***

With grace countering even the cats, the Dark Magician Girl used her magical abilities to mentally throw the panther back through the wall it came from. And yes, I mean through the wall.

The Dark Magician girl then daintily put down her wand, the pink glow gone, and did a little victory dance.

The reactions by Malik and Bakura, however, were a tad different.

"Tetra!" Bakura said, pushing past Malik and was instantly at my side.

Malik soon joined him, and they helped me up. I was no worse off than I was before, my scraped arm still throbbed a little, but overall I was more shocked then hurt.

"What just happened" I asked as Bakura and Malik helped me to my feet.

The Dark Magician Girl turned to me, one eye still on the far wall where the cat had been, and explained.

"I sensed you were in trouble, and since I promised to protect you, I came and removed Panthera from the picture."

//Traitor! // My yamis voice rumbled through my head, yet unheard by anyone else.

"Panthera?" I asked.

"The black lion you saw is Panthera. She was Niramsis' personal pet. Panthera is the very definition of the word loyal."

"Is Panthera a. . .ghost?" Bakura asked.

//Hmm. . .for being around awhile, he doesn't know much.// my yami thought.

Fully trusting my ability to project my own thoughts in my head directed to my yami, I "thought-spoke" as Yugi called it.

/Keep your thoughts to yourself or get out of my head!/ I demanded.

//Why should I listen to you, mortal? You think I like these arrangements any more than you do? Well I'm not. But you have my Millennium Chain because destiny has unfairly chosen you to have it.//

/What do you mean? What are you babbling about?!/

//I don't babble! Oooh, you're gonna pay.//she paused then, //When I have the time.//

/Then what makes you so busy?/

//Silence, mortal. You're digging yourself into a world of pain if you continue to meddle with me. //

I shut my thoughts off from her. What was happening in the real dimension?

~*~*~*~*~*~back to elsewhere~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Isis, are we going the right way?" Yami asked unsure.

"Yes, keep going this way and we should at least reach Shadi's hut by 4am."

The group of "heroes" decided to "temporarily borrow" a jeep from the hotel's garage. As in, it wasn't likely to come back in one piece.

Joey and Tristin were alseep in the back, heads leaned up against eachother, obviously both thinking about food.
Tea was bored and had her notebook out writing something about friendship down. Mai was trying to drive with the "help" of Yami and Isis.

"Watch out for that sand dune, Mai!" the normal Yugi fretted.

Mai grumbled to herself.

The jeep passed on top of the dune with no apparent problem, and around a mile away, the twinkling lights of a small dune city appeared.

"Look, there's my old city!" Isis exclaimed, then pointed over Mai's shoulder, "Go to Shadi's hut, the one off to the left."

Again, Mai grumbled.

*Why do I have to be the only one able to drive this thing? Can't Isis?*

"Mai, can you try not to make the jeep bump like that? I'm trying to write back here!" Tea exclaimed.

*That's it. I've had it!*

Mai stomped on the breaks unexpectedly, even waking up Joey and Tristin.

"Look," she said, "If all of you are going to be back seat drivers, then you might as well do the driving!"

"I'm sorry Mai," Yami said, "But I don't know how to drive."

"Well you should!" Mai screamed at him.

He blinked. He definantly hadn't expected an outburst like that. If Bakura had been there he probably would have said something along the lines of,
'So where are your mighty pharaoh powers when face to face with a girl?'

Silence followed Mai's outburst. She sighed deeply.

"Sorry guys, I don't know what came over me, I'll drive. Just try to keep your thoughts to yourself, ok?"

Everyone nodded and they sped on, gaining on Shadi's hut. However, the real heroes of the story aren't even out of the pyramid yet. Or are they closer to being out than you think?