One Review. -- I'm just starting to like this fic! Come on people!

BloodMistress: Glad you at least like this fic. &Huggles& This is one long chapter and it took me ages! All for you!


The tunnel sloped steeply down, twisting and turning, bowling Malik head over heels, hitting his head and various other parts of his anatomy as he fell. Eventually he could see daylight ahead and the putrid stench of waste filled his nose. The smell was so strong it was making his eyes water, so he closed them, one hand coming up to hold his nose, then he was falling, finally landing with a thump on something warm and squishy. He kept his eyes closed, the red light of the sun blinding him through his eyelids.

"Get up Malik!"

"And don't think you're coming in our den stinking like that!" Bakura snarled. It was then that Malik realized what he must have been lying on. He jumped up, his eyes shooting open, only to be blinded by the sun and get an instant migraine from moving to fast and being dehydrated.

"I'm not complaining, but when are we eating and when can I get something to drink?" Malik grumbled as he squinted against the sun, picking bits of rubbish out of his hair and off his clothes.

"We'll get something to eat and drink in a bit, but after today you feed and water yourself. You learn to steal today, you learn to sneak around today, and if you don't, neither your yami or me will be giving up what we get for you. We may live together, but we certainly don't steal for each other. And Marik, if you do starve because you're giving him food, it's none of my business." Bakura snarled, beginning to walk towards a huge wall, Marik following him, muttering a quick;

"'Kura's right, I'm not fending for you, here I'm alive, so I don't have to worry about you. You've lived in Egypt before, pick up on old habits."

"What?! Living underground and never seeing daylight?! I don't know how to steal! I know nothing of this life!" Malik shouted, feeling tears of frustration in his eyes. He couldn't believe his yami was being so, uncaring. It made him seriously doubt their relationship for the first time as he began to follow.

"Shut your trap! We're the two most wanted people in The Two Lands! Use your brain and don't shout about it! We're right next to the palace!" Bakura hissed angrily, turning to glare at the hikari. Malik raised an eyebrow, his look clearly saying that if either of them pushed him, he'd scream it at the top of his lungs.

"This way, and keep quiet!" Marik hissed, walking in the shadows of the wall, treading carefully over the rubbish.

Malik followed, keeping close to the wall and staying in shadow, glancing out over the beach area to his left where piles of mud were standing, looking like huge anthills.

Suddenly a wooden hatch opened higher up the wall and a flow of rotten fruit and bread mixed with human waste flowed out, narrowly missing a cursing Bakura. Marik and Malik giggled, as Bakura cursed more and began to move faster, scrambling over the refuse. Then, as Malik watched, swarms of ragged people ran up from the small mud huts, mats flying off some of them that had obviously been sleeping outside. The mass of people ran towards the mess that had just been dumped, catching Malik completely by surprise as they stampeded into him, knocking him down into the mess as they scrabbled for food.

Cursing vehemently and struggling against the hordes, he finally managed to pull himself back to his feet and push his way through the crowd in the direction he had last seen the two yamis heading. Once through the mass, he spotted the two, doubled over, laughing their heads off, almost falling over, and leaning against each other. Rage and indignation filling him, he ran at them, hitting the pair squarely with one shoulder in each of their stomachs, knocking them flying, and blessing the rugby practices he was forced to attend at school.

"Ok, now we're equal and the guards have had time to go back to whatever it is they do, we'll be getting back into the city." Marik said, smirking at his hikari and best friend.

"What do you mean, 'whatever it is they do'? They guard the pharaoh don't they?"

"No, that's how we manage to get through the palace all the time!" Marik sniggered in reply to his hikari.

"Are you two coming?!" Bakura shouted, his hand against a solid looking wall. The two nodded and jogged up to him, Marik smirking,

"Do your stuff then 'Kura!" Marik giggled, smirking at the other.

"Give it a rest! And you know we'll get spotted really easily without our usual stuff."

"Yeah, I know, that's why I'm saying, just get on with it, the guards have just had lunch so they'll be asleep if we're lucky." Marik said, making Bakura frown slightly, a questioning look in his eyes as he put his ear to the wall, hearing nothing, he closed his eyes, and walked straight through the wall. Malik blinked slightly, not believing what he'd just seen.

"Are you going to stand there all day?! Come on!" Marik shouted, beckoning towards a big wooden gate that was beginning to open. Once they got there the two slipped through the small gap, their feet echoing slightly on the polished stone floor.

"This way." Bakura muttered, beginning to move noiselessly up the passageway, stopping at a corner and listening intently for any sounds. All that could be heard was a light snoring. Malik had to giggle slightly, how Yami managed not to get assassinated with this sort of people for guards amazed him.

They moved around the corner and started to jog silently down the corridor, Malik marveling at the solid gold statues, magnificently painted walls and exquisite vases that lined the walls. Halfway down the corridor they all had to slip behind separate vases and statues to avoid a few guards, but as soon as they passed the trio started off again, senses pricked for anything. At the end of this corridor, they came to a large open area with several doors leading off it.

"'Kura! What in Duat did you bring us here for?!" Marik hissed, looking around fearfully.

"To get Ryou." Bakura replied scathingly,

"You two go if you want."

"You know full well I don't know my way out of here!" Marik snapped, maybe a little too loudly, of course, as is always the case, he realized this fact too late.

"Who's there?!"

"Oh fuck it! Not again Marik!" Bakura scowled, glaring at said person who had his back to him, his hand in his belt.

"You won't be able to fight them! Let's just run!" Malik pleaded, looking between the two yamis.

"You want to bet on that?" Bakura scowled, tossing a small dagger to Malik.

