Umi's consciousness was yanked from its hiding place. Neferet had changed. The darkness that had possessed her seemed to seer Umi's spirit. Umi recoiled at the touch, but the corrupted queen forced her back into her body.

"Hello vessel." The being that looked like Bakura said, gripping her chin. Umi tried to pull away from him, but found that she was bound tightly. The ring burned against her skin as it hung between her bare breasts.

"What are you going to do to me?"

"It's more a question of what I already did, isn't it, God's Wife?" His hand ran over her belly. Umi wanted to scream, but she held her tongue. She could not however, stop the tears that fell from her eyes.

"You don't seem too happy about it. No matter. You won't be here much longer. Neferet is eager to claim this vessel as her own." He smirked as he looked at a small black device. Umi struggled against her bonds, trying to find any weakness in the ties that held her. Her heart beat quickened as her adrenaline spiked. She had to get out. She screamed for help, but he clapped a hand over her mouth. She called out for Yugi, screaming in fear.

"But first, we need to assemble all the players." He placed the phone near her hands. "Unlock this now."

"No." She said defiantly. He grunted.

"Vessel, I know what happened to you before. If you do not want the short time you have left on this world to be an even greater hell, you will do as I command." Umi gasped as his grip tightened on her thigh. The dangerous look in his eyes was deadly serious and Umi shook in fear. She traced the pattern to unlock the phone and he let her be as he looked at the screen.

"Oh, look. Someone's missing you." He showed her the multitude of missed calls and messages from Seto. He pressed the command to return the call.

The phone ringing sent a shot of cold through Seto's being. He picked it up.

"Mokuba, I told you I was working on it." He said impatiently.

"Oh, this isn't Mokuba." sad a malice filled voice on the other end.

"Who are you?" Seto's deamenor change instantly.

"Someone who has something you want. If you want it back, you will bring me something I want."

"I don't negotiate." Seto stated.

"Oh no? Vessel, why don't you tell him hello?"

Vessel? he thought.

"Seto? Seto, help me." Umi's panic-stricken voice came over the line. Seto was filled with dread as the kidnapper returned to the line.

"Let her go." His voice was icy as he left the room.

"I will, once you bring me what I want."

"Which is?"

"Her brother. The Millennium Items. The God Cards. Come to the warehouse on pier 13. You have an hour." The call disconnected.

All of his instincts told him to not trust the kidnapper, but he was filled with a blind rage at the thought of any harm coming to her. He placed a call of his own.

"Mokuba. I know where she is. Meet me out front." He hung up abruptly before placing another call.

"Roland. I need a team on call. Umi's in trouble." He explained before detailing what he needed. "Oh, and have a car waiting at the front."

The trip to the front of the park only took a few minutes, but Seto felt like he was walking for an eternity. Time was of the essence and it felt like time was slipping from his grasp. The car was waiting as expected as were Mokuba, Yugi and his friends.

"Get in." He said without preamble. Everyone did as he asked without question or comment. As he took his seat in a cloud of anger, the rest of the group tried to sit as far from him as possible. It was a long moment before Atem-Yugi spoke up.

"Where is she, Kaiba?"

"The docks. Someone is holding her captive."

"So why are we not going there?" He asked, noticing that the limo had turned toward the game shop and his home.

"I already have people closing in on their location, but he made a few demands."

"Which are?"

"He wants you, those artifacts you have and the God Cards."

"I see."

"You are going to give him what he wants." Seto said as the car pulled up to the game shop. "And you're going to hurry. The clock is ticking." He challenged Atem-Yugi to disobey him with a look. It was the one of a handful of times that he actually forced the other man to back down.

"Right." Atem-Yugi hurried out of the vehicle. Seto crossed his arms and closed his eyes. He felt cold dread and burning rage and did not know which emotion would win out over the other. He wanted to destroy whoever had hurt her. He was certain that she had been hurt. Her voice had been desperate, on the verge of tears. The sound had hit him in places he never knew existed and ignited a fire within him that threatened to burn him and anyone within close proximity to him.

