Disclaimer: Nope. I don't own it.

Thanks to my reviewers to chapter 3: Pharaoh Atemu's Angle. Blackcharmgirl, gamelover and Yami-Yugi3.

Chapter 4

Atemu smirked proudly. He looked down at the now nearly completed puzzle resting on his bed. He held the final piece in his hand, the eye of Horus gleaming, it was almost as if the piece itself was anticipating it's completion.

But Atemu was hesitant to put it in place. Kekewey's warning was still bothering him a bit; just please be careful, young one, completing that puzzle comes with a great responsibility. A responsibility that you may not be ready for. What had he meant? Atemu knew that it had only been a dream, and that he shouldn't worry so much, but at the same time it had been so real. What if Kekewey was right and something went wrong when he put the final piece in? 'Why am I worrying so much?' he asked himself, 'it was just a dream, nothing is going to happen to me, right?' Although he hadn't truly convinced himself it was safe, he gripped the last piece in his hand one final time, and placed it in the center of the puzzle.

The eye of Horus started to glow as the puzzle lifted itself into the air. Atemu stared bewildered at the puzzle. Suddenly the light from the puzzle flooded over him and it felt like something was ripping at his heart. The light was nearly blinding at that point; and shortly after he fell unconscious on the bed.

Atemu's eyes blinked open. Had that really just happened, or had he imagined it? Before it had felt like he was losing a part of his soul, but now he felt fine. His fear had probably just created the whole thing in his head. He looked at his now completed puzzle; still sitting on the bed in the exact spot it had been in before, not floating on thin air.

The door creaked open and Mahaado slowly entered, looking over to the bed as he did so.

"Hey, you're awake. I came in to see if you wanted to play earlier, but you were sleeping so-" he stopped mid-sentence as his eyes wandered to the completed form of the millennium puzzle sitting next to Atemu. He gaped, picking it up to see if it was actually the real thing. "Did you finish this?" he asked Atemu.

"Yep." Atemu smiled proudly.

"All by yourself?" he looked at Atemu, who nodded. "Wow. You know you're really something. You've summoned your ka monster and completed the millennium puzzle, but you still take afternoon naps."

Atemu glared at Mahaado, he'd gone too far that time, "I don't take naps! I just fell asleep is all…"

"Yeah sure." Mahaado laughed. Atemu pounced at him, but he dodged, running out the door and down the hall. Atemu chased after him, giggling.

The two of them sat in the courtyard, gasping for breath from all of the running they'd done. Atemu squinted, blocking his eyes from the harsh rays of the sun. He sighed.

"What's wrong?" Mahaado asked, puzzled.

"You know this is the closest I've ever been to being out of the palace, except that time I was kidnapped. And technically this is still inside the palace. I want to see what it's like."

"You're not planning on leaving the palace, are you?"

"Yeah, actually I was. I'm not going to go far, I just want to explore a little."

"BUT YOU CAN'T! It's way too dangerous…"

"That's what everyone says. But I don't care, I can take care of myself." He left before Mahaado had time to say anything else to him.

When Atemu awoke the next morning he had his whole plan perfectly laid out. During his years exploring the palace he'd found every secret passage in the whole place, even some his father didn't know about. Those were his ticket out because they would not be guarded. All he had to do was get to one without anyone following him. The only problem was that now Mahaado knew about his leaving. He figured Mahaado may help him or even want to come with him, but he didn't realize Mahaado wouldn't approve. Now he was probably going to be extra suspicious today, which meant Atemu just had to make sure he avoided Mahaado.

Atemu got dressed as quickly as he could. The faster he got up and out, the fewer people who would be awake to get in the way. He walked over to the dresser and picked up his golden headdress. He looked at it and his other jewelry, then put it back down. He figured it would be best not to draw so much attention to him. He still, however, put on the millennium puzzle, because he found that he felt awkward when he wasn't wearing it.

He made his way down the hall towards his chosen escape route with no trouble. He didn't run into a single person, and quickly approached the exit. He slowly opened it, checking for any guards that may be lingering in the area. Once the coast was clear he made his way out into the bright morning sun.

