(A/N: Got a nice long chapter for you all. As the title suggests, Téa's going to get to experience life in Egypt. This time without a giant evil god trying to destroy the world. But She'll also be exposed to the bad things of the past. You'll see what I mean. Enjoy.)

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Chapter 6: Experiencing Egypt

It had been two weeks since she had come to Egypt, and she began to wonder if she would ever get back home. Not that she didn't enjoy her time here, but she was thinking about everyone back home. Two weeks, surely they must be worried. Aside from that, her time in Ancient Egypt was rather enjoyable. She learned a lot more than she ever would have back in the 21st century.

But she was always in the palace. Not that there was anything wrong with that, but she wanted to see the city, get to know the people there. The people in the palace were all very warm to her. Several of them worshipped her as a messenger of the gods ever since Atem made his announcement about her.

The members of the Royal Court that knew the truth about where she really came from were all very considerate about her situation. Mana was a really good friend, Isis and Shimon were a lot like Ishizu and Mr. Motou, which she figured only made sense, although Seto was a lot friendlier than Kaiba, and far less arrogant and competitive. Teana was kind, but aside from their appearances, Téa didn't notice any similarities between her and her alter ego, but then again, they were two different people, even if she was supposed to be Teana's representation in the future. Karim and Shada were both good friends as well, and Téa began to wonder if Joey and Tristan were the representatives of them in the future; if the reasons for their similarities were because the gods were trying to recreate the events of the past, then all the major people that played a roll were there. Atem, Shimon, Karim, Teana, Shada, Seto, evil Bakura, and Yugi, Mr. Motou, Joey, Téa, Tristan, Kaiba, and good Bakura, playing the roles of these people that had saved Egypt. Whatever the case, Téa was glad to have such good friends in both time periods.

Then, of course, there was Atem. If it hadn't been for the lost in time part, she would have enjoyed being able to spend time with him. She was a little afraid though. Her feelings for him were overwhelming. It was so hard to say goodbye the first time, she didn't know if she would be able to do it again.

Putting such gloomy thoughts aside, she wandered through the garden. Mana was with her as usual, practicing her magic on the plants and flowers.

"I'm sure this is how Master Mahad did this." she said, waving her wand over a flower. "Now grow!" It grew all right, nearly as large as a tree. The stem bent over, unable to hold the weight of it. Mana frowned as she looked at the large flower in dismay. "Oops…"

Téa chuckled. "Don't give up. Practice makes perfect."

Mana sat down beside her. "Maybe, but it doesn't help if you're practicing the wrong thing." She sighed. "So, what do you want to do today?"

Téa smiled, looking out at the city. "Actually, what I really want to do is look around the city a bit. Do you think I'm allowed?"

Mana shrugged. "I don't see why not. You are the pharaoh's guest of honor. I could show you around." She cut her eyes and smiled mischievously. "Or would you rather have the pharaoh show you around."

Téa lightly shoved her. "Cut it out. You're always going on about that."

"Because it's true!"

"Regardless," Téa muttered, "there can't be anything between us."

Mana frowned. "Why not?"

Téa over exaggeratedly tapped her chin. "Gee, I don't know. Lets start with the fact that we live 5000 years apart."

Mana shrugged. "A minor setback."

"Minor? That seems like a pretty big setback to me."

The young sorceress balanced the end of her wand on her finger. "Was it that big of a problem when the pharaoh was the one living in your time?"

Téa fell silent for a moment. "Well, no… but that's besides the point. He's a pharaoh, and I'm just a normal girl."

"Not around here. Here everyone thinks you're a messenger of the gods who saved our pharaoh from death and helped him conquer Zorc. Not to mention your 21st century knowledge has been really helpful. I'm shocked that the people in your time discovered some of the things they did."

"And I'm shocked that society has forgotten so many useful things over time."

Mana tapped her wand against her chin. "Is living in the 21st century really that much better?"

Téa thought about it for a minute before shrugging. "I don't know. In some ways it's better, in some ways it's not. It's certainly more convenient, but more convenient isn't always better. Hmm, I wonder how Atem feels about it."

"How I feel about what?"

Téa jumped and turned to find Atem walking towards her. She felt heat fill her cheeks; it should be a crime to be so handsome. "Oh, nothing."

"Not nothing." Said Mana. "We were talking about the differences between her time and this one. Which do you prefer?"

Atem seemed surprised by the question. "Well, each have their own good and bad points. But it depends on who you ask. Take anyone out of their time period and they're sure to be uneasy."

Mana leaned back. "I wish I could see this future world. It sounds really interesting." She gave Atem puppy eyes. "Just as I'm sure that Téa would find the city to be interesting."

