(A/N: Well this took an age. Apologies. Thanks to all me faithful reviewers; Subieko, lilmatchgirl007, Snickerer, darkmetaldragonfangs, Cettie-girl and shadow of the doubt. DMDF: I tried putting in chapter names before, but the co-ordinates make them too long)

Chapter 11: Sault Ste. Marie

Yami lay awake that evening, listening to José's snores echo through the small apartment. He was lying on the couch, staring upwards, resolutely counting the dots on the stippled ceiling. So far, he was at fifteen thousand, seven hundred eighty-eight.

'Fifteen thousand, seven hundred eighty-nine…'

It seemed like time was taking forever. He'd not even been in this city for twenty-four hours, and it already felt like years. Years. It wasn't that he didn't like the place, –he found it rather interesting actually, if you could work out all the slang- it was just that…

It wasn't home.

He missed Domino City. He'd learned about the modern day there. He'd learned the names of all the streets and the names of all the little stores and all the little quirks on each and every street, from a single cement stone on the sidewalk being raised higher than the others, to the blood stain where a dog had been hit by car. It wasn't like he'd tried exceptionally hard to memorize such things (that and there wasn't all that much to do when you were carried around someone's neck all day), but more that he'd been in a state of learning. Thus, things had come easily to his memory and stayed there.

'Fifteen thousand, eight hundred eleven…'

He missed the people he knew by sight. The little old man who always waved to Yugi from across the street, and the over-dressed snobby old woman who always sneezed at the corner before walking her little dog to the pet shop. The little girl with square glasses who always hugged Yugi before he got on the bus to go to school, and the little boy who climbed up in a tree every morning so he could be higher than the cars. Heck, he even missed the stray cat that had nearly shorn off half Yugi's head that one time.

'Fifteen thousand, nine hundred sixty-two…'

He missed the familiarity of waking up and being able to see Yugi's room. He missed knowing what time the bells at school were going to ring, what time food was going to be eaten, what time Jounouchi was going to call him about something or other… Jounouchi'd been one of the few inconsistencies, but he was consistent in that he wasn't consistent… So even that was familiar.

'Sixteen thousand, two hundred forty-seven…'

He missed the people he knew by name. Jounouchi, Anzu, Honda, Otogi, Ryou, Isis, Hanasaki, Nosada… heck, he even missed Bakura, Malik, and –he hated to admit it- Kaiba. He missed all of them. They were all part of the home 'package'. But thinking about them made the homesickness worse. Who was to say they weren't all sitting around, not even noticing that he was gone?

'Sixteen thousand, three hundred twenty-five…'

He missed Yugi dearly. Yugi, the one who'd freed him from the Puzzle and become as much a part of him as anyone else had ever been. Yugi, the innocent boy who'd been thrust into crazed mayhem because of his love of games… and had never backed down once. Yugi, the only one who'd ever seemed to try to understand him. He missed Yugi more than anything he could ever remember.

'Sixteen thousand, four hundred forty-three…'

That was how far he was from home. He sat up on the couch, looking at the area of more than half the ceiling. The glowing clock on the microwave showed him that it had taken him nearly two hours to count that many…

How long would it take to travel that far?

Interlude 11.1

Aswãn

Nearly an hour ago, Malik had stumbled out of the crowded streets, almost falling face-first into the sand when the press of people on all sides subsided. He'd taken a moment to collect himself, then begun walking. There was no concern of getting lost; many people lived further than the outskirts of Aswãn and there were no few temples in this area. It would be difficult to be so lost in one's mind that you didn't notice how far you'd travelled.

Funny that when he looked behind him the city seemed like no more than a speck on the horizon.

He wasn't actually that far, but the sun was setting and it was playing tricks on his eyes. He gave a bit of a sigh, returning to his walk. He supposed he should have tried to find lodgings, some food, and transportation to Cairo. All were priorities, and yet none of them seemed to matter.

This was Egypt. What did it matter if a roof was over his head?

Cairo was miles away, but the Nile flowed swiftly this time of year. What problems would there be bartering passage?

He was thinking too much. What need was there of food?

He sighed a bit, kneading his forehead with his knuckles. He'd be lying if he said his head didn't hurt. If he said his feet didn't hurt. If he said his soul didn't hurt.

There was so much. So much he'd never thought of, never seen. So much he'd forgotten. It was overwhelming, consuming; it fed him as it devoured him, it enveloped him as it set him free.

