Disclaimer; Don't own it. So there!

Ahahah! /feels stupid/ I TOTALLY forgot to mention that Yuugi was hit by the assassin's knife in last chapter! /bangs head against wall/ Gah! Well, hopefully it wasn't TOO confusing. And here's the last part of SoS, hope you all liked it! I have some ideas for the sequel, which will be termed Land of Light (and no, I have no real reason for giving it that name... not yet anyway... eh. /sweatdrop/), so hopefully that one will get out too.

Thanks to all who noticed and enjoyed my story! I luff you all!

The Sabbit; Yesh, I loved that scene too! I had so much fun with it! XD Thank you!

The Uncreative One; Heheh, you do have a thing for Ryou and Bakura. Seems most here do. And yes, a sequel is planned, I have a most fun villain (and yes, this time there actually IS a villain) and there will be more fluffiness! Lots of it! /cough/

Chika of the high Mts; Here you go, epilogue and last chapter. Hope you like it.

Hales731; Yay! Fullmetal is now sharing with Yu-Gi-Oh! as my fave manga. And I won't watch any stupid dubbing! I'll rather wait for a sub. Dubbing is EVIL. Ah, yes, thank you! And I will try to keep the flow.

Inuyasha0001; Oh, don't worry about it, just a review here and there and I'm happy!

i-love-bakura1489; XD I feel honored you like it so much. But everything must have an end, ne? No matter how much we like it (thinks of Yu-Gi-Oh! ending... bleh). Hai, hai I will!

Pharaoh Atemu's Angel; Thank you! And this one was slow in coming simply because I hadn't really figured it out, but when I sat down it flowed. Hope you like this one too.

Chibi B-channie; Yep, fuffiness between Bakura and Ryou is a good thing. Hehe, glad you liked the chapter and how Kura found Ryou.

Seren147; Reviewed two times in a row, for two chapters I see. Thanks for that! /heart/ And the sequel... XD More fantasy and fluffiness, shaken with a hopefully somewhat original (and if not original, fun) villain. You'll get an idea where the sequel will be played out at the end of this chappie. XD /glomps/

KNT; /glomps/ XD Yes, Yuugi's almost all healed. Well enough to go home at any rate. And what injured him was a knife the assassin threw, but I was so stupid I TOTALLY forgot to mention that... somehow it slipped my mind... /slaps forehead/.

SoulDreamer; Update! Hope you like.

WolfGirl90; I'm happy you think it's well thought out, that's what I wanted it to be/tried for.

Xamosy; Last chappie for this one! And thankies for liking it! Hope you read and like the sequel when I get my ass off (soon) to write it!

Silvershadowfire; I know, I know, Squishy-sama did a boo-boo, forgetting to mention the knife. Blah. Anyway, yeah, the memories... I've started making some flashback's like that and I like the compressed feel of it, like several things are rushing by at the same time, or very quickly past. Happy you found it good. And I don't know, but I just got stuck with Ryou in the rain and it would give me a chance to have him a bit away from Bakura but not too far. Ah, yes, nobody threaten the omotes or death to them.

YamiShadowcat22; :) Hehe, Glad you liked it! And whether or not the yamis get bodies of their own, read the chappie, it comes up here!

Epilogue; The Stars Always Lead Home

The moon rose, full and shining, over the sands and dunes of ancient Egypt, the sun having sunk behind the horizon mere minutes ago and the last sunlight still staining the sky in the east blood and orange. Two horses made their way leisurely through the city below the palace, their destination a place of lingering horror and pain, even in a place meant for rest.

It had taken quite some arguing from Atemu to allow the four to leave on their own, without any guards. But it was Bakura's impatient threat of "If you don't agree soon, I'll simply take the Pharaoh or his puny copy as hostage and get us out of here that way." And since no one doubted the thief's sincerity, the Priests had readily agreed. Yuugi's back still hurt slightly if strained, but none of the two young men had wanted to wait any longer, and so their other halves had given in to their pleas, heavily dosed with fake, but irresistible, sweetness and sparking eyes. Yuugi leaned his chin against the cloth of his other's cloak, warmth seeping through it and into the young man. They had done it. It had actually been possible. Sure, they had had a little help, but mostly it was all their doing. Their other halves were back with them again. Ryou's eyes caught his and they both grinned knowingly, listening with a half-ear to the dueling with words that was being played out by the riders of the two horses.

