Return to the Old Ways

by kayono

The Pharaoh and King have returned, but the Fates and Destiny have yet to let them out of their grasp. There's more in the darkness than is known, but 'life isn't interesting unless there's a chance of dying.'

14. Forgiveness and Riding

Title: Return to the Old Ways

Chapter 12: Forgiveness and Riding

Warnings: Ah, you know the drill. Blood, guts, gore (I particularly like the dismembering scene from the last chapter), swearing, glaring, a possibly detailed description of hungry dragonets eating….

Disclaimer: I no own, you no sue. Actually, you no sue anyways, because who in their right minds reads the c--- that I write?

---

"So, let me get this straight- this entire time, you haven't even tried to reason with me?!"

F'lar shot Lessa an exasperated look over his shoulder as he urged Mnementh to settle just outside of a small, run-down and obviously ancient village. "If anyone dared to say anything to you about Mouto, Lessa, you essentially made it known that they'd be thrown out of Khemet as well!"

Lessa glared at the Weyrleader, turning her head to try and see exactly where the bronze was landing. She was thankful they had been practicing low-ground departures and arrivals to and from between, since- as they discovered within the first few days of being in Khemet- most normal people didn't appreciate a dragon landing on their front lawn.

"F'lar, are you sure this is where Levian was told they were going to go?"

There weren't many people in the ruined village, Ryou had once told them when he showed them the pictures and satellite photos of the area. This was mainly because a horrible act had been committed here, and most people still believed that the spirits of the people who had been massacred still haunted the place.

Levian said that they were going to the place with the dead thieves. Mnementh told both riders, back winging and stirring up enough dust to attract the attention of whoever was in the village.

Lessa and F'lar quickly dismounted, she still seething that everyone would abandon them to look for Mouto, F'lar still reeling that Lessa was actually willing to at least hear why Yugi was seemingly so important.

A few of the people of the village shirked away from them as they walked through, most of them hiding in alleys or buildings. Those that didn't eyed them like they were prizes, valuables, or a support system.

For the most part, the two Pernese passed everyone without batting an eye, though a few times Lessa was barely able to suppress the urge to hold her nose, and settled instead for wrinkling it up, turning her head away from the old woman who seemed to be the source.

Levian says that Astria says that Shea says that Ryou said that the temple is underground, in one of the buildings.

Lessa blinked, tilting her head to see F'lar's expression. It hadn't changed- but his eyes were now surveying all the buildings, looking for one that might lead underground.

It wasn't that hard to find- of all the buildings in the entire town, it was the only one that people apparently hadn't put any effort into cleaning up. Entering it, both riders felt a chill down their spines, Lessa being the first to step lightly onto the first stair they could find leading downwards. At the bottom, torches flickered and snapped merrily, seeming almost juxtaposed against the eerie, foreboding backdrop.

"Lessa? F'lar?"

She noted, with some humour, that Ryou's tone was absolutely astounded, like he hadn't expected them to come.

"We're here- and we want to know what's up."

Ryou froze for a moment, cocking his head as though listening to something that only he could hear. Anriel, Marcus, Daniel and Luke were the only other people in the temple-like room, complete with carved walls, hieroglyphics, and depictions of odd beings that the two Pernese riders had to admit were stranger-looking than some of the creatures they had seen.

The latter three looked worse for wear, Luke himself oddly pale under the dark tan he had developed. Marcus and Daniel looked only a bit shaken, but, for the most part, seemed to be holding themselves together, and trying to help Ryou and Anriel with whatever they were doing.

Finally, Ryou sighed, dropping his head and signalling for F'lar and Lessa to approach the table they had gathered around.

Reaching it, Lessa looked down on an oddly shimmering map of Egypt, Khemet, Cairo, Giza, this village (Kuru Eruna), something called the 'Valley of the Kings', Thebes, something else called 'Heliopolis', Aswan, and a few other apparently important places marked down.

"Essentially, we're doing a grid search of Egypt, as they left England for certain, and probably wouldn't head to Japan." Ryou informed them, gesturing to a small corner of the table where a black edged box contained a full map of the world.

Lessa turned her head from the map, looking at Ryou. She opened her mouth to ask a question- the first of many- but F'lar beat her to it.

"Where is everyone else, Ryou?"

Lessa glared at her weyrmate, then at Ryou as he answered the question. "Most of the crew are at Giza and/or Cairo. Some have tried to book it down to Aswan. Isis has headed off to a small containment chamber, Malik off to check the ruins of Heliopolis with Shimasu, Dumbledore, and McGonagall. Ya- Nahkti has gone to the Valley of the Kings. Other teams are searching other important and not-so-important historical places."

"And why would you be doing that?"

Lessa's question didn't seem to catch Ryou off guard- in fact, the way he answered sounded like he had said this a number of times in the past. "Because there are high levels of energy in those places. As Yugi is Yugi, he's probably in a lot of pain or unconscious. This means that Atemu won't be able to do anything more complex than a basic Shift, and to places that he recognizes. He'll be drawn to the high energy levels if he doesn't have a clear location in mind, and if he does… then he won't be anywhere we search, and we do a wider grid pattern with repeated checks on already cleared areas."

"Shift? Energy levels? Yugi is Yugi?" F'lar raised an eyebrow at the young, white-haired man in front of him.

"Er, sorry. Shifting is something like going between, except without the sensory deprivation. Shifting requires large amounts of energy, and if you don't have a location clearly in mind or the mental strength to use enough energy, you need to either start or end up at a place that can sub in some of it's energy for that which is required.

"And Yugi… just because of past events, Yugi tends to be a bit martyristic, which means he'll be hurt worse than Atemu if he can manage it. Besides, that one body… I couldn't even recognize some of the bones and innards that had been ripped out of him. Even in a rage- which I can guarantee isn't likely to happen- Yugi goes for clean kills. And based on the bleeding, all that was done while the man was alive. Atemu was definitely responsible for that, which would put him as unstable at best, homicidal at worst."

"Which is why we have Master Bakura out there," Anriel told them, pointing to the dot labeled Valley of the Kings. Names suddenly appeared all over the map in miniscule writing, almost invisible if you weren't looking for it. Lessa was surprised to find 'Lessa of Ruatha/Weyrwoman of Benden/Weyrwoman of Khemet' on the list beside Kuru Eruna, just below 'F'lar of Benden/Weyrleader of Benden/Weyrleader of Khemet/son of F'lon'.

Beside the dot of the Valley of the Kings had appeared another dot, this one labeled 'The Great Pharaoh Atemu's Tomb', beside of which was a single name that had been rather extended. Lessa was getting a bit of a headache reading such small writing, so she just read the first line: 'Yami no Bakura/Nahkti Bakura/King of Thieves'.

Questions about the names were put out of her mind when she noticed the very, very, very faint writing also beside the dot, that she swore had a '…' at the end. She also swore she had seen Yugi's name in there.

Rounding on Ryou, Lessa was finally able to pin the young man with a glare, although he didn't recoil or shrink away, which was more to his credit.

"Alright. Do me a favor here, and tell me what is going on. I will not have Ramoth and Mnementh raising weyrlings if I don't know all the dangers and history of a place. I will not loose a single weyrling to negligence or ignorance."

In Ryou's eyes, if Lessa hadn't been completely anti-Yugi she would have been an excellent companion- she was usually very subtle in her ways, and even seemed to have a trace of the same sort of thing that Adrian and his friends had in them. And her worry and concern for the young dragons, and whoever would eventually be their riders only did her credit in his eyes. If only….

((You should lie.))

Ryou thought about it for a moment, shook his head. (This is the only way we're ever going to get her to listen, to accept Yugi. Oh, watch out for that blade.)

Ryou felt his darkness dodge the swinging metal, carefully repositioning his feet so that his left foot was forward. ((This is such a horrible way to walk! How dare they make me be humble!))

(Better humble now than dead later.)

He heard Bakura cursing under his breath as he returned back to the people gathered around him. Lessa briefly wondered if Ryou didn't have a dragon hidden away somewhere and was talking to it.

He does not. He was not.

Mnementh's cool voice in her mind set to rest any lingering fears that Lessa had, and she plowed on with her questions as Ryou's eyes cleared.

"Well? At least tell me why you're so worried- and what was that 'Ma'at' thing you mentioned earlier?"

Ryou sighed, stretching his neck as he looked her over. "Well, since we can't do much here, you might as well pull up a chair to hear the story. Marcus, Daniel, Luke- this involves you too now, so you might as well listen."

He waved his hand carelessly, Casting for seven chairs so that everyone could sit down. Positioning them around the table (and carefully not asking about where the chairs had come from in the first place), everyone took a seat and- as Ryou suggested- got comfortable.

"Well, five thousand years ago…."

---

"…and as it was the Pharaoh's responsibility to rule in accordance with Ma'at, and rule in order to keep Ma'at, it has since become Yugi and Atemu's responsibility to do the same."

Dumbledore smiled pleasantly at Malik as they walked over the sand, keeping a careful eye open for any sort of magical residue or aura trail. McGonagall frowned, turning around to face their 'guide' fully.

"But surely, if something happens, there's a safe guard?"

Malik shrugged noncommittally, keeping his eyes trained on the horizon. "Sure. It's supposed to pass to Ryou and Bakura first, for as long as Yugi and Atemu are out of the picture. But they're Abhorsen, so therefore it's supposed to pass to me, but… but I'm unable to fulfill the requirements, so essentially Gaia herself would have to work through everything. And trust me- you don't want that."

"And why ever not? Surely it would ease the burden on you."

Malik's frown deepened. "Yeah, except that usually too much creation and development is counteracted by some sort of destruction, and too much destruction is also usually counteracted by the destruction of who- or whatever was doing the destroying. So, yes, it would be easier that way, if you don't mind half the population of Earth eventually dying off."

That was a rather gloomy thought, but then Shimasu bounced over to them, glomping Malik. "Master! I've found something… odd, over that sand dune!"

Malik eyed the young journey mage. "Shimasu, odd in a good way, odd in an interesting way, or odd in a bad, do-not-come-near-if-you-can-avoid-it way?"

Shimasu just shrugged. "I don't know. I think odd as in odd-interesting, but I don't think it has any relevance."

"We'll see."

They reached the small valley between the dunes, Malik following Shimasu a bit further on as Dumbledore and McGonagall stopped near the base of the one they had just walked over.

"Isn't it amazing that, buried beneath all this sand, lies the ruins of one of the Earth's greatest Empires ever?" Dumbledore asked his companion, eyes twinkling as he watched Shimasu hanging from Malik's neck while he tried to see whatever she had found in detail.

"Yes… but Albus, if what Malik says is true, then wouldn't it be wise to not hire Mister Mouto for the next school year? These duties of his are rather… important, don't you think?"

Dumbledore chuckled slightly. "Minerva, Yugi has expressed that, regardless of other duties, he feels that the proper education of our youths is important. I believe he actually feels that the more everyone else works to keep Ma'at, the less he has to do, and the more of everything else he can do."

"So you'll still hire him?"

"I will not only hire him, but support him on every occasion- including doubt of his qualifications, as I have already had to do a few times, as I'm sure you recall."

