Notes: Again, this isn't yaoi ^^ Oh, and Kythopia is Des's character, so no usin' her without permission!! ^_~
Yugi woke up in the middle of the night with a start. "Yami!" he cried, seeing the ancient pharaoh staring out the window.
"Yes?" Yami Yugi turned back to face the boy.
"I . . . I had a dream," Yugi said slowly, getting out of bed. "I'm afraid my friends are in trouble!"
Yami Yugi slowly nodded. "I have sensed this too," he said grimly.
The phone jangled abruptly, startling both of them. "Who would call at this hour?!" Yugi cried, grabbing the receiver. "Hello, Muto residence," he greeted shakily.
"Yugi?" He recognized the soft, worried voice.
"Bakura?!" Yugi gasped. "What's wrong?"
Shakily Bakura explained what had happened with the attacker. "I . . . I don't know what to do," he wailed. "I probably should call the police, but I can't very well tell them what happened to my Yami. The modern medical doctors wouldn't be able to help him. . . ." He trailed off.
Yugi nodded slowly. That was true. "How is he now, Bakura?" he asked.
Bakura paused. "Well, he's . . . he's just laying on the floor because I don't know how to move him," he admitted. "He . . . he looks as though he's asleep, but I think he's actually unconscious. I . . . I managed to get the bleeding stopped and to bandage his wound, but I . . . I don't quite know what to do now."
Yugi exchanged a look with his Yami. "It's alright, Bakura," he assured him. "Yami and I will come out to help."
"Oh thank you," Bakura said softly as he hung up.
****
Marik huddled in the cart of towels, listening to the would-be assassins outside in the hospital corridors. The night nurse had noticed them now and had demanded to know what they were doing. They had given a vague answer and she was calling security, but even that didn't make them stop looking for the Egyptian boy.
I can't stay here, Marik told himself. Once they have left, I will have to depart as well! He had no idea where he would go, but he couldn't stay in this hospital—not with these men after him.
His thoughts were interrupted as one of the maids suddenly took the cart and began pushing it. She was probably heading for the linen closet to replace the towels. What would she do if she found Marik all curled up at the bottom?
He soon found out. The woman lifted the towels to put them away and let out an ear-piercing shriek. "Who are you?! What are you doing in there?!" she cried.
Now that Marik's cover was blown, he had no choice but to jump out of the cart and run off down the hall. Her screams had alerted the strange men, and they were coming after him again. Why on earth did they want him dead so badly that they would chase him through a hospital?!
****
Tea was having a disturbing dream of her own. In it, she had apparently gone to ancient Egypt and was wandering down the halls of a great palace. "Hello?" she called. "Is anyone here?"
Suddenly the pointed end of a long glaive was stuck at her and a grim-looking woman with dark blue hair stepped out. "Who are you, and what is your business with being in the Pharaoh's palace?" she demanded.
Tea was bowled over. "Pharaoh's palace?" she repeated.
The woman nodded solemnly.
Suddenly a young man who looked strikingly familiar came from around a corner. He was adorned in the attire of ancient Egypt, with strange and elaborate headgear. He wore a long cloak and white pants, and around his neck he wore the Millennium Ankh. He wasn't wearing a shirt, and in his hand he held the Millennium Rod, which he pointed at Tea.
Tea backed up, startled. "Kaiba?!" she gasped.
The boy came closer to her and smirked, running his fingers along her cheek. Tea grimaced, not enjoying his touch in the least. "I will take it from here, Kythopia," he said, but the blue-haired woman glared at him suspiciously.
"Someday the Pharaoh will stop your evil plans," she said, pointing the weapon at him now. "And I will assist him whole-heartedly!"
The boy didn't look fazed. "Please. I am more powerful than the Pharaoh and all of his absurd sorcerers—including you, Kythopia!"
Tea looked at him. "Who are you?" she demanded.
He sneered at her, and Tea could see the dark, evil look in his eyes. "I am the Pharaoh's high priest," he told her, but didn't give a name.
Tea knew that all she wanted was to get away from him immediately. Kythopia knew this, too, and she glared at the boy. "She doesn't like you," the blue-haired woman said, raising her glaive to point directly at his throat. "And neither do I. Leave. Now!"
The boy only laughed and continued on down the hall. Tea looked after him in disgust. "What a creep," she remarked. That couldn't have been Seto Kaiba, she decided.
Kythopia nodded in agreement. "Come," she said. "I will escort you out of the palace."
"No, wait!" a new voice chirped.
