The answer to all is revealed! :D JK,but I hope everyone enjoys this chapter. Someone reviewed, so another chapter is posted! Please review, and thank you to everyone still following this!

Chapter Twenty:

The boy lay on his back, staring up at the skies. Mahad was supposed to have shown up, and the fact that he hadn't likely meant that something had come up in his magic lessons. Things were coming up more and more often for his friend; if it wasn't one of the teachers testing him for rapid advancement, it was Lord Ra. Apparently Mahad's rapid advancement hadn't gone unnoticed by the gods, and while the boy was proud of Mahad's achievements, at the same time he worried that they would pull the older boy away from the Palace.

He was broken out of his musings as a shadow suddenly crossed over his face. Opening his eyes, which he had closed while thinking, his crimson eyes were met by green ones. Both children stared at each other before the boy hastily rolled over, sitting up.

The girl giggled. "Are you not supposed to be here too? My name's Mana. I'm new here, and I'm going to be the greatest magician ever. I'm five seasons, so how old are you?"

Before the boy could answer, she immediately began to drag him off. "Have you ever heard of the bug of responsibility? It bites people and makes them responsible, so they have to do work all day and never play. Doesn't that sound awful?" Lowering her voice, she told him confidently, "You and I may be the only uninfected people in this whole place."

The boy had been about to pull out her grip when she had continued speaking, but now leaned forward curiously. The glint in her eyes was more than enough to get him to play along.

"Not the only people. My friend, Mahad, isn't bitten."

"Oh? Then why isn't he here?" she asked, archly.

"Because…" the boy laughed, realizing that she had indeed caught him. "Well, then, I guess as the only uninfected people here, we should stick together."

"So… how old are you?" Mana asked, continuing along, though not as urgently as before.

"Six seasons. So, one season older than you." He commented, laughing.

She pouted. "Hey! That's not fair. Age doesn't matter!"

He was too busy laughing, however, and so she changed tactics. "What'cha want to do then? I know! Let's go to the kitchens. I heard they have sweets there all the time!"

The boy hesitated. He had promised his father, not to mention he didn't want a repeat occurrence…. "Sure." He found himself saying.

The girl smiled at him, and he felt his heart lighten. Mana was brighter than any other person he had ever met, and he'd seen quite a few princesses paraded in front of him. As they started off towards the kitchens, she glanced over at him, smirking.

"So… Can I call you Prince then?" she asked, eyes glinting with a sly look that had been missing before.

That startled him, leaving him to stare after her as she suddenly took off. "Hey, Prince! Race you to the kitchens!"

Finally, with a grin, he ran after her. Laughter echoed through the halls, even as they faded away around him.

Yami found himself standing in the middle of a city, the ruined buildings similar to those of ghost towns in Western Films. However, there was a sense of enmity about the place that seemed to be directed towards him.

A figure, tall and tanned with a scar snaking down from one eye, walked out from one of the buildings, smirking.

"Well… Welcome back. You're more of a fool than I thought, to come here. Even though it is simply a dream to you, this place still gives me power."

At that, his grin turned almost feral. "Well, all mighty Pharaoh, can you remember yet? Or do my friends have to wrestle the information from you. I'll ask you one more time. What. Is. Your. Name?"

Yami didn't respond, taking an involuntary step back as suddenly a horde of pale shapes seemed to explode from behind the man, who began to laugh wildly. Turning, Yami fled as the laughter seemed to chase after him.

"Yes, run Pharaoh. You won't escape your fate. I'll make you tell me your name, one way or another. I'm almost strong enough to make these dreams a reality, and when I do you'll regret not simply giving in to me. Just you wait…"

Jack glanced around the hotel room, wondering what had woken him up. As he peered through the darkness, he saw Yami sitting up, panting as though he had been running. The boy's eyes were wide, and Jack recognized the look as one of terror. He'd seen it plenty of times while facing the goa'uld.

"Hey, Yami, you okay?" he asked softly, careful not to wake anyone up.

Starting, Yami looked at him, already starting to look much calmer, although Jack could still see traces of the emotion in his eyes.

"Yeah… It was just a bad dream, that's all. Don't worry about it…"

"Hey… They'll be okay." Jack commented, figuring the kid was worried about his friends and family. However, he was momentarily thrown off balance at the brief look of confusion that crossed Yami's face before a flicker of understanding.

"Hmm…" was the only response, and Jack changed his mind. Apparently, the kid's nightmare had dealt with something other than the current problems he was facing. As Yami lay back down to go to sleep, Jack peered at the clock. Noting that it was already five, Jack rolled over and shook Daniel.

"Psst. Hey, Daniel." The man slowly opened his eyes, looking blearily up at Jack as he tried to see without his glasses.

"Wassup? Izit morning already?" he mumbled, words jumbling as the scientist spoke.

