Joy: Here I am. Not too much of a wait I hope. This is chapter 31. I tried to make it longer, but I also knew where I wanted to end it, so there you go. Review responses:

JadedKatrina: No, he'll give them up, just needs a royal presence. ;o) Yeah, Kaiba and Yami would be major upset if something happened to either Joy or Katilli. And I love cliffies! They keep readers in knots. :o)

Midnights: Yeah, don't you hate how he accused Yami of stealing Pegasus's Millennium Eye without any proof? Grrr…

Dark Angel: Heh, Caru's in the closet. I guess it's better than better than handing her a jar full of candy. =D

Silver Moon Phoenix: Your ponderings will be answered in this chapter. I hope. ;o)

pinkdreamer122: Thanks! =D

BabyGatomon: They'll get longer, trust me. ;o) Anyway, I'm glad you liked it! =D

Okay, folks! Here it comes!

The Princess of Egypt

"Why not?! If we don't get the Items, Vargon will, and then what, baka?!"

"I know this, but are you not curious about your comrade? Your wife and her reincarnate?"

Bakura took a step back. He is right. I am worried about Neko. Hell, I may even be wondering about her light. But I cannot let that mess with why I am here. She would not want that. He growled in anger. "My purpose in being here is to get the Items and get back to Domino. Neko would want me to get the Items before getting her."

"Very noble, anata. But I assure you that is not necessary." Bakura whirled around at the sound of the familiar voice to find Katilli standing in the doorway. Her robes were tore and burnt in places, and she sported a few bruises, but other than that, she was not the worse for wear.

"Neko," Bakura breathed. She came to stand beside him. "You have the Items, I presume, Shadi. I must get them back to Domino in order to stop Vargon's evil plans."

"Yes, though I am curious as to what you think will happen when the Items are brought together. It is not clear what could happen."

"I will cross that hurdle when I come to it. I just hope it is not total anarchy." Shadi nodded, then removed the Millennium Key from his neck and handed both the Key and the Scales to Katilli.

"I will follow your wishes, of course, Princess Katilli."

Princess? Ryou asked through his link to Bakura.

Well, she is the daughter of a pharaoh, host. She is royalty. Not even Shadi can turn her away when she requests something from him. It would be like saying no to the pharaoh.

Oh. I see.

"If you are so concerned about the Items, you should just come with us," Bakura suggested.

"He cannot do that," Katilli said.

"I am not concerned about the Items, only the consequences of bringing them together in the same place," Shadi responded.

Katilli took a blood red gem from her robes and handed it to Shadi. Then she turned to go. "Be ready, Shadi. It begins at sunset tomorrow." Shadi gave her a slight bow in response. She then started for the stairway leading outside. Bakura gave Shadi one last glare before following her up the stairs and out of the underground chamber.

"Neko, what did you give him?"

"For the spell to work, anata, two of those gems are needed. One must be in Egypt, while the other must be in the center of the Seven Items. Shadi knows the spell and he knows he must hold the ruby."

"And he knows this how?"

"I sent him a letter some time ago. When we discovered that what was needed to defeat Vargon was the collection of the Items. I told him to go into hiding and someone, most likely the pharaoh or one of his friends, would come to get the Key and Scales. I told him to only give the Items up if they had the gem, or if they were Yami or I."

"That's why he didn't give the Items to me. You could have told me, Neko." Bakura frowned at her.

"Gomen nasai, anata. It just happened so fast. Vargon finding us was not part of the plan."

"Speaking of which, how did you get away from him?"

"Well, to be honest, I was not sure if I would. We had a sort of magic duel with staves and I ended up scoring quite a mighty hit against him. It knocked him out. That was when I took my leave to find you. I managed to sense you and followed you down to where Shadi was."

"Hmm…so now what? Back to Japan?" Bakura asked.

"Yes."

…Later, on the flight back to Domino…

Bakura was lounging in his soul room. After the escapade with Shadi, the two darks had gone on to the airport. There they let their lights take over. Joy was fast asleep, with Ryou not too far behind. It looked like it was going to be a quiet trip home. Bakura tensed up when he felt a presence in his soul room, but then relaxed. "You are here for a reason, I assume, Neko?" he asked with a smirk.

"I am not allowed? Perhaps I should leave then…"

Bakura stood. "No. Stay."

Katilli smiled, turning back around to face Bakura. "So, I suspect you are not happy with what happened in Egypt just now."

"I do not see why I could not have stayed when Vargon appeared. We would have been more than enough to handle him."

She came closer to him. "But then who would have gone after the Items? We needed to distract Vargon and get to Shadi. It was really the only idea that prevailed at the time. I am sorry that you did not approve, but I know you understand my reasoning, anata."

"Hmph. So, what is going to happen when we return? We will have all seven of them. All the Items. Not often that such a feat is accomplished, Neko."

Katilli looked down, away from Bakura's face. "I truly do not know what will happen when the Items are brought together. But if it is the only way to rid ourselves of Vargon forever, then we will have to do it. But I am sure that it will not be too dangerous. The Items have been together before."

Just then there was a knock on Bakura's soul room door and Ryou came in. "Bakura? Katilli? Is everything okay?"

"Of course, Ryou. Are you going to sleep? I sense that my light is deep in sleep already," Katilli said.

"Yeah. The flight lasts a few more hours, so I'm going to catch up on some sleep. We should get there late this evening. Maybe around eleven at night or so." Ryou smiled. "I'll see you two then. Who knows? Maybe this time tomorrow, Vargon will be gone for good!" With that, the teen went off to his own soul room, closing the door behind him.

"He is too enthusiastic for his own good."

"That is a commonplace with most lights. Mine included, believe it or not." Katilli smiled at Bakura.

"Your light as acquired a lot of your traits. Like that take-charge attitude that you possess." Bakura smirked.

Katilli gave him a look. "Well, it is not always a negative trait, I assure you. Sometimes it comes in handy. At any rate. I must get back to my own soul room now."

"Oh, you do not want to spend the night with me? I am offended." He offered her a mock-glare.

"I wish that I could, but my energy is waning from the day's work and I am weary. Tomorrow is a busy day. Until then, rest well, my love." With that she vanished back into her soul room.

…The next day…

"Okay, Ryou. Let's get over to Kaiba Manor! I can't wait till we get this spell cast and get rid of that bastard once and for all!" Joy was practically jumping up and down in anticipation when they walked out of the Domino City airport and got into Joy's car. Soon they were speeding off toward Kaiba Manor.

All the Millennium Items were about to be in the same room for the first time in many millennia.

Joy: That was it for this one. Not much longer, I know, but it set the stage for the next chapter, which I am planning to be longer. Anyway, it is called: 'All Seven'. And it might even have a bit of humor in it if I can manage it. =D

Till then, don't forget to review! See ya next time!