Sorry this was slightly later than I wanted to update it for. Heads up now, Monday I have an exam, Tuesday I have a Uni Day, Wednesday (which would have been my update day) I will be exhausted from all the rushing around (London to Devon in one afternoon and school in the morning. Yey! :/) so this will probably not be updated until the weekend at the earliest. Just saying now.

There are parts of this chapter that I love and parts that I don't. Please leave a review for me but no flames please.

Enjoy!

The creature masquerading as Ryou Bakura had decided it liked its slave's surname and had taken it as its own for now. 'Bakura' was currently torturing three pathetic mortals who had thought it a good idea to sneak up on him and attempt some form of physical assault. Bakura had put an end to that immediately.

"Now, what are three perfectly delectable souls like you doing attacking an innocent, hmmm?" he said in a mocking tone. Messing with the mortals minds may have been time consuming and wasteful, but it was oh so fun. The best it had had in five thousand years to be exact and soon, this was all to be his anyway. Might as well start warming up.

The mortals in front of him whimpered, caught in the arms of a Zombie Warrior and Man Eater Bug. At least one of them had already urinated in fear, the others pasty faced and wide-eyed, looking near to insanity already. They were so easy to break it was delicious.

"W-What happened to you Bakura?" one whimpered.

"Y-Yeah. Y-You're acting more like a f-freak than usual," another stammered, attempting to put on a brave face. Bakura smirked, glad that they recognised this form and feared it, knowing instinctively that this was not their former classmate.

"Oh, you would never believe me if I told you. Suffice to say that your souls are mine now," Bakura said. If possible his smirk grew wider, bordering on deranged and another of them lost all control of their bladder. The other whimpered, bordering between following his friends and passing out. "Take them," Bakura hissed, flicking a finger at the Shadow Creatures. Three screams later and Bakura left the alley, leaving the three prone bodies behind. Taking their souls had been fun but required a purpose too.

Every soul that entered the Shadow Realm gave him power, and the more he took himself the faster he could build his power within this form. It was weak but brimming with the kind of Shadow magic the creature required, especially for the tasks at hand. He had to make sure that his Dark Paladin was making the necessary preparations at his end of the world and that once his business here was complete, he would be able to make the journey to the Millennium Stone. So far fifteen mortal souls had been taken and only one other was required before Bakura had the power he needed to set the spell he planned. He also required something of the two tortured souls left from Kul Elna and to do that he would currently have to look elsewhere. Ryou had been completely integrated into the culture here, anything he owned from before his adoption thrown away.

The location he was heading to had been extracted from one low life, having heard the name 'Thief King' from his lips. What one solitary citizen from Egypt was doing here was anyone's guess, although Bakura had an inkling he knew who was responsible. No matter, that kind of transgression would be dealt with later. He needed the Pharaoh alive if he was going to take revenge once he returned to this world. Reaching the flat, he sneered at its simplicity. Ryou lived in luxury compared to some of the people here, and again this was luxury compared to the poverty in Egypt. He was looking for the apartment on the top floor.

Getting in was easy at first. The mortals guarded their doors only with locks, unable to comprehend the power of the Shadows anymore. Passing through those, he began to sense the traps and wards that the little pest had put in place against intruders. Clearly this one knew what he was doing. It took more energy and time than Bakura would have liked but eventually he was in the flat, glaring around in search of what he needed. The place was empty, its occupant gone for the summer and it showed. Everything was locked and placed away, making the apartment look bare. A minimalist, how nice. And easy to decipher where the more personal items were kept, especially ones you didn't want found.

Bakura tore through the apartment, caring little for the destruction he left in his wake. What he needed here was a little chaos and a thing of grave importance. It didn't matter if the boy returned, for Bakura planned on leaving the world to waste anyway. By the time he was finished devouring every last soul this place would no longer exist. Throwing open the door to the last bedroom, he found it looking occupied, unlike the others. The bed was made for one thing, and there were a number of pieces of junk found in modern teenagers' rooms for another. Sitting on the bedside table was a photograph; framed and titled in such a way that it would be the first thing the occupant of the bed would see in the morning. Bakura removed the thing from the table to look at it more closely.

Two adult and two children, the adults smiling, the children bewildered. The mortals' family, he noted. This wouldn't do at all. Pleasant memories were not something that the creature enjoyed, although he did like the shock rippling through his own entrapped mortal's soul.

"But… But that's me," Ryou murmured, leaving the chains for a moment. The creature smirked. "That's me and… and Bakura."

