Author's Note: Massive apologies for the long wait...I've just been promoted at work and things have been non-stop. I've barely had any time to sit at the computer. I am exhausted and happy because my next couple chapters just need beta-ing! DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING BUT MY OWN PLOT etc etc.

Chapter 11: Plan C (Cause It's Fuckin Crazy)

BOOF!

"Ow! Regret! Regret.." Yugi moaned out, rubbing his forehead where he had crashed it down on the keyboard in front of him. He grumbled in pain and laid his head next to the keyboard softly so he didn't knock himself out. He and Ryou were sitting opposite each other in the outdated computer lab, researching anything and everything on ancient symbols in a tiny local library. The albino was so focused on his search he hadn't even reacted to Yugi slamming his face; but continued to stare unblinking, scrolling through yet another website of hieroglyphics. Books and papers on ancient or obscure symbols were piled across the desks they occupied. Celtic, Arabic, Ancient Egyptian, early Pagan icons of worship...no matter where they looked they still came up with bupkis-they'd been at this for hours! Ignoring the throbbing between his eyes, Yugi pulled out his phone and shot a text to Teá. She and Joey were visiting all the local museums and exhibits in search of..well, anything.

Any luck? -Y

No, still looking. Wbu? -Teá

Same. I'm wiped! We should call it a day.. -Y

:( K. See u soon. -Teá

'Okay, let's try Rebecca..' He pulled up a fresh message.

How's the search going? -Y

AWFUL! :[ Can't find anything close 2 the marks on that stone! Still looking. -Rebecca

It's alright, take a break. We're headed back. -Y

Kk -Rebecca

He put his phone away and ran a hand over the back of his neck, leaning to the side so he could see Ryou's face. He was still scrolling through his list of symbols, barely blinking. There were dark bags under his eyes and his eyebrows knit together in a focused scowl.

Yugi cleared his throat, "I'm coming up with nothing. So are Joey and Teá. Are you having any luck?" He asked. Ryou blinked slowly and glanced over to his companion.

"Huh? Oh uh, no. I can't find anything. It's strange...I feel like I've seen markings like these before, I just can't remember where. It's driving me crazy!" He furiously rubbed his face and sighed. Ryou's stomach grumbled fitfully. "I'm hungry, I'm tired, my ankle is killing me, I'm stressed out and I'm...I'm.. Oh bloody hell, I'm a little too everything!"

Yugi stood up and stretched his arms above his head, "Me too bud, c'mon, let's get back to the hotel. We can get you a painkiller and meet up with the gang for dinner."

Ryou whined, "Damn, if we stay here longer than a week I won't be able to afford to eat. I've already asked my father for money but he hasn't called back yet. I told his assistant we were extending our stay and to count it as my birthday gift this year."

"Now that you mention it, I was worried about that too. Grandpa and I were already planning to be here for the internship so I'm okay, but I know you guys will have to go home soon." The young man at the front desk eyed them as they stacked their borrowed books up neatly and left them on the table. No point in putting them all back when they'd be back to re-read them tomorrow. They closed out their search windows and walked out towards the car-or in Ryou's case, limped. His fall into the pit had seriously sprained his ankle.

"Our planes take off in a couple of days. What're we going to do if we don't find him before then?" Ryou asked, turning his doe-like eyes on Yugi.

"I don't know.." Yugi said sadly. Their whole vacation had been dedicated to hunting down any clues that might lead to Marik's whereabouts, and it had been four days since their heist on the Valley dig site. Since then, Professor Hawkins and the Ishtars were granted permission to re-enter the dig and collect their findings, but due to recent events the government refused to let them continue with the excavation-to everyone's dismay. The silver lining was that the archeological team, with the gang's help, recovered more than what they had originally found. Ishizu had scrambled to create a catalog of everything they salvaged-most of which the Egyptian government wanted confiscated and turned over to the authorities. Their claim was that the Pharaoh's burial treasures were government property-since the team hadn't actually uncovered the bottom of the tomb. Hearing this, the young archaeologist-in-training had all but lost his shit. Yugi cringed at the memory of his behavior at that debacle...Irate, he had raised hell about the treasures from the burial tomb being Arthur Hawkin's property to anyone within a fifty foot radius of the dig. He and the gang had all but harassed the gaggle of suits until they caved and backed off. A battle victorious-resulting in Pharaoh's Atem's sarcophagus, and all his belongings, currently being restored and guarded at the Luxor Museum with the Ishtar's exhibition. Yugi was able to sleep better knowing his Yami's possessions were being treated with respect.

