SHD: We're back! D San Francisco was fun! Hehe, I could rub it in ur faces, but I'm not that mean…usually.

Sunae: A BIG thank you to: pharaohs-slave, surfnsport, and Dark Mage of Sea.

SHD: This chapter has a teeny bit of weapon use in it. Little kiddies go away!

:little kids don't leave:

SHD: I SAID TO FREAKEN LEAVE! NOW:eyes turn red and a dark aura arises behind her:

:little kids scramble away:

Sunae: Uh, I think you scared them away permanently. They might not come back.

SHD: Oops. Maybe I overdid it. Hehe… okay, come back! I won't make it too violent!

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Malik dragged Nashwa to a deserted cave. (1)

Nashwa eyed him warily. "What do you want now?" she snapped, sounding like Mari.

Malik smirked. "Now, now. That's no way to treat someone, is it?"

Nashwa glared at Malik. "Go to hell, Malik! My brother may favor you, but he won't approve of you harassing me like this. You might be interested in what happened to the last tomb robber who harassed me."

Malik slammed Nashwa against the wall. She winced, but continued to glare at the tomb robber.

He sneered, "Oh? But I'm more interested in what you told Mari during your little visit."

Nashwa closed her eyes, afraid to look Malik in the eye. "I don't know what you're talking about. I did go for a little walk, but I never went near the palace. There are guards there, you idiot. How am I supposed to get in there?"

Malik's face twisted. "Don't lie to me, Nashwa. I know you snuck to the palace to talk to that pampered palace girl. When you left, I followed you. You should learn to be more alert. Now…" He leaned in closer to Nashwa, so that their noses were almost touching. "What were you telling your little friend?"

Nashwa hardly dared to breathe. Malik's face was so close to hers. "N…nothing. We were just catching up on old stuff."

Malik sneered, "You actually think I might fall for that? Tell me!" He slammed Nashwa against the cave wall again.

Nashwa gasped, as pain shot throughout her entire body. "Stop! I…"

She stopped when she saw what Malik was holding up. A dagger. (SHD: Ooh, shiny…shiny knife….me like… Sunae: ARGH, ARE YOU MENTAL:shakes SHD a bit: SNAP OUT OF THE LITTLE TRANCE THING! SHD:dizzy: Eh…..?)

"My brother will not approve of this!" She tried to sound threatening, but failed. Her voice came out pleading, almost a whimper.

Malik smirked again. "You're afraid, aren't you?"

"No…Why would I be?" Nashwa whispered, her eyes on the dagger that was now slowly inching toward her neck.

'Please, Ra…' she thought desperately. 'Distract him…hurt him…help my brother rescue me…please do anything…just keep the dagger away…'

Malik's voice interrupted her prayers. "You're not a very good liar, girl, unlike your little friend Mari." He was whispering right into her ear. Nashwa shuddered, feeling chills go down her spine. The dagger was right at her throat now.

'Get him away… get the dagger away…'

She could feel the ice-cold blade on her skin. One move, and it would cut her neck. She dared not to speak, or even breathe.

"I don't have to talk," she whispered.

"Now, tell me everything that you told Mari, or I swear to Ra that this blade will cut your throat," Malik whispered into her ear. He eased the dagger away from her neck a bit, so she'd be able to talk. "And don't try to lie. You do a bad job at it."

Nashwa took a small breath. 'I don't have a choice…'

"I told her what you told me," she muttered. "About Bakura's plan…to turn against her at the last minute…" She swallowed nervously.

Malik snarled, "And how did she react?"

Nashwa looked down at the ground. "She…got angry, and vowed to make my brother suffer…as much as she had suffered, and more…and make him bow down before her and beg for mercy… When I tried to reassure her, she gave me a cold glare, and so I ran off."

Malik began to laugh coldly. "You girls… depending on each other too much." He continued laughing.

Nashwa stared at the tomb robber, half in fear, half in disgust. "What is so funny?"

Malik stared at Nashwa with amusement. "You two girls are. Without realizing it, you're helping me become the most powerful man on earth."

He continued in a low tone, "At first, I only meant to be Bakura's right-hand man, and help him rise to power. I hoped that sometime after his rise to power, I might be able to overthrow him and rise to power myself. But you've made it even easier for me. This way, I can get rid of Bakura, and get exactly what I want."

Nashwa stared at the thief, still confused. But one thing was becoming clear to her. "You're intending to turn against my brother, aren't you?" she cried out angrily. "After al that he'd done for you!"

Malik chuckled, and suddenly, without warning, slammed Nashwa against the cave wall violently. "Why shouldn't I?"

The world became a mess of blurry colors to the young girl, and the last thing she heard before slipping off into the dark world of unconsciousness was Malik's laughing.

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Mari's POV:

Atem and I were in the palace garden, sitting on a bench near the fountain.

As Atem talked, without realizing, I began to study his face.

'I had never really looked at him before. I mean, I had looked at him a lot of times before, but I just hadn't seen him before. Wait, does that make any sense?' I debated myself, feeling dazed, a bit stupid, and yet content. 'Nothing makes any sense…but it doesn't matter if nothing makes sense… Right now, all that matters to me is this moment…'

I found myself staring into his violet-crimson eyes. They were like jewels…a mix of amethysts and rubies…I was being drawn to them like honey draws bees…I was being lost in his eyes…

'Nothing matters…only this moment does…' I thought dazedly.

