Seto winced as the sun peeked from behind a cloud and dazzled his peripheral vision. He squinted in an attempt to see better as his private jet raced through the sky. Among the cockpit instruments, a small screen displayed the coordinates of his destination. It was rapidly drawing closer. He tightened his grip on the controls. 'Twenty minutes, if I maintain current speed.'

He fought back a yawn as he looked out at the expanse of water below. In the hours following the phone calls, Seto had found it impossible to sleep. Despite being gruelingly tired, the feral gaze of his mysterious attacker haunted his mind. It only got worse every time he tried closing his eyes. Seto tolerated it as long as he could, but eventually he was unable to stand it any longer. He had left a note to Mokuba on his desk, promising to call, and prepared his jet for takeoff as the sun began to peek over the eastern horizon.

'You can ignore me on the phone, but let's see you blow me off that easily in person,' Seto thought irritably. He shifted the controls, banking to avoid flying directly through a thick, low cloud. Focusing on his destination, he readjusted his course and sped off to the south. If he had been more alert, he might have noticed a glimmer in the sky. A cold glow seemed to trail the jet, like silver flames hiding within a veil of mist.

The sunlight stretched through the window, warming all it touched. Atem yawned and stretched along the length of the bed. He winced from a slight ache in his calf muscle, the only reminder of yesterday's cramp. The warm aroma of food tickled his nose. His mouth watered. He couldn't see the clock from where he lay, but the scent of breakfast meant it was time to get up. Beside him, he felt Yugi stir.

"Is't...morning already...?" Yugi yawned as he rolled over and rubbed his eyes. "Feels like I just lay down a minute ago..."

"I think Malik-kun is making breakfast," Atem remarked as he slid out of bed and made his way to the closet to dig for clothes.

Yugi sat up and blinked against the bright morning light. "I'll...go see if my clothes are dry," he mumbled, noticing Atem was starting to strip out of his sendut. 'I guess he's used to being on his own…or maybe ancient Egypt just had different ideas about modesty….' He slipped into the bathroom, preferring a little privacy while getting dressed. His clothes were spread right where he had left them.

"Good, they're almost completely dry," Yugi mumbled to himself as he pulled the shirt over his head. He hopped into his pants and stuffed the pockets with everything he had removed. A thought made him hesitate as he reached for the doorknob. 'I don't want to intrude on Atem if he's not dressed yet.' After a moment, he opened the door a sliver and peeked out through the crack. Atem was dressed from the waist down, leaning into the closet as he looked for something.

"I know I saw at least one clean t-shirt in here yesterday," Atem mumbled as Yugi stepped out of the bathroom. "It can't be laundry time already…."

"What's the matter?"

"I think I'm out of clean shirts," Atem sighed. He began sorting the dirty clothes into a pile on the floor. "I thought I wouldn't have to wash anything for another day or two. I guess I was wrong."

"How do you do it? Now that I think about it, I haven't seen a laundry machine here."

"There weren't any laundry machines around in ancient Egypt either. Sand for scrubbing, water for washing, and elbow grease. That's the way we did it back then. Or at least the servants did it."

"But you don't have any servants here."

"I know. That's why I sometimes cheat when doing chores."

"How do you cheat on chores?"

"Aibou, do I even need to answer that?"

"…It's magic isn't it. No wonder Malik-kun said you don't like Ishizu-san visiting much."

Atem rolled his eyes. "Yeah, she hasn't changed her opinion of magic. And I still say it's damn useful and it's not hurting anyone so there shouldn't be any problem."

Yugi just shook his head. He knew by now that Ishizu and Atem were both too stubborn to give in on this argument. "I'll go see what's for breakfast."

"Morning, Yugi-kun," Malik called from the stove as Yugi stepped into the kitchen. He blinked, noticing that Yugi had tied his hair back. "...You look like you shrunk without your hair sticking up," he couldn't resist snickering.

"Hey, I'm not that short," Yugi grumbled as he sat down at the table.

