Carved in Stone

The Crossing 

            Seto closed his cell phone and shoved it in his jacket. Isis noticed an angry scowl on the
CEO’s face.

“Seto? Is something wrong?” she asked softly.

Seto crossed his arms an glared at the grey carpeting inside the limo.

“Just family stuff. Mokuba wants me to talk to me about something.”

Seto sighed as he ran his fingers through his hair.

Isis bowed her head and folded her hands in her lap. “You should go to your brother if he needs
you.” she spoke solemnly.

Seto nodded his head. He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. “You can use my limo to
continue the search.”

******************************************************************

            Ryou rubbed his eyes and ran his fingers through his hair. He rubbed his temples than
sighed as he tried to decipher the ancient text. He’d been up all night and had only completed a
few lines.

“Bel. Bel means lord......Bakura? Lord Bakura?” he said to himself in disbelief. Ryou looked at
his notes and re-read what he’d already transcribed.

 The Egyptian border

After many moons of travel, Ereshkigal and I finally reached the edge of the Egyptian border. I
had no idea how much time had passed since my exodus from my kingdom. I believed that the
gods had cursed me for some unknown reason. My companion and I went through hell on our
long journey...............

(...................) Undecipherable

.............. A young thief from a small burned out village beyond the forest joined our quest in
reaching the pharaoh. He and Ereshkigal are setting up camp as I write this. His name......

“Was Bakura? I don’t believe this!” Ryou said as he finished writing his notes. “I have to tell
Malik!”

He quickly grabbed a flashlight and went to talk to Malik about what he’d just found out.

********************************************************************

            Duke turned off his car and eased his seat back. He laid back looking up at the setting
sun from the top of Red Mountain, the highest peak found on the outskirts of town.

The dice master lit up a Marlboro light and sighed. He’d been busy traipsing around all day in
search of Yami and had come up empty handed. The tranquility atop the mountain was
completely opposite of the noisy town the mountain shadowed below. Duke’s peaceful
surroundings were quickly shattered though by the rumble of motorcycles.

“I bet I can make it to the top before you do!” a hauntingly familiar voice shouted.

“Oh yeah? We’ll just have to see about that now, won’t we!” An even more familiar voice yelled
back.

Duke sat up and looked back in the direction of the approaching motorbikes. Two people were
racing up the dirt trail laughing loudly. They sounded like they were having a lot of fun.

“My ZX-12 puts your pooch 1200 Sportster to shame, doll! That ought to teach you for buying
American!” The man in the lead laughed at he passed the his companion up.

“Oh yeah? I’ll just have to teach you a little lesson! Eat my dust SWEETHEART!” The familiar
woman’s voice laughed back.

Both bikes reached the top of the mountain at the same time in a cloud of dust.

“Looks like we tied, doll.” The man said as he parked his bike and hopped off.

“I knew you couldn’t beat me, honey.” The woman chuckled as she took off her helmet. She
shook out her long blond hair and set her helmet on her bike as he got off of it.

“Looks like we’re not alone.” She mused as her partner took off his helmet, revealing his spiky
brown hair.

Duke stared at the couple in disbelief.

“No fucking way!” he gasp as the dust cleared and their headlights revealed who they were.

Duke jumped out of his car.

“Mai? Valon? What the hell are you two doing here!”

Valon pouted out his bottom lip. “Hey, I remember you! Is that any way to greet an old friend,
mate?”

“Mind telling me what you both are doing in town?” Duke asked suspiciously.

Mai walked up to Duke and stood with one hand on her hip and her other hand out in front of
her, fingers spread. There was a very large diamond ring adoring her left ring finger.

“We’re here for a biker rally in town this weekend, and.......we thought we’d stop in town and
spread the word.”

Duke’s jaw dropped. He stared at my in total disbelief at the sparkly gem on Mai’s finger.

“You mean.......you two.......are married?”

Valon walked over with a catty grin on his face, purposely resting his hand on Mai’s butt. Mai
made a sassy face at him and elbowed him in the ribs. Valon just grinned as he moved his hand
to her hip.

“You damn well better believe Mai and I are married. We got hitched in Ireland after Mai won
the European duel monsters championship.”

Duke crossed his arms and shook his head. “Well I’ll be damned......wow. Congratulations I
guess.”

“So what are you doing up here all by your lonely, dice boy? Getting high by yourself these
days?” Mai asked.

Duke lit up another Marlboro light and shook his head. “I needed a break. It’s been crazy lately.”
Duke leaned back against his car, casually taking a drag of his cigarette. “And no I’m not high,
though I could really go for a buzz right about now.”

Mai grinned at Valon.

Valon reached into his pocket and grinned back at Mai.

“That can be arranged Mai winked.

            After catching a good buzz, Duke’s mood was greatly altered. He wasn’t as tense as he
had been, and everything seemed funny. He was chatty as can be with Mai and Valon, swapping
stories about life over the past six months. He got so caught up in reminiscing that he totally lost
track of time. He’d turn his radio in the car at one point, so the rings from his cellphone went
unheard.

*********************************************************

            Seto walked into his office and found Mokuba sitting at his desk. The CEO took off his
long blue trench coat and hung it on a hook by the door..