Tea whirled around. It sounded like . . . herself. Running toward them was a girl in a pink Egyptian dress. Her eyes were brown, but other than that, she bore a striking resemblance to Tea herself. "I have wished to speak with her," the girl told Kythopia. "Please, come with me," she implored, and Tea followed curiously.
"Who are you?" she asked.
The girl smiled. "I am Teana," she explained. "My message to you can only be very brief," she said, glancing around furtively.
"What is it?" Tea wanted to know. "What's going on around here?"
Teana came closer to Tea and whispered, "You must be cautious!"
"Why?" Tea exclaimed. "What's going on? Are my friends in danger?"
"The secrets to the present lie in the mysteries of the past," Teana told her.
****
Tea awoke, her heart pounding wildly. What did it mean? The dream had been too vivid and detailed to not be important.
Wait . . . Pharaoh's palace? What if she had gone back to the time when Yami Yugi was the ruler of Egypt?
And who was that creepy boy? There was no way Tea could believe it was Seto Kaiba. He didn't act like that. Of course . . . she remembered that Ishizu always said that Seto had lived a past life in Egypt.
She shook her head, the memory of the boy's evil touch fresh in her mind. That wasn't Kaiba! What Ishizu thought was wrong. It had to be!
Her thoughts drifted to Teana's warning. Something was wrong—very wrong. And they had better figure out what—very fast.
****
Seto looked out the window at Domino City bleary-eyed. He hadn't been able to sleep since that strange dream. What did it mean?
He looked over at Mokuba, who had fallen asleep again. What would he do if that creep—whoever he was—came after Mokuba? No, he couldn't let that happen. He wouldn't!
His eyes narrowed. "Don't expect to win against me," he vowed low. "Whoever—or whatever—you are, you've just met your match."
In the shadows, a dark figure had heard Seto's comment. "We'll see," he said low. "We will just see."
****
Marik tore down the hall, frightened. What was he going to do? Now not only were those men chasing him, but so was hospital security! They didn't realize he was a patient and instead thought he was some kind of burglar. "Please! I'm not armed!" he cried, knocking over a tray of medicine.
"Hello, master," one of the strange men sneered, dropping down out of nowhere. Marik's eyes widened and he turned to run the other way, crashing into a doctor just coming out of the operating room.
"I'm sorry!" Marik apologized, dashing down the corridor. The doctor stared after him and then was pushed aside by the strange man.
"You there!" a security guard yelled. "Come back here!"
Marik didn't answer, and instead ran up another hallway. He had to get away.
But now he had just reached a dead end.
"Nowhere to run now, *master*," one of the men sneered, appearing from around the corner and advancing on him.
Marik looked around wildly. There *was* one way out, but it was risky. . . . Not as risky as being caught by these crazed men, however. "Not quite!" he yelled, and jumped out the window. He winced as the glass cut through his flesh, but he couldn't worry about that now.
"He jumped!" the man yelled in disbelief.
"But we're six stories up!" another one said. "He has to be dead!"
Marik was hanging from a ledge just under the window. If those men saw him he was dead, but if he lost his grip he'd be dead too. What was he going to do now?
****
"Bakura, did you see what that guy looked like?" Yugi asked. He was helping his friend clean the blood off the floor. Yami Yugi had carried Yami Bakura up to bed and said that the tomb robber should be alright in a while, much to Bakura's relief, so now the boy had decided that he needed to get the kitchen more presentable before his dad came home and saw it.
Bakura paused as he heard Yugi's question. "Well, I . . . I couldn't see him very well, but he . . . he had cold gray eyes and . . . he had a shock of red hair. That's about all I could make out," he sighed. "What on earth could he have wanted?!"
"It sounds to me like he just came to cause some trouble," Yugi said grimly. He was reluctant to say it aloud, but he was afraid that Joey was right about them being stalked.
"I was afraid someone was following me home," Bakura said softly. He paused. "But what I don't understand is, why didn't my Yami sense it too? He thought I was just being ridiculous."
Yugi paused. "There's more going on here than meets the eye," he said softly.
****
Joey woke up the next morning feeling edgy. He had tossed and turned all night, having strange dreams himself, but now he couldn't remember anything about them.
He went to look at himself in the mirror. "Oh man . . . I look like a train wreck," he sighed, shaking his head. He turned on the water and splashed some in his face.
After breakfast he was starting to feel better. He decided to head off to Yugi's place and see what was up.
On the way he met Tristan. "Hey, bud, what's up?" the other boy asked.
"Man, I don't know!!" Joey cried. "I just know somethin' freaky is goin' on!"
"Not that again," Tristan sighed.
Joey paused. "You know, Tristan, there's a car followin' us."