"It sure is nice not having to cook for myself for a change," Atem remarked as he entered the kitchen. His chest remained bare, telling Yugi that he had given up on finding a clean shirt.

"You call that cooking? I thought you just made messes in the kitchen," Malik laughed. He turned off the stovetop and began scooping eggs and bacon out of the frying pan. "By the way, I thought I heard noises last night," he remarked as he filled three plates with food.

Atem shrugged. "It was probably me yelling."

"It was my fault," Yugi interjected. "I forgot to turn my cell phone off and it rang last night."

"Who'd be calling you in the middle of the night?" Malik wondered aloud. "...It wasn't Anzu-chan was it?"

Yugi shook his head. "No, she wouldn't mix up the time zones. She's good at keeping track of that. Besides it wasn't her ring tone."

"It's not important," Atem interjected as his stomach growled. He didn't want to spoil the morning with unpleasant thoughts. "Let's just eat."

Seto glanced down at the small island below his jet. It took only a moment to pick out the best landing spot. He brought the jet down on a wide stretch of beach near the southeast end of the island. The cockpit opened as he turned to grab his briefcase out of habit. It took him a moment to remember he hadn't brought anything with him.

"Should have grabbed a coffee or something," Seto mumbled as he climbed out of his jet. He rubbed his eyes, trying to push back his fatigue. There was only one small residence on the island. "Now, I'll make you give me some answers." He began walking towards the house.

Yugi sighed as he sat on the sofa. "My phone is useless right now Malik-kun. It's lost signal again." He scowled at the device in his hand, as if it might be possible to intimidate it into working again. The mark showing signal strength remained unmoved.

"Then how'd someone call you last night?" Malik asked as he paced in front of the bookshelf.

"Signals are temperamental out here," Atem remarked, leaning over the back of the sofa to get a better look at Yugi's cell phone. "I often can't get the same channels on TV that I got the day before. It doesn't surprise me that a phone signal would also come and go."

"Why does it do that?" Malik stopped to look the former pharaoh in the eye.

Atem shrugged. "All I know is what I've seen it do before. I'm not a technology expert; I can't explain the hows and whys."

"Maybe it'll come back again tonight," Yugi suggested hopefully. "Then we can call Rishid-san about the boat and-"

A clunk sounded against the front door. The room filled with silence as the trio turned to stare in the direction of the noise. They glanced at each other, and then back at the door. "Was...that a knock?" Malik asked.

"It sounded like one to me..." Yugi said slowly.

"There's no one else on this island," Atem murmured, "So who's knocking?" The knock sounded again, startling them. Atem could tell from Yugi's expression that he didn't want to be the one to open the door. A quick glance at Malik showed that he seemed to have similar feelings. 'Can't say I blame them. We're supposed to be alone…so who…or what…is knocking?'

Yugi finally broke the silence. "Why are we all suddenly scared of a little noise? It's not like we're in a horror movie or something," he laughed nervously in an attempt to ease the tension. "Even if we were, the scary stuff happens at night."

"Yugi-kun...we've dealt with things that were arguably worse than horror films," Malik sighed as Atem laughed. He tried not to shudder as he forced back the more unpleasant memories of the shadows.

Atem's laughter stopped. "You've got a point," he acknowledged, "But I don't get the feeling there's anything hostile out there…. We'd probably be able to tell if there was some sort of dark magic threatening us, don't you think?" Part of him hoped he wasn't mistaken. He could use some magic if he needed to, but without a source, there were limits to what he was capable of. His thoughts flickered to the deck of cards that lay in the nightstand drawer by his bed. 'I don't have the energy to manage.…'

A third knock interrupted Atem's thoughts. It seemed more impatient this time. "Alright, fine," he sighed as walked over to the door. "Let's at least find out what's going on." He pulled open the door before anyone could protest. Atem felt his jaw drop as he came face to face with the last person he would have expected to see. Standing on the front porch was none other than Seto Kaiba.

"It's about time," Seto grumbled. He pushed past Atem and into the room without waiting for an invitation.

