Ya know? I've been staring at this completed document for so long - really only a few hours -, just trying to figure out when to post it, that I've become scared to. I finally decided 'Eff it, Imma just do it now.'

It took me about three days and seven crying sessions - yes I counted -, but I finished the last chapter on Wednesday July 28th 2021. I started the page on my One Note - on my phone no less - on December 10th, 2018, when I was still uploading Battle City; it's still wild that I'm finally here, posting the first chapter of the final story.

I'd like to thank every since one of you who has stuck with me these past seven years. Witchy Idea has gone through many editing cycles, and goes through them still, but I think it is as close to as perfect as I can make it. I've gotten an invite to AO3 so these stories will go up there as well, it'll be a slow process as I have to figure out how it works, but it shouldn't take me too long.

Anyway, before I start to tear up, here is my quick disclaimer. I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! I also don't own any Assassin's Creed Origins references you may find in here. I only own Christine, my OC, as well as my kids - who I hope you'll like because they are an important aspect to this story, and hence, show up a lot. There is also a trigger warning for a few sentences interspersed throughout the chapter; it's hard to point them out to you so I'll warn you up here. They include: mentions of suicide, violence, and death.

The shouting was what woke me up earlier than I wanted to that day. I couldn't have been sure, but I thought it was Yugi. Was Grandpa bugging him about the God Cards again? I wouldn't have been surprised if it was.

We had been back home from Kaiba Land for a few weeks now, and the gang and I had all decided to go to the museum after school that day. Meg wasn't coming as she knew this was something we had to do ourselves. It was finally the day we were going to get Yami's memories back. We were going to get my memories back… It seemed surreal but there we were.

There was more shouting, so I climbed out of bed, rubbing at my eyes, to see what was going on. Yugi's door was open, so I poked my head inside to see Grandpa and Yugi. The younger one seemed nervous at something Grandpa had said, but I wasn't in the mood to find out what it was.

"What's with all the shouting?" I mumbled, still rubbing at my eye.

Both Yugi and Grandpa turned around to look at me just as I gave a yawn. "It's way too late for this…"

"Did we wake you, Christine?" Grandpa asked gently.

I nodded my head. My hand left my eye so that I could fully see their guilty expressions.

"Sorry, Mereret." Yugi said before slamming his hand on his head. "Dammit! I did it again!"

I gave a laugh at Yugi beating himself up over Yami's pet name. I apparently was called it enough that Yugi got confused.

"It's ok, Yugi." I told him. "It must be weird having him say it all the time in your head."

Yugi nodded his head. "If he keeps it up, just whack him." That earned me crimson eyes on Yugi's face and a 'hey!' I only laughed and turned back to the hall. "Goodnight. Please no more shouting." I got affirmative sounds, so I left the room and climbed back into bed. It took an extra minute or so for me to fall asleep, though. My eyes were suddenly fixed on the picture of Yami and me that Meg took. He, of course, looked slightly stoic, but I could see the sweet smile on his face as I had my arms wrapped around his waist and head into his shoulder. Once we get back his memories, he is going to have to leave… I knew Yugi would have a hard time with it, but how would I cope? I have gotten so close to him; I can barely imagine days where he doesn't pop up just to tease me for five seconds before disappearing again. I felt a tear race down my cheek at the thought but quickly wiped it away. I would cross that bridge when I came to it. My focus right now should be getting our memories back.

The next morning, I went to check on Yugi to see if he was up and moving. The moment I opened his door, I knew something had happened in the night. His window was utterly shattered, and the sunlight glittered off something round sitting on his desk. I walked over and went to pick up the small item to stop halfway. "Oh god…"

It was the Millennium Eye.

Yugi eeped behind me, so I knew he had walked back into the room. I could practically hear the shouting in his head about how he would explain this to me, but nothing came out of his mouth. "Yugi…" I eventually started the conversation. "Where did you get this?" Yugi still said nothing. "Yugi."

Yami took over then, I could feel the shiver down my spine, walking over so that he could look me in the eye. I could see traces of Yugi's exhaustion on his face, but he looked well-rested. He reached over to pick up the Millennium Eye, rolling it gently in his palm.

"Someone tried to steal the god cards last night." Yami explained.

