Short side notice; I have a DeviantArt account now and will publish my images from this story (and other stuff) there, so please check it out. I believe you'll find it interesting. My name there is Mjus1.

THIS CHAPTER IS REPOSTED BECAUSE OF CHANGES IN THE TIMELINE.

Back home

It was something strange in the air this morning. Dr. Lou went through the corridors on his way to the Dreamers' room with a strange feeling in his chest. He hadn't felt anything like it in the four hundred years he had wondered this earth. Was Crow here? No, it was no unpleasant feeling. The fact it was a feeling made it very clear it was good. He hadn't felt the taste of emotion since he was alive.

As he stepped up to the door he suddenly stopped. Some part of him knew what to find on the other side. The other parts dreaded what it could be. He opened the door.

It had to be the loveliest scene he had seen on earth. In the open window sat the young Yugi Atemu watching the sky. He looked relaxed, his hair in order and skin perfectly white. But when he turned around his eyes were blue. A very familiar and longed for pair of crystalline blue eyes.

"My daughter," he whispered. Yuniko smiled.

"It is time, father. You no longer have to be here."

King Loutus went to his daughter, embracing her with his entire being. "Thank you, daughter."

Bakura and Yami were the first two to arrive to the hospital that morning. They silently agreed to wait for the others to appear, but stood on different sides of the gate. As if they would ever show any sign they could possibly get along.

"Hey guys." Jono looked from one to the other. "Getting along as well as always I see."

"Where're the others?" Yami asked.

"On their way, I suppose," the blond shrugged his shoulders. "I don't think they would come this far only to dash out of it."

"You're actually right on that one," Honda said as he walked up to them. He cast a look between Yami and Bakura. "And you're as good friends as usual. Good to see something's normal at least."

"Here I am. Sorry to keep you waiting," Anzu called as she ran up to them. She was dressed in jeans and pale yellow blouse that went well with her skin and hair.

"What took you so long?" Bakura asked, being the jerk he was in the morning, though they hadn't waited for more than fifteen minutes the most.

"Quit being a jerk for once so we can find the doc in civil manners."

Bakura cast his enemy a poisonous glare, but decided it wasn't worth snapping back at him.

They entered the hospital and Honda went to the desk to ask the nurse there for Dr. Lou.

"Dr. Lou is busy for the moment," the old lady said.

"Is he with the Dreamers?"

The nurse frowned suspiciously at him. "Visiting time is not open yet. You will have to wait another two hours."

Jono grabbed Bakura's shoulder before said albino could stomp up to the desk. "She's just following the rules," he hissed at his friend.

"As if we have been ditching school for the last week only to be stopped by some goddamn rules."

Jono exchanged a glance with Yami and Anzu. Bakura actually had a point there.

"Yea, we're probably far behind in about all subjects," Anzu mumbled.

"Oh, it's you."

The gang looked up and saw Linn, the nurse that had a few days ago told them about the rumours about the Dreamers. Honda had given up his tries on the desk nurse and walked up to them.

"You are here to visit the Dreamers I suppose," Linn smiled.

"Yes we are," Yami smiled back. "But visiting time hasn't started yet it seems."

"Oh, but the Dreamers room are always open. Dr. Lou said so himself after he returned when we thought he disappeared. Since there is no telling when they will wake up or if they will say or do something in their sleep he thought it best to leave their room open for visitors."

Bakura smirked. "Rules are for losers," he stated and started to follow the corridor leading to the Dreamers' section.

"I thought we were here to talk to Dr. Lou." Anzu's remark stopped Bakura in his tracks. He growled in irritation.

"He's there," Linn said with a calming motion of her hand. "I greeted him when he was on his way to do his daily examination of their state. Since he isn't back yet he should be there still."

Bakura straightened up and picked up his long strides, the others following him after having waved their goodbyes to Linn.

The corridors echoed eerily from their footsteps. Bakura, who already felt tense, felt his stomach sink in dread. Why were the corridors so silent? Shouldn't they hear other doctors and nurses do their examination of the other patients in the rooms they passed? Had something happened during the night? Had something happened to Ryou?

Gone to die, not dead and gone.

The last words of the book he had read the night before entered his mind and he quickened his pace. Yami short on his heels. He too found the heavy silence too compact.

Outside the Dreamers' closed door they stopped.

"What's wrong?" Anzu asked.

