Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the original characters and the situations I put them in. Everything else belongs to somebody else so remember to give credit where credit is du Thanks to all my constant reviewers, it's for you that I continue to write!

Rules and Worship

"If the priestess was reborn she could be of great aid to us. Especially since she lived a lot longer than we did. Hopefully." Joshua said slowly, looking over at Latoya questioningly. Including Freya in anything was pretty much pointless after all. Having spent a couple thousand years in her company he knew she could be counted upon when her neck was on the line but otherwise...

"She could also be a hindrance as well if she were to make High Priest Seto and our Pharaoh aware of everything that's going on." Latoya added, crossing her arms in front of her while she thought it over. "Did she have the necklace with her? The Millennium Necklace?"

"I don't know what that looks like. I don't have any visual memories of an Isis from the past. Well other then Nefeteri's cat." Rika said, making a face as she recalled that damn cat. Then again that cat had played a role in leading her to her High Priest. Maybe the rabid feline hadn't been so bad after all.

"Interesting. I know that what you're being allowed to remember and what's being blocked is on purpose. They must not want you to have made the connection. At least we can count on Kaiba not to go to our pharaoh for help." Latoya said after a moment, dropping her arms to her sides. "Do you know where I could find this Isis?"

"Well I think she's in charge of the Egyptian exhibit at the museum. I could ask Seto where she's staying if you want."

"No, I'll go there. Besides, it will give us an idea if it truly is the priestess reborn. I've been quite...amused at how our country's ancient languages and history have been misinterpreted over time." Latoya replied with a wink.

"We went from one of the most powerful forces of our time to a country that's easy to miss on a map." Freya muttered, not seeing today's cultural screw ups as amusing. Apparently the only part of her culture worth studying was trying to figure out how the damn pyramids had been built. It was Rome this and Rome that. Screw them, bunch of arrogant politicians. So they'd nearly conquered all the known world, big deal. Her people had never been that stupid. Trying to rule the world got your blood shed in countries where the people hated your guts and plotted to kill you until you were dead. Sex was what had killed her culture, Freya thought with a regretful sigh. Too much inbreeding in the royal family. That and if the Romans had just left them the hell alone...

"Regardless there's nothing left of our time period in record." Joshua reminded her, knowing how sore this topic was to Freya. It had surprised him until he'd figured out the major sore point with her was that it meant she wasn't remembered either. Apparently she thought being the murderess of a pharaoh should have been worth writing a tablet or two about.

"Well except for the stupid card game they created out of our former justice system." Freya pointed out, itching to get out of there and go find Bakura. He was interesting at least. In fact, teasing him was rapidly becoming one of her favorite past times. His face could go as red as a sunset over the smallest things. He'd looked ready to pass out that morning when she'd offered to wash his back for him.

"I think it was rather ingenious of Master to create that card game based on our old ways. Do you have any idea how many people play that "stupid" game? Even our pharaoh plays it!" Latoya said hotly, her cheeks getting a bit of color as she glared at the younger woman. She was not going to stand here and let Freya call Max's game stupid.

"Oh don't get your toga in a knot." Rolling her eyes Freya smirked at the healer. "And I think someone has a serious crush on her Master. Too bad about his wife and all. I heard he's still pretty hung up on..OUCH!" Eyes flaring dangerously she turned her head to glare at her princess who'd just whacked her upside the head.

"You know, I'd forgotten how much I'd disliked you." Rika said calmly, her eyes just daring the smaller woman to bring it on. "You'll treat Latoya with respect or I'll give you what's been coming to you for way too long. Yami sure as hell isn't here to stop me."

"Unlike you I haven't forgotten for a moment how much I always disliked you."

"No cat fights please." Too smart to actually get between his princess and Freya he settled for putting restraining hands on both their shoulders. "Now there's just a couple more things we need to explain and then we can all go back to our respected masters."

"What else do I need to know?" Rika asked, her eyes watching Freya carefully, just in case. After all, the woman was the type to stab you in the back. Playing fair were two words that had little meaning to her bitchiness.

"Well the important things are to keep your knowledge of the past from the others who don't know already. One of the reasons is to prevent them from interfering but should you fail...we need them to be as strong as possible. The weaker their ties to you the more likely they'll be able to stand up against the darkness this time around. It was their weaknesses in the face of your loss that made them vulnerable to attack. The second important thing is to remember that all you have to do is think, to wish for us and we can be there, at your side. Until your fate has been sealed we have that ability."

"And once her fate is sealed?" Mai asked, curious.

"Then we will be as mortals in every way. We will be unable to return to card form and we'll lose our magical abilities. Or at least the three of us will, Sirus will likely retain his if he is released." Latoya explained, answering Rika's next question before she could ask. "And no, we don't know where he is or what has to happen in order to cause his release. If we did we would have released him already. We need all the help we can get."

