Author Notes:

TM: Whoohooo! Now it's my turn to write *rubs hands together gleefully*

LB: grrrr.....you get first honours on Malik and Ryou......*becomes wreathed in flames*

TM: Eeep *hides behind Celtic Guardian card* Take her down Cannon Fodder!

CG: *whimpers*

LB: *glares*....heeere boy! *crouches down*

CG: *eyes light up*...ok!

TM: Bah! Damn fickle elf! But he's so kawaii! Oh well, I still have my Gaia the Dragon Champion *huggles card*

LB+CG: …*sweat drop*

TM: *holds shiney cool Japanese card aloft* Right! Read fic and enjoy…or my dragon champion will eat you up!

LB: And remember to R&R

TM: You know, I really did think that that meant Rest and Relaxation

LB: …..on with the fic

Disclaimer: Neither The Muffin nor Lightning Baron own Bakura, Ryou, Malik, Marik or indeed anything to do with Yugioh…well they do own some cards and Lightning Baron does own a plushie but that's beside the point.

Chapter 2 by The Muffin

The smell of mixed spices enveloped Ryou's senses, lulling him from the midst of his frayed consciousness. Ryou slowly opened one eye and blinked absently as he waited for his vision to focus. Blue sky hanging over a peaceful green park… at least that's what he was expecting to see.

Ryou sat up with a start and frantically looked around him. No yamis, no Yugi, no green grass, just sand coloured stone walls looming up on either side of him. It only took Ryou a few panic stricken moments to realise that he wasn't trapped in some prison, but merely lying slightly bruised in some narrow alleyway. Despite that making little more sense, the dark-eyed boy was much relieved that it was the latter. His shambolic memory tried desperately to piece together those last few moments before he found himself lying on the ground in this unfamiliar passageway. Lying on the ground with the inert body of Malik Ishtar sprawled peacefully across his legs.

Ryou let out a high-pitched yelp as he felt his cheeks begin to redden and scurried out from beneath the unconscious boy. This of course resulted in Malik receiving a rather unpleasant wake up call. The startled, white-haired youth continued to back up until he was against the wall then clutched his hands tightly over his mouth to smother any more absurd noises.

"What in Thoth's name…" Malik muttered as he sat up and rubbed his recently scraped chin with the back of an auburn hand. He looked over to the still shaken Ryou, backed up against the wall, his hands clasped tightly over his mouth. Malik could see the thin line of red creeping over the tops of Ryou's fingers betraying the feelings that the timid boy was unsuccessfully trying to conceal.   

"What's wrong with you?" he grinned with a knowing gleam in his lavender eyes.

"Oh! Er…I...nothing. Nothing, Malik, really." Ryou stammered trying even harder to hide the crimson cheeks behind his hands. "Y…you just startled me."

"Pity…" Malik teased as he stood up and brushed the dirt off of his tight-fitting trousers. Suddenly, he stopped what he was doing and looked around, a perplexed expression creeping over his bronzed features.

"Where are we?" the young Egyptian demanded as he looked back at his acquaintance who, after feeling certain that the red of his cheeks had finally dissipated, scrambled hastily to his feet.

"I haven't the foggiest…" Ryou admitted helplessly. "The last thing I remember is… Oh! Our yamis were fighting!"

Malik and Ryou looked around but, as they had expected, their yamis were nowhere to be seen.

…,,,***~***,,,…

Back at the park, things had gotten hectic. The rain had finally subsided leaving the once pleasant park almost bog-like. The recent confrontation between the ancient powers had inevitably attracted the attention of a few teenage delinquents eager to know what that bright flash of light was. It took all of Joey's energy just to fend off the probing eyes of strangers eager to get a closer look at the small, unconscious form of the Motou boy cradled in the arms of…himself?! No…his brother maybe…

Near to the two boys, Anzu was a pathetic site…well more so than usual. Sniffling and mud covered, she leaned against Tristin for 'emotional support'. The occasional "friendship..." could be heard emanating from her hysterical lips as her feeble mind tried in vain to fully grasp the complexities of what had just happened.

