Yay! It's kind of out on time!

I'll work on being as consistent as I used to be, I promise. ;P

But, hey, a new chapter awaits! Don't let me keep you from it!

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I only own my OCs.

Mom was told to be at the hospital for her first chemotherapy session on Monday of the next week. She wasn't happy about the treatment her doctor had chosen for her – Mom hated anything with the word "chemo" in it – but when given the choice between that, which had a seventy-percent success rate, and another form of treatment that she refused to tell me about that only had a thirty-percent success rate, the choice was obvious.

When I had gone with her to discuss the actions we were to take with her radiologist, the man assured us that Mom's cancer was perfectly treatable if we got to it before it spread. That relieved us a little, but not enough for me to not be on edge for the next three days leading up to her first session. I hardly spoke to anyone at school on Friday, I didn't go to the game shop, and I ignored Tea's worried texts the entire weekend. I just didn't feel like talking.

Monday came before Mom, Miri, or I knew it. Mom made Miri go to school for reasons I didn't understand, but called into Domino High to tell them I was sick.

"I don't want her to see me...being drugged to high heaven." Mom said as we got in my car. We figured I should drive since we didn't know what condition Mom would be in when we left the hospital, and to be honest, I had noticed her drifting off a few times, as if her mind wasn't all in the present. It was probably best that I took the responsibility.

"I don't think it'll be that bad, Mom." I said, my own unconvincing lie for both myself and my mother. "The doctor even said that you will still be alert."

Mom nodded, the vacant expression back on her face. "I know. I'm just worried."

I turned the key in the ignition, then looked back over at her. "I promise, you'll get through this. You've survived much worse."

"Bless you, Erin." She put a hand on my arm, a sad smile on her lips. Her eyes had become slightly less dazed. "You're my anchor."

I patted her hand, then gave her a stern look. "And you're mine. Cancer has nothing on you. Right?"

"Right." Her smile turned to a grin that only lasted for a millisecond before trembling. "I love you, Erin."

"I love you too, Mom." I smiled back at her, then had to turn away, because my lips were trembling, too.

We rode to the hospital in silence.

Erin? Hello? Are you there?

You're freaking me out, Blue.

Seriously. Did we do something wrong?

Atem is flipping his shit. Please reply.

For the love of god, Erin. At least text back so we know you're still alive.

Tea's texts became more and more urgent as the day wore on. I was almost afraid we would come home to find Joey and Tristan, and maybe even a worried Atem, on our front porch, ready to pummel me for leaving them in the dark all weekend and then not showing up at school after everything that had happened. Luckily, no one was there, but I knew I deserved their anger.

I decided to answer Tea after her last text, realizing what I must have been putting them through. I felt guilt well up in the pit of my stomach.

Sorry. Been really busy. Family stuff.

The reply was almost instant.

Thank god. We were afraid something happened to you. Sorry if I was annoying you. I was just worried.

It's fine. Sorry I didn't text back.

I understand. Family is important.

Thanks. Tell Atem I'm sorry.

Will do. Hope everything's okay on your end.

Part of me wanted to tell Tea what was going on with my family that left me unable to talk to her, but I couldn't think of a way to type it that wouldn't sound like I was digging for sympathy. I decided it was better if I told them in person tomorrow after school so I could make it seem like less of a big deal to them. They already worried about me enough.

Mom was asleep on the couch. I didn't know if that was a side affect of the chemo or not, but she had curled up on the sofa the second we got home and drifted off within minutes. I didn't blame her. If I was tired from all of the emotional and physical distress of the past few days, Mom must have been exhausted.

I rummaged through the fridge, looking for something I could eat for lunch, but leftover night had been Saturday, so we were fresh out of already-made food. Sighing, I took the last banana out of the fruit bowl and headed up to my room.

Fifteen minutes later, after I had started on the homework I failed to do over the weekend and reclined comfortably on my bed, my phone went off again. Expecting it to be Tea, I got up and picked it up from my desk, where it lay next to the amulet, which I had covered up with a pair of shorts because I was sick of feeling I was being watched.

An unknown number flashed on the screen above the text: So, Perdidit Regina, found any clues?

My blood turned to ice. Again, my brain automatically translated the Latin words, and I had to blink a few times to make sure I was reading it right.

There were only three people I had met that had said those words, whether they were in a foreign language or English.

And only one of them was imaginary.

