Me: ;; gomen, I was a bit late updating, but I had to finish my cosplay costume for Anime North (as Ryou! -) and I was just a /bit/ wrapped up in drawing things...yeah.

'Leanne: (sighs) I guess...

Ryou: erm...you're gunna be me?

Bakura: (looks around madly) two Ryous?!

Me: baka... (knocks him out with an oversized frying pan) and a forewarning, I'm not sure if he'll be a big part in the story (all depends on what you people want), but Varon is introduced in this chapter. I don't know if that's his Japanese name, but he's not an OC. He's part of Doom Organization arc, if anyone was wondering.

Disclaimer: (coughs) I'm back from my short leave. I hope you haven't /forgotten/ about me... And the fact that you will never own Yu-Gi-Oh!

Warning: (huffs) oh, stuff it, already. Shonen-ai definitely in this chapter.

Me: yeah...I guess I've been writing too much about the individuals emotions and advancing the plot, without much fluff. Bah... Well, hope this chapter can make up for that. Now...let's start writing!

Malik rushed down the dusty street. 'Marik...where could he be..?' If he could have seen himself, he'd probably think that he'd lost it, looking /for/ him, instead of running away. "Running away...is that all I ever do?" The Egyptian muttered to himself while passing a mob of rabid fangirls and one guy squealing over the latest something or other...

The boy in the center of the crowd seemed to be the only one to notice him. The one with spiky brown hair held back with green-tinted goggles.

"What's wrong, Varon? See something?" A blonde turned to look at him, and by then Malik was far into the distance.

Varon shook his head slightly. "No, I just thought I saw someone running to their fate, that's all."

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever. You know I don't believe in that stuff."

)(

"Damn bitch. Where could she be?" Marik stood in the swirling grey nothing of the Shadow Realm, waiting for Mae Shinu to show up. He had been standing there for about half an hour. Of course, as the nature of the dark, he had no idea if that was really how long he had been in here. It was, after all, the illusion tricks of the Shadow Realm that ate away at a person's soul.

A cloud of silver aura curled up off the 'ground' and began to solidify into a person with a medium build and brownish-red hair.

"You're late! What happened to the arranged time, Mae?" Marik was just a bit more than aggravated. No one kept him waiting!

She nodded her head. "Nice to see you again, too, Marik." He snorted. "All is going well. Bakura and Ryou have arrived in Cairo and I have just taken a short leave. I can't stay here for long."

The split darkness crossed his arms. "I understand."

Shinu bit her lip and recoiled slightly. "Oh, and one thing. Yuugi is with them. Apparently he had been invited along."

Marik growled. "It can't be helped now." He started to sublimate into the grey vapour again. "Do try harder next time, Mae." And with that, he was gone from that plane of existence.

'How can I try harder when I'm doing all the real work?' she thought to herself as the nothingness began to take her back.

)(

Ryou walked back towards his yami and close friend that he had left standing on the blistering sidewalk when Shinu said she needed to do something 'just for a second'.

"She said that she'd only be a minute, guys." He stopped and stood in front of both the sweat-drenched boys. /You all right, 'Kura? Worried?/ For not only was Bakura soaked in perspiration, but his brow was furrowed in deep thought.

Just thinking about what she would need to do now.

/Well, let's not think about that right now./ The younger albino turned to Yuugi. "Why don't we go check on her, just in case?"

"Yeah, it's boring waiting around here, anyway." Yuugi responded with a half-hearted smile. Why did it feel like they weren't telling him something? 'Doesn't this sound familiar...' But he had already decided Yami's reasons for not telling him, and why should theirs be any different? It would feel too lonely if he thought otherwise.

"Hey, guys! Were you just about to go looking for me?" Shinu seemed to pop out of nowhere. All three jumped a bit, really not expecting her to show like that. "I was just checking the pyramid showing hours, and it seems that there's a special tour on later."