"Mana!" Téa cried. "I'm sure the pharaoh has more important things than to give me a tour of the city."

The sorceress giggled. "Whoever said anything about the pharaoh being the one to give you a tour?"

While Téa turned red, Atem gave her a smile. "I would be delighted. In fact, you have good timing. Occasionally I do runs through the city to see how things are. You may accompany me if you wish."

"Really!" Téa cried happily. "That'd be great!"

Atem nodded. "Then I shall have the preparations be made."

Mana sighed, a big smile on her face. 'This is too easy.'

(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)-(-)

Téa had seen Egypt before, but she had never really gotten a chance to truly appreciate its beauty. They were always in some dire situation that ruined the moment. But now she could really see the city in its former glory, no, make that its present glory.

"Atem, the city is beautiful! I can't believe I'm actually in Ancient Egypt."

Atem smiled. "This isn't the first time you've been here. In this time too."

"Yeah, but it's nice to look at it without an evil demonic god trying to destroy it. Oh, can we go to that store! I just want to browse a bit."

"If you want." Atem replied, pulling his horse to a stop. "And you don't have to just browse, you may have anything you want."

Mana chuckled. "Pharaoh, you know how she doesn't like to be spoiled."

Téa climbed off her horse. "Yeah, I don't want anything. I just want to look around." She went over to the shopkeeper, eyeing the items on display. "Ooh, this looks interesting. What's it supposed to be?"

The merchant's eyes lit up as he noted Téa's fancy clothes. "Oh, a lovely lady such as yourself wouldn't be interested in any of these. I've got some extra special items that I think you'll be interested in though." He went into the back room. "You, boy, bring out our special items!"

"Yes, sir!"

From around back, a dirty boy wearing ragged clothes came up front. He held several gems in his hands that would be sure to catch the eye of most people, but it was the boy who held Téa's attention.

The boy presented the gems to her. "Anything you like, ma'am?"

Téa bent down to the boy's level. "You poor thing. You're filthy, and your clothes are a mess." She glared at the merchant. "How could you leave your son like this?"

The merchant snorted. "He's not my son. He's nothing but a slave."

Téa's eyes widened in disbelief. "What? S-Slave? You have slaves here?"

The merchant raised an eyebrow. "Of course, why wouldn't I?"

Truthfully, she didn't know why she was so surprised. Slavery was very common in these days. In fact, one of the most famous stories was about Moses freeing the slaves from Egypt.

She couldn't take it. She stormed over to Atem, giving him an angry look. "I never would have believed it of you! How could you allow this to happen?"

Atem gave her a confused look. "I'm afraid I'm not following you. Why are you so upset?"

"Slaves!" Téa shouted. "There ares slaves here! How could you let there be slaves?"

"Téa, I-"

"You've lived in the 21st century. You know how we feel about slavery. Treating people like possessions, it's just wrong!"

Atem sighed. "Téa, please allow me to explain. Yes, it's true that there are slaves, but that does not mean I approve of slavery."

Téa wasn't buying it. "Then why don't you do something about it? Abolish slavery! Put a stop to all this! You're the pharaoh, aren't you? The king of all of Egypt? Let them go. Give them their freedom."

Seto stepped forward. "I'm afraid it's not that simple. King of Egypt he may be, but he is still bound by several rules and traditions. The pharaoh has many responsibilities. If the king does not meet the approval of the people, there could be a revolution. The people could see the king as weak and unfit for the throne and attempt to overthrow him. We can't have a rebellion on our hands.

"You must also take into consideration that slavery has been around for years. To suddenly put a stop to it will cause a great uproar among the citizens. And what of the freed slaves? Where will they go? What will they do? There are many things affecting the situation aside from his majesty's duty to follow the expectations of being king."

Téa felt her anger at Atem fade. She should have known this as well. It was for this reason why rulers have been tyrants in the past, because they could not appear to be weak to the citizens. Atem was certainly no tyrant, but he was still bound by the requirements of being king.

Feeling ashamed for thinking so the worst of him, Téa hung her head. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions. I know you're not cruel."

Atem raised his hand to stop her. "Your apologies are not necessary. I can't blame you for jumping to the worst-case scenario. While it is true that I do not approve of slavery, what Seto says is true. There are many things to consider. However, I care for all my people, slaves included. This is one of the reasons why I explore the city, to make sure everyone, slaves included, are doing well."

Téa nodded at the merchant. "Well can you do something about him? Just look at how he's working that poor boy."

Atem glared at the merchant. "Then something must be done about this. Seto, Shada, come with me. Mana, you stay with Téa."