Heart pounding, I backed up until I was back to my bed and sat down, staring at the screen. Should I reply?

No. Either way, the fact that this person had my number and knew those words alone meant that they were not good news. I hadn't given my number to anyone in Domino City except Tea. I was careful about things like that.

My thumb danced over the lock screen, still in a battle between leaving the message alone and answering.

Turns out, I didn't need to. A few minutes later, another text popped up.

We saw you at the library. Think you can learn something about us in some obscure cult book?

My breath hitched, and I almost dropped my phone. If this was some kind of prank because someone somehow found out about my little misadventure in Death Dungeon and seen me checking books out at the library, they were really freaking good. But I was sure it wasn't a prank.

Because again, there was no one in Domino City besides Tea who had my number.

Which meant they had gotten it another way.

I thought back to my time in that small, concrete room. Most of it was a blur, but I knew one thing: I had had my phone with me that night. In my pocket. I remembered putting it there after texting Tea that I was on my way to the haunted house.

My hands shook in my lap as I felt my chest contract.

They'd never lost me. They had been waiting.

My phone buzzed again, and a new message was displayed.

You're going to have to try much harder than that.

Temptation got the better of me. I opened my messenger and typed the question that I desperately wanted the answer to.

Who is this?

Two minutes later, I was afraid they wouldn't reply. Each second of waiting was agony. Finally, five minutes after I had sent my text, a new one appeared.

You know exactly who I am.

The sentence sent shivers down my spine, but I couldn't stop myself from replying.

Care to elaborate?

Come on, S, I know you're smarter than that.

S as in...Sagira? Now I knew that this person wasn't playing games.

Pretend I'm not. Humor me.

Did you like our little present?

The off-topic question threw me off. I knew they were talking about the amulet, but I wasn't going to take their bait and help them beat around the bush. Whoever this was, they were only doing this to play games with my head, and not to actually give me hints.

Who are you?

They took longer than before to reply. Like before, I half-expected them to stop texting me just to leave me in suspense. But their answer came after six frustrating minutes.

Tell me, S, how is a raven like a writing desk?

I about threw my phone. "Really?" I whispered. "Alice in Wonderland?"

This time, they didn't wait for my reply.

You asked me that once. I want to know the answer.

I had never asked anyone that question in my life. In fact, I hadn't even read the entire book. I blamed it on my father, who skipped to the "good parts" when he read to Landon and me when we were little.

But the fact still stood: This person was BS-ing me.

Well, if they wanted to avoid answers, so would I.

I'll tell you if you tell me your name.

This time, they replied within seconds.

Only if you play along like a good girl.

Not only was I downright terrified at this point, I was getting irritated. Their vague replies made no sense. I considered not texting back, but I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep that night if I didn't get some form of an answer out of this person.

Alright. Tell me how to "play along."

Do you still have your necklace?

Why?

Because you'll need it.

For what?

Silly girl. The best villains never reveal their secrets before the end of the movie.

My irritation grew. I knew I was basically setting myself up for these stupid answers, but by this point, there was no going back.

What am I supposed to do, then?

You'll know when the time comes.

Look. You've obviously done your research on me, and you've obviously been stalking me. I don't know what kind of twisted game of cat and mouse you're trying to play, but it's getting you nowhere. I can take this to the police.

With what evidence?

Harassment over text and stalking. That's enough.

Enough for a scolding for giving them a false alarm. There is no harassment in this message, and for all they know, I could be one of your friends playing a prank on you.

I pursed my lips in frustration. They were right, and they had succeeded in messing with me. There was nothing I could do.

What do you want from me?

Only your memories, S.

Those words struck something inside me, something that made me think that this wasn't the first time someone had told me that. Which was crazy, I know, but the eerie familiar feeling I had with this situation made me dizzy. And one insane thought occurred to me.

What if...if they really were using the letter S as a way of calling me Sagira...what if they knew about my visions?

What if my visions weren't really visions?

….What if they were memories?

But that was ridiculous. I had never even been to Egypt, much less lived there. I had never met Atem before coming to Domino City, and I'm sure as hell I hadn't ever kissed him. And all of the other people I had seen in the dreams? Mana, Mahad, Neferu – I would never in a million years forget people who looked and had names like that.

And then there was the little history lesson Atem had given me in the game shop that one night. The one about Sagira and the king she loved and died soon after? Was he trying to tell me something?

