Jaid: Hey! Sorry this is a bit late, but with the holidays…yeah…*sweatdrop* Enjoy the chapter!

***************************************

            Rei sat in her room, hands tightly clenched; scrunching the fine linen she wore. She didn't care. She just wanted to be out of here.

            'Trapped.' A voice echoed in her mind. 'Trapped.' It echoed over and over again till she was ready to scream and tell it to stop.

            "No!" she said aloud, shaking her head; not caring if the guard or her maid heard her. "Nothing is decided." She continued softly. "I'm not Bener; I won't…I won't go through with this."

            'But how can I stop it?' she thought, then took a deep breath. 'I can. I know I can.'

            All of a sudden a strong feeling came over her to see Ryou. To have him smile at her and let her know that things would turn out okay in the end. Rei wrapped her arms around her stomach and bowed her head, the braided strands of her wig falling over her shoulders. Tears threatened to fall, but she held them back; the Egyptian side of her knowing that it would streak her kohl and that it would have to be reapplied.

            There was a knock at the door. Rei took a deep breath, shoved the real Bener's thoughts and emotions aside, then stood, ignoring the creases in her linen were her hands had violently clenched it.

            "Enter." She said in an even voice.

            A servant did so. "I am here to escort you to dinner."

            Rei nodded and followed. The guard was behind her as they walked down the hall. Rei barely kept from smiling wryly. 'Bener's father must have known her well.' She thought.

            As they turned to corner, they saw Ryou there. Rei's heart twisted a little as she saw how pale he was and at the look of fear in his dark brown eyes. She looked away as they passed, but her hand reached out and brushed his.

            Ryou tried to keep a hold on her hand, but it slipped out of his reach as Rei walked away, back straight, head high. Confident, as if she were in complete control of everything.

            They turned another corner and were gone. Before he could stop himself, Ryou followed. Ryou had the strangest feeling that it was not him, but an automatic reaction of his body.

            'I won't lose her.' He thought. 'I won't.'

***

Shadi's house was quiet and dark. The moon shown down in the courtyard, but the windows were shuttered.

In the bedroom, Katya shared the bed with Rebecca, while Mokuba and Yugi slept on the floor. Shadi slept in the room that had once held the Millennium Items. It had taken a long time for sleep to come; he had so many questions and so few answers. But exhaustion had crept up on him and his eyes had eventually closed.

On the coffin, the Tauk had been replaced till Isis could be found. In the darkness of the room, the gold gave an un-natural glow that grew brighter.

'Yami…' a voice softly whispered in the room.

In Shadi's bedroom, Yugi started awake. He rubbed his eyes and looked at the puzzle, which he had placed near by. It was glowing slightly.

"Yami…"

Yugi looked around, then reached out and put the puzzle's chain around his neck. /Yami? Did you hear that?/

\Yes.\ the spirit seemed confused.

/Who do you think it is?/ Yugi asked.

\I don't know.\

Yugi stood up and carefully stepped over Mokuba.

"Yami…"

/I think it's coming from here./ he said.

\Be careful.\ Yami cautioned.

/Right./

Yugi went down a flight of stairs. Near the bottom of them, Shadi slept, wrapped in his robes. Yugi was very careful stepping around him; he had a feeling that the guardian was a light sleeper.

Looking towards one end of the room, he saw something that looked like an Egyptian coffin carved from stone. There was a glowing light coming from it.

"Yami…" the voice was stronger now.

Yugi walked towards the light. It was the Tauk.

/Yami, what do I do?/

\I don't know…\

/You don't know much lately, huh?/ Yugi asked, half jokingly.

\Does anyone?\ Yami answered, a note of dark humor in his tone.

"Child…let me speak to Yami…" a disembodied voice said from the Tauk. Yugi's eyes widened slightly.

"Oh…okay…" Yugi closed his eyes and let his darker half take over. Yami opened his crimson eyes.

"Who are you? What is it you want?" he asked. Behind him, Shadi stirred slightly.

"Open your mind to me." The voice said. "It is important."

"The last time Isis did that, she was poisoned." Yami stated, his eyes narrowing a little.

"Oh, Son of Ra…" the voice was warm, but slightly exasperated. "I am not the one you should fear. Isis was not my fault, though I wished I could have prevented it. I swear to you that your host will suffer no harm."

Yami paused, then relaxed. "All right." He said. "But I'm warning you-"

"I gave my word." The voice reminded him. Yami sighed and closed his eyes, the hallway that separated his and Yugi's soul rooms appearing before him.

Yami knocked on the blue painted door. It opened and Yugi peeked out, the brightness of his soul room showing behind him.

"What's up, Yami?" He asked, sounding a little worried.

"We're going to have a guest. I just wanted you to be prepared." Yami stated.

"Oh, okay." Yugi stepped out. As soon as he did, there was a bright light and a woman appeared.

She had the dark hair, eyes and skin of an Egyptian; and was tall and slender. She glowed with a soft, white light.

