I KNOW I HAVEN'T POSTED IN A WHILE, PLEASE DON'T HURT ME!!! Okay, I'm better now : ) Anyway, this chapter is really short, mainly for two reasons, 1. I had to slip something major into the plot and 2. The next chapter in painfully long… but great!

Kaiba: *proudly displays the chapter* Looky! Another chapter mostly about me!!
Yami: *groans* I swear to Ra you get more arrogant everyday.
*LYB and Kaiba glare at Yami*
Yami: Eep!

//mysterious voice//
/Kaiba's thoughts/

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Cold Dawn
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Kaiba raised his head from the pillow and looked at the clock, 5:30 am. Damn it, why couldn't he sleep!? He buried his face in his pillow. He felt miserable. Twice now he had stood in the bathroom, a knife above his skin and a voice had whispered to him, "No Kaiba, calm your soul. Here my voice and let it calm your soul…" Maybe he was a schizo, but the woman's voice, her voice, the dream woman, it was so real. When he was standing on the edge, she was right there by his side.

//Hush, Kaiba…// he heard her voice speaking to him in his mind again. He could almost feel a cool hand on his forehead. //Close your eyes.//

"Who are you? Why are you being so good to me…" He said closing his eyes.

//Because you hate me. Because I want your forgiveness.//

/How can I hate you? Your keeping me safe./ Kaiba sighed to her in his mind.

Her voice was calm as it answered him //You don't remember me Kaiba, or the things I did. Long, long ago.//

Kaiba felt an old pain inside him. /Are you a yami?/

//No. I was supposed to be, but I'm not, your incarnation and Yamiasis made sure of that.//

/You had powers? Shadow powers?/

//Yes, I did, I still do. So did you, powers still locked deep inside you, powers trying to break out.//

Kaiba looked curious in his mind. /What can I do? What can you do?/

//You will find out in time.//

/Can I see you?/ There was a pause, she seemed to be contemplating. Then silence. /Where are you? Are you there?/

"Where are you?" he said out loud into his pillow.

"I'm here." said her voice, only it wasn't in his mind. Kaiba sat up in bed, throwing off his sheets.

"God!! How did you get in here!!??" She was standing there, in front of his window, closing it behind her. Her blood black hair falling over her shoulders gracefully, a blue desert dress falling gently over her frame.

"I came up the wall." She answered.

"But that's three stories!!" Kaiba gasped.

"I never said I was normal." She said, turning her exotic blue eyes on him. "I can move faster then your eye can see, I have strength in my tiny limbs you've never dreamed of."

Kaiba starred at her. "Who and what are you?"

"Someone." she answered.

Kaiba shook his head. "Oh God…" he blinked at her again, making sure she was real.

"Oh, I'm very real." She approached him deftly and ran her hands threw his hair. Her fingers wonderfully cool against his feverish skin. "Hmm… your running a bit of a fever. The stress is taking a toll." Kaiba nodded vaguely, leaning into her touch. There was so much relief in seeing her, though he had no idea why. Relief and pain. He wanted to say something to her, something buried deep inside of him wanted to speak.

"You shouldn't have come back." he said in a soft morbid tone, the words rolling off his tongue before he had even thought about what he was going to say. Her face darkened, her blue eyes turning into an eerie shade of violet. He drew in a breath, shocked, where had he seen those eyes before?

"I have reasons." she said darkly, letting her hands fall from his face. "I have to go now Kaiba, I have something I need to take care of and I can't put it off any longer. I've stayed near you as long as I've dared."

"What do you have to do?" He asked, watching her carefully. She sighed and looked out the window.

"To much, and I'm running out of time. I don't have much longer."

"Much longer?" he was confused "Until what?" She smiled darkly.

"Until his soul falls into eternal blackness and the dark demon haunting him takes over completely. And the sorceress takes control of him."

This only served to confuse Kaiba more. "Who? What are you talking about?"

She made a noise in her throat, a small cynical laugh "She never told you the whole story did she?"

"Who didn't tell me the story?" Kaiba was becoming furious, this girl was frustrating.

"Isis." The girl turned and looked at him, "She didn't tell you the whole truth."