"Did you not think that perhaps 'Bakura' was simply a surname like your own?" he said, feigning sympathy. Ryou seemed to forget that he was anything other than human, turning to him in confusion.

"N-No. Do you know him? Do you know why he never came to me?"

"I imagine it had something to do with not wanting to disturb your happiness. How very noble of him," the creature said, pretending to be interested. If only the mortal knew what trap he was lying for him to fall into… Oh how he loved the innocent ones. They feel for it every time.

"He wanted me to be happy?"

"Yes. Would you like to see them?"

"What?" the creature smiled a little wider, excitement building. Yes, this was what it was all about. Tricking mortals was almost as fun as draining them dry. Perhaps, once he had the world back in the palm of his hand, he would keep a few of them alive to toy with like this.

"I can show you them, your family. I can show you this very little scene if you so wish." Silence a moment and the creature feared that Ryou would not take the bait, that he would deny him this pleasure. However, after a long moment's pause, Ryou gave him his answer.

"Yes, please."

The night was cold but he was pressed up against his brother, glad for the warmth. Akhefia was bigger than him and therefore gave off more body heat and Ryou inched closer, trying to get as warm as possible. Akhefia stirred and blinked sleepily at him as Ryou wiggled towards him.

"What are you doing Ryou?" he slurred, rubbing his eyes.

"I'm cold," Ryou whispered, attempting to snuggle up further. Akhefia gave him a little smile and wrapped his arms around him in a warm hug.

"Better?" Ryou nodded, sleepy now that he was warm once again. He yawned, drifting off into sleep…

A loud crash outside followed by a scream jolted Ryou from his dream. Akhefia was already sitting up, staring like one of the water fowl before Father put an arrow in it. Mother rushed in, holding a candle and shaking followed by Father. He was wearing his red robe, the one he only usually wore when traversing through the desert to paint tombs for the Pharaoh.

"Akhefia, Ryou get out of bed! The soldiers are here!" Ryou didn't know what that meant but he was pulled roughly out from under the warm covers by his brother and suddenly they were running. Ryou was tired and wanted nothing more than to go back to bed but he instantly awoke once they were outside. Everything was chaos. Khami's house was on fire across the street and people were running, screaming from men in white kilts and sandals. They held spears and stabbed at anyone who came close. Riding on the back of a great bay stallion was the most terrifying man Ryou had ever seen but he didn't get too good of a look at him as Father hoisted him up into his arms and began running towards the Temple. Mother had Akhefia by the hand, having dropped the candle, and they both looked as scared as Ryou felt.

More shouts echoed behind them and they were suddenly surrounded by people.

"Oh, Gods, they're taking everyone to the Temple," Mother cried, cradling Akhefia close.

"We have to keep going!" father shouted over the noise, pushing people away. Mother picked Akhefia up with little resistance which was odd because Akhefia hated being carried.

"Papa, what's going on?" Ryou wailed, terrified, and buried his head in his father's shoulder.

"It's alright, Ryou. Everything is going to be alright." The noise died down a little but the chill picked up again. Ryou shivered, not raising his head until he felt his father putting him down. Only then did he look around, finding himself placed in an alcove behind the offering table. Mother put Akhefia down next to him, who instantly hugged his younger brother, not needing to be told that he was scared or cold. He was too.

"Now I want you both to stay here until we return," Father said sternly but there were tears in his eyes. He hadn't answered Ryou earlier either. Father removed his red robe, wrapping it around the pair to keep them warm.

"I love you both so much," Mother murmured, holding them close for a moment. She was crying too, openly unlike their father. "Akhefia, you'll look after your brother won't you?" Akhefia nodded, gripping her hand.

"Don't go, Mother. Please," he begged another new thing. Akhefia didn't beg, he took, something that constantly got him in trouble. There was another loud crash and more screaming from outside. Ryou watched as his parents exchanged glances and moved in for one last hug. Father was now openly crying too.

"Remember, don't leave this spot! And don't be seen by anyone but us, alright? We'll come and get you in the morning!" Father said. Ryou opened his mouth to ask what was happening again, but Mother shook her head.

"It will all be fine Ryou. The Gods will protect you here." And then they were gone, leaving Ryou and his brother sitting behind the offering table alone.

"They were lying," Akhefia murmured, tears tracing their way down his cheeks. "They're not coming back." Ryou was confused. Mother and Father had said they were coming back in the morning. That wasn't lying was it?

"But why?" he asked, pulling his half of Father's coat tighter. Akhefia shuffled over to him a little more, not easy in the tight space as he was bigger than Ryou.

"I don't know." Ryou was quiet a moment.