"Isn't it a little too quiet in here?" Yami asked after a moment of listening.

Honda exchanged a glance with Jono as Anzu tilted her head to listen. No, there were no sounds around them. "You think something happened after we left last night after all? Maybe the reaction just took some time?"

"Whatever did we expect to happen anyway?" Honda asked.

Jono opened his mouth, but stayed silent as a sound of soft feet tapping against the floor was heard from within the Dreamers' room.

The door opened and Malik's purple eyes stared at them all. Then his face broke into a gentle smile.

"There you are." The gang blinked at him. "We have been waiting for you."

Malik stepped aside as he opened the door completely, revealing Yugi sitting on a chair with Ryou and Seto's heads in his lap. They looked up at the visitors and Yugi smiled brightly.

"There you are, brother." He stood and walked a few steps. Then Yami dashed into the room and hugged his younger brother close to him.

Ryou gave Bakura a somewhat wry look before he run into his older brother's arms. "I missed you," was all he said.

"Where's Dr Lou?" Anzu asked as she looked around.

"He has passed on." Yami looked down as Yugi broke free from his grasp. "I set him free."

"What are you talking about?"

Yugi held up something in his hand. It was a small shard-shaped bottle with water inside.

"Your tears," Jono breathed.

"So you remember?" Yugi smiled.

"How could I forget?"

"What's that?" Bakura asked with a confused frown, not releasing his brother.

To almost everybody's surprise it was Honda who answered. "It is her majesty's tears. The vampires used it to protect themselves against the light of day."

Anzu held her head. "Are you trying to tell me Dr. Lou was a vampire?"

Yugi, Malik, Seto and Ryou answered with a unison "Yes".

Anzu had to sit down and Bakura and Yami dropped their jaws to the ground.

Jono pointed at the bottle in Yugi's hand. "That's the shiny thing I thought Lou had in his pocket."

"But actually it was in his chest," Seto explained.

Yami suddenly looked down at his younger brother. "So you are a saint?"

Yugi laughed a bit. "Yuniko is the saint. I am only your little brother Yugi."

"Yes," Malik said. "We are back home at last."

Two day's later they were all back to school. Yami, Bakura, Jono, Anzu and Honda all got themselves detention for a month for having ditched school for a week for reasons the headmaster didn't believe. Yugi, Malik, Ryou and Seto had a good explanation and proof of why they hadn't been in school. Thanks to Yugi no one seemed to take much notice to Dr. Lou's disappearance. How he had convinced the owner of the hospital not to worry or call the police Yami would never figure out.

However, their next problem was culture class.

"Please hand in your history researches of your piece of art."

Jono and Honda were glared at in their groups, Yami and Bakura stared at each other, blaming the other and at the same time knowing perfectly well why they had abandoned their own work. They still had their analysis though, so at least they were saved from the worst punishment. In Yugi's group they stared at each other.

"Yugi Atemu and his group, you have the weekend to do your research," the teacher declared.

Three pairs of eyes settled on Yugi, who met them with a slight smile and a twinkle in his eyes. As the follow-up work was handed that twinkle increased and the smile grew mischievous. They all leant forward to listen.

Later that night they were all settled in Seto's room, his being the biggest of them all.

"Yuniko's father was not the only vampire left to this age," Yugi started where he paced in the room. To Malik it was such a familiar sight he had to smile. "There are at least two more."

"How can you be so sure?" Seto asked.

"I can feel them. There is a vampire in the school, and I have my suspicions that Crow survived as well."

"Didn't you say Crow was there during the first Battle Princess's time?" Ryou asked with a look of concern.

"He was. Which just makes him stronger today. Four hundred years ago he was one of the most powerful vampires under Sanguis's command. Today he must be the strongest existent vampire."

"Could it be him in the school?" Malik asked, seemingly not too worried.

"No. If he was I would not have waited to put him to an end. Crow was dangerous four hundred years ago. What is he not today then?"

"His majesty Loutus protected himself with Yuniko's tears," Malik stated. "So Crow should do the same."

"Which means he is able to stay out in the sun," Seto finished.

"That does not matter," Yuniko said with a wave of her hand. "My tears gave them the amount of humanity it took to stay out during the day. Humans live of what the mother Earth can give, not human blood. So he still must leave the tears behind once in a while to hunt. During those nights I should be able to locate him."

"Until then?"

