Wow! My chapters are in double digits! And I just looked at what I've called them all, and man, what was I thinking! Sigh... titles are not my specialty. But since you probably already know that, I'll just let you read.



Chapter 10



Bakura gave another groan and his eyelids twitched.

'He's coming around,' stated Yami, and tried again to awake the youth by shaking his shoulder.

Bakura attempted to sit up, but failed and fell back against the floor. He grimaced and held a hand up to his forehead, then finally opened his eyes and blinked a few times in the new light.

'Wh-.. where am I?'

'In Egypt,' supplied Joey.

'In an Ancient Egyptian construction,' added Yami.

'On the floor,' finished Tristan. 'What?' he asked when receiving an odd look from Tea.

'Are you all right, Bakura?' asked Yugi.

Bakura rubbed his head and tried a little more successfully to sit up.

'I think so.. my head hurts.'

'Did you knock it or something?' Tea shoved the others aside and knelt down beside him. 'Here, let me see.'

She moved his hands away and gently inspected for injuries. Just then Bakura realised that two sets of purple eyes were looking at him instead of one.

'It happened to you, too!' he exclaimed, looking from Yami to Yugi. They didn't need to ask what he meant.

'Wait a minute... ya mean _you_ have a resident ghost as well?' asked Joey incredulously. 'This is turning into a regular convention..'

'Hold on, I think I remember..' Tristan paused and concentrated. 'Yeah, there was a dream we all had and there were two Yugis and two Bakuras... it wasn't a dream, was it?'

'No.' Yami turned to Bakura. 'But I thought he was sent to the Shadow Realm.'

'He was.. but he came back - I'm not sure how. I just know that I started blacking out all the time, and then I heard him in my head again. I don't know much more than that.. after I helped you win, he never told me anything.'

'So how did you get here?' questioned Kaiba, a little irritably. So many unexplainable occurrences were getting to him, as well as the fact that everyone seemed to have an idea of what was going on except him.

Bakura looked down at the floor and concentrated.

'The last thing I remember.. I was in front of a huge wall, with markings on it. He was controlling me, and he put my hands on it...' he mimicked this action as he spoke. 'And then there was.. light and fire in my head and suddenly, he wasn't there anymore! I was free!' Bakura's face lit up as he remembered this.

'Somehow he was in another body that looked like me, and there were other people in robes with hoods there with him. They held me so I couldn't run while he opened the door. Then we went inside, and he said that he didn't need me anymore. He put out his hand like that.. (He demonstrated) and then there was darkness. I don't remember anything else until you came along.' He sighed. 'I'm sorry I can't help more, but I was very confused and disorientated at the time. I don't remember coming to Egypt at all.'

'Well, there's no lump or anything,' announced Tea after completing her examination.

'He used magic on you,' said Yami darkly. 'He must have taken the Millennium Ring as well.'

Bakura's eyes widened. 'Wait! I remember seeing something else when he was opening the door.. a small gold ball..'

Yami sharply inhaled. 'The Millennium Eye..'

'So that's who stole it from Pegasus,' exclaimed Yugi.

'Not only that..' Yami looked off into the distance, obviously distressed. 'Now all the millennium items are here, in Egypt,' he said quietly. Shadi was right, he thought. Something _is_ gathering the items. And succeeding.

'Maybe we should go ba- ' Yami was cut off by the low rumbling and grinding of stone that permeated the passageway.

'The doors are closing!' yelled Kaiba, and sprinted back down the tunnel. He was only metres from the exit when the stone doors met with a sound resembling an abrupt thunderclap. They were trapped.

Kaiba sunk to his knees in the darkness.

'Great,' he growled.

The others weren't far behind, and shared his sentiments.

'Hey Yuge, can't you just do that thing with the puzzle again?' asked Joey hopefully.

Yugi approached the doors and touched the puzzle to them. Nothing happened. They all let out the breath they had been holding in a collective sigh.

'Well, I guess we have no choice but to go further in..' said Tea.

Kaiba made a mental note that this was the absolute last time he ever went out of the country with this group, and they started walking back into the darkness.

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He could sense the other approaching, but did not turn around. The low chanting, which came from the many identical, robed figures crouched over in prayer, droned on and filled the room with echoes. The second black hood crouched next to the first and raised the sleeves of his robe in a similar position, but did not join in the chanting. Instead he spoke, low enough for only his colleague to hear.

'They have made it inside.'

'I know.'

'I don't suppose you have seen the third member of our little.. alliance?'

The first paused.

'I think he wants to approach them himself. He needs.. watching.'

There was anger and impatience creeping into the second's tone when he spoke again.

'Watching? Why not something more drastic?'

'It would not be wise to interfere just yet.'

This answer did not satisfy.

'By the time you will let us move, it will be too late. You know as well as I that he cannot be trusted - why do you continue with this façade?'

The first smiled.

'All things come to those who wait. Perhaps you should practice more patience.'

The second growled menacingly, but did not reply.

'Don't worry - the fates are on our side. After all, the millennium puzzle is coming to us as we speak.'

'We wouldn't have to wait for it if you had let me take it.'

'It's much neater this way. We now know who the Pharaoh is, and he will have no idea of what is ensnaring him until it is too late.'

The chanting ended, and the robed figures rose. The second seemed mollified, but still impatient.

'We will get the power soon enough,' the first reassured calmly.

'We had better,' the second growled, then turned and with a flare of black robes, strode away.

Alone, the first smiled to himself in the shadows.

'Oh, we will,' he said quietly. 'But you had better pray that you are around to see it.'

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They had been walking for hours, but darkness still stretched ahead and behind so there was no way to tell how far they had travelled. Plain stone walls loomed to either side, the only distinguishing features doors to small, unadorned rooms empty of all but dust. They had shone the torches in and looked, but had decided not to enter. The rooms, probably used for storage, went nowhere.

Finally Joey stopped walking and slumped against a wall.

'Come on, we've been walking for ages. I say we stop for the night.'

Yami and Seto, who were leading, stopped and turned back to the others.

'I second it,' said Bakura, a little out of breath.

Seto growled 'Weaklings,' under his breath, but Yami lowered his torch.

'Perhaps it would be best to rest. We may have a long way to go, still.'

Tea knelt on the ground, removed her backpack and began rifling through it.

'Let's see here... I've got energy bars, dried fruit.. and one bar of chocolate.'

'Dibs on the chocolate!' chorused Joey and Tristan immediately.

'You guys, we have to ration this. We don't know how long it has to last,' explained Tea. She began to portion out food to everyone, but it was a meagre meal and no one was really satisfied.

'Man, this stinks. I can't sleep on an empty stomach...' complained Joey.

Yami had placed the torch in an old support, and they had arranged themselves in the hallway to sleep. Despite empty stomachs, the day's exertions had left them all surprisingly weary. Packs and shirts served as pillows on the hard floor. There wasn't much else to do besides sleep, and soon only the sound of steady breathing filled the old stone hallway.

Outside, the sandstorm roared unabated in the night.

Well, there you go. Some questions answered? I'm getting there, be patient. But I need a bit of help with this next bit, owing to not having seen later eps. Can someone tell me, out of Yami Bakura and Yami Malik, who is more hotheaded and who is more calculating? If that gives anything away I'm sorry, but I know nothing about Malik's personality. Pleeeez help if you know! ..even educated guesses are good! Otherwise I'll have to take a stab in the dark. Thanks!