"You can all get out." he said to the Yugi's groupies. "None of this concerns you."

"Umi is our friend." Tea argued. "We want to help in anyway we can." There were nods of agreement all around.

"Tsk, suit yourself." He said, looking out of the window as Yugi came through the doorway, a satchel strapped across his body.

"Ok, now where?" Yugi asked as he took his seat and closed the door behind him. He held the satchel gingerly, anxiously on his lap.

Seto gave the driver instructions on their next destination and leaned back imagining what he would do to the kidnapper when he got his hands on him.

Neferet looked at her new body in the reflection in a piece of broken glass. It was paler than she remembered being and slimmer through the hips, but she was pleased with how much it looked like how she remembered. She slid a hand over her bare belly, wondering if Zorc had fulfilled his goal with her earlier, if she was now carrying a child of darkness, a new God. She knew that Umi had always taken precautions, and that she still took some sort of pill that kept her from being the fertile creature that she was. She hoped that Zorc's power was stronger than any such medicine. She was hesitant to give herself to him again so soon. She rubbed her belly once more, wondering if what he had said before was true, if she had conceived Seto's child all those years ago. She had feared that she was barren when she had not been able to give her husband an heir, but maybe it was as Zorc said, that her husband was never meant for the throne, that her father should have never had a son, that she had always been meant for Seto. She knew that her mother had believed that, but she was skeptical that such a small choice could change the destiny of so many.

The golden ring hung between her breasts at his insistence. She stood there naked, also at his insistence. But at least she was free from the bonds with which he had held Umi, and she was free of the darkness that had held her prisoner. As she gazed at herself, she felt his hands run down her back.

"You should be dressed as befitting your rank." He said. slipping his hands around her, cupping her bare breasts. "But your true beauty is the beauty of Hathor, and it will have to do. Come." He took her by the hand and pulled her away from the makeshift mirror. "Our guests are nearly here, and I want them to see you as you really are." He led her to the middle of the room and pulled her against him, forcing her into a kiss. He turned her around and bent her forward. She shivered as she felt the darkness encircle her waist and pull her to her hands and knees, like an animal. He took her from behind, his hands gripping her hips as he thrust into her.

"You will give me my child, little queen." He grunted as he grabbed her hair and yanked it hard. The movement pulled her head back as he released his seed into her. Her breaths came in gasps as she gave into her body's demand for release. The darkness clouded her eyes as the power overtook her. When she opened her eyes once more, she was greeted by the image of her husband and her lover rushing to her rescue.

"Run." She tried to say, to scream at them as he released her and she collapsed to the ground. The darkness surrounded her, spread through her and brought her wave after wave of pain that was indistinguishable from ecstasy. He leaned over her, whispering harshly in her ear.

"Remember your place, little queen."

When she looked up at him, her green eyes had gone solid black as the darkness, the corruption that had taken root in her soul blossomed into fullness. A satisfied smile passed over his lips before he turned to the gathered crowd.

"Bakura?" Yugi asked, his worst fears realized.

"Oh, your little friend is not here." said the creature that had once been Bakura. He stood, towering over her trembling body. He looked down on her. "Neither is your sister." She brought herself to standing as he looked smugly at her.

"Neferet is mine now. She's been mine since you sent her to me. I should thank you for that."

"Where is Umi?" Kaiba demanded.

"Umi is gone. Buried." She spoke, her black eyes turning to the man that held the soul of her one-time soul mate. "She is buried beneath my pain, my humiliation, under the darkness that he planted in my soul." She looked at the new face of her husband-brother. "Because you refused to recognize your place."

"Now, Now, my Queen. We mustn't treat our guests with such hostility. Even if they do deserve it." He stroked Neferet's arm.

"What do you want?" Yugi-Atem asked. The monster that held Bakura's face seemed to think about it.

"Your death would be too simple, wouldn't it. I want you to suffer like I have suffered, to have everything you hold dear taken from you, to have a wound opened so deep that there is no hope of healing. So you let in the darkness, so it festers and grows. I want your power and I want it corrupted and turned against you."