So while Ishizu's and Professor Hawkin's team worked on the archaeological aspect of the clean-up, the gang had spent every day and most of the nights in museums and libraries doing research. They'd even been snooping around some of the shadier parts of the city (under Odion's careful watch, of course) looking for any sign of Marik or the strange woman. The situation looked bleak two days prior, but now...spirits were running low. They weren't able to find anything at the site-no shred of evidence, no whispers amongst the workers or townspeople about strangers wandering through, no strange occurrences or disappearances. Nothing. Authorities had been called in-Marik was officially a missing person. Yugi and his friends all shared the Ishtar's grief. Despite their rough history, Yugi still considered him a friend-okay sure, he had possessed his best friend in an attempt to end his and the Pharaoh's life and sent a lot of innocent people to the Shadow Realm and murdered his own father...which upon further reflection really didn't help his case. But in his friend's defense all that had been mostly due to the demon born through his pain. When the Pharaoh had destroyed the evil within his heart Marik had seen the error of his ways and turned over a new leaf. And that was all that mattered. Yugi bit his lip, 'Whatever mistakes he's made in the past he's more than made up for. I just hope wherever he is he's not being hurt.'

He glanced over to Ryou in the passengers seat. The white haired boy gazed forlornly out the window at the passing buildings. Yugi noticed how his face twinged in pain when he adjusted his feet on the floor. Guilt once again reared its ugly head within him. How many times had he led his friends into danger? How many times had their very lives hung in the balance because of Yugi and the Pharaoh? Every time someone got hurt it was like a knife to the gut. The King of Games drove back to the hotel with a dark cloud shadowing his heart. His hand clenched the steering wheel, fierce protectiveness surging up in his soul. He'd find a way to protect his friends-all of his loved ones-no matter what.

They pulled up to the hotel and made their way up to the room. Joey, Rebecca and Teá were already there. The young blonde was still searching on the computer while the other two flipped through a pile of brochures for the area.

Teá looked up, "Oh hey guys, there's some drinks in the fridge that Grandpa Mutou left for us. He took off with Professor Hawkins to the Luxor. Said he'd be back for dinner though." Yugi gave her a tired thumbs up in response.

"Oh perfect! I need to wash these pills down with something anyway." Ryou limped into the bathroom for his medicine.

Joey lay on the bed with his hands behind his head. Crumpled brochures lay abandoned next to him, "Damn, you guys look as rough as we feel. I'm guessing you haven't found nothin' neither, huh? Cause we ain't found jack shit!" He spat out in his Brooklyn accent. Yugi always wondered where he'd picked that up because he certainly hadn't ever been to Brooklyn in his life.

Yugi shook his head, "Nothing even remotely close to these markings. It's like these kinds of symbols don't even exist."

Rebecca huffed and spun her rolling chair to face them, "That's impossible. They have to exist somewhere, or at the very least be closely related to something. I've been running and re-running these pictures of the necklace through every major database I can find. The thing is that the patterns share resemblance to a number of different cultural symbols, which makes it hard to pinpoint one exact origin. Between all the Celtic knots and the Spanish family crests and a Sumerian-looking squiggles I'm no where near close to finding us answers."

"Ugh so we're back to square one again." Teá slumped, letting her brochure fall to the floor. Ryou opened the fridge and pulled out an acid green can.

"I can't read this. What kind of drink did Mr. Mutou leave us? Some kind of soda?"

"Nah I think it's that Jasmine tea he was ranting about last night. " Yugi said, popping open a can himself. Ryou shrugged and opened his can, popping his pills in his mouth and taking a large swig along with Yugi. They both gave a satisfied "Mmm!" A ringtone trilled through the room, and a Skype window popped up on Rebecca's computer. They all turned to see who was calling-simultaneously screaming as the name popped up.

Joey sat up so fast he sent brochures sailing into the air, "SHIT it's Kaiba! Hit the deck!"