"Until then," Yugi's green eyes returned. "We live our lives as if everything is normal."

Malik, Ryou and Seto spent much time with Yugi during the weekend. Ryou and Yugi's older brothers were with them and Anzu, whom Yugi and Malik immediately recognized, Honda and Jono joined them as well.

"What happened?" Jono asked Yugi Saturday noon. "What did you dream of?"

Yugi touched the place where Yuniko's blood was left in Jono's very soul. "You already know that, do you not, Joey?"

Ryou and Seto exchanged a meaningful look as both of them reached up to touch the blood that no longer hung in threads around their necks.

Yugi said nothing more about it and Bakura handed him the research they had done while the Dreamers' slept.

"Good work, Bakura," Yugi thanked him, making Yami growl. "And all of you," Yugi smiled, giving most of the papers to Ryou who handed a bunch to Seto who gave half of it to Malik.

"Most of it is good," Seto stated.

"But this is only the princess's history, not the painting's," Malik said, scanning the papers again.

"The painting was false," Yugi said and stood, turning to Bakura. "Where is Ryouko's diary?"

"At our place. Why?"

"We only borrowed it." Yugi glanced at Ryou. "I think it's time we give it back. The owner should know a lot more about the princess and the real painting."

Ryou and Seto looked at each other, suddenly remembering the owner of the painting.

"I think we should do that right away," Malik said and stood.

With Ryouko's diary securely in Ryou's arms the quartet walked up the short flight of stairs to the old, wooden door belonging to the painting's owner. The name on the door said; Ken Scotte.

Yugi knocked on the door and waited for the heavy steps of the old man to approach the door from the other side. The door opened and a pair of familiar brown eyes stared back into Yugi's green ones.

"Hi mister. We came to return the diary. And to ask some questions."

The old man nodded his grey head and stepped aside. "Come on in, young ones."

Inside it smelled of old wood and stone. The entire house was built with some kind of dark wood, and so was the furniture, covered only with layers of knitted blankets in gloomy colours.

"You have had a lot of free time since last time I met you, have you not." Yuniko's blue eyes looked out of Yugi's face. "Sir Ken."

The old man stiffened and slowly turned. He met the blue eyes briefly before he had to look away. "Yes, my queen."

"You do not have to bring us anything," Malin said as she took her place behind the chair Yuniko had settled in. Ryouko and Kyoko stood by the door.

"I want to." The vampire's voice had a begging in it and Yuniko didn't stop him when he started moving again.

Ken served hot water and some cookies he had brought. The water he put some raspberry leaves in to give it taste.

Yuniko looked at the man who did not dare to look anybody in the face. He was old, broken, and ashamed.

"You never left Scotland, did you?"

Ken's shoulders stiffened before his head fell even lower. He shook his head. Yuniko said nothing more as she took the cup he had placed on the table in front of her.

"Please sit down, Ken. This is your home, not mine."

"My home is yours, your majesty."

Malik took the cup made for him and sat in the hard couch. Ken gave him a surprised look.

Seto and Ryou took their cups as well and joined Malik on the couch.

"We are not here to judge you," Yuniko said. "We are here to ask you what happened."

Ken nodded and sat down on a small stool on the other side of the table. "I could not leave Scotland," he started. "I was too scared. I felt it as soon as I left the castle how small and naked I was. But as long as I stayed in Scotland I knew I would be protected somehow. I did not dare to leave." Silence followed his words, but Yuniko listened along with the three boys on the couch. "But there were vampires in Scotland too. Mr. Hem… you remember him?"

Yuniko nodded, her eyes turning cold at the memory. "He deceived me. I did not know he was a vampire almost until the end. It was through him I learnt what the vampires needed my tears for."

Ken swallowed hard. "Soon after I was banished he came for me. I thought you had sent after me… but he revealed his true self and… well… made me like this." He looked at his hands. "He told me to go to… the Lord. He said he would help me. He did. He gave me your tears and told me to spy on Scotland's people."

Malik leant forward and took a cookie. He seemed relaxed, but there was a wrinkle in his forehead.

"I took the tears and ran off. I did not dare to betray the Lord, I did not dare to betray you again. I was dead, but I was afraid to die. I was… a coward."

The old vampire was shaking. Had he been able to cry he would.

"We defeated the Lord," Yuniko said. "The Devil took him back. There is nothing more to be afraid of."

"There is."