Mahaado was walking down the hall contemplating what the prince had said to him yesterday. Would he really leave the palace unprotected? After everything that had happened to him, especially more recent events, Mahaado assumed he would know better. But he'd seemed so positive, not to mention self-confident, the day before. Would the prince heed his warning and stay in the palace, or would he leave anyway? Should he have said something to the pharaoh about the prince's planned agenda? These questioned were running through his head as he saw Simon walking towards him down the hall. He looked rather perturbed, and was mumbling to himself. Mahaado's heart seemed to drop right to the pit of his stomach then, because he knew exactly why Simon was angry.

"C-can't find the prince again?" Mahaado asked, praying to Ra that he was wrong.

"Yes, as usual," Simon answered dully, "As a matter-of-fact no one has seen him this morning. Do you have any idea where he might have run off to?"

"Unfortunately, I think I know exactly where he is." He knew he should have said something sooner, now he was probably going to be blamed for allowing Atemu to run off.

"That's not unfortunate, it makes my life a whole lot easier." Simon replied, but the worried look on Mahaado's face was starting to make him feel uneasy.

"W-well, yesterday the prince and I were talking and he mentioned something about wanting to leave the palace…"

"WHAT? Why didn't you stop him?"

"I tried, but the fact is once he's set his mind to something there isn't really much stopping him."

"That's very true, but we'd better go and find him before the pharaoh finds out he's gone."

Atemu wandered the streets of Egypt, eyes wide with awe. There was so much going on, so many new things for him to intake. Merchants were selling their goods, shouting and waving their arms to attract the attention of passerbies. The crowds were huge, making it almost impossible to move. Well, it was impossible for a full-grown person, but Atemu had little trouble squeezing his way through the people. He found his way to a big tree and sat under it, watching all the goings on of the busy city. Particularly he watched a group of kids who looked about his age playing a game with a ball and sticks. One of the boys noticed him watching, and walked over to him. His hair was a vibrant blonde that Atemu had never seen before and his brown eyes smiled as much as his mouth did.

"Hey. I saw ya watchin' us and I was wonderin' if ya wanted to play, too?"

"Sure, but I've never played before you're going to have to show me how."

"You've neva played hockey before!? Well, don't worry it's easy. By the way, my name's Jou."

"I'm Atemu."

"Atemu, huh? That sounds kinda familiar…oh well. Let's play, come on!"

Mahaado and Simon were searching every crevice of the city for the young prince. They knew him, and they knew by now he could be anywhere. They just hoped he hadn't found his way into a different country yet.

Mahaado saw a group of children playing a game and didn't think much of it. He started to walk by intent on continuing his search, but he stopped. Looking closer he let out a short cheer.

"Simon! I found him." He called; motioning towards the group of children as Simon came running over.

"Wonderful! But are you sure he's over there?"

"You mean you wouldn't recognize that hair from a mile away?"

"You're right, let's go."

Atemu giggled happily. He'd made a lot of great friends in such a short time. For the first time he was playing a game with kids his age. For the first time he had real friends. He liked playing with the other boys in the palace, but he sometimes wondered if they only played with him because he was the prince. His enjoyment was short-lived, however, when he looked up and saw Mahaado and Simon coming his way.

"Uh-oh." He gasped.

"What' wrong?" Jou questioned, looking in the same direction, but not recognizing they're visitors as a threat. Atemu lowered his head, he knew they'd already seen him, but he was hoping maybe they'd just keep on going.

"I can't believe you actually ran off, you little doofus." Mahaado said playfully.

"I'm sorry." Atemu nearly cried.

"Hey, it's alright I was only kidding."

"You mean I'm not in trouble?"

"Not as long as you don't tell your father what happened." Mahaado answered, although he knew that if the pharaoh ever found out it wasn't the prince who would be in trouble.

"Then I guess we'd better get back to the palace before he finds out I'm gone." Atemu replied sadly, looking at all of his new friends continuing the game. Mahaado nodded. "Bye, Jou." Atemu said, starting to walk back towards the palace with Mahaado.

"See ya' later, Atemu!" Jou yelled, waving to his new friend. Atemu waved back with a sigh, he wasn't sure if he ever really would see Jou again. He decided he would try to come and visit again some time.

TBC

A/N: There you have it folks, Chapter 4. I know Jou doesn't really have an Egyptian counter-part, but I just couldn't resist putting him in here, He's just too great a character. I couldn't resist giving him the Brooklyn accent either, so what if he's supposed to be in a time before Brooklyn existed? Anyway, Coming up in chapter five is a big change, but until then R&R. Ohkami