“Seto! Boy, I’m sure glad you’re finally here. I’ve been sitting here staring at these boring charts
since I called you.”

Seto walked over to his brother and leaned on the edge of his metal desk.

“That’s not my fault. Now what were you saying about Noa?” he asked.

Mokuba clenched his fists and scrunched up his nose. “I think he’s been slapping Serenity
around. I heard him yelling at her tonight, and when I asked her what happened, she acted all
spooked out. I tried getting a hold of Joey, but he wasn’t answering the phone.”

Seto crossed his arms and stared out the window as he pondered what to do. After a minute he
looked back at his brother.

“I’m glad you came to me about this before going to Wheeler. He’s got enough on his mind right
now. Besides, with his temper, he probably would have pounded the living hell out of Noa, no
questions ask.”

“What’s the matter with Joey? Did the two of you have a fight?” Mokuba asked.

Seto shook his head. “Things are just fine between him and I. But, because of Yami’s
disappearance, he’s staying with Yugi right now.”

“Doesn’t that kinda bother you? Considering they two of them used to be an item?” Mokuba
boldly ask his brother.

“While Wheeler may be a bit of a moron sometimes, he’s not stupid. Him and Yugi being
together is about as likely as him beating me in a duel.”

Mokuba didn’t press the issue. He quickly changed the subject.

“So what do we do about Noa?”

Seto absently tapped his fingers on his desk. “I don’t have an answer for you yet, little brother.
Are you absolutely certain he’s doing this?”

Mokuba stood up and glared at his brother.

“Well DUH I’m sure! Do I look like an idiot? I’m not a stupid little kid, Seto. I know what I
heard.”

Seto seemed surprised by his younger brother’s outburst, but kept his cool.

“Whoa, stop, Mokuba. I never said you were stupid. A little careless and mouthy, but never
stupid. If you say Noa’s hurting Wheeler’s sister, I believe you. No need to go off the deep end.”

Mokuba’s bottom lip trembled. He turned his head away.

Seto sighed as he kneeled down infront of his agitated sibling.

“I promise I’ll think of a way to solve this issue by tomorrow morning, alright? It’s just that right
now, I’m a little preoccupied with Yami’s disappearance.”

Mokuba got up and walked past Seto toward the office door.

“Don’t even bother...if your too busy to help me, than I don’t even want your advice.” The
younger Kaiba said as he got up and walked to the door of Seto’s office.

“Mokuba- wait.” Seto said as Mokuba opened the door.

“What?” Mokuba asked sharply, not turning around.

Seto opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out.

Mokuba shook his head.

“Just forget I was ever here.” He huffed as he left his brother’s office.

******************************************************************

            Ryou was surprised to find Marik standing outside in the darkness. Lightning was
streaking across the night sky. An eerie long rumble of thunder echoed into the night.

“Yami Marik? Why are you out here?” Ryou asked as he walked up to the Egyptian.

Marik looked around like he was lost.

“What the hell is going on here?”

Ryou’s Millennium Ring suddenly began to glow with intense white light. Marik stepped back,
shading his eyes with his hand.

A burst of energy threw both Ryou and Marik backwards onto the ground. The light died down

slowly, revealing to Marik that Ryou had been knocked unconscious.

“Ryou! Are you with me?” Marik asked as he kneeled over the tomb robber’s light. He gently
brushed Ryou’s hair out of his eyes and looked him over carefully. Ryou slowly opened his eyes.

“Marik? What happened?” Ryou quietly asked, his eyes not focusing.

Marik looked at the Millennium Ring and shook his head. “I’m not sure, you’re Millennium
Ring went bonkers or something. Are you alright?”

Ryou flexed his fingers and toes, making sure they were still working. He shifted his eyes back
to Marik.

“I think I’m okay, mind helping me up though? I’m feeling a little dizzy.”

Marik slid his hand under Ryou’s upper back and gently helped him to his feet. Ryou wavered a

little and gripped onto Marik’s shoulder to stable himself.

“That was very strange.” Marik remarked, looking down at Ryou.

Ryou silently nodded his head and leaned closer to Marik.

“Is it just me getting a bad feeling?” he asked nervously, looking up at the Egyptian.

Marik shook his head slowly. “No, little Ryou, you are not. Don’t get weird on me now, but
something is very wrong with Malik. Just before I saw you, Malik was having another
nightmare, and next thing I knew, I was in control of our body. Than your Ring got freaky.”

Ryou put his hand over the gold item hanging around his neck and gasp. “Bakura!”

Marik cocked his head. “What about Bakura?”

Ryou’s eyes were as wide as saucers as he stared forward.

“Bakura....he’s.......” he almost choked.

Marik looked up and his jaw dropped. Bakura was standing only a few feet away from them
looking away.

“Bakura?” Marik called out in disbelief.

Ryou pointed the flashlight forward, illuminating his yami’s form.

The silver haired thief slowly turned around, an evil grin on his face. “Yes?”

Ryou shivered at the sight of his yami standing in the flesh before him. It was a very different
feeling. Bakura had been a part of Ryou for so long, seeing him outside of their soul room was a
bit overwhelming. Bakura was more intimidating this way. His wicked indigo eyes flickered in
the beam of light.

