A/N: Happy holidays, everyb- all of - ...you two. ::sweatdrop:: Yo, what's up? I am back, sorry for missing last week's update. :) But I am not dead, go me.

This chapter is... a little different from the last few. For one, we are not in ancient Egypt any more (though we shall return!). Where are we? Well... you'll just have to wait and see. :) This is, well, a transition chapter (isn't that ironic ::points to title::), so not a lot happens, unfortunately. But the action shall be back soon enough. However, it is from here on that things get more complicated. So, apologies and much love, and have a good read! Please R&R.

Chapter Six: Transition

Seto poked at the figure lying in the sand with the end of his stick. He could see the person breathing; good, at least they weren't dead. He cocked his head warily and edged closer, then began shaking the person with his hand. Nothing.

He turned the small figure over; a gleam of gold at the boy's throat caught his eye. He considered it for a moment, then shook his head and resumed shaking the boy. "Hey. Hey there. Wake up." There was no response, save for a slight groan.

Seto sighed, removed his waterskin, and poured several precious drops of water onto the boy's face. The large eyes flickered and opened, a startling purple color. Seto sat back on his heels and helped the boy sit up. "You all right, kid?" he asked, noting the odd material in the clothing.

"What?" The boy looked dazed, looking around. "Kaiba? What the heck… where are we? Why aren't I in Egypt anymore?"

Seto pulled the boy to his feet. "How long have you been out here? I think you have a touch of sun-fever." He dusted the shirt and pants off. "We're not in any Eee-jipt, I can tell you that. This is Moreidiac. Remember?"

Yugi shook his head. "Huh? No - this is Domino, if you're here."

Seto sighed and took the boy's sleeve, tugging him back toward camp, explaining patiently, slowly, "No, this is Moreidiac. You're near the mountains. Are you from a different camp?"

"A different… what? Where are Joey and everybody?"

"I don't -" Seto stopped and shook his head. "Look, you - who are you?"

"Yugi. You know that."

"Yeah, whatever. Yugi. Right. Listen Yugi, there's no telling how long you've been lying there, you're probably dehydrated, you're talking nonsense. Just settle down until I can get you something to drink, okay?"

Yugi protested. It didn't matter. Seto finally told him to be quiet or he'd carry him back to camp, did he want that? and yanked him faster.

Yugi soon was worn out. It was tough walking through the sand. This place seemed, if possible, even hotter and sparser than Egypt had been. He wondered vaguely how Kaiba was here, because this definitely wasn't home. He was beginning to stumble when Kaiba - or non-Kaiba - said, "There it is. Come on."

Yugi looked up and squinted. He hadn't really expected a camp, not for the great Kaiba, but that's exactly what it was: a large cluster of big beige-colored tents lined up, with people milling around them, toting water. It was set up at the base of a huge reddish mountain, and a colossal cloud of dust was rising from the stone. Miners? People with pickaxes and shovels, anyway.

"Kaiba, where is this?"

Seto rolled his eyes. "All right, look: this is Rithoun, a miners' camp, third class. And my name isn't Kaiba. It's Seto."

"But it's your last name," Yugi pointed out softly. The sun was beginning to make his head hurt. Where were the others?

Now Seto seemed annoyed. "I don't have a last name, kid. Oh, hey. Solomon! Hey!" And he waved to one of the far-away figures, pulling Yugi down the incline, not giving him time to process that info.

A dusty man stood up, clapping Seto over the shoulders as they drew near. He shook the spiky gray hair from his eyes and squirted some water into his mouth from his waterskin. Wiping his mouth, he eyed Yugi, not in an unfriendly way, but…. "Who's this, Seto?"

"Yugi. I found him out on the plains." Kaiba pushed Yugi gently forward. "He's talking oddly. I think he needs water. But he says that there were others with him, anyway, and that'sprobably true. I'm going to go look." Addressing Yugi, Seto explained, "This is Solomon. He's one of the Elders. Don't worry, he looks tougher than he really is." Solomon harrumphed.

Yugi stared up at Solomon, blinking rapidly. Solomon imitated him. "Grandpa!"

"Eh?" Solomon scratched his short beard. "…You do need water." He handed Yugi his waterskin, but Yugi didn't drink.

He insisted, "Grandpa! It's me! Yugi! You know me! I'm your grandson!"

Solomon shook his head and turned back to his work, hefting a large pickaxe and swinging it down into the rock. Examining a chunk of stone, he replied, "I don't have any grandchildren, or children for that matter. You're mistaken. I'm sorry."

