I don't need saving. I'm just a slave.

Chapter 8 filler

Italics are spoken in Egyptian

Italic bold is egyptian understood by a modern character.

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Joey looked around at the assembled group once he realised that 'Yugi' like 'Mokuba' couldn't understand him. As he glanced from one person to another he saw something that made him stare. It was him, but so different. The 'other Joey' wore clothes like the others in the room not a slaves kilt, that and this doppelganger was walking towards him whilst he was standing still.

Katsuya halted in front of the look-alike "hi there" he said simply.

Joey bowed at the waist "Hello"

Katsuya smiled and turned to the smaller boys "well I understand him perfectly" Yugi looked at him quizzically "I heard him talk to you when he came in. When Mokuba said he was talking gibberish I thought it was weird then that I hadn't heard gibberish. Thought I'd try saying hello."

Seto smirked "maybe thats just because you and your dumb look-alike speak Dog"

Katsuya growled "Bugger off money bags!"

Joey flinched. Suddenly another blond stood up and spoke up "you there, do you understand me?" Joey looked up startled and smiled.

"Yes. I can. But tell me why do they not understand me? And you look like someone I know. Why?" the 'Malik' smiled.

"Thats because right now I'm speaking egyptian. They are speaking japanese."

Joey frowned and looked at the look-alike in front of him. "How do you understand me?" Katsuya shrugged and returned to his seat. Joey followed and knelt on the ground between "I am confused. You all look like people I know and yet none of you seem to recognise me."

'Malik' smiled and turned to the others, all who had taken a seat except Seto who leaned against a wall "I think he's like our Yami's. He seems to be from egypt and he can understand you all but it seems He can only speak egyptian. That and he seem's to 'recognise' you." Malik said, fingers doing quotation marks in the air. Yugi nodded and turned to the kneeling blond.

"So you can understand me?" he asked and the Katsuya look-alike nodded "Malik says you 'recognise' us?"

Joey nodded "Yes. You are Yugi" Malik smiled.

Turning to Yugi he said "Did you hear your name?" Yugi shook his head.

"No but I did hear the word Heba. Thats egyptian for game isn't it? The Egyptian translation of my name."

Joey nodded. He then pointed to the whit'et next to Yugi "Ryou"

Malik nodded and looked at the white haired boy "I heard Ryanjan"

Malik smiled "Thats the translation for your name."

Joey smiled and pointed at Mokuba and said his name. The ravenet smiled "Menkenba" he said "thats my name?" and Malik nodded.

Joey pointed at Malik stating his name. Katsuya tilted his head in curiosity "Malik is Malik in egyptian?"

Malik laughed "No. I am egyptian. Thus my name is too."

Joey laughed, his deep chuckles nothing like Katsuya's who had joined in also. Pointing to Seto he said simply "Seth" the rich boy scoffed shrugging Joey pointed at himself "Joey Wheeler Katsuya"

Katsuya smiled "Katsuya Jounouchi" he said pointing at himself. He pointed at the egyptian and repeated "Jono Whir'ne Bastuna"

The two look-alikes smiled. Yugi tilted the Millennium Puzzle making it catch the light "I wonder what Yami would say" he said quietly. Behind him the spirit of the Puzzle shimmered.

Joey gasped and bowed till his head touched the carpet. "My Pharaoh!" Yami blinked.

Beside Ryou Bakura also materialised, and beside Malik, Marik followed suit. Bakura smirked "Told you. Your a Pharaoh." Joey looked up at the spirits. All the people in the room gaped in shock. Bakura frowned. "Hold on. I haven't taken over my host, and I'm going to go ahead and assume neither did you two."

Marik smiled and shook his head. "Nope." looking around he saw Joey "What The Hell!" he cried jumping to his (ghost like) feet. "Your... Your... how the hell are you here!"

Joey looked up and furrowed his brow. "Marik'ie? Tomb Keeper?" the spirit nodded "To answer your question... No idea."

Malik grasped his spirits translucent hand and pulled him back to the couch gently. Yami smiled and sat on the arm of Yugi's seat.

Joey sat up slowly looking from one spirit to another. Bakura snarled "is no one going to tell me why we can all see and hear each other?"

Marik'ie sat forward and crossed his arms on his knees so he could look at Joey. "I remember. Something... something before Zork. Every time I looked at Katsuya there was something, at the back of my mind. I always ignored it. But now..." Joey looked around.

Clasping his hands the newest egyptian in the room murmured something. Looking up again he took a deep breath and said "someone tell me that worked."

everyone in the room stared. Mokuba worked his jaw for some moments be for stuttering out "I.. I understood... you."

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Seth looked at the blonds motionless, almost lifeless body. Reaching down he brushed his fingertips across the boys lips. "Who are you, To make me feel this way?"

Atem sighed from the door way "We are meeting now cousin" he said his voice gentle. "Let the boy's friends see to him for a while."

Seth nodded and rose from his seat. The three slave boy's stood quietly near the wall as the two egyptian nobles exited the blonds room. Seth ignored them as he strode past and entered the Pharaoh's chambers. Inside Bakura and Marik'ie already sat waiting. In a whicker basket on the table sat the head of the shadow centipede. Bakura sighed "So, where do we start?".

Marik'ie slouched in his seat. "The boys father."

Atem nodded as he took his seat, Seth took a place near a window. "Abusive of others, of power, of his position" Bakura started as he read from a papyrus scroll "he missed out on attaining the office of noble last vote by 12 votes..." Bakura looked up as Seth sat down.

"His treatment of his son?" the High Priest asked.

Bakura and Marik'ie looked at each other "Seth, are you sure your not becoming emotionally attached to that boy?" the blond ventured.

Seth sighed and placed his head in his hands "truly? I don't know" Atem looked at Bakura and nodded.

The thief cast his eyes down to the bottom of the page "crimes against his son. Viewed by myself and Marik'ie are as follows: bodily harm to almost 80% of the victims body, phycological damage, suspected dabbling in Shadow magic to summon creatures to harm the victim and the casting of forbidden binding magic."

Seth clenched his fists in his hair "Damn him" he cursed. Suddenly the entire room went silent as a blood curdling scream permeated the air. Seth looked at the door "Joey?"

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explanation time!

In the past Seth is nice. In present day Seto is suppressing his past life 'for mysterious reasons'! Therefore is 'mean'.

Future Bakura also has forgotten past Ryou.

Marik also has forgotten but is remembering 'for mysterious reasons'!

I just love these 'for mysterious reason' things don't I?