A Past and Future Pharaoh

Written By: Lady Lunar Phoenix

Original Beta Work: White Swan

A/N: Wow had to work on this chapter pretty hard. Mainly cuz I'm trying to straighten up voices and I realized Malik sounded WAAAY to much like a child rather than the head of a clan.

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The pair looked at each other before Anzu began rapidly dialing the next number she knew to call... Only to get hit with a message that Honda's voice mail was full. By now Anzu was pacing as she finally went for the only other number she could think of, Jounouchi was not an option with his drunk father.

The phone rang several times, each one bringing the hope in Anzu and Mai's hearts lower that the guys were ok when suddenly…

"Ishtar, Malik speaking who is this?" The Egyptian's voice came over the line startling the two of them.

"Malik? What are you doing there?" Anzu asked confused.

"Anzu? Anzu!" His voice went from arrogant to anxious as she heard him report to others that it was Anzu on the phone. "Yugi's been kidnapped along with Jounouchi, and the Kaiba's! Not only that but the game shop has been blown up!" Malik rushed while in the background, she could hear what sounded to be Isis and Rashid talking to Malik.

"Is Yugi's grandpa and mother ok?" She asked anxiously, only to hear silence on the other end of the phone. "Well?"

"They… didn't make it… Yugi doesn't know; he was gone before it happened." Malik answered somberly, while Anzu dropped to her knees in shock as memories rushed past her haunted eyes. Yugis' grandpa was a fixture in Yugi's life, true he was getting on in years, but to be killed in a blast while still unsure of Yugi's well being? Anzu lost her grip on the phone, giving Mai the chance to grab it.

"I want facts. What's going on?" Mai, ever the aggressive one asked not caring for formalities as Anzu sat there frozen.

"We don't know exactly, we were called back to Japan due to Bakura having some issues. Then on transit he called us from the Hospital, so I can only assume you tried to reach Honda. Well he's in the hospital he barely survived the attack, my brother and sister are here with me. While some suits kidnapped the Kaibas' along with Yugi and Jounouchi for who knows why." His voice suddenly faded as the phone was transferred.

"Anzu?" A female voice now spoke over the line. Isis.

"No, it's me Mai," the blond corrected the other woman.

"I see… As of now there is not much we can go on. I- I wish I still had the Tauk, that way I could tell you if by staying there you and Anzu were safer then if you returned here. However, all I can do is plead that you are cautious about what you do now. Whoever these people are know about Yugi's absence and seem to be looking for him, they may go after the both of you. So please stay on your guard, as for anything else I shall tell you what I can. However Bakura has only been able to tell us so much, he is very distraught at the moment after all."

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\Bakura's Apartment\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

"They're moving!" Bakura announced, his tone a mix of excitement and fear.

Isis decided updating Mai was a higher priority, so she stayed on the phone conferring with Mai about the situation. While Malik and Rashid studied the game more intently, though keeping both hands out of the field. The pieces had begun to move out of their little imprisonment, creating a fascinating display for the group. No piece was touched no item moved by any of them, yet as the little pieces moved to their freedom the rest of the board began to shift. New layouts began to form, pieces lifted on their own and moved to the side while other pieces replaced them. What had been a dungeon room with cell bars were dismantled, hallway settings were placed down, new pieces were put into place in the form of guards.

Every so often Bakura would look up at the woman who sat at the head of the table. She moved each piece with a noticeable disdain as she worked to express the actions taking place in another country. She would look up at Bakura and offer a warm smile once in a while. Spending such time with the lady Bakura found a part of his heart warming up to her, while another part welcomed her gladly.

He felt as though he knew her, somewhere on a primal level, yet there was so much about her that tied back into Egypt that he had to worry. She glanced at the background wall pieces that were resting in the room so he followed her gaze. Watching with wide eyes as the old images bled off the canvas to be replaced with new paint from who knew were.

"Bakura?" Rashid asked as he watched the change.

"No one is here but us and the lady," Bakura updated obediently.

"Us, the lady and the only clue as to what's going on with Yugi and group," Malik elaborated.

The phone clicked as Isis put it back in its cradle before returning to the group. She felt a little better knowing that the others had been warned of the possible threat to their lives. "It is late. We should return to the boat, and start fresh in the morning."

"You can stay here!" Bakura said suddenly in a rush, standing up only to be stopped by Isis.

"Your apartment is designed for only one person in mind. Our boat would be fine," she replied though she saw the fear in his eyes.

"I can stay, I'll keep my hands out of the game so I should be ok," Malik offered.

"I know you, you'll spend the whole night up if we leave you here," Isis countered folding her hands before her, a slightly amused expression on her face.

