all disclaimers apply

Unknown to Isis, Marik's curiosity got the better of him. After speaking with Yugi, he was deeply fascinated in what could be. Late at night, Marik returned to the tomb of their pharaoh. This time, he ignored the ancient scriptures and scrolls. He focused more on the writings upon the walls. With torch light, he illuminated the entire tomb. On the largest wall, the Book of the Dead, a customary necessity of all deceased kings for the afterlife. It was useless. Scanning another wall, writings of his deeds and actions as well as attributes to him. Again, useless. A third wall gave insight to the pharaoh's heritage, but it amazingly wasn't completed. Marik wondered about this. Why wasn't it? If everything else was complete why was this not? Placing more torchlight upon the writings indicated that the wall had been done over...rewritten. The pharaoh's name was missing and only his father's name remained. Even his mother's had been removed. For what reason was such? And no queen was spoken of at all.

Marik returned to the basics...the ancient scriptures about the pharaoh's supposed life. He spent several hours thumbing through and rereading various passages, but to no avail. Suddenly as the flame of the torch danced in a slight breeze, he had an idea! Quietly running out of the tomb, he sought out his father's old quarters. In there was a library of other information! He had no idea where or why the crazy idea popped into his head, but it wasn't anymore farfetched than his current theories. He would see if the ancient history of his own bloodline would reveal clues or answers! They were tied to the pharaoh in duty afterall. Perhaps there'd be some correlations...at least he hoped as much.

Back at the Game Shop, night had firmly taken its grasp upon the city. Yugi yawned and turned in for the evening. Yami had been very quiet for the past few hours. The ancient ruler was already asleep.

It took several more hours before the dreams visited the two once again.

Darkness. The young king, donned a peasant's robe and quietly stole away from the palace as he'd done numerous times as a prince. He did this as often as he could without arousing suspicion. Like a light breeze in the cooling desert air, he combed the village. His instinct told him his son was nearby, that he wasn't taken far from the palace at all. If only he could see him just one more time!

Suddenly a strange figure blocked his path. "Go home. What you seek is no longer yours."

"Who are you? How dare you speak to me in such a manner! Do you know who I am?" Pharaoh Atemu commanded in a hushed tone.

"One who is endangering his present and future."

"Enough of your riddles. I demand to know who you are!" Atemu continued, his anger causing his voice to become a little louder.

"A friend. Worry about what's to come, not what's already occurred."

"Bah! You waste my time!" the young king gruffed as he spun and headed in another direction. As he entered another narrow village street, the shadowy figure blocked his way once again.

"How did you--" Atemu started as his own instinct told him to put his guard up. Using his shadow powers, a golden eye blazed his forehead beneath his crown and the Millenium Puzzle glowed under his cloak.

"You must return to the palace your Highness. Hurry!" the shadowy figure said as it dissapated is easily as it appeared.

But it was too late, three large, gruff men surround the young king on all sides.

"Well, well, what have we here? It's a bit late for young men your age to be out and about. This is the time of thieves whelp." A fourth man said as he appeared from the shadows. He confidently strode over to the boy, placed a hand on the boy's chin and lifted his head upward. "Ahh, so you're not a mere boy are you? Hey guys, we got us a pretty little catch this time. We've got us the pharaoh himself!" the leader replied as he ripped the hood off the young ruler thus revealing his unique spikey hair and crown.

"It'd be wise to let me be." Atemu replied, not phased at all by the gang of thugs.

"Oh no, we couldn't do that. See, you have a nice little price on your head. Many of your daddy's enemies would pay handsomely to see it upon a platter. And the collapse of your kingdom would mean a bonus as they could easily lay seige to the richest country in the known world! I would be set for life with just your head! I could retire and end this relentless occupation as a bounty hunter."

"I warn you again. Let me be. I do not wish to---"

"You're in no position to bargain king!" The bounty hunter replied as he unsheathed a blade and pressed it firmly against the king's throat. "Perhaps I should just remove your pretty little head now."