Yugi-Atem stared at him wide eyed in shock.

"But for now, I want what you have."

"I'm going to fucking murder you." Seto said through gritted teeth. Bakura turned to see a pistol held point blank at his head. He laughed at Seto.

"You can't kill me. You fire that and you will kill this vessel, sure. But you can't kill me. I am darkness itself. A piece of me exists in each of you. Besides if you were to kill this vessel, I have another eager and waiting. Isn't that right, Neferet?" He beckoned her to his side.

Neferet wanted to resist, but his hold on her was too strong, the ring's power was too strong. She sauntered to him, her black eyes scanning the room. He grabbed her and pulled her to his side.

"If you want to kill me, priest, you will have to kill her. Can you do that? Are you as ruthless as your father, willing to sacrifice the lives of the innocent on the altar of security?"

She looked at Seto then and his heart broke at the blank look in her eyes. She looked like his Umi, but the spirit and life he usually saw in her eyes was gone, defeated, abandoned. He lowered the pistol, knowing that he could never hurt her, yet hoping against hope that her salvation was still possible.

"You said you would not hurt her." Seto countered.

"No. I said I would release her. And I have. Umi's soul is free from this world."

"You lie." Yugi cried out angrily. Bakura smirked.

"Perhaps. But you will never know. Not unless you win."

"Win what?"

"A game. We will all play." He turned and walked toward a small square table. He steered Neferet-Umi to the chair on one side and directed Yugi and Seto to the other chairs. He sat in the remaining one.

"Now. Did you bring them?" Bakura asked, his gaze turning on Yugi.

Yugi picked up the bag he had brought and withdrew the two Millennium Items and laid them on the table between them. They seemed to glow faintly in the dim light.

"And the cards?"

"What kind of game?" Yugi-Atem asked.

"A game of memories, Pharaoh. What do you remember about our time? And you Priest? Do you remember your past?" Bakura looked at them each in turn. "The Cards." He demanded.

Yugi took a deep breath before placing the three God Cards on the table.

Seto stared at the items on the table. The rod in particular drew his attention. He wanted to touch it. Since the visions during his duel with Ishizu Ishtar, he had tried to ignore the events it had triggered, but his nature did not allow him to forget. Seeing it now made him even more curious about the object.

"Very good. Neferet, take the items."

She picked up the necklace and placed it around her neck. She picked up the rod just as Seto grabbed it. They looked at each other for a moment and Seto saw her eyes flicker green out of the blackness; he saw life in their darkness for just a moment. He knew that Umi was still in there, still fighting the best she could. He pulled on the rod and it slipped from her grip. He saw Bakura scowl from the corner of his eye. Seto smirked at the one who had defiled his Umi.

Yugi looked around the table. Gold glittered on each side, except where Bakura sat.

"It seems we each have an item, except you." He noted. Bakura chuckled smugly as he pulled a small golden orb from his coat.

"It seems you have forgotten about one." He tossed the Millennium Eye into the air lightly and caught it in his fist. "And now the game begins. Neferet?"

The young woman chanted as light erupted from the items. Each stream of light seemed to spiral to the heavens before joining the others. Where they intersected, a pool of light formed. The pool spread from the table to encompass the entire room. When the light faded, they were in another place, another time.

"Where are we?" Seto asked as he looked around. He still held the rod, but the table and the building had vanished. The God Cards as well had disappeared.

"Egypt." Atem answered. "We are in my memories, aren't we?" He turned to Neferet, who did not answer, but started walking to a shimmering image in the distance. He looked around but could no longer see Bakura.

"So, I guess we should follow her?" Seto suggested. Atem shrugged as they began following her.

As Neferet led them, a shining city seemed to spring out of the desert. She strode through the streets and people scurried out of her way bowing. Seto noted that her skin had darkened and her hair grew longer, thicker as she walked. With each step she became more and more, Neferet and less Umi, even down to the thin white dress that caressed her skin and the golden collar and armbands shining against her dark flesh. He glanced at Yugi beside him and noticed that he, too, seemed less pale, as if he had taken on the physical form of his former self.