Atem noticed me looking at him, and smirked a bit. "Why do you keep staring at my eyes like that?"

I turned away, hoping he didn't notice that I was blushing. 'He better not notice,' I thought, getting some of my wariness back.

Atem laughed. "I didn't know that you could glow so red," he teased. "Why are you blushing?"

I glared at him, but not in a cold way. It was more like a playful glare, something I'd never done before. Except with…Nashwa.

"I'm not blushing, you dork!" I snapped, feeling my cheeks heat up even more.

Atem wasn't one to back off. "Yes you are!"

"No I'm not!"

"Yes you are!"

"No I'm not!"

"Yes you are!"

"No I'm not!"

"No I'm not!"

"Yes I am…wait a minute!" I protested, baffled.

'I'm usually way more alert and sharp than that. This friendship business with Atem must be turning me soft,' I thought. I would have been furious at the idea, but I wasn't. Not at that moment. 'I don't really care anymore. I don't really see a reason to be alert about anything right now…'

Atem laughed at me, and I splashed cold water at him from the fountain.

"Hey!" Now it was his turn to protest, sputtering and shivering from the cold.

I laughed, and made a mock bow. "Oh, please do forgive me, My Pharaoh!"

Atem glared at me, then smirked. He splashed some water in my direction. "Forgive? It's not going to work that way with me!"

I sputtered, caught off guard. "Atem!" I turned away, pouting a bit.

Atem put his arms about my shoulders, concerned. "Sorry. You okay?"

I looked at his concerned face. 'Aw, he looks…cute.' I thought.

"Yeah, I'm okay," I replied.

"Good," he replied. "Now COOL OFF!" He pushed me into the cold fountain.

I came back up to the surface a few seconds later, sputtering and gasping for air. "Hey, no fair!"

Atem laughed, and held out his hand to help me out.

I took his hand, and pulled him right into the fountain with me. "That'll teach you not to mess with the wrong girl!"

Atem laughed with me. We were both soaked to the skin, and shivering a bit. Atem was staring at me. I couldn't read his face expression. "What is it?" I asked, trying to sound casual. "What do you want?"

Atem smiled, and leaned in a bit. I think I heard him say under his breath, "You."

I don't know what made me do it. Maybe it was pure instinct. I leaned in at the same time and our lips met. Gently at first, then not gentle at all.

I think I'm in love with Atem…

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Malik hid in a tree near the palace walls and watched Mari and Atem play by the fountain. 'Oh, this is just too easy. The two lovebirds have no idea what's going to happen to them by tomorrow…'

'This is turning out even better than I've hoped for. Can it get any better? And the best part of this is that those two girls and that pharaoh will betray each other, maybe without realizing it. Ah, the amusement of it.' He laughed, and swiftly jumped down from the tree, unnoticed by everyone.

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Twilight

Mari opened her eyes, and smiled. The first thing in her mind was Atem.

'I wonder what he's doing now…' She climbed out of bed, and looked out at the sky from her balcony. 'Ra, it's not even dawn yet. What could have possibly woke me up?'

She'd have just went back to sleep, but something stopped her. An uneasy feeling, as though she was being watched.

'What in the name of Ra?' she looked about her, frowning. She didn't see anything, but years of stealing, cheating, and lying had taught Mari to trust her instincts and to never let her guard down when something didn't feel right.

"Who's there?" she whispered, not daring to back up, but not daring to venture forward either. "I know someone's here! If you're not a coward, show yourself!"

Still nothing. Mari felt a pang of fear in her heart. 'Someone or something is in here with me…I can just feel it. And they intend to harm me…' She looked about her again, feeling a chill go down her spine. Then she heard it. A taunting laugh.

Maybe she'd just imagined it, but Mari was sure that she had seen a pair of eyes glaring at her, hidden in the darkness of her room.

"Who's there?" she whispered. "I can see you, stop this nonsense!"

A cold and unfamiliar voice sneered quietly, "You know you don't see me. Don't fret so. The game has only just begun."

"Well, I don't want to play your stupid game," Mari hissed angrily, forgetting her fear.

"Well, you have no choice," the voice replied, chuckling.

Mari finally opened her mouth to scream, but a hand was clapped over her mouth, and an arm grabbed her waist.

"You'll make a nice pawn," the voice whispered into her ear. "And your little friend Nashwa will too."

Mari's eyes widened. 'Nashwa? No! Not her!'

The voice laughed, and roughly pushed a spot on Mari's neck. (2)

Mari felt herself slipping into unconsciousness. As she fell, the only thing on her mind was…'Atem…'

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Hmm… I'm not sure if they had caves where they lived back then…

You know, that special place on your neck that makes you faint when someone touches it or something, I can't remember exactly what it was.

SHD:sigh: Love's in the air… but danger is in the air too. As for the 'game', it's more than just a game of monopoly.

Sunae: There'll be a lot more danger and violence in the next chapter, we promise.

SHD: Till then! Plz review and tell us what you think! Mucho love to everyone!

Sunae: Sanoraya!