"I'm scared," his whispered as more screams echoed up from outside. Akhefia hugged him then, drawing him close. His brother had let the robe fall away around him but he drew it up so that they were engulfed in red, blending in to the red pigments of Set behind them.

"Me too." The shouts and screams were getting louder and Ryou thought he could see feet moving about the Temple under the offering table. He glanced up to see Akhefia frowning and they both crouched down together. There were people in the Temple, what looked to be the whole village and some. He could see Khami and his little girl Amisi huddled near the door, Khami clutching her tightly, pale faced. And Titi was holding her new-born close, a baby that Ryou had yet to learn the name of. More shouts and everyone began shuffling towards the inner shrine, an underground chamber than Ryou had been forbidden from playing in.

"They're taking them to the Millennium Stone," Akhefia muttered. "Why are they taking them there? Mama said that was evil and corrupt." Ryou blinked, staring at his brother. He had never called Mother 'mama', not in his hearing. Akhefia turned to look at him then, fixing him with an 'I'm-going-to-do-something-naughty-and-you-are-going-to-stay-out-of-it-so-you-won't-get-in-trouble' glare. "I'm going to see what they're doing. You stay here."

"Don't go!" Ryou whispered as loud as he dared. "Don't leave me on my own!" Tears welled up in his eyes. How could his brother do this to him? How could he leave him here in this cold and terrifying Temple? Akhefia twisted to look at him, removing the half of Father's robe from around himself and tucking it around Ryou instead.

"Don't worry I'll be back soon. Set and Horus will protect you," he whispered, pointing to the mural above, painted by their ancestor, of Set and Horus facing each other in battle. Ryou nodded, snuggling further into the robe and watched as his brother shuffled out from under the offering table and into the now empty courtyard. He then disappeared into the underground shrine and Ryou was alone.

Sometime later, Ryou heard something come shuffling up from the shrine. It didn't sound like his brother, muted sounds and scratching at rock. Perhaps it was a demon, raised by the bad soldiers who had driven everyone down there? Perhaps Akhefia was dead? But then a small figure appeared, reeling and wavering and Ryou caught a glimpse of his brother face, tear stained and pale under a single glowing brazier. For a moment they stared at each other before Akhefia suddenly fell to the floor, retching and sobbing in a way that Ryou had never seen anyone do before, let alone Akhefia. Finding some semblance of strength once his stomach had clearly stopped heaving, little that there was to come up, Akhefia crawled over to him, gathering him up in his arms and crying quietly into his shoulder.

"W-What is it? Where's Mama and Papa?" Ryou whimpered, afraid. Akhefia never cried, ever. But Akhefia just shook his head, words abandoned. And Ryou began crying himself too for the parents that he was never to see again.

The creature laughed at the horror coming from the mortal. It was so entertaining to feel the pain and shock at the images it had shown the pathetic boy.

"You lied! You said you would show me my family!" Oh the pain, the sadness, the pure revulsion from the images he had been shown was music to the creature's ears.

"I did not. I said I would show you your family and I did. I showed you the night that they died." He cast his gaze around the room, keeping enough of the link open to hear the quiet sobs that the little mortal was attempting to suppress. As if he could hide that delectable pain from the master of destruction. His eyes caught the box under the bed and he deftly pulled it out, kneeling so that he could see what was inside. And there it was, the thing that he was looking for.

"Oh, don't worry little Keeper of the Millennium Stone. You will meet your parents soon enough," he said, holding up the carved toy in wicked delight. The carved names 'Ryou' and 'Akhefia' stood out in stark contrast to the failing light of the day. Night was coming and so were the shadows.

Yugi had no idea as to what had just happened. One moment, he was standing between another argument between his brother and Kaiba over his supposed 'girlfriend', the next a leopard had appeared out of nowhere and jumped his brother to the ground. Atemu had made a surprised noise before laughing as the leopard licked his face affectionately (at least Yugi hoped it was affectionately. Personally he wouldn't have wanted a giant cat with razor sharp teeth so close to his face). He was jolted out of his shock by the sound of Kaiba speaking.