I turned my head back towards the window. A good punch might have cracked the glass, but… A kick might have shattered it. "Yugi went after him. I tried to take over, but he wouldn't let me; he practically blocked me out the entire time."

"And the eye?"

"Bakura."

I turned back to Yami, my eyes slightly narrowed. Was he actually being serious?

"Bakura? He had it the whole time?"

Yami nodded. "Then that would mean…"

"He was wearing the Millennium Ring. He took it from Yugi's room before we left Battle City."

I gave a heaving sigh. So, it was Yami Bakura who had tried to kill Pegasus, who had ripped the eye from his skull. Poor Bakura, having his body used like this and never being able to stop it. "He gave the eye to Yugi as a sign of his 'loyalty', whatever that means. And he also gave his word that he would give up the Millennium Ring once we had the other six items."

"I don't believe that for a second."

"Of course you wouldn't."

Yami chuckled at my immediate disbelief of Yami Bakura's words, but it faded back into a tired sigh; even he was tired from being woken so early. "But that's what happened. Yugi's still in disbelief as well, not sure what to make of it either." I gave another sigh.

"And, of course, it would happen today of all days."

Yami had no retort for that. He only settled the Millennium Eye back onto Yugi's desk and lifted his hand to my cheek. The touch made me look up and away from the empty air where his hand had been.

"We will be ok. I promise."

I released a harsh breath but did relax into his hand. Yami relaxed in return.

"I believe you."

Yami gave a sweet smile, not lifting his hand from my cheek just yet. If we didn't have to go anywhere, I would have loved to remain there, becoming putty forever, in his hands. There was a shout from Grandpa about breakfast that made us separate, but I could still feel Yami's comfort. He gave Yugi control again, and we walked to where Destiny led us.

But first! School…

Yugi looked just as exhausted as earlier as he settled into his desk. I followed to sit behind him, pulling out a book to spend time till class started. Jounouchi's boisterous greeting spooked me out of the storied words.

"'Sup, Yugi!" The blond cried.

"Oh…" Yugi replied. "Good morning, Jounouchi."

"What's going on?! You look pretty tired! Did you sleep?"

"There was a lot going on last night…"

"What do you mean 'a lot'?"

There was a moment of silence as Jounouchi thought about what Yugi had meant. He quickly caught on to one possibility. "Oh! 'A lot!' I get it!" Good gods… Please tell me that he wasn't thinking lewdly… "Uh, speaking of that… could you gimme back that video I lent you? I finally got my VCR fixed, so…" My face began to brighten until it was a bright tomato red. Gods, he really was! "Y'know… the one with the…"

"Oh!"

Frick! Now Yugi was on it! I hid my face even further into my book. "Th-that video! Grandpa found that one and he—." Dear Gods, please stop this conversation!

The Gods sent Anzu.

"Morning!" Anzu cheerfully chirped, effectively scaring Yugi and Jounouchi. "And just what are you talking about?"

"G-Good morning, Anzu… We weren't saying nothing!"

Anzu's expression said that she didn't believe them at all. Meg then leaned over onto my shoulders.

"Geez, 'Stine!" Meg whistled. "Your face is the color of Slifer the Sky Dragon! What happened?"

"Guess." I simply replied.

Meg looked at the boys, both still blushing profusely, before nodding.

"Right! They're pervs! I forgot!"

Jounouchi immediately went to argue, but Meg walked away, laughing hysterically in a very Kaiba like fashion. I gave my own chuckle, feeling the blush finally start to fade away.

"Yo!" Honda called as he came in, a very tired looking Bakura along behind him.

"Good morning!" Bakura tried to greet cheerfully, but the bags under his eyes gave away his exhaustion; I did my best not to look pitiably at him.

"What's up, Bakura?" Jounouchi greeted as he leaned in to our friend. "Are those lines under your eyes? You look tired!"

"Yeah… I couldn't drag myself out of bed this morning."

"Me every day of my life." I said to try and make Bakura laugh, and it worked.

"Say, Yugi…" Anzu began, swiftly changing subjects and turning to Yugi. "Did you bring the cards?"

"Yup!" Yugi chirped.