It seemed random pieces of a huge, intricate puzzle were clicking together in my head, pieces I had never tried putting next to each other in the first place. In that moment, the delicate fibers of reality frayed for me, and I could see the impossible becoming possible. And there were still questions that needed to be answered, too.

However, being the stubborn, not-believing-it-till-I-see-it person that I was, I still couldn't wrap my head around it. I needed proof, actual evidence that this wasn't all just some gigantic, horrible scenario I had made up in my head and begun to believe. I needed facts.

I looked back down at my phone, after realizing my gaze had fallen on the half-covered amulet sitting on my desk. I still had to reply.

Why? What are you talking about?

Ten minutes later, I had about bitten all of my fingernails off. My head was spinning. But there was still no response. I waited another ten.

Nothing.

They were leaving me hanging.

"Fine." I said, closing the conversation and opening the one I had going with Tea. My fingers flew over the screen, almost as fast as my mind was working.

I'm on my way to the game shop. Some really weird shit just went down.

She didn't reply, but I didn't care. After practically running down the stairs, I slipped past Mom, who was still snoring on the couch, and out the door to my car. I was on a mission.

Because there was only one person I knew who could tell me about Sagira, and his grandfather was an Egyptologist.

"I'm glad we could finally get back into contact with you guys." Tea said, eyes locked on the laptop screen that the five teens were gathered around. "It's been forever."

"Yes," Ishizu Ishtar, pictured in her usual simplistic robe, replied. "It's been too long."

"We're sorry for not getting to you two sooner." Atem said.

Marik, dressed in a pair of cargo pants and a sleeveless t-shirt, stood in the background, just behind Ishizu. They were in her office in Egypt, where she worked as a historian for a museum. "I'm going to assume from your sudden Skype call after not speaking with us for two months that you found Sagira."

"Marik, please. Watch your attitude." Ishizu reprimanded, momentarily turning around in her chair to face her brother.

"No, he's right." Atem said, repressing the urge to remind Ishizu that a snarky Marik was much better than a possessed Marik. "We have found Sagira."

Marik, now suddenly interested in the conversation, moved closer to the screen. "Does she...?"

"Remember me? No." Atem shook his head. He tried not to sound hopeless when he said the words, but they really were a blow to the stomach. This whole ordeal had been much more difficult than he had thought it would be.

"She remembers a little bit." Yugi piped up, giving Atem a meaningful look. "She knows her name, and from the sound of things, she knows who Mahad is. But I think she's just been passing her memories off as her imagination."

"Like any sane person would." Tea added, voice impassive. Her coldness towards the topic was not missed by those near her, but to the Ishtars, she only seemed to be stating a fact. Yugi glanced at his oldest friend, worried. He had tried to get her to tell him why she had seemed so upset for the past few days, to no avail. She refused to give any opinion whatsoever about Atem's mission.

Ishizu nodded. "Yes. I can understand why she might be skeptical of the sudden onslaught of foreign memories. She has, after all, grown and lived a life far away from any remains of her ancient past. If we are fortunate, she might begin to start looking for answers."

"She already has." Atem said. "She asked me about Sagira and Mahad. And...she has her necklace."

"Wait, what?" Joey asked, confused. The others turned dumbfounded gazes to the pharaoh as well. True to his word to Erin, he had kept the amulet a secret, but doing so to the Ishtars would not help anything.

Atem ignored the perplexed faces of his friends. "She brought it to me shortly after a little incident we had a few weeks ago. She was terrified."

"Incident?" Marik inquired, his eyes shining with curiousity.

"Yeah, that's part of the reason we're calling you." Tristan said.

"Erin – that's her name – kind of got...kidnapped." Yugi turned his eyes to the ceiling, not knowing another way to word it.

Ishizu visibly stiffened. "What?"

"Well, I mean, she's fine now, but...yeah." He nodded, as if to affirm his own story.

Ishizu's eyes were wide. "Who did it? How? Why?"

"We're working on the who and the why." Joey said. He glanced at Tea, wondering why she wasn't putting in her two cents. After all, she had been the one doing research with Erin.

"We were at a haunted house – " Atem began, but Tristan cut him off.

"Not a real one. A Halloween attraction."

Atem continued when the two Ishtars inclined their heads, Marik in understanding and Ishizu in invitation for Atem to proceed. "As a part of the scare factor, they keep all the lights off. You're supposed to find your way through a maze in complete darkness, all the while trying to avoid workers dressed in costume who have been paid to jump out at you when you get close to them."