"Anything else?" Rika asked with a sigh, getting the feeling that she was way over her head. It was bad enough to have the lives of a few people on her shoulders but now she seemed to have the fate of several people, all of whom had had crappy first lives to begin with. Talk about pressure.

"Just keep yourself out of dangerous situations and don't forget to call us if you think the situation might call for it. If it's even remotely dangerous call us to you immediately." Stressing the word immediately Joshua gave her a hard, warning look. "No running off on your own."

"Yes, Sir." Rika said smartly with a mock salute.

"That should be it then." Latoya said after a moment to consider anything they might have missed. There was just so much she wanted to tell Ri but couldn't. Things she just couldn't know until it was time. "I need to be getting back, I promised to be back in time for dinner."

"This is so weird..and yet really cool." Mai said to Joshua while Rika hugged Latoya good bye, only nodding slightly in Freya's direction.

"That's one way to put it." Joshua agreed, returning Rika's hug. "With your permission, I would remain with you. It was my job to protect you once and I failed you but..."

Putting a finger against his lips, having to go on tippy, tippy toes to do it Rika shook her head. "You never failed me. Don't ever say that you did or I'll have to hurt you." Removing her finger as she sat back on her heels she gave him a smile, pleased when he smiled back. "And as much as I'd like the company wouldn't that be a red light to the others that not only am I a part of all this but that I'm also aware of it? Besides, don't you have a master to return to?"

"I explained to her that I might have to leave her side for a while to take care of you."

"A woman...no big surprise there." Rika said slyly, enjoying the way Joshua squirmed slightly. She'd missed this. "Go on home to your lady, Joshua. I promise that if I run into any trouble I'll call for you."

"Swear on your soul and the souls of all those you care about." Joshua suggested, knowing her just as well. If you wanted to be sure she'd do something you had to back her into a corner she couldn't get out of. A dangerous task that she let very few get away with, much less manage.

Glaring at him Rika just barely managed not to pout. Dammit, he knew her too well. "Okay fine, I swear on the souls of everyone that I'll call you guys if I get into danger. Cross my heart and hope to die."

"We'd rather you live, if it's all the same to you." Latoya said with a chuckle, smiling brightly at the two of them. Home, this was like being home, she thought, hugging the idea to herself. More then the buildings and her possessions she'd missed this, the being with the people she'd always thought of as her family.

Rolling her eyes at the lot of them Freya began walking down the hill, getting part ways down before she stopped at the sound of her name being called. Looking up she shaded her eyes with her hand to stare into the eyes of the girl called Mai. "What?"

"If you hurt Bakura I'll shave you bald." Mai called down, her eyes as tough and badass as Freya's own. She'd always had a soft spot for Bakura, probably because he was even more vulnerable and nice than Yugi. That was saying something. What little mothering instinct she had was aroused at the idea that this little prima donna might just sink her teeth into the poor guy. It wasn't like Bakura has the sense to handle her. Mai got the distinct impression there were few men who could.

"If you lay one fingernail on him I'll claw your eyes out. I don't share." Freya returned sweetly, batting her eyes at the younger woman who didn't worry her in the least. She'd been the mistress of royalty and from what she'd gathered this Mai person was involved with a man of servant status. The difference in class and abilities was glaringly obvious. Turning to give the other woman her back again there was a definite swing to Freya's hips as she nimbly went down the hill despite her two inch heeled shoes.

"She must be amazing in the sack for Yami to have put up with her." Mai announced, crossing her arms in front of her as she turned to face the others. She had to admire anyone who could pull that off in those heels but still...She wasn't quite sure what to think about that threat. She wasn't worried about being able to take the girl but there had been something in that voice that had made her want to push the diva the rest of the way down the hill.

"She always had quite the male following." Joshua commented, shoving his own hands in his pockets. "Not that she ever did anything with them but make them miserable."

"It would have been a crime punishable by death to touch her since she was my brother's property." Rika explained when Mai raised an eyebrow. "She liked to rub it in that no matter how much she made them want there was nothing they could do about it. Well nothing that wouldn't get them beheaded anyway."

"Well isn't she just lovely." Mai muttered, not doubting for a minute that this was the start of a very, very unfriendly relationship.

"She has her good points. They're just nearly impossible to find." Understanding Mai's sentiment exactly she patted the other woman on her shoulder. "Just don't let her get to you. From what I've been told about this Bakura I really don't think you need to worry too much. She's only this..rude to people she considers her equals. If you aren't she either ignores you or goes easy on you since you're not up to handling her."

"Bakura's actually pretty tough when he needs to be. He's just a big softie otherwise." Mai explained, trying not to insult her friend while she struggled to find the right words. "Plus he's just really bad when it comes to women. They make him nervous."

