A Note From the Authors: ::sigh:: Judging from all the reviews of the previous chapter, no one really understood what happened, so we're going to explain it. Did anyone notice how Seline was in agony up in her main office, weak and needing Chalie? Then in the next scene she was cool, calm, collected, and had the Green Millennium Eye symbol on her forehead? The Millennium Earrings (her Item) affected her so badly that they produced almost a yami-Seline (obviously more powerful than the normal one), who was merely Seline under their mental influence. We hope that clears some things up. On with the story.

Chapter 22

"Dreams, part 1: Perfection"

Bakura yawned as he sat up the next morning, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. The sun was filling the small apartment and as he wandered into the kitchen, he realized there was a young man sleeping on the floor that he didn't recognize. He sighed, 'Suppose there'll be a story with that one to digest along with breakfast this morning…' He reached out to load the coffee machine…and his hand passed right through it. 'What in the world…?' He glanced back at his bed, panicked. There was no body in it (one never knew when one might leave such an important thing behind!). He held his hands up in front of his face. They were transparent. 'Athena….!' He tried to shout, but since his vocal chords were nonexistent, no sound actually came. He had to concentrate harder.

He moved back into the living room and waved a hand through her head as she slept. Startled by the sudden coldness, she snapped awake, bolting upright. "Bakura, what is it – oh my god…" she trailed off as she stared at him, "What happened??"

'I don't know,' he whimpered.

"Barak took the body and went to the museum last night," Diana said, now awake as well.

"WHAT?!" both Athena and Bakura cried together.

"Ugh…could you not shout so early in the morning…?" Nick groaned, propping himself up on his elbows.

'My body's gone!' Bakura said, indignantly, 'Don't tell me not to shout about it!'

A voice none of them recognized let out a small yelp and they all turned. The young man Bakura hadn't recognized was awake now as well, and backed up against the half-wall that divided the kitchen and living room, looking petrified. "Where am I?? Who are you??"

Diana slid out of her sleeping bag and crawled over her younger brother until she was nearer to the stranger. "Shh…" she put a finger to his lips to keep him from crying out again, "We're not going to hurt you. You must be Shem's host…funny, the way he spoke of you he made it sound like you were a child, but you're really quite grown-up, aren't you?"

Todd was completely lost by this statement, "What are you talking about?"

Diana sighed, "This really isn't my job to explain, and you probably won't believe me, but you have the spirit of an Ancient Egyptian living inside you. Now before you call me nuts – cuz I know you want to – answer this: have you ever had times when you'd black out and wake up with a small chunk of your life missing from your memory?"

The young man knew what she was talking about, but it still sounded crazy to him. Still, there had been times like that, "What day is today?" he asked curiously.

"It's Sunday," she answered him, "What day do you remember last?"

"Friday," he admitted, his face going slightly red, "This may be an awkward time, but… who are you? And where am I?"

She blushed as well, "I'm sorry, of course. My name is Diana Icari. The two solid people behind me are my siblings, Athena and Nick. And the spirit boy, who I'm sure you can see, is Ryou Bakura. You are in his apartment. Your spirit brought you here so you would be safe. And…I don't think I caught you name…"

Translucent people. He was going crazy, "Erm, Todd," he answered, "Nice to meet you."

Diana smiled at him; the poor young man was so confused. She shifted her position so that she was sitting beside him, and put one hand over his affectionately. "Todd, I know this all seems ridiculous, but you need to accept it. You're a part of a new world now – where unexplainable things often happen." As she spoke, the Millennium Statue crawled up into her lap, and she stroked it absentmindedly. "It's really not a bad way to live once you get used to it – having a yami spirit, I mean," she continued, "Unless of course, you're Bakura."

Todd opened his mouth, but no words came out. In a brilliant flash of light from the pouch on his hip, Shem appeared, cool and collected, "The boy is confused. I'll talk to him later. Right now we must meet with the Pharaoh to decide a course of action."

"The Pharaoh can wait," Diana told him angrily, "You need to talk to him – now."

As Nick pulled himself up off the floor, he muttered, "You're just mad 'cuz he took your new boyfriend away."

Diana flushed crimson, "That is not true, Nick! Todd has a right to understand what's going on," she said, turning towards Shem again, "And you're the only one who can make it happen – so do it."

Shem glowered at her, then sat down and closed his eyes, going to find where in this mind Todd went when he took over.

Nick smiled, looking over at Bakura, "That's ok, that guy's to young for Diana anyway, right Bakura?"

Bakura looked at his feet. Athena was a couple years older than him as well. 'Leave me out of this,' he said weakly.

"You're such a jerk, Nick," Athena spat at him.

He shrugged, "Just lookin' out for my baby sisters."