"I'll go fetch some things from the ship so that we can stay over the night then," Rashid replied with a shake of his head. Malik wasn't going to leave; Rashid knew as well as Isis that Malik was going to sneak out and tour the city once everyone was asleep.

"What's so wrong with learning the lay of the land? Its not like I had a lot of time before!" Malik whined at his sister as Rashid left.

"I'll go see about making something to eat then… I'm sorry I didn't realize that time had flown so fast while we watched the board," Bakura apologized before turning and walking away to the kitchen. It was nearing midnight, too late for a full dinner, so all Bakura could do was make a few light sandwiches with a mental note to make a big breakfast in the morning. Suddenly out of nowhere the sound of the blender shredded the air and his calm. Whirling about to face the source of the sound he watched as Malik flung himself backwards staring at the blender in shock. The blond twitched, cast a glance at his host, then gave a weak embarrassed chuckle.

"Oopps?" Malik rushed over to shut the machine off while Bakura tried to regather his wits about him. His heart was going faster then a rabbit and for the life of him after that scare strangling Malik sounded like a good idea. "Sorry about that."

"It's ok," Bakura sighed and handed over a sandwich to the blond while resuming his work.

"Is it really that scary to be alone here? I can't… well ok the game in the other room is freaky, but the rest of the apartment seems normal enough," Malik noted as he leaned against the counter.

"I've lived so long on eggshells that I guess I've become more sensitive towards things that are not considered normal…" Bakura explained while he began pulling out the glasses.

Malik grew silent wondering if he was one of those reasons. After all wasn't he the one that made the deal with the other Bakura? The reason why Bakura had a long slender scar on his forearm now, with no clue as to how he got it? How much did Bakura know about the thief king? How much did he truly understand about the Sennen Ring that had been put in his hands? Certainly he had no relationship to the spirit as Yugi had with the Pharaoh, who conversed and shared Yugis' body with complete trust.

Seeing Bakura standing working on making something for his impromptu house guests to eat, it dawned on Malik that he and Bakura weren't very different. Both victims of events that started 3,000 years ago that they had no control over, yet had survived, though not without scars of their own. For Malik a series of inscriptions that traced down from his shoulder blades down his back above his waistline. While Bakura more than likely carried all of his emotionally scars deep inside of himself.

"My sister is a good listener. I know that might not be enough but… You can talk to any one of us," he offered feeling a need to try and offer something to the teen.

"I understand and I do appreciate it, but it's simply the presence I feel in my apartment. I can handle the rest on my own," Bakura answered with a pasted on smile. Malik grabbed the drinks while Bakura lifted up the tray with the food.

"Still it's not right to have to deal with everything alone," Malik argued.

"Perhaps but it has always been the safer route for me to take," Bakura countered calmly as he walked out to rejoin Isis. "I made a plate for Rashid when he returns, I'll make a larger breakfast to make up for the missing dinner."

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\About four hours later… roughly…\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

It was 2:57 am. That was 'am' as in morning and yet something woke Bakura up. Something told him to turn around, and though he was nervous to do so he turned his head…

"Ra take you…" he swore and for a moment paused as he thought about that… Since when did he swear to an Egyptian god? "What are you doing Malik?"

The blond Egyptian had been caught sliding open the window to his room. Malik was dressed as though he was going out with his black cargo pants, sleeveless hoodie with the black vest on as well.

"Shhhh I want to check out the game shop," Malik answered as he continued opening the window.

"You heard your brother and sister…" Bakura replied, getting out of bed though he was whispering back to Malik.

"Then stay here, I want to see for myself what's going on," Malik retorted.

"Wait… do you even know where the Game Shop is?" Bakura asked.

Malik stopped for a moment before shrugging, "I got all night."

"It's two am Malik!" Bakura argued amazed at the teen.

"Then come with me. We can go take a quick peek then come right back," Malik whined all but puppy eyeing Bakura into the idea. Then again Bakura was pretty good at puppy eyes himself.

\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\Two blocks down and going\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\

Malik tore down the streets rapidly keeping an eye out for anyone who may have tried to stop him. Wasn't there a curfew thing in Japan after all? It didn't matter though, Malik ducked and hid as he ran along till he hit the end of the sidewalk at a cross section and wondered which way to go. Turning around he faced his traveling companion, a woebegone teen named Bakura.

"Why am I here again?" Bakura asked as he stood there, though not in a tone of expecting an answer he didn't already have. Barely in his clothes from earlier, none of it tucked in or properly buttoned; Malik had dragged him out the second he got something on. They continued on, the strangers that Bakura had been seeing weren't visible. Then again Bakura knew his way from his apartment to Yugi's home so there was no need for guides. Instead they ran along down the streets till they finally reached the Game Shop.