McGonagall nodded slowly, eying the landscape. "Seems a rather… desolate place to come to."

"Perfect if you happen to be injured and need to get away for a bit," Dumbledore commented, sounded like he was talking about a small, relaxing cottage on a lake.

"Hey!"

Both Headmaster and Headmistress hurried across the sands to where Malik and Shimasu were crouching, looking at something in the sand.

"What is it?" McGonagall finally asked, after staring at the odd inscriptions for a while.

Malik grinned. "This, my friends, is the birthplace of the Heliopolitan Ennead- essentially, the laws, customs, religious rites, and gods and goddesses that make up the Ennead were found, written, discovered, or started practice here."

Dumbledore eyed the hieroglyphs that had been carved into the stone buried under foot. "That is what that says?"

Malik laughed again- was that relief in his voice? "No- this happens to be a passage from one of the original books of the Ennead, about Tem and Nun and the creation of the world. Thankfully, it talks about life, so we're safe."

Both Professors stared at him oddly. "Safe?"

Malik nodded. "You remember how I said earlier that Atemu would be attracted to places with high energy levels?" After a couple nods, he went on. "Well, the energy level of a certain place is… erm, configured towards a certain Universal Law. Creation, or Life, is the norm, but there are places, like the Valley of the Kings, where Destruction and Death is the configuration. For certain things, you can go to certain places for a… a boost in power, is the most accurate description."

Dumbledore crouched down on the sand slowly, his back stopping him from moving faster. "Then why do you call us 'safe', Malik?"

Malik, who had been speaking so openly more out of relief than anything else, paused, looking down at the inscriptions at his feet again. "Well… if Atemu had come here, that means that 'Life' would be… gone, or about to be gone. He and Yugi would be on the verge of death, or they actually would be dead. The fact that they're not here means that…."

"That they aren't as badly injured as you once thought?"

Malik didn't do or say anything for a couple seconds, eventually nodding.

"We need to check in with Ryou and tell him that they're not at Heliopolis."

And, with a single glance at the Ennead inscriptions, they were gone.

---

"So Heliopolis, Aswan, Cairo- not Giza- and that containment chamber down in the Ishtar Tunnels are out."

"Why not Giza?"

"Giza has pyramids. Pyramids are tombs above ground."

"So Giza is like the Valley of the Kings?"

"Essentially."

The group of almost twenty in the Temple of Kuru Eruna stood around the map, eying it speculatively. Ryou finished poking his wand at each of the dots (he had taken up using the wand for small, little works instead of just Casting everything), turning the ones he listed from black to white.

Lessa leaned over the map again, unable to take her gaze away from that one dot just outside of the Valley of the Kings….

F'lar and Mnementh had noticed a definite change in Lessa since Ryou had related the entire history of Egypt and Gaia to both them, and the crew leaders. Marcus hadn't been too surprised, although Daniel had been shocked- and Luke just didn't want to believe it.

Lessa had not only accepted the explanation, but had started calling him Yugi instead of Mouto, which could only be construed as a good sign. She had spent the last few minutes staring at the map, as though trying to figure out where she wanted to search.

The rest of the crew had been given a shortened, slightly altered version to reinforce the need to locate Yugi and Atemu as soon as possible. They wanted to find the two young men, anyways- they knew the complex and surrounding area of Khemet better than anyone else, and it would help with building the city around it (which hadn't even been started yet, as none of the plans that Marcus came up with seemed to work or fit in with the complexes style).

"Ryou, where is that dot?"

He blinked at her, followed her finger. "That's the Valley of the Kings."

Lessa shot him a look. "No, the one beside it and slightly off to the side."

People began muttering, frowning at her. Ryou blinked at her, wide-eyed. "You can see that dot?"

Another look- this one impatient. "Of course. Can't everyone?"

"Well, actually… no." Ryou looked slightly uncomfortable as he gestured with his hand, and the second dot in that area revealed itself to everyone. Lessa noticed how the dot changed from a slightly greyish color to pure black, like the other dots. She carefully did not mention the other dots that were also grey in color.

People began muttering again, but this time in slight confusion and organizing a party to look there.

Ryou held up his hand, stopping all conversation. "Nahkti is already there, so there's no need to go look."

"But there's no name there- not even a location name!" Luke pointed out, wanting to see what this dot was that been hidden from most eyes.

Ryou shot him his own impatient look, keeping his eyes locked with the older man's as he spoke. "Of course there is. But, like this dot originally was, it has been hidden. It's a very dangerous place- over three hundred remains have been found in a single chamber of that tomb."

F'lar looked at the list of names on the two sides of the dot, easily eclipsing those names at the Valley of the Kings, barely a centimetre away from the other, 'new' dot. He, like Lessa, had seen the other location from the very beginning, but something about the title was nagging at him….

The Great Pharaoh Atemu's Tomb… wait, wasn't Yugi's darkness' name Atemu?

Mnementh seemed surprised, though it passed easily enough as he replied, making sure that both Ramoth and Lessa could hear him. Yes, Atemu is Yugi's darkness.

No. Ramoth's voice was clear in both rider's minds. Yugi's darknesses name is Yami. Atemu is who they are together.

Lessa and F'lar immediately looked at Ryou, who was still fending off offers to search the 'extremely dangerous tomb'. "So that's why he doesn't want them to go there…." Lessa muttered to her weyrmate, looking back at the map. Now the long list of names made sense beside those dots. And if she was right about the second, barely visible list….

"Ryou." F'lar's voiced echoed in the Temple, catching everyone's attention. "If Nahkti's there, you should know where he is and how he got there, right?"

Ryou's eyes widened before he frowned at them. "You two are not going there. There's quite a few traps, most of which test you physically, mentally, and, er…."

"Spiritually?" Lessa offered, thinking about the ka monsters plastered all over the walls.

Ryou nodded, suppressing his wince at the odd choice of words. "Yes, essentially."

F'lar shrugged, turning around to walk out of the Temple, Lessa falling into step beside him. "We'll be careful. Left foot forward is humility, right?"

Lessa shot a slight smirk over her shoulder at the rest of the group. "Don't worry- we won't go any further than we are able. When in doubt, we'll head back. Alright?"

And before Ryou could say anything else, the two Weyrleaders were heading for Mnementh, already out of sight up the stairs.

Malik looked at the other young man, clapping a hand on his back. "Aw, don't worry. Since they're riders, they have some common sense."

Ryou only hoped he was right.

---

Bakura glared up at the hieroglyphics and tablets that ranged along the final wall, sitting on the pedestal where the box containing the Sennen Puzzle once rested for the better part of five thousand years. He ignored the wide, gaping hole behind him, and the bridge made of five ka tablets that stretched across it. He ignored the rumbling that meant that someone had stepped on the floor trigger for the room with the moving, sword-wielding guards that would slice and dice you if you weren't 'humble'.

He tried to ignore the two riders as they crossed the ka-tablet bridge with ease, only a few scratches and cuts marring their clothes and skin.

"So, 'Nahkti'- figure anything out?"

Lessa's voice, normally full of condensation around him since he had openly supported Yugi in her presence, was filled with slight mirth and humour, though mainly with worry.

He turned his head slightly, frowning at her. "What? Happy that the midget's dead?"

Lessa glared at him. "No. If you had been listening to your light, you might know that Ryou treated us, Marcus, Daniel and Luke to a summarized version of all the events that have happened here in the last five thousand years."

Bakura cursed, turning back quickly to the tablets. He was silent as Lessa and F'lar walked up to the wall, eyeing the engravings. "What are you looking for?" F'lar finally asked, staring at one tablet that happened to depict a rather… gruesome ending for someone who was holding onto a familiar, upside-down pyramid that was hanging around another familiar person's neck.

"Oh, the usual. Clues."

Lessa eyed the central tablet, purposefully standing in Bakura's way- though he just stood and moved off to examine whatever was on the left side. The central image was fairly basic- depictions of glory and power, great works and deeds Atemu had done during his short life. On the left and right, especially on the bottom, were images of many different people and armies, most of which laid slain, ravenous creatures feasting of their flesh.

Lessa frowned at she looked beneath one rather disgusting scene (she didn't want to think how the artists had known just how a bird-thing eating intestines and stomachs would look), a small symbol catching her eye.

"Oy, dark and ugly."

Bakura glared at her, returning to his own examinations. "Hm?"

"Why are we looking in this tomb again? Isn't it Death-configured energy or something like that?"

Bakura snorted. "Not this tomb."

"Oh?"

Both F'lar and Lessa looked interested in that, and Bakura found himself having to explain.

"Something like a tomb is only Death-configured if there happens to be a dead body in it. If not, tombs generally act like a bridge between one world and the next."

Lessa raised an eyebrow. "A… bridge? Like, a place where things can cross over or merge?"

F'lar looked at Bakura's definite silence, frowning back at the tablet he was standing in front of. "Why would they be here then?"

Lessa worried her lip, thinking it through. "Well, technically both Yugi and Yami should be dead- should have died five thousand years ago. It is only because of this place that the Sennen Puzzle was protected for so long, keeping them 'alive' and allowing Yugi to be reborn. This place is… safety."

And suddenly both understood why the two missing Pharaohs would be somewhere in the tomb. They had remained safe from predators and those who would use their power wrongly in this place- or Atemu had, allowing Yugi freedom and peace to be reborn and do as he wished.

And this tomb would be as close to the realm where they should have been for the last five thousand years- a 'bridge between one world and the next', as Bakura had said. A bridge between the world where Yugi and Yami were essentially imprisoned… and home.

Lessa let her eyes wander the center tablet again, somehow focusing on that single, small mark at the bottom. She bent down to examine it, 'hmm'-ing as she did. That caught Bakura and F'lar's attention, both men hurrying over to see what she had found.

"I know that symbol…." Lessa mused, frowning at it. Bakura eyed it, snorting.

"Since you are fliers, I would hope so."

Both Lessa and F'lar glanced up at him, their attention torn between whatever the darkness was about to say and examining the mark. "Oh?"

"Why the hell am I explaining everything?" Bakura muttered, glaring at them. "It's Prima, dolts. Refers to a place of origin."

Lessa nodded, trying to remember what Aivas had showed them about flight plans and patterns.

Prima? Isn't that the wing formation with the Weyrleader?

Lessa and F'lar had to avoid looking at each other- Mnementh's comment seemed rather… superfluous. Prima was essentially an upside down 'V' with a circle over it- sort of an aerial view of a wing and the Wingleader- or, in Falls, the Weyrleader- leading them.

Lessa abruptly stopped, her thoughts catching up to her as fast as possible. Prima represented a point of origin- a location from which one would start and hopefully end a journey. A 'home base'. And this tomb….

Apparently, both Bakura and F'lar had the same idea, as the three quickly set to work looking for anyway to move the central tablet without damaging it.

It turned out that the block-imprint with Prima on it was the pressure point itself, as Bakura found out when he kicked the symbol in frustration. The block slid in, followed by the rest of the tablet, before swinging open to reveal an antechamber as Bakura flailed to regain his balance.