Suddenly a flash of light from a nearby temple struck within yards of the group.

"What was that!?" the leader said as the other three thugs spun to see what had appeared behind them. They didn't have a chance to see as their eyes popped out of their heads and their bodies ripped to shreds. There was nothing left but three splattered pools of blood. A large, looming shadow blocked out the stars and moon, darkening the entire village.

"I say again, let me be. I do not wish for more killing." Atemu commanded.

The bounty hunter, startled, quickly recomposed himself. "You will tell whatever that is to back off or I will cut your throat king."

"You will be dead in either scenario. So choose your death wisely. If you kill me, your death will be certain to be slow, agonizing, and more torment than you could ever imagine in that feeble head of yours. If I live, you will be assured a quick, painless death as justice is in the hand of a god."

In a no win situation, the bounty hunter growled. "Fine then!" he said as he released the king, but not before giving the king a serious slash across his left arm. "Bare this scar as a rememberance of a battle you nearly lost!" the bounty hunter said before he was grabbed and crushed.

Blood splattered upon the king's peasant cloak and face as the bounty hunter existed no more. Atemu closed his eyes. He didn't want to kill, but he was left little choice. "Thank you...Obelisk. You may return to your slumber." he replied softly as the looming shadow retreated back to the temple.

Not wanting another confrontation and fearing that the scuffle had awakened some of the villagers, Atemu removed the cloak and flung it to the ground. He winced as he looked at the seriousness of the gash on his arm. It stretched from elbow to wrist bands, nearly completely opening his arm. It was a clean cut however, no major blood vessels were affected. He thanked Ra for that. But it was bleeding profusely and the exposed inner flesh meant a risk of infection, which could be deadlier than the wound itself. He quickly ran for the palace, utilizing an escape route in the palace wall that would allow him to enter the royal abode without being noticed by anyone.

As he safely entered the palace, he looked back to the village one last time. "Anhur, I will find you."

Yugi awoke in a cold sweat. He was scared and utterly confused! /YAMI!!! YAMI!!!/ he yelled inwardly.

The spirit stirred and quickly snapped awake. //Aibou! What's wrong!// he said before quickly assuming a more visible form so they could talk face-to-face.

"You dreamt that didn't you? It wasn't just me?"

"Yes." he replied then looked at his left arm. Indeed there was a light scar there. "And apparently it really did occur." Yami replied sadly as he revealed the scar to his partner.

"Well, that solves one thing. These dreams are definitely portions of your memory. And that pharaoh is obviously you. Now, we have to figure out if the rest of the stuff in those dreams is, or was, real."

"I don't know if I wish to know aibou." Yami replied as his gaze turned towards the floor.

"Why not? What if you need to know this stuff in order to deal with whatever it is here in the present that you reawakened for?"

"These dreams...or memories are very painful aibou. I don't like where they are leading. I do not wish to relive events that were unbearable the first time. What did I do to have to endure such tortures? Why must I?"

"Yami." Yugi replied softly as a tear scampered down his cheek. He had no answers for the ancient spirit. All he knew is that Yami was right, these dreams or memories were cruelty in the most extreme. "Yami, I am here with you. I'm also experiencing them. We'll get through them together...somehow."

"Thanks aibou."

Back in present day Egypt...

"Marik? What are you doing!?" Isis asked as she had awakened for the day and heard stirring down the corridor.

Marik had lost all track of time as he was rummaging through one journal after another. "Sis, I couldn't sleep. I had to see if I could seek out more answers to all this that's occurring."

"But what use are the journals and writings of our bloodline? It is of little relevance to the pharaoh's."

"Oh but sister, that's why we keep missing clues. I'm tracing our bloodline all the way back to the time of the pharaoh's death...and perhaps even before his death. Roots to our past may tie into roots of his."

"Interesting theory brother, but you need rest now. You look like death spit you out. Those writings will be there when you wake up. They've been there for hundreds of years."