Yugi felt extremely helpless and frustrated, like he wanted to hit the man in front of him, or scream at the sky, or something else out of character. He settled for grabbing Solomon's shoulder and half-spinning him. "Grandpa, listen to me! I - I don't know what's going on here - but please, just try to remember me!" Maybe Malaise hadn't really done anything except make it so that he didn't exist. Wouldn't that be lovely.

Solomon was removing his hand.

"Listen to me!"

"Who is that?"

Yugi jumped. The new voice had been scratchy and hoarse, and very old. He looked around. His eyes fell on the nearest tent, only a few yards away. The voice seemed to have come from that direction. Letting go of Solomon, he started to go in, but a pair of square hands seized his shoulders.

"What are you doing?!" Solomon exclaimed. "That's Shadowwalker's tent. Never go in there!"

"Why not -"

"No, Solomon," the voice came again. It was stronger than it had first seemed. "Is he someone new? Bring him in. I want to see him."

"But -" the gray-haired man began, then sighed and pushed Yugi through the tent flap, not unkindly, following after him.

Yugi's eyes and nose instantly objected to the strange light and smell of the tent. The only lighting was of tiny lanterns and with the glowing ends of incense, which perfumed the air heavily. It took a moment to adjust, then he could make out what appeared to be a bundle of cloth on the floor.

The bundle moved. Yugi yelped. It was a person.

A thin, almost skeletal hand came into view, followed by a scarred arm, the skin lined and wrinkled with ancient years. A wizened, triangular face then emerged, but the top half of it was securely bound in cloth. Yugi could make out the beginnings of a long, ugly scar peering from behind the bandanna, cutting upwards toward the old man's eyes.

Solomon knelt and gently helped the old, old man raise himself slightly from the mat on which he lay, detangling the heavy robe. The ancient man painfully sat upright, bones crackling. His hands reached out blind, but found their way easily to Yugi's face, exploring the mouth and large eyes, the hair and the soft shape of the chin. He nodded, smiling a little.

"Shadowwalker?" Solomon breathed cautiously.

Shadowwalker sighed. "He's fine. He looks a little like you, Solomon." Addressing Yugi, he added, "Your name is… Yugi?"

Feeling strangely calm, Yugi said, "Yes. Yugi Mutou."

Shadowwalker's mouth twitched. "Yes. Mutou. Then you have…." His wrinkled hands felt their way down the chain to the Puzzle, gently rubbing the gold. "Yes… Poor child. You seem very confused."

"I am," Yugi confessed, and Shadowwalker let out a coughing laugh.

"Aren't we all! But Solomon, where is Seto? Didn't he find this boy?"

"Yes, but he said he was going to look for others…."

"Are there others with you, little Mutou boy?"

"Yes. There were." Yugi thought back to the fighting, the terror, the separation from his friends, then the stabs of pain and waking up in the desert. "Their names are Tea, Tristan, Joey, and Ya -" he stopped. "…That's them."

"Ah." Shadowwalker seemed to be about to say more, but began to cough uncontrollably. Solomon fussed, shooing Yugi out (though not before grinning at him) into the sun.

Yugi wandered through the camp, stopping behind the people hacking away at the side of the mountain. He noticed that most were young people, about his or Kaiba's age, with only a few elderly people and several young children. He watched one girl, maybe seven or eight years old, swinging a large pitchfork-like instrument like it was nothing.

He realized he still had the waterskin, and squeezed a stream of water into his mouth. It was gritty and sour. He almost spat it out.

Finally, hot and sweaty and totally exhausted, he sat in the shade of one of the tents. He caught many people giving him curious looks and put his head between his knees, gripping the Puzzle tightly in his hands. The gold was no longer comforting; it was simply another reminder of everything that was now entirely alien.

Yugi caught himself thinking about lemonade. With lots of ice and sugar. And maybe with a hamburger alongside it. Ice cream afterward. He was STARVING. Where was all the food in this place? These people couldn't live here without something to eat.

"Um, excuse me," he tried, going up to the little girl he'd seen before. "Do you know where I can get something to eat?"

Emerald-and-russet eyes bore up at him, hard and soft at the same time. Her eyes were two different colors. "Who're you?"

"I'm Yugi."

"Zanebia." She turned back to her task. "You don't get food just by sitting in the shade, you know."

Yugi started to say something but clamped his mouth shut. "Okay," he finally allowed. "What do I do?"

She shaded her two-colored eyes to glower at him. "Don't be dumb. Take off your shoes and things" - she pointed at his puzzle and jacket - "and get a tool."

"What are we digging for?"

Zanebia shrugged. "We're looking for tombs. Gold, if you're in the right place. Gems. The mummies, is what some groups are after. We're lucky; it's just the other stuff we're supposed to get. No dead bodies."