Marik smiled slightly. "I love Halloween in America."

"We all got separated. I was with Erin, but we got ambushed. Not by workers. They dragged her away from me." He paused for a moment, taking a breath that to the others would only seem to be so he could keep talking, but in reality he needed the break to keep his voice from shaking. "From what she's told us, they locked her in a room with the amulet, and she lost consciousness. She woke up in the main part of the maze, and when we found her, she was obviously dazed."

"And then we took Atem to the hospital, because he wouldn't admit that he had gotten hurt when he was fighting those thugs." Joey said, and everyone nodded, Atem included, though the latter looked slightly sheepish.

Atem cleared his throat, seemingly to regain his dignity. "I am also fine now, by the way." He assured the Ishtars, who had both raised their eyebrows in concern for him. "I knew Erin was hiding something about that night from us, because she would become strangely quiet when we brought it up. So I got her alone and asked her. It was then that she told me about the amulet, which she had found in her pocket while waiting in the hospital. After she showed it to me, she asked me about Sagira and Mahad."

Everyone had been mute as Atem revealed the part of the story he hadn't confided to anyone until now. Ishizu, after watching the former king for a few moments, broke the tense silence. "What did you tell her?"

"Only what she asked me to. She asked who Sagira was, and I told her that Sagira had lived in ancient Egypt, and that she had died at a young age. Then she asked the same about Mahad, and I said that he was a magician who lived at the same time as Sagira. I tried to get her to ask more, but she pretended it wasn't of importance and left it at that. She hasn't mentioned it since."

"Good." Ishizu said. "It's important that she learns much of it on her own."

"But how do we get her to learn faster?" Tristan asked.

"You can't." Ishizu shook her head. "The prophecy says – "

Marik rolled his eyes. "Sis, please. I'm sick of prophecies, and I'm sure the Pharaoh is, too. There has to be something we can do."

Ishizu opened her mouth to reply, but closed it again, unsure of what to say. Four of the five friends sitting in Yugi's living room waited, hopeful. Tea closed her eyes, as if praying Ishizu would say nothing.

Finally, the dark-haired girl took a deep breath. "Maybe a little push wouldn't be against the rules..."

Marik grinned. "That's my sister!"

"What kind of push are we talking about here?" Joey asked.

The siblings exchanged a glance, then Ishizu sighed and said, "There are tablets still in our family's possession in the Underground that once belonged to Sagira."

Atem leaned forward, eyes widening. "I thought all of her writings were destroyed after she died?"

"And I thought you guys said you didn't have anything that could help us when we left you?" Yugi added.

"We weren't aware of their existence until recently." Ishizu said. "But they could help Erin reclaim more memories. She did, after all, write the prayers on them."

Atem smiled at a memory. "Yes, she had been fond of those."

"How soon can you guys get a flight here?" Yugi asked while Atem reminisced.

Marik shrugged and looked at his sister for an answer. Ishizu thought for a moment, then replied, "I could see about an overnight flight. But even then, we wouldn't actually get to the five of you until later tomorrow evening. Would that be alright?"

Atem was about to answer, when a noise sounded from downstairs. Namely, the bell over the game shop door ringing. While this sound in itself was a normal occurrence, the sound of Yugi's grandfather happily greeting someone he knew and the unmistakable one of Erin's voice returning the favor made the five friends jump into alertness.

"Looks like she decided to come apologize for ignoring us." Tristan said. He wasn't particularly angry at the girl for not getting back to them for a few days – after all, people had lives – but the situation with the cult made every missed call that much more terrifying. And he knew Erin knew that.

"Was that Erin, I assume?" Ishizu asked. There was a hint of excitement in her voice at the prospect of finally getting to see the fabled Lost Queen she had grown up being told stories about in person.

"Yes, it was." Atem confirmed.

"We should probably go." Yugi said, eyes darting to the doorway through which Erin would be walking at any moment.

Ishizu and Marik nodded. "We'll try to get there as soon as we can. Keep her safe until then. Her kidnappers may pose a bigger threat than we think." Ishizu said.

As Yugi went to cut the connection on the Skype call, Ishizu spoke once more. "And My Pharaoh?"

Atem, thinking that the conversation had been over, had begun to turn away, ready to greet Erin when she came in. However, at Ishizu's call for him, he glanced back at her to find her staring at him with a solemn expression on her face. He raised an eyebrow in response.