The boys on the couch looked up but Yuniko's face stayed passive.

"Crow is still out there. He comes to me once in a while, asking if I have found you yet. Found the reincarnation of the Battle Princess."

"So Crow did survive?" Yuniko leant back in the armchair, biting her finger. "And he is looking for me?"

"Yes." Ken looked up, but his eyes stayed at her elbows. "I have not told him though. I have not told him about you."

"You should."

Ken stared up into Yuniko's eyes in pure surprise, finding her grinning slyly.

"You should lead him to me. That spares me the trouble of hunting him down."

"Your majesty, this is madness! You can not defeat Crow. He is too powerful!"

Yuniko blinked and Yohim's warm, brown eyes stared at Ken. "But we can." Another blink and Yuniko's blue eyes were back. "We have done so twice already." Another blink, emerald green eyes. "And those two times there were armies of them." Yuniko's blue eyes returned. "We are not alone." Brown eyes glanced at the three on the couch. "We can do it together."

Ken stared. He didn't understand what was going on.

"Now," Yugi started and reached for a cookie. "You're the artist of "The Battle Princess" painting. Could you please tell us about yourself?"

When Malik came home that night his sister had prepared dinner.

"Welcome home," she said carefully, not meeting his eyes. She hadn't dared to look at him ever since he returned from the hospital.

"Nice to know I'm welcome," Malik said, no malice in his voice, but Isis's shoulders twisted anyway.

Malik looked at his sister. Malin's sister Mina had been cruel and egocentric. Malik's sister was egocentric, but not cruel. He could easily see he didn't have the same sister as back then. He started laying the table.

"You don't-"

"I want to," Malik cut her off, then turned to smile at her. "I dreamt of ten years as a servant. Helping you out feels familiar and natural to me."

Isis stared at him as Malik laid the table with an ease that said he had done it many times before. He had changed, she realized. He was calm and secure. He walked with straight back and a small smile on his lips. Before he had never smiled when doing housework.

"You've changed."

Malik chuckled before turning to smile at her again. "Get to know Milady, and you will find yourself changed as well."

The door opened and their mother's voice was heard from the hall. "I'm home." She entered the kitchen and was met by Malik's kindly smiling face.

"Welcome home… mother."

"Malik…" but the boy shook his head.

"I am not angry, I simply want my family back." The older woman trembled to her knees. "I'm sick of being treated like a rebellious child." All colour drained from the women's faces. "I hate it when you don't believe me when I tell you the truth as it is." Isis didn't move when her brother removed the pot from the stove and placed it on the table. "I'm fed up to be yelled at and blamed when something bad happens."

By now tears were making their way down Mrs. Ishtar's cheeks. Malik walked up to her and forced her to look him in the eye. "And still I love you, because there was a time I knew that love was unconditional. I want to go back to that time, when I didn't have to deserve being loved."

"Seto-"

"I am fine, mother. Really, you're such a hen."

Yukino looked at her oldest son with wet eyes. "You've never said 'mother' before."

Seto looked up at her, then at the ceiling in thought. "I've called you 'mother' always… but that was in my dream."

Yukino sat on a chair with a heavy sigh. "Will you tell me what you dreamed of?"

The young man sighed too. His mother, she noticed those small changes in him the same way she always did. It would make her the greatest mother if she could only lay off with those worried wide eyes of hers. Seto always felt like a jerk when she used them against him. But he still didn't like people eavesdropping.

"Stop hiding behind the door and get your ass over here, Mokuba."

The youngest Kaiba peeked into the room. Yukino gestured for him to come closer and he climbed up into her lap.

Seto thought for a moment, wondering if he should tell them the whole truth or not. "In my dream… you were…" he cast a hesitating glance at his younger brother. "Prostituted."

Yukino's eyes widened and for a second Seto was afraid she would throw a fit. But thankfully she took a deep breath.

"What's a postituted?" Mokuba asked.

"When you get older, son."

"We lived in London during the early seventeenth century. It was you, my older half-sister and me. When you had gained enough money we left the… we left London and travelled through what today is called the UK, from England to Scotland. Back then the four countries were split and only kept the peace up because of the royal affairs (Wales had a princess from Scotland, Ireland got their king from England, and England had a Scottish royal advisor). But it was worried everywhere, and we were going to the north of Scotland where your first daughter waited for you."

"Do we have sisters?" Mokuba asked innocently.

