Yugi stirred from his sleep when he felt new warmth humming next to him. He blinked a few times before resting his gaze on Seto. The dragon in man form was sound asleep. Yugi carefully maneuvered his way out of the shifters arms and onto the floor. He sighed at the peaceful look on Seto's face when he nuzzled into Yugi's pillow. Yugi smiled a little and then proceeded to open the trunk at the foot of the bed.

Seto had provided him with fragments of games and cards, also parchment and colored ink. Yugi suspected these were not from the ruins of the chambers, but he did not question it. He placed the parchment and ink on the floor and began his drawing.

Yugi drew when he could and in the years since Dicho enslaved him the times to sit and draw were rare. Bakura procured chalk for him when they were little, but Dicho stopped it when he found Yugi's drawings on the wagons' floor boards. He shuddered but calmed and went back to his drawings. He always drew the same characters. The dragon, his old winged lizard. An elf with snow white hair. A large blond dog with fierce brown eyes. Yugi currently had the purple ink out for his second favorite character, a wizard. The wizard was always purple clad in armor with an inverted pointy hat. His staff was large, ornate, and made of stone. Yugi hummed at his wizard.

He knew his drawings were real. Seto proved that as did Ryou. Yugi first thought that Bakura was his elf, but Ryou proved otherwise. However, he was not sure why these beings were important. He looked at Seto asleep. There was something he had to do, Yugi knew that, but how could Seto help?

Yugi rubbed his forehead. He had not thought about his grandfather in so long. Solomon would tell Yugi he was a key. His grandfather told him the story of Frodo and The Ring, also of Bilbo's adventures. He never skimmed on the gory parts. Solomon also emphasized on the aid of Samwise Gamgee and Frodo's cousins. He would tell Yugi hobbits had a magic no one knew and could not harness. At the end of these tales, Solomon took off his shoes and holds Yugi's feet.

"This is the only legacy they know," he said. "Our feet. Not our height, nor our pointed ears, and round bellies, but our feet. That is why I wear shoes." He looked sadly at Yugi's big feet. "That is why you cannot go outside."

Yugi's eyes became blurry. Tears rolled off his face in spades, which ruined the wet ink. He stopped it. Yugi did not want to rouse Seto.


Fire. Burning all over the room; the flames reached the ceiling where the White Dragon lunged forward to take another snap at Bakura. Ryou watched with horror as the beast's fangs came so close to Bakura's shield.

"I said run Elf! Get out!" Bakura yelled as he ducked into a tunnel. Ryou was grabbed by Duke and they were running down a corridor with rubble falling and debris of all kind. Dead bodies were laid on the floor. They stopped when the screeching ceased. Ryou collapsed on the floor with Duke following him.

"Damn it! Why didn't it work?" Duke said. He punched the floor several times before staring at it.

Ryou reached for the man's bloody knuckles but Duke turned away. Ryou closed his eyes. He was there on the floor of that chamber. Yugi had parchment and ink. Bakura wanted to just grab him, but Ryou stopped the man. They needed to stick with the plan. Duke signaled Joey and the shape shifter came in, however the dragon had somehow woken. Joey disappeared leaving them with a raging dragon. Ryou huffed. He could only hope Joey found Yugi and Bakura got out. He turned his head to Duke who was rubbing his hands in his face.

"Master Duke, please allow me to heal you. You are getting blood everywhere," Ryou said. He took both hands in his and took out balm and some clean handkerchiefs. He fixed Duke's hands to his best in the dark. The two sat in silence after that until there was the patter of footsteps. Ryou stood armed with his dagger.

"Huh?" Duke asked but quickly stood when the footsteps got louder.

Both breathed when Bakura appeared rifle at the ready. He sagged too until he spoke with ice in his voice. "I can't ask you to stay. Leave." He looked at Ryou as he said this. But then when Duke came to him Bakura shook his head. Next they knew, the man was gone into the corridors of the mountain.

Ryou stood with Duke.

"Come on!" Ryou yelled. Duke followed the elf.


Bakura was going to kill the mutt Joey. He ran off before they could get past the dragon. Ryou and Duke were stunned; however this beast was not Bakura's first dragon. The scarred tissue on his back was proof, although he could not risk his ally and Ryou to get in harm's way. So, here he is wandering a cavern where burst of blue fire can happen at any moment. If he found the mutt first he will end him. Unless the dragon beat him, either way they are both doomed.