"The God Cards disappeared." Seto mentioned.

"I noticed. I can only imagine that it is because they returned to their original form, just as Umi... Neferet has." Seto thought he heard a pain in the other youth's voice.

"What was she to you?"

"She was my wife, but only out of duty. She was my queen, and my sister above all things."

"Your sister."

"Yes. She held pure royal blood. Her husband, no matter who was chosen for her, was to be Pharaoh. I was our father's only son, but my mother was a concubine. Neferet's mother was the queen." They continued to follow her through the city until she reached the steps of a grand structure.

"So you married your sister because she had a better claim to the throne than you did?"

"It was our father who arranged the marriage. Her mother had someone else in mind." Atem followed her up the steps into the palace.

Seto thought he heard a voice calling to him. When he turned his head to find the source of the whisper, the view around him shifted. He was no longer in the city, but rather in a small village set upon the banks of a great river. Where the city had been bustling and loud, the village was quiet except for the lapping of the water or the sounds of birds in the rushes. He heard the whisper once more among the squat buildings. He wove his way through the haphazardly placed buildings toward the sound. A flash of white moved down an alleyway. He was compelled to follow it. Part of him knew that he needed to find his way back to Umi. But he did not know where she was, where he was or how he had gotten there. Following the sound was the only thing he could do. Perhaps, if I find whoever is making it, they can help me get to where I need to be, he thought. He turned down an alley, trying to follow the person only to lose them. He looked left and right, but he saw nothing. Suddenly, the white flash appeared once more from a doorway. It was the woman-dragon he had seen in his dreams. She passed in front to him, as if he was not there. He knew her. He had always known her, just as he had always known Umi. He followed her until he saw her fall into the arms of a young man. He watched them for a moment wondering why they both felt so familiar to him. The young man then looked up at him and met his eyes. Seto knew that he saw him in a way that the girl had not. The young man's blue eyes flickered down to the rod in Seto's hand. He smiled sadly as he met Seto's eyes once more.

"Come Kisara." he took her hand and led her away. The young man glanced over his shoulder at Seto, as his clothing changed from the rags of a villager to the finery of the priesthood. Seto gasped in recognition as the scene around him shifted once more to the city. He looked around at the citizens going to and fro about their daily business. The dragon-woman and the priest had vanished, and none of the people seemed to notice him. Seto was hopelessly lost.

Atem followed Neferet up the steps to the palace as he had so many times before. He looked behind him to see the grand temple complex across the market and the festival square bustling with people. He had not noticed Seto's disappearance. He continued to follow her up the steps before he noticed their color change. It had started simply enough, with a small red drip along the gleaming white limestone, but before long the carnage grew and red blood poured down the steps. Bodies of guards and servants littered the palace entrance. Atem felt sick from the smell of blood cooking in the heat. But still Neferet walked, unfazed. He followed her through the garden where they played as children. The pools where they had once cooled themselves were now red with ichor. He followed her through the harem where the women of the palace had laid down their lives in hopes of sparing their children. They were unsuccessful as the tiny bodies were nestled beside their mothers. He wiped hot tears from his face as he followed her through to the throne room. She crossed the massive expanse, as sure-footed as she had been in his maze of memories despite the slickness of the floor. He followed as she approached the dais, where he sat, reclining in a stolen throne. She sat at his feet, the thin white cotton fabric that had draped her flesh turning red where he touched her.

"Who are you? What did you do?" Atem asked as he approached the throne. A large golem of stone erupted from the ground as Atem's anger summoned forth the servant of the Gods. Neferet stood up and faced the monster. She held out her arm, fingers splayed. Her lips moved in a whispered command. The monster crumbled into dust and vanished. Atem stared in shock at the spot where his Obelisk once stood ready to exact vengeance for his people. He looked at his sister-wife with new, fearful eyes.

"Me? I'm just a humble thief. You can call me Akefia if you like, or perhaps Bakura is more to your liking? And I didn't do any of this." Bakura said, his pale eyes narrowing at the young pharaoh. "This is your doing."