"No, sweetie. This is all in Seto's dream." She lifted her head and looked into her oldest son's eyes. "Who was that daughter?"

"The princess of Scotland."

Yukino's mouth fell open in surprise.

"Before you ended up in London, you were married to the king of Scotland, and had with him two children."

"K-ki-king of… W-what about the other child?"

"Prince Atemu, older than the princess with ten years, died before we arrived." Seto decided against saying the princess's name. "And shortly after we arrived to the white castle you disappeared. The princess took me and my sister in her care, telling us that was what you had made her promise. You had made her promise to protect us when you were no longer there."

The listeners waited for him to continue, but he didn't. "Back then, I always called you 'mother'."

"Why would I no longer be there?"

"Who knows? I don't."

"Wasn't I in your dream too?" Mokuba asked, wanting attention.

"Yes you were, but you were not my brother. You were one of the princess's most loved servants, she treated you well and gave you candy."

"Sounds like a good princess."

"She was," Seto said with a smile, ignoring the worried sting that Mokuba saw whoever gave him sweets as a good person. "She was smart and kind, hardly like the kings and queens you read about in school."

In the Kazuki's apartment things had changed as well, some of it for the worse. Whenever Ryou saw his brother he flinched, then blinked and then let out his breath with a "Brother", then he would go to hug him.

Sunday noon Bakura had enough. He forcefully sat Ryou down in his kitchen chair and sat down opposite of him. "What the hell is wrong with you?" he demanded.

"What?" Ryou looked at him with wide, surprised eyes.

"Don't play dumb on me. You flinch whenever you see me, like I'm some kind of monster that will attack you." At that Ryou made an you-have-no-idea-how-right-you-are face. "So talk to me. What happened?"

"A lot," Ryou answered. "I lived for fourteen years with only me and for thirteen with my younger sister."

"Sister?"

"The dream I had."

"The Battle Princess's half sister?"

Ryou looked up at his brother surprised. "How did you know?"

"We didn't do a little research while you slept/dreamt." He picked up the book he had borrowed from the bookstore five days ago. By now he had finished it. Yami hadn't asked for it anymore so he supposed he would return it to the old lady in the store. "We did a lot of research. I know the whole story, now I wanna know what changed."

"Does Yami and the others know too?"

"Yes, not as much as me though. They haven't read this."

Ryou reached out a hand for the book and Bakura gave it to him. Flipping though the pages and looking at the pictures Ryou soon knew what Bakura knew.

"This was written by Miss Malin," he stated.

"So I have heard."

"Only Miss Malin would be able to write this. No one else loved the princess the way Malin did. She is the only one who would be able to retell the truth to the world, so that no one forgot about her."

Bakura watched his brother a while where he looked at the pictures with love and longing. There was a hint of sadness in his eyes too.

"Answer my question."

"Of course. Malin never knew. No one but the princess knew… and me."

"Knew what?"

Ryou looked up at his brother and his face turned sly. "You are the reincarnation of the princess's lover."

Bakura lowered his head as he felt his face burn, remembering that dream he had had. "And you knew that when the princess's nurse didn't?"

"Yes, because you were a vampire."

"Yes I know… that… I was?"

Ryou laughed wholeheartedly. That was the funniest face his brother had ever pulled. He took a moment to calm down while Bakura stared at him as if he had grown a second head.

"Aku?"

"What?"

"That was my name, wasn't it?"

Now it was Ryou's turn to gap in surprise. "How did you know that?"

Pink graced Bakura's cheeks again as he remembered his dream. "I have had dreams too… just not… like you."

"And the princess called you by that name?"

"Yes."

Ryou looked off to the side of his older brother's body. "Oh," was all he could say. "Well, the reason I know… maybe I should start from the beginning."

"Please do."

"The princess… the queen told me the night after I met you for the first time how I came to. My mother… when she was married to the late king… the princess's father, she did something that had her banned."

"Yes, I know that part."

"And then, as she fled from Scotland there were a few people who helped her, and you were among them." Ryou looked warily at his brother. "And you went to bed with her, a night Ryouko was made."

Bakura fought against his embarrassment as he tried to figure out exactly what Ryou had just said.

"I was a vampire?"

"Not when you slept with mother."

"…I slept with your mother… Ryouko/you were made that night… I was the princess's lover… I was a vampire…"

"The last two sentences are in the other order; You became a vampire and some years later became the princess's lover."