"I thought you were leaving the overgrown kitten at home?" He wasn't looking at Atemu though; instead his gaze was directed at two people who had just appeared dressed in the strangest garb Yugi had ever seen. They were both girls, although at two different ends of the spectrum. One was, surprisingly, as short as he and Atemu, and looked like some kind of pixie. She had tanned skin, wild brown hair and wide green eyes that looked just a little too shocked for this to have been a surprise. She was wearing a beige dress made of some kind of linen, cream boots and some kind of cream headdress that just screamed 'Egyptian Dark Magician Girl' (who was also suspiciously in Atemu's deck). The other girl was taller, slim, with paler skin and pale, almost translucent blue hair. Her eyes were a startling azure colour and she was also wearing some kind of brown dress, although made of a rougher material and a cloak which he assumed had previously been pulled over her head. Both girls were staring at him unabashedly, although after a minute or so, the blue-eyed girl turned her attention towards Kaiba and Yugi swore she blushed.

I stand corrected Yugi thought. There is someone on the earth capable of putting up with Kaiba. Atemu seemed to have managed to finally get the leopard off of him, although it was still curling around his legs, purring. It didn't make the situation any less surreal.

"Yugi, this is Mana and Kisara," Atemu said, gesturing first to the brown-haired pixie like girl and then to the azure-eyed girl who was speaking quietly to Kaiba. Yugi quickly looked away, still not sure how to deal with that. Bakura was just standing behind them looking amused. The girl- Mana- seemed to break out of her shock, grinned and jumped forwards, enveloping Atemu in a hug and babbling in Wesret excitedly. Yugi glanced towards Bakura who had one eyebrow raised and seemed to be looking pointedly at the floor.

"Give them a minute," Bakura muttered, leaning back against the wall. The leopard seemed to have noticed Yugi and was now prowling cautiously towards him, sniffing the air in an almost confused manner.

"Um…" Yugi muttered, standing stock still in terror. Of all the things he thought would happen to him in life, he didn't think that he would be eaten by his brother's pet leopard. It sniffed his hand one, cocked its head to one side and then suddenly rubbed itself along his legs in much the same manner it had with Atemu. It butted its head against his hand as if to say 'pet me.' Yugi laughed nervously and warily stroked the leopard's head who instantly began to purr.

"Really?" Yugi blinked at the incredulity in Kaiba's voice. "That thing hates everybody!" Atemu broke away from his conversation with Mana for a moment to fix Kaiba with a pointed glare.

"Hotep is not a thing. And it's your own fault he doesn't like you," he stated, before turning to Yugi with a smile. "He likes you." Yugi gave a small smile at that, unsure at the moment whether he liked the leopard back. Atemu then turned Mana towards him and gestured to Yugi. "Mana, this is my brother, Yugi. He's been living in Japan." The girl looked at him curiously and then smiled.

Hi, I'm Mana!" she said in perfect Japanese. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"It's nice to meet your too," Yugi said, hoping he wasn't blushing. He had only just gotten out of the habit of blushing whenever Tea spoke to him or any other attractive girl. And there was no denying that Mana was extremely pretty. She smiled a little wider and bounced towards him.

"What's Japan like?" she suddenly asked in a rush, eyes alight. Yugi blinked taken aback slightly by her energy, glancing over his shoulder to Atemu who just grinned, mouthing "sorry" to him. Bakura looked like he wanted to laugh.

"Mana, give Yugi some time to get to know you before you start bombarding him with questions," came a familiar voice from behind them. Mana straightened, reddening slightly and Yugi turned to see Mahad shaking his head, although there was a smile on his face showing that this must be normal behaviour for her. Yugi noted that Mahad was also similarly dressed, in a long white tunic and cloak. His face and hair were hidden underneath a white headdress which was adorned with a golden headpiece. Golden bands wrapped his wrists and upper arms and a golden collar was draped over his shoulders, much like those he had seen in pictures of mummies and their treasures. Two golden shoulder pieces held the cloak in place and he sent Yugi a friendly smile. Yugi had to admit the ensemble suited him and he seemed much more comfortable in it than the clothes he had worn back in Japan.

"Yes, Master Mahad," Mana said behind him, surprisingly muted. Yugi blinked at the wording but was too baffled that he didn't question it. There was way too much going on, that he needed a moment to think. It had suddenly hit him that this was it: he was going to New Thebes, a place that had no electricity and no sense of the modern world. He wondered how the pair was coping when he knew he felt like screaming at the mere thought of New Thebes. This place would be unimaginable to someone like Mana and Mahad, Japan ever more so. His respect for the elder teen grew a little.

"We will be leaving for New Thebes on the morrow. I have brought everything you will need," Mahad continued, directing his gaze toward Atemu and seeming to ignore the stares they were getting from the surrounding tourists. Atemu nodded, his face expressionless. He looked even more serious than when he had first returned to Japan, a bad sign if ever Yugi had seen one. He gulped, wondering what else this would entail.