"My doing?" Atem asked haltingly as he surveyed the carnage.

"Well, not yours specifically, but it is the price for the sins of your father."

"My father would never have done this to his own people."

The white haired young man laughed as he vacated the throne.

'You think him so noble? So pure? You know nothing. Neferet, show him what his precious father had done." He commanded as he approached the young pharaoh. Golden light gleamed at her neck from the Millennium item that sat there above her golden collar. Images shimmered above the blood-stained floor.

"Father!" he gasped as he saw the haggard looking face of the former pharaoh. The old man was talking to another man who looked so much like him, Atem was certain they were brothers. He could not hear what they were saying, but the men seemed to be arguing. Some unheard noise must have drawn both of their attentions as the pharaoh and his brother stopped their debate and then ran off together. There was fighting in the halls of the palace as people stormed the gates in revolt. The attackers looked hopeless, desperate, starved, but the pharaoh's justice was swift and bloody. Once the fighting was done, the pharaoh slumped under the weight of his position and the weariness of battle. He looked at his brother and nodded.

The image shifted to the pharaoh's brother preparing for a ceremony. The scene was dark and only lit by moonlight and a couple of torches, but Atem could see a crowd of people gathered tightly together. He could see the fear in their eyes as the priests struck down first one and then another and another and another. Until they were all dead. He watched in horror as their flesh was stripped from their bodies and burned to ash, and their bones crushed into dust. The dust and ash was then added to molten gold, all under the watchful eye of the pharaoh's brother. The gold was then fashioned into items of incredible, dark power and imbued with magic that the pharaoh hoped would secure his kingdom and his legacy for all eternity.

"You father ordered the creation of the items, Pharaoh. He turned a blind eye as my people were slaughtered to do so. And then he used their power to secure his throne, both from outside invaders and from the growing discontent of his own people. He then passed that power to you. You who know nothing about how his throne was built, or how it was held all this time. You, who are blind to the suffering your people are experiencing right this very moment."

"What are you talking about?" Atem asked, his voice cracking under the weight of emotion. The scenes Neferet had shown him had shaken his core.

"I"m talking about the failed floods, the harvests gone bad. About villages resorted to murdering children in order for the village to survive. About resorting to eating your own family because there is no food. Everyone, everything is starving, Pharaoh and you sit here and do nothing!"

"I did not know." he said haltingly in answer to the accusations.

"Tsk, likely story." Akefia turned his back on the Pharaoh and retook his seat in the throne. "Now, since it was my village, my family and friends that were used to make that." He pointed a blood-stained dagger at Atem's chest. "I would like it back. Please." He added with as much scorn as he could muster.

"Over my dead body." Atem met his cold gaze.

"Well, that can be arranged. Neferet." He commanded. The vision that had been playing through the power of the necklace, images of the past and present faded as she returned to his side. She sat once again at his feet and he leaned forward, He stroked her hair possessively as he smiled down at her. His gaze flicked to the young pharaoh. Atem's eyes narrowed at the gesture and his hands balled into fists. Akefia grinned before placing the tip of the dagger beneath Neferet's chin and drew her dark gaze to him. He leaned in to her and she met him in a kiss. Her hands slid around his neck as he pulled her into his lap. In his anger, Atem called forth Obelisk from the depth of the earth once more, but once again, the creature shattered under Neferet's gaze as she turned and glared at the summoned spirit. Akefia deftly removed the gold ornaments from Neferet's body, all except the Millennium necklace and ring which shimmered dully against her dusky skin as the sheer fabric that had covered her fell in a bloody pile on the floor. He pulled her to him, his hands sliding over her thighs, rear and back. He met Atem's angry stare.

"You're welcome to watch if you want." He told the pharaoh as Neferet freed his manhood and centered herself on him. She gasped as he nipped her where her neck met her shoulder. Atem, furious, turned and strode purposefully through the halls of the palace, wading through drying blood as Neferet's cries of pleasure echoed in the empty stone building.

