Joy: I'm back! Yeah! This is Chapter 20! Wow!

Yugi-angel: Cool! That's very neat…(wishes she had an Item…) =D But I can still drool over my favorite characters!

kurama'sdarkangel1: Glad you got one more review in. I know you won't be able to read this for a long while, but Arigatou! =D

Dark mage of sea 13: Arigatou! I will!

Midnights: You bet it is! And your request will be granted, I assure you. ;-D

This story is starting to take on a mind of it's own, but that's cool. Just when I think that I've come up with a dead end or a road block in this story, things change and twist into something that is actually quite nice. Ready, set, go!

A Royal Vision

Joy looked around her in complete confusion. Where the hell am I? she asked herself. It looks like I'm inside some ancient pyramid, but how did I get here? Indeed it did look as though the teenager had been transported to some pyramid of some sort. She was standing in the middle of a long corridor or hallway, lit only by torches on the walls. She heard voices ahead of her. Curiosity overtook her and she followed the sound of the voices until she came upon an enormous chamber.

There was a path leading up to an alter of some kind. On both sides of the path were cloaked figures, who were chanting in what Joy believed was Ancient Egyptian. As she gazed around the room and her eyes fell upon the alter, she felt her body go numb, almost like it did when Katilli took over, only this time she was aware of what was going on around her. She was in control of her mind completely, but she had absolutely no power over her body.

She began to walk toward the alter. What in the world is going on! I can't stop myself from moving, and I don't know what the hell is going on! Oh Ra, I hope this isn't some sort of damn sacrifice… She stopped in front of the alter and her gaze fell upon it. In the center of the alter lie a book. On the front cover of the closed book was the Eye of Ra. Joy had only a short moment to ponder on the book before her hand rose up and hovered over the Eye. This can't be good.

Joy's hand began to glow a pale blue, as did the book. The teenager's eyes grew wide as her mind was flooded with all the information in the book. Passages, spells, incantations, verses, and knowledge flew into her mind all at once. Soaring at top speed across her vision was also images such as sacrifices, events in time, battles, deaths, and memories both good and bad. She let an exhausted sigh as the flow of knowledge ceased and darkness overcame her.

…That Evening…

Seto Kaiba was extremely frustrated as he met up with the other searchers back at the palace courtyard. He and the pharaoh had found absolutely no trace of Joy and no evidence that she was even in the city. And from the looks on the others' faces, they had also come up empty handed.

"W-What if Yukia has already captured her?" Yugi stammered slightly, worry for his friend evident in his expression.

"Do not worry, Yugi. We shall keep looking as soon as we have had something to eat. We have been searching for many hours," Yami reassured the boy. Yugi nodded, his head down. Seto's eyes shown his impatience and anger at their lack of success.

If I get my hands on the wench, I'll tear her apart piece by piece, he silently vowed.

As the three made their way to the dining hall, they were approached by the three soldiers they had seen in the throne room that morning. "Pharaoh Yami, we have something of great importance to relay to you concerning the Lady Kaitlli."

Yami's eyes grew wide. "Katilli? My sister?" The captain nodded.

"Yes, my lord. She has returned."

The captain explained everything in as much detail as possible. When he was done, Yugi turned to the pharaoh. "Pharaoh Yami, I believe that this woman is not your sister. You see, Joy is the reincarnation of your sister Katilli, just as I am your reincarnation and Kaiba is Sorcerer Seto's reincarnation. It may be that it is Joy that your guards found."

Yami nodded. "I understand. I shall go and see for myself. I will know the difference instantly. He turned and followed the captain down the hall, instructing Yugi and Seto to go and wait for him at the dining hall. Seto scowled. He wanted to go and see if it was really Joy, though he had a suspicion it was none other than the American herself. After all, Katilli had already died and he did not believe in ghosts.

…A moment or two later…

The door to Katilli's room burst open and Yami stepped inside to see Joy trying to pick herself up off the ground. He knew that this woman was not his sister, though she bore a striking resemblance to her. "Are you the one named Joy Houyoku?"

Joy looked up when she heard the voice, but she understood nothing but her name. She saw the pharaoh and got to her feet hurriedly. "Pharaoh Yami! Have you seen –" She stopped herself at the point because she found that she was no longer speaking in either Japanese or English, but instead Ancient Egyptian! She gasped and put a hand to her mouth. "Oh my Ra! I'm speaking Ancient Egyptian! How am I doing this?" The words were once again Egyptian. She tried to speak in the other languages she knew, or at least…she though she knew. She suddenly grew pale when she discovered that the only language she could speak was Egyptian!