"What are you doing here?" Atem demanded as soon as the shock wore off.

"What makes you think you can bark out orders whenever you feel like it?" Seto sneered back at the former pharaoh.

Atem's eyes narrowed. "This is my home."

"That doesn't mean you own it." Seto's gaze shifted quickly around the room before settling on Yugi. "This isn't a pleasure visit. I wouldn't be here if you hadn't hung up last night."

Malik's eyes widened. 'Kaiba was the one who called last night? What's going on here?' he wondered as he watched Yugi shrink away from Seto.

Atem rolled his eyes, not bothering to hide his irritation. "Then maybe you shouldn't make calls when people are trying to sleep."

"I don't appreciate being screamed at in gibberish either," Seto snapped without looking at Atem.

"Kaiba," Yugi said softly, "Why are you here?" He took in the sight of Seto standing there in his disheveled business suit. Seto's hair was a mess and there were dark circles under his eyes. His shirt collar seemed buttoned unusually high. 'He reminds me of Jounouchi-kun after a fight,' Yugi realized. 'What happened to him…?'

"You didn't give me much choice. After you hung up, I couldn't get through. But you can't ignore me now, can you? Now, as I was trying to explain last night, some freak barged into my office and attacked me."

Atem suppressed a snicker. He was about to throw another verbal dagger at Seto, but something in Yugi's expression made him hesitate. 'Aibou…do you believe him…?' he wondered. It was obvious to him that Yugi once again had the uneasy feeling he felt after Seto's call.

"What exactly do you mean by a 'freak'?" Yugi asked. "You didn't use that term last night."

For a moment it looked like Seto wasn't going to answer. Then he sighed and folded his arms. Reluctantly, he explained his encounter with the stranger. As he spoke, he could almost feel those cold hands on his throat again. He shuddered as he remembered how helpless he had felt as the man had squeezed the life out of him. "…And then the lights came back and he was gone. I wouldn't have even noticed the time discrepancy if I hadn't seen the clock on my computer," he finished.

"...So did you...know the guy who attacked you?" Malik asked, breaking the silence that had returned when Seto finished.

"If I did, don't you think I'd be looking for him instead of talking with you right now?"

"Then why come here?" Atem frowned. "What makes you think we know your attacker?"

"Because...," Seto grudgingly admitted, "You know more about how to deal with these kinds of things than I do." It was difficult for him to swallow his pride now that he was actually face to face with the former pharaoh.

Malik's brow furrowed quizzically. "I thought you didn't believe in magic?"

Seto sighed as he found himself confronted by the same thing he had asked himself repeatedly in the hours since the attack. "Whether I believe in it or not is a moot point..." He tilted his head back and pulled down the collar of his shirt. He hadn't gotten a good look in a mirror since the attack, but the collective gasps of shocked horror made him wonder just how bad the bruise was.

'What sort of force would it take to leave a mark like that...?' Atem wondered as he stared at Seto's bare throat. An ugly purple blotch stained his skin. The fresh bruise was undeniable proof that something had happened to Seto. A chill ran down Atem's spine. The shape of the mark was eerily similar to that of a human hand.

"It doesn't matter if I think magic is real or fake," Seto said as he pulled his collar back over the bruise. "What I think doesn't change the fact that this freak seems to think his 'powers' are real. Nor does my opinion make him any less dangerous. …He also seems like the kind of guy who's crazy enough to carry out his threats."

"And this has to do with us because…?" Yugi prompted Seto to continue.

Seto struggled to say what was in his mind. "You three…and your little friend club that isn't here…are the only ones I know of…who talk about magic like it's real. Hell, you're probably the only ones who will take me seriously. So this nutcase should be right up your alley."

"So...you want our help?" Atem asked quietly. "I can recall a few times we could have used your help, but when we asked all you did was sneer at us.…"

"Atem..." Yugi tried to get the pharaoh's attention. He would prefer not to see a fight break out.