His feet found the way, though he did not remember how, through the maze of corridors that led to his chamber. The room had been ransacked, but it had been spared from the bloodshed. He stripped himself out of the Yugi's clothes and dressed himself in a simple shendyt and shirt before adding what ornaments of rank he could find. He slipped on a pair of sandals and made his way to the armory. He grabbed a khopesh and strapped it to his side before storming out of the palace. Without being able to rely on the Gods for help, Atem needed allies. He only hoped that some had survived the massacre. He glanced toward the throne room once more before he left. He thought he could still hear Neferet's cries in the distance. Atem felt his blood boil at the sound and thought of another man touching his beloved. Angry tears streamed down his face as he remembered something she had told him in another life, something about her not ever really being his. He tried to shake the thought from his mind as he wiped the tears roughly from his cheeks.

"That never happened. It wasn't real." He tried to convince himself. He recalled the memories that he and Neferet had uncovered together in that other world, of what he did to her. He knew she would never just give herself to another like that, not his Neferet. But her cries of ecstasy echoed through his mind as he entered the festival square. It was not the first time he had been tormented by such sounds.

Seto wove his way through the city, his long white coat billowing behind him, but the people did not seem to see him. It was not as if they passed through him like one might a ghost or a bad hologram. The people just steered clear of him instinctively. The crowd was moving back and forth, so he could not get a sense of where anything was. He had tried to follow the majority of people, but there was no clear majority as they moved along the roads. He tried to ask for help, but no one saw him, not until he heard his name yelled from across a square. He turned and rolled his eyes when he saw the source of the shout.

"Hey Kaiba!" A tall, blond haired buffoon waved frantically at him. Seto sighed as he made his way through the crowd to Yugi's group of friends. He didn't want to be stuck in the ancient past, or rather some weird memory of the ancient past, with Joey Wheeler, but it was all he had right now, so he figured he might as well chance it. The last time he had struck out on his own had not ended so well.

"What are you all doing here?" he asked as he reached the group.

"Well, we entered right after you guys did and saw you guys hashing it out with Bakura, and was he really, ya know, doing it with Umi when we walked in? And then there was this weird golden light and when it was gone we were here. Right guys?" Joey supplied in a rush of words.

"Who's Neferet?" Tristan asked. Seto rubbed his temples.

"The word you are looking for, Wheeler, is rape. He was raping Umi. And I am going to murder that motherfucker." Seto seethed. The grip he had on the rod tightened, turning his knuckles white.

"Whoa, chill out, Kaiba."

"But I thought he was gay?" Tea added confused.

"Apparently not. And I'm not sure who Neferet is." The name echoed in his mind like it should mean something to him, like it did, but he could not recall. "Yugi, no the Pharaoh, said that she was his wife. And she's supposedly part of Umi somehow." He shrugged.

"So where's Yugi now?" Tristan asked.

"Damned if I know. We got separated." He thought back to the white haired woman and the man with eyes like his. "We were heading toward a big structure, like a palace when we got separated, but I can't find it. It had broad steps leading up to a building with large white columns. He tried to describe what he remembered of their path before the dragon-woman from his dreams had drawn him away. Everyone in the group looked around for the building as the daily crowd of people flowed seamlessly around them.

"They don't seem to notice us, do they?" Joey asked, waving his hand in front of the face of a passer-by.

"Not that I can tell." Seto replied.

"Wait, is that Yugi?" Tristan pointed out a figure in the distance.

"No, that's the Pharaoh." Seto replied, taking in his manner of dress and determined gaze.

"Atem." Joey added. "What? That's what Yugi said his name was." He explained as the others looked at him. Joey waved at their other friend, trying to get his attention as he had Seto's. After several attempts, and a fair amount of jumping up and down, success was had and Atem had joined them.

"Am I happy to see you all." he said as Tea hugged him. He stiffened a bit at the contact, but closed his eyes in relief that at least he was not alone in this world of memories.

"You look... different." Tea said, blushing and subconsciously licking her lips.

"Oh, I guess."

"Man, are you alright?" Joey asked putting his hand on Atem's shoulder.