Teá jumped to the door and gripped the handle, ready to bolt. Ryou choked and spluttered on his tea, diving into the bathroom as Yugi flew across the room screaming-he and Rebecca both scrambled to cover the lens and ignore the Skype line, hoping Kaiba wouldn't hack through and answer for for them. The trilling of the phone call mocked them as they fought to keep from being found by the CEO. After another heart-pounding, sweat-inducing minute of ringing the line finally disconnected. They all let out a sigh of relief.

Yugi sat down on the bed shakily, "Hoooooly crap that was close."

"You're tellin me!" Joey's muffled voice came from nowhere, "I just saw my life flash before my eyes!" The gang looked at the empty bed, then around the room in confusion until Joey shuffled out from underneath it. "I'll bet he already knows we jacked his tester drone. He's just trying to pinpoint our location so he can send his Kaiba Corp assassins to off us!"

Yugi rolled his eyes, "He doesn't have assassins on the payroll."

"Dat doesn't mean he doesn't know any! It's not like he can't afford it.." Joey muttered.

DING! They all flinched as Rebecca receive an email. She opened and scanned through the super long message before shutting down the computer.

"That'll be him cussing us out." Yugi groaned.

"Yeesh...Yep, and he's furious. Too bad he can't prove we took it. Kaiba's team is good but I'm better! I made sure we left no data signatures when I hacked into the KaibaCorp mainframe. I do feel a little bad that now he's under investigation for the 'attack'." Rebecca said offhandedly, cleaning her glasses on her skirt.

"I sure as hell don't. He was an ass to us back in Domino. He'll survive." Yugi muttered angrily, going to pick up his half-empty can of tea from where he had accidentally chucked it.

Ryou came out of the bathroom and tossed Yugi a towel, "Let's not talk about Kaiba, my tummy gets upset when I think about how he's gonna kill us." He sat down on the floor followed by Teá. "We need to figure out how to keep looking when we're all back home and Yugi is still here."

"Grandpa and I have decided to stay with Professor Hawkins so I'll be here for the month and Rebecca will be with me. Your planes leave this Friday right?" Yugi asked, frowning sadly. He mopped up the tea stain from the dark carpet.

Teá's face fell, "I don't want to leave so soon, especially since we still haven't found Marik but I have to get back to New York. I barely got away with the last minute time off as it is."

"Yeah I gotta get back to work too. Not that I even really care about the job...Ahh screw it! I'll just call and quit!" Joey exclaimed. He flinched back as a flash of tri-colored hair zoomed up in his face.

Yugi gave his best friend a stern look, "No way! You're almost done with trade school! You have to stick with it so they don't retract your tuition!"

"C'mon Yuug! I only have 16 hours left to complete and we all know I'd never stick with this lame ass chain! I'll just pay out of pocket and use my credits to get in somewhere else. Everyone there is an idiot whose only tryin to make my life difficult!"

Yugi sighed at his stubborn friend. For awhile after high school Joey had coasted on his winnings from regional dueling championships in Japan. While the others had all worked towards going right into college, he used his winnings to take a break from the educational system and work part-time doing whatever he felt like and never staying long enough to make something out of it. Growing tired of playing caretaker to his alcoholic father, he hired a hardcore no-nonsense maid (and with his dad's drunken tendency to lash out, they needed to be tough!) and moved out of his dad's place. He still covered his dad's bill and made weekly visits to stock up his kitchen but other than that they barely spoke to each other. Joey wanted to be closer to Serenity but he couldn't move all the way across town, so he leased a small utility in the city-halfway between his mother's house and his dad's shithole apartment complex. Finally, after years of being nagged at by Yugi and Co. he found something he was seriously passionate about outside of dueling-FOOD! Who would have guessed? Cooking to be exact. He landed a part time job in a four star restaurant in Domino as a waiter early last year and took an interest in the kitchen. A six-month stretch of waiting tables and a few tournament checks later and Joey became a proud attendee at a local trade school for culinary arts. Most of his tuition was being paid for by the generous program as long as Joey studied/worked for the chain of restaurants owned by one of the instructors. Instructors who had a slight tendency to give Joey a lot of crap-Yugi believed the Head Chef felt threatened by Joey's natural abilities to run a kitchen and that's why the hot-headed blond was always having to do the crap work or pick up late shifts.