"Greetings, Son of Ra." She said gravely to Yami. He nodded slightly. The woman turned to Yugi and smiled kindly at him. "Hello, Yugi Motou."

"Hi." Yugi said softly. The woman's smile deepened for a moment, and then she turned back to Yami.

"As for your first questions, I am the real Isis; wife of Osiris and chief mourner." She said, the graveness back in her tone. "And as for what I want…I want your help."

"What do you mean?" Yami asked.

"There is much turmoil in the world." The Goddess stated. "And once again Darkness rises up."

Yami's eyes narrowed again, this time in confusion. "You speak a riddle."

"I apologize. It is from old habit."

Yami nodded, accepting the apology. The goddess continued. "I may be a goddess, but I am trapped within the Tauk. When with my host, I was satisfied with guiding her occasionally, but now that our bond is weakened, so am I."

"So you need me and Yami to help you fight this darkness?" Yugi asked. The woman nodded.

"And what is the darkness?" Yami asked.

The goddess' eyes half closed. "I do not know completely. But what I can tell you is that you must return your friends' souls to their bodies before it is too late."

Yugi's eyes widened. "You mean they could die?"

"Yes." The goddess' voice was becoming weary.

"But their souls were taken." Yami said. The woman looked at him.

"And what power does your Puzzle give you, Pharaoh?" she asked. "Use it; it was given to you for a reason."

Yugi glanced at Yami. The spirit had accepted the obvious rebuke silently; not even his eyes flickered. His attention wavered as the goddess seemed to sway a little.

"You should probably return to the Tauk now." Yami said quietly. The woman nodded and the two exchanged formal farewells. Yami even bowed. The bright light shone for a bit and when it dissipated, the woman was gone.

Yugi turned to Yami. "I've never seen you like that."

"One respects a goddess." Yami said, a slight smile on his face, then it disappeared. "We need to find the others soon."

"I know." Yugi's eyes were worried, then he yawned. Yami smiled again and the hallway faded. Yugi blinked and then turned to find Shadi looking down at him. He jumped a little.

"Did I wake you up?" he asked.

"Yes." Shadi admitted. "Why are you here?"

"I heard a voice." Yugi explained. "And I came down here; the Tauk was glowing. The goddess Isis talked to me and Yami."

There was a pause.

/He's cracked./ Scales decided.

\Scales!\ Ankh scolded.

//Both of you quiet for a moment please.// Shadi said, then returned to reality. Yugi yawned again.

"Go to bed, Yugi. You can tell me about it in the morning."

"Right." Yugi said. As worried as he was, he knew that nothing could be done tonight.

***

In the light of a lamp, Seto was quietly reading some parchment. He knew it was time for the evening meal, but this record he had found intrigued him.

It was written by another priest of Amun; how Seth had gotten it, Seto didn't know. The priest wrote of a massive power; a way that the powers of the Egyptian gods themselves could be harnessed within a Shadow Game.

Seto wasn't sure what a Shadow Game was, but it seemed similar to Duel Monsters and he had found himself unable to put the records down.

Suddenly, pain flared up behind his eyes and the parchment fell to the desk he sat at. Raising a hand, Seto rubbed his temples. 'It's too dark now…' he thought. 'I should put this away.'

But he was strangely reluctant to do so. Seto frowned, put the parchment down and stood, walking for the door, even though he wanted to turn back and finish reading.

As he left the room, he couldn't help but wonder, 'What is wrong with me?'

***

The evening breeze was cool. Tea stood on a balcony that oversaw one of the palace courtyards, a long length of colored linen acting as a shawl. One hand gripped it around her neck to hold it about her, while the other rested on the short wall she stood behind.

"Tea!"

At the exclamation, the girl turned. Serenity stood there, her green eyes bright as she quickly walked forward.

"They say that Yugi's awake!" she said excitedly. "And he is asking for you."

The load that had been on Tea's heart and shoulders lately lifted and she suddenly felt very light. "Oh, Seren, that's great!" she cried, throwing her arms around the smaller girl. Serenity giggled.

"I know! Come and see him."

***

"You!"

Malik turned at the exclamation to see Bakura walking swiftly towards him. The thief seemed peeved about something.

"What is it?" the Egyptian asked.

"Those bodies." Bakura said stiffly. "They're dieing."

"I know." Malik was unfazed. "The longer they remain without their souls, the closer they come. I do not know what Qenamun wants with them, but he'd better hurry." The young man's violet eyes narrowed slightly. "That's not what has you so concerned, is it?"

Bakura's eye barely twitched. Murmuring a curse under his breath, he pushed past Malik and stormed away.

***

Rei felt nervous; but the worse thing was she couldn't tell if it was her or if it was what remained of the real Bener inside. The girl bit the inside of her cheek, forcing a slight smile as she was introduced to Iry-nufer. The man was older than she and had a stern, hard look in his eyes that did not help Rei's feelings.