"I'm better now, thanks. He has her." He said, his eyes taking on a far away look.

"Who has who?" Tristan.

"Akefia... Bakura. He has her. He has Neferet and she... She turned Obelisk to dust with just a look." His usually confident voice was filled with fear. Seto's eyes grew wide.

"What?" Seto asked in disbelief.

"She just looked at him and poof." Atem simulated an explosion with his hand. "Gone. She did that twice. With her by his side, I cannot defeat him." He sighed.

"So we need to find someone who can help." Tristan suggested.

"Except that no one seems to even notice we're here." Tea added as the crowd around them thinned. "It's really weird. It's like they are looking straight through us."

"Not everyone is blind." Seto added reluctantly. "Well they can't be, because you talked to Bakura and Umi."

"Neferet." Atem corrected. "Though I would not say that I spoke to her. It was as if she only heard him. She did... everything he asked." He gripped the hilt of his khopesh tightly and balled the other hand into a fist. Seto looked at the Pharaoh's distant stare, wondering what exactly she had been asked to do. His imagination turned darker, more twisted. From the look on the Pharaoh's face, his imagination was not far off from the truth. "Besides, they came through with us. I am not sure if they are like everyone else here."

"Maybe. But there was this girl."

Atem looked at him curiously.

"A girl?"

"I thought she called my name, but when I found her, there was a man. He looked at me. He saw me. It wasn't like this chattle." He waved at the people in the square. "He saw me. So there are some who may be able to help us."

"I do not now how many we will be able to find. He slaughtered the entire palace staff. Everyone" A shadow passed over Atem's face. He closed his eyes against the memory. "This is not the way it happened."

Movement in the shadows at the edge of the square drew Tea's attention.

"Did you see that?" She asked, trying to peek through the crowd.

"See what?" Joey asked, peering over her shoulder.

"I thought I saw something in the shadows watching us." She said, turning back to the group.

"It's not safe here." Atem and Seto said at the same time. They looked at each other. Atem led the way through the maze of streets until he reached a small house. He was amazed at how his body remembered the path even if his mind had not. "If anyone can see us and help, it will be him." He ushered the group into the small mudbrick home. "If he's still alive..." he muttered to himself as he ducked his head through the door.

"What are you strange people doing in my home?" An elderly voice demanded as they crowded into the cramped entryway.

"Siamon, it's me." Atem said, stepping forward. "Oh my dear boy, when I heard about the palace I had feared the worst!" The old man embraced the Pharaoh. "Is it true? Is Neferet back from the dead? Has she come to haunt the dynasty?"

"Siamon, one question at a time. Yes Neferet is back, sort of."

"Perhaps we can rectify some things then." The old man said, directing his guests to move further into the more spacious areas of the house.

"What happened at the palace?"

"Do you remember those reports of a bandit ransacking villages and raiding tombs? The ones that your uncle told you were not a big deal?"

"Akefia the Bandit King I think he was called in the reports."

"Well. He decided to come to the palace and demand that we turn over the talismans your uncle and father made to protect the kingdom. When we told him no, he summoned a ka which started killing everyone. We were lucky to get out alive."

"Who's we?"

"Myself, Karim, Mahad, Mana, Isis, and Shada. Seto was... elsewhere at the time, as was your uncle."

At hearing his name, Seto turned to the old man.

"That must be who I saw." He said. The old man looked at him, scrutinizing his face closely.

"My, the resemblance is uncanny. If you weren't so pale, I would mistake you for young Seto." The old priest said, looking him over. "You're even the same height, same build. Your hair's shorter. And the same blue eyes. Huh."

"And apparently the same name." Seto pointed out annoyed.

"Siamon, this is Kaiba. He and the rest of my friends have traveled with me from another world, another time. We are here to fix whatever this is, but we cannot do it alone. Not with Neferet in the way. Whatever he did, this is wrong. I cannot remember what is right, not fully. But I know it is not this."

"Let's call everyone together and see what kind of plan we can develop." Siamon suggested. Atem nodded