Teá jumped on him with her mom voice, "OH NO. You sir, are going to finish your classes and get your license! Then you're going to open up a restaurant and make a good living so you can help Serenity finish school! Is that clear?" Even from her spot on the floor across the room she still managed to make Joey flinch and mumble out a weak, "Yes ma'am.."

Yugi shook his head, "It's no use guys. You have to go back home. Me and Rebecca will keep looking while you guys get things situated. I can always help you fly back later."

"Dat's not fair! There's gotta be something we can do!" Joey yelled in frustration, flopping backwards hard enough to make Yugi bounce from his perch on the bed.

Rebecca spun around in the rolly chair, "But what can we do? Tell everyone we all contracted some crazy contagious disease?" They all mulled that one over for a minute before giving a collective, "NAAAAH!"

"Hey Yuug, what about Pegasus? D'ya think he might have some ideas on how to buy us some time?"

"I don't think so Jo, I'd feel bad asking him for another favor so soon."

Ryou snorted, "Oh please, he worships the ground you walk on! He'd do just about anything you asked of him. Now that I think about it don't you think it's a bit odd?" He tossed a wayward sock at Yugi with a taunting smile. He dodged the smelly fabric with a dumbfounded look.

"Huh? Weird how?"

Joey sniggered, "It IS weird! I mean he even gave you his private cell number. I think Pegasus has a little crush on the King Of Games!" Yugi twitched in irritation.

"No he doesn't! He just feels indebted to me that's all-"

"No no no he's practically in love with you. He flew you across the continent in a private jet and fed you a five star meal-that's an awful lot like a date!" Ryou teased. Teá burst out laughing. Yugi shot her a look of utter betrayal before whipping around to face Rebecca. The young girl still spun around in the chair, twiddling her thumbs and not making eye contact with him.

Teá chuckled, "They have a point! He's definitely in the Yugi Mutou fan club!"

"BWAHAHA nah it's worse than that! Pegasus is the President of the Yugi Mutou fan club!" Joey cackled.

"You guys are AWFUL!" Yugi bellowed, snatching up a pillow and waving it threateningly overhead.

"Yugi and Pegasus sitting in a tree!" Joey sing-songed. He rolled away and hopped of the bed when a red-faced Yugi swung the pillow his direction. He held up his hands in mock surrender at the shorter's death glare. Rebecca was still spinning in the chair and breathed out a small whisper.

"K-i-s-s-i-n-WHAA!" Her glasses went flying as the pillow made contact with her face. She gaped at a smirking Yugi before chucking the pillow back with all her strength. In a matter of seconds everyone was up in arms with pillows-an all out pillow war ensuing. Yugi panted in laughter as he battled the girls while standing on the bed. They teamed up and swung at his legs and middle in an attempt to knock him down. Ryou windmilled his pillow like a nunchuck and swung for Joey's head-who ducked and shot across the room, leaping up onto the desk whoopin like an Indian.

Big mistake.

His sock-clad feet found no purchase on the smooth wooden top and he slid right off. With a yell he fell in a heap on the floor. The resounding BOOM from his weight caught everyone's attention. Ryou limped over to him.

"Joey, are you alright?"

"I'm cool!" The blond bounded back up, as the group laughed at his clumsiness. They abandoned the pillows and crowded up on one of the beds.

After a few moments of catching their breath, Yugi spoke up, "You know, I'm not sure what else Pegasus could do for us but if you really think he'd help...then I'll ask."

"Maybe if you told him what was going on he'd have a better idea on how to help. Besides, he's the only other person who has any experience with… you know, stuff like this." Teá mused.

"You make a good point." Ryou commented. A knock at the door brought the conversation to an end. Joey bounded over to the door to reveal Solomon. "Hellooo!" He beamed at the group of youngsters.

"Hey Grandpa, I thought you weren't supposed to be back until later."

"I was, but I got a call from Odion. It seems Ishizu is not holding up well and he asked for us to come back and try to cheer her up."

Rebecca stood, "Is she sick?"

"No, I don't think so. I haven't been to see her yet, but it sounds like her brother's disappearance is taking a bigger toll on her than we thought. Why don't you all come with me? She needs all of our support right now."

"Of course we'll come Grandpa." Yugi nodded to the others and they all hopped up and followed him out and down the hall.