"So now that the shoe's on the other foot, you're going to hold that against me...?" Seto growled, turning to face Atem. "Don't forget the reason you even have a roof over your head is because of me!"

"Meriui!" Yugi called, seeing Atem's fists clench. He jumped up from the sofa as Atem's head snapped towards him. "Please don't- Ahh!" A sudden burst of light erupted in the middle of the room, temporarily blinding everyone. A hollow, cold laugh filled the air as Seto's attacker now stood where the silver flames had been.

"YOU!" Seto exclaimed, taking a step back.

The man tilted his head. "So you are finally starting to remember me, Seto-chan? ...Or are you just remembering my actions?" His icy gaze lingered for a moment on the bruise that lay hidden under Seto's collar. "Do you think you can be rid of me so easily? That your little friends can somehow save you? Fool."

"L-look," Seto tried to keep his voice steady. "I don't know what the hell you want, but I want you to leave me alone!"

A feral grin spread over the man's features. With the same eerie speed he had demonstrated in the Kaiba Corp office, he suddenly turned to Malik. Malik let out a yelp of pain as the man violently wrenched his arm, twisting it behind his back. He tried to pull away but the man twisted his arm further. Malik bit his lip to keep from whimpering. It felt like this man was about to rip his shoulder off.

"Malik-kun!" Yugi and Atem exclaimed simultaneously.

"I will make this simple enough for even you, Seto-chan," the man crooned. "I would prefer not to harm your little...Malik-kun, since he has no part in our dispute. However, if you wish to see him remain among the living, you will meet me at the time and place I have specified... Once I decide when and where that will be, you will come and we will settle this. And once your blood has been spilt in atonement...I will finally let you have peace."

"...And if I refuse...?" Seto said softly.

"Tsk tsk, Seto-chan. You were the one who asked how to resolve this quickly. Are you saying the safety of your friend and the peace you desire is not worth it?" Sarcasm dripped from his tone. The man raked his cold eyes over Seto's face, trying to determine the thoughts behind the neutral mask he wore. "…Oh dear...don't tell me I'll have to raise the stakes. Very well...if I must, I will take someone else to ensure your cooperation. Such a shame. I was hoping to spare little Mokuba-kun."

A cold chill swept through Seto's body. His mind suddenly plagued him with the image of his brother crying out as this stranger slowly tortured him. "You leave my brother alone!"

The man smirked. "I seem to have touched a nerve. Excellent. Now I know exactly how to ensure your cooperation." His cold laugh rang out as he disappeared with Malik in another burst of flame.

Atem felt someone gently shaking his shoulder. The haze of sleep clouded his mind as he yawned. 'When did I fall asleep?' Slowly he forced his leaden eyelids to open. "...What?"

"We've made it back to the boat," Yugi said softly. His apologetic expression was hard to see in the light of the waning moon. "Sorry to wake you."

With a groan, Atem sat up in the dune buggy and looked around. It was darker than he thought it should be. Lights from the Ishtars' boat reflected off the river. He couldn't see anyone around except Yugi. "How long was I out?"

"About two and a half hours…Malik-kun said we shouldn't disturb you. I don't blame him; you were really out of it."

"It took more energy than I expected to deal with the slavers." He paused for a moment, ignoring the ache from his lip. "Is something wrong? You must have had a reason for waking me."

"There's…not really anything wrong, but Malik-kun is talking with Rishid-san and Ishizu-san. I overheard some of it and thought you might want to be there for it…."

Atem climbed out of the vehicle. "What are they talking about?"

"Those slavers. Ishizu-san didn't sound very happy about it."

"Somehow that doesn't surprise me," Atem muttered as the argument from breakfast came back to him. It seemed hard to believe that it had really been just that morning. "Where are they?"

"I'll show you." Yugi turned and made his way to the boat. Soft footfalls told him that Atem was following closely. He led the former pharaoh down the branching corridors. Soon they could hear snippets of a heated conversation from behind a partly closed door. Atem placed his hand on the door and was about to push it open when something he heard caused him to hesitate.