Yugi turned into his bag to pull out the small box the Millennium Puzzle had been found in. The group gathered around it while I stayed at my desk. I heard the lid lift and saw Honda hold the three innocent looking cards.

"The God Cards, huh?" He breathed. "What can these do for your memories that they haven't done already?"

"Well, I hardly know myself…"

"C'mon!" Jounouchi argued. "That's why we're going to the museum, right?"

"So what's over there that's so important?" Honda grouched back. "They got an exhibit on Trading Cards now? How should I know?!"

I couldn't help but smile at their bickering. It was nice to see. My eyes then flicked to Anzu since she'd been quiet. The pensive expression on her face made it clear she was remembering the Stone Tablet at the museum. I gave a soft sighing, knowing what she was going to ask next.

"Yugi…" Her quiet call was enough to bring all attention to her. "If… the Other Yugi gets his lost memories as Pharaoh back… He wouldn't forget about all of us, would he?"

That brought back all my sadness from last night but a new dimension to it. Would getting the rest of my memories back block out what new things I experienced here? Yugi seemed to sense the shift in mood and gave a small sound before switching with Yami.

"Tch…" Yami huffed. "Course I wouldn't forget you!"

Yami then tilted his head back to me. "Neither of us will." That made me smile. It was the relief I needed. "We're friends."

"You said it!" Jounouchi cheered, wrapping an arm around Honda's neck. "We're friends forever!"

"Th… that's right." Anzu added, a smile finally returned to her face.

"All righty then! Let's head for the museum!"

"Moron!" I snapped this time. "It's not even first period!"

"Cool it, Jounouchi." Honda added on.

"We'll go after school!" Jounouchi marched on, still determined as ever.

Sure enough, the day went rather quickly. When classes let out, we all got our shoes and were going to the museum together. Meg had other ideas, though. She grabbed my arm and started to drag me aside.

"Excuse me, Pharaoh!" Meg sang. "I'm abducting your wife really quick, but I promise I'll give her back!"

"Please make it timely, Meg." Yami replied unhelpfully. "We'll meet you there, Mereret."

"Of course! Come on, 'Stine!"

I groaned, giving my boyfriend a stink eye - to which he chuckled and playfully waved -, before letting Meg drag me off. We stopped just outside the school grounds, and I crossed my arms.

"What is it, Meggie?" I asked.

"Well, I just wanted to let you know I'm rooting for you all today. I'm plenty sure that this whole idea is scary, but I know you'll kill it!"

A smile and laugh hit me before I could stop it. Really? Meg was so wholesome. I wrapped her up in a tight hug.

"Thank you, Meggie. That means a lot."

Meg hummed into my shoulder. Then she mumbled for a second before pulling away.

"I'd like to be the first person to welcome the queen back to this world."

My best friend gave a very dramatic bow, and it brought me to laughter again.

"Meggie!"

I hefted her up to standing again. "You bow to no one." Meg gave another smile. "Though what was that mumbling you just did?" The smile faded, and her eyes flicked to something next to her. I looked as well but saw nothing. It'd been a while since she'd been hawked at by ghosts - she'd assured me that all of that was over with - but… were they back? "Are you having ghost trouble again? I haven't had time to make a new amulet after I gave my last one to Kaiba!"

"It's nothing! I was… reminding myself of something!"

My eyebrow lifted suspiciously. Meg's smile was that uncomfortable one she always had when she was lying.

"You're a terrible liar."

"I-I'm not lying!"

I crossed my arms again, but Meg only kept a bright smile on her face. She was so lying, but I couldn't catch what she was hiding. A car then drove up.

"Ms. Peters!" The driver called. "Mr. Kaiba is expecting you."

"Oops! I forgot!"

Meg gave me another smile, this one a truthful one. I waved her off.

"Go! Go!" I teased. "The Dragon beckons!"

Meg cackled at that, giving me one last hug before jumping into the car. I waved her off, waiting until the car was around the corner before heading towards the museum. I hoped they hadn't started without me.

