange lately. It would not be the first time I have had some sort of premonition.

With the knowledge that laying in silence and almost fearing what I would find should I fall asleep would do me no good, I climbed slowly, wearily, from my bed. My dream, my nightmare, had left me more tired than when I had first gone to bed some hours earlier. The chill of the night was distinct leaving me no choice but to dress. The soft fabric comforted me and the weight of the Millennium Puzzle around my neck made me feel safer than before. Once more, I glanced around the room, making certain I was alone and that there was nobody hiding within the shadows. I sighed. What could it all mean? I looked to the night sky, lit only by the stars, and wished only for answers. The rest of the night passed somewhat quickly. I wandered around the courtyards, the many halls and rooms of the palace. I observed many disputes between servants, conversations amongst the guards, jumped at the slightest sound and wished for the company of my dear friend Mana. At last, my feet brought me to the throne room. My exhaustion was unavoidable. It crashed down upon me with such strength I was overwhelmed and collapsed in the middle of the room. I quickly fell unconscious.

My King, are you all right? Please, Pharaoh, open your eyes… Say something… "Pharaoh!"

"Nh," I groaned. My entire body felt sore and overworked. I opened my eyes to find Maahad and Isis standing over me. Together they helped me to my feet while I silently tried to recall where I was and why they'd seem so surprised. "Pharaoh, are you alright?" Maahad asked. I nodded swiftly then silently sat upon the throne. Isis's eyes told me she did not believe me, however neither she nor Maahad said anything more. Eventually they left me alone, or as alone as one in a position such as myself can be. I sighed.

"Pardon the intrusion, Pharaoh, I come bearing news," the unmistakable voice of Seto drifted across the room. I focused my gaze on him as he bowed slightly before coming closer. I nodded for him to continue. "The Ambassador from Crete and his interpreter will be arriving any day now," he informed me.

Of course, how could I have forgotten? This was been planned for months before my father passed on. "Rooms have been prepared? Everything is set up, correct?" Seto nodded. "Everything is fine, my King. There's some last minute adjustments being made, however, we'll be fully prepared by tomorrow."

"See to it that there will be a feast to welcome our guests when they arrive," I ordered. Once more Seto nodded. As he left me, I started to wonder what the Ambassador would be like.

Kari's POV:

"Kari, are you feeling alright? The sun isn't too much for you?" A small smile spread across my face as I nodded politely at the Ambassador. "Yes, sir, I'm just fine. Thanks for your concern," I responded gently. He nodded and pressed forward to catch up with the group. I lagged behind.

Truthfully, the sun was taking its toll on me. These many days of travel have been exhausting and I have received very little sleep along the way. My body yearns for a soft bed and pillows once more. I never even wanted to come along, however, when the Ambassador came to me expressing his desperate need for one well versed in the Egyptian language to come along with him, how could I refuse? It is my job after all. I remember that day clearly…

"Kari, may I speak to you?"

I looked up from my work and saw an older, graying man standing in the doorway. "Of course, how may I help you?" I asked. I quickly stood and ushered him into the room. "Well, as you know I've been preparing to leave on a trip to Egypt," he began. I found myself nodding slowly. The man, the Ambassador, took a seat and I followed suit. "Everything is all ready for when I need to leave. It should be soon. There's just one problem."

Right away, I knew what he was going to say and thus was prepared to answer him. "I don't speak the language of the Egyptians. You do, and I need someone to relay what I say to the Pharaoh. Please, Kari, would you come with me? It will be a journey like you've never experienced before."

To say I was surprised was a bit of an understatement. While I expected him to need me to go with him to Thebes, I had not expected him to ask me to go, to give me the choice. "It is my job and as such my duty to go with you. You know my answer," I stated a bit stiffly. The journey to Egypt would be long and unforgiving. Not one I would look forward to despite the beautiful architecture and the chance to view a place so far from home with my own eyes.

"Kari," the Ambassador said seriously, "I'm not sure you understand me. I want, rather need you to come along, but I will not force you. Are you sure, this is what you want? Are you sure you can handle the journey?"

I nodded indignantly. The way he phrased that offended me a bit, however I understood. As I said, the journey would be a long and hard one. The desert sun beating down constantly would certainly make things worse no matter how prepared we are. Even so, it is not about what I want, it is about doing what is expected. What is right; and, doing my job.

"Believe me, Ambassador; I'm more than capable of handling the journey to Egypt." However, I am not so sure about the trip back home. As if, I would worry him with something so trivial. "Not to appear rude, but I should be more concerned with how you will fare along the way. You're sure someone younger can't go in your stead?" The face of the Ambassador clouded over as the meaning of my words sunk in. With one look, I knew there was nobody else. Perhaps the Pharaoh himself had requested this Ambassador for reasons I cannot fathom.

A few moments of tense silence followed before the Ambassador stood and walked back to the door. "We leave in the morning. You best prepare yourself." Then, with that, he left.

"Kari," I heard my name called bit it seemed so distant. The sound of loud yet muffled hooves upon the sand raced towards me and before I knew it, someone from the group caught me before I had fallen off the horse lent to me. "Are you alright?" The man asked. I nodded and pushed off him. "I'm fine, just…a bit thirsty." He nodded and handed me a pouch of water from his hip. "I knew she should not have come," I heard the Ambassador say; his tone colored with concern and anger at himself.

"I promise you, I'm quite alright. I simply was distracted. Shall we press on? About how much longer until we reach the capital?" I asked. Nobody seemed to believe I was okay. I simply stared at them until one finally said, "It's almost noon now, we have a couple days left before we reach Thebes. We'll reach it sooner if we're lucky." Everyone nodded. "Let's continue."

Therefore, we pressed on. I wished to be back on the boat that had dropped us off in Alexandria. I wished to be back in my home, comfortably in Crete. I wish we would reach the capital already and meet with the Pharaoh. I would not mind a nice long rest before or after that…