"You go get Ryou, and think before you push just any door open! These are the chambers of not only guests, but lower priests and head guards."

"Oh that's just great! What are you trying to do?! Get me killed?!" Malik growled, snarling at Bakura.

"No, if you wanna fight twenty armed guards with that dagger, I'll go and find Ryou." Bakura smirked, knowing the hikari's answer full well, his guess was confirmed as Malik glanced around at the doors.

"Priest, priest, priest, guard, guard, priestess, guest!" Malik muttered, practically jumping for joy as he ran towards the door, pushing it open with a heavy shove. Once inside he didn't bother to look around as he could hear heated fighting outside and knew he didn't have long. He dashed through an opening into a side chamber and instantly saw the boy he was looking for, sprawled out on the bed.

"Ryou! Come on!" Malik shouted, making the white-haired boy jump out of his doze, and, upon hearing the ruckus outside, raise an eyebrow at Malik.

"What are you doing here? What all that noise?" He muttered, rubbing his eyes groggily.

"I would be here under 'master' Bakura's orders, more like threats, I'm here to get you out."

"'Kura's here?!" Ryou exclaimed, jumping up from the bed with a start;

"But I overheard the guards talking about what they would do if they caught any of you in here!" Ryou exclaimed, panic in his eyes.

"Then let's just go!" Malik shouted, he didn't much want to think of what would happen if they were caught. Ryou nodded and walked out of the door, Malik with him as the older yelled at the two yamis;

"Ok, now how the hell do you propose getting out of here?!" Malik shouted, dodging a guards spear narrowly and ducking a clumsy swing at his head, keeping half an eye on Ryou whilst glaring at Bakura and Marik who were fiercely fighting a loosing battle.

"Back in there!" Marik shouted, gesturing back into the guestrooms and running almost instantly after the two hikaris; Bakura following.

Once in the other room Marik stuck his head out of the window, then climbed up onto the sill, turning around and dropping down. Malik yelled slightly, running to the window and peering down. His yami was crouched on a small ledge below. How he'd managed to land on it Malik didn't know, but he was so glad the other was alive, he knew how high up this side of the palace must be, and he was sure the Egyptian had fallen to his death.

"What the hell are you waiting for?!" Bakura shouted, slicing his dagger in a deadly motion through a guard's neck. Malik whimpered slightly, he didn't want to jump down there, the ledge was so small he was sure he would miss it, then he'd fall down into the Nile, right on top of a out crop of jagged rocks. It was almost like some sort of cartoon he would watch back home, with the crocodiles and jagged rocks and the hero had to make it down safely, but everyone knew he'd be ok. But this wasn't a cartoon. He would die if he hit those rocks.

"Come on Malik!" Marik yelled from the ledge, hooking his foot securely into a small hole so he had some sort of grip on the wall if he had to catch his double.

Malik could feel his heart beating so loudly in his chest, it felt like it would break one of his ribs any second and his palms were sweaty from the heat and nerves. But all the same, he jumped nimbly out of the window and, much to his surprise, landed firmly on the ledge, Marik's warm, comforting arms encircling him firmly, just to make sure he didn't slip, but they still provided great comfort to the smaller one.

Soon after, Bakura jumped out of the same window, landing in the spot that had just been cleared by the other two, Ryou wrapped securely in his left arm, his right gripping the edge so he landed almost cat-like. Malik pouted slightly, no kidding, he was jealous of the smaller of the two albinos. Even here, and in the face of such danger, whereas his yami had just abandoned him, Bakura still cared about his hikari. Malik blinked small tears away as his yami turned to glare at Bakura.

"And what do you propose we do now? Mastermind?" Marik glowered; he was getting distinctly pissed off right about now.

Bakura peered over the ledge; no others made themselves visible below.

"If we don't move those guards'll get onto this ledge through the window down there, then we'll be stuck." Malik said, trying to be helpful, but all he got was a snapped 'I know that!' from Bakura as the spirit let his hikari climb onto his back piggy-back style, and gave Malik an inpatient shove, pushing him into his yami who glared at him.

"Are you trying to shove me off?! Watch what you're doing you idiot!"

Malik whimpered quietly, but he wasn't going to let his yami see how much his rejection was getting to him. Marik began to craw quickly along the ledge, Malik, and Bakura behind him. They passed several windows, and finally, Marik sat down on the edge of the ledge, his legs dangling over the edge, and pushed himself off. Malik wondered for a second what had got into his yami, but when he made it to the edge, he saw the wall below Marik had jumped onto.

"Well now I know your secret Bakura!" Marik yelled with a grin as he dropped off the wall. Bakura gave Malik a harsh shove, causing the hikari to fall unceremoniously and unprepared off the edge of the narrow ledge. By the time Malik realized what had happened, he barely had time to grab the side of the wall, but managed it one handedly, only to have Bakura, still carrying Ryou, drop off the ledge and land heavily on his hand.

Malik cried out, clenching his eyes and trying not to let his now numb fingers let go of the wall. They'd gone that whole loop 'round, and had ended up on top of the wall running along the edge of the wall that marked the edge of the town. He was currently dangling over the rubbish pile they had been at in the first place.

By this time Bakura had started off along the wall and had dropped down, not bothering to help Malik back up the wall. The grumbling Egyptian hikari swung his other hand onto the top of the wall and began the agonizing task of pulling himself up. Now he was atop the wall he ran along it, careful not to lose his footing, and dropped down at the spot he'd seen the other two do so. Only to find them nowhere in sight, but the sight that greeted him left him wondering again if he was ever going to have a 'home' here.