"Well she'll take care of that really quick." Joshua muttered under his breath. When he'd first met Freya, he'd been so dazzled at her extraordinary good looks that he'd been all set to go after her, ready to join her legion of admirers in a heartbeat. That was until she'd opened her mouth and he'd gotten a look at the person beneath that oh so perfect form. To this day he admired his pharaoh if for no other reason then the fact that the man had managed to keep Freya in line. Now that was something that required the strength and power of a god.

"Well I guess I'll see you guys later than. You don't have like a time frame or anything right? Of when I should start looking over my shoulder?" Rika asked, figuring it couldn't hurt.

"No, though I would assume that whatever is coming will strike soon." Looking off into the distance Latoya noted the storm clouds coming, as if to foreshadow what was to come. "We should hurry, rain's coming."

"Remember to call us okay?"

"Yeah, yeah." Rolling her eyes at Joshua she smirked up at him. "I can handle myself you know. Whatever this is, it's going to take more than a little danger to take me down. After the D-Reaper this is going to be a piece of cake."

"So you would have said once before, before we lost you." Taking Rika's face in her hands Latoya leaned forward to place a kiss on the girl's forehead. "So often that which is most dangerous is the things we never see coming until it's too late."

"Like pop quizzes." Rika said with a cheeky look, pleased when Latoya laughed softly, "And I will be careful, promise."

"And one I'll hold you to."

After dropping Mai off at the house Rika went for a long walk, instinctively heading for the park where she'd had her other visions. She could use some more at the moment. Now that she knew they were being shown to her for a reason she could kick herself for not paying more attention to the other ones. When she got back she was going to type everything she remembered and then password it so no one else could read them should they get onto her laptop. There were just some things best kept to herself, Rika thought with a smirk. Walking around the park for a good hour Rika sighed when nothing happened. Looks like she was going to have to wait for fate to decide to throw her another bone. Patience had never really been her strong suit in these sorts of situations. Taking a seat on one of the benches Rika decided to try searching her own mind for answers. Apparently these were her memories of a past life so wouldn't that suggest that all her old memories were stored somewhere in her brain, waiting to be set free? Maybe there were even images of Seto naked in there. Blushing slightly Rika gave herself a mental talking to even though the idea remained shimmering around in her brain. What would he look like naked? Picturing his face Rika mentally continued down, knowing already what he looked like without a shirt on. Once she got to his waist though her mind failed her, she just couldn't picture it and she already knew her face was as bright as her hair. Lets not go there, she thought as she opened her eyes and sat up, her head going dizzy as she wavered slightly, her eyes closing.
Opening them a split second later she had just enough time to think she'd gotten to her feet too fast when she realized she wasn't in the park anymore. Well what do you know, Rika thought to herself as she stared out a window at the rising sun. It was really beautiful, even though she couldn't imagine what good remembering watching a sun rise from her window would do her. Wait a minute..this wasn't her window. She didn't have windows in her rooms, just three balconies, one in each of her rooms. Feeling a touch of dread she noticed something else. She could feel the light morning breeze on her skin. Her bare skin. Looking down she realized that not only was she not in her room but she was in someone else's room butt naked. Whirling around to look for something to put on her eyes went huge as saucers as she looked at the bed behind her. More importantly, who was laying butt naked on that bed with a sheet barely covering his waist. Not that that sheet was doing any good since it was pretty much sheer, Rika thought, her eyes running over his body in appreciation. She couldn't help it, she was human. And now she did know what he looked like naked. Wow.

As if on cue those eyes slowly opened, dark blue eyes meeting hers lazily as a smug, very male grin crossed his features. "Enjoying the view?" He asked, looking her up and down to remind her that she was wearing even less then he was. Her hands automatically going to cover what was important he chuckled, a rich, sexy sound that had her blood pressure going up even as her cheeks went red. "A little late for that, don't you think?"

"Someone's feeling smug." Rika heard herself say, pride having her drop her hands since he was right, it was a little too late for false modesty. "What you should be is flattered." She added with a definite purr, her feet moving against Rika's will as she found herself walking over to the bed, climbing in beside him to stretch out on her stomach beside him. "I am a princess of Egypt after all. You should be worshipping me, not leering."

"Worshipping, huh?" Seto repeated as he lifted a hand to trail it down her spine, a habit he'd begun to pick up. "I think I can handle that." Flipping her over onto her back his hands began to do just that as his mouth found hers.

Snapping back in that instance Rika found herself having to sit down on the bench. Okay...well she'd sorta asked for that one. And wow..just..wow.
Note: I thought after the seriousness of this and the last chapter you readers could use a little..positive imagery at the end lol. Hope you enjoyed heh.