The three moved through the doorway together, Bakura calling Ryou to tell Malik and some other reinforcements to head there, and the ways to get through the traps.

The air wasn't stale in the next chamber, darkened to a pitch black and only the flickering of torches from the last chamber providing any light. In fact, there was a nice, fresh breeze throughout the room, and the unmistakeable scent of Sakura blossoms- though Lessa and F'lar didn't recognize the smell.

A peal of what sounded like a chime sound played by a harp, and suddenly the entire chamber was filled with the light of a early afternoon, cherry blossom raining down all around them. They all standing on branches, thousands of feet in the air as the ground wasn't visible except as a distant, pink carpet.

Before them sat two beings, leaning into the trunk and branches of the biggest Sakura tree that Bakura (and anyone else too, probably) had ever seen. The first one was unmistakably Atemu, the extra golden spikes and aura that seemed to scream seduction, pain and delusion around him contrasting with the natural aura of this place.

It took a moment for the visitors to finally see Yugi, wrapped as he was in dark black cloaks and arms. His head was nestled against Atemu's chest, over where his heart would be. The darkness' arms held Yugi securely to his chest, one of them partially obscuring the gentle, sleeping face that had too many cuts and too many scars marring it for Bakura's comfort.

Even with that, Yugi seemed completely at peace, looking for all the world like his place had always been in the arms of the darkest demon- an angel forsaken to sin's night. His skin itself seemed to glow, in contrast to Atemu who in turn absorbed that light. It was such an odd thing to behold, two powers that should have been fighting each other tooth and nail sleeping like so, as though everything in the world was right.

Lessa wanted to take a step forward, reach out and touch this vision of saint and devil, hold and comfort and say how sorry she was that she had treated them as such. But F'lar's restraining hand on her arm kept her from taking that perilous step forward that would certainly mean her death on the Sakura-covered floor below.

Bakura gathered some of his power, sent it out to reach for the Ancient Pharaoh. Shadows and Light from seemingly nowhere quickly trapped that power stream, wrapping around Bakura and then Lessa and F'lar, as though testing and judging them.

Finally, they let go, leaving the three to regain their bearings. Lessa was the first to notice Atemu's bright crimson eyes slowly opening, Yugi's own striking amethyst following at a more sedate pace.

The two nodded to the three, all of which had their attention focused on the young Pharaohs. And then another peal sounded, before all five found themselves back in the original antechamber- except now it was lit by any number of torches, and Bakura, Lessa and F'lar found themselves standing in a line below a dais on which a large sphere rotated.

The sphere itself was a translucent representation of Earth, with shades of faint colours representing the topography. The usual blue shades for water, green and brown for land, creamy-white for snowy and icy areas- and an odd, purple-y colour that, apparently, represented cities. The shades were not the brightest things, however- areas of light, some white, some 'black', some a grey tone, some a red, and some without any indicators at all speckled the globe. At the moment, almost everywhere that humans might have had an effect on- which was almost the entire globe, with the exception of the far North and far South of the Poles, was lit up in anything from the 'black' light to the pure white light that seemed to be attempting to burn their eyes out.

Even with the lights, the globe was not the most eye-catching object in the room. Directly behind it, eclipsed by the globe and its light at first, a large throne-like chair had been hidden in a nook. That was not to say that it was not noticeable. In fact, once you got over the brightness of the globe, the throne was the next thing that your eye was drawn to.

The only word to describe it was rich. Not the colours, although the possibly ruby, garnet, sapphire, emerald, onyx, diamond and amber-encrusted detail was very rich in colour. But the throne itself seemed to be made entirely of gold, platinum, silver and electron (with the exception of said detailing). The back was nearly as high as the chamber itself- which, Lessa finally noted, was probably around twenty feet tall. The seat of it was fairly deep, but extremely wide- easily fitting two people either sitting side-by-side, or laying together on it.

In this case it was the latter, although Atemu was technically propped up into a sitting position, Yugi resting against his chest and between his legs. The impressiveness of that image had not been changed from the Sakura field to the chamber, and Lessa again felt like reaching out to them.

This time, however, no one held her back- F'lar and Bakura actually followed her onto the dais and around the globe, all of them pausing to bow, however briefly, before stepping onto the raised platform.

Yugi and Atemu's eyes had just flickered open when Lessa reached them, and they regarded her with some surprise and wariness. She surprised them, however, by kneeling before the low seat and hugging both, one at a time.

Yugi blinked, chuckling as he returned the hug. Atemu was less open, but obviously just as pleased.

Standing, all five made their way back to the entrance of the Tomb just as the troops were showing up, led by Ryou and Malik.

Welcomes all around- Ryou quickly ordered everyone back to Khemet for a diagnosis on any wounds that had been sustained, F'lar and Lessa heading back on Mnementh, Yugi, Atemu, Ryou, Bakura, Isis and Malik working as transporters to get everyone back in good time.

((Aibou?))

(Aa, Yami?)

Atemu paused, squeezing Yugi's hand comfortingly, while the light just gazed up at his darkness in adoration- and slight confusion.

((Enh… nothing, aibou. It's nothing.))

---

"Yugi, are you sure that was how Khemet originally looked?"

The light in question dropped his head onto the conference table that had been set up in the attached building that had become Builders Central. Marcus, Lessa, F'lar, Ryou, Bakura, Malik, Dumbledore and McGonagall also sat around the table, all of them familiar- by now- with the whole, un-shortened history of Egypt and Gaia.

There were some chuckles as Yugi slowly lifted his head, glaring pointedly down at the map on the table that he and Atemu had been working on. Atemu himself was currently up in England, finishing researching the lead that they had been working on in regards to the Horcruxes.

"I'm telling you, this is what we could remember and decipher from both the Memory World memory and the True Memory. Whether or not this-" and he flipped up the first map to reveal a second, then that map to reveal a basic sketch of the original buildings that surrounded the Palace, "-is exact is questionable, but it's damn well close enough to go by!"

Marcus laughed outright, holding his hands up in defence. "I know! I know…. I just think that forcing other people who live in Khemet to live in what are essentially shacks doesn't seem right to me…."

Yugi favoured him with a plain, but fairly expressive look. "Marcus? They day I make people live in squalor is the day that I decide to give up any and all sweats."

It had become rather well known in the last day and a bit that Yugi liked sweats- especially ones with pure sugar incorporated somewhere, like icing sugar powdered over a brownie. As such, this also caused some laughter, Marcus nodding as he opened up his equipment bag, pulling out a sketch book, pencil and eraser. "Alright- we'll start with this and work from here. If no one bothers me, I should have some sort of map and floor plan done for tomorrow around noon. And I want coffee. Lots of coffee."

There was some more laughter as everyone stood, deciding to leave Marcus with his work. Lessa quickly linked arms with F'lar and Yugi, dragging them off to the Hatching Ground, and ignoring everyone's rumbling stomachs. "I do think that the eggs are almost ready to hatch- Ramoth does too, but we can't understand how they hardened so quickly- it should take at least three times how long they've been down!"

Since everyone arrived back in Khemet around lunch the day before, they had all eaten after Ryou cleared them for injuries. Yugi's odd scars had disappeared since leaving the Sakura field, and Lessa, F'lar and Bakura had begun to wonder if the injuries had ever existed at all. Since then, it had been one complete, unified front to get Khemet up and running as a proper city-Weyr- or, as Lessa and F'lar called it in Pernese terms, a Weyr Hold.

Yugi chuckled patting her arm, even as he looked longingly at everyone heading the opposite way, towards the kitchens. "I'm sure that it is just something to do with Gaia. You said that when you left Pern, you two were over seventy years old each? And that a number of injuries that had been sustained throughout your lives have since disappeared… maybe this is just another example of Gaia trying to make the best of what she has and is given?"

F'lar shrugged, steering them easily around Astria and Levian, who were laying down, back-to-back, in the middle of the back field.

"Possibly. That or however we got here did something… odd."

"Possibly."

They fell into silence as they entered the Hatching Ground that Marcus had done quite a bit with, even with Ramoth's clutch sitting in the middle. They had to step down onto the sandy ground itself, heading for the center of the huge space. The Egyptian sands had been left, although some looked like they had been imported. They were burning hot- odd, since the sun was never able to reach into the Ground completely, but, as with everything else 'odd' in Khemet, it was passed off as just another wonder of the place.

The walls of the Hatching Ground had been fit with ledges, according to Lessa and F'lar's designs- at the top were larger supports, a whole twenty rows of them, stretching the entire walled part of the circumference. The bottom eight rows of ledges were human-sized, outfitted with benches and seats, as well as the occasional table. The only other entrance was a small, spiral staircase that led directly up into the Weyr hallways and quarters, next to one of the entrances to the Weyrwoman's quarters.

Yugi sighed slightly, bowing to Ramoth before crouching down before a seemingly randomly picked egg. "So, once the dragon hatches, they have to Impress or… what happens?"

Lessa and F'lar shrugged their shoulders, neither looking too worried. "There's never been too few candidates- usually there's quite a few who don't Impress- but there's never been not enough candidates."

"So you have an idea of who you want down here on the sands to Impress?" Yugi was slightly shocked- he didn't think that the Weyrleaders had been spending that much time with people from any sort of area, unless they were builders.

Lessa fidgeted, kneeling down on the hot sands beside Yugi- the ones here weren't as hot as Benden's, which she was used to. "Well… we were hoping that maybe you would have an idea."

Yugi blinked at her, and Lessa only stared back, her eyes hard. He wasn't going to laugh anyways, but if she would take that much offence to it….

"You two said that you would like to have new clothes for the Hatching as well, right?"

"And some white robes- plain, no gender specified. Gold trim. For the candidates, you see."

Yugi nodded, thinking. He stared blankly at Ramoth, who stared just as blankly back at him. Finally, his eyes cleared again and he smiled at the two Weyrleaders. "Let's say we go for a bit of a trip to see Yami, hm?"

---

Diagon Alley was- as usual- cleared of most people. A bitter wind whipped through the street, blowing around clothes and cloaks. Lessa had become extremely glad that Yugi and Ryou had insisted on their wearing cloaks (spelled for warmth) on their little trip. The black cloak she wore now was comfortable enough, but it was Yugi's, and it felt somewhat weird to be wearing something that was the young lights'. F'lar felt the same about Ryou's cloak that he had donned, and so both of them, with Yugi as guide and Atemu in the Shadows as guard, were headed directly for Madame Malkin's Robes for All Occasions.

The store was abnormally cheery- when they entered, one of Madame Malkin's assistants immediately offered them tea and some sort of biscuits that Lessa wasn't entirely sure if they were food or not.

Madame Malkin herself burst into the room not thirty seconds after they had entered the shop, ignoring the few other customers who waited for robes and immediately moving over to pick Yugi up, squeezing him as tightly as possible.

"Oh, Yugi! I was wondering if you would ever decide to come back here for robes again! I hope you liked that last set I made for you, I really do appreciate these fashion magazines that you, Ryou and Katie bring me- oh, and you brought new lab rats! Oh dear, sorry- customers!"