They approached it quietly, Malik gazing at the two story building with its gaping hole in the front. Bits of timber hung forlorn like the dipping heads of people at a funeral, wringing their hands as they wondered and whispered at how this could have happened in the first place. Paint had been ripped off in some places by the force of the blast; already wind had begun to blow the occasional piece of debris into the building. Shattered counters lay tilted or completely gone. Walking among the broken pieces Malik marveled at the idea of a small item causing this much destruction in a matter of seconds.

"This is so cool Bakura! Just think something probably small could do this much damage!" Malik gushed as he gazed around in the darkness.

Suddenly out of nowhere he felt the back of a hand slap him across the back of his head. Whirling around thinking he was getting attacked by someone unseen all he saw was Bakura standing in shadows and moonlight. Even then the young Egyptian could see a look in Bakura's eye that he never saw before. "Show some respect Malik! People died here! Just because you never met them they were still Yugi's family, and Honda is still in the hospital fighting for his life because of this 'cool' bomb!" Bakura shot back, not with anger, Bakura never got angry, Bakura was more one to be resigned to something then angry. No, his eyes and tone spoke of deep disappointment, as though Malik had let Bakura down with that one remark.

But he was right about what he said, Malik did sound very cold about what had happened. He looked down, properly shamed of his actions and demeanor, "I didn't mean to sound so callous Bakura." Malik felt so very ashamed. He was heir to a clan and was responsible for the lives of others. He couldn't just be dismissive of lives if they came from outside of the clan.

Time seemed to drag, how he wished Bakura would say 'something', his head still stung a bit from the blow. So he tried to act like the wall was interesting, which it was, as his need to be distracted revealed the writing on the wall. The posters for various games had been damaged or outright destroyed but there was one thing that had to have been placed after the bomb went off. With the darkness all around a few shafts of moonlight resting against the wall gave just enough of a glimpse to show a word. There was no reason for the word 'God' to have been burned into the wall in that manner before the bomb. Not only that but written by someone who knew Hieroglyphics as well, since it was not the Japanese word for it.

Only because he had served the Pharaoh in the underground did Malik know what that image meant. But was there more to it then just that? There wasn't enough light to see if more words had been burned into the wall. Malik began straining his eyes trying to see the rest of the message while over his shoulder he told Bakura of his discovery. The moonlight slowly rose up as the moon continued its eternal trip into the horizon, giving Malik a much needed view of the rest of the message, a bone chilling one to be sure of.

"Can we go now?" Bakura sounded scared as he spoke, breaking Malik's concentration. "Where did that light come from anyway?"

"What?" That caught Malik off guard and he turned to face Bakura's worried and frightened expression.

"Where did the light come from? Moonlight doesn't expand like that," Bakura explained jerking his head towards the original light source.

Malik followed Bakura's gesture and froze in shock. The moon had not shifted, true it was lower then it had been when they came into the shop, but there was a board now directly in the way! Where had the light come from to aid Malik in reading the message? Further more, Bakura was just as alarmed as he was so he must have seen the light expand as well! He turned quickly only to see the light now higher up, showing more of the top of the word and giving only a slight clue as to the word above it.

"Let's go," Malik was now far more disturbed then he had thought he could get from being in the shop. True, his sister and brother wouldn't be pleased with finding out that he had snuck out, but he was sure they weren't going to be pleased with what he had to tell them about the shop either. The two turned and after ensuring they weren't going to get arrested for being in the shop made their way back to the apartment.

Malik no longer seemed to be willing to run along; instead he kept a leisurely pace, walking through the dark city with a scant few hours away till dawn. It seemed to take forever for a car to drive by them, the headlights blinding them as the car turned a corner heading off into darkness. It felt so empty in the city, like they were the only two people in the world. They wondered how they would be able to explain to Yugi what happened to his family. Should they let Isis do it or Rashid? How to phrase it even was hard, how did one explain that their loved ones were killed? Even worse murdered because some sick group was looking for someone, that it wasn't a random act of violence but a premeditated strike?

"I'm sorry about hitting you like that," Bakura finally broke the silence after they passed a block.

"No, it's ok I deserve it. I was acting like a real jerk back there," Malik tried to reassure Bakura only the teen shook his head.

"No. It's not ok, I've never hit anyone before, it's completely unlike me to do such a thing," Bakura replied with a sigh.

Malik couldn't think of anything else to say so he continued walking along in silence till they reached Bakura's apartment. That was when Bakura broke the silence again.

"I can't believe I'm sneaking into my own apartment through the window."