Joey shoved one particularly meddlesome teenager out the way and turned sharply to Yami.

"Hey! Don't just sit there! We gotta get Yug to the hospital!"

Yami glanced back at Joey with a blank expression on his face for a few seconds then nodded understandingly. He had been to the hospital before with Yugi when he went to visit Ryou after he fell down the stairs. His story may have satisfied the naive little hikari but not the worldly pharaoh. Those bruises had 'Tomb Robber' written all over them. He looked down at the hardly moving chest of the sleeping youth and felt the burning hot tears begin to form in his eyes. How could Bakura not care for his hikari? Wasn't the bond that connected them the same as his with Yugi? The pharaoh scooped the child up into his arms, his face fixed into a mask of determination. Now was not the time to think of such trivial ideas. The only thing that mattered was the safety of his abiou. 

"Tristin!" he called, his commanding composure present once more "Grab Anzu and let's get out of here!"

Tristin went to point out that he was already holding Anzu, much to his delight, but after seeing the fierce look in the ancient spirit's eyes thought better of it.

"Joey! Cover us!"

"I'll meet you there!" the blond haired street punk replied.

With that the three teens and the spirit rushed as fast as they could to Domino Hospital on the other side of town.

One bystander watched the teens stumble across the muddy field wondering why they hadn't just used the pay phone that stood only five yards away. 

…,,,***~***,,,…

Malik was still leaning against the wall staring fixatedly into space; his face set into a mask of deep concentration. Upon realising that they had been separated from their yamis, the small Egyptian had immediately tried to establish a mind link with Marik but to no avail. After seeing Malik's expression waver after the fourth or fifth attempt, Ryou had decided to try to establish a link with his own dark. The snowy haired boy attempted again and again to pick up the thoughts of his yami but no matter how hard he tried, all trace of the ancient tomb robber was gone. Ryou had dreamed of this day since he had first received his Millennium Ring, the day that his mind would be liberated from the cruel, mocking presence of his dark. Ryou had dreamed that this day would bring freedom and relief to his long tormented soul. Ryou was surprised when that day finally did come, after so much dreaming and expectation, the absence of his long time companion would leave him feeling anxious and vulnerable. Sure Bakura has his faults but don't we all? Ryou certainly could live without the unprovoked beatings; Bakura's madman's dream of world domination could be more than a little distracting at times and his unwillingness to help out with the household chores drove the well mannered boy to despair. But what the yami did bring, unknowingly to the both of them until now, was companionship.

"Well, it looks like we are on our own." Malik muttered "What fun."

Ryou decided to ignore the thick coating of cynicism that accompanied the last remark and instead watched idly as Malik stood up straight and began examining the surroundings more closely. As the small, blond-haired youth looked up and down the alley, he could not shake off an uncanny feeling of familiarity. The sandstone walls, the empty sacks and barrels, the dirt of the uncovered path floating transparently in the air from being kicked up with every step. All of these bought with them a feint sense of awareness.

The sudden babble of alien voices startled the two boys into rigid silence. 

Malik's ears pricked as the strange sounds reformed into sensical phrases within his golden mind. 

"It can't be..." Malik whispered to himself as he ran over to the end of the alley and poked his head out from behind the wall making sure to keep himself masked within the shadows.

"I don't believe it!" Malik exclaimed after a few moments of examination. "I don't know how but we're in Cairo!"

"Cairo?! But that's in Egypt! Are you sure?"

"No, of course I'm not sure." Malik's voice dripped with sarcasm "I was only born here."

Ryou ran over to Malik and poked his head over the bronzed shoulder of his smaller companion. He was used to brushing insults aside. He did have to deal with Bakura 24/7 after all.

The scene before the two boys was one of constant activity. Rows upon rows of small stools harboring their wears lined the sides of the sand coloured street, the many vendors filing the air with empty promises disguised within exotic voices as they haggled and argued with prospective customers. Spices, fruits, jewelry, wheat and even animals were among the items of trade. Dotted between the stools, groups of people converged around scantily clad performers swallowing flames and charming snakes in return for respect and profits.

