Yes, I know I said this would be the last chapter, but in the end, the story didn't agree with that. However, the next chapter has no choice but to be the last one. Bare with me just a little longer, please.

10th chapter: Count down

Bakura awoke with a start at the break of dawn. "Yugi?"

The whisper of his voice was carried away by the dry desert wind. Jono was snoring softly somewhere in the complete darkness that forewent the arrival of Ra, and Bakura supposed Malik was with him. The air was filled with the smell of grass that had started growing overnight.

Bakura let out a sigh of relief. Just another nightmare, and this one he couldn't even remember.

"Did you call for me, Baccura?"

In the east Ra was starting to rise, colouring the Nut's feet with the blood of his enemy. Bakura could see the outlines of his little friend in the arriving light.

"Not really," he answered. "I just awoke with a strange feeling."

The teasing smile was audible in the little one's voice. "Is the great Bakura, the king of thieves, having nightmares?"

"Be quiet. You're dreaming a lot more than I do."

He saw Yugi move, and that was all the evidence that he sat down.

"True. So what is the great Bakura dreaming in the dark of night?"

"That's none of your business," the man said sulkily.

"I've told you all of my nightmares."

"That's different. As your guardian I am supposed to know of everything that scares you so that I can be there as understanding comfort."

Ra had raised enough for Bakura to see the young boy's face. He was pouting.

"Don't give me that face," Bakura warned, knowing very well where those words would lead; Yugi opened his irresistible eyes wide, attacking with sheer cuteness.

"Damn you."

Yugi grinned widely.

"I don't remember what the dream was about."

"Hey! No fair. You should have said that from the beginning!"

"My victory," Bakura snickered. "You can't beat me in my own games."

"Are you fighting?" a soft voice asked from Jono's resting body.

"No. Bakura is just being a jerk."

"And enjoying it. Have you slept well, Malik?"

The other feline entered Ra's light. He was completely red, like he was covered in red oils. "I slept well, Bakura-friend. Jono is sleeping well still."

They all looked over to the wolf. Jono was unnaturally enough a real sleepyhead, especially in the morning.

"A healthy eater, and a good sleeper," Yugi mumbled fondly. "Let's have a morning meal. That will wake him up."

The pharaoh's camp was breaking up. Seto was half asleep as he made his horse ready. Mahado watched in deep concern. Last night the high priest of Toth had returned to the camp, settled in his tent and stared into nothingness for the remains of the night, not saying a word.

Could it possibly be a curse, or was his old friend being controlled? Neither guess sounded good to his ears.

"Still no change?" Atemu asked with a low voice.

"Only the fact he seems sleepy," Mahado mumbled back.

"Is that a good sign?"

"I can't tell, but I hope so. I would be even more worried if he was fit and ready to go after not sleeping at all."

That the young pharaoh had to agree with. Seto was always calm and collected, thoughtful and good with words. He may never have been very talkative, but he had never retreated into complete silence before.

When everything was ready they continued, Seto nodding in his saddle. Mahado rode in beside his friend and grabbed his arm, making the high priest jerk his head up.

"You will fall off the horse, my friend," Mahado said calmly.

"Oh. I'm sorry, Mahado. I will try to stay awake."

The high priest of Shu released his hold on Seto's arm. "Why were you up all night anyway? You know the situation, Seto."

The high priest of Toth sighed deeply. "There is something in my memory, just out of my reach, that I need to grasp."

"Is it about this mission?" Mahado asked.

Seto's blue eyes looked to the belly of Nut that Ra would pass during midday. "I'm not sure. It could be."

Atemu had quietly been watching them from the front. At least his cousin seemed to be speaking again.

Locking his eyes to the location they were heading to, the young pharaoh thought about the night Bakura had been in his room.

"There you are, prince of doom and death."

It had been the first time in his life anybody had dared to say something like that to his face. Always, wherever he went, people had always called him by names of a great ruler. That Bakura hadn't even hesitated to say such words. And his follow up words weren't more understandable.

"Nice to hear that you remember me."

Remember him? Atemu knew for a fact that it had been the first time they met face to face. No lowlife had ever dared to come face to face with a royalty, the pharaoh even less. But that Bakura had seemed to know him well, and the hatred that had glowed in his eyes had been genuinely aimed at him as person, not prince. That the thief had called him pharaoh was also strange.

Atemu couldn't remember what the crazy man with white hair had been talking about. Something about the Gods turning the world backwards and reaching for their forbidden powers. If he hadn't been the object of the thief's devious mischief for five years he would have dismissed Bakura as completely mad.