Bakura's head was spinning. "And why do you flinch when you see me?"

Ryou's voice softened. "Because I remember you as the vampire who tried to take both the queen and me away."

When Kanaka came home that night she first of all made sure she had two boys home. She made sure to caress Yugi's hair in a tentative try to show she actually loved him.

"I will make oden for dinner," she said softly and made her way into the kitchen. Yugi stared after her and wondered when was last time he cooked. Yuniko had never had to do such a thing, being a royal. He wondered if he still could do it and followed his mother into the kitchen.

"Can I help?"

"You don't have to… Yugi."

"But I want to."

Kanaka looked at him a moment. He noticed how tense she was, how long ago it was she brushed her hair and how much she tried to be a real mother.

"Please."

Kanaka nodded. "Of course."

Carefully Yugi started to mix the ingredients as Kanaka watched the noodles. All the time he could feel her throw long glances at him and at last he decided to look up and smile at her.

"It feels like a long time ago I cooked," he said softly. Kanaka only nodded. "You used to order us to do it, because you were hungry or had a man with you home."

Immediately Kanaka stiffened and the blood left her face. Yugi grabbed her arm when she started to wobble.

"Sit down for a moment," Yugi suggested and then decisively sat her down. "Calm down, here, have some water." Yugi then had to leave her for a moment for it was time to put the other ingredients in the pot. He swirled the ingredients around for a moment before he put the whole pot on the table where Kanaka was shaking with held back tears.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled over and over again.

"I have always had so low thoughts about you I've never even called you 'mom', and you have never noticed. Because Yami did, in hopes of attention."

The tears Kanaka had done her best to hold in escaped her guard and fell in rivers down her cheeks. She sobbed quietly as Yugi continued to talk.

"It was much better when dad was alive. Back then we were a family." Kanaka started to hiccup. "But listen to me now. I have dreamt of eighteen years being loved and protected by everyone around me. People I loved, people who deceived me, people I almost betrayed. I watched my family be taken from me one by one."

The woman on the chair hid her face in her hands and continued to cry "I'm sorry" to him. Yugi kneeled in front of her and took her hands away so she could look at her face. Her eyes held so much regret.

"Listen to me for a change," he said rather forcefully. It made Kanaka flinch and then slowly look into his green eyes, like hers. "Family is not something I am ready to give up one more time. I carry memories I do not want. Yami is my family as my brother, and you are my family as my mother. Let it be that way again. Let us be a family again, as it was when father was alive."

Yami stood in the door and watched them. When Kanaka broke down he came inside and embraced both her and his brother.

"I agree with Yugi, mom," he said softly. "I want to be a family again, like when dad was still here."

Kanaka couldn't answer and only grabbed onto her sons and held them close, like she never wanted to let go again.

Things will change from now on, Yuniko said and looked out the window.

But if you stay like that for much longer the food will get cold, Yohim added with a smile. What kind of food is this, anyway?

Sunday evening they gathered in the Kazukis' apartment.

"Well, this is what we have from Ken," Seto said and placed his notes on the table for them all to see, not that they actually needed them. "What next?"

"The first part was to analyse the artwork and find out as much as possible about its background and the artist," Ryou said and looked up at his friends. "That's what we've got here."

"Yea," Yugi said as he rested most of his weight on his elbows, looking at the notes. "We need nothing more than this. The artist is named Ken Scotte, an old Scottish man who loved the Scottish saint enough to create the painting of how he believed she looked like the moment she died. In other words; false. The painting isn't from the seventeenth century."

"You think Ken actually never went back to Scotland?" Malik asked.

"I know he didn't. He was banished and scared of the Lord. Scotland is sacred to him; a place where he can't set his foot for the sins he committed. I think Scotland's ground is the same as a grave for you, you simply don't walk on it."

"But if Ms. Atac asks us why he loved the saint?" Seto asked.

"Ken told us of it, without bending the truth we can say 'The saint was his success and his downfall, he despised her until something happened that changed his heart'. That is all true, we just aren't saying exactly what happened." Yugi smiled innocently.

"You're being sly, Yugi," Ryou accused with a knowing smirk.

"I know. The world would be a boring place without a little slyness every now and then." And all of them started laughing.

"Can I ask you a little question without breaking the merry atmosphere in here?"

"Of course, brother," Ryou smiled and dried his eyes.

