Yuugi jerked awake with a gasp. His eyes darted around the dimly lit room and then fell closed as he let out a sigh, leaning back against his pillows. Just a dream. Nothing more than a strange, silly dream.
"Are you alright?" a voice asked, prompting Yuugi to open his eyes once more.
There, leaning over him, was Pharaoh. The Egyptian appeared to have materialized directly on top of Yuugi, a common occurrence in the wake of the smaller teen's infrequent nightmares. What was not common was the way that Yuugi's brain immediately switched from lingering fear to lustful interest. How had he never noticed how intimate this position was? Gods, if someone walked in on them...
He bit his lip, face flushing as he forced those thoughts aside and choked out, "I'm fine. It was just a nightmare."
Pharaoh frowned, leaning closer so that their lips were mere inches apart. "Are you certain? You sound odd and your face appears flushed."
"Yep, I'm good," Yuugi squeaked, sitting up, forcing Pharaoh to lean back into a sitting position.
The strange behavior only made the taller teen's frown deepen as he asked, "What was the subject of this nightmare?"
"Nothing all that interesting or logical," Yuugi replied with a shrug, grateful for the slight change in topic. "I was at school, in class, but you were missing, so I went to find you. I couldn't, though, so I kept getting more and more anxious. I think that we had a test to take or something like that? Whatever it was, I had to make sure that you were there."
When Yuugi finished speaking, Pharaoh sighed and let his gaze drop to his own lap. "I am sorry to be the cause of your anxiety."
"You're not!" Yuugi cried, distressed. "I mean, sure, I'm anxious about today, but I get anxious about a lot of stuff. If it wasn't this, it would be failing a test or giving a speech in class. At least this time, my anxiety is reasonable. Fate of the world and all that."
"Perhaps. I would still rather that you were free from any form of anxiety."
"Maybe one day," Yuugi said with a sigh. Then he glanced over at the bedside table. The glowing clock read 5:08 am. "We might as well get ready and head downstairs. I'm not gonna be able to get back to sleep any time soon and we're supposed to meet up by 7 am anyway. Plus, between jet lag and anxiety, I doubt that we're the only ones awake."
With that, Yuugi rose to his feet and threw open the window's curtains. Dawn's first light flooded the room as the teen stretched and headed towards the bathroom.
Pharaoh watched him go and then heaved a sigh of his own before standing up and walking to the window. He looked out at the world beyond, taking in the serene calm of early morning as he waited for his partner's return.
Once he'd completed his morning rituals, Yuugi made his way down to the front parlor. This time, he managed to navigate the Ishtar mansion without getting lost. When he arrived, he found Marik and Otogi sitting in silence. Marik was reading from a rather large book while Otogi scratched away at a notepad. At the sound of Yuugi's footsteps, both of the teens paused their pursuits and looked up.
Yuugi bid them "good morning" with a shy wave.
"Morning! Or, if you're going off of our internal clocks, afternoon!" Marik replied, grinning.
"It's apparently already afternoon in Japan," Otogi explained with a smile.
"Does that mean that the others are already up?" Yuugi asked, glancing around.
"Honda got up around an hour ago and is off with Rishid for a morning jog ," Marik said, revulsion clear. Then he shuddered lightly and continued, "Your grandpa's also up and wandering about our museum of a house with Ishizu. Haven't seen Anzu or Jou yet, but they could be up and about, too."
"It wouldn't surprise me if Anzu's doing some morning calisthenics somewhere, but Jou's almost definitely still sleeping," Yuugi said with a grin. "Anyway, is there anything I can do to help with breakfast?"
"Nah, don't worry about it. Ishizu's got someone delivering the same buffet we did yesterday. We might need help bringing it all in, but until then, just pull up a chair and relax. There's tea and coffee on the table over there as well as juice and water in the kitchenette we showed you last night. Feel free to help yourself!"
Yuugi gave his thanks and wandered off, returning a few moments later with a cup of green tea. By then, Marik had returned to his book, but Otogi appeared to have abandoned his notes. Instead, he was looking at Yuugi.
When their gazes met, Yuugi smiled shyly and said, "How are you doing?"
"Do you mean the whole fleeing the country and discovering that magic is real thing or are you asking in a more general sense?" Otogi teased, grinning.
"The first," Yuugi replied with a laugh, taking the seat closest to the game designer. "Sorry, I really should have checked up on you earlier. Everyone else sort-of got to choose to be involved. You just got dragged along."
Otogi thought about it for a second and then shrugged. "I'm good for the most part. I mean, there's a non-zero chance that this is all some weird dream, but if it is, then it's a crazy realistic one. No weird jumps from place-to-place. No lack of memories. I'm not in my underwear. You know, the usual dream junk.
"Assuming that this is all real, well, so far I'm kind-of enjoying it? The dragons were terrifying and the end of the world stuff isn't great, but I've never had an adventure like this in the real world. It's even giving me some ideas," he added, turning his notepad around and offering it to Yuugi. Several semi-decent sketches of various millennium items dotted the page along with notes on their different abilities. "This whole ancient Egypt thing would make a great game, don't you think?"
"I hadn't really thought about it," Yuugi murmured as he took the notepad. He flipped through the pages and then looked up at Otogi with wide eyes. "An RPG?"
"That's the idea! I'm thinking that, instead of the standard list of classes, you really only have one or two of those with item specialization and character backstory being the real draw. It's just an idea, though, and I definitely don't know if I could really make it work. Assuming you're not offended by the whole thing?"