Ishizu took a small breath. "I know it's been hard, but please don't reveal too much. You could overwhelm her."

He didn't reply.

"Hey, guys." I said, giving them a half-hearted wave as I entered the room. They were all looking at me, and from the expression on Tea's face, I could tell I was in for a lecture about worrying people.

Tea got up from her place on the chair and ran over to me. This startled me, and I cringed in preparation for her rant. Instead, she threw her arms around my shoulders in a tight hug. "Thank god you're okay."

I stood stiffly in her embrace, not sure what was going on. For a moment, I was afraid she had somehow found out about my mom, and this was her way of comforting me.

But there was no way she could've found out.

When she finally released me after five awkward seconds, she took a step back. Then, a moment later, she slapped me on the shoulder, a little too hard to be friendly. "What the hell were you thinking? We were worried sick! You could've been rotting in an underground cell for all we knew, because you refused to return my texts! Just a simple response of 'family issues' earlier on in the weekend would've saved us all of this grief. I mean, why would you – "

"Tea, I think that's enough." Atem interjected.

I had been ready to take her anger for as long as she could draw it out, keeping myself calm and steady, but when Atem spoke, I remembered why I had come. A surge of emotions welled up in my chest when I looked at the olive-skinned Muto brother. When I spoke, I had to try ridiculously hard to stop my voice from cracking. "I'm really sorry. I should've let you guys know why I was MIA all weekend. Sorry for freaking you out."

Tea's hard expression softened. She sighed. "I guess you do have a good excuse for not getting back to us. We were just scared."

"Which means you're forgiven." Yugi said, giving me a kind smile.

I half-smiled back at him, ever-thankful for his gentle nature. "I won't do it again. I promise."

"Eh, don't promise stuff like that." Joey said, waving it away. "Life happens."

As I had previously noted, tensions didn't tend to last long in their group of friends. And that was something I would be eternally grateful for.

"Have a seat." Atem patted the spot on the couch next to him.

I happily complied. No one spoke as I took my place on the sofa. To break the uncomfortable silence in the room, I cleared my throat. "So, uh, how was school today?"

Stupid question. School sucked most days of the week, give or take a few good moments with friends or noticing that the teacher's fly was down all period long. I just needed something to pass the time until I could talk to Atem. Alone.

And also, though I wouldn't admit it outright, because I was avoiding telling them why exactly I hadn't spoken to them in days and missed school. The last thing I wanted at this point was more sympathy for my case.

"History was boring, as per usual." Tea said, switching topics with ease.

"But at least I was almost completely caught up in most of my classes." Atem amended. "Thanks for everyone's help."

Tea, Yugi, and I grinned. Joey and Tristan pretended they had played a part in tutoring Atem, and bragged about their superior teaching skills. Tea rolled her eyes, and I just laughed.

We all spent the better part of twenty minutes talking and complaining and laughing about stupid things people at school did. Tea gave me a basic run-down of the unexciting events of the day. First hour sucked without a tired, grumpy me to talk to. We got assigned an essay in history, which was due at the end of the month. Two girls got in a catfight in the hallway over some boy who had been going behind each of their backs with the other. Typical day in a hormone-ruled high school.

For a while, it was like nothing had happened, not Death Dungeon, not the stupid cult, not my mysterious missed calls and evasion of attention.

But, of course, all good things come to an end. And as our light-hearted conversation dwindled down to nothing, I found the attention back on me. I had never been one for the spotlight, never really enjoyed having all the eyes in the room turned to my face. Especially not now, when I knew exactly what question Tea was about to ask.

"So, not to pry or anything, but what happened in your family that you couldn't even call or text us?" Her question was nothing short of innocent, and by the tone of voice she used, I knew I didn't have to answer it if I didn't want to.

But not answering would only make this rift I had built between myself and my friends even deeper. And lying would make things about a million times worse. They deserved to know the truth.

I took a deep breath. Might as well get out with it. "My mom kind of...has cancer."

There was a moment where no one could say anything. I mean, what can you say when you hear news like that? No amount of apologizing or hugging or sincerest sympathies would shrink the tumor growing in my mother's body. There was nothing anyone could say or do to make me feel better.

Tea was the first to speak. "Erin..." She began, then hesitated. "I'm so sorry."

I shook my head. "Don't be. It's not like you planted the tumor, right?"