"... Are you stupid, Pharaoh!? You can't do it like that, only a brainless idiot would use that one!"

"Oh, as if you have any better ideas, tomb robber? Face it, you wouldn't even be able to handle a situation like that, let alone figure out how to fix it."

"Why, you..!"

Letting the fierce, but still good-natured squabbling recede into the back of his mind Yuugi grinned to himself as he looked out over the moonlight drenched dunes of sand, swelling gently like the stomachs of pregnant women, feeling at peace. Ryou's eyes were closed, leaning into the rough cloth of Bakura's robe, a small smile on his lips. Yup, all was well. Yuugi burrowed closer to the warm back of his other and relaxed, this would take a while. While they weren't pressing the horses, they weren't out on a leisurely stroll either, but all in all, they'd probably arrive in the shadow of the sacrificed town of Kuru Eruna somewhere around daybreak. Yuugi found it fitting somehow.

There were no clouds covering the lightening sky, so the four travelers had unobstructed view of the first hesitant tongues of flame touching the sky, announcing the arrival of Ra and a new day under his blazing protection. Ryou stretched carefully, not wanting to fall off the horse, but feeling stiff from having almost-slept while riding. The ruins rose like a dark stain against the brightening and intense blue sky. Like a portal to death and the underworld, or, in this case, the real world. Shaking his head, sending white strands flying everywhere, Ryou snaked a hand further around Bakura, laying it on one of his other's dark hands, not saying anything, but offering silent support. The short, wild hair his other sported in his original body, and the angle Ryou sat at offered him no insight in Bakura's expression, but he thought the hand under his relaxed minutely and a flash, lightning quick, of gratitude swept through their link. Almost imperceptible, but Ryou was used to the subtle changes and currents that flowed under the surface of his other.

The atmosphere was no less heavy than it had been when Ryou and Yuugi had appeared here, the air still seemingly unnaturally cold, and the light breeze like souls wailing in their ears. But they all ignored it, or tried their best to ignore it and walked through the village, Ryou and Yuugi looking around for the right doorway to take them back. They all stopped in front of a house that was as ruined and burnt as all the others, but there was a difference here, a shift in the air, if you will. The energies of the Shadow Realm swirled around and in and out of the doorway, invisible but testifying that this was the right doorway.

"You ready?" Atemu murmured and Yuugi nodded, squaring his shoulders. This was it, they were going home. A glance cast around the little group of four and they all nodded. Ryou and Yuugi stepped through first, their other halves right behind them, linked together with their lighter halves by their hands. And in a perfect reverse of when they had entered the doors in the tomb, darkness so absolute it seemed solid, much like the Shadows, blasted them in the face. Closing their eyes they walked on, steadily knowing they'd notice when they had come through.

Malik shifted nervously. He didn't know why he and Isis hadn't gone home directly after Ryou and Yuugi had left, but they had lingered, not wanting to go just yet for some reason. But the flashlights wouldn't hold up forever and his restlessness was growing, he wanted to leave now. Or at least do something or have something happen. But what would that be? Yuugi and Ryou had enough on their hands, and could hardly come tumbling out of the doors any second now, just to say hi. So stupid... then he realized the light wasn't coming from their flashlights anymore, but instead from the front of the room. He blinked, feeling Isis grab his hand, but didn't shake it off since he was busy being confused. Had it really taken such a short amount of time? /Idiot. Time probably flows differently there, so what seemed like mere minutes to us could be a lot longer for the danger twins./ Smirking now, Malik watched in fascination as the door opened for the third time and four figures became silhouetted against the light.

When the slightly stale air of the tomb met his face, Yuugi opened his eyes and looked down, surprised but happy at seeing the Ishtars there.

"Hi, Malik-kun, Isis-san! Were we gone long?" He couldn't help the chirp to his voice, he was happy, and had a right to it too, dammit! Isis shook her head and her brother smirked.

"No, just five minutes or so, I haven't looked at my watch." The blond Egyptian started to snicker when he saw the stunned faces of his Japanese friends stare down at him. /Friends? Yes, I guess so. Why not? They've certainly behaved as we're friends the part day and night they stayed here before going./

"Malik!" Isis said, lightly thumping her brother on his head and rolling her dark-blue, jewel-like eyes.