Lessa had to admit that the woman, as small and frail as she looked, was incredibly strong in hands, arms and torso. And, even as light as Yugi was, she was pretty steady and strong in the feet and leg to be able to pick him up.

Madame Malkin shook both of their hands, pushing first F'lar and then Lessa up on the stools (she said that men didn't take as long to measure, but often their clothes took just as long to manufacture, if not longer). "So, dears, where did you fly in from?"

Lessa had opted to follow Yugi's advice when it came to dealing with any 'outsiders': tell the truth, but only what they asked- no elaboration.

"From Pern to the Axis, from there to Khemet in Egypt, and from Khemet to here."

Madame Malkin stopped her pinning and measuring, slightly surprised. Then she laughed and continued measuring. "As you're friends with Yugi, I'm not surprised that I don't know any of those places except 'here' and 'Egypt'."

Lessa smiled- the woman radiated good-will, even if she seemed flustered and easily embarrassed and confused around other customers. Perhaps it was just Yugi's influence (everyone seemed to like him), though Lessa was having a hard time determining if his influence was on her or the seamstress.

"So then- what would you like?"

By the end of the list, Madame had filled one scroll of parchment and was looking for a second one in case either Lessa or F'lar- or even Yugi- decided to add something else. Yugi was enjoying himself drinking tea, eating biscuits, and talking with the other patrons- most of which refused to take a side in this war.

(Well, that's actually comforting. Not everyone is as stupid as we were led to believe.)

((Indeed, aibou.))

The other customers were finally measured out, although some didn't buy Yugi's story that they needed the garments for a special occasion that night or tomorrow and couldn't wait too long.

Another amazing 45-minutes later, Madame Malkin and two of her assistants exited the back room, eight bags filled with clothes and cloth carried between them. Over her shoulder she bore a velvet, blood-red cloak with golden patterns the like you would normally find on a Chinese silk dress. The red-gold cloak went over well with Lessa, as she immediately tried it on, enjoying the feel against her skin.

To F'lar went another velvet navy blue cloak, this one with bronze trim- not quite like Lessa's, but the intricate brocade around the hem was stunning in itself.

Yugi nodded his thanks as the two Weyrleaders immediately set to checking the white robes for sizes and varieties .Madame Malkin was quick to reassure them when they saw that all the robes were of the same size that they would either stretch or shrink to fit the wearer, while looking flattering all at the same time.

Thirty white robes had been found- Madame Malkin had commented that you never knew exactly how much you would need until after the fact. Along with those were nine dresses in different styles and colours- the comment this time was that the colours would change depending on a certain spell cast over it. Yugi quickly memorized the spell, making a mental note to teach Lessa it later. With the dresses were muggle-style dress suits, casual suits, dress-casual, formal dress, relaxed formal, and casual outfits for F'lar. Along with these was a whole stack of 'fitted' (the Madame Malkin way) clothing for them, from work clothes to some rather fancy wizard-styled robes.

Again, Yugi made sure to pay Madame Malkin extra- the woman had done wonderful work, and so much of it!

"Oh, it's nothing. Of course I would want to help you and your friends out. If I might ask- who are those white robes for?"

Yugi blinked, picking up some bags as Lessa stepped forward to answer. "We still have to find out. But, if you would like to meet them, perhaps you could take a day off and come down to Khemet for a bit of relaxation… maybe see a dragon or eighteen hatch… build a sandcastle…."

Madame Malkin's eyes lit up, as everyone else in the clothing store perked up at the mention of 'dragon'. "Of course I would! Do you know- approximately- when it would be?"

"Sometime this week- maybe even tomorrow." Lessa replied. "We can send someone up to get you."

"Oh please, if you could spare them."

Yugi bowed slightly to the seamstress, nearly toppling over because of all the bags he was carrying. "I will personally come to get you, Madame Malkin."

She smiled at them, bowing them out of her shop as she started chatting animatedly with the other customers. They seemed somewhat disturbed- to them, Madame Malkin had always been reserved and controlled, doing everything to be of service and not to presume or question anything they said.

Yugi laughed as they made their way back down the street (and drawing stares in the process). "So how did you two like your first taste of Madame Malkin?"

"She was… interesting." F'lar's mind was obviously on ways to find candidates for the Hatching, so Lessa nodded, answering instead.

"She reminds me slightly of someone from Pern- the MasterSmith, Fandarel. Always going on about being 'efficient'…."

Lessa trailed off in memory, and Yugi took the opportunity to question his darkness about their next step.

((I say go to Abhorsen's House and drop everything off for now. Then pay a visit to the Devonshires- Adrian should know some people.))

The mention of his one-time toutee startled Yugi. (Adrian? Isn't he down in-)

((No. Remember, Ryou said that the Devonshires had decided to remain in England until we were allowed back in Khemet- Luke was being as obnoxious to them as possible, and as another group of our supporters….))

(Lessa was pressuring them to either follow her ideas or pack up and leave. So they left?)

((And Adrian has gone back to school. For the while they were down there, Adrian, Lessa, F'lar, Ramoth, Mnementh and Adrian's school friends, Jessica, Timothy, Kendall and Brandon, were all getting along really well. Then Brandon accidentally mentioned you, and-))

(It went downhill from there. I see. Well, think they'll forgive us?)

((I certainly hope so, aibou.))

He came out of his reverie in time to pull Lessa and F'lar out of their thoughts and into Gringotts, opting to use Floo powder to get to the House. "Ready for a new experience?" Yugi asked them with a wink, grabbing a pinch of powder and throwing it into the fire. "Do the same right after me- Abhorsen's House!"

Some green flames, sooty clothes, a wash cloth from the still room and a horseback ride later, they were at the small series of buildings which sat on the edge of the 179-acre farm that was owned by the Devonshires.

Adrian, seeing Yugi, hurried out to meet him- though he stopped short when he saw who was riding with him.

"Yugi, why are they here?"

Yugi frowned at the young man's tone, dismounting and gesturing for Lessa and F'lar to do the same. "It was a misunderstanding, Adrian. Please understand that that is all water under the bridge now- everything is fine."

Adrian eyed the trio suspiciously, his family exiting from the house, along with more of his classmates- Jessica, Timothy, Kendall and Brandon were the first to follow their friend outside. Finally, Adrian cracked a smile, reaching out to give a brief hug to Yugi before shaking hands with F'lar, and being pulled into another hug by Lessa.

That seemed to be all that was needed, and they were all invited into the house- March or not, it was still pretty cold outside. By the time they left, they were accompanied by an extra fifty people, including luggage. Deciding that Shifting or Floo powder were not going to work, Yugi pulled out a cell phone that Kaiba had lent him, for use only in special emergencies. Well-

"Moshi moshi."

Yugi snickered at Kaiba's annoyed and somewhat exasperated voice.

"Ah, Seto? I don't suppose you could send down a commercial airliner, could you? See, we have this little problem…."

---

Seto Kaiba was known as the Dragon Master- mainly because he was. Most people didn't think it was meant literally, assuming it was a reference to his Blue Eyes Dragons. Of course, it was meant quite literally- Yugi only had to mention the impending Hatching and the CEO had had the biggest- yet fastest- airliner in the area landing on open scrub land that- luckily enough- happened to be crown property, which meant the tire tracks and rather extensive damage done by the engines to the land wasn't going to be followed up on any time soon.

Next morning found them landing just outside of Khemet, a number of teams of horses and vehicles awaiting them by the Gates of the first Wall. Levian and Astria stood there, patiently- the parents of the students chosen, which was the entire crew from the Quidditch game, looked around in awe as they stepped off the jet-blimp and into a car or onto a horse.

Lunch time and they were finally through the Main Gate of the Inner Wall, getting settled for the possible wait ahead of them.

Lessa and F'lar brought the candidates and the families of into a private conference in the Weyr barracks- which were what the hallways and weyrs around the outside of the complex was being called.

"Alright, just so everyone is clear on procedure," F'lar began, sounding every bit like a drill sergeant.

Lessa elbowed him, moving forward and nodding to everyone. "When we give the signal, you will strip down to your underwear and put on the white robe we will supply you with- after the meeting. Don't worry if it doesn't look like it will fit- we can guarantee that they will."

She sounded a bit kinder than F'lar did, so he let her speak to those gathered.

"You will stand- not sit- in a circle on the Hatching Ground around the eggs. Don't stand particularly close to any one egg- size or pattern doesn't mean anything about what kind of dragon will emerge from it.

"When the shell brakes, the dragonet will be confused and scared. It should head straight for whoever best matches it- if you don't feel a connection, or anything other than fear or worry, move out of the way should it stumble towards you. If it follows you, and you still don't feel anything, let it brush part of its body against you- that might also be a trigger for those of you with guarded minds."

Lasine entered then with a pitcher of water and some glasses, which Lessa gratefully took, poured a glass of water, and downed it before continuing.

"You should feel something… someone else within your mind, speaking directly to you. Don't be scared- that's how it should be. That moment is called Impression, and I guarantee you will remember it for the rest of your life. Once Impression is made, you will lead your dragonet to the side of the Ground, where some fresh meat will be waiting. They are ravenous, but don't over-feed them: if they grow too fast, their hide will stretch and become weak, susceptible to injury. Then they'll want to sleep, which is what the chamber behind the Ground that you'll be led to is for- until your dragonet is able to fly, you'll be staying- with your partner- in the weyrling barracks. Your duty, should you Impress, will always be to care for your dragons first, yourself afterwards.

"Any questions?"

One of Adrian's friends who had spent much time in Khemet with him since it was built, Jessica, raised her hand. "How do they get names?"

Lessa smiled tenderly as she remembered her own Impression- which startled and slightly scared those used to her no-nonsense, strict attitude. "The dragon will already know his or her name. And, although generally the female riders keep their name, it's traditional for male riders to shorten their names- F'lar's full name is Fallarnon."

Their were some snickers while the Weyrleader shot a slight glare at Lessa, who just ignored him. "Anything else?"

"How many… kinds of dragons are there? And do females usually go with- er, Impress, females and males Impress males?"

Lessa couldn't identify the speaker, though they had a mature voice- a parent, then. "There are green, blue, brown, bronze, and gold dragons. Gold and green are females- blue, brown and bronze are males. Males always Impress bronzes, browns, and blues. Both males and females have been known to Impress greens, though the males are generally a bit… girly, if they do. A female always Impresses a gold, as gold dragons are Queen dragons, and the only ones able to clutch- to lay eggs. The green's ability to flame and chew firestone makes her infertile."

Seeing some of the girl's looks, Lessa glared at all of them. "No, there are no queens in this clutch- and don't expect any in the next few, either."

There was silence after this, everyone thinking it through. Finally Heather, one of the candidates, asked a question that had been on everyone's mind.

"Since you mentioned fertility- what are the rules of the Weyr about… er, relationships? Like, does it halve to be rider-rider, or can it also be rider-other people?"

Lessa blinked, frowning slightly. Heather seemed to be a bit too old for her age….