Téa felt a rush of gratitude as he walked over to the merchant, who was suddenly looking very nervous at the pharaoh's presence. She was tapped on her shoulder and turned to find Mana looking at her strangely.

"You didn't really think the pharaoh approved of slavery, did you?"

Téa looked away. "I guess not. I just reacted out of surprise. Slavery is forbidden in my time, and is considered an act of cruelty. I guess I didn't expect it."

Mana patted her on the back. "Don't worry. Atem sees to it that everyone is treated fairly."

"Slave scum!"

The two of them turned to see an Egyptian shouting at a slave. The slave cowered on the ground as the Egyptian swung his whip.

Mana gulped. "This is what I'm talking about. We better let the pharaoh know about this."

"No." Téa hissed.

The sorceress gave her a surprised look. "What?"

"I'll handle this. I'm not going to depend on Atem for everything. Besides, if it's only the pharaoh that stands up for the slaves, then what's stopping these people from being mistreated when he's not around? Other people have to stand up for what they believe in too. And that's just what I'm going to do."

She marched towards the Egyptian as he continued swinging his whip. "Get up!" he shouted. "Get back to work! I have no use for a weak slave!"

The slave gave the man a pleading look. "Please, it's too heavy for me."

"Useless retch!" He raised his whip. Téa suddenly moved in his path, shielding the slave. "Hey, move it, girl."

Slap! Téa's open palm made contact with the Egyptian's face. He looked shocked that she had slapped him. Everyone around them was surprised as well. Mana became worried and quickly went to fetch Atem.

Téa glared daggers at the Egyptian. "You should be ashamed of yourself!" she snapped. "Treating a person like that is despicable!"

The Egyptian looked speechless as he rubbed his cheek. "Y-You… how dare you…"

"This could be trouble." Said Seto.

He made to move towards Téa, but Atem held up his hand. "Hold on. Téa's strong. Lets see how she handles the situation."

"What gives you the right to treat another human so badly?" Téa demanded.

The Egyptian growled. "He's only a slave. Nothing but my personal property. And I will do whatever I want with my property."

"He's still human. He has feeling just like you do. He gets tired and hungry just like you do. He laughs, he cries, he gets angry. He's a living being, no different than anyone else. And I will not stand by and let you treat another person so badly!"

The Egyptian looked furious. "You're out of line. Now get out of my way!"

"Not on your life."

"Fine then!"

He raised the whip, ready to hit even her with it. But someone grabbed the end of his whip, preventing him from bringing it down.

"Who dares to-" He abruptly stopped talking as he realized that it was none other than Atem who had stopped him. "P-P-Pharaoh!"

Atem's eyes were filled with fury. "How dare you! I will not allow this sort of behavior in my kingdom!"

The Egyptian dropped to his knees. "Forgive me, my king. I was merely teaching my slave and this woman their place. You should not concern yourself with such lowly creatures."

Atem's eyes narrowed. "You refer to my guest of honor as a lowly creature?" He held his hand out to Téa. She took it and stepped by his side. "You should be careful of how you address those you don't know."

The Egyptian's eyes widened and the color drained from his face. "Your guest of… Wait, is she the messenger of the gods who aided you in defeating Zorc?"

Shada came up behind him. "And you have insulted her greatly." he seethed.

"F-Forgive me. I did not know she was someone of such importance."

Téa put her hands on her hips and glared at him. "So suddenly I'm not such a lowly creature anymore. A second ago I was someone of no importance who didn't matter in the least. Well you know what, I'm still the same person I was before you discovered my identity! People are people, no matter who they are."

"Well spoken, my lady." Seto replied. He looked at the Egyptian in disgust. "You shall be punished for the disrespect you've shown. To disrespect the pharaoh's guest of honor is to disrespect the pharaoh himself!"

"Yes," the Egyptian agreed, "for insulting the messenger of the gods, I shall accept any punishment."

Téa shook her head. "You still don't get it, do you? A person's rank does not matter! You're not even sorry for the way you treated him. You're only sorry because you're in trouble right now. A slave is no less a person than the pharaoh himself. How can I make you see that?" She was suddenly struck with inspiration. She didn't like it, but it would certainly get her point across. "Atem, may I hand out his punishment?"

Atem raised an eyebrow, surprised. But he nodded all the same. "You may punish him as you see fit."

"Good." She picked up the whip the Egyptian had dropped. "Now you're my slave."

The Egyptian's face dropped. "What?"

Atem eyed Téa curiously, wondering what she was getting at. He didn't believe for a second that she truly had any intention of having a slave.