"Get Teal'c up. Carter's already waiting for us. We're going to be scouting the docks and combing the city. Whoever this person is, we should be able to get at least some information on him."

Daniel managed a nod, and Jack quietly left the room. Within moments of his departure he was joined by Daniel and Teal'c, the former still yawning. As they moved down the hall, Carter joined them.

"Whew… Sorry for being late, Sir. I could have sworn I wouldn't get out of there unnoticed. Isis was watching the door for quite some time, but she finally went to sleep."

"That's all right, Carter." Jack responded, shouldering his pack as they pushed through the hotel doors. "We're right on schedule. So, we know we have until tonight to rescue Yami's relatives so we need to be quick."

Nodding, the group moved towards the docks whereupon they spread out. However, when they met up again three hours later, there was no sign of anything out of the ordinary.

"I do not believe we will find the hostages here, O'Neil, until the kidnapper wishes us to." Teal'c commented. Jack nodded, peering around.

"Well… Let's try to find out if anyone has seen any of the hostages, then."

Before they could split, however, a voice spoke up behind them. "Are you acquainted with a Mr. Yami Mouto?"

Jack slowly turned around. "And what if we are?" he asked, turning to confront the woman standing behind him. As he did so, his jaw dropped.

"Are you not Isis?" Teal'c commented, managing to make the question sound more like a statement of fact.

The woman in front of them, dressed in plain robes, gave them an odd look. "My name is Ishizu, not Isis. I need to talk to Mr. Mouto."

"Well, I'm afraid you can't talk to Yami, considering that you might be out to kill him. However, you can talk to us and we'll pass the message on to him."

Ishizu eyed him, before finally nodding. "Very well, if you promise that my message will reach him. I am one of the members of a special family, the tombkeeper clan in Egypt. It is my family's duty to protect the tombs of the Pharaohs, however recently my brother has begun to act strangely. He became the leader of our clan after our father's death, and while he was always reticent to lead the life of our people, recently he had begun to act openly antagonistic towards the Pharaohs, especially the one known as the Nameless Pharaoh. When he learned that the Millennium Puzzle had been solved by a boy closely resembling the Nameless Pharaoh he immediately disappeared."

Jack stared at her, uncomprehendingly. "Let me make sure I'm following you; your brother suddenly went insane and decided to go after the kid because he looks like some long dead pharaoh?"

Ishizu nodded, acting as though what she had told him was commonplace. Jack managed to shake his head, resisting the urge to laugh in sheer incredulity.

"Well, why don't you come with us and perhaps you can help us when we meet your brother later this evening to release the hostages; you can at least try to talk him out of doing anything that could get him hurt."

Ishizu stared at Jack, as though she couldn't comprehend what he had said. "But… my brother arranged to meet with Yami at midday… So in less than an hour…"

Now it was Jack's turn to stare as Daniel repeated what the woman had said. "In less than an hour? But…"

Dawning comprehension appeared on his face even as Jack turned towards the hotel, breaking into a run. Oh… This was bad. Very bad…

Yami moved along the streets, purposefully heading towards the docks. He had managed to escape Seto's keen observation by practically ordering him to allow Yami to go for a walk to clear his mind before meeting their adversary face to face. He had already caught Seto three times, but hadn't seen him since. Once he was certain that he was not being followed, Yami had begun to head towards the meeting point.

When he arrived at the docks, Yami moved through the warehouses, searching for some sign of his Grandfather or Yugi. Tea would likely be held with them, so if he could catch sight of any one of them…

Even as he rounded the corner, however, Yami froze in horror. Yugi, Grandpa, and Tea were all strapped into chairs suspended over the water. Each one was attached to an anchor that could easily pull them down into the dark depths.

A figure stepped out in front of him. Blond locks shot wildly in every direction as the tanned figure placed himself between Yami and his hostages. Gritting his teeth, Yami readied himself for whatever the kidnapper might have planned. Instead, he ended up starring in disbelief; the boy in front of him couldn't have been much older than Yami himself. In fact, he probably was the same age.

The boy laughed, and Yami's eyes widened at the hint of insanity that was contained. This was worse than he had anticipated… Even Pegasus had been sane, if single minded, in his pursuit of the Millennium Puzzle.

"Well, Pharaoh. Took you long enough to get here." The boy commented, and Yami was once again thrown off balance. The boy's voice was deep, sounding much like Heru'ur's, which meant that apparently there was a goa'uld on Earth. And it had Yugi hostage…

"So, we meet for the first time. I must say, I am surprised. From what I heard, I thought you would be, well, taller for one. Not to mention stronger. Oh well, however. Now that I have been freed from imprisonment, I have every intention of gaining possession of the Millennium Puzzle."

Yami tensed, one hand dropping to the puzzle around his neck. "What do you want with it?" he asked defensively.

