Pardon my lateness in updating but things have come up. Not to mention I've been tired. I usually write at night to help the mood of the story. Anyway, I'm glad some of you liked the Egyptian of the last chapter. Now this chapter will be from the points of view of many people.

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Chapter 5

Loss

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Lonely in my prison

lost to the sands of time,

once I was a king, a god,

guardian of the afterlife.

In mourning they turned to me,

the people with broken hearts.

But now the times are long past

the prayers long gone silent.

Now I'm just a lonely relic

dead to the hearts of men.

Yugi had gotten home from school and plopped down in front of the television with Joey, Tristan, and Ryou. It had been a good day but the absence of Tea had been worrying them. At least Ryou was back.

"What'd you guys wanna watch?" Yugi asked as he picked up the remote.

"C'mon, gimme da remote! I'll just scan through da channels till we find somethin' good." Joey protested. For a while the two of them wrestled and somewhere in the mess one of them turned the television on.

The news was on and it caught their attention. Joey, who had his foot in the middle of Yugi's stomach and was on top, fell to the ground when he saw the broadcast.

Sirens blared in the background as the announcer spoke. "The entire police force was obliterated with an unknown weapon. No one was left alive and no suspects have been located. There are suspicions of terrorist activity but nothing of this nature has occurred before. Police investigating the surrounding area discovered the body of a teenage high school girl named…."

The room was dead silent as everyone stared at the screen. Tears welled up in Yugi's eyes as he stared on with his ruby orbs. Tea's picture was on television, and she was dead. Shot in the head.

Yami was watching too and the news was like a knife through the heart. Something wasn't right. It wasn't right at all and everyone knew. From what the news had said, the police had been ripped to shreds and left as piles of gory meat. The millennium ring had the power to rip people apart, but not like this. That night Tea had said she would visit Ryou in to see how he was doing. Ryou, it wasn't Ryou. But could it be the thief? It didn't make sense. Never had Bakura shown such great power since his life in ancient Egypt. Even then, it was with the help of his soul monster.

Fear and sadness flooded through him like a poison. Something was coming. Something was here, and he had to be prepared. unfortunately, his main suspect was Ryou's Yami, but he couldn't let the police do anything. It had to be between him and the thief, just like always. He watched Ryou, but he seemed just as shocked as everyone. Ryou never was awake when his Yami did things, or willing to watch. He was a good friend in a trap. Yami feared for Ryou.

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Night had come like a black blanket of terror. Ryou knew that Yugi would have a hard time sleeping so for the rest of the evening he suggested they all take a walk. Because of the situation, it was a long walk and when everyone had decided to go home sleep was hovering over them.

Still, Ryou waited until midnight to do anything. He wore Marik's black sweater and kept the hood over his head to hide his bright white hair. The rest of his clothes were black to help him hide in the shadows. In his pocket was the coin.

In order to get to Yugi's window he had to scale the wall. He knew how to scale a wall from the things he had learned from Touzoku. It wasn't difficult. The difficult part was staying on the wall considering the strain it put on his legs to keep him from falling.

He peered into the room and saw Yugi fast asleep. Beside him was the puzzle. Ryou's fingers tried carefully to open the window and fortunately he found that it wasn't locked. The window slid up silently and the sleeping Yugi was not disturbed. Now his other problem was Yami. He had always been able to sense the Pharaoh's presence but this time it seemed as though Atem wasn't awake. It was a good thing. The emotional strain probably left the spirit wanting solitude. Everything was going smoothly.

Carefully, Ryou stepped into the room and headed to the puzzle. It was right beside Yugi's head. Silently he pulled out the coin and touched it to the puzzle. There was a strange, soft glow and then all was still. Only vaguely did it seem to bother the sleeping youth.

Ryou looked down at his friend with a silent hatred. He shared one thing in common, he loved his Yami like Yugi loved his. This meant that he was prepared to do anything for him that he wanted. The hatred stirred in him as he watched Yugi's chest rise and fall with a steady rhythm. He wanted to kill the boy now. Kill him and get it over with. Touzoku had other plans though that he must respect.

He thought of a way that he might leave the coin in Yugi's path without anyone else touching it. That was the most important thing now. He couldn't risk touching the coin to Yugi's hand while he was sleeping. He could wake up, and then all would be ruined.

He looked around and saw his backpack. It was perfect. Only Yugi touched that backpack and only Yugi would find it.

He dropped the coin in and then began to head back. He stopped only for a moment to look back at the sleeping figure. A smirk crossed his face that make him look more like Touzoku than himself. Finally he left with a sense of pride.

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School didn't start again until the day after the incident. Yugi sat in his classroom pulling his books out when something flashed like a glint of metal. He didn't think much of it at first but after a few more moments he got curious. Ryou watched from behind him. with great expectation. His heart pounded in his chest and it took everything in his power to keep his breathing steady.

Atem was awake but he didn't notice the coin. Yugi's curiosity caught his interest and he looked through his Hikari's eyes. The coin caught both of their attention but in different ways. Yugi was curious, Yami was startled. He tried to stop Yugi but it was too late. Fingers touched the cold metal and Yami screamed.

The scream caused Yugi to topple backwards. Ryou hid his smirk. It had worked perfectly. Touzoku would be proud.

Yami was still screaming as he felt needles scratching through his skin in the thousands. He convulsed as he felt his soul being squeezed into Yugi's body. It was a tremendous pressure but there was more. Something in his soul opened. He felt a dreaded darkness flood through him. It was a darkness that he had been all to glad to be rid of, but now it was back.

Yugi had managed to crawl back into his seat but he was struggling to gain control of himself as the crushing feeling began to overwhelm him. It felt like he was being pressed up against a stiff cloth wall, and the cloth was beginning to smother his breathing.

Seeing Yugi struggling excited Ryou. It was overwhelming joy that he had to suppress as he watched his friend fight against the power. Despite his joy he had to act normal. He rushed to Yugi's side and held his friend. "Are you alright Yugi?"

Yugi nodded and cringed.

"No you're not. I'm taking you to the nurse." Yugi tried to push his friend away but Ryou didn't let him. They didn't need the teacher's permission. It was obvious that something was seriously wrong. They made their way to the nurses office. Ryou acted as Yugi's crutch but soon he passed out and Ryou had to carry him.

Through the ring Touzoku still had a connection with Ryou and he was watching everything. It was perfect. Everything was perfect. Ryou had proven himself. He would grant him eternal life, and a position as his right hand man along side Marik. A grin spread across his face and he laughed a rolling, full-hearted laugh. The gods were on his side, and now he would finish his job to fuse himself more closely to his power. Atem would die, and he would be the one to send him to hell. Nothing could be more perfect.

Marik was leaning against a wall with a glass of expensive wine in his hand. He was ready for the celebration and when Touzoku laughed he took a drink. He savored the red drink as though it were the Pharaoh's blood before swallowing. He licked his lips and grinned silently to himself. A cycle was restarting. It was like the ancient struggle between Osiris and Set, but this time it would be Osiris, not Horus, who would fight against Set. This time, Set would be victorious and the world would be restored to the former glory of Egypt. All was good.

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Author's Note: I'm building things slowly. You'll like the next chapter though, I promise. You'll see just what Touzoku's plan is.