Tristan looked back. "Probably just your imagination," he shrugged.
Joey gasped. "Is that my imagination too?!" He pointed at the strange car, where someone was holding up a camera and snapping a picture.
Tristan's eyes widened. "What the . . ." He pointed his forefinger at the car. "Hey you! Why are you taking our picture?!"
Immediately the camera disappeared back inside and the window rolled up. With a screech of its tires, the car had turned around and disappeared.
"Whaddya think about that, huh?!" Joey exclaimed.
Tristan shook his head. "I think something is very weird."
****
Bakura awoke with a start. He had dozed off sitting in the chair next to his Yami's bed. Had long had he been asleep? He blinked, looking around. It seemed to be morning. But what had awakened him?
He looked over at Yami Bakura. The thief was laying on his side in the same position Bakura had last seen him in, but now his slanted brown eyes were open. "Yami!" the boy cried. "Are you alright?"
"I've been trying to wake you for ten minutes," the thief told him grouchily, raising himself up on one elbow.
Bakura blinked. "I . . . I'm sorry," he said softly.
Yami Bakura shook his head in annoyance. "Fool. Listen to me," he ordered, ignoring the boy's earlier question. "The man that attacked me last night had some kind of dark powers," he stated.
Bakura gasped. "Was he . . . mortal?" he finished finally.
"Yes, you fool, but he was drawing on ancient evil powers," Yami Bakura replied. "I was barely able to defeat him." His eyes narrowed angrily as he said this.
"Oh my," Bakura cried.
"And . . ." Yami Bakura paused, gathering his strength. "I don't doubt that he will be back," he finished grimly, "as I was unable to permanently defeat him."
"But what would he want with me?" Bakura asked. He was feeling very frightened.
"It's not just you, fool!" Yami Bakura snapped. "It's you and all of your pathetic friends. Someone has found out about your uncanny abilities to defeat dark forces and wants to get you all out of the way!" He paused again, now feeling quite weak, and lowered himself back down onto the soft pillows. "Don't leave the house," he ordered before falling unconscious again.
Bakura sat still, blinking. What his Yami had said gave him the chills. He needed to warn the others immediately!
The phone rang then, startling him out of his thoughts. "Hello," he said softly as he picked up the receiver.
No answer.
"Hello?" Bakura said again. "Who is this?!"
Then he heard a dull click as someone hung up.
Yugi woke up in the middle of the night with a start. "Yami!" he cried, seeing the ancient pharaoh staring out the window.
"Yes?" Yami Yugi turned back to face the boy.
"I . . . I had a dream," Yugi said slowly, getting out of bed. "I'm afraid my friends are in trouble!"
Yami Yugi slowly nodded. "I have sensed this too," he said grimly.
The phone jangled abruptly, startling both of them. "Who would call at this hour?!" Yugi cried, grabbing the receiver. "Hello, Muto residence," he greeted shakily.
"Yugi?" He recognized the soft, worried voice.
"Bakura?!" Yugi gasped. "What's wrong?"
Shakily Bakura explained what had happened with the attacker. "I . . . I don't know what to do," he wailed. "I probably should call the police, but I can't very well tell them what happened to my Yami. The modern medical doctors wouldn't be able to help him. . . ." He trailed off.
Yugi nodded slowly. That was true. "How is he now, Bakura?" he asked.
Bakura paused. "Well, he's . . . he's just laying on the floor because I don't know how to move him," he admitted. "He . . . he looks as though he's asleep, but I think he's actually unconscious. I . . . I managed to get the bleeding stopped and to bandage his wound, but I . . . I don't quite know what to do now."
Yugi exchanged a look with his Yami. "It's alright, Bakura," he assured him. "Yami and I will come out to help."
"Oh thank you," Bakura said softly as he hung up.
****
Marik huddled in the cart of towels, listening to the would-be assassins outside in the hospital corridors. The night nurse had noticed them now and had demanded to know what they were doing. They had given a vague answer and she was calling security, but even that didn't make them stop looking for the Egyptian boy.
I can't stay here, Marik told himself. Once they have left, I will have to depart as well! He had no idea where he would go, but he couldn't stay in this hospital—not with these men after him.
His thoughts were interrupted as one of the maids suddenly took the cart and began pushing it. She was probably heading for the linen closet to replace the towels. What would she do if she found Marik all curled up at the bottom?
He soon found out. The woman lifted the towels to put them away and let out an ear-piercing shriek. "Who are you?! What are you doing in there?!" she cried.