My attempt at dry humor wasn't recognized. No one laughed.

"Man, that sucks." Joey's eyes were full of sympathy.

It seemed no one else knew what to tell me. All they could do was stare at me, channeling their concern into their gazes and hoping that I could read the condolences on their minds.

If there was one thing I hated more than being the center of attention, it was being the center of sympathetic attention. I couldn't stand it when people looked at me like I was some sort of lost, wounded puppy with no chance of survival. It was the same looks Landon, Miri, and I would receive back when Mom and Dad's divorce hearings were still in session. The same looks we got when Landon took Dad's side and I took Mom's, effectively separating us in custody. I hated those looks.

I had to stop them. "Hey, it's not like she's dead, okay? Please stop with the looks."

"Erin." Atem put a hand over mine, and for the first time since the sudden change in atmosphere, I remembered that he was, in fact, next to me. When I turned my head to look at him, his expression, though still concerned, wasn't quite as intense as everyone else's. Something lay under it, something I couldn't quite read. I waited for him to say something else, but it turned out that he was just trying to get my attention.

"You don't have to be strong all the time, okay, Erin? It's okay to have a meltdown every once in a while." Tea said, sitting on the coffee table in front of me.

I gave her a solemn look. "Tea, I'm not going to melt down. I'm fine."

"That's what I said when I had a severe head injury." Atem said, eyebrow raised. Tea nodded in agreement.

"But I don't have a head injury." I glanced between the two. "Guys, seriously, I don't need the sympathy. It's not going to help anyone. Mom's doing chemo, and the doctors said it's early-stage, so it's not even that bad. So please stop looking at me like I just told you she died."

"Hey, she's right." Joey piped up from the floor. "Give the girl some space."

Like Yugi's kindness, I admired Joey for his ability to read when someone didn't want to be babied. Maybe it came from his own personal experiences, or maybe it was just some instinct he had, but I was glad he was there right then.

Much to my relief, Tea sighed in defeat. But she wasn't done yet. "Fine. But just remember that you always have someone to talk to, okay?"

"Okay." I said. Still feeling Atem's hand on mine, I glanced down at it, and then up at Atem. He got the message and let go, retracting his hand back to rest on his knee. I ignored the new cold on my knuckles after the warmth of his palm left.

Again, we lapsed into silence. It was much more awkward than before, filled with the questioning gazes of my friends and my curt refusal of sympathy. I certainly couldn't leave them in this condition that I had caused, but I couldn't bring up my questions for Atem in front of the others. I felt everything after the amulet was between Atem and I; our little secret.

My reasoning for keeping it a secret no longer made any sense, but I would rather only have Atem, intelligent and understanding and easy for me to talk to, concerned, than I would everyone. It just made me feel less like an attention whore.

"Hey, Erin," Yugi said suddenly, breaking me out of my thoughts, "I just wanted to let you know that we'll be having company either tomorrow or the next day."

I raised my eyebrows. "Oh. So should I not come over, then?"

"No, actually, we wanted you to meet them." He said, trying to make it sound as casual as possible.

"They're a couple of friends from Egypt." Atem added.

"Oh?" I asked. I wasn't sure why exactly Yugi wanted me to meet their friends from another country who had probably never even heard about me before, and it made me nervous. "Why did you want me to meet them?"

Okay, I'll admit – that question was rude. But if I had foreign friends, I probably wouldn't forcefully introduce them to my newest friend at home while they visited. Unless maybe we bumped into them on the street or something.

Did that make me a rude person?

Yugi shrugged. "I think you guys would get along well. And Ishizu really wants to meet you."

Oh. So they did know about me.

Which meant that at some point, I had been mentioned in a conversation with the friends from Egypt. I didn't know whether to be flattered or suspicious.

"Cool. So, uh, are they nice?" Now I was just making polite conversation to keep things from getting awkward again. As if people like Yugi or Tea would make friends with someone who wasn't nice.

And, speaking of Tea, I noticed that she had been oddly silent during the conversation. When I looked at her, she was staring intensely at the carpet, as if it had become much more interesting than the current topic.

Either she wasn't a fan of these Egyptian friends, or there was something else going on that I didn't know about.

That seemed to always be the case with this group of friends. I mean, I was aware that I was new and all, but with every corner, I felt like I encountered more and more complex issues between them. It was making me wonder if they were keeping these issues from me on purpose.