"There's no restrictions, as long as you understand that your dragon comes first, other relationships afterwards. Ramoth's first daughter, Pridith, and her rider, Kylara, weren't that bad a pair- just extremely vain. At one time, both Pridith and another dragon, Wirenth, were close to heat- both were gold Queens, Wirenth rose to mate- but, nearby, Kylara had come up from Southern to visit a… friend. Because of both the timing, Wirenth's mating, and Kylara's activities, Pridith and Wirenth fought and eventually killed each other."

Lessa had to take a deep breath- that had been a very trying, very sad day for all the Weyrs of Pern. F'lar reached out a hand, squeezing her shoulder slightly. She smiled at him, grateful for the support, before continuing, pinning a glare on each and every person in the room.

"Because of Kylara's actions and self-importance, we lost two queens that day- two Queens that we needed at that time. Because Kylara decided that her lust was more important than Wirenth's mating flight, more important than common sense and safety, we lost two lives- and almost lost the lives of their riders. Kylara went into self-imposed exile, and Brekke- thankfully- found solace in F'nor, F'lar's half-brother and rider of brown Canth, Wingsecond to F'lar."

Another bout of silence, allowing Lessa to grab another drink and composing herself.

"But what about the mating itself? Especially with two riders involved…?"

Lessa nearly spat the water out, wondering where exactly Heather was coming up with these questions.

"First of all, you shouldn't have to worry about anything like that for at least a year- if not longer. A dragon is usually almost fully mature after a year, a queen taking at least twice as long. It takes longer to fully mature, and until that happens, the possibility of any dragon rising to mate- besides Ramoth and Mnementh- is completely impossible." She said it with a lot more assurance than she felt- Gaia had sped up the hardening of the eggs- perhaps the speed at which a dragon matures would also be altered?

"We generally Search for older people, ones who, when their dragons are mature enough to mate, will be able to not only make that decision, but also fully understand the consequences of their actions. Usually when a rider likes another rider, the dragons pick up on that- and vice-versa." F'lar spoke plainly, trying to reassure the parents.

"In this case, since so many of you candidates won't be considered legal adults for another couple years, we'll have to put in some kind of blocker so that the emotions of your dragons- when they do mate- won't carry over to you."

That didn't seem to reassure the parents at all, so Lessa stepped forward, nodding to everyone. "When the mating occurs, we'll lock the riders in actual rooms- not their weyrs- so that nothing can happen if those blocks don't work. Don't worry- we'll take every consideration and worry into account when training the partners. I will not have any rider pregnant before they're twenty, under penalty of grounding and possibly isolation for the rest of your lives- understand me?"

The severity of her voice at the end surprised everyone, but they all nodded, the family members looking far more reassured than they had before.

Heather looked up at Lessa again. "But, what if our dragons mate, and even if we like the other person, we have someone else we prefer more- or maybe even husbands or wives? What then?"

Lessa glared at her, practically emanating 'anger' and 'threat'. "I don't think you'll have to worry about that for a few years, young lady, if at all."

"Yes, but, eventually…."

F'lar laughed at the look on his weyrmate's face. "Each rider can choose another person to, er… participate in the mating with. If you take a husband, Heather, then whoever your dragon mates with should also have another partner, even another rider- if, of course, you don't want a threesome."

Lessa slapped F'lar across the face while stepping on his foot, enraged at the man for his last comment. "F'lar!"

He just smirked down at her while she huffed, turning away.

A mother of another candidate stepped forward, eyeing the two Weyrleaders. "If you two are the… Weyrleaders, you call yourselves? Well, shouldn't you be… older?"

Lessa eyed her evenly. "I can assure you, Madame, that we are more than old enough to lead a Weyr. In fact, we technically retired a year ago!"

The smirks on the Weyrleader's faces did nothing to lessen the shock through the room- though Heather got over it quickly, taking the comment completely wrong. "So, is this dragon-riding like the fountain of youth?"

Lessa struggled to hold back a groan as F'lar chuckled. "No, not really. It'll keep you healthy, though, and fit and strong- so you're practically guaranteed, unless you do something really, really stupid, to live longer than most people born in your year."

That appealed to almost everyone in the room, but before any more questions could be asked, a sound of chimes echoed through the air. Lessa and F'lar looked around and out the windows, unsure what the sound meant, as did mostly everyone else.

Adrian, however, stood up and, bowing at the waist to the Weyrleaders, turned to everyone else. "I believe that that is the summons to an early dinner, as we're supposed to be having some great presentation later tonight. If the Weyrleader and Weyrwoman would lead the way…?"

Lessa and F'lar immediately smiled at the young man, turning and walking out of the room, Lessa's hand resting easily on F'lar's proffered arm. The sound of everyone else following them assured them that no one would get lost.

I believe that young mister Adrian would Impress a bronze.

Lessa's statement was echoed by both F'lar and Mnementh. Ramoth refrained from comment- her derisive snort informed both riders and dragon that she thought none of the candidates would be good enough to Impress any of her brood.

---

Three days later and March break was almost over, meaning that Adrian and his friends would have to return soon- which would mean taking them out of school whenever the Hatching was imminent.

Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall traveled constantly back and forth, neither wanting to miss the Hatching and Impression that they had heard so much about.

There was a near-constant stream of traffic into and out of Khemet through air, land, and magic- Yugi, Atemu, Ryou, Bakura, Malik, Isis, Lessa, F'lar, and the Fal Hammund family all decided that very, very soon, some sort of air-traffic control would need to be set up. Yugi had been able to arrange that one of the Southern fields that was mostly scrubland on one side of the Ring River would be turned into a runway and storage space for planes. It was somewhat awkward to arrange, as the field was curved and runways were not, but with a minimal amount of bridge and tunnel-building they had a runway that would easily be enough room for even Kaiba's jumbo jet to land and take off. The second-tallest tower of the central complex had been re-arranged into the air traffic control tower- and both Ali Fal Hammund and Angelina Johnson were being trained by KC air traffic controllers on how to do the job properly.

Marcus had finally come up with a plan for the rest of Khemet Weyr Hold- a mixture of English, Egyptian, Western and Eastern, it featured buildings with lofts, buildings with small, mini-apartments, buildings that could function as offices and/or storage space, buildings that would probably end up being guest quarters and hotels- and everything built like it was part of some kind of historical village, using both ancient and modern concepts.

Still following the circle pattern, a total of twenty-six Ring Roads would separate the blocks, while the eight main roads that passed through the eight Gates of the Inner Wall and subsequent Walls would remain in their original location. Other alleys, stairs, and roof-top roads would also allow for easier access, and large, open spaces for dragon landings would help with movement as well.

Upon receiving universal approval, Marcus had sent out for supplies and, with permission, more personnel and the rest of their families (Yugi, Ryou, Malik, Isis, Kaiba, Dumbledore and McGonagall assuring him that money and travel were not issues). People from Tunaydah, especially the Fal Hammund family, also made the trek often, adding to the strain on the main Road and forcing Yugi to open the next set of Gates to the West.

The morning of the third day since finding all the candidates, Lessa awoke slowly, happily curled into F'lar's arms. A presence in the back of her mind she had come to associate with her 'hosts', Yugi and Atemu, stirred slightly as well, even as the much easier to recognize presences that were Ramoth, F'lar and Mnementh struggled into wakefulness.

There was something else in the air, though- something Lessa thought she should have recognized, but was unable to. The feeling, the… charge, in the air, seemed to permeate everything around her.

"F'lar… come on, we're supposed to help with setting up more of the road and alley boarders today."

"Mmhf…"

The weyrmates found themselves in the kitchens just as everyone else was arriving. Lasine, Anriel, Shimasu, Ryou, Katie, Angelina, and many of the mothers had already been up for a while, cooking breakfast for the already 300 plus people who called Khemet home.

After a quick bite either sitting, standing, or walking towards their 'position' for the day, everyone got to work, either starting to dig the foundations of the buildings or outlining the locations for either more buildings or other structures. The ruins from the original city had been removed- not demolished, but relocated to Tunaydah and other places for further study by archaeologists. This not only cleared the way for the new buildings, but allowed further study of ancient Egyptian life, and kept archaeologists and government alike from annoying Malik and Isis about digging in the Tunnels.

It was around ten o'clock, and by now everyone had noticed the way the charge gathered in the air. Lessa was continuously stopping to lift her head and try to identify the feeling- she should know this, not just feel-

And all at once, the meaning became clear. She ran over to F'lar, grabbing his arm and keeping him from driving the next spike into the ground. "F'lar…"

The note in her voice made it clear enough what was happening, and immediately afterwards Mnementh and Ramoth confirmed the fact, roaring and crooning, the noises full of jubilation.

Lessa felt the charge in the air again, nodded to her weyrmate. "Maybe one hour, max."

F'lar nodded, and Lessa ran back to the complex to prepare everything while F'lar found a nice mound to dirt to stand on. He cupped his hands to his face, using them as an amplifier for his voice.

"Everyone, listen up!" People within hearing stopped to look at him, wondering what the Weyrleader would have to say. People not within hearing also turned to look, following their neighbour's example.

"Would all candidates please return to the main complex to prepare for the Hatching! Everyone else, you have, at maximum, an hour- use it as you want. I repeat, would all candidates-"

He blinked, seeing everyone heading back to the complex anyways. F'lar hopped down off the pile of rubble, running ahead to find Lessa and help her with whatever prep work she was doing. Several people who hadn't heard the announcement were asking others who had, some even running over to ask F'lar himself. A general feeling of elation and excitement coursed through the air with the ever-present charge- a number of the Arabians were already heading out to bring people from Tunaydah.

Yugi found them just as F'lar found Lessa, all of them meeting up in the main rotunda. "I'm heading up to England to pick up Madame Malkin and whoever else wishes to come- if that's okay with you."

Lessa flapped her hand, reaching out to grab the staircase rail with the other. "Go, go! Just make sure you're back in time for the Hatching!"

Yugi smiled as he ran with them up the stairs. "Then I guess we'd better get dressed now, right?"

Lessa and F'lar nodded, separating from him to head to their weyr. Yugi, on the other hand, ran straight to the nearest dark corner, Shifting into his chambers and striding quickly over to the closet.

Atemu was already more or less buried in the small area, flipping through whatever outfits were hanging up. "Aibou, what are you going to-"

Yugi gingerly pushed him out of the closet, heading for a small, darkened area at the back. Pulling out the outfits already assembled on two hangers, he threw one to Atemu while he started stripping in the closet. "Compliments of Madame Malkin, Yami. Now get dressed!"

Five minutes later or fifty five minutes before, Yugi was striding confidently into Madame Malkin's Robes for All Occasions. The two aides who were out front, measuring three young and one elder woman, smiled at him, one of them pausing her work to summon Madame Malkin.

The elder woman eyed his robes speculatively, finally addressing him. "Where did you get those robes, sir?"

Yugi blinked, surprised that someone was talking to him. He turned to her, bowing slightly and smiling. "Here, in fact. Madame Malkin does a superb job, does she not?"

The woman frowned while the other three twittered, eyeing Yugi like hungry predators. "If you get her making your clothes. These apprentices don't have that certain… knack that Madame has, don't you agree? Possibly because they're not Pure bloods, like us."