Diana laughed coldly, "You're younger than us."

Bakura sighed, as Nick attempted to come up with some sort of response. Even in his own house, he couldn't get any attention. Now that he was just a spirit, it was like he really was invisible to the world. He sat down, trying to figure out what in the world he was going to do to get his body back.

He felt something warm go through his cheek and turned. Athena had kissed it and was smiling sadly at him. "We'll get it back, don't worry," she said, trying to comfort him, "And maybe we'll even leave Barak behind," she added jokingly.

'It's a nice thought,' Bakura replied, 'but rather unlikely, I believe.'

"But it made you smile," she said, "That's score one for me."

* * *

"They are a rare gift to be sure, Mistress. But dangerous."

"Indeed," Seline said, as all three Egyptian God Cards were fanned out in her right hand, "But dangerous gifts are my favorite kind."

"You witnessed their power first hand, Mistress. There are few who can wield it," Chalie warned, watching her eyes carefully, "Barak is the Prince of Egypt and Slifer barely listened to him."

"Yes…but Barak was clearly weak-minded," she reminded him, gesturing over at the fallen prince, who's body was in the process of healing, and who's eyes were milky and empty.

Chalie merely nodded and looked back at Basil, who was gazing moodily out of the window on the far wall, the Millennium Staff loosely held in his right hand, "And…there is a matter of how the Gods should be distributed to the Gauntlet."

Seline pulled Ra out and then handed the other two to Chalie, "You two can fight over them."

The cards seemed to weigh a great deal, though Chalie knew in the back of his mind they were no more than refined cardboard. Each God monster seemed to have a spirit about it. Nothing an Ernten couldn't handle. He placed Slifer the Sky Dragon in his pocket and walked over to basil, offering him Obelisk the Tormentor.

Basil took it without making eye contact with Chalie, and slipped it into his deck without a word.

Chalie turned away from his larger counterpart, "Mistress, the Pharaoh's patience must be growing thin by now. How much longer would you give him until he comes to confront us?"

"I don't plan on giving him a chance to confront us," Seline said, smiling coldly, "We've got more work to do before tonight. If all goes according to my plans, we'll never have to worry about him again."

Chalie raised an eyebrow, "That seems unlikely. What do you have in mind, Mistress?"

Seline smiled sweetly, "Come, boys. We have work to do."

* * *

"Sheesh, what a day!" Yugi sighed, lying down on his bead, staring out at the night sky, "Bakura's bodiless, Barak's gone (along with the Ring), Shem and Todd can't come to terms, and there's still no sign of Tristan or Tea." He turned to look at Yami, his large purple eyes imploring the ancient king almost desperately, "Can't something go our way for once?"

"It certainly doesn't seem that way…" Yami replied glumly, leaning against the boy's desk, too weary to even be frustrated any longer, "We don't have any choice anymore – we have to act quickly. A swift strike against Seline is our only option now. Anymore delays will risk Bakura's spirit crossing over to the next dimension."

The young man stood and put one hand on his spirit friend's shoulder, "You need to get some rest now, Yami. And we can't go alone, even when the time comes. Our friends have always been our biggest support. I'm sure they'd be glad to help out."

"Indeed," Yami smiled weakly, "Perhaps sleep is best for now." He settled down on the bed, hands behind his head, eyes closed, looking as though nothing could lift the weight of the world from his shoulders.

* * *

"I am ready upon your command, Mistress," Chalie stated plainly, his arms outstretched and pointed towards Seline.

"As am I," Basil nodded curtly, raising the Staff and directing it towards his mistress.

The tiny woman was standing in front of a hand-painted circle on the floor, through which an image of young Yugi Moto's bedroom was clearly visible. There was also painted symbols on her face and arms. She spread her hands over the floor. "Begin."

Chalie released the absorbed energy he had received from Barak the previous day, golden light striking the holder of the Millennium Earrings. This was not an attack, but rather a power boost. If he hadn't interfered last night and snapped her out of whatever form his mistress had been in, she might not need this extra energy. Opposite of him, Basil fired off a beam of energy from the Millennium Staff.

Seline closed her eyes, waving her hands over the image of the sleeping Pharaoh, glowing brightly and chanting softly in Roman. Her voice grew louder and louder until she stopped and all the light around her shot through her fingertips into the swirling vortex. The Pharaoh remained still, none the wiser to the dark magic that had just been cast. Seline brought her hands together and the circle closed, the glow vanished, and the room was left lighted only by the moonlight drifted through the skylights and windows. "Sleep, my liege," she said, bowing to the floor, "Sleep…and never wake up."

