Chapter Ten

Yugi stirred and groaned. "What's going on?" he said. "Where am I?"

"You're awake!" said Téa joyfully.

"Yeah man, it's about time," added Joey.

"You feeling okay?" asked Tristan.

"Yeah, I'm okay." He began to cough.

"You inhaled too much smoke," said Serenity worriedly. "Guys, we shouldn't make him talk."

"Okay, then I'll talk!" said Joey.

"You sure are good at doing that," Téa said snidely.

"So this evil army attacked the city," Joey began. "And then, you got rescued by this talking wolf, and Kaiba has this talking falcon who can turn into a girl, and Marik picked us up and now we're on our way to Egypt!"

"Slow down," said Yugi. "Did you say Egypt?"

Téa nodded. "Do you think it has something to do with your fate?" she asked quietly.

Yugi sighed. "I don't know. But I do remember a wolf… it saved me from the fire, didn't it?"

"It's on the plane right now," said Joey.

"Apparently, there are two talking, transforming animals on this jet right now," said Tristan. "And they both freak me out."

"What-" Yugi fell into another coughing fit. He recovered and said, "What did you say about Kaiba? And the falcon that… turns into a girl?"

"Obviously, he hasn't really told us a lot," said Tristan.

"Wait a minute," Téa said. "I remember reading a book about the Egyptian gods. One of them was a falcon. And another was a jackal, which is kind of like a wolf." She paused, deep in thought. "You're the Pharaoh, and Kaiba's some kind of sorcerer from ancient Egypt. I'm thinking… that the falcon is kind of like his guardian, and the wolf is yours."

"Yeah, but what's the deal with them turning into people?" said Joey.

"If they're gods, then they have lots of powers that we can't understand," put in Serenity.

"Gods?" said Yugi, his eyes wide. He thought silently, what do you think of that, Yami?

Yugi was strangely silent.

Yami?

Sorry, Yugi. I was just thinking… the wolf and the falcon… they seem so… familiar… but I can't recall…

Your memory from ancient Egypt is lost, but what if you remember them from when you were Pharaoh?

So you're saying, they were around in ancient Egypt, too?

That makes some sense. But why would gods come to ancient Egypt?

If it were in trouble, or needed protecting, perhaps. I heard what Téa said about the guardians. If the wolf rescued you from the fire, and the falcon and Kaiba…

So they protect us, and help us out. Maybe the gods helped up defeat the evil and save the world 5,000 years ago!

But why are they back? That's what I want to know.

Because maybe… Egypt needs our help again.

And that's where we're headed. Well, Yugi, my past and present are finally colliding. Maybe I can get my memory back. I would like to talk with this wolf and see if I can remember anything.

All right. Sounds good.

You need to rest now, Yugi. You've had a hard day.

Tell me about it.

Yugi related the conversation to his friends. "Yami really might get his memory back?" said Téa. "If that wolf really is from his past, then it could trigger total recall!"

"Whaaaaat?" said Joey.

"It's when you remember everything that you forgot, you moron. Like people with amnesia? If a certain object or person can strongly remind them of the past, they can get their memory back."

"Don't you have to get hit by a car to get amnesia?" asked Tristan.

Téa rolled his eyes. "Do you really think a Pharaoh could get hit by a car?"

"Maybe a chariot or whatever they had back then," said Joey.

Téa sighed disdainfully. "The Pharaoh had to sacrifice his memory when he saved the world, dimwits."

Meanwhile, Yugi had fallen into a light sleep. "Shhh!" said Serenity. "Don't wake him up!"

Yugi began to dream.

Silver mist swirled around him. The air was cold, and tingled on his skin.

Pharaoh, called a voice. Pharaoh…

Who's there?

The fog parted to make way for a shaggy silver wolf loping toward him. It regarded him with grey eyes chillier than a glacier. Greetings, Pharaoh. It has been a while.

How was that voice so familiar? He knew, he was sure, that he had heard it somewhere before. Long ago…

It was frustrating him, how he could not remember. It was as if there was a dam in his mind, holding back all the memories… they would not come…

I know you… but I… can't recall where…

From forever, my Pharaoh. From forever.

Are you a god?

I am Diamondfang, Queen of Ice. I am Ramla Abdalziz, servant of the powerful. I am here to guide you in these dire times. What happened once shall be again, history shall repeat itself. And you must come to the world's aid. We cannot let the Dark One triumph, for the world teeters on the edge of shadow. Without you, it shall fall.