The walk took me a few minutes, but it gave me time to look over Domino City. It had nearly been two years since I arrived here. It was surreal, but… This was home. With all of my friends here, this place had become home. I had to shake myself out of the memories when the museum's roof came into view. It was almost time. I soon saw the gang stopped at the bottom of the stairs leading to the building, so I picked up my pace to meet them. They had stopped walking and were watching someone, a large man in a white turban. Who was he? My stomach dropped when he opened his mouth, and… he swallowed something? When he popped it out onto his tongue again, I saw it was a gold key. He shut his mouth again, and the key vanished. Not again…. I gave a loud sigh. "Please tell me this guy didn't just swallow a key? I had enough of it when Mokuba did it!" The gang all turned to me as I finished walking over. "Please tell me I saw that wrong. I don't think my stomach could take a yes."

"Just don't worry about it, Mereret." Yami soothed. "I have no idea either."

"…if you say so."

I leaned into Yami's side, looking over the man again. "So… Who is this?"

"This is Bobasa. He claims that Shadi sent him to protect me."

Bobasa nodded his head to Yami's words. I had to fight a laugh. Shadi? Protect Yami? I may have forgiven him for other things, but I give three days' worth of headaches as counter evidence to that! "But I am willing to hear him out." That stopped any laughter. I tilted my head back to Yami and saw him look back in the way that meant 'trust me'. So I did.

"Ok."

Bobasa bowed his large head to me before dropping into a kneel, head still lowered.

"Master Yugi…" Bobasa's deep voice echoed in my chest. "No… Soul of the Pharaoh… By the will of the God Cards, you have come to this museum. You will now travel to the World of Memory and face your destiny once more."

Bobasa lifted his head slightly to look at Yami. "No matter how painful the experiences that await you there, you must not look away!" He then looked to the gang behind us, obviously avoiding looking at me. "The same goes for you…" Wait… where would I be if not with them? Jounouchi obviously took offense.

"Wait just a minute, fatty!" Jounouchi barked. "What're you trying to say?"

"Bobasa…" Yami's voice cut off any further outburst from the blond. "How much do you know about my memories and the secret of the Millennium Items?"

Bobasa lifted himself from his kneel, turning to the museum but kept his head towards us.

"The answers to all the puzzles are in the World of Memory…" Bobasa answered as cryptically as all the other Tomb Keepers have. "You must see with your own eyes."

That's not ominous at all… I peeked at Yami again, wanting to see his reaction. It was like looking at a statue; he was probably just as concerned. Led by Bobasa, we all entered the museum. The exhibit hadn't changed much since we were last here, but each piece seemed to stare at me now. Even the stone tablet with my name on it seemed different. Sufficiently creeped out, I jumped to take Yami's hand and have him lead me the rest of the way. He didn't seem to argue, lacing our fingers together.

Then Anzu jumped into the gift-shop. We all stopped till she got back, and I watched as she gave Yami a Cartouche pendant on a silver chain.

"What's this?"

"It's a Cartouche pendant." Anzu explained. "It's like a nameplate. The ancient Pharaohs always had their names written in them to protect them from evil spirits!"

Yami lifted the pendant to eye level. Both sides of the pendant were blank, allowing the buyer to put any name onto it.

"There's no name on this one…"

"I want you to carve your real name on there, Yugi."

The pendant dropped so he could stare at Anzu. "That way, when you get your memories and your real name back, you'll never forget it again." It was such a touching gift and perfect for the occasion. Anzu glanced at me, probably asking if this was ok, but I only gave her a thumbs up.

"Thank you, Anzu. I'll treasure it always."

With that cute exchange, our hopes were lifted again, and we continued to the Stone Tablet. As this was Jounouchi and Honda's first time seeing the Tablet, their faces were a mixture of shock and amazement. Without a word, Yami slid off his backpack to get the God Cards out of the protective case he had them in. He seemed to have a moment of hesitation before lifting them up to show the Tablet the card faces. Not even a second passed when a light blasted from the Millennium Puzzle carved on the Tablet, effectively blinding us. I lifted my arms to block the light, turning away to try and stop any damage to my retinas.

There was then a sudden tug in my chest; it reminded me of a strained chest muscle, the pain making it painful to even breathe. It hurt! Keeping my eyes shut, I put a hand to my chest to try and find what was wrong but found nothing. The pain intensified and, before I could say a word, everything went black, and I felt myself hurtle towards the ground.

