Disclaimers: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! or any part of it except for several pieces of merchendise.
A/N: Shi-chan and I decided to do something different with SALT, which will probably be changed in title so that it makes sense to go with the BIG plot change. I changed a few names, too. Nyehh, hopefully the re-rewrites won't go TOO badly...
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Running, running. Always running. Why couldn't she walk for a change? She didn't even remember what she was running from, either. All she knew was that it would be very bad if she stopped running. Blurred images of aqua-green and gold eyes flashed through her mind, no matter how hard she tried to make it stop. The sun beat down on her back and burned her shoulders.
000
He decided to take a break at the oasis; he needed water anyways. Besides, it wasn't like the pharaoh was expecting him. There was no way to let him know he was coming. He was just wandering around when it happened, and though it was disturbing, he didn't feel that it was of any great importance just yet. He decided to sleep as the sun sank beneath the sands of Egypt.
000
The moon invigorated her as it did every year at that time. Back home, they were celebrating Samhain, though the way it was spelled was different from the way it was said. She frolicked through the moonbeams, kicking up sand, her Fey-blessed eyes glittering and reflecting the light as she looked to the stars. She stumbled into an oasis amidst her celebrating, and though she was shocked at seeing green and water in the middle of the desert, she was more surprised that there was a young man laying under a tree.
000
There was a strange heaviness to the air, as if a powerful presence had come and gone from the oasis with the night. As always, he rose with the sun and paid the feeling no mind. He was curious, but he felt paranoid when he glanced around to see if the owner of the presence was still there. Finding no one, he continued toward the pharaoh.
000
At high noon, she was still afraid, and kept running. She was close to refuge, she had to be. She was sure of it. She was near those that would protect her. Her hand clutched at the necklace she sported. Images blurred at the edges of her vision, but she was going too fast to realize where she was or that there were angry men shouting at her for upturning their stalls. She had to keep going. She was almost there... almost... WHAM!
000
He strolled into Thebes at his own pace. Deciding that confronting the pharaoh was not a good idea so close to nightfall, he explored the area, forming a map in his head. If he had to run from anything later, he would be prepared. He swore to himself over and over again that he would not get caught like he did last time.
000
She made it to Thebes just barely ahead of the slavers. The poor girl had been sleeping underneath in an oasis under a tree, and was found earlier that afternoon. She had been running for so long, but the slavers refused to give up, shouting things to each other that she couldn't understand. She dodged around still upturned stalls, fearing that she would have to run all night and into the dawn.
Her fears were realized. She supposed that the slavers had switched out several times in order to follow her, but she didn't dare turn around to see if the men chasing her were the ones that found her earlier. She turned sharply around a corner just as the sun was rising over the sand dunes, and ran right into someone. The feeling she got from this person was familiar, and, looking up at him, she recognized him as the man that she had seen in the oasis the previous night. His eyes were a pale silver, and at first she thought he might be blind. He looked back at her, though, so he couldn't have been.
She didn't get a chance to aplologize or explain her predicament before he had carted her off by her wrist around two more corners and covered her with his cloak. He held her shoulder, silently telling her to remain silent while he pretended to inspect a piece of jewelery on the stall they stood before. The slavers ran right by them. The sleeping man at the stall regarded them curiously, but didn't ask any questions when the girl's savior led her away.
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Not quite the same as the previous versions of this, eh? I really shouldn't be putting anything up until we know for sure what we're going to be doing with this. Who knows, I might decide I don't like this version and change it again. :P Nahh, that won't happen. I don't know if anyone would care, though, seeing has how the YGO boom is over. Not a very loyal fandom, eh? Not a very mature one, either. I haven't found that many good YGO fics where one of the main bish characters wasn't with a Mary-Sue OC. (cougheri-chan'sficcough) Not very many people are good at keeping the characters in character, either. I try my best, I know that! T.T
That being said about the YGO fandom, I'm holding the next chapter hostage for three reviews. Just a "plz cntinue" will work. I'd like to know that this is being read by someone online, because I know that a few of my friends are reading this and liking it. If no one likes it here, then eh, I won't update. No big deal to me.