"Thank you Mahad." Atemu glanced at Yugi and his eyes held only reassurance. "If you would have them brought to my room in an hour that would be fine." Mahad nodded, bowed and turned away, gesturing for Mana to follow him. She frowned but gave Atemu one last hug, surprisingly gave one to Yugi as well before rushing after Mahad who was waiting for her at the entrance. A moment later they were gone and Atemu had collapsed into the nearest chair.

"Well, life just got boring again. Anyone up for some fun before we get stuck on the royal dust track tomorrow?" Bakura stated, one eyebrow raised. Kaiba had disappeared with the girl who had been introduced as Kisara at some point between Mahad's arrival and departure.

"Why do I get the feeling that fun for you involves mugging someone?" Yugi asked and Bakura grinned, a glint in his eyes. Atemu rolled his eyes but waved a hand at him.

"I don't know why you're asking, you'll only do it anyway," he said ruefully. Bakura shrugged.

"No harm in trying right?" One eye-roll later and Bakura was gone, leaving Yugi alone with Atemu who looked as if he wished to be anywhere but here. Yugi sat in the chair next to him, wondering what was in store for him.

"Atemu…" he started and his brother looked up at him, expression carefully blank. "What happens now?" Atemu sighed, staring down at his hands.

"Now, we go have lunch and then we change and leave everything of the modern world behind us. From then on we go on a week long journey back to New Thebes through the desert, which could or could not be delayed further with the appearance of sand-storms, bandits or the thief court depending on the mood Akhefia's in." This was all said in a bland monotone, apart from the last part which had a touch of humour. Yugi gave a small smile at that, aware that even Bakura's name had changed in this country. It was all so confusing and it would only get worse the longer he stayed here.

"So, it'll be for me what Japan was like for you?" Yugi asked quietly. Atemu just pulled him into a hug. "I'm scared," Yugi whispered, suddenly feeling horrible for the way he had treated Atemu when he had first arrived at home. His brother must have been terrified from the moment he reached Cairo and yet not once had he complained or made it obvious how out of depth he had been. Somehow, Yugi didn't think he could pull that off over here.

"I know," Atemu said soothingly. "I know."

Oh My God I spent more of this chapter on Ryou than our main heroes! Gasp! What is happening?!

Admittedly, this chapter I felt was needed because it makes it clearer why the creature is after Ryou and Akhefia (kind of) and also explains why they are orphans in my version of this. As well as this we get to see more sadistic monster and possessed Ryou! I feel like my inner psychopath is running free in this fic because it's gonna get worse.

Next chapter, the journey to New Thebes, which may or may not be skipped because the more ineteresting stuff happens in the city! (Don't worry I'm not doing an entire time skip from the end of this chapter to the city because then that would make no sense from where I left off. I'm not that insane. Mostly.)

Review answers, because oh my, the most amount of reviews I've had are equal to only one other of my fics and that ones finished (don't read it. First FanFic awful, trust me).

Aqua Girl 007: Thank you for your lovely review and I'm sorry there wasn't as much Mana in this. I hope you liked my Ryou/Akhefia sub-plotish part though. Promise there shall be more of her and vaseshipping (more in the sequel mainly just fluffy stuff in this one :()

AnimeGirl9894: I'm glad your enjoying this. Here was some more crazy possessed Ryou and the Millennium Puzzle hand-over shall happen in like two chapters tops. And I have some big ideas over that one ;)

angiembabe: i'm just kind of torturing Ryou now and I feel really guilty... but I'm glad your enjoying it. I'm glad you liked Mana's part, although yeah I guess I did make her kind of funny. All light-hearted stuff up for her though (although not entirely since this is getting darker with the climax coming. Hope I don't screw that up)

Guest: Oh my God the questions! That's fine and thanks for your nice review. I suppose this chapter answers your first question (and yes, it is slightly confusing with Yugi knowing Akhefia as 'Bakura' and the creature calling itself 'Bakura' but I hope it didn't confuse you too much). As for Yugi in a pairing, I'm not sure. It wouldn't be a YugixBakura shipping I'm afraid, I don't think that would gel very well with the characteristics I've given them. Obviously there is vaseshipping and blueshipping in here, with a kind-of-squint-hard-enough peachshipping in the background. It would be either Tea or Rebecca Yugi would be paired with I think though, more likely Rebecca because she had, I don't know, a character and development in the English anime series but admittedly, this is also a more brotherly fic, than a romance one. Hope that answered your questions and I'm sorry there isn't any boyxboy slashes in this if that was what you were looking for (not averse to them, I just can't write them the way people would want).