Hello to all! Erm, sorry about the long gap, I was away from home for a week, and unable to type a new chapter. Many apologies!! Here is the next chapter!

Oh, and for a disclaimer, see any of the previous chapters.

Chapter 4: Into the Desert

Liz Swordmaid let out a weary sigh as she sat down on her sleeping mat. That battle earlier with the priests had not been fun. As a matter of fact, it had been somewhat frightening.

To make matters worse, she was fairly certain that all of Thebes now knew about it. First off, that fact was slightly humiliating. Second off, she was fairly certain that Bakura was still in Thebes, which meant that he now knew. Which meant she'd have to move. Again. She let out a frustrated growl. If only he would a) leave her alone, or b) return to the way he used to be when they were young. She couldn't decide between the two. She knew that it didn't matter, since neither option was ever going to happen. She rested her head on her knees. 'Just a few more moments,' she thought, 'Just a few more moments of peace.'

While Liz was brooding, Yami and Mana were, to be kind, lost. Well, actually, they were a little beyond lost, meaning that neither of them had any idea were they were going, nor any idea how to get back to the palace. Yami was seriously beginning to regret agreeing to this mad scheme of Mana's. Mana, on the other hand, was trying to be optimistic. "I mean, we know that Ra rises in the east, and sets in the west, so we should be able to figure it out from there, right?"

"Mana?"

"Yes?"

Yami let out an exasperated sigh. "It's currently noon, judging from Ra's position."

"Oh. Well, you know direction, right?"

Yami gave her a withering look. "If I had any sense of direction, would we be lost?"

"Ummm, no?"

"Precisely." Yami growled at her.

"Oh, hey! Let's ask this guy!" Mana chirped, grabbing Yami's arm and proceeding to drag him towards the unlucky pedestrian. "Darn it, Mana!" Yami yelled. She ignored him, and smiled sweetly at the unfortunate peasant, who was about to learn about Mana's long, random conversations. "Sir," Mana said, looking impossibly innocent. "Yes?" The man asked. "I was wondering if you could tell us where the thieves district is?" The man gave Mana a condescending look. "Why?" he demanded. Mana smiled. "Because," and she started a very, very long speech about why he should tell her. "OKAY! I'LL TELL, YOU!! JUST NO MORE!!" the man bawled.

"Deal," Mana told him, a knowing smile on her face,

"You walk straight that way, than make a left. You'll be in the thieves district."

Mana grinned. "Thanks ever do much!" The man gave a weak smile, before walking away impossibly fast. Mana turned to Yami. "See, I told you!" Yami stared at her, eyes wide. "What?" she asked him. "I'm glad you're on my side," he muttered, walking in the direction indicated. Mana blinked before..."Hey! Wait up!"

"There. That should do," Liz said, a sad smile on her face. She looked around her small house. 'I'm going to miss this place,' she realized. She started to pick up her packages, when she heard a knock on her door. 'Who could that be?' she thought, 'It can't be Bakura, he's not that polite.' As she approached the door, she heard voices, coming from outside. As she opened the door, she heard, "Mana, are you sure this is the right house? I mean, we don't want to get a wrong address on this street." Another voice replied, saying, "I'm positive this is it." Now the door was open, and standing there was...well, Liz wasn't quite sure who they were.

The first was a girl of about fifteen, with medium-length brown hair and brown eyes. She couldn't make any guesses about the girl's companion, due to the fact that the ...person was wearing a cloak that covered them from head to toe. "Do I...know you?" Liz asked.

"Sort of," the girl replied, looking embarrassed.

"What do you mean, 'sort of'?"

The girl sighed. "If you let us in, you'll find out."

"How do I know you two aren't in league with the thief king?"

The girl frowned. "Welllll,"

Liz scowled. "If you can't give me a reason to let you in, then, you're not getting in. And that's final."

"Does this help?" the girl's companion asked, in an obviously male voice, as he took off his hood. Liz gasped. Standing in front of her door was Pharaoh himself. She took a deep breath to calm her self before she spoke. "I'm convinced you're not in league with Bakura, but I'm not convinced I'm safe." He chuckled. "Understandably."

"Why are you here?" she asked him.

"He wanted to talk to you," the girl chirped.

Liz raised an eyebrow. "And why would Pharaoh want to talk with me?"

Yami looked rather embarrassed. "Well, I couldn't help but notice your ka the other day, and I must say, they intrigue me."

Liz blinked. "Ooookaaaay, haven't heard that one before. How do I know this isn't a trick?"

"If it was, I wouldn't be here," Mana supplied.

"Fine. I'll let you in, but know this, any funny stuff, and you die, got it?"

Both Yami and Mana nodded, before walking into Liz's house. Yami noticed her bags. "Were you going somewhere?"

"What's it to you?"

"Just curious."

Liz snorted. "Your curiosity is going to get you in trouble sometime, Pharaoh."

He smirked. "I doubt that."

"Ahem," Mana coughed slightly, in an attempt to prevent an argument.

Both Pharaoh and thief got the hint. "What about my ka did you want to know?"

"Why do you have two, and why are they so different?"

"You know something? I'll talk about their powers. But the whys," she shook her head, "I'm not going to discuss those."

He looked surprised. "How come?"

She glared at him. "Because they're personal, and I don't go around discussing my personal life with people I don't know!"

Yami opened his mouth, however, before he could say anything, someone started pounding on the door. All three people froze, exchanging glances. "LIZ!! I know your in their! Now open this door before I break it down!" someone yelled, in a low, harsh voice. "Who-" Yami started, but Liz interrupted by putting her hand over her mouth to silence him. 'Bakura,' she mouthed. He nodded, shooting Mana a look that basically told her to be quiet and not ask questions. "Follow me," Liz whispered, leading them through her house, only pausing to grab her weapons. She led them out the back door of her house, into the outskirts of the desert. She circled around, until she could see the door of her house. As soon as she saw Bakura, she took an arrow from her quiver, and nocked it on her bow. "What do you think you're doing?" Yami hissed at her.

She gave him a cold glare. "Killing Bakura."

"What?!"

"You heard me."

"No! It's not right."

Liz gave him a hard stare. "How is it not right?"

He stared at her in shock. "This is cold-blooded murder!"

"So? Don't you want Bakura dead?"

Yami was stunned for a minute, before he managed to say, "Not like this."

She rolled her eyes, and aimed at Bakura. He caught her wrist. "What if you miss?" he growled. "I won't miss," she told him. "You don't know that."

She sent him a very fierce glare, than aimed at him. "Would you rather I shot you instead?"

Mana's eyes went wide as saucers. Yami smirked. "You wouldn't dare," he told her, confidence lacing his tone. She raised an eyebrow. "Wanna bet?"

As he met her eyes, he realized she wasn't kidding, and that thought made him freeze for a couple of seconds. "No," he replied, "I don't bet with life."

She snorted. "I figured that out, due to the fact that, for some strange reason, you don't want me to kill Bakura." She put up her bow. "Fine," she growled, "That means only one option is open to us."

"What?" Yami and Mana asked.

Liz smiled devilishly. "We escape into the desert."

"The desert?" Yami asked looking slightly faint.

Liz smirked. "Guess you do have a brain after all."

Yami growled, while Mana grinned. "What are we waiting for?" she shouted, dashing off. Liz sighed. "That girl is too hyper for her own good. Come on, Pharaoh." With that, she grabbed the ticked-off Pharaoh by the arm, and proceeded to drag him after Mana.

Well? What do you think? Reviews are appreciated! Again, I apologize for the long delay.