"They're really nice." Yugi answered my question, and I jumped back to attention. "They've helped us more than we could ever thank them for. You'll love them."

I nodded along, but I felt the nerves in my stomach that resulted when I found out ahead of time that I would be meeting someone new, and they were expecting me. School, where I could go unnoticed and make friends as I went along, was another story. But face-to-face meetings were hard for me.

The conversation carried on without me, Yugi and Atem, and eventually Joey and Tristan, assuring me that the two – Ishizu and Marik were their names – were great people and they'd known them for a few years. Like a good conversationalist, I acknowledged their comments with "uh-huh"s and "yeah"s to show that I was actually listening, but I had nothing more to ask or say. I kind of just wanted to talk to Atem by that point, because the curiosity was killing me.

Tea didn't say a word the entire time.

Finally, they ran out of things to say about Marik and Ishizu, and the conversation slowly transitioned to a few side chats. I talked to Joey and Tea for a while about the essay that was due in history, while I heard Yugi and Atem try to explain something about some Duel Monsters strategy to Tristan.

After a while, though, we realized it was probably time to go home and let the Muto boys get started on homework. Tristan was the first to leave, and was teased by Joey about having an "appointment with his one true love." Joey left soon afterward, saying he and Serenity were going to their mom's for dinner. Tea, after seeming to draw out her visit time for a lot longer than usual, eventually asked Yugi to walk her down to the door so she could ask him something.

She threw a look over her shoulder at me as they descended the stairs, and I might have heard someone whisper my name from further down in the stairwell.

"Is something wrong with Tea?" I asked Atem, since we were once again left alone in the living room. "She seems...distracted."

"Kind of like you've been for the past week." Atem said, raising a chastening eyebrow.

I sighed. "Sorry. Everything with the cult and the amulet and now my mom..."

"I know." He leaned forward, putting his elbows on his knees. "Everything's been complicated."

"Thank you for not getting worked up over the news. I needed that." I said, mimicking his position so I could look him in the eye.

He half-smiled at me, but then the smile disappeared, leaving him just staring at me, and me staring at him. We were quiet for a few seconds.

Then I cleared my throat, trying to shake off the thoughts that invaded my mind about what we could possibly do at that moment. "So...I have something else I need to show you. If you don't mind."

For a moment, something that looked like disappointment flashed through his eyes, but it was gone before I could really read too deeply into it. "Is it about the amulet?"

I shook my head. "Partly, but not really. I just need someone else to read it so I know I'm not crazy."

He gave me a curious look, but didn't question me as I reached into my pocket and pulled out my phone.

"After I took Mom to chemo this morning, I got a text from this random number. From what they've said, I'm thinking they have something to do with the cult. But they wouldn't tell me who they were or what they wanted." I stopped talking when I handed my phone to Atem so he could read over the conversation.

His eyebrows grew closer and closer together as he scrolled down the texts, obviously as confused as I was about what they were trying to tell me. I chewed the inside of my cheek as I waited for him to finish. When he reached the end, he turned his gaze up to me, looking for some sort of an explanation.

"So what do you think?" I asked as he handed my phone back to me. "I'm not crazy, am I?"

He shook his head. "No. But this is serious, Erin. This means they've been keeping tabs on you."

"I know."

He searched my eyes for a moment, then gestured to the phone. "And those words at the beginning, Perdidit Regina – do you know what they mean?"

I took a breath and set the phone on the couch next to me. "They're Latin. They mean Lost Queen. And they kept calling me S. I know that S is close to E on the keyboard, but they never put E, so I don't think it was a mistake." I paused, pretending not to notice the glimmer of excitement in his eyes at where I was going with this. "Which made me think of that little history lesson you gave me a while back. About that girl in ancient Egypt named Sagira. Didn't you say that she was in love with a Pharaoh?"

"Yes." Something about his expression had changed. It was almost like he was willing me to continue, even though I was going to anyway.

"And that meant that, if she had been about to marry – or whatever the ritualistic equivalent for becoming husband and wife was in ancient Egypt – the Pharaoh, she would've been a queen, right?"

"Yes."