"When we researched about the Battle Princess we found two sorts of texts from the same era."

"Yes?" Yugi coaxed him to continue.

"One we could read, the other was not even legible for us. Do you know why we had no troubles reading Ryouko's diary?"

Everybody stared at Ryou who stared at his brother.

"Oh," Ryou voiced when he figured out the connection. And when he realized why. "Oh."

"Is that all you have to say?"

"It is a little complicated, Bakura," Yugi said as he too figured out why Ryouko's diary was legible when the other text, whatever it was, wasn't. "Actually, it's a little more than a little complicated."

"And that means?"

"That it's complicated," Yugi said truthfully, speading his arms with a smile and knowing Bakura wouldn't back down until he got an answer, but two could play that game.

You are not alone, Yugi, Yuniko said.

The green-eyed boy resisted the urge to look to his side where he knew the Scottish queen stood, watching Ryou's brother.

"Ryou?"

The younger Kazuki raised his hands in defence. "Don't look at me, brother."

"Why not? You're her!"

Three of the boys sitting around the table stared wide-eyed at Ryou's older brother.

"You think I'm stupid or something?" Bakura asked annoyed. "I told Ryou yesterday we didn't do a little, but a lot of research while you dreamt. There must have been a reason the four of you began dreaming. All four of you, all five of us are reincarnations of people living four hundred years ago in Scotland. Anzu, you know, the brunette girl, was once known as princess Tea, a French princess engaged to the prince of Scotland, Atemu. But before the war began the princess sent her back to France in order to keep her safe. Jono was once the princess's friend and bodyguard and Honda was there as well, but I'm not sure of his role."

Ryou blinked. "Wow, brother. You really did a lot of research."

"Told you so."

Malik and Seto glanced at Yugi, whose eyes had a spark Malin had seen way too many times in her princess.

"You will have your answers," Yugi said calmly. "But not yet. Wait a little."

"How long?"

"When we know everything."

And with that Bakura had to go.

Before Yugi settled in his bed that night he stood in his widow, watching the city he was born in. It was like any city over the world, typical for the modernism with a touch of nationality. People were the same all over the planet, they only talked different languages and saw different things as good and bad. Like "Nuts" had three different meanings to it. He sighed at his own thoughts. It was so simple to believe there were only humans out there.

"I am a fool," he said to his reflection.

When I lived we knew the earth was flat, Yohim pointed out.

Just like we now do not know what happens after death.

Yugi had to smile at Scotland's saint's remark. "Yea. I guess. But you should know what happens." He looked at them standing beside his reflection in the glass.

We may do, Yohim agreed. But you do not. You can only believe along with every other living being who can only wonder.

"Yugi, who are you talking to?"

"Myself," Yugi called back to his mother.

"Can I come in."

"Be my guest."

Kanaka carefully stepped inside and looked at him. It was funny. Before he had been dreaming she hadn't let doors stop her from going anywhere in the house.

"How are you feeling?"

"Fine. I was simply having funny thoughts I felt I needed to voice." He looked at her as he stepped up to his bed. "Take a seat?"

The woman stepped up to the bed and sat beside her son. "You want to talk about it?"

"People say life is unfair." Kanaka quirked an eyebrow at him. He bit back his laugh at the sight. "Some people are rich, others have many siblings, and some doesn't have to worry about the next day."

"Where are you going?"

Yugi smiled as he looked up at her. "I've realized life is what you make it. Even if you have no money, you can still see yourself as rich. And if you have no home, you can still have friends and family. It is only those who complain about their situations that are unhappy."

"Yugi…"

"No, I'm not crazy or trying to sound sappy. I'm just… seeing things from a different view."

Kanaka hesitated a bit but then decided against saying anything. "Well then. Good night, Yugi."

"Good night," Yugi answered and crawled into bed as Kanaka made her way towards the door. "Mom."

The red-haired woman froze mid step, her heart leaping to her throat. Yugi had called her "Mom"! She smiled in happiness and resisted the urge to dry her leaking eyes.

"Sleep tight, sweetheart."

When Kanaka was safe in her room Yugi rolled off his bed again and walked back to his window.

'Can you feel it?'

Like a cold touch on my skin, Yohim answered.

He is coming closer. I would recognize him in a thousand miles, Yuniko said with a slight hiss to her voice.

'Crow is coming here. Let us wait until he is close enough.'