Instead of feeling myself hit the ground, my eyes opened like I had been asleep. 'Where…' I pushed myself up, holding my head as the pounding started. 'What the heck just happened?'

"Lady Nefertari?" A girl's voice echoed in my ears. "Are you all right?"

I blinked and turned my head towards the voice. It was indeed a young girl, most likely no older than 14 or 15. Her dark hair was nicely combed, hanging down to just above her shoulders. She wore a simple linen dress decorated with simple jewelry. Hazel eyes stared at me, her worried expression growing deeper the longer I said nothing. "Lady Nefertari?" The voice left the girl's mouth, eyes flicking to my chest - or was it my collarbone - before looking back at my eyes. That look… I wracked my brain for what it meant but had no chance when another voice appeared.

"What's wrong, Mery?" A boy's voice asked.

A boy walked into the room. Based on the shape of his face and the color of his eyes, he and the girl looked remarkably similar; it was kinda eerie. He also wore a simple tunic with small pieces of jewelry on it. His hair was cropped short like he didn't want it in his eyes. His same color eyes flipped between the girl and me, obviously named Mery. The girl turned quickly to face him.

"Something's wrong with Lady Nefertari! Help me out, Hepzefa!"

"Calm down, Mery!" Another boy teased.

Another boy stepped into the room, moving to stand next to the boy, Hepzefa. "Lady Nefertari is obviously still half-asleep!" Mery didn't seem to like that answer as she turned to snap at the new boy.

"Ooooh… Khemu!"

The new boy and Hepzefa laughed at Mery's anger, obviously amused. Khemu was a tinier boy than Hepzefa, most likely showing his younger age, though it wasn't by much, probably a year at most. His left eyebrow was split with a scar, but there was no hesitance in moving his impish face. A smirk lit up his expression like he enjoyed teasing the girl. Just like Mery and Hepzefa, he was also wearing the linen tunic. "You two! I'm serious!" I watched the three children argue for a second. I knew these kids… I knew them…

"Lady Nefertari?" Another girl's voice appeared next to me.

I turned my head again to see an even younger girl, no more than 12, maybe. Her hair was shorter than Mery's by a good inch or so. Her wide brown eyes were right on mine. In her arms were two tiny kittens, large enough to be away from their mother for a short time. I stared at her for a second before she spoke again. "Are you ok, Lady Nefertari?" I blinked again, staring for one more minute before a breath opened my memory.

Kiya… That was her name… I remembered her, her quirks, her ability. My eyes flicked to the kittens in her arms. They weren't fighting her grip like normal cats would; they sat patiently like they were just as worried as she was. The day I met her hit me then: the image of a younger version of her tied to a pole, gasping for air. The scene brought tears to my eyes.

I opened my arms, and the girl immediately entered them. She couldn't return the embrace as her arms were full of kittens, but I felt her cuddle into me. One of my hands lifted to her hair, feeling the soft strands easily slide through my fingers. I looked back up to the arguing children and was amazed that I was recognizing them.

My oldest two were the twins: Mery and Hepzefa. I took them in three years ago, when they were 12, after finding them collapsed in the desert. No matter how hard the two fought, I knew they were always on each other's side. Then came Kiya about a year later. Khemu was the latest addition to my little clan, having joined less than a year ago. He had been removed from his abusive father's control and given to me; the poor kid had been blamed for his mother's suicide and had been brought in to be judged. I stared at the boy for a second; the way he was now, you'd never have guessed that he went through all of that. Khemu must have realized I was looking at him, so he turned his head to smile at me.

"Are you awake now, Lady Nefertari?" He asked, the same teasing smile on his face.

"Khemu!" Mery snapped.

Before Khemu could retort, I finally gave a laugh, and all eyes were on me again.

"Yes, I'm awake now." I spoke at last. "Sorry for the scare."

Both Hepzefa and Khemu laughed, making Mery huff at them. "Mery…" She turned back to me, her hazel eyes slightly nervous like she thought I was angry. I removed one of the arms around Kiya and held it up. Mery immediately raced over to hug me, wrapping her arms around my neck. The girl relaxed immediately, turning her head into my throat and listening to my breathing. I felt bad for not remembering everything then; we must have been close based on this reaction. I released her after a second before turning to the boys. Their heads fell into their shoulders when I waved them over with my finger. They did walk over and flinched when I lifted my hands and pinched their cheeks.