Yugi went over to the number of large tools lying a little bit away, stepping out of his shoes and removing his shirt. He picked one up. It felt unreasonably heavy and seemed to have traces of salt on it. He went back to Zanebia, hefted it with difficulty, and swung. The blade at the end clanged loudly and made no indentation. However, it did rattle Yugi so much it felt like everything inside him had come loose.

Zanebia laughed. "Here. Hold it like this." She rearranged his hands and then returned to her own work. "And remember, the more you do, the more food you get. So hurry up."

The sun passed much too slowly for Yugi's liking. It was hours before the rays finally slanted downward. Solomon came over and laughed when he saw Yugi. "Tired, boy?"

"Ylah," Yugi said, dropping to the ground and squirting water into his mouth. He didn't care what it tasted like anymore. Solomon swiped the skin from him and swigged.

"Seto should be getting back soon. It'll be dark in an hour," he said. Yugi was busy examining the blisters on his hands. "Maybe he'll have those friends of yours."

"I hope so." Yugi started to get back up, but Zanebia grabbed his tool and tossed it into the pile again.

"You're done. Once you have to stop, don't bother getting back up." She narrowed her sharp, cunning eyes. "You did really well for a beginner. Did they work you hard, back at your own camp?"

"Um… no." He tried to think of a good way of explaining, but gave up. "It was pretty easy."

"Wha'd you do all day?" asked one of the other workers, also quitting and walking over.

"Well, I went to school, mostly."

"What's that?"

Yugi blinked up at the redheaded boy. He couldn't have been older than Yugi. "It's… nothing."

"Hey, I can see Seto!" Zanebia called gaily. She dropped her pitchfork-thing and ran across the sand, kicking up clouds. Yugi swung around eagerly, but saw that Seto was alone. Anxiety welled up inside him. Where were the others? Why weren't they here? They could be hurt - had they been caught back in Egypt? That would really, really suck. What could he do?

Seto wearily picked up Zanebia in one arm. She nestled her golden-brown head underneath his. "I couldn't find anyone," he said immediately to Yugi. "No footprints, no people, nothing at all. Wherever those guys are - three of them, right? - it isn't near here. I even checked closer to the palace."

Solomon flinched. Yugi pressed hastily, "But where else could they be? They were with me, I know they were! They have to be here…."

Seto shrugged. "I don't know. Tell you what, you come with me early tomorrow and we'll both look. You can tell me which direction you came from." He sighed and placed Zanebia back down. "Solomon, did you take him to Shadowwalker?"

"Yes. He's good," the older man said shortly, smiling, then took Yugi by the elbow. "Come along, are you hungry?"

"Yeah."

"Let's see, you worked for maybe three or four hours, so that would be…." Solomon interrupted himself, going into one of the tents and bustling around for a few moments, and coming back out with a small loaf of flat bread and some sweet-smelling liquid. Yugi took them and hesitantly poured some of the liquid from the jar onto the bread, and began to eat it fast. A large emptiness seemed suddenly to have appeared in his stomach, and he nearly choked trying to fill it up.

"Easy does it," Solomon joked, touching Yugi's bare, sunburned shoulder. "It's not like you've got anyplace to be, do you?"

Later on that night, as Yugi tried to fall asleep inside one of the tents, he began to seriously worry if he was losing his mind. Come on, from Domino to Egypt to - wherever this was - it was like some crazy author's fantasy or something. Yutaan: WAHAHA!

He reached out from underneath the skin he was sleeping beneath and touched the cool sand through the tent flap. It felt grainy and dry, quite real. He turned his head and accidentally got a mouthful of fur. Yuck. It tasted genuine, though.

Yugi whimpered miserably and curled up into a ball, pulling the blanket over his head. He remembered the blank look Solomon had given him when Yugi had said the man was his grandfather. And the same expression Yami and Bakura had had on their faces when he said he knew them. And the way people fought in Egypt, with blood and sweat and screaming, worse than a million gory movies at once. And how his friends were lost. And…. damn, he could just cry. He would, too, except that the other people were bunched together less then ten yards away, sitting in a circle around their fire and talking quietly, sometimes arguing, sometimes singing. They might hear him.

He sniffled and took off his Puzzle, because it was poking into his chest. He didn't feel comfortable taking it off when he wasn't in his own room, in his own bed, with his own grandpa yammering away downstairs at the inevitable midnight customer and with his own yami complaining about Kaiba. But whatever.

Yugi mumbled, "I wanna go home," then turned over and inhaled the musky scent of fur and tried to go to sleep.

Hmm... I just realized that the last chapter was Chapter Six, not this one... 0.0 Well... Er, I'll edit that after I return from New England. Ja ne!