Téa whipped the ground, making sure not to hit the Egyptian, but to give him a scare. "Don't talk back to your master! You're a slave, a nothing, a nobody!" She whipped the ground again. "Now tell me what job you were going to give your slave."

The Egyptian gulped. "I order him to transport that statue."

Téa looked at the statue he was referring to. It was enormous. It was impossible for a single person to move it. It would need at least three people. If she didn't know any better, she would have thought that the Egyptian had given the slave an impossible job just so he could harass him.

"You do it." she ordered. "Move it yourself."

"Myself? But-"

Téa whipped the ground again. "I told you not to talk back! Now move it. Go on."

Gulping nervously, the Egyptian went to move the statue. It became clear within seconds that he would never be able to do it on his own. Téa knew this from the beginning, but she continued whipping the ground and shouting. "Come on, your master orders it. Now do it, or you'll be punished!"

The Egyptian gave her a desperate look. "It's impossible to move."

Téa humphed. "Slave scum! I have no use for a weak slave!" she cried, echoing his earlier words.

She raised the whip again. The Egyptian cowered beneath her, fully expecting to be whipped for real this time. But instead, Téa tossed the whip down in front of him. He looked up at her in confusion.

"You see." She said, her eyes swimming with emotion. "You're no different from anyone else. You don't like being mistreated any more than slaves do. Slaves are people too, just like you." She dusted her hands off, feeling disgusted with herself for having to resort to such drastic measures. "I think I made my point. You better be nice to your slaves from now on."

The Egyptian gave her a look of disbelief. "You were just… making a point?"

"And I stand by what she said." Shada replied, stepping forward. "You would do well to remember this lesson the next time you…" His Millennium Key reacted as he approached the Egyptian. "My pharaoh, I am detecting a Shadow Creature residing in this man."

"What?" Atem gasped.

"Then we shall draw it out and seal it away!" said Seto. He held up his Millennium Rod to the Egyptian. "Reveal yourself, you creature of the shadows."

A monster emerged from within the man. It was a centaur wearing a suit of armor, its head missing from its shoulders.

"Headless Centaur Knight." Atem whispered, recognizing the creature from a Duel Monster card.

"Creature of darkness, I seal you away!" Seto cried.

The Millennium Rod flashed brightly. Headless Centaur Knight wailed loudly as the light consumed him. Then he was gone, vanishing in a flash of light.

Téa's eyes were wide with wonder. "That was cool." she muttered. "What happened to it?"

"It was sealed away in a stone tablet." Atem explained. "These Shadow Creatures latch onto the souls of people and manipulate them. We use the Millennium Items to seal these monsters away and keep them in a safe place."

Téa looked at the unconscious Egyptian lying on the ground. She felt a little relieved by this discovery. At least now she knew why the man had been so cruel to his slave. "So these Shadow Creature, they're Duel Monsters?"

Atem nodded. "Yes, when Pegasus discovers the Shadow Creatures that had been sealed away, he created Duel Monsters based on them."

Téa gulped. "So ever monster in the game is a different Shadow Creature that has been sealed away?" She tapped her chin. "Strange how some are robots and stuff when technology hasn't been invented yet."

"Are you talking about the future again?" Mana asked. "You need to watch who's around when you talk about that stuff." She snapped her fingers, getting an idea. "Hey, Téa, how would you like to see the Tablet Sanctuary? It's where all the sealed away Shadow Creatures are kept."

Téa's eyes widened. "Really? Can I?"

Atem shrugged. "I see no harm in it."

"We can introduce her to Master Mahad!" Mana suggested. "I can also personally introduce you to Dark Magician Girl. Oh, and you've got to meet Seto's Blue Eyes White Dragon." She moved closer so she could whisper in her ear. "He calls it Kisara when they're alone. Isn't that sweet?"

As Téa and Mana continued to talk, Seto and Shada went over to Atem. "Lady Téa is a very admirable woman." Said the latter.

"She has a lot of amazing qualities." Shada agreed.

"Yes, she does." Said Atem, watching at her with pride. "Yes, she does."

(A/N: So we saw Téa's more serious side. I know it may have seemed a little out of character for her, but I think it turned out well. Slavery was legal back then. And as both Atem and Seto pointed out as to why they had slaves even if they didn't approve of them. There are a lot of things to consider, and king or not, Atem is still bound by kingly standards. But he does help out how he can. And for those of you that were wondering, yes, I did make up Headless Centaur Knight. Shadow Creatues will creep up occasionally in the story when things get more serious. And speaking of things getting serious, Téa has already been in the past for 2 weeks. Will she ever get home? Ha, as if I'd tell. Next update will be labeled as Atem/Anzu.)