"Ow!" Khemu whined.

"Lady Nefertari!" Hepzefa whined as well.

I didn't relent. I kept the calm expression on my face, keeping my eyes right on the two boys. I could faintly hear the proud huff from Mery a few feet away.

"Stop picking on her." I told them gently.

Both boys nodded, and I released them. The two rubbed at their sore cheeks, eyes lowered in shame. I gave a sigh before having Kiya move aside so I could now hug the boys. "Thoroughly chastised?"

"Yes, Lady Nefertari…" Both boys breathed.

"Good."

I released the boys, patting their cheeks with a cold hand so that it stopped any pain. They both were smiling again, so I knew there was no harm done. So… These were the kids of the original circle… It seemed strange to believe but here they were.

"Great Wife." A new voice, a much older one, entered the room.

I turned my head instinctively towards the call, seeing a servant woman standing at the entrance of the chamber we were in. "Court has begun. I was asked to see if you were going to attend." Court…? I wracked my brain for a second before it came back to me. Millennium Court… Trial by Millennium Items… And I was late.

Brilliant. I fought for a smile.

"Of course. I'll be on my way."

The woman bowed before backing away so as to not turn her back on me. I released a sigh when she was gone but reluctantly stood up.

"Do you really have to go, Lady Nefertari?" Kiya whined softly, a kitten's meow echoing it.

"There would be a couple of upset people if I didn't go. I'll be back later this evening."

I bent down to press a kiss to her forehead. She still looked upset, but it was accepting now. I straightened up to look down at the rest of my kids. "Be good, ok?" All of them nodded, and I smiled at them; they were such good kids. I made sure to give them a kiss on the forehead as well, both Hepzefa and Khemu whining that I was babying them. It only made me do it again just to make my girls laugh at the childish whines the boys let out.

The servant woman was waiting for me as I left the chamber. She led me down a set of halls, each one more extensively painted than the last. I would have gawked for hours, but I had to keep following or risk getting lost.

The sound of a man shouting let me know that I had already missed some of court. Guards were dragging him away as he begged to be released. I couldn't see his face very well, but I did see a nose, so that meant some mercy was given. Before that thought could bury even deeper, I heard a very familiar voice echoing from inside the large room the woman was leading me to.

"Priest Mahad!" A voice that I was sure belonged to Seto Kaiba barked. "Supervision of the Royal Tombs is the duty of your guards, is it not? The royal tombs are being defiled too often these days… What do you have to say about it?"

I stepped around the corner to see a sight that set my heart surprisingly at ease. In his Pharaonic garb, Yami was seated on his throne at the far end of the long room. Even from my distance, I could see how uncomfortable he was. His eyes were flipping from person to person like he was trying to name people he'd never met before. It was quite amusing. I felt a bit bad as, when I looked at the collection of faces gathered in front of him, I could associate names with them. I knew these people like they were the back of my hand.

I recognized my mistress' face; my déjà vu was correct in confusing Ishizu and Isis so many times during Battle City. There was Kalim, the priest of the Millennium Scales, standing to the side of the group with Shada - not to be confused with Shadi -, the priest of the Millennium Key. I even saw Master Aknadin, the priest of the Millennium Eye, standing next to… It really was Kaiba's face on the body holding the Millennium Rod, the body of Priest Seto. The CEO really wouldn't like to hear that he was actually here and in the service to his greatest rival. The man he was talking to, Mahad, was a face that made me competitive for some reason. Did we have some sort of competition between us? I couldn't remember. I shook it away as he responded to Priest Seto's accusations.

"You have my deepest apologies…" Mahad replied in a quiet voice that echoed back to me. "However, for the last few days, the auguries I receive the from Millennium Ring have been extremely erratic. The number of Ka nesting in people's souls has vastly increased. I can't detect every sinner and every evil intention."

I agreed that it was asking a lot to seek out everything all the time. Seto was quick to retort.

"It is the duty of the Six Priests to protect the Pharaoh! Both in this world and where they await the world beyond!"