"...heard rumors about this group in town today," Rishid was saying in his level tone. "Their name means 'Blood Cloud,' I think."

A chill rippled down Atem's spine as the gypsy's words returned to him. 'Was this what she meant? Is she in league with them? But she couldn't have known where we were going...or how we'd try to go back to the boat...' A warm hand on his shoulder brought Atem back to reality.

"Are you alright?" Yugi whispered. "You look pale."

"It's…just tired," Atem lied. He gave a slight nod towards the door. "Will you join the conversation?"

Yugi shook his head. "If it's alright...I'll just wait out here."

"Alright then." Atem's words brought a shy smile of relief to Yugi's face. 'He isn't afraid to stand strong if he has to, but that doesn't mean Aibou enjoys fighting,' he mused in an attempt to distract himself from thoughts of the gypsy. Steeling himself for what he expected would be unpleasant, the former pharaoh pushed open the door and stepped into the room.

Rishid was the first to notice Atem since he stood facing the door. His eyes widened in surprise at the unexpected spectator. Malik noticed the expression on his face and turned to see what Rishid was looking at.

"Uh, sis..." Malik mumbled, trying to interrupt Ishizu.

Ishizu had her back to Atem. He had no clue what she might be saying; she had lapsed into Arabic as she spoke. It was at least obvious from her tone that she was quite upset. Atem watched calmly as her brother continued his attempts to get her attention.

"Sis…Sis...SISTER!"

"WHAT!" she finally exclaimed in Japanese.

"Behind you..."

Ishizu turned and stiffened when she saw Atem. "Pharaoh! When did you...who told you...?"

"No one told me to come here," Atem quickly lied. The last thing he wanted to do was get Yugi in trouble. "I could hear your voices from down the hallway." For a moment, he felt a sense of déjà vu. The setting and people involved may be different, but he was strongly reminded of the political tasks he had dealt with while on the throne. Often he'd had to skew the truth or tell people what they wanted to hear to ensure that vital tasks would be done. Atem didn't enjoy resorting to such deceptions, but sometimes the situation demanded it.

Ishizu stared him down, trying to figure out if he was hiding anything. Atem kept his expression blank as he held her gaze. Another thing he had learned during his reign was how to hide his emotions. He couldn't deny how invaluable this neutral mask had proven to be, in past and present alike. Only one person knew Atem well enough to see through his bluff.

"My brother was just telling me about what happened earlier." Ishizu finally glanced away as she spoke.

"Pharaoh," Rishid interjected calmly, "If those men were part of a certain group I was hearing rumors of in Cairo, then you were very fortunate to get away."

"It seems there will always be those who exploit the desert for wicked purposes," Atem shook his head.

"Was it really necessary?" Ishizu asked harshly. "Did you truly need to resort to magic?" She couldn't hide her displeasure any longer.

Malik tried to placate her before another shouting match could erupt. "I told you sis, there were eight of us and seven of them, Jounouchi-kun was hurt, AND they had weapons! I don't know what else we could have done to get away."

"You could have waited for a better chance to escape. You could have let them fall asleep or something. Anything would have been better than using magic!"

"They were about to tie us up! It was a now-or-never moment!"

"Ishizu-san," Atem interrupted, "I only did what I had to do at the time. They were armed. We weren't. Jounouchi-kun was hurt. If we hadn't done something about their weapons then more of us would have been hurt when we escaped, chains or no chains." He paused for a moment to wipe away the dried blood from his lower lip. Aside from the ache, he had completely forgotten about the wound until now. "As Rishid-san said, we got lucky. Nechreduat pa aui shesau ne aniu snet. Geri nen sedja war ar amenen merer re ari nefa."

It took a moment to figure out what Atem said, but Malik and Rishid paled at his words. Their gaze fixed on Ishizu. Neither of them wanted to see her reaction.

Ishizu's eyes widened in shock. "You dare...?"