Kaiba stood up and grabbed the girl by the arm, "Then tell me the truth!!" she glanced calmly at his face then he hand. She gave a quick flick of her arm, easily pulling free of Kaiba's powerful grip. Still he was undaunted, something deep inside him flared.

"Calm down, Kaiba." she said gently, putting a hand on his forehead, he could feel the burning inside him die down "It's to soon. I'll free you, but not yet. Now, I have to go to the city, and I have to go now."

"Why?" Kaiba asked, looking at her suspiciously.

"Because, I need something. The blood of the ancient one who cursed and blessed me." She smiled in a knowing way. "And I'm going after it tonight. Tonight the boy will be mine." Before Kaiba could response, she put a finger to his lips "Hush now, the less the you know the better. Don't give into your dark thought, I'll will return shortly." Kaiba strangely felt nothing at all. He wasn't sure whether he wanted her to stay, or if he wanted to be alone with his misery. "I said don't." She said raising a brow. She stretched herself up, letting her lips hover next to his throat, "Till next we meet my old friend," she smiled, he hesitated at her closeness, feeling rather unnerved but the buried feeling inside of him was content, "Remember, the past in never far, at this moment, it's literally and metaphorically at your side. Beware of it." He felt a sharp pain in his neck and gasped.

He's hands flew up to his throat as he sat bold up right in bed. Seto gasped, feeling dizzy. The dreams were so real, he could have swore she was there. He rubbed his forehead, voices, dreams, girls from a card game lurking in the dark. A girl who promised mass destruction from the past and hidden secrets Isis never revealed. Isis… he thought a minute, hiding something? He recalled the tablet he had found, how she so carelessly dropped it as if it were nothing at all. He pressed his eyes closed, recalling the image. The Egyptian girl changing from a Queen to a Dark Warrior, the boy by her side. The boy that looked almost exactly like Malik. Questions on top of more questions, was Malik the dark soul she was talking about? Why was Malik so damn important to her?

What did he care anyway, they were a bunch of stupid dreams. And it didn't matter anyway, everything was pointless. He stood up and stretched, there was little point in sleeping if he was going to dream like that. Then again, the thought of facing another long and empty day was like standing at the gates of hell. He glanced in the mirror as he started toward the bathroom and did a double take. He stepped back and looked in the mirror, approaching it slowly. There was something red staining his collar. A chill passed threw him as he stood in front of the mirror. It couldn't be, could it? His fingers curled around the damp red on his shirt and pulled down slightly. His blood ran cold, a shattered breath escaped his lips, it felt as if the breath should turn to ice when it hit the air. A shocked, cold, stillness. There on his neck were puncture marks, plain as day where she had left her deadly kiss.

@~8~ @~8~

Yami watched the sun from his comfortable place in Yugi's bed and smiled, pulling the boy a bit closer to him. For the first time in what seemed like forever, he felt completely happy. He looked at the boy who was sleeping on his chest, arms wrapped around him, smiling contently. It was magic, to be lying with the boy, completely bare skinned, pressed close to him. He gazed dreamily out the window; this was bliss. He wished with his entire being every night could be like last night. He kissed his aibou's forehead. It was such a shame that Yugi had school today. He suddenly felt a bit guilty for keeping him up so late. Well, maybe they were both equally to blame. He laughed lightly.

Yami gently untangled himself from Yugi and stole quietly downstairs. Grandpa was standing over the oven, hastily trying to throw some sort of breakfast together. He looked up and saw the ancient boy standing there. "Oh, Yami" he said, recognizing the boy by his dark eyes, "Can you get Yugi up to get ready for school? I have to leave for that convention in a minute." Oh yes, he was going away for a few weeks.

"That's what I came to talk to you about," Yami said, putting on his best concerned face, "I think Yugi should stay home today, he doesn't look so well."

"Oh?"

Yami led him upstairs and Grandpa tried to rouse the boy, who simply grumbled and rolled over as if he were ill. Yami laughed inside himself; typical Yugi when he hasn't slept enough. In this case, only three hours. Gramps gave up after a few minutes, then turned to Yami with a joking smile, "How late was he up last night?"