One market stool in particular attracted Ryou's interest. Rows of bright coloured silks and tapestries patterned the stool with a forest of purples, blues and yellows. Framming the fabrics on tall poles either side of the stool hung assortments of clothing ranging from ordinary white cloths that were being worn by the majority of the people bustling around, to elegant golden-lined red cloaks that sparkled and glistened in the hot sun. A streamlined black cat regarded the two onlookers from its basking spot atop of some rather extravagant tapestries. Its keen, luminous golden eyes fixed on them unblinking then, having lost interest, it lay its head back down and continued to doze undisturbed amongst the woven finery. Clothes had always held a keen interest with the fair skinned boy; an interest started by the elegant wedding kimono passed down to him from his grandfather shortly before he passed away. Of course Bakura mocked him constantly for it but Ryou had eventually learned to disregard the tomb robber's snide comments as little more than the rantings of an outdated rogue. Drawn in by the exotic and inviting colours, Ryou stepped out into the bustling street to take a closer look but a surprisingly strong hand grabbed Ryou's arm and pulled him back into the shadow of the alley.

"Don't be an idiot." hissed Malik, "Something's not right. This isn't my home…"

"What makes you so sure?"

Malik placed his hands either side of Ryou's face. The pale boy jumped with a start at the shorter boy's sudden bold actions. Ryou's heart and mind raced. What was Malik doing? He can't be doing what he thought he was doing could he? Here?! Now?! Before Ryou could push Malik away, not that he could anyway, his fellow hikari may have been small but he was surprisingly strong, the Egyptian swirled Ryou around to the entrance of the alley and roughly pointed Ryou's vision in the direction of a tall triangular structure looming above the tops of the sand coloured buildings; one of Egypt's royal trademarks. Ryou was surprised that he had missed the remarkable construction the first time. The height of it was impressive enough on its own yet this was amateur craftsmanship compared to the other details of the sandstone creation. Ryou's eyes took in the edges of stone that had been painfully sharpened to angled perfection, framing the glow of the sun as it reflected lavishly off of the smooth wind polished surface.

"Call me paranoid but the last time I checked Pyramids were somewhat dilapidated."

"Something's certainly not right with that..." Ryou agreed helplessly. Why couldn't he just wake up now?

…,,,***~***,,,…

"That stupid hikari!" Bakura roared kicking over the tall lamp that crashed to the floor spraying glistening shards of glass across the worn down carpet. He was not in high spirits to say the least. Upon arriving back at Ryou's house, the two yamis had headed straight up to the boy's humble bedroom and had begun to disrespectfully empty out the entire contents of his carefully arranged desks and drawers. Bakura had remembered how, every now and then, Ryou would take to shutting himself in his room under the guise of doing 'homework' and surround himself with his father's research notes and books on Ancient Egypt and pore over them into the early hours of the next morning searching for something, anything, that may help unlock some secret to Yami's past. Bakura knew what his timid light was up to. It is not easy to hide anything of value from a well-experienced thief, especially when that thing was information regarding the Millennium Items and said thief was Bakura. However, he had allowed the boy to continue undisturbed in his quest to help out the bothersome Yugi gang and that poncey pharaoh. Instead, the cunning yami would watch his hikari's progress unnoticed from the shadows until something of value came up and then he would take it for himself…by force if necessary. It didn't take long for the ancient tomb robber to find the carefully hidden spiral ring folder in a secret compartment beneath Ryou's underwear drawer. There must be something in here that could shed some light onto the whereabouts of their hikaris.

One spiral folder later and Bakura was disappointed at the results…but not as disappointed as Marik. Every drawer, desk and box searched and not one dirty magazine. Weekly game mags, self-confidence manuals and homework guides yes, but even one page 3 clipping? Not in this region. Marik sprawled out on the bed in a bored manner and twirled the Millennium rod about his fingers as he watched Bakura pace up and down the room, knocking random objects off of shelves which then plummeted to their destruction with clatters and clashes. 