"Well, I don't suppose you remember… After all, it has been quite some time. I want the Millennium Puzzle for the power it grants its wielder, of course. You could easily defeat me, if you only remembered how to access it." The goa'uld taunted, starting to move, circling Yami. Although the path to Yugi was now open, Yami hesitated to attempt a rescue. The goa'uld was so confident that there had to be a trap.

Before he could make a move, suddenly the goa'uld slipped to on knee, clutching its head. A scream rent the air, before suddenly the goa'uld looked up. Somehow, though, Yami could tell that this was no longer the goa'uld but the host.

"Please, kill him. I know what he's planning, and you have to stop him! He intends on killing your friends, no matter what happens! I am sorry that I was the one to give him the knowledge to find you, but please, Pharaoh, destroy him. Don't worry about me! I am so sorry for everything…"

Yami opened his mouth to respond, even as the goa'uld slid back into control. "Well, Pharaoh… Now you know. Destroy me, and you'll destroy my host. An innocent; isn't that your goal? To protect the innocent? Now, hand over the Millennium Puzzle, and I will release your friends."

Before the host had taken control, Yami might have been tempted to give up the puzzle for his friends' safety. However, now that he knew better he shook his head.

"You would never allow either my friends or myself to escape alive. No, you do not wish to leave a trail that others might follow to you, so why don't you tell me who you are? At least give me a name to call you by."

Smirking the goa'uld pulled out a long dagger from his belt; the sheath had been cleverly hidden in the clothes so that Yami had no warning before the blade was barred. "My name? Well, I suppose you might as well call me Marik, after my host. You won't live long enough for my true name to be of any use to you."

Frantically, Yami began to back up as the goa'uld started towards him. Before he could back up too far, however, the goa'uld threw the knife into something behind him. Suddenly, all of the anchors holding his friends dropped, not enough to pull them into the water, but instead of hanging they were now slowly lowering into the ocean, and the chain connected to them was beginning to decrease.

The goa'uld smirked. "Did you think I was going to chase you all over this pathetic city?" he sneered, "If so, you're more pathetic now than you were five-thousand years ago. No, we'll have a shadow game, and the victor claims the Millennium Puzzle!"

A what!? Yami thought, mind frantically trying to decide what the goa'uld was walking about. The host, Marik, seemed to think he could win, but how could he win a game he had never even heard of? Laughing maniacally, the goa'uld held up a hand.

"I summon Lava Golem." Yami barely had time to register the lack of a duel disk when suddenly a huge monster appeared in front of him, molten lava running in rivulets down the beast's sides.

Yami frantically called out the name of the first duel monster he could think of, although it wasn't what he might have thought of had his mind not been fogged by shock.

"I summon… Gaia…?" Exactly as he had expected, nothing happened. The goa'uld laughed.

"You can't summon a creature that is not your ka, fool! Unfortunately for you, I have this." Pulling up his sleeve, he showed Yami a golden device strapped to his arm. "I found this in the tomb of the Nameless Pharaoh, your tomb. I figured it would come in handy, and it ensures that I can summon any creature so long as a tablet exists for it. Well, I would prepare yourself… to die!" he finished, laughing even as the lava golem moved forward.

As the creature moved towards Yami, he felt as though the rest of the world was shrinking away. Instead, all that existed was him as even the golem seemed to drop out of sight. A tall figure, cloaked in shadows stood in front of him, and for some reason he felt a wave of sadness wash over him. He reached out, feeling as though he had lost a friend, although he couldn't imagine why.

"Please." He whispered, feeling something stirring within him. "Please help me…" The figure nodded, bowing in front of him even as the world snapped back into focus. The lava golem was still moving towards him, however now someone was standing in between him and the other monster.

The Dark Magician held out a hand, casting his signature attack. Although, in terms of the game the lava golem was much stronger than the Dark Magician, the blast destroyed the fiend and the goa'uld doubled over.

Yami still felt as though he was wrapped in fog, although he was no longer in the blank realm. He slowly moved forward, barely noting the Dark Magician moving to flank him and the other creature holding a large sword that hovered in the air nearby.

Stopping in front of the goa'uld, which had fallen to its knees, he slowly spoke.

"You have trespassed where you are not supposed to be. After we drove the false gods away, it was made clear that none of your kind were welcome here. It is time for you to face the judgment of the true gods." Holding out a hand, he reached out with the power welling up inside of him until he felt the goa'uld residing inside of the boy.

"Now, begone." He ordered, encasing it with his shadow magic and sending it into the shadow realm. The boy's eyes cleared, and he stared up at Yami, looking dazed and confused. Ignoring the boy, Yami turned towards his Dark Magician.

"Thank you… my friend…" he whispered, dismissing him. As soon as the magician had disappeared, Yami felt as though his strength was draining out of him. He barely had enough time to notice Seto racing towards him, trailed by Mahad, before he collapsed to the ground.

Thanks to everyone for reading! :D Please review and let me what you think so far!