Yugi continued to smile at her, though he suddenly realized that he didn't want to be in her company much longer. "I suspect that Madame Malkin has some tricks up her sleeves that her apprentices haven't caught on to yet."

The other woman looked ready to respond when Madame Malkin bustled out, dressed in a beautiful yellow dress with short sleeves and a fitted bodice, a thin trail of lace around the edges. "Are you ready to- oh my, Yugi, you're actually wearing those robes? I would have thought that you would leave them hanging in one of your closets for display…?"

Yugi continued to smile, holding out his arm for her. He wore simple black fitted breaches, with a simple black tunic, the trim a golden colour. The tunic was longer than most, reaching down to his knees. A belt of woven gold that had been a gift from Isis secured the loose fabric around his slim waist. Over top was the floor-length white vest, black laced with gold and red laced with silver embroideries flashing in the light.

"You look wonderful, Madame Malkin. And of course I would wear this for something as important as the Hatching. Lessa and F'lar are rushing around as we speak, getting themselves and the candidates ready- the families and other spectators are, I believe, doing the same."

Madame Malkin laughed, nodding to her assistants as she and Yugi headed for the door. "Do we have to rush down to Khemet, or can we take our time?"

"I have also offered to pick up whoever wishes to come and can be ready in a few minutes. I don't suppose you happened to mention to anyone else anything about this?"

Madame Malkin 'tutt'-ed, frowning at him. "Of course not! Lessa personally invited me, and I will not jeopardize either her friendship or her 'brand loyalty', as it were."

Yugi noted the order of speech and smiled- contrary to popular opinion, Madame Malkin did not think solely of her business. "You know, I believe that you're going to have a regular clientele from Khemet soon, once word gets out. Of course, some of it might be in Egyptian-"

"Oh, nonsense. If they're from Khemet, the best won't be good enough. I will not have anyone say that I 'jipped' the Weyrleaders, you, or anyone else. So, any favourites for bronze…?"

The doors closed to the small store, the apprentices getting back to work. The elder woman turned her head to her daughters and her elder daughter's friend, smirking at them. "So, ladies- what did we think of him?"

"An absolute gentleman," the friend said, casually tugging on the fabric around her and causing the apprentice working on her to stumble.

"Wonderfully charming," the elder daughter, daughter #1 commented, smirking at her friend and giving a nod of approval for her treatment of the assistant.

The younger daughter didn't say anything, staring out the window at the two shapes headed down the street.

"Merianne!"

The younger daughter blinked, startled out of her reverie. "They're not… dating, are they?"

The assistant working on Merianne laughed, nodding to the backroom. "No, ma'am, they most certainly aren't. Lord Levis just happens to be Madame's favourite model and customer. She always keeps lots of material in the backroom, since he's always so open to new ideas and styles- begging your pardon, ma'am."

The elder woman frowned at the assistants. "Lord Levis? Madame Malkin called him 'Yugi'."

The other assistant nodded, struggling to hold the material in place, hissing as she stabbed herself with a needle and opting for using her wand. "Yes, see, his full name is 'Yugi Levis Mouto' or something to that degree. He's born in Japan, but Madame has it from a number of sources that he's got royal Egyptian blood in him- so we all make sure to show respect, and he's always so very kind to us."

The mother glared at the two assistants, transferring that to a third who came out of the backroom with a tentative dress for the elder woman to try on. "And he is a Pure Blood, is he not?"

There was barely a pause, not enough to worry about. The third assistant, a Pure Blood herself, stood up to pull the material over the mother's head. "Of course he is. He's a descendant of the original dynasty of Egypt- when the Pharaohs themselves did all the magic and everyone else learned from them."

"And Ancient Egyptians were very proud of their blood- they would keep the magic in the families, as it meant status and a place in Pharaoh's court," the first assistant added, nodding to Merianne to step out of the dress.

"So, he wouldn't be adverse to, say… taking a wife from England, would he?"

The elder daughter and her friend giggled excitedly, Merianne frowning at her mother.

"Not that we know of, Ma'am. He's never been seen in the presence of a female that isn't married, engaged, a servant, or too young to be considered. At twenty five, he's probably looking for a woman around that age."

The elder girls giggled louder, the mother turning to Merianne. "I'm sure we will be able to find someone of good standing for you, Merianne."

Merianne didn't appreciate that insinuation that she wasn't capable of doing so herself, and turned back to the assistants. "They kept mentioning Khem-something. Where is that?"

The first two assistants shrugged- but the third had actually been down there before, taking measurements for a number of women for dresses for this very day. "It's essentially a re-built palace from the original dynasty, in the middle of Egypt. There's going to be a city around it, it has about ten Ring Walls and Ring Rivers, and farmland and forests for days. It's playing permanent host to the Benden Weyrleaders, who probably have as much power as Lord Levis."

"Benden Weyrleaders?" All four customers chorused, confusion lacing their voices.

"Dragon riders from somewhere called Pern," third clarified, straightening the fabric around the mother's rump. "Huge beasts they have, too- a giant golden female and a huge, bronze male just a bit smaller."

Merianne's eyes lit up. "Gold and bronze? Didn't Madame Malkin mention something about who Lord Levis thought would get bronze…?"

Second nodded, smiling happily as she rearranged the fall of the bunched fabric from the back of the friend's dress. "Yes- eighteen dragon eggs in the clutch. No gold Queens, but probably a good mix of bronze, brown, blue and green…."

The whimsical note in her voice caught everyone's attention, and the friend glared at her. "Really, you don't honestly think a Half Blood like you would ever impress a dragon?"

Second pouted, but continued to work on the dress silently.

The mother smiled suddenly, causing third to pause in her work. "Madame?"

Mother twitched her hand, sending third back to work, easing the wrinkles and folds in the fabric. "I think we should spend more time here, girls- and maybe see if we can't find out more about this Lord Levis, hm?"

---

It ended up taking Yugi, Atemu, Ryou, and Bakura and even F'lar and Mnementh to get Madame Malkin, most of the Hogwarts teachers, and the members of the Order of the Phoenix down to Khemet in time for the Hatching. Lessa's guess at one hour turned out to be accurate almost to the minute- Mnementh had just landed on the Ground beside the ledge for all his 'passengers' to disembark, the Kage no Mage and other English guests entering from one of the back doors when the candidates, led by Lessa, entered the Ground.

Ramoth eyed each carefully- all of the candidates had been down to the Ground at least once, all of them having gained at least interest from the Queen instead of the disdainful dismissal she originally gave them.

A sea of white moving onto the hot sands, a total of twenty-three candidates had been found in three days. Fifteen of which were from England- Adrian and his friends from school, all of them being proven Empaths when they had helped to dig the original trenches. Yugi had no doubt that all of them would Impress- and he had all his bets on Adrian, already being the unofficial leader of the group, Impressing a bronze- and probably the biggest one in the clutch.

In return for the comprehensive history of Gaia, Lessa and F'lar had been more than willing to give the basic history of Pern, including what they had learned about the development of dragons from Aivas. It was extremely interesting, as the history was essentially a story about 2500 years of survival against a deadly menace that they had no way to combat except for in the air with the dragons and on the ground with the agenothree- HNO3- sprayers.

Yugi was stirred out of his thoughts as Mnementh launched himself to the ledges above those reserved for humans, allowing F'lar and Lessa to join his group in the lower levels. The Ground was now clear of everything and everyone except for Ramoth, the eggs, and the candidates- no distractions, no diversions.

Jessica's father somehow squeezed through the group to Yugi and Atemu just before Lessa and F'lar arrived.

"Excuse me, Mr. Mouto?"

Yugi didn't answer at first, too intent on watching the eggs for any sign of movement. Atemu chuckled, nudging him. "Aibou? Someone wants to speak to you."

"Mm? Oh, hello! I do believe that Jessica will Impress, if that's what's worrying you."

The man laughed, somewhat uneasily. "This might be an odd question, but do you know how big the dragons will get?"

Yugi shrugged, turning his attention back to the eggs as the Weyrleaders finally reached them. "I would say that greens get about… 25, maybe 30 meters long. Mnementh and Ramoth are probably two of the best examples of a dragon that completely fills the specifications. The Pernese dragons were designed so that, through each generation, they would get bigger, stronger, faster, better endurance…. Everything would be exemplified at its best when the biggest dragons- golds and bronzes- were at their optimum size."

Lessa laughed in sheer delight, catching the end of the conversation. "Yes, and Ramoth and Mnementh were the two biggest dragons on Pern! None of their sons or daughters, gold, brown, or otherwise, ever matched their size!"

"No, but one- a runt, essentially, and white, of all the odd colours- was certainly clever enough to outwit us a few times." F'lar commented idly, smirking slightly at his weyrmate.

Lessa slapped his arm, turning her head around abruptly and clapping her hands in delight as the first egg began to rock and Mnementh's low rumbling started to increase in both pitch and volume.

"It's like he's singing," Ryou commented, enjoying the feeling of happy that exuded from the odd music.

No one commented further on anything- for one of the eggs near the center, an almost completely white and rather plain one that everyone thought would just be a green, began to rock. Adrian looked especially excited- he believed in that egg and the dragonet inside, sure enough it would be a bronze that he had told Lessa and F'lar as such, and had spent all his time in the Hatching Ground making sure it was hardening properly and staying hot enough.

Ramoth had, at first, objected to so much time that that one egg was receiving- Lessa convinced her that, as Adrian would probably end up being that dragonet's rider, did it honestly matter, especially if he continued to do as such afterwards?

Finally, after what seemed like forever, the shell split cleanly in half, falling to either side of the wobbling, almost ugly-looking creature that emerged from it. All of the candidates stepped back- or almost all, as Adrian instead took a step forward, and the small, bronze dragonet launched itself at the young man unquestioningly, butting his head into the preteen's stomach.

Adrian suddenly had the most awed yet loving expression on his face, reaching out to scratch an eye ridge in, F'lar noted, the same spot that Mnementh favoured. He turned his joy-filled face towards the Weyrleaders and his family, smiling brilliantly as he hugged the dragonet to himself.

"He says his name is Semanaerth!"

Of course I say my name is Semanaerth. How would I not know my name, A'dran?

Adrian laughed again, rubbing his hands over the smooth, if slightly sticky, hide. "Come, let's get you washed and fed."

Fed first. Washing can wait for later- and I am so very, very hungry.

As Adrian led Semanaerth off the Ground towards the exit and the noonday sun and the buckets of freshly-carved meat, another shell cracked, followed by three more- a brown, green, and two more browns emerged, making their ways to Timothy, Jessica, Kendall and Brandon respectively.

"He's called Dorleth!"

"Her name is Valinath!"

"His name is Korenath!"

"…what kind of a name is Juntaneth?"

Brandon had been head-butted- hard- by Juntaneth, but quickly reassured the small dragon that he had been only joking, and wouldn't he love to join Semanaerth at the buckets of meat? Juntaneth was quick to lead the way outside for his other three siblings, tripping over his damp wings until Brandon was able to catch up to him and help.