I couldn't let all of the blame fall to Mahad for some reason. My temper flared at Seto placing all of it at his feet, so I let my body carry me into the throne room, eyes locked on Seto's profile. My mistress noticed me first, and I just barely saw the light of mischief when she saw that I was angry.

"Not all the blame belongs at Mahad's feet, Priest Seto." I called out when I was halfway into the room.

The rest of the priests turned towards my voice. Many bowed as I approached, but Seto kept his eyes on mine as he was being addressed. My mouth knew what to say, so I let it move on its own. "If this is about the recent tomb robbery, remember that I also put a protection on his tomb." I stopped to stare up at Seto's face, arms crossed under the large scarab chest piece that I had. "Whoever did rob it, they are quite skilled in getting past my spells as well as the Medjay under Mahad's command. They are indeed someone we will have to prepare for in the future." Seto gave a bow of his head.

"You speak the truth, Great Wife. Please forgive my transgression."

I shook my head.

"There is no transgression, Seto. Your loyalty to the Pharaoh is well noted, and I appreciate your desire to protect him in life as well as in death."

I gave a nod in return before continuing towards Yami. His vizier, Shimon, if I remembered correctly, quickly jumped to help me onto the dais with a balancing hand. I surreptitiously winked at Yami to tell him that it was me, and he gave a very noticeable sigh of relief. Before I could get completely to his side, Shimon lowered his voice to whisper something to me.

"Great Lady…" Shimon whispered. "The Pharaoh fell asleep on the throne…"

"Oh?"

What was he getting at? Yami must have caught it first as he was blushing now. "He's been tired lately…"

"I see that, but I wanted to know if you were the reason…"

Oh… Oh! I felt my face burst into a bright blush now, matching Yami's.

"No! Don't be crass, Shimon!"

The vizier gave a very grandpa like chortle before releasing me and returning to Yami's side. Blush still coloring my cheeks, I walked as quickly as I could to Yami's other side, slipping to wrap an arm around his shoulder and fell into his side. He chuckled at my embarrassed muttering.

"I'm so glad it's actually you." My boyfriend breathed. "If I had to play smart around someone that looked like you, I think I would have died."

"Don't put me into embarrassing situations like that, though. My face is going to explode at this rate from blood."

Yami gave a chuckle, lifting a hand to rub at my forearm. The touch was very soothing, and I let myself melt further into him. I opened my eyes just as Mahad stepped up to the dais.

"Great Pharaoh." He called up to him. "I request permission to enlist more troops to strengthen the guards at the Valley of the Kings."

"Er… yes!" Yami fought for a response, making me fight off a laugh. "I leave it to you!"

I was flicked as Yami felt my shoulders shake from hidden laughter. I wasn't ashamed though, it was funny!

"Take the new Ka to the Shrine of Wedju!" Seto called to a few guards, who ran in at his call. "Place it among the other stones!"

Shrine of Wedju…. What was that again? I was tapped out of trying to remember by Yami getting my attention.

"He's identical to Kaiba! His voice and his face!"

"I know… it's pretty wild." I breathed back.

"Do you know what is going on? I'm… I'm so confused… Grand - Shimon - he calls himself my advisor! Everyone calls me Pharaoh! Is this some wild dream? Or is this… is this 3000 years ago?"

His heart was racing wildly in his chest. He was obviously stressed. With everyone around, I couldn't do anything overt, but I could do something. I gripped his shoulder and took a very deliberate deep breath. Yami followed it once, twice, then three times.

"Breathe. We'll figure this out. You're not alone."

There was another breath before his hand returned to my forearm and held onto it for dear life. His heart was still racing, but I knew he would calm down. We jumped when Shimon jumped into the conversation.

"Do not worry, Great Pharaoh!" He leaned in and said to us. "I have taken personal responsibility to design the tomb where you will have your eternal rest!"

"My - my tomb?!" Yami gasped, flicking his head like he was that meme of the man doing the double-take. "Shouldn't it be our…-?"

"I have my own place, thanks." I whispered in his ear to stop the question. "Valley of the Queens, man."

I was flicked again, but it only made me Mutley laugh in response. Shimon didn't seem to notice as he lowered his voice even further to whisper conspiratorially.

"Actually…" He began. "The designs are complete, and the construction has already begun… ho ho… secretly that is… secretly…"

Yami actually glanced at me while Shimon chortled, so I explained.