Now that Marik's cover was blown, he had no choice but to jump out of the cart and run off down the hall. Her screams had alerted the strange men, and they were coming after him again. Why on earth did they want him dead so badly that they would chase him through a hospital?!
****
Tea was having a disturbing dream of her own. In it, she had apparently gone to ancient Egypt and was wandering down the halls of a great palace. "Hello?" she called. "Is anyone here?"
Suddenly the pointed end of a long glaive was stuck at her and a grim-looking woman with dark blue hair stepped out. "Who are you, and what is your business with being in the Pharaoh's palace?" she demanded.
Tea was bowled over. "Pharaoh's palace?" she repeated.
The woman nodded solemnly.
Suddenly a young man who looked strikingly familiar came from around a corner. He was adorned in the attire of ancient Egypt, with strange and elaborate headgear. He wore a long cloak and white pants, and around his neck he wore the Millennium Ankh. He wasn't wearing a shirt, and in his hand he held the Millennium Rod, which he pointed at Tea.
Tea backed up, startled. "Kaiba?!" she gasped.
The boy came closer to her and smirked, running his fingers along her cheek. Tea grimaced, not enjoying his touch in the least. "I will take it from here, Kythopia," he said, but the blue-haired woman glared at him suspiciously.
"Someday the Pharaoh will stop your evil plans," she said, pointing the weapon at him now. "And I will assist him whole-heartedly!"
The boy didn't look fazed. "Please. I am more powerful than the Pharaoh and all of his absurd sorcerers—including you, Kythopia!"
Tea looked at him. "Who are you?" she demanded.
He sneered at her, and Tea could see the dark, evil look in his eyes. "I am the Pharaoh's high priest," he told her, but didn't give a name.
Tea knew that all she wanted was to get away from him immediately. Kythopia knew this, too, and she glared at the boy. "She doesn't like you," the blue-haired woman said, raising her glaive to point directly at his throat. "And neither do I. Leave. Now!"
The boy only laughed and continued on down the hall. Tea looked after him in disgust. "What a creep," she remarked. That couldn't have been Seto Kaiba, she decided.
Kythopia nodded in agreement. "Come," she said. "I will escort you out of the palace."
"No, wait!" a new voice chirped.
Tea whirled around. It sounded like . . . herself. Running toward them was a girl in a pink Egyptian dress. Her eyes were brown, but other than that, she bore a striking resemblance to Tea herself. "I have wished to speak with her," the girl told Kythopia. "Please, come with me," she implored, and Tea followed curiously.
"Who are you?" she asked.
The girl smiled. "I am Teana," she explained. "My message to you can only be very brief," she said, glancing around furtively.
"What is it?" Tea wanted to know. "What's going on around here?"
Teana came closer to Tea and whispered, "You must be cautious!"
"Why?" Tea exclaimed. "What's going on? Are my friends in danger?"
"The secrets to the present lie in the mysteries of the past," Teana told her.
****
Tea awoke, her heart pounding wildly. What did it mean? The dream had been too vivid and detailed to not be important.
Wait . . . Pharaoh's palace? What if she had gone back to the time when Yami Yugi was the ruler of Egypt?
And who was that creepy boy? There was no way Tea could believe it was Seto Kaiba. He didn't act like that. Of course . . . she remembered that Ishizu always said that Seto had lived a past life in Egypt.
She shook her head, the memory of the boy's evil touch fresh in her mind. That wasn't Kaiba! What Ishizu thought was wrong. It had to be!
Her thoughts drifted to Teana's warning. Something was wrong—very wrong. And they had better figure out what—very fast.
****
Seto looked out the window at Domino City bleary-eyed. He hadn't been able to sleep since that strange dream. What did it mean?
He looked over at Mokuba, who had fallen asleep again. What would he do if that creep—whoever he was—came after Mokuba? No, he couldn't let that happen. He wouldn't!
His eyes narrowed. "Don't expect to win against me," he vowed low. "Whoever—or whatever—you are, you've just met your match."
In the shadows, a dark figure had heard Seto's comment. "We'll see," he said low. "We will just see."
****
Marik tore down the hall, frightened. What was he going to do? Now not only were those men chasing him, but so was hospital security! They didn't realize he was a patient and instead thought he was some kind of burglar. "Please! I'm not armed!" he cried, knocking over a tray of medicine.
"Hello, master," one of the strange men sneered, dropping down out of nowhere. Marik's eyes widened and he turned to run the other way, crashing into a doctor just coming out of the operating room.
"I'm sorry!" Marik apologized, dashing down the corridor. The doctor stared after him and then was pushed aside by the strange man.
"You there!" a security guard yelled. "Come back here!"