The feeling of being home, where he belonged.. he'd dreamt of it for so long.

And yet this wasn't what he'd wanted.

He had no family now. Not here. He was home, but he had nothing. Nothing but a raging fire inside himself that would seen take him or die.

Then where would he be?

As lost as when he'd started.

When he looked back on all the things that had conspired, on everything he'd ever done, he didn't regret it. None of it. It had all led him to where he was; or rather, where he'd been before getting magically transported halfway across the world.

He'd been content with himself, growing at peace with those around him, his life just descending from its violent and dangerously high crescendo. Now, he was all in turmoil again.

He knew his sister would be worrying about him. Worrying if he was having the exact thoughts he was having: Did he really want to go back?

Think about it; he was in Egypt, the one place he loved most, the one place he'd never been taken as strange or out of the ordinary. It was his birthplace, the sand running through his veins as sure as the blood of his ancestors. How could he deny this place?

Malik suddenly stumbled and fell on something rock-hard, scraping his knees. He blinked several times and focused on the stone beneath him, then with a surprised gasp scrambled backwards off it and pressed his forehead into the sand by means of apology.

He'd fallen on the immense unfinished statue of Osiris, Lord of Eternity, that lay some distance from Aswãn. He hadn't even realized he'd been heading in this direction, hadn't noticed the quantities of red granite bursting up around him. Now he felt shame.

Shame for having been so absorbed in himself that he'd not realized he was treading on this Lord's land disrespectfully. Shame for not realizing how much there was that symbolized Egypt's greatness, and considering himself above it. Shame for being.

Unbidden, the words of a great poet (1) came to mind:

'On the sand

Half-sunk, a shattered visage lies…

And on the pedestal these words appear:

'My name is Ozymandias, kings of kings:

Look upon my works, ye Mighty, and despair!' '

He looked upon the fallen statue, sand whistling around it, and it stiffened his resolve. The words of the poet hadn't been directed to this stonework, but they still held depth for it. The stone had not been worn away; Osiris had held on, in vain hopes that one day his homage would be completed.

Malik turned and began walking back towards Aswãn. He needed to get to Cairo.

Location: Domino City

"Ryou! You're awake!" Yugi said, sliding his feet to the floor and beginning to limp across the room towards him. Jounouchi leapt up and seized his arm to help him; Honda –his spat with Jou forgotten- took his other arm.

"Only barely…" Ryou murmured, touching a hand to his forehead, then wincing and choking out, "He's in Tver, you've got to mark it down…"

"Who is? Ryou, what's wrong with you?" Yugi asked with concern, looking extremely worried at Ryou's odd behaviour.

"He is! He's there… you've got to keep it somewhere, I don't know what's going to happen…" Ryou's eyes rolled slightly, his chest moving in and out rapidly. He looked like he was having some kind of fit.

"Ryou! Calm down!" Yugi cried desperately, tears forming in his eyes. He was already confused, already worried, and this wasn't helping. He turned on Kaiba, demanding, "Kaiba! Mark it down, please!"

Kaiba looked slightly shaken, but quickly snapped harshly, "What's he talking about?"

"It's his other half, Kaiba please! I don't know what's going on but there's something wrong with him, you need to mark it somewhere!" Yugi cried again, still trying to get towards Ryou. Something strange was going on; this wasn't normal, and it hadn't happened to him. What exactly had that spirit done to Ryou?

Kaiba sighed and quickly typed things in, and a second blinking dot appeared on his map of the world. "There, it's in."

"Ryou!" Yugi had reached him now, with Jounouchi and Honda's help. He seized the other teen by the shoulders, shaking him gently, "Ryou, it's okay! It's marked down!"

Ryou's head fell back for a moment, his breathing laboured. Jounouchi looked at Honda with a very confused expression; Honda looked quite shaken. Neither of them had any idea what was going on.

"Ryou, come on! You've got to be okay…" Yugi murmured softly, collapsing on Ryou's chest. He was still tired, his concussion still affecting him, and this sort of thing took a lot out of him. He looked like he would pass out again quite soon, his cheeks going white a shade to match Ryou's complexion.

Ryou's eyes were closed, his hands clenching the arms of the chair he was in. Yugi couldn't move and just rested where he was, crying onto Ryou's shirt. After a few moments, Ryou's soft voice spoke again, "I'm sorry…"

(1) Works cited from: p.27, Ancient Egypt, Lionel Carson (19565)