"But then the Pharaoh died, and then she died, and then she couldn't become a queen." I couldn't stop with my rant, even though I knew the rest of what I was saying was going to sound insane to anyone who hadn't seen the same visions I had. "So, say word got out about their little Romeo and Juliet-type situation. Their story becomes legend. People in other civilizations, like ancient Rome, learn about it, and pen a name for it and the girl: Perdidit Regina. Lost Queen. And say some guy becomes really obsessed with this story, and he becomes very interested in finding girls who he thinks would look like this legendary Lost Queen – I don't know, maybe he has some sort of Egyptian girl fetish – and starts a cult to search for the true 'Lost Queen.' Then, bam, you have kidnappings documented throughout the centuries by this mysterious cult, all teenage girls, all about seventeen years old. So now you've got me, a seventeen-year-old girl who could possibly look Egyptian" – Atem made a strange face at those words – "and these creeps find me and decide to put me through their little 'Lost Queen' test, calling me Perdidit Regina and Sagira and just generally pretending that I lived three thousand years ago and therefore remember things about ancient Egypt." I paused, then continued. "That could be sort of plausible, couldn't it?"

Atem had given me his undivided attention as I carried on my weird and seemingly-random explanation, emotions coming and going as my sanity seemed to be. When I finished, he was silent for a moment, trying to take it all in.

"Please don't think I'm crazy." I said. Oh god. First my strange questions about people from ancient Egypt, and now my long and probably inaccurate hypothesis about the cult that kidnapped me. The poor guy might have been contemplating how to get to the nearest escape route before I could stop him.

He inhaled for a long second, then said, "I don't think you're crazy." Hesitation. "But I am wondering where you got the ancient Rome idea, Latin words aside."

It was my turn to hesitate. "I, uh, I just drew conclusions, I guess..." I looked down at my hands so he wouldn't see the full extent of my blush.

"Erin? Is there something you're not telling me?"

God damn, how did he do that? How did he read me like an open book?

I didn't reply. I still wasn't sure if telling anyone about the visions was a good idea yet.

He reached out a hand, using the tips of his fingers to turn my face back to him. The gesture surprised me. I found myself back to staring into his amethyst eyes, deep and intelligent like the person they belonged to.

"Please, Erin. If there's anything you remember, please tell me." The way he emphasized the word remember made my eyes widen. He was trying to send me some kind of message, I was sure of that.

"Please." He repeated.

But I couldn't make myself say anything.

And while part of it was due to my fear that he would think I was insane, part of it wasn't.

A little more than half of it was because his face was now inches from mine, his hand now resting against my cheek. Any closer, and we'd practically be kissing. And he didn't seem uncomfortable in this position in the slightest.

But I was.

I gently grabbed his wrist and pulled his hand away from my face, then turned away and stood. "I think I should go." And before he could pull another stunt by grabbing my bag so he had to walk me to the door, I picked it up and looked back at him. "I'm sorry. I just...I really have to go."

Guilt welled up in the pit of my stomach.

He stood to go after me, but I shook my head and mumbled a hurried "bye" before almost dashing for the stairs. My heart was racing. I passed Yugi on the stairs, gave him a rushed goodbye as well, then continued on my way out of the game shop. I practically ran out to my car.

It wasn't until I had started my car and hit the gas that I realized I was trembling. My heart refused to stop pounding, and my breaths were shaky. The guilt was what killed me, though.

Guilt for not just telling Atem about the stupid visions.

Guilt because I made everything worse by running away.

Guilt because I was now certain that he liked me, and I liked him, and I had just freaking run away from him.

I gripped the steering wheel much too tightly and drove a little too fast on my way home. My world was spiraling out of control. Everything was wrong. Everything was strange and different and new to me. And there was nothing I could do to stop the steep decline of my thoughts as I went from guilty to terrified to loathing.

Which was made worse by a new realization, one I had only become aware of about halfway home.

I had left my phone at the game shop.

Well, there was plot twist for you guys!

Will Erin's mom be okay?

Who texted Erin?

How will Erin's meeting with the Ishtars go down?

What's eating at Tea?

And, most importantly, what will happen next for Atem and Erin, now that she's realized her feelings?

This is the longest chapter I have ever written. I hope it wasn't too long and drawn-out for you guys. Sorry for the slightly-late update (not really late, I guess, since it's still Wednesday where I'm from lol)!

I might be a little late on the next update, too, since for the next week, I'll be working eight hour days and I don't know how much time I'll have to write. But I'm really going to try to get that one out to you, because I'm excited to write the scene where the Ishtars finally come in.

If you liked it, please leave a review! Let me know what you think!

See you soon,

-creativelybored