And then the wind in his back, followed by blood coloured petals. That soft voice.

"We must leave, Baccura."

Atemu had only been able to see a small body with pale skin, a slender back and black hair outlined with red. But the voice. That voice that had filled the room like a wave. It had been so soft, and yet filled with such untamed power that it had left him petrified. And then both the owner of the voice and Bakura was gone, and the wind had turned to leave, softly washing over him like water. He had followed the flower petals with his eyes until they had disappeared in the darkness of night. Not even Tefnut had been able to lighten the darkness enough for him to see where the petals headed.

Were they heading towards the place where that soft voice was now?

In the capital of Egypt, Isis fought to control the visions blurring for her inner eye. She was confused. The images didn't fit together and she didn't know if they belonged to the past, the present or the future. Everything was in chaos. One image showed a child crying in the mother's arms, in the next a man turned to stone, a cat turned into a young girl, Marik's castle crumbled, Seto played with two kittens, Tefnut was weeping, an oasis of green trees, soft grass and flowers, the sky was burning, the new pharaoh kissed a young girl, a boy with light hair cried and screamed, Marik looked up under the axe that soon would cut off his head, a pond of water coloured red from the blood of the body hung over it, a woman turned into a snake and opened her mouth to bite, broken statues of the Gods, a sandstorm raising, Marik sneaked out from under a bush with a sleeping child in his arms, Nut covered herself with clouds and hid all light from view, a child with white hair hiding under some rocks watched his family be slaughtered, a desert hound charged, young confused-looking Atemu watched a disturbed Solomon, Geb shook with anger, A sea of humans with animal parts roared with madness and fear in their eyes, the child with the white hair and another child watched Marik's castle crumble from afar, a pair of amethyst eyes opened and stared straight at her.

The millennium necklace broke.

Isis's mind was slapped back into her own head and she fainted.

Yugi sighed deeply.

"The millennium necklace is broken," he stated softly so to not alarm his guardian.

"What?"

Bakura, Malik and Jono all stared at him.

"How could it break?" Jono asked. "Those things are made of frozen blood and magic. They shouldn't be able to break."

Yugi didn't say anything for a while. The eye of the necklace had landed on him, and in that moment it had felt like something small had passed through his head from behind and into the centre of the eye. The power of the Gods. It made Yugi feel dizzy and sick.

"The priestess of Isis tried to use the necklace to see me. The Gods couldn't allow that."

Bakura was silent as he observed his young friend. Yugi wasn't a child anymore. Not with his memories returned to him. Before they arrived here Yugi had carried around a bitterness sleeping within him, now there was only sorrow to him. Bakura knew too well the look his friend wore now; helplessness.

The Yugi Bakura had taken care of for so long now, Marik's son, had never been helpless before. He was always cocky, trying to be tough and eager to prove that he was a good thief. This Yugi was the one that had died in that time, only less energetic and innocent. Something was off, and Bakura was sure it had something to do with the Gods, and that Yugi couldn't talk to him about.

"What are you thinking of, Yugi?" the older man asked anyway.

Yugi's shoulders flinched slightly. Malik and Jono noticed it too.

"I don't really know," the boy answered, and it was a straight lie. "It just feels like something big is about to happen. Something bad."

Bakura placed a hand on Jono's back as the wolf was about to tell Yugi on his lie.

"Then we'll leave," the thief said and stood.

"Not yet," Yugi said sharply, surprising his guardian and friends. "I'm not finished here yet. Wait until Ra falls."

The look in Yugi's eyes as he looked up Bakura had never seen. He had to swallow, and still couldn't speak. All he could do was sit back down and continue to mend his cloak. Yugi stood and headed towards the pond.

"What happened?" Jono asked in a shocked whisper.

"Yugi is the Treasure of the World," Malik answered with low voice. "He was made by Gods, and no one can ignore an order from the Gods when it's shoved into the face like that."

The closer they came to their destination, the harder Seto's heart beat. For some unknown reason, at least not one he could explain to himself, he was scared.

During the day the memories that were and weren't his own had cleared somewhat. He could remember Malik clearly, though Yugi was still blurry. But there were two Malik; one cat and one human. The cat was bronze coloured with purple eyes, the human had pale, milk coloured hair and the same purple eyes. They were the same, those two, Seto knew that, but there was still a large part of his brain that denied it.