"Time probably flows differently here and in there, for us it was only minutes and for you..." Isis trailed off; unconsciously echoing Malik's thought from earlier.

"A few weeks. A lot happened." Ryou offered and Malik snorted.

"When doesn't a lot happen when anything involved with Yuugi or you are happening?" He asked rhetorically, looking over at the two shadows (no pun intended) behind the teenagers.

Seemed Atemu and Bakura had gotten their own bodies... while Atemu looked exactly the same as he had the few seconds before he had disappeared through the doorway, Egyptian regalia and all, Malik didn't know how Bakura would look, and frankly... /I like. But he looked good in Ryou's body too. But there's simply no real comparison./ Letting his eyes wander over that dark and muscular form he felt a little jealous at Ryou. The soft-looking albino had that one all to himself.

"Are we going to stay here all day, or move?" Bakura grunted, and as if in answer, the doors behind them clicked shut, leaving them in momentary darkness before the flashlights kicked in again.

"I guess that answers the question, huh, Bakura?" Ryou said with a smile.

"Does, sen. Now move. While I like dark tombs, there's nothing in here worth stealing except for the Puzzle and all the crap Malik's wearing, and that I wouldn't touch in fear of getting my fingers bitten off." Bakura said, his smirk evident in his voice.

"And keep that in mind, tomb robber!" Malik snapped back, not overly concerned with having his jewelry termed as "crap", Bakura was all hot air and no burn at the moment.

/And he called Ryou sen... That means that maybe.../ Feeling heartened by that thought, he turned and followed the little Pharaoh and his darker half up the stairs and out into the burning sunlight of the Egyptian day Ryou and Yuugi had left behind both quite some while ago, and not long ago at all.

"Oh, man, now I'm gonna get sand everywhere again! I should have kept the other clothes!

Why did we change back now again, Ryou-kun?" Yuugi's frustrated whine rose in the air and chuckles followed it.

"So at least we wouldn't get stared at, Yuugi-kun."

"Oh, yeah."

Laughter cascaded all around them, and finally, finally things were as they should be.

A few months later;

"When was it Malik-kun would come and visit for the summer holidays?" Yuugi asked his other while concentrating on some of the last of his homework for this term, school would be out in a few weeks, and that freedom floated like wisp-thin clouds on the horizon.

"A week after your term's out, aibou. You should know."

"I know, I know. I just wanted to be sure." Yuugi said absently, frowning at a particular problem that was proving troublesome. Suddenly his pen was plucked out of his hand and a warm nose nuzzled his neck.

"While I'm all for you doing your homework Yuugi, rest a little. The problem will most probably become clearto you after having spent some time away from it." His other muttered against his neck, lightly biting down on the spot under his lips.

"Okay, my other..." Yuugi agreed readily, turning around in his chair and attacking Atemu's mouth with his own, cheerfully plundering the depths of that silky smoothness before his other advanced.

"Say..." Breathing was heavier than before, but both found the breathlessness and rushing of blood in their ears something else to cherish and simply waited for it to die down.

"What was that invitation from Kaiba-kun? You snatched it before I could read it."

Atemu shrugged and looked vaguely disappointed.

"Kaiba invited us to have anothersession in that VR game of his."

"And you were hoping for a tournament." Yuugi said knowingly, "Don't worry, my other, I'm sure there will be some tournament this summer. But..." snatching up the letter from the edge of his desk (he had just realized it had been placed there earlier) he quickly read through the short and to the point note. "Isn't this the date when Anzu has her recital? We promised we'd go."

"Then we go, aibou, and nothing more to it than that. Kaiba will simply have to be satisfied with Ryou, the tomb robber and Malik. We can't always come when he wants to." Atemu said with a little snort at the end, hugging his omote to himself and leaning his chin on the lighter-skinned teen's shoulder.

"You're right my other. After all, what could happen? Kaiba wouldn't let anyone play if it wasn't safe." Yuugi said with a nod, leaning his head backwards and relaxing. Life was good.

Short, VERY short, glossary;
Sen; ancient egyptian for brother

Now, then! /claps hands/ Hope you liked, had fun and all that! Hope to see you when I get the sequel started! (.... and hopefully I'll be able to continue and finish the sequel and not get stuck somewhere and just stop writing!)