AUTHOR'S NOTES: This fic takes place in the same universe as "Dragon at Midnight," though you don't need to read that to read this one. It's a sort of a weird mixture of dubbed anime and original manga.
And if this sort of thing offends you, I'd better be upfront: the names of the duel monsters will be a combination of original and dub depending on how much the dub offends fandom and my personal sensibilities (Dark Magician and Lady of Faith will remain, while "Slifer" and "Dark Necrofear" will not). And they will refer to Yami B as "Bakura" and his other half as "Ryou." Please do not jump on me for this from the "nobody knows the latter's first name and certainly nobody calls him that" angle. This is for ease of reading, as the former was to the best of my knowledge known as "Bakura" in Egypt, and the whole "Yami" business tends to get rather tiresome if it goes on for a while. Although if it's a choice between that and not reviewing, please jack up my review count.

SPOILERS: A number of spoilers for the Ancient Egypt arc. To the best of my knowledge, it has not been legitimately translated into English as of the publication of this fic, so there may be some confusion.
In brief: Mahaad's name and previous career ARE canon. The existence of Diabound (AE!Bakura's kaa-spirit thing) and Kisara (AKA the BEWD girl) is also canon, though the fourth-dragon theory is probably not.

WARNINGS: This fic will probably contain action and violence in future parts. Not to mention horrendous canon deviation and dumb references.

The Rare Goodness of Sand
Part One

The Lady of Faith Elaine answered the door of Bakura's deck building; thank Ra, Mahaad thought, for small favors. She was Michael Gaia's lady fair and a fervent advocate of the Christian church - had Mahaad not already committed himself to the religion of Egypt three thousand years previous, he would most likely be a convert by now; she garnered that much respect.
Gaia had initially insisted on coming himself, but had been dissuaded. This mission required abilities of subtlety and diplomacy in which he distinctly lacked, as did his fusion-partner, Hikari. After much agonizing, the current group had been put together.
There was Jeremiah the Cannon Soldier with a child's mind, chaperoned by Dorcas, the Black Forest Witch; both were of Rebecca Hawkins's deck. Jeremiah, for once, was still, perhaps realizing the gravity of the situation. Their deck had been home to Kisara's card, after all. Next to them was Black Jade, the Red-Eyes Black Dragon, currently in his human form and clad in leather and buckles. He, of course, was from Joseph Wheeler's.
The Blue-Eyes White Dragon twins, Corundum and Tiamat - they had insisted on coming quite justifiably; it was their adopted sibling who might be returned to them, after all. They had sneaked out from their deck place in the early morning so as to spare their younger brother from any disappointment, and if they were indeed successful, to give him a pleasant surprise.
And Mahaad himself, the Dark Magician, in a reasonable simulation of what he had worn as a priest back in Egypt. He'd done the last on a gamble; he wasn't quite sure what he was even gambling on, exactly. It was an impulse, like plunging your arm into a bucket of things and, without looking, selecting one that felt right.
Elaine looked them over. "Oh, good morning," she said, without batting an eye. "Is there anything I can do for you?"
"Yes, actually," said Tiamat, "there's quite a few things that we hope you can aid us with."
"Terribly flattered. Would you mind telling me what?"
Jade tilted his head. "Well, getting hold of the Millennium Ring, maybe? It's for a good cause."
"Oh my. Would you like to come in and have some tea?" said Elaine.

~~~

Celestina smiled that mismatched smile of hers. "Let's lay down the facts so everything's clear, shall we?"
They were gathered around a rough-hewn wooden table, seated on dark red cushions. There was the visiting delegation, and there was the one Elaine had gotten together, which consisted of Man-Eater Bug, Dark Necrophia, and, naturally, Celestina herself.
"You want," Celestina continued, "to borrow the Millennium Ring. Not some harebrained scheme to run off and present it to the Pharaoh the minute you're out of sight. You want to borrow it, and if it's not returned you are fully prepared to accept the consequences?"
Nods from six heads.
"And you want it to try and find… Kisara? The fourth White Dragon?"
Another round of nods. Mahaad focused on somewhere above Celestina's head and the tips of her wings.
"Well," said Celestina, "I think that can be arranged." She turned to her two companions. "Azrael? Susan? Would you mind terribly seeking out Diabound and bringing him over? No, Rael, he can't hurt you, at least not permanently. Please get to it."
Mahaad hadn't been aware he was breathing until he stopped. He knew he'd have to resume in a while, but for now he caught it out of sheer shock. If you nearly get killed by the attack of something, you tend to remember it. By the time he'd gotten back to breathing normally enough to make some kind of a protest (but what kind, exactly?), Diabound had passed through the wall. Whereupon it caught on something again. Consequence being he kept silent.
"More tea?" said Elaine. Mahaad nodded; it was the only thing he trusted himself to do.
Now Celestina was standing; Diabound had bent down and she whispered in his ear for a bit, then he whispered back (somehow, he managed it). Once he had finished she nodded and smiled delightedly. "Oh, thank you! You're such a darling!"
Once Diabound had gone she turned to the delegation. "He said he'll be back with the Ring in under an hour. He's a Kaa, you see, and he's got prerogatives Out There, so you needn't talk to Master Bakura at all- oh, what's the matter? You've gone pale."
"Are you sure," said Mahaad, "this is quite safe?"
"Oh, don't be silly, Mahaad," she said. "I'm sure Master Bakura won't mind if you only borrow it."