"They don't know when you'll die, so they start building your tomb while you're still alive so that they're ready whenever you go."

Yami gave me an almost traumatized look while I shrugged. It was practical though quite morbid. I didn't blame Yami for being a bit concerned.

"The royal tomb builders of Seb Ma'at are not only trustworthy but highly skilled. After your death, I guarantee you will rest in peace!"

I whispered again, giving him context, so he wasn't confused.

"Seb Ma'at is now known as Deir el-Medina. The village there designs, builds, and decorates most of the tombs in the Valley. Remember those pictures of Seti the First's tomb I showed you?"

Yami nodded surreptitiously. "Done by the workers at Deir el-Medina." Yami nodded again.

"Your tomb contains several of my finest traps. It will be absolutely impossible for any thief to enter! Even if someone breaches the other barrier, they will find only a place of Shadow Games that will send any thief to the dreadful Twelve Hours of Night! Ho-ho!"

Yami mouthed 'Twelve Hours,' so I explained again.

"The Book of the Dead splits the underworld into 12 hours; one for each hour the sun is below the horizon. They are absolutely riddled with monsters and demons. If you're being sent there, what happened to you?"

Yami didn't answer, but I knew he understood. His face had melted into the thoughtful one I knew very well.

"The truth is, the tomb of your father, the former Pharaoh Akhenamkanon, was a prototype for yours, but no matter how skilled the thief, they could never get past the traps of a Royal Tomb!"

Yami adjusted so that he could now whisper to me.

"How often does it happen?" He asked in a low voice

"Very often." I replied. "More often than not, it's someone who was part of the funeral procession who goes back and steals from it since they know where the tomb is despite it being hidden."

I saw Yami's fist clench. It was understandable to be upset at that. I kept my mouth shut for fear that Shimon would overhear me saying something like that. Thankfully, the sudden glow of the Millennium Necklace stopped any reason for looking over at me. I glanced at my mistress, seeing her accept a vision from her Millennium Item.

"What is it, Isis?" Master Aknadin asked of her.

"My Millennium Necklace has picked up a… disturbing… future." Lady Isis breathed in response.

"What?!"

A disturbing future? What does that mean?

"An evil shadow approaches this palace… someone with incredible powers of Heka!"

Magically powerful? There was only a moment of deliberation before the Millennium Ring around Mahad's neck began to swing violently.

"What's wrong, Priest Mahad?" Shada asked.

"My Millennium Ring has detected a great shadow power…" Mahad replied.

Then the sounds of shouts and screams began to echo through the entryway hall. I tightened my grip on Yami's shoulder with him responding by moving his hand to my knee and holding it gently. A small squad of guards then burst in, all glancing behind them. Their leader turned to the priests.

"Your Holiness!" He gasped. "A grave robber calling himself Bakura is heading towards the Pharaoh's chamber!"

Bakura?

"Here?" Master Aknadin asked in a gasp. "That's insane!"

The screams only got louder. The guards pointed their spears at the entrance to the throne room, ready for anything. Chills went up my spine at the sound of a dragging noise, and then I saw what the guards had been fighting.

The man walking into the throne room stepped over a fallen guard, obviously breaking something as there was a terrible 'Ker-Snap!' sound. He was laden with fine goods, jewelry, and other precious gems. They were funerary that I could easily tell since they were exactly what you'd see in museums after a tomb was discovered.

"At last… the Throne Room…" The familiar voice was like nails down a chalkboard.

I moved my eyes to his face, and they widened.

It was the face of Yami Bakura.

You're here!

Yami Bakura: *Waves hands dramatically but with a deadpan face.*

Oh, come on! Be excited! I actually finished it!

Yami Bakura: I am excited. I'm just deadpan because I know you're not going to like what I tell you.

... And what's that?

Yami Bakura: ... How tall do you head cannon the Pharaoh being?

... Five foot three, Five foot four... Why?

Yami Bakura: Check the Wiki.

*Does so and gasps.* He's only five foot?! *Stares in silence for a long moment before straightening up* Eff it! Welcome to Fanfiction!

Yami Bakura: She actually took that far better than I thought she would. I'm rather impressed.