"If that troublesome little brat had just minded his own business then we wouldn't be in this mess!" Bakura ranted on breathlessly "I swear, the moment I get him back I'm going to lock him into his soul room until he begs to be allowed to stay under my control!" As if to emphasise his point, the fuming tomb robber grabbed a nearby stuffed bear, a souvenir Ryou received from his father during one of his brief returns to Japan, and unceremoniously began to wring its scrawny little neck. "He'll never be free from me!"

"Careful Bakura." Marik chided mockingly "You are starting to sound like you actually care for the boy."

Bakura turned on his fellow yami, a look of disgust fixed upon his dishevelled countenance "Baka no hentai! You know as well as I do that without those hikaris we are screwed! All it takes is for one brainless decision, a decision which will more than likely be made with the likes of those two, and we'll have Ptah sizing up our carcasses in no time! And besides, what would I want with a boring little no-spined hermit whose idea of 'walking the wild side' is throwing jelly beans at little children while their backs are turned?!"

Marik raised a bewildered eyebrow at this remark and stared at Bakura disbelievingly.

"Oh he does it alright!" Bakura insisted heatedly "He thinks that no ones watching but he can't hide anything from me!"

Marik chuckled "I'll admit he isn't exactly the life of the party." The spiky haired Egyptian had the sudden urge to annoy and Bakura was always good for a laugh.

"One of the most boring people I've ever had the misfortune to meet." Bakura spat as he slumped down on the floor and folded his arms like a pouting five year old.

"He's very sensitive though" Marik continued seemingly ignoring his companion's hostile remark.

"A total wimp!"

"And very polite."

"A bloody nance!"

"And self sacrificing."

"A push over more like!"

"And totally fuckable."

"Ra is he fucka…what!? No! No no no!"

Marik's face split into his patented madman grin as he poked his now flustered counter part in the ribs with the handle of his rod.

"Hah! I knew it!" Marik exclaimed excitedly "Grave robber to cradle snatcher; you've had your greedy little eyes on Ryou since the first moment you took on solid form!"

Bakura went to protest but Marik leaned closer and pressed the top of his Millenium Rod against his companion's lips.

"Can't say that I'm surprised." the dark Egyptian admitted "A narcissist like you!"

Bakura pushed away the golden rod angrily "Don't be ridicu.."

Marik planted his lips over Bakura's protesting mouth, silencing any comprehensible word that dared to be emitted. This kiss was anything other than romantic but then again nothing between these two lust birds was. It's a good thing that yamis don't need to breathe otherwise there may have been trouble. Finally, Marik pulled himself away from the frenzied embrace leaving them both panting heavily 

"Just make sure I stay at the top of your to do list"

Bakura could see that further protesting was pointless. Marik had made up his mind and it would take the now pride stricken tomb robber a further one thousand years to convince him otherwise. As usual, Marik's conclusion was rushed and totally inconceivable. He, the renowned trickster of the Nile, the scourge of the dead, the stealer of souls, the bane of the 'great' pharaoh… in love with a timid adolescent who cant even take a shower without turning red?…that stutter is kind of a turn on though …or was. The thought suddenly hit Bakura like a slab of ice. He would never see his timorous hikari again. Bakura shook his head free of such frivolous thoughts. He couldn't go soft now! The Millennium Puzzle had once again evaded Bakura's clutches and once again it was that damn hikari's fault! … still, that hesitant smile was awfully alluring… Bakura shot up and stomped downstairs into the kitchen.

"Marik!" he bawled as he forced the fridge door open and grabbed himself a half bottle of Sake left over from his last trip to this kitchen a couple of nights prior. "Marik!"

The lack of reply left the white haired thief puzzled until a momentary gleam of golden light from outside drew his attention to the window. There the Egyptian in question was, standing sombrely beside the yellow Ninja, his gaze transfixed upon the orphaned vehicle. Could he be…?