Marik didn't answer, and instead ran up another hallway. He had to get away.
But now he had just reached a dead end.
"Nowhere to run now, *master*," one of the men sneered, appearing from around the corner and advancing on him.
Marik looked around wildly. There *was* one way out, but it was risky. . . . Not as risky as being caught by these crazed men, however. "Not quite!" he yelled, and jumped out the window. He winced as the glass cut through his flesh, but he couldn't worry about that now.
"He jumped!" the man yelled in disbelief.
"But we're six stories up!" another one said. "He has to be dead!"
Marik was hanging from a ledge just under the window. If those men saw him he was dead, but if he lost his grip he'd be dead too. What was he going to do now?
****
"Bakura, did you see what that guy looked like?" Yugi asked. He was helping his friend clean the blood off the floor. Yami Yugi had carried Yami Bakura up to bed and said that the tomb robber should be alright in a while, much to Bakura's relief, so now the boy had decided that he needed to get the kitchen more presentable before his dad came home and saw it.
Bakura paused as he heard Yugi's question. "Well, I . . . I couldn't see him very well, but he . . . he had cold gray eyes and . . . he had a shock of red hair. That's about all I could make out," he sighed. "What on earth could he have wanted?!"
"It sounds to me like he just came to cause some trouble," Yugi said grimly. He was reluctant to say it aloud, but he was afraid that Joey was right about them being stalked.
"I was afraid someone was following me home," Bakura said softly. He paused. "But what I don't understand is, why didn't my Yami sense it too? He thought I was just being ridiculous."
Yugi paused. "There's more going on here than meets the eye," he said softly.
****
Joey woke up the next morning feeling edgy. He had tossed and turned all night, having strange dreams himself, but now he couldn't remember anything about them.
He went to look at himself in the mirror. "Oh man . . . I look like a train wreck," he sighed, shaking his head. He turned on the water and splashed some in his face.
After breakfast he was starting to feel better. He decided to head off to Yugi's place and see what was up.
On the way he met Tristan. "Hey, bud, what's up?" the other boy asked.
"Man, I don't know!!" Joey cried. "I just know somethin' freaky is goin' on!"
"Not that again," Tristan sighed.
Joey paused. "You know, Tristan, there's a car followin' us."
Tristan looked back. "Probably just your imagination," he shrugged.
Joey gasped. "Is that my imagination too?!" He pointed at the strange car, where someone was holding up a camera and snapping a picture.
Tristan's eyes widened. "What the . . ." He pointed his forefinger at the car. "Hey you! Why are you taking our picture?!"
Immediately the camera disappeared back inside and the window rolled up. With a screech of its tires, the car had turned around and disappeared.
"Whaddya think about that, huh?!" Joey exclaimed.
Tristan shook his head. "I think something is very weird."
****
Bakura awoke with a start. He had dozed off sitting in the chair next to his Yami's bed. Had long had he been asleep? He blinked, looking around. It seemed to be morning. But what had awakened him?
He looked over at Yami Bakura. The thief was laying on his side in the same position Bakura had last seen him in, but now his slanted brown eyes were open. "Yami!" the boy cried. "Are you alright?"
"I've been trying to wake you for ten minutes," the thief told him grouchily, raising himself up on one elbow.
Bakura blinked. "I . . . I'm sorry," he said softly.
Yami Bakura shook his head in annoyance. "Fool. Listen to me," he ordered, ignoring the boy's earlier question. "The man that attacked me last night had some kind of dark powers," he stated.
Bakura gasped. "Was he . . . mortal?" he finished finally.
"Yes, you fool, but he was drawing on ancient evil powers," Yami Bakura replied. "I was barely able to defeat him." His eyes narrowed angrily as he said this.
"Oh my," Bakura cried.
"And . . ." Yami Bakura paused, gathering his strength. "I don't doubt that he will be back," he finished grimly, "as I was unable to permanently defeat him."
"But what would he want with me?" Bakura asked. He was feeling very frightened.
"It's not just you, fool!" Yami Bakura snapped. "It's you and all of your pathetic friends. Someone has found out about your uncanny abilities to defeat dark forces and wants to get you all out of the way!" He paused again, now feeling quite weak, and lowered himself back down onto the soft pillows. "Don't leave the house," he ordered before falling unconscious again.
Bakura sat still, blinking. What his Yami had said gave him the chills. He needed to warn the others immediately!
The phone rang then, startling him out of his thoughts. "Hello," he said softly as he picked up the receiver.
No answer.
"Hello?" Bakura said again. "Who is this?!"
Then he heard a dull click as someone hung up.