* * *

Monday morning. Despite the prospect of school and the looming threat of Seline and her minions, the dawning of a new day had considerably raised the spirits of Yugi Moto. It took less time than usual for him to get ready to head out, so the boy simply placed the Millennium Puzzle around his neck and walked out the door. It was a bit strange that there was no response, but Yugi simply shrugged, 'Probably with Dedi again.'

Half-way to school, he crossed paths with Joey, who (of course) was headed in the same direction. The blonde teen cocked an eyebrow as his young friend walked right past him without noticing. "Hey, Yug!" he called, jogging to catch up, "You okay? I know yesterday was weird an' all, but you look pretty dazed."

"Actually, Joey, I think I'm okay. Yami wants to make a move soon, but I haven't gotten a chance to talk to him since last night."

Wheeler raised a single eyebrow, grinning, "Where is he?"

Moto turned a light shade of crimson, "I- I'm pretty sure he's still sleeping."

"Alone?"

"That I'm not sure of."

"Thought so."

* * *

The King of Ancient Egypt awoke, but did not open his eyes. It felt unnaturally warm, especially for December. He rolled over, and was surprised to bump into someone. Yami's eyes flew open, and he was surprised to see Dedi next to him. He stood up quickly, trying to take in all his new surroundings. 'Where am I?'

The beautiful woman next to him stirred and touched his arm. "Why are you up so early?" she asked, "Chaldea won't be awake for a while – take advantage of it."

"Dedi?" he wondered aloud, "Where are we? What are you talking about?"

His beloved raised a questioning eyebrow, "We're in the palace…where we live, remember?? Boy, you must have really gone somewhere in your dreams last night." She nuzzled against him affectionately, "Wanna tell me about them?"

"I didn't have any dreams," he said, utterly confused. This wasn't right, it couldn't be. He hadn't lived in the palace of Egypt for five thousand years, "Dedi, tell me, where are we really? Is this the Shadow Realm?" She'd conjured some elaborate set-ups for him before during their nights together, but none as vivid as this. He was beginning to develop a headache; nothing was making sense!

"What's the Shadow Realm?" she asked, sliding away from him, looking concerned, "Honey, are you feeling alright?" She pressed a warm palm to his forehead.

The Pharaoh got up again and walked to the window. The large city of Giza sprawled out from the palace like giant mold, the Pyramids large even at a distance. He looked down, realizing that he was no longer wearing his normal attire, but rather a simple piece of white linen was wrapped strategically about his loins. The cool touch of the stone beneath him began to make his bare feet cold. He glanced back, seeing his Millennium Puzzle sit on the nightstand next to the large, king-sized bed, "I feel fine, but my mind is… clouded. This can't be right; I don't live here anymore. I haven't lived in a palace for five thousands years!"

"What are you talking about?" Dedi asked, climbing out of bed, dressed in a near-see-through white linen nightdress, "You've always lived here – ever since you were born."

Before Yami could respond, the large wooden door to their bedchamber creaked open and they both turned. A little girl about four years old, with shining ebony hair bounded into the room, a wide smile across her tan face. "Mama! Papa!" she cried happily, running to Yami and wrapping her arms around his bare legs, "I'm awake now!"

"Yes, we can see that, Princess," Dedi said, grinning.

"Papa! Can you pick me up?" the child asked, turning big purple eyes on him.

Yami blinked in surprise. He barely recognized the smiling child at his feet, having only seen her once before. Last summer in Egypt, Jetsu Maeda had tortured him with the memories locked within the Millennium Shield, showing the death of his wife, bodyguard, and the removal of his daughter from his palace. The leader of Egypt calmly picked the little girl up and held her, wondering if he had ever had this experience when this was his life, so long ago. He looked over at Dedi, now worried. Where and when in history he was wasn't logical, but a father's concern over rid his common sense, "Where is Basu Maeda?"

Dedi's expression softened, "Yami…you know Basu died of a snake bite years ago…I thought you got over that – you spent such a long time choosing his replacement." She stepped closer and stroked her daughter's hair tenderly.

At that moment, the door was pushed open further and a girl no older than sixteen stumbled in, "Chaldea, I thought I told you – oh!" She blushed brightly at the sight of the royals in their undergarments. "My apologies, your Majesty," she stammered, averting her eyes, "I turned away for only a moment and she disappeared."

Dedi laughed, "Don't worry about it, Ona," she told the girl, "We'll bring her back to you in a little while."

"Yes, my Queen," Ona nodded, and quickly left the room, shutting the door behind her.

"Chaldea…what have we told you about running away from Ona?" Dedi admonished her daughter, "You know she gets so worried."

"But I wanted to see you," the little girl replied innocently, hugging her father around the neck.

Yami smiled at his daughter's touch. His existence here was confusing, but as long as he was stuck here (as it appeared) he might as well make the best of the situation. Here amongst family, the problems of the present seemed less threatening…