A commotion behind her caused everyone to turn. Ryou stood in the door way, a guard behind him, unsure of what to do as the boy was considered a family friend.

"Ryou…" she whispered, unintentionally using his real name. The boy's wide brown eyes met hers. The fear in them suddenly melted, replaced by a determination that Rei had not seen before.

"Bakura," Sennefer said, a little harshly. "This is not decent behavior to burst into my house unannounced."

"Forgive my intrusion." Ryou answered calmly. "But it was necessary."

Rei found herself barely breathing, her straight posture becoming taut. Behind Sennefer, Bener's mother stared at Ryou rather angrily.

"Necessary?" Iry-nufer broke in. "Care to explain young man?"

Ryou stood there. He had no idea what to say, no idea what he was going to do, but strangely, he felt not panic but calm. Almost detachment. As if this was a dream…

The room was silent, awaiting his explanation. All of a sudden, there was a slight gasp and Rei staggered. Ryou jumped forward, barely catching her. The girl's face was in a grimace.

"Rei, Rei what's wrong?" Ryou asked frantically in Japanese.

"It hurts." She answered in the same language. "Something's pulling at me…Ryou, help…" Her eyes rolled back and she fell limp. Ryou thought his heart had been torn from his chest. The one time she had asked for his help…had needed him and he hadn't even known what was wrong with her.

Around him, panic had spread. Bener's mother was trying to take Rei, but Ryou wouldn't let her go. Sennefer had started shouting at the servants to fetch a doctor.

But Ryou heard nothing. He just looked at Rei, who had gone extremely pale and still.

"Come back." He whispered. "Please…let me know you're all right…" He closed his eyes and a tear fell, rolling off his cheek and hitting Rei's. He felt his arms being forced open, Rei being taken away, but he simply sat there, shoulders slumped forward, feeling weak and hurt.

***

Isis stood and went to the doorway. She pulled the blanket away a little and saw a dark hallway. Rishid stood next to the door, head bowed as he leaned against the wall. Isis could tell that he was asleep, but he'd always been a very light sleeper; the moment she would try to get around him, he'd probably wake up.

But there was no other option; besides, she might be able to get Rishid to let her go…or not. His loyalty to Malik was very strong.

Isis pushed away the blanket and moved around the man, carefully putting the blanket down instead of letting it just drop. Every movement she took was with agonizing slowness and care; it made the time stretch on, as if each second were longer than a minute.

Barely breathing, Isis turned and tried to walk away, when a strong hand gripped her upper arm. Isis turned and saw not Rishid, but a man with white hair and a calm face. He was dressed in the garb of an ancient priest.

"Trying to get away are we?" he asked softly. Isis opened her mouth but no words came. The man's eyes went to her neck and they narrowed. A shiver of fear ran up Isis' spine as the man's hand tightened painfully around her arm. She looked past him at Rishid, almost desperately, but he was still and silent.

"He won't help you; he's under my spell." The man said. Isis started back at him.

"What do you want with me?" she whispered. The man's eyes hardened. Then, suddenly, with surprising violence, the priest flung her forward. Isis, unprepared, hit the ground hard, jarring her body and stunning her.

"Go. You are no use to me." The man said roughly, then walked away. Isis simply laid there for a moment, trying to gather her wits.

"Mistress Isis?"  Warm hands helped her sit up. Isis wiped the blood from her mouth.

"He said I could go, Rishid…please…"

Rishid looked hesitant. Isis leaned against him. "Please." She said again, sounding tired.

"Come" Rishid helped her to her feet. Isis smiled.

"Thank you." She said softly. Rishid smiled hesitantly, but he seemed torn.

********************

^__^ Look forward to some Shadi/Isis fluff in the future! Lol.

Black Mistress: Really? I would love to see fan art!! I'll even send you a pic of me if you are serious about the drawing. I love the chibi laser!! BWAHAHAHA!! OFF I GO TO CHIBI-FY THE WORLD!!! *dances off with laser and Malik plushie*

Indigo: Yeah, I think Rishid is starting to feel like he's in the middle, lol. I plan too! As soon as I can sit down and think it out. I'm even thinking about making it a Seto/Isis/Pegasus love triangle and be an AU Battle City thing, but we'll see. It's great you do well with kids that age! I guess I'm just a more motherly person, so I tend to do better with younger kids.

Dr. Vorlon: Welp, Tea made an appearance. One bad thing about having so many characters in a story; some tend to get ignored sometimes. *sigh* Hope you enjoyed this chapter!

Coco Strawberry: Wow, you think I keep Bakura in character? *does happy dance* Good, because he's kinda tough for me. Hope you're not too mad at me for torturing Ryou and Rei in this chappy.

Aura Black Chan: But what fun would that be? Lol, just kidding. I try not too, really! He's just so easy to pick on…

Fire Pendant: lol, glad you like that! Hope you liked this chapter as well!