He climbed up some broken columns in his pursuit of the mutt. Doing this, Bakura found more corpses of brownies and even some human. He shook his head at this. For too long he had been surrounded by decay and death; even under enslavement of Dicho was not different from his life. Bakura looked up at the ceiling, he had excellent night vision, and the high walls were painted with legends of the brownies' greatest scholars. Bakura huffed. He wandered aimlessly for hours until he found a bed, which made him stop.

"What in the Valar?" he said.

Looking around there were multiple beds all lined up against what was once a wall; Bakura stared at this for there were rooms with those beds and the sheets did not seem too aged or moldy. Another strange phenomenon was a light coming from one of the holes, as Bakura could not think of a better name, nearing the top of the beds. He heard faint voices from up above and he had a glimpse of blond hair. That is all he needed to begin his ascent to the top. Bakura grabbed onto the cragged rock and used it as foot holds and leverage to keep up the pace.

As he came closer the voices were clear. One of them Bakura knew too well.

Like bells, he thought. And then he saw an icy pair of blue eyes glaring at him. The man was not human.


Seto dragged the newcomer up with him to his perch. This one looked like the elf, except older. When he dropped there was a chorus of 'Bakura' from the other prisoners. The two he found in the old library were tied together to a chair.

"Now that we're all here and know each other, I have one request for you thieves," he said. The room turned to him. He had taken their weapons and pointed the rifle into this Bakura's head. The elf was shaking. "I know you seek my treasure and I don't intend on giving you any. However, I have been in a generous mood as of late and will let you decide. Leave this place with your lives or I spread your entrails all over the mountain as warning." At the end he brought the trigger closer to the thief's head.

Bakura grunted something in that damned Elvish language Seto could not decipher. The elf protested to what he said. Seto hardly gave any mind. The other human looked confused. Seto growled and gained the attention of the room.

"Get out of my mountain," he said, voice cold, "and n—"

"Bakura!"

Seto turned to see his boy-Hobbit in the arms of that mutt he was sure he had burned. Yugi quickly wiggled out of the mutt's arms and ran to Bakura. He collapsed on the ground just staring at the man who stared back at him. Yugi's eyes watered and Seto would have ended the man making Yugi cry if the boy had not embraced the man on the floor. Bakura hugged him back and Seto watched as the two held to each other as if their lives depended on it. He growled again, until he was hit, hard. Seto's last thought was that he did not like the mutt.

When Seto came to, he was chained to the wall with his Yugi and the thieves all staring at him. The gazes went from bewildered to hatred and Yugi had concern in his eyes. Bakura came up to him and kneeled down.

"My brother," he gestured to Yugi, "says you've been good to him. He says you're not the monster we know you to be; I'm a reasonable man, prone to violence when needed, but I have trouble believing you to be nice." He said the word as if he was spitting out bile. Seto growled and tried to get up, change back, but he found he could not move at all and his magic was stopped. "Like the spell. It was fortunate for you to be in human form for Ryou to cast it. Now, here's the new deal; you let us leave, with Yugi, and nothing else or I cut where you lay." He brought his broad sword to Seto's throat.

"Bakura please stop," Yugi said. Bakura reluctantly moved the blade away. Yugi came over and kneeled infront of Seto. "I'm sorry I can't stay here, but it will be like with my dead master. I can't trade one life of slavery for another." Seto bit his bottom lip. He believed Yugi would not harm him, but the boy will leave. "I have another request," Yugi whispered. "Come with me. I know you care for your hoard, but you don't want me gone. And I don't want to lose you." Seto gulped when Yugi said that; he could feel a warm spot below his belly, but he ignored for concentrating on Yugi's voice. "We can return when the need strikes you, but I can't stay here. Please come with me. I…I think you might be my new family."

Enough was said. Seto looked at the man who had a magnificent scowl and the three staring still. The elf and the mutt probably heard what had transpired. Seto smirked at the man.

"You heard your brother, now release so we can leave this place."


Tea kept turning her head back. She was happy to see all her friends alive and Yugi without any scratches, however the new stranger they brought along was unnerving. Duke had not told her yet who this man was and that was unsettling enough. They rode down the mountains back to the camp. Yugi wore a dress, also strange, and the bag of charms Mai had given Ryou was hanging from his neck on a string. Tea smiled when Yugi looked at her but turned her head when the stranger glared. Yes, this was definitely outright peculiar.