The Forgotten Tomb

A/N: I have no idea where I got this idea (most likely The Mummy and/or Indiana Jones), nor how it'll all play out. Just what I need: ANOTHER multi-chapter story. And I also have an idea for a story similar, but with a completely different storyline! As always, I'd love to hear your opinion on my work, so please R&R!

This is not recommended for children under the age of 13 due to violence, frightening images (no, not like that, ireneotaku!), and language. People of the internet, you have been warned.

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh or anything else famous that people may have heard of before reading this.

Chapter 1: Curiosity

Ryo sat next to his father around the camp fire along with the other archeologists. He yawned and stretched his pale arms up towards the starry Egyptian night. He was now eighteen, and was invited by his father to come to visit him at his newest excavation site. Ryo was never that interested in the past, especially since he started getting possessed by the Spirit of the Millennium Ring, but he didn't want to disappoint his father, so he came anyway. The boy's been in the foreign country for about a week now, and he can't remember having a long, decent conversation with his father. He was either always working in the new tomb they found, or he was talking excitedly to his co-workers.

"So, Ryo," his father asked, "Are you liking your stay here in Egypt?" Ryo looked up.

"Oh, yes," he fibbed, "it's very interesting."

"Well," Mr. Bakura went on, clearly not noticing his son's little lie, "I've gone through the tomb we're working on, and I've decided that tomorrow, you can come along with me and my team to see it!"

"Of course, Father," Ryo falsely smiled, "I'd love to go with you."

"Are you sure it'd be smart to allow a child to go into a dangerous tomb?" one of Ryo's father's assistants pointed out.

"Don't worry," he reassured, "Ryo's not a child anymore, and I've already checked all of the traps and dangerous areas personally."

"That's not what I'm talking about, Sir," the assistant went on, "didn't you hear about the curse? According to legend, the spirit of that tomb will claim a soul each day until he is finally free!"

"Oh, please Richard," the archeologist laughed as he slapped his huge hand onto his son's back, "there's no such thing as magic or curses, right Ryo?"

"R-right…" Ryo trailed in response. Even though his father never believed in magic and curses, to Ryo, it was all just too real. He had to share his body with a sadistic spirit for almost four years, but luckily his yami was driven out when Yugi and the others defeated his and Zorc about a year ago. They all stayed friends through high school, but they all chose different career courses in collage, and Ryo hasn't heard from anyone since.

"Well then," Ryo's father announced as he stood up, "we should go to ahead and turn in for the night. After all, we're going to have a big day tomorrow!" Ryo sighed as he followed his father into the tent circle. He said good night and walked into his tent. He zipped up the front door, and he switched out of his clothing and into a pair of sweatpants.

A cool desert wind blew in from the window before he could find his sweatshirt in his mountain of clothing, making him shiver. He crawled over his sleeping bag towards the window to zip it up, but something made him stop. He peered outside. He saw one of the smallest wildlife species this unforgiving environment had to offer; a Fennec Fox. Its beady eyes sparkled like stars, and its normally tan fur glowed a light shade of silver in the moonlight. The large, bat-like ears twitched as the little nocturnal predator searched for a nighttime snack.

Ryo watched the shy creature until it froze. It turned its head towards the campsite, and it felt as if the fox's shining eyes were burning straight into the boy's soul. When he looked closer, he thought he could see irises of red, but the animal scurried away behind a large sand dune before the white-haired teen could conclude his hypothesis. Ryo sighed, and his body shook again as another gust of wind blew in his tent, reminding him to find his sweatshirt. He zipped up the window to prevent for wind in, and he continued in his quest to find the lost shirt.

He eventually found it, and slipped into the sleeping bag. However, no matter how much he tossed and turned, he couldn't get the little fox out of his mind. Was the sight of an animal considered good luck? Or bad? Ryo thought that it seemed much too cute to be a bad omen, but the thought lingered in his mind all night.

Ryo sat back in the passenger side of the jeep as his father drove the vehicle towards the newly discovered Egyptian tomb. Dust flew up all around as the other cars drove behind them on the sandy road in the hot desert sun. Ryo could feel sweat begin to already drop from the back of his neck and his forehead. His father must have seen him rub the back of his hand under his bangs, because he began to chuckle as drove closer to the excavation site.

"If you plan on coming with me to more digging sites, Ryo," he advised, "then I suggest you cut that rats' nest you call your hair." Ryo tried to glance up at his father, but the sun was just too bright, even under the hat he was wearing.

"Then again," his father went on, not waiting for an answer from him, "the nights would be even colder than they already are. Well, you're all grown up now, so I should let you choose." He stopped smiling, and Ryo could tell that his long white locks were not the only problem on his mind.

He looked away. Even before Ryo graduated from high school, he and his father had a hard time communicating to one another, and if they did manage to contact each other, it would be a very short conversation, at which his father would quickly get back to whatever he was doing before Ryo disturbed him. It was hard to catch his father on the phone, and emails would often get lost on their way to their final destination.

Ryo looked up, and he could see that he and the rest of the mechanical caravan were close to what looked like an ancient doorway that led underground. As they crept closer, he could see native workers already there, all doing different jobs. Some of them were pulling wheelbarrows filled with rocks, and others were trying to determine fragments of pottery on a table under a shaded work station.