Yami, of course, knew Egyptian and could understand every word she said. "I did not know you knew my native tongue," he said, this time in Egyptian.

"Normally I do not, pharaoh Yami. I don't know what happened. There was this strange vision I had and now I cannot speak in any language other than your own. Quick, say something in another language."

Yami paused, then said, "Can you understand me, Joy Houyoku?" He said this in the only other language he knew: Japanese.

Joy gasped, growing even paler than she already was. "Oh, dear Ra! I can't understand a thing you just said! What language was that?" When Yami told her, Joy felt as though her heart had been forcibly removed from her chest. "Pharaoh Yami. I cannot even understand any languages other than Egyptian!"

(AN: Should I stop here? I mean…cliffy's are bad and evil and so am I…(dodges objects being thrown at her) Okay! Okay! I'll go on!)

…A few moments later…

Yugi and Seto were standing by the enormous table that had more food on it than either of them could eat in a month, even if they shared it with everyone they knew. They both looked up when Pharaoh Yami stepped into the room.

"The search for Joy Houyoku has ended. She has been located. You were right, Yugi. She was mistaken for my sister." Yugi grinned brightly as relief swarmed over him. Seto was also relieved, though he tried not to show it outwardly. Yami frowned as he told them that he had some bad news that went with that.

"What do you mean, bad news?" Seto said warily.

Joy stepped into the room, looking downcast and distraught. Yugi and Seto went over to her immediately. "Joy! We're so happy you're all right! You are…okay, right, Joy?"

Seto raised an eyebrow as he saw the confusion in Joy's eyes. "I am afraid she cannot understand a word that you speak, Yugi. Something has happened to her, and now she can only speak and understand my own language."

Yugi and Seto gasped, looking like someone had shot them with a bullet. "You mean she can only speak and understand Egyptian?!" Seto practically yelled. The pharaoh nodded sadly. "How is that possible?!"

"She has explained to me that she had a vision. In that vision she touched a book, quite against her will, I believe. She was then overcome with memories and ancient knowledge, some of which has been long forgotten for even the oldest of my people. I believe that in her vision she touched the Book of Origins. It is a powerful book from ancient times. In it's pages are rites and spells, as well and an account of the creation of my people and the coming of the first pharaoh. It is very powerful, and I believe that when she touched the book in her vision, she took in all it's ancient knowledge."

"How the hell does that explain her present condition and how we help her?" Seto snapped.

Yami sighed, then explained. "The book also takes over the person's mind in a sense. It changed her to suite it's desire. It longed for her to understand the knowledge that she was given, which she could not do in her previous state. So it made her understand by teaching her it's language. Unfortunately, it felt that no other language was need, so it wiped it from her memory."

"So is there any way to return her back to the way she was? To have the book take back it's knowledge?" Yugi asked.

"I do not even know where the Book of Origins is located, Yugi. I am afraid that I do not know of a way to help her return to her original state."

"PHARAOH YAMI! CAN YOU TELL ME WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!" Joy yelled out at the top of her lungs. The pharaoh winced at the loudness of the girl, then quickly explained in Egyptian what had been discussed. After he was done the poor young woman was close to fainting. "There's nothing you can do, is there, Pharaoh Yami?" she asked quietly. Yami shook his head sadly, and everyone looked at the ground in dismay.

Everything was quiet for a moment as everyone was in deep thought. Joy closed her eyes. Oh, Ra, how I wish that I could destroy Yukia once and for all for sending us here. Suddenly a spell came to her mind. A very good spell. She smiled mischievously. "Pharaoh Yami. Let's go hunting."

Joy: Well, there you have it. By the way, I didn't want to interrupt the chapter again to tell you all this, but the Book of Origins is totally made up, as is what I said was in it. I made up the whole thing. It's called fiction for a reason, yes? Anyway…yeah. Was this chapter too confusing? Let me know.

So, Joy and the others now have a communication barrier that is going to make things very interesting and difficult. Good thing Yami's around, eh? Next chapter is called… A Hunting We Will Go. Cool, ne? Till then, remember to review!