"Yes I dare," Atem cut her off. He let the neutral expression vanish from his face, showing just how upset he was for a brief moment. He folded his arms, unconsciously straightening his back and shoulders as he did so. His body language gave off that same air of authority he'd shown at breakfast.

"Because you don't seem to take into consideration that I don't have to lift a finger for anyone if I don't want to," Atem continued before Ishizu could answer. "When I use any magic my intention is to help. The manner in which it is used should be more important than the fact that magic is used at all. I said it before and I say it again now: sealing the Millennium Items for good does not mean that all magic, Egyptian or otherwise, is gone. Many things, including magic, can be dangerous in the wrong hands. By the logic that you're using, we should try to get rid of cars because they kill people whenever a bad crash happens. Never mind the fact that most accidents happen because of the people driving them rather than the vehicles themselves."

Ishizu opened her mouth to argue, but Atem held up a hand to stop her. "Amnen," he said firmly. "It's clear that you refuse to back down. Also, I do not wish to alter my stance on the subject at this time. So it would seem this is an issue where we must agree to disagree."

"...At least you were able to secure another vehicle," Ishizu mumbled after a few moments.

"And why is that...?" Atem blinked, his shoulders relaxing slightly.

"I had to leave one of ours at the shop." Rishid answered. He seemed glad to change the subject. "I presume you were told that the sandstorm damaged one of the jeeps?"

Atem hid a frown behind his blank mask at the thought of the jeeps. He remained silent, but nodded.

"Well, it proved to be worse than we expected. It won't be fixed for two or three days. If you hadn't managed to acquire the slavers' vehicle, we would have been forced to wait until the repairs were finished."

"With the dune buggy, we can return to the shrine tomorrow," Ishizu added. 'And then this will all be over with.'

Malik cast a sympathetic glance at Atem. He watched the frown spread over the pharaoh's face as his eyes narrowed. 'I know how you feel, pharaoh,'he thought, recalling their conversation on the deck. 'The feeling of being chained down by something you don't want to do... I know it so well. I may not be able to get inside your head like Yugi-kun, but I definitely understand this.'

"Aset, ar merert." A hint of anger shook Atem's voice. "But I will stay." From the corner of his eye, he noticed Malik give him a quick supporting grin.

"Pharaoh...what are you saying?" Rishid asked in quiet confusion.

"I won't be returning to Kul Elna; I have no desire to enter the afterlife."

"WHAT!" Ishizu yelled.

"The Pharaoh has spoken, sis," Malik quipped. 'How ironic…. I once caused so much trouble for Atem, and yet now I'm probably the Tomb Keeper who supports him the most.'

Ishizu whirled to face Malik. "Did you put this crazy idea into his head?" she demanded.

"Enough!" Atem jumped between Malik and Ishizu, forcing them apart before the argument could get any worse. He met Ishizu's eye. "Malik-kun did talk to me. But not until after I'd already made up my mind about this. You have no need to blame him."

"But-!"

"Herit! I do not wish to continue this discussion. My decision was mine alone." Before anything else could be said, Atem turned his back on the Ishtars and walked out the door.

Yugi stood in the hall waiting for Atem to come out. A weight seemed to lift when he saw the former pharaoh. "She didn't take it well," he remarked as Ishizu's voice trailed after Atem.

Atem shut the door behind him. "You were listening," Atem noted. The tension left his shoulders as he sighed. "No. She didn't seem fond of the idea at all. But I don't care if she agrees or not." He spoke calmly, feeling more relaxed just being near Yugi.

"I didn't hear all of it," Yugi admitted. He held up a plate of sushi and a can of soda. "I raided the kitchen. You slept through dinner, so I thought you might be hungry."

"Thank you," Atem smiled as his stomach growled. He hadn't even realized he was hungry until he saw the food. "Can we go somewhere quiet? I'd prefer not to be bothered for a while…."

Yugi nodded. "We can go to my room and lock the door."

"Sounds good. Lead the way, Aibou." He took the plate and soda from Yugi, and then followed him to the other end of the boat.