Yami shrugged. "I sleep in my soul room." he replied, gesturing to the puzzle.

"True," Gramp said with a nod. Equivocation. Yami loved it. "Well, let him sleep," the old man said going to the door, "If he feels okay when he wakes up, he can go to class then"

"Okay."

"Give him my love when he gets up."

"I will." the man vanished at the door.

Yami waited a moment till he heard the front door shut and lock before stripping down again and crawling in beside Yugi, wrapping his arms around the boy. He felt sort of bad and selfish for keeping the boy like that, but it seemed so unfair not to spend the day with him after they spent the night.

"Yami? Yami?" The voice roused him from his sleep.

"Oh Yugi," he said, rubbing his eyes.

"Why didn't you wake me up? I'm almost 3 hours late for school." Yugi smiled.

"Have I been asleep that long?" Yami yawned. "Don't worry about it, Yugi-Chan, I got your Grandpa to let you stay home today."

Yugi laughed. "You're the greatest."

"I know." Yami smirked. Yugi shook head and smiled, then cuddled close to his darker half. "I should keep you here all day, right next to me." Yami smiled.

"Okay," Yugi said brightly.

"You're precious." Yami laughed lightly. "But I did promise you an explanation of what's going on...or at least what I know."

"Can it wait?" Yugi asked, resting his head on Yami's chest.

"I don't think so, Something is going on affecting the ancient's dreams and I now Kaiba's missing. I knew it would come out sooner or later, and I certainly won't hide it from you."

"Is it really that bad?" Yugi smiled comfortingly.

"Yes," Yami said very abruptly, causing Yugi to feel slightly scared. "It was bad enough to turn Kaiba against me, turn Yami Bukura into the bitter soul we know today, and kill and destroy Malik's life and soul." Yugi had recalled that the Malik they had fought in the present had been an Egyptian reborn.

Malik. Yami hesitated thinking about demonized male. The demon dwelling inside Malik's mind had consumed the handsome boy completely. The tattoo on his back damned him, marked him with his own demented Yami, who was an Egyptian wild child, running insanely all over Japan. God only knew where Malik was now. Yami felt a funny feeling, something he couldn't quite place. He felt depressed thinking about the wild haired, violet-eyed boy. He was worried about him. Indeed when he first Malik he felt it: a shock went through him every time the youth's eyes fell on him, not the yami's, but the boy's himself . The violet eyes, eyes like someone else's. They were eyes all too familiar, but Yami couldn't place them. And the bleached hair, wild and spiky like his own. He was different somehow. The new Ka, Yami supposed, why was he even thinking of Malik? Yami mentally kicked himself. He thought about that boy far too often. Just casual thought's like where he was and what he was doing. By Ra! He was doing it again!

"It was that horrible?"

"In it's way, yes," Yami said. "It set off a chain reaction that went out of control. Plus my memory has a few blanks in it, so it may be worse than I recall it."

"What happened?" Yugi said softly, pressing closer to his Yami to offer him some consolation from the mysterious past.

Yami gave another sigh and hugged the boy tightly, then closed his eyes and let the memory take over; a dream of beautiful deserts and when the 5 of them had been happy......

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LYB: Okay, role call for the next chapter, Yami?
Yami: Well of course! I have to tell the story.
LYB: Yugi?
Yugi: What do I have to do?
LYB: Look cute mostly…
Yugi: ^_^ okay!
LYB: Kaiba?
Kaiba: Sweet, I'm in another chapter!
LYB: *sweat drops* Uhh huh… yeah… Bakura?
Bakura: Yeah I'm here, Reluctantly, but I'm here.
Yami: Yeah reluctantly? You usually love the spot light.
Bakura: *pouts* But Ryou's not in the next chapter…
LYB: Will you forgive me if I promise you more fluff?
Bakura: Hell yeah!!
LYB: okay then! And last but definitely not least: Malik.
*The other muses turn and stair at Malik*
Malik: ^_^ Hey she said I'd be important.
LYB: Yup I did : )

Cyris: Well, I think everyone knows the drill by now, read and review if you want the story to continue!