Then it was the girl Atemu had fallen in love with. That girl was Yugi covered by an illusion to protect himself. But there were two Yugi too. One cat and one human.

Atemu had told the human girl Yugi to marry him and started the preparations. Seto, on the other hand, had helped cat Yugi and Malik escape the palace. Then everything had changed.

The pharaoh had died, haltering the wedding preparations as everyone had concentrated on the funeral and coronation of the new pharaoh. The weather had changed and Nut had been covered with clouds that hid both Ra and Tefnut and all the stars from sight. Storms had roared over the land, killing thousands of people. Atemu, as the new pharaoh, realized his bride was gone and then…

What happened then?

Seto couldn't bring forth any memories past the fact that Atemu had realized Yugi was gone. The new pharaoh had done something terrible. It was only a feeling, a bad feeling in the bottom of his gut, but Seto couldn't deny it. Atemu had done something.

"Seto?"

The high priest jumped in the saddle. "What?"

Beside him Mahado blinked in surprise, then frowned in concern as Seto saw him.

"Are you all right, my friend? You look very pale."

Seto opened his mouth, intending to lie and say he was fine, but found that he couldn't. He couldn't deny that his heart was racing and that his hands were trembling badly. Defeated, he lowered his head with a sound somewhere between a grunt and a whimper.

"No. I'm not all right. Something really bad is about to happen."

Mahado reached out a hand and squeezed his friend's shoulder.

"Should I ask the pharaoh to take a break?"

The wind hit Seto in the back, bringing the whisper of a voice, but he couldn't make out the words. The sand danced around and moved in front of them, creating a path. Seto's eyes widened upon seeing it.

"No. We must continue."

Mahado had seen the wind and sand as well, and he nodded. He was confused, but knew they couldn't stop now. The Gods were with them, watching over them. He had to believe that.

"If you feel something is about to go wrong, then I will trust your feeling. Tell me what to do."

That was a great display of trust. Mahado was wise and many men way past his years turned to the young high priest for advice. Seto felt honoured, but also burdened.

"Stay close to Atemu, and make sure he doesn't do anything stupid."

The high priest of Shu was quiet for a moment, his face stiff. Seto knew that telling the pharaoh off was nothing just anyone would do and survive. But Mahado was special.

"I will," he said at last. "And what will be your task?"

"I will keep a lookout for the threat. While I believe our pharaoh will lead us into disaster, something else might be deceiving him. I would rather believe in the latter if I could."

Mahado sighed quietly.

"I believe in you, Seto. So now, at least ride with the pharaoh and me in the front, please."

Seto looked up. Mahado looked slightly weary, so he nodded with a small smile.

"Just don't tell his holiness about this."

In the oasis somewhere south southwest of Alexandria there were four beings, and all of them waited.

Bakura, the king of thieves since the young age of sixteen, a man with broad shoulders and torso, white hair and dark skin, even for an Egyptian native, crisscrossed with scars, the most outstanding one falling over his right eye and cheek to his chin, crossed twice vertically, waited to leave. He wasn't used to be the one following orders. Since the age of fourteen when he took over the care and charge of Yugi from Marik, he had been the one giving orders and knowing best, always being the rough teacher, loving brother and unquestioned leader. To suddenly be ordered around by the one whose back he had always watched, he had mixed feelings about. After mending his cloths as far as he possibly could, he had found some high grass and tried to make a hat by plaiting the straws.

Jono, the desert hound and one of two revived from an extinct kind of people, one with three shapes whereof only two were commonly known; the first of the golden wolf and the third of the human, a human with golden blond hair, honey brown eyes and the wolf's long ears peaking up from the sides of his head instead of human ones, just like he had black claws instead of nails and a fluffy tail wagging about behind him, waited for nightfall. He wasn't about to doubt Yugi's leadership. If the Treasure of the World said wait he would wait, because Yugi most certainly knew what was going on. But waiting was boring. He tried to sniff out something interesting in the oasis and had already went around the pond and was on his way towards the old village in search for an interesting smell.

Malik, the cat and second of the revived, one with all his three forms known to the world; the first of the cat bronze coloured coat a pale head and purple eyes, the second of the panther in the same colours as the first form, the third of the human with milk coloured hair, purple eyes and just like Jono his animal ears took the place of human ones, claws, much sharper than Jono's, instead of nails and the end of a long tail slowly whipping from side to side, waited for Yugi. He sat in his first form on Bakura's shoulder, looking longingly at the pond his friend was hiding within. During his first life he had loved Yugi, and that love still housed his heart. When the Treasure of the World regained his memories Malik had thought that they could love each other again, but Yugi knew better. They hadn't spoken a word about it, however, when Malik through his eyes had tried to tell Yugi that he still loved him, the other had turned away. Because he was the Treasure of the World, treasured by the Gods, he was off limits, even if Malik's feelings of love were returned.