Bakura, like always, remained silent. Yuugi, however, jumped at the opportunity. "Yeah! If we're going to see it, we might as well go to the better exhibition. I wanted to check out that game store I saw earlier."

Ryou bobbed his head up and down. "Well, I think jetlag has finally got to me. Why don't you and Shinu go?" Bakura smiled. There was more to this than Ryou was saying. After all, they hadn't gotten to spend much time together because of Yuugi.

Shinu nodded. "Let's do that then. You and Bakura can crash at Malik's house." Her copper hair swung around her shoulders as she turned abruptly. "Go down that street, turn left and it's the third house on your right. You can't miss it. It's the only place on the street with several upturned motorcycles on the lawn." Mae grinned. "Yuugi and I'll take a while to get back. You enjoy ourselves, now." Ryou blushed.

"Better be off, then! I wanna see as many new games as I can." Yuugi chirped and with a wink from Shinu, they were off."

Ryou spun on his heel and immediately collapsed against his yami. "We better get going too, then, if we don't want to forget the directions."

)(

By now, the two were settled inside Malik's rec room; Bakura lounging across the sofa and Ryou sprawled on top of him.

The lighter sighed deeply. The awkward silence was getting to him. Ryou was getting desperate for a conversation topic. "I wonder where Malik is."

Bakura shrugged and embraced his hikari loosely. He stuck his nose into Ryou's deep, silky locks and breathed in the unique scent.

"..Bakura?" Ryou had at first thought of using the link, but remembered that they were alone, anyway.

"Yes?"

Ryou remained silent. There was something on his mind; something that wouldn't go away no matter how hard he tried to force it out. And that something happened to be with Yuugi at the moment. It seemed so much that she was trying to hide something. But why would she? What would she keep away from the rest of them?

The young albino shivered, despite the Egyptian heat and Bakura.

You know that I could never stop loving you, right?

This took Ryou off guard. /Yes./ He grinned. /You told me the night you came back home to me./

But I wasn't quite sure that you believed me. So I'm telling you again, now.Bakura paused to run his fingers through Ryou's hair. Do you believe me?

Ryou cooed as he felt his older half comb through his hair. "You wouldn't believe how much I believe you." And his thoughts and worries of Shinu seemed to dissipate, at least just right then.

)(

Yuugi, now completely loaded down with various game boards and booklets, skipped to keep up with Mae's brisk pace. "Wait up, Mae-san! You're walking too fast!" he whined. Shinu didn't answer, and instead of slowing down, she actually sped up.

"Suck it up, brat. We have to get back to Malik's place. The, exhibition is starting soon."

He automatically skipped a step and tightened his lips to a fine line. One of the heavier parcels tugged to be let free, and he had to jump a bit to keep a grip on it. 'What's her problem?' Not receiving another word from her, Yuugi let it be. Nothing else happened as both continued on their way, arriving in about ten minutes on the doorstep.

"Well, knock. We'll be late." Shinu snapped. Yuugi gulped and did as she wished without protesting. He'd have to inform Bakura and Ryou of her sudden mood change later.

"Coming," came the muffled reply. A few seconds later stumbling was heard and a thief king's reincarnation opened the door to Yuugi and Mae. "Hey! There you guys are. We were wondering were you had gotten to." Then he noticed all the packages and chuckled. "Looks like someone found someplace they liked."

Yuugi grinned. "You bet!-"

"Well, anyway. Let's go now. It starts in less than fifteen minutes." The brown-haired girl clucked her tongue. Yuugi grimaced. He hadn't gotten to finish what he was going to say without her interruption. She was so different in the last hour or so from when they, or at least Ryou and him, had first met her.

"You sure Malik won't be back any time soon? I mean - five minutes won't matter much when it's just around the corner." Ryou suggested.

Bakura shouted from the living room. "Yes, let's wait. I don't feel like moving much right now, anyway." and drew an eye roll from his lighter half.