"Not at all! I could see how this would be fun if it were just a game. In fact, I could give you my thoughts?" Yuugi offered. Then he bit his lip, flushing, worried that he'd just made everything awkward.
Instead of dismissing the idea or looking annoyed, Otogi leaned forward, green eyes shining with delight. "Sure! You know way more about this stuff than I do! Give me the brain dump!"
Yuugi smiled and began to list off how he'd make a game about the items work.
The duo spent the next hour in heated discussion on the potential game, only stopping when Ishizu and Sugoroku entered the room. Soon, all of their group had assembled and breakfast had been delivered. When that was finished, Ishizu gathered them all around and handed everyone but Rishid a piece of folded cloth.
"These are your outfits. You will need to change into them before the ritual can begin. Rishid and Marik will assist the gentlemen while I help Anzu with the lady's garment."
With that, she turned to Anzu and led her from the room, leaving the men to examine their outfits. They had all been given a white linen skirt of some type.
As they puzzled over how to put the thing on, Marik clapped his hands and decreed, "Okay, shendyt time!" Then he demonstrated how to fasten the cloth so it wouldn't fall down.
The others followed suit, removing their shirts and pants before attaching the shendyts around their waist.
When they were done, Jounouchi looked around and mused, "It looks like we're all at an onsen."
The others laughed and then took various seats around the room while they waited for the women to rejoin them. As they waited, Pharaoh materialized beside Yuugi and studied the group. Then he said, "I suppose that I should change as well."
Before Yuugi could say a word, Pharaoh closed his eyes and switched outfits. Gone was the familiar grey shirt and black leather pants. Now the Egyptian stood with arms crossed over bare, sun-kissed skin. The only covering he wore the same, simple skirt that the others had adopted. Unlike the others, he had accented the look with the plethora of golden jewelry that he had been wearing when he was first trapped inside the puzzle.
Yuugi stared, heart racing, as Pharaoh held his arms out to expose sculpted muscles with almost no body-fat to speak of.
"Does it suit me?"
I am not going to survive this and it won't be the dark god that kills me , Yuugi thought hysterically, face flushing crimson.
This sudden change earned curious looks from several of the others and a worried one from Pharaoh. Before anyone could say anything, though, Anzu and Ishizu returned. While Ishizu hadn't changed, Anzu was now sporting a simple, white linen dress that went down to just below her knees.
"I see that you are all prepared for the journey," Ishizu said by way of greeting. Then she motioned for Rishid to stand up and join her while adding, "If anyone has need of the restroom or the like, I would suggest going now. While the spell may cause you to feel as if you are still in your body, those will remain here. All that will depart is your spirit and you will be gone for several hours. It is best to ensure that your body has as few needs as possible during that time. If you have no need to relieve yourselves, then take a seat and adopt a position that your body could maintain even in sleep."
As the others rushed through their final preparations, Ishizu approached Yuugi with a strange, black object in her hand. "Yuugi, might I make a suggestion?"
"Sure. What's up?"
Ishizu held out the black object, which was now clearly revealed to be a wig. "I believe that you should wear this. I know that it will not be the most comfortable of accessories, but given your appearance..."
"My appear- oh, you mean how I kind-of look like Pharaoh?"
Ishizu nodded. "Indeed. Given that we do not wish for you to be confused with the one whom you bare, it seems prudent to make this small alteration to your appearance."
Yuugi sighed but gave his agreement, allowing Ishizu to help him put on the wig. Once that was done, he found a seat and waited for the others to join him.
When they were all in their places, Ishizu nodded and spoke once more, "Remember, if the spell works, it will appear as if you have entered the world of the past. This will not be what has transpired. Instead, you will be in a world made from the pharaoh's memories. Nothing you do there can change what once occurred. The past is, as they say, written in stone.
"However, it is still in your best interest to act as if you belong in this world. We do not know what influence the dark one may have there. You do not want to draw attention to yourselves unless no other option is available to you. Blend in, seek out that which is lost to us, and be careful . There is no way for you to break the spell. Only we can do that and we have no way to see what you are experiencing. All that we can do is break the spell at the set time or when a vision tells me to do so. Understood?"
The group nodded, signaling that they were ready to go, and then Ishizu turned to Marik.
"I have nothing but the utmost faith in you, brother. Though your methods are unorthodox, your knowledge of the past and magic are worthy of one born to our order. I trust you to be their guide and do all that you can to assure the success of this mission. Our thoughts and blessings will be with you."
For once, Marik didn't make a joke or roll his eyes. Instead, he gave a genuine smile and said, "I love you, too, sis. And you, Rishid. Now, send us to the past. I'm ready to finally get some answers."
The first thing Yuugi noticed was the heat. The oppressive, all-consuming heat. He opened his eyes and then immediately closed them, overwhelmed by the bright sunshine. After taking a deep breath, he slowly opened them once more, allowing himself to acclimatize to the light. When he had, a feeling of awe swept over him. It appeared that the spell had worked.
He was now standing on the edge of a clearly ancient city. Single-story, mud-brick buildings were everywhere. In the far distance, he could see what appeared to be a towering stone building. Probably some sort of temple.
"It really worked," someone murmured and Yuugi turned to see Marik standing nearby. The blond looked stunned, gaze focused on the city.
He wasn't alone. The rest of the group stood nearby, clearly going through the same acclimatizing process that Yuugi had just finished.
How are you feeling, Pharaoh? Yuugi asked across their link and then froze. A moment later, he glanced down at his chest. Panic began to claw at his heart as his body began to shake. Someone grabbed him by the shoulders and demanded, "Yug, what's wrong?"
"My puzzle! Pharaoh! They're- they're gone!"