What must I do?

We are journeying to Egypt, the desert of kings. We must find the Gate of Worlds and enter the Time-Cleft. Then we will be transported back to the Egypt of old, to defeat the Dark One before he can cross over to the present.

So you are saying… this Dark One is in the past?

Correct. He plagued earth 5,000 years ago, but you stopped him. The Gate of Worlds was sealed, and he was trapped in the past. But now he has gathered enough shadow to travel to our world. We must correct our mistake that was made 5,000 years ago. We must face him again and win, so we may vanquish him forever.

The gods smile down upon you, Pharaoh. We have come to guide you. The High One is tracking our progress, and shall come to our aid. Aside from my sister and me, there is a third who serves the High One in the Next World. He shall join us in the fight.

Can this third one transform as well?

Yes. He shall take the form of a lion, and you will call him Asim. He is my dear brother who we shall meet in Luxor. That is where Marik's airship flies.

I see. I will do my best to defeat this Dark One.

Good. I shall meet you when you awake.

The dream faded… Yugi slowly opened his eyes. He was in a spacious room, with fingers of sunlight reaching through the window, painting stripes on his floor. There was a dresser, a lamp, and three doors. One led to the outside, another to the bathroom, and the last, a closet.

Groggily he sat up, rubbing his eyes. With a jolt he realized he was not alone. A silver wolf sat curled up in the afternoon sun, looking at him with half-closed eyes. "Feeling any better?" she asked.

It was weird, talking to a wolf. "Yeah, a little," Yugi said. "What time is it?"

"Nearly supper," replied the wolf, getting to her feet and stretching. She yawned, revealing gleaming white teeth like daggers. "The others are on this airship as well. Their rooms are all down this hall. Now mind you, don't go walking around here alone, especially at night. Marik will tell you why later."

Yugi rose and walked to the window. The deep cerulean sea filled his vision, extended in all directions. It pitched and rolled in a light breeze, and whitecaps adorned the crests of the waves. "Why can't we go around at night?" he asked.

"I don't know," said the wolf. "That's why you should freshen up and come with me to the meeting. It's in ten minutes."

"Right." Yugi hurried to the bathroom, where he washed his face and brushed his teeth. He looked at himself in the mirror and thought of his grandpa. Was he all right? A painful worry gnawed in Yugi's heart when he thought of his grandpa. So much had happened in the past four hours, but he himself hadn't changed a bit. He just felt very, very confused.

Do you think there's some kind of enemy here? Is that why we can't walk the halls alone?

Maybe. I don't know why Marik would have a dangerous environment for his airship, though.

I feel… lost. Like I just drifted into a different dimension. I have no idea what to do.

Well, if we go to the meeting, maybe we shall learn. If you would, may I take it from here?

Okay.

The wolf trotted alongside Yugi down the corridor. Even if he felt disoriented, at least he was safe. The wolf would make a formidable opponent.

"So, your name is Ramla?"

"Correct. And you are Pharaoh Atem, known as Atemu to your father, your childhood friends and me. The rest call you Yugi or Yami. And your host is Yugi Motou, a very intelligent boy."

A door slid open, and Téa stepped out. "Hey Yugi! Is your head okay?" Yugi nodded. He turned to Ramla. "This is Téa, one of my very close friends. Téa, this is Ramla."

In a shower of silver sparks, a form spiraled upward, and a human solidified where the wolf had been. She bowed slightly. "Pleased to meet you."

They shook hands. Ramla's face was guarded, revealing nothing of her true feelings as she regarded Téa. In this girl's eyes there was a calculating, almost suspicious expression…

Ramla turned abruptly and said, "We have to hurry if we want to get to the meeting on time. Follow me."

They were soon joined by Tristan, Joey and Serenity. Down the hall and up a set of stairs was an open door. Inside was a round oaken table, at which several people already sat. The opposite wall was pure glass and provided a panoramic view of the ocean.

"Good, you're here," said Marik, settling into his chair. He waved at five vacant seats, which the arrivals took. Also present were Kaiba, Samira, Meryl and four others that were unfamiliar. "Now, we're here to discuss… why we're here. And why we are here is because of an ancient Egyptian legend. It tells of the dark magic accumulated by dueling, so much shadow that there was a tear in time: the Time-Cleft. The Dark One was almost successful in extending his reach to conquer the world, if it weren't for a certain Pharaoh." Marik nodded at Yugi. "The legend states that there will come another day when history is to repeat itself, and there will be a new Time-Cleft. The Dark One will attempt once more to engulf the earth in darkness. And the Pharaoh is needed again to curb this shadow as soon as possible." Marik punched some numbers into a keyboard in front of him, and the glass wall became a computer screen. "The Seven Priests of the Millennium Items will be reunited. This is crucial to the defeat of the Dark One. Their identities are displayed here."