It took another half hour for the other thirteen eggs to hatch. There were no more bronzes or browns, but a total of six blue and eight green dragons. Just as Yugi had predicted (and later claimed money on), all of the English candidates had Impressed. The other three dragons had gone to a fifteen year-old girl from Tunaydah, a fourteen year-old girl from Cairo and, surprisingly, a sixteen year-old boy from New York City.

Marcus later confessed that the American happened to be a nephew who wanted to follow in his uncle's footsteps- except he had wanted to be a carpenter.

Regardless, and without any prejudice, the new weyrlings were immediately accepted by the Weyrleaders, Ramoth and Mnementh. The entire group of Kage no Mage present (the Kaiba brothers silently seething that they were too old to Impress) paid a tribute to the new riders in the large yard outside the Ground and stables, the Arabians hidden safely in their stalls to prevent any sort of hunting on the new dragon's parts.

The rest of the afternoon was spent visiting and watching the weyrlings trying to feed their dragonets, give them a quick wash, and then amble back across the Hatching Ground to the cavern in the back which would serve wonderfully as the weyrling barracks.

Dinner was actually started around four, huge trestle tables being set up outside for residents and guests. Long benches had been made during that hour of preparation, each sitting upwards of ten people. The weyrlings took their dinner into the shade of trees, near where their partners had decided to sleep in the sun.

Four courses were served, with foods from all different people- everything from some plain rice to hamburgers to steak to fish to sushi, as well as some elaborate traditional Egyptian foods that Atemu and Bakura had described for Lasine, Anriel, Shimasu, Katie and Angelina in fine detail.

Everyone enjoyed the dinner, no one minding if you were dressed in spectacular clothes or aprons and khakis. Lessa and F'lar had opted to stay in their dress and casual tux, although they had to train the young riders how to care for their dragons. Needless to say, a change of clothes was needed immediately afterwards, which Madame Malkin had, apparently, come prepared for- she pulled out yards of materials from a bag she had brought, dragging Lessa and F'lar off into one of the parlours to create more clothes for them.

They returned not fifteen minutes later, Lessa now dressed in a white and red patterned dress that looked oddly like a mix between a kimono and the small, loose traditional clothing of Egyptian Queens. F'lar, also, wore a culturally-mixed outfit: the loose style of the Egyptian shenti had been transformed into another casual tuxedo, red-black patterned, the sleeves shaped as bells to match Lessa's.

Once dinner was finished, Lessa and F'lar proclaimed that there would be some singing, dancing, music, and dessert would be served at sunset, more than enough time for everyone to work off the roasted meats and large platters.

It didn't take much for everyone to enjoy themselves- games were set up, presided over by either Yugi or Atemu- an impromptu game of beach volleyball caught both off-guard, and they sent Katie and Angelina over to referee.

Some people, stripping down to their underwear, some not even removing their clothes, had opted to jump into the first of the Inner Ring Rivers, enjoying the last of the afternoon and the evening.

All the guests were accommodated with ease, and lots of energy- the main complex was nearly filled, and the next priority on Marcus' building plan quickly became a hotel.

Marcus' entire family had made the trip, with some help from the architect- they had been astounded by both the location and the reasons, but were eager to help with whatever they could while they were there.

Most of the guests, in fact, opted to stay for the next few days, enjoying Khemet's hospitality and helping the building wherever they could. Most of the Jameson family opted to stay in Khemet, with only a few people returning to high-end jobs that would allow them to visit whenever they wanted, anyways. The Devonshires, having been promised travel from the English farm to Khemet whenever they wished, had made a truce with Luke Bremmin and had set up a small apartment in the attached building that housed the stables.

Two of the new riders- shy Jacqueline and boisterous Nathan- had large, extended families, and appreciated Khemet's willingness to host their brothers, sisters, half-siblings, step-siblings, cousins, aunts, uncles, grandparents, and whoever else didn't want to be a burden on their families.

So the rest of the week passed, March Break was almost over- and, as it turned out, the blue rider Jordan's mother just so happened to be a high school teacher. Another of the attached buildings, that had been separated into smaller rooms as though in preparation for being a school building, was decreed the education center, and a certain amount of hours of every day were designated for the younger people to complete whatever studies they wanted or needed- mostly biology, though Marcus and two other people from his crew who owned construction companies commandeered another room and used it for 'building school'.

March spread into April, there wasn't much change in temperature, and the weyrlings were now the sizes of a small tractor-trailers- which was abnormally fast growth, according to Lessa and F'lar. Even if they reached the proper size for flight within the next few weeks, as it seemed they imminently would, they wouldn't be 'physically mature' enough for any activity like mating for another year at least.

Some riders and families had their doubts, but Ramoth and Mnementh assured it, so those fears were quickly buried.

Adrian eventually approached F'lar, somewhat awkwardly- as the only bronze rider, he would eventually become the Wingleader for this clutch, whenever they matured, and whatever dragons that would possibly come later. However, he accepted his eventual position with pride, if not any sort of visible excitement.

"Er, F'lar? Can I talk to you for a second?"

The weyrlings had been feeding the bottomless pits they called their dragons, F'lar supervising while Lessa tended to other duties within Khemet- like, for example, the air traffic control students, which now included two other young people from Seline's family- Seline being the young woman rider from Cairo.

F'lar looked up from where he had been oiling Mnementh- the bronze dragon loved to sunbathe, but it often causing his skin to dry quicker than F'lar liked. "Yes, Adrian?"

Adrian frowned, Semanaerth waddling up beside his partner. What is it, A'dran?

"Is my name Adrian or A'dran?"

F'lar blinked, and Mnementh and Semanaerth would have blinked if they had been able to do so as a reaction for being confused. Instead the feelings trickled down to the riders, and F'lar had to stifle a chuckle- like he so often did while talking to Adrian and Semanaerth.

"Well, do you want it to be shortened?"

"Did you?"

F'lar shrugged. "Originally, the dragons themselves had shortened the names of their riders, names like Nicholas being too much of a handful when you want to point out quickly to someone where an enemy is. So the names were shortened, slurred, and caught on with the riders until it became an honour to be able to shorten your name, to show you were a dragon rider. So Nicholas became N'kals, and Adrian apparently becomes A'dran."

"And Fallarnon became F'lar?" Adrian asked as innocently as possible.

F'lar cuffed him lightly, his angered expression turning into one of good humour. "If you want to shorten your name, by all means go ahead. If you like being Adrian, however, you should be prepared for hearing and answering to the name A'dran as well, as I get the feeling that Semanaerth will be calling you that."

All dragons call him A'dran. Mnementh commented idly, nudging his rider's back with his nose. It is a sign of respect from us.

Semanaerth made a sound between a hiss and a cheap- he butted his head against Adrian again, large eyes whirling into a slight yellow. You said you would feed me once you talked to F'lar.

Adrian chuckled, almost tiredly. He loved Semanaerth to death- but the young bronze's constant demands for food was almost irritating him. It would have, except that he had grown up raising animals, and couldn't hold any sort of resentment against his dragon.

"Alright, Semanaerth. We'll get you some food."

F'lar watched as Adrian led his dragon away, eyeing both him and the other weyrlings. He turned his attention to the complex, seeing Ramoth basking in the sun on one of the ledges from the weyr.

Maybe we should talk to Yugi about this.

F'lar had become accustomed to broadcasting for not just Mnementh, but Ramoth and Lessa as well. His weyrmate's answer was prompt, giving him cause to believe that she had decided to remove herself from air traffic control lessons.

Name shortening? Just offer the option to them- if they want to shorten their names, let them.

F'lar frowned. Didn't Isis say that there was some sort of legal proceedings for that sort of thing?

…so we go to Yugi when they've chosen.

It was amazing how quickly the young man had become the center of Khemet. Any problem could be solved by going to him, confusion sorted out, and any half-formed, crazy idea in one's head could inexplicably take on a possible, wonderfully clear and comprehensive form when ranted enough about to the hikari.

Atemu didn't particularly like Yugi being used in this way, but Yugi himself was more than happy to help out, especially when it required a bit of not-quite-scientific influence.

The only problem with the fail-safe plan of 'going to Yugi' was that, once a week, both he and Atemu would disappear for a day, leaving Ryou- who was just as skilful if not as easily accessible- in charge.

There were many theories as to where they disappeared to- from other worlds to England to 'some run-down motel where no one knows them to have rabid bunny sex'. The last one had been put down as soon as it started- that sort of publicity had no place in Khemet.

Yugi and Atemu had been inside Khemet the whole time- inside the complex itself, to add confusion to worry. Where exactly they were they never said, but that only added fuel to some of the weirder rumours.

No location was ever found and, as April began approaching May and Semanaerth and the browns had their first flying lessons, Yugi was becoming more and more recluse.

…

"Yami, you know I hate starting at five o'clock in the morning," Yugi hissed, slipping his cloak over his shoulders as he follow Atemu down the main staircase to the indoor garden, both of them walking swiftly- and silently- over to one panel of the circular walls.

The darkness didn't answer- it hadn't been a question.

They both stepped within the dark alcove that was revealed after pressing a certain part of the wall, the stone panel sliding shut silently behind them.

A few Charter Marks for light from Yugi and the gently-slopping stairs down to the ruins of the original palace were visible- stairs that would, all too soon, become horribly steep and awkward to traverse.

"Yami, we were supposed to help build again today. And it's almost the end of the school year- we're supposed to also be preparing for teaching next year!"

Atemu whirled around to face him, forcing Yugi back against one of the walls as bright crimson bored into amethyst.

"Do you know why we're coming down here today, aibou?"

Yugi gulped, feeling the slight increase in heat from Atemu as the Ancient Pharaoh stepped closer again, bringing him within inches of the light.

"Er… because it's Sunday?"

"And do you know why we honour the gods on Sunday, aibou?"

"Um… because Sunday was named after the gods of the Sun?"

Atemu nodded his head sharply. "Do you know why we have been coming down here lately on other days besides Sunday?"

Yugi blinked. He had thought that they had been going down to the shrine in the ruins more often than once a week. "Er… no?"

Atemu paused, clearly expecting a 'yes'. "…really?"

Yugi nodded, slowly. "You just always woke me up and by the time I realized where we were going we were already down at the shrine."

Atemu hmmed, turning on his heal and dragging Yugi down the stairs. "It's because that now we'd always ask for a bountiful harvest, and for prosperity and safety- for good things to happen to us. I just thought it would be wise to continue that tradition."

Yugi bit his lip. There it was again- evidence of the True Memory sneaking out, and he had no idea about it. Another example that he was a failure of an hika-

"Don't even begin to think that, aibou."

Atemu's voice startled Yugi out of his reverie- he hadn't noticed they were already on the sandy floor of the Pit that held the ruins safe. His eyes narrowed quickly, though, replaying the darkness' words again.

"And when did I give you permission to read my mind if I don't broadcast my thoughts?"

Atemu pinned him to a piece of rubble- based on the designs, part of the Records room. "Because, perfect light, you are mine."

"That doesn't mean you can invade my privacy!"