"Damn it!" Bakura sneered. Marik was missing the little after hour sessions with his toy no doubt. The disgruntled tomb robber put down the bottle and made his way to the side of the distracted yami.

"Are you going to stand there all day gazing into space like a complete moron or are you going to help me find a way to get those blasted hikaris back?"

Marik turned and stared suspiciously at Bakura. This was unexpected to say the least…

Bakura returned the look with a wry smile "It's not that I care for the little cry baby or anything." He stated matter-of-factly "I just have a lot of pent up frustration to vent which can only be released with the aid of an ever submissive hikari."

Marik mulled over the sentence with an apathetic look on his face. After a few moments deliberation, the sandy haired scourge shrugged his shoulders indifferently.

"Why not?" he mused putting on his most uncaring voice "I never did get to try out that new trick I had planned for Malik…"

Bakura turned not even bothering to ask. He knew all too well what Marik's 'tricks' involved and now wasn't the time to be distracted. His calculating mind needed to focus on the different…though not entirely unrelated… task at hand.

…,,,***~***,,,…

"As crazy as this sounds…" Malik continued thoughtfully "The only possible explanation for where we are is Ancient Egypt…Ancient Cairo to be exact."

Ryou nodded. "Yes, and we must have been sent here when we were struck by the force of the combined Millennium Items."

Malik shuddered at the returning memory. That feeling of being torn from his physical form is not one he cared to remember too quickly. 

"If only we could get to my house." Ryou sighed frustratedly

"What good would that do?"

"Well if indeed this is Ancient Egypt, then I have years worth of notes on this time period passed down by my father and added to by myself. There must be something in there that could help us." Ryou saw Malik's look of uncertainty and decided to elaborate "It was a favour to Yugi and Yami…you know, for all they've done for me. I promised that I would do anything within my power to help them unlock the truth about Yami's past."

"And Bakura let you do that?"

"Bakura doesn't know!" Ryou beamed. He looked genuinely proud of himself. "I've made sure of that. And, if by some unlikely chance, Bakura did find out what I was up to, I hid all my work in a place that not even Bakura would dare to look."

"You mean the secret compartment in your underwear drawer that can only be opened by pressing certain pressure points?"

Ryou's eyes widened in horror as he stared at the clued-up Egyptian boy grinning across from him.

"H…How…How did you know that?!"

"He already found it." Malik explained simply.

"He did?!" Ryou was dumbfounded and also slightly embarrassed. "When?!"

"A few months ago. He was talking about it with Marik once. So, you're a boxers boy, huh?" Malik grinned cheekily at the distraught 'Master of Concealment' "Can't say Marik was too impressed about loosing that bet."

Ryou turned his mortified back on Malik. Bakura knew this whole time? He felt like such a fool for ever believing that he could hide anything concerning the Millenium Items from an experienced thief like Bakura. But more importantly that would mean that both Bakura and Marik have seen his underwear. The blush, now creeping its way relentlessly across his snowy skin, threatened to consume the timid boy as Malik's manic chuckling surrounded him. Malik, having had his fun, wiped a tear from his overjoyed face and then put a hand on Ryou's shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Ryou" he said still trying to fight back his hysteria, "…though to be honest I think it was just wishful thinking on Marik's part. As much as the thought amuses me, I couldn't really see you in one of those skimpy little thongs."

"That's enough already, pervert!" Ryou cut Malik off with a growl. He disliked this feeling of vulnerability he got from Malik knowing his preferred underwear. It made him feel…naked. Malik backed away and held his hands up innocently.

"Hey, it wasn't me who defiled your place of sanctum."

Ryou sighed. "Yes…you have a point…I'm sorry, Malik."

After an uncomfortably and seemingly endless moment of silence, Malik cleared his throat. "Well it's no use thinking about that now." the now serious bronze skinned boy rationalised. "We'll just have to make do with my knowledge."

Ryou reluctantly agreed. He was now at the mercy of Malik…but it could be worse…right?