Atem Sayidh

Millennium Puzzle

Seto Sayidh

Millennium Rod

Shadii Ankmenin

Millennium Key

Akilah Wanir

Millennium Scales

Ranya Wanir

Millennium Eye

Isis Ishtaari

Millennium Necklace

Baqir Akatar

Millennium Key

Kaiba stood up angrily at the sight of his name, his eyes blazing. "Is this some kind of joke?" he snarled at Marik, who raised his eyebrows calmly.

"It's not very funny, is it?" he said quietly. "Ponder this, Mr. President. If you decide we all belong in the nuthouse-"

"Don't worry, I think I've already come to that conclusion," said Kaiba nastily.

"Then you are not only turning your back on us, you're writing a death sentence for yourself and all mankind," Marik continued, his voice softly venomous.

Their eyes locked. The tension in the room was almost suffocating. "For once, sir, put aside your selfishness and think about others!" Marik said. "Or is your greedy mind incapable-"

"I am perfectly capable of anything I set my mind to, you blithering fool," Kaiba hissed, his eyes narrow. Why was Marik suddenly attacking him?

Yugi was highly confused. Why the abrupt enmity between the two? He glanced at Ramla to see what she made of this. To his surprise, she rolled her eyes at him and shrugged. Was he missing something?

Now Marik was on his feet, seething with rage. "Don't you call me a fool, you miserly, stingy old-"

"Marik! Stop at once!" The voice was Samira's.

Kaiba was so shocked he sat down. He stared at her, not knowing she was capable of such fury. Her golden eyes were almost sparking, her hands in shaking fists. "I know what this is about. I think we need to have a little chat. Ramla, I think you can maturely take over this meeting. Thank you." She stormed out of the room, a meek Marik tiptoeing behind her.

"Marik! What in hell got into you back there?"

Marik hung his head. "I… I'm sorry… don't know what… came over me…" he dithered pathetically trailing off underneath Samira's death stare.

"Old rivalries should not drive you to act so… immature!"

"But my lady… he was-"

"Don't start with that "My lady" garbage. That's for servants. And anyhow, he did nothing. You're just jumping at the chance to pick a fight with him now that all three of us are here."

"But, I didn't on the fighter plane!"

"Oh, a grand effort! Just leave him alone, won't you! For your information, he doesn't even touch me. He's scared of females!"

Marik sneered. "That's a change."

Samira glared at him. "Listen, you. Just because we're getting a second go at this Time-Cleft doesn't mean all of the… participants are the same! They're different! Seto's had a terrible childhood, he doesn't need to be antagonized any more!"

Marik gave her a contemptful look. "And your precious Seto is all you care about, huh? You're just bent on changing him, aren't you?"

Samira looked as if someone had slapped her.

He sighed and looked at his shoes. "I… don't want you getting hurt again."

Her looked softened. "Thanks, Marik. I can always count on you."

Marik gave her a warm smile that made her stomach do a somersault.

Suddenly a phone clipped to his belt rang. He answered it. "Pedro, I'm sort of busy… oh, really? Ok… I'll be right there." He switched it off and looked at Samira apologetically. "I'm sorry… something urgent has come up; I have to investigate." He hurried off down the hall.

Leaning against the wall, Samira sighed and looked at the floor, realizing how much she had missed Marik. He had been one of her closest friends in the Old World. Meeting him again… her heart was filled with joy. But there was a dark cloud on the horizon: this kind of screwed her plans for the near future. Marik romancing her would mess up a lot of things. She liked him, but not in the mad, passionate, head-over-heels way.

Well, there was really no point in going to the meeting, since all of which was being explained Samira already knew.

She trotted off to her rooms to inspect her supplies. There were clothes just her size in the dressers. Capes, tunics, leggings, sashes, boots. She predicted that the other passengers were provided with these also, since none had time to pack. Additionally, substantial garments were needed for the rough terrain of Egypt's desert; any old clothes would not do.

She sat down on the bed and tuned her oud, and began to play.