"Of course it does," Yami shrugged the comment off, eyes still boring into Yugi's own. "In case you've forgotten, aibou, we were once the same person. You are I as I am you. Your thoughts are my thoughts, as mine are yours. There is no 'privacy' between us, aibou- we're supposed to be open, unguarded, completely defenceless against the other." And now the yami's voice took on an almost pleading tone, and Yugi sincerely wished that he hadn't said anything, to hear that uncertainty in the other's normally confident voice. "But… if there's anything wrong… if you should wish to live without-"

Yugi stopped him by embracing him in a tight hug, his grip clearly stating he had no intention of letting go.

"Stop it. Stop it right now. You say that you'll do anything to protect me, make me happy? Do you really think living a half-life without you, where I'd be empty and alone and depressed and more than likely suicidal would make me happy, would help me?" Like Atemu hadn't been able to keep his worry out of his voice, Yugi was unable to keep the fear and desperation from colouring his own. "Oh Yami, if you were to go, I would follow immediately. Gaia can take care of herself, as can everyone else. I would follow you to the ends of the earth- if you would have me."

Atemu opened his mouth to protest, but Yugi cut him off, keeping his eyes on the floor as he spoke. "I… I know that I haven't fulfilled my duty, even if everyone says I have, and the gods even deemed you prepared to move onto Duat. But there's still so much that we don't know, so much that we really should and-"

(-(There is no need to worry. I/We have made preparations for this very problem long ago. Be at ease, and come to me/us.)-)

Never ones to deny the powers that were, Yugi and Atemu moved forward until they were in the open area in front of the shrine. They both kneeled, folding their hands on the floor in front of them, and then leaning forward to rest their foreheads on the back of their hands.

Both felt the energies shift and shape themselves into the Egyptian Celestials, who stood around them in all their glory.

At a sudden pulse, both stood and moved to stand side-by-side, hands linked, in a gap in the circle, purposefully left there for that very reason.

(-(And now, WE begin!)-)

---

It was nearly midnight by the time that Atemu and Yugi made it back to the indoor garden, each of them taking turns to down the goblet that Lasine had left out for them. Yugi gratefully collapsed onto one of the benches, smiling up at Atemu as his darkness followed his example with a little more grace.

"Was that a new record?"

Atemu shut his eyes, leaning his head on top of Yugi's. "A record for what?"

"The length of a meeting."

The Ancient Pharaoh groaned, grasping Yugi's hand with one of his own as he stole the goblet from Yugi and took a long swig of the sweet-sour liquid within. "I doubt that that could be considered a 'business' or 'political' meeting, aibou. And besides- aren't you happy with the outcome?"

Yugi chuckled, reaching deep inside his heart with his hand and caressing the gift that he had been given. The little, extremely dense packet of energy pulsed in return, reaching through his body and down their link to ease the stress and lethargy that had overtaken them.

"I can't say that I'm not, Yami. And I can't say that I'm all that tired anymore, either."

Atemu blinked open his eyes, sitting up and examining Yugi. He hadn't the chance to do so in the Pit or on the way back up, but now that he looked, he could see some subtle differences. Most notably, Yugi's golden Eye shone prominently on his forehead, and Atemu somehow knew that cover-up- even magical cover-up- wouldn't hide the symbol any more. A new spark shone in his eyes, seeming to be a pool of amethyst water, faint hints of silvers, blues, and reds mixed in. His aura had changed slightly (though it did do that every time they went down to the Shrine, anyways), and his skin seemed to be glowing in the faint light from the moon high above.

Yugi seemed completely rejuvenated, like he had just had a long and restful sleep. His energies were balanced, too, although Atemu knew that that wouldn't last long.

"We'll have to ask Ryou to keep a vial of that White Amber and a syringe with him at all times, you know."

Yugi winced, pouting as he looked away. "Don't remind me."

They sat there for a bit longer, discussing the newest developments as they took turns sipping from the goblet. Finally, Atemu stood and offered a hand to Yugi to pull him to his feet.

They proceeded up to their chambers, Yugi dimly wondering why they hadn't Shifted up all those stairs. Atemu chuckled as they set about the motions of preparing for sleep, though neither was tired.

They sat on the bed, staring out the windows at the night sky. Yugi smiled, giggling lightly as he touched the Eye gently. "Whatever happened to normalcy?"

Atemu looked over at him, smirking as he pulled one of his light's goldenrod bangs. "Normal? You were normal?"

The faked look of disgust at the word 'normal' on the dark's face caused Yugi to giggle again, even as he swatted Atemu's hand away. "Oh hush. At least I'm not as bad as you!"

The odd smirk was the only warning that Yugi received before he was pinned to the bed, Atemu reaching down to tickle his sides. "GAH, Yami, STOP!" An evil-sounding chuckle was Yugi's response, and he immediately struggled to fight against his attacking darkness.

Ten minutes later they were both exhausted, but neither was quite ready to sleep. Yugi pushed Atemu off him, sitting up to reach into the top cabinet of one of the bedside tables, looking for a game to play to pass the time. His fingers brushed against a plastic bag, and he stopped, suddenly remembering last September.

Atemu sat up, feeling the odd surge of emotions from his lighter half. "Aibou…?"

Yugi slowly pulled out the bag, feeling the single objected contained within. Atemu's eyes widened in recognition as the white grocery bag was placed on the bed between them. They had never opened the bag to see what was in it- as a final gift from Sugoroku, it was treated with respect and generally kept away from prying eyes.

Shimmering amethyst met with wondering crimson, both opting to reach out a hand to place over the bag. The sound of plastic crinkling filled the room, the silence palpable.

Yugi took a deep breath, calming his nerves. Atemu's hand reached over and squeezed the paler, smaller double. ((Ready?)) Comfort flowed down the link, and Yugi gladly embraced the emotion.

(Ready.)

They worked together to pull the small package out of the bag. Wrapped in parchment like Mark mages used and tied with a piece of string, it was obviously a rough, quickly-done job. But the spells that had been layered on top for safety and invisibility and other protections were strong, and took a bit of energy to disengage them.

The parchment fell away slowly, like it was teasing them, and when the small gift was laid bare for all to see, Yugi felt his breath catch in his throat.

The golden shimmer of the electron wand sent waves of light dancing on the walls, the intricate patterns engraved on the wand accentuated by the shadows from the moon and small lamp. The handle seemed to be made of either white gold or silver, a thin piece of woven black and white rope winding up to a small junction where handle became wand. It was hard to see exactly what the detailing was of, but a few hieroglyphs meaning 'Life', 'Peace', 'Prosperity', 'Love', and 'Courage' glimmered near the handle.

Yugi carefully picked the wand up, Atemu scooting over to place his hand over Yugi's, making it so both of them were holding the stick of gold, silver, and, looking at the very bottom of the wand, they were surprised to find an opal nestled in silver-white teeth.

A surge of power washed through them, the wand glowing with its own inner light. Streams of Shadows and Sraf, followed by the torrent of the Charter and other lesser symbols and matrixes flowed on a stream of light and darkness into the opal, parts of both of their auras mixing with that which was already a part of the wand. Sparks and mini-fireworks of all colours lit up the entire room, reflected in the Gemini Pharaoh's eyes.

Finally, the lightshow was over and the wand returned to its normal, golden state.

Yugi and Atemu carefully lowered it back to the bed, though there was no need- it was theirs now, more powerful than any other and- as far as they could tell- near-completely indestructible.

(Which is a good thing, considering all the trouble we always get mixed up in.)

((Aa.))

They still weren't tired, but both decided that they should sleep. Placing the wand into the pocket of his cloak, Yugi crawled under the covers of their bed, Atemu quickly following as the lamp was turned off.

Their bodies wouldn't rest, so they opted to head into their soul rooms, forcing the physical forms to re-enervate. Curling into each other on the bed in Yugi's soul room, neither failed to noticed the small, golden new addition to a small desk that had appeared in the corner a few years ago.

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Notes

1) WoWoW…. Heh, didn't think I could write this much in only three sittings. Well, we're back into school full-force, and our silly Physics teacher started with Relativity and Quantum Mechanics, which stinks because half the questions have something called 'retardant…' something-or-other, and we haven't learned about anything else from this year, so we have no idea what we're doing. And then to make it worse, what is 't not' and what is 't' keeps switching- is 't not' the relativistic or the proper time? What does that make 't'? How can you tell the difference? And then there comes the equations for mass and length…. DON'T TAKE QUANTUM PHYSICS BEFORE FINISHING THE NORMAL UNITS. It'll hurt your head like you wouldn't believe. Blah.

2) Well, Yugi finally got his wand. Dumbledore, McGonagall, Lessa, F'lar, and everyone else in Khemet knows the basic story behind everything, and we now have our first Wing of Dragon Riders. Whee! Oh, if someone could possibly calculate the exact length of time the eggs stay on the Hatching Ground on Pern it would be very much appreciated. No, really. I know that the Queen lays about a month or two after the mating flight, but I'm not clear on the amount of time between laying and Hatching. Brawh.

3) I basically just re-read the chapter. Yeah. Fixed some mistakes- make sure to rant and tell me if you see anymore? And I'm not sure how the Chemical Composition for agenothree will turn out- if the subscript three doesn't and I forget to fix it, then pretend that it is there.

4) Eh, not too much else. Yeah me. Oh, was supposed to get to the 'death scene' in this chapter. I was having so much fun with everything that I kinda forgot about that… heh? Will be in the next chapter. I'll try and finish off the rest of May, June, July and August next chapter so that we can get on with the actual school stuff. I'm saying 'try'. No matter what, the beginning of the school stuff will be the beginning of a new chapter, so be prepared for one of my chapters in the near future being either longer than usual or ridiculously short. I'm anal like that. :)

Other Notes

(1) Heh. This chapter and the two before it were, according to the notes I've been making, supposed to all be in one chapter. The problem? I try to stick to 30 pages on Word, Arial size 10, single spaced. I write a lot of descriptive stuff. I do extra when it isn't needed (and got 5 taken off my written religion ISU because I put more than three sources in my Works Cited. WTF is THAT?!) Soooo… yeah. Not all-in-one, but all-in-three. Actually, all-in-four, as some of the stuff I have down for this chapter is actually going to go into the next chapter. Erm… oops?

(2) THE FOLLOWING NOTE WAS WRITTEN ON AUGUST 6, 2007. THE REST WERE WRITTEN SOMETIME DURING AUGUST AND SEPTEMBER 2006. I just re-re-read this thing, and (once again) realized something. The bit with the Celestials I didn't really like, and I realized that some could mistake a bit of the Yugi/Yami interaction as a hint to something else in the future (no, NOT yaoi). I actually was trying to figure out how I could work that in... but nnnooo, not happening. So, yes, I didn't like the Celestials bit very much, but it is sort of needed. Long story. Actually, it's not, but it's part of the plot, so we're not going there. Well, one year after I wrote this, it's going up! Whee!

...I am SO bad at this...

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Quote of the Day: "Ah, nothing like the feeling of cinnamon hearts burning holes in my tongue in the morning."

- Me, actually. Krissy got all of us these baggies of cinnamon hearts, and I always left mine at home. Potato would bring hers, however, so I kept begging her to give me some. She did, and I stuffed FOUR in my mouth at one point. Can we say... Ow?