Marik chuckled. "Okay sis. I will rest. But have a meal ready when I awake. I'm already famished, but I'll be asleep before I can lift a fork to the plate."

"Don't worry brother. Food will be prepared."

And with that, Marik followed his sister out of the room and shut the door. He had no idea how many hours he'd spent reading and researching, but his body hinted that it was now time for some rest. He had indeed found some intriguing news, but it would wait until he was more awake to explain it.

some 3000 years ago...

Anhur, now ten years old, felt the early stirrings of adulthood. His intelligence was like that of his real father's. He also developed a mastery of gaming. His 'foster' parents managed to keep him away from the pharaoh's eye for many years, but found it nearly impossible to hide him much longer. King Seto had a good memory. He was seeking this child out, but was looking in all the wrong places. Like his real father had done, Anhur found ways to slip out in the middle of the night to mingle among the villagers. He was even learning the basics of dueling in the game of darkness, though he kept this a secret from his parents. Rumors spread through the village and into the palace of a boy who could not be defeated in any game. Pharaoh Seto intensified his search for this boy, but the boy always seemed one step ahead of him. The boy earned a most revered nickname, Jackal, after the honored animal of the same name and the fact that the boy enjoyed wearing solid black cloaks with the eye of Anubis upon them. Jackals were known for their cunning, slyness, skill as tricksters, stealth, and ability to disappear within darkness like a ghost upon the mortal plane. Anhur fit this description exactly. To King Seto, this boy was a ghost. This boy haunted his dreams and thoughts day and night. With a young son himself, the heir to the throne, Seto was fast becoming paranoid of this boy nicknamed, Jackal. His real name, Anhur had an eerily striking resemblence to his deceased cousin and former pharaoh's name, Atemu. And the pharaoh couldn't get past the strange feeling that this, Anhur was to become a threat to him or his son.

Anhur had learned about some of the truths to his existence as his foster parents told him bits as he grew older. If the boy remained alive and out of the pharaoh's eye until age sixteen, all truths would be revealed to him, including the identities of his real parents. He was extremely athletic, becoming ever more handsome as each year passed by, and continuously seeking out knowledge to add to his vast intelligence, Anhur was becoming a force to be reckoned with. While he never did anything wrong, he had the knack to get on people's nerves...especially that of nobility and royalty. He mocked them. Disrespected them. Refused to honor them. He was cocky and driven to excel. His foster parents were already finding it extremely difficult to control this boy who was fast becoming a young man. But they knew, it was destined to be as such. This boy had a much larger destiny to follow. The traits he exhibited now would be necessary in the future.

And when he returned home,in his spare time, he learned everything and anything he could about this Pharaoh Atemu. It wasn't difficult as he found it easy to slip by the guards and navigate all the traps in the tomb. Fascinated by the former king, he strived to emulate him. Seto was no longer his idol, but rather the young pharaoh before him. The king who had the power to combine the gods themselves. The king who had a priest become the mighty kaa of the Dark Magician. Anhur sought this kaa. For he knew it was a kaa that, if utilized properly, could defeat even Pharaoh Seto's mighty Blue Eyes White Dragon. 'Defeat the pharaoh in a duel and become pharaoh yourself.' This was often the challenge the arrogant current king himself would boast to all. He was never defeated as he controlled not only the strongest kaa, the Blue Eyes, but also the gods themselves. Anhur swore that he would bring about this king's first and last defeat. It was a stirring in his heart he couldn't deny, no matter how fearful it made him. He couldn't explain why he felt compelled to such seemingly impossible feats, but he couldn't resist them either.

"Mother, did you ever meet the previous pharaoh?"

"Yes Anhur, I did."

"Was he as the scriptures say?"

"He was a very unique and gifted young man. Like his father, he cared more for his people than himself. He gave his life to save all of us. He will forever be immoratlized as a hero and savior."

"I see. Thank you mother." Anhur replied as he turned to depart.

"Anhur, where are you going?"

"To a place where I belong."

to be continued...