When they were close enough, all of the desert jeeps halted, and Ryo pushed his door open and jumped out. When his father was out, he began leading the others towards the site.

"Well, Ryo," his father asked as they made their way in, "what do you think?"

"W-Well," he stumbled, "it looks like this site is a pretty big deal."

"It sure is," a female voice from behind announced, "after all, it's said that a rich king is buried somewhere inside the tomb over there." Ryo turned around, and he gasped with surprise… as well as joy. The woman was tan, and she had long black hair as well as bright blue eyes.

"Ishizu…?" Ryo asked. She nodded. The last time he saw her was when he previously came to Egypt. Again, it was his yami's manipulating that caused him to come, but he quickly caught up to Yugi and the others, and he watched as the multi-colored boy faced the pharaoh in the ceremonial duel.

"Go right ahead and talk, Ryo," his father said, "I bet you've got a lot of catching up to do. I'll be over with my team for a while. I'll come get you when we're ready to go inside the tomb." With that, he disappeared within the crowd of people. His son sighed. Sometimes, even now, it felt like Ryo's father was just itching to get rid of him.

"Hey Ryo," Ishizu said, "My brothers are here, too. Would you like to say 'hi'?" Ryo turned to her again and nodded.

"Of course," he smiled. They began walking towards a different part of the site. They began to approach a tan easy-up with a blonde tan boy, as well as a taller Egyptian man. When they were close enough, the blond one turned around and smiled at them.

"Hey Ishizu," the tall man greeted once they were under the shade as well.

"Hello Odion," she returned, "and hello Marik."

"Ryo," Marik gasped, "Ryo, is that really you?"

"Yep," the white-haired hikari smiled. Marik quickly glanced behind him and Ishizu, and then looked at Ryo again.

"Where's everyone else?" he asked. His friend frowned.

"I haven't talked to Yugi or anyone since graduation," he explained, "We've all pretty much chose separate courses and such."

"So you're interested in becoming an archeologist or Egyptologist?" Odion asked.

"Well, I'm not sure what I want to do for the rest of my life," Ryo went on, "but Father invited me to come, and I thought I could get a taste and see if I want to do it."

"Oh," Marik responded, "well that's too bad. At least you have us!" Ryo smiled. It was nice of them to welcome him with open arms. It has been a while since they got to talk like normal friends. Well, sort of.

"Ryo," his father called, "we're getting ready to inside the tomb! Are your friends coming with us?"

"I need to stay and help out the workers," Odion said, "but you guys can go on."

"Are you sure, Odion?" his little sister asked. He nodded, and as he walked from under the shade, he waved goodbye.

"Well," Ishizu announced, "let's go, boys!" After they each grabbed their canteens filled with water, they met Ryo's father next to the mouth of the ancient tomb.

"Are you ready, son?" Ryo's father asked. The pale hikari looked into his father's eyes, and he saw love and compassion. Ryo nodded.

"Alright everyone," the archeologist instructed, "make sure you stay with the group at all times." The professor began passing out flashlights to Ishizu, Marik, and Ryo. Afterwards, he walked inside and beckoned them to follow. Next in was Marik, then Ishizu, and lastly was Ryo. The walls began to enclose them as they were swallowed in by the darkness. It was stuffy inside, and even though everyone had their flashlights on, Ryo still felt uneasy. But why? He was perfectly safe with his father, Ishizu, and Marik… Right? He tried listening to Ishizu in order to help get his mind off of the uneasiness.

"Most of us have theorized that this tomb was that of an unknown king or a rich noble," Ishizu explained, "it's because of all of the hidden chambers just filled with riches."

"However," Ryo's father added, "we've been unable to find any sort of inscription in any part of the tomb. And we haven't found a chamber with a body yet."

Ryo scratched his head. What was an ancient Egyptian tomb without a mummy?

As he ran the rays of his flashlight over the walls, Ryo thought that he saw some kind of carving. He walked up to it, and when he was close enough, he noticed that they were in fact hieroglyphics. He had found something!

"Father," he called, "Father, come have a look at this!" Ryo found it difficult to hold in his excitement as his father, Marik, and Ishizu ran over to the inscription.

"Well I'll be damned," the archeologist admired, "Excellent work, Ryo! You found something that all of the professionals missed!" Ryo's heart swelled with pride. He finally made his father proud.

"Ishizu," Marik asked, "Do you think you can read it?" She nodded, and she took a closer look at the ancient writing.

"It says," she read, "'I lost the first, but now I've won.'" Marik scratched his head.

"What do you suppose it mea--" Ryo stopped as he felt the cold ground below him disappear. He watched as his father, Ishizu, and Marik disappeared as he was quickly swallowed by the cold loneliness. The last thing he heard was his father calling out his name.

As the rest of the group stared into the seemingly bottomless hole, no one noticed the pair of glowing red eyes carefully watching them…

A/N: I guess the hieroglyphics kind of suck, but other than that, I think it's pretty good so far. The minor caracter of Richard is dedicated to (and inspired by) ireneotaku. Please leave a review!