Shinu twirled her hair tediously. "No, I'm pretty sure he said he'd take quite a bit. We might as well go now and not miss it. C'mon, let's go." Not that she gave the group much choice because that's when she turned and dragged both Yuugi and Ryou down the front yard. Bakura had no other option other than to follow if he wanted to keep an eye on Shinu.

)(

After about ten minutes of Bakura remaining silent other than a message of annoyance or so straight to his hikari and Yuugi hopping along, trying to keep up once again with her, they had almost reached their destination.

Mae, however, had much on her mind. Marik was growing very impatient with her, and if she wanted to keep her own scheme going, she had to be careful of what she said around him. Time was also running too fast, and the plan had to be carried out extremely soon. The good thing was, Marik did manage to keep Malik occupied long enough, and as far as she knew, everything was set up as it was supposed to be.

So as the pyramid drew closer and closer into everyone's view, they all had very different things on their minds.

)(

"One..last..chance..." Malik huffed. His hand had been supporting his heaving chest for a while now and he could have sworn that the thickness of his callused feet must have doubled by now. But no matter, this was his only chance to save them, and himself. 'No one else knows..no one else..." He had begun thinking and it had eventually turned into words.

He rounded the last standing corner in his way and dug his heels into the sand he had just run into. "Where are they..?" He had to find them..otherwise... He gulped. Malik wasn't quite sure exactly what would happen, but he was positive they, nor he, would like it.

Once he had finally spotted Ryou-tachi, Malik spun out of control and began a crazy dash through the desert dust. 'Gotta make it, I have to..'

"Where's the fire, Malik?"

The Egyptian's heart sank to the bottom of his pounding feet and he couldn't help but slow down, then stop. That voice...

"Don't tell me you've forgotten our little deal?" Marik rose out of a mid- day mirage.

Malik stood paralyzed with fear like a deer caught in headlights. "You-you stay away from me..." His other half did nothing but ignore his pleas and came closer. "I don't want anything to do with you anymore, y'hear?!" he shrieked. 'Not again, please..' Again, Marik took another step towards him. "Stay away!!"

"Now, is that any way to treat your other half? How can I stay away when I /am/ you?"

The original boy shuddered. "You..aren't me." Then he remembered why he was here. 'Bakura and Ryou!' And then it dawned on him. Marik was after them. But he was also talking to him right now. So if he could distract him long enough... Malik didn't like the sounds of that at all. But for their sake... "You aren't me!"

It was then when Marik also spotted the group of four trekking across the desert towards the lone pyramid. He smirked. "Trying to fool me? How juvenile of you, Malik. And here I thought you were just trying to run away from your duties we decided upon." He swooped down on the witless boy in front of him and engaged him in a vicious one-sided battle of tongues.

Malik's eyes shot wide open and started to thrash around.

Marik let him go. "Remember, Malik, you belong to me." He whimpered pathetically. "Now, I have business elsewhere." He turned towards the fleeting bunch. "Don't forget our /deal/, now, Malik." And he was gone once again.

Malik felt his knees turn to jelly. As he fell into the sand, he could feel his hands and shins burn from the heat, his eyes burn with tears, and his face burned of his crimson blush. He didn't have to look up to know that they were already inside Pharaoh Atemu's pyramid.

Me: (coughs) yes...

Yami: -.0 ... Atemu? Whozza?

Me: yes! Do you not know your own name?

Yami: hey! (pokes his head) amnesia, remember? The Ra-damned puzzle freaking took them!

Me: -.-U whatever...it's your real name to let you know. (it is! the Egyptian Arc manga said so!)

Malik: (is completely speechless) ... #.#;;;;;;;;

Ryou: (picks him up and straps him into a psycho outfit)

Shinu: (kicks Malik out the door)

Bakura chibi: R/R, mina! Ja

Ryou: ':[ what the hell?

P.S. this chapter is dedicated to UnknownDarkMystery! - it is her birthday, after all! So lets send out a cheer her way, ok?

All muses and me: (whoops and cheers) YEA!!