Yugi, the Treasure of the Word, born twice to have his parents murdered, waited for the pharaoh. Floating at the bottom of the pond, so that he didn't have to face his friends, Yugi thought hard. In his chest his feelings stood against each other until it felt like his heart would burst.

Deceived by the Gods was the strongest feeling, and therefore the Treasure of the World didn't want to be, but against that stood Malik, Jono and Bakura. They loved him, and Yugi knew it and loved them back, more than anything. His wish would hurt them all deeply.

Second was hatred towards the pharaoh, the son of the man who killed his father, imprisoned him in the lost world and caused the chaos that had forced the Gods to turn the world backwards, and against that stood fear of the same pharaoh he hated. The illusion of a human girl he had used to protect himself, the pharaoh had fallen in love with the beauty and tried to keep it to himself which had led to the extinction of an entire people. What would happen if the pharaoh laid his eyes on him again? What would happen to the world?

Third was fear for himself, even when he lead the pharaoh and his brutes to him he was scared, and knowing the three now waiting around in the oasis would protect him to death didn't make matters any better. Still, against that fear, stood the soul-deep hatred towards the Gods, and the sorrow it caused him.

And underneath everything flowed his devotion to Seto.

Being caught in the pharaoh's palace, Seto had been the one person who helped. As the pharaoh's cousin Seto should have absolute devotion to his ruler, but at the same time, Seto knew where love ended and obsession started. The pharaoh had been obsessed with the human girl he thought Yugi to be, and Seto had listened to Yugi. Working against the pharaoh meant death, whoever it was. Seto had still done so, and Yugi knew. Seto had been killed for it. Crushed under the power of shadows from the millennium item of the pharaoh. Yugi had felt it, only minutes before he died himself.

Would Seto die this time too? Would Bakura?

It didn't matter what happened. Somebody would die tonight. And everything because of the Gods' betrayal. They were supposed to protect the humans and all living. Instead they killed. Like any human ruler anywhere executing other humans for causing them discomfort. Legal killers.

Yugi opened his eyes and stared at the sky though the water. Ra had passed over him long ago. Night would be over them in a few hours. The pharaoh would arrive to the oasis soon before Ra fell beyond the horizon. If they waited until then… If they escaped before it…

Yugi swallowed, love, fear and hatred fighting for domination in his chest. He had to come to a decision soon.

The pharaoh had increased the speed, leaving the servants slightly behind. Mahado had a tight hold of the reins of Seto's horse, as Seto himself all but lay in the saddle. He was seriously not well, but he still refused to stop.

"I have to see this through," he said whenever Mahado or Atemu tried to coax him into resting. At last the latter decided enough was enough.

"We'll take a rest now," the pharaoh ordered and made a motion with his hand.

"No, we can't!" Seto protested and looked up. His face was very pale and his breath heavy. "If we stop now, they will disappear."

"Don't be silly, Seto," Mahado said as gently as he could, yet his worry coloured his words. "People don't disappear. If they move they will either go by foot or use magic. If they go by foot we can easily catch up. If they use magic we can follow the trace."

"You don't understand!"

Mahado and Atemu both widened their eyes and stared at Seto breathing painfully heavy while resting his head against the neck of his horse. The cousin of the pharaoh had raised his voice. Seto never raised his voice.

A soldier rode up to them on his camel.

"Pharaoh. What should we do, oh pharaoh?"

"Give me water," Atemu ordered and held out his hand without taking his eyes off the high priest of Toth.

The soldier obeyed without question and handed the goatskin hanging to his saddle to his ruler. Atemu opened it and slowly poured water over his cousin's head. Seto sighed and his frown eased. Atemu smiled at Mahado, who smiled back, albeit without the same relief in his face.

Atemu gave the goatskin back to the soldier and Seto raised his head.

"Thank you, my pharaoh. But please, we must continue."

Atemu hesitated, but then nodded and turned towards his waiting solders. The servants were slowly catching up.

"We'll increase speed again. Five of you stay with the servants. The rest will come with me."

And with another motion with his hand they were once again on the move.