Solomon gently knocked on the door. A grim-faced Odion greeted the group and led them inside. Yugi's ears perked up to the muffled sound of sobbing. Looking around, they found Ishizu sitting hunched over a small table at the back of the suite. She held her face in her hands, a cup of tea and a tray of food lay untouched next to her. Odion re-took his post just behind her and placed comforting hands on her shoulders.

Solomon sat across from her and gently took one of her hands, "Why Ishizu, what has got you all worked up?"

Ishizu's grief-stricken eyes swept over the room's occupants before lowering to the table.

"I'm sorry, this is all my fault." Everyone exclaimed their protests but she shook her head, "No you don't understand. This is my fault...if I had not pushed him to come...i-if I h-hadn't been so blind to his pain! Marik had been hurting for so long and I just wanted him to find some closure! I foolishly thought th-that if h-he came he might h-have found some peace." With her free hand she gripped Odion's larger one, "Odion forgive me, you warned me-you both did-about the book attracting the wrong attention. He didn't want anything to do with it a-and now because of me he's gone! Marik! Our br-brother is g-gone!" She let out another pained sob and dissolved into tears.

"There is nothing to forgive sister. We are both to blame for this." Odion whispered in a shaky voice. His pain was as tangible as his sister's grief was visible.

Professor Hawkins chimed in, "Ishizu, this is not your fault-nor is it yours Odion. This has been an awful turn of events but it by no means anyone's fault. We knew the risks before we began this journey. Perhaps we all should take responsibility for turning a blind eye to potential dangers in search of knowledge-the search for the truth." Solomon patted her hand kindly and nodded in agreement.

"He's right! We're all doing everything we can to find Marik, but you need to be strong for him. You said it yourself that he was a strong fellow! I'm sure he's alright wherever he is."

The Egyptian woman hiccuped, "I-if anything ha-happens to him…" Everyone could only stand and watch as her sobs went up a notch. Yugi cast his eyes down to the floor. Out of the corner of his eye he could see a clenched fist shaking slightly. Looking up, he found Ryou with an unreadable expression. Concerned, he nudged his taller friend. Ryou jumped slightly-his brown eyes finding worried amethyst-before nodding his head in the direction of the door. Yugi's brow furrowed but he followed Ryou away from the group.

"What's up?" He whispered.

"Yugi I've been thinking. We've been searching for any trace or origin of that mysterious type of magic force right?"

"Yeah.."

"Well what if we're looking in the right places but we're using the wrong methods?"

Yugi cocked his head in confusion, "What? You lost me."

"I'm saying maybe we should consider tracking magic with magic."

Yugi took a moment to process that. 'It makes sense..'

"Okay but how? When we don't even know what kind of power took Marik in the first place?"

Ryou gave a quick glance to the group. No one took notice of them whispering to themselves so he turned back, "Don't freak out, but I can't help but wonder if maybe we should try asking for help.." He gave Yugi a guilty look, "..from the other side." He shrank in on himself as Yugi picked up on his hint.

"Oh no, don't tell me.." He narrowed his eyes at the whitenette.

"Think about it! The Pharaoh's body is missing!-"

"Oh God-"

"And we know there's an Afterlife!-"

"You didn't bring-"

"Maybe if we try and communicate with him-or anyone, for that matter-we can find some clues to lead us in the right direction!"

"You were supposed to leave it at home!" Yugi hissed angrily. Ryou tried not to cower under his heated stare.

"Yes, I brought it. I'm sorry but now I'm glad I did because it's an option. Admit it Yugi. We're stuck! We have no leads right now and no time. At best, we get a general idea on where Marik and the Pharaoh's body are and at worst we don't get anything. What have we got to lose?"

Looking back over at their friends, Yugi weighed their options. Ryou was right. Their hands were tied. At this rate they might never find them. His heart gave a painful tug at Ishizu's continued crying. 'What have we got to lose?' He sighed.

Ryou looked at him imploringly, "Please Yugi, let's just try. We don't have to involve the others-it can be just you and me. If nothing comes through then at least we can say we tried everything."

After a moment Yugi nodded, "Tonight, after everyone goes to bed." Ryou nodded and gave him a small encouraging smile.

"Thank you." They rejoined the group, and not for the first time during this trip did Yugi's unease make itself known within his heart.