Marik and Ryou could barely speak. They both were completely overwhelmed and in total
shock! Not only did Bakura have his own body, he had taken on his same appearance as he had
in ancient times. His skin color matched Marik’s, and his physique as much more sculpted. All
he was wearing was a black sarong around his waist and a pair of tattered gold colored shoes.
His hair wasn’t nearly as long as Ryou’s either. It was shoulder length white and very messy.

The thief took a few steps closer.

He stared in astonishment at the Millennium Ring around Ryou’s neck.

“Where did get that!” he asked sharply.

“Uh....uh........ummm.......” Ryou swallowed hard. He was a little relieved when Bakura’s
attention focused on the Millennium Rod hanging from Marik’s waist.

“The Millennium Rod? Marik! You’ve been holding out on me, haven’t you!”

Marik shook his head. “What do you mean?” he asked, resting his hand over his rod.

Bakura chuckled. His laugh was sinister enough to make a person wet their pants.

Ryou clung onto Marik.

“I thought we had a deal, Marik. Do you know what I do to people who betray me?” Bakura said
in a low, evil voice.

Marik held up his hands in question. “A deal? What deal? I have no fucking idea what the hell
you are talking about!”

Bakura looked at Marik suspiciously, than looked down at Ryou.

“You- You seem familiar. What is your name!”

Ryou bit his lip. He forced himself to talk, even though he was scared to open his mouth. “Ryou,
You don’t.....remember me?” he asked nervously.

Bakura lowered his eyes and stared at Ryou. His gaze sent chills down Ryou’s back.

Marik rolled his eyes. “I don’t know what the hell you were smoking in your soul room, but now
isn’t the time to be bullying your hikari. Something really fucked up is going on and we need to
find out what!”

Bakura looked at Marik confused.

“Soul room? Hikari? Hn?”

Marik grabbed Bakura’s arm and pulled him towards the tent. “Let’s go in here. I don’t feel like
explaining you to Ace or that other guy right now.”

**************************************************************

 

            Malik groaned as he put his hand on the top of his sore head. 

“My King! Are you alright?” a woman asked him.

Malik quickly opened his eyes.

His heart almost leaped out of his chest as he came eye to eye with a very beautiful, raven haired
woman. She was dressed in black clothing, and wore a sheer black veil over her head. The veil
was long, so long that she had the end of it wrapped around her waist, using it as a belt. Her
ankle length dress looked as if it had seen better days. The gold jewelry around her neck, wrists,
ankles and fingers accented her golden bronze skin. Her eyes are what grabbed Malik’s attention
the most though. They were an almost grey shade of light blue, like that of a wolf. Her gaze was
powerful, and it sent shivers down the Egyptian’s body.

“Who the fuck are you!” he shrieked as he tried to squirm away from her.

The woman covered her mouth and laughed. The sun peeking out from behind the dark clouds
shined down on them, making her omnipresent eyes sparkle. “You’re just being silly. Come
now, we have to finish setting up camp. It will be dark soon, and your little friend the thief
hasn’t returned with anymore firewood.”

Malik cocked his head. “My friend the thief?”

Malik looked around and realized his surroundings had totally changed. There was a small fire
burning a short distance away, and three black horses were grazing nearby. A band of dark storm
clouds disappeared into the distance.

The woman extended her hand to help Malik up. “His name was...Bakura? I think? I didn’t talk
to him much, he seemed to keep his distance from me. He probably didn’t want me to hear him
talking to himself. If you ask me, I think he’s a few gods short of the pantheon.”

Malik smirked at the woman as his fear of her passed. She didn’t seem like a threat, and she was
making wise cracks about Bakura. So she couldn’t be all that bad. Malik took her hand and
stood up. She actually seemed a little familiar after further review.

“What just happened to me?” he asked her as he shook away his dizziness.

The woman lead Malik over to the fire and shrugged her shoulders.

“I don’t really now, my King. The sky was suddenly full of light. The next thing I knew you were
laying on the ground. You gave me quite a fright.”

Malik stared at the small fire. He silently nodded his head. “M’hm....”

‘My King? My friend the thief? What the hell is going on here!’ he thought to himself.

“Are you hungry, my lord?”

Malik looked up from the fire and smiled at the exotic woman, who was holding out a basket of
fruit for him.

Malik chose a rosy red apple and smiled up at her.

“Thank you, uh......”

She laughed as she sat down next to Malik looking at the fire. “Did that blow affect you memory
or something?”

Malik bit his lip. ‘And than some!’ he thought to himself, realizing he didn’t feel sick anymore.

 “Something like that.” he replied somberly, scratching his head. Something did feel right. Malik
patted his head.

“Oh my gods! What happened to my hair!”

The woman laughed. “It does look a little funny sticking up like that. Maybe the lightning did
it?”

Malik held up his wrist and looked at his reflection in his gold wristbands.

“Holy shit.” He groaned. ‘I look just like Marik.’

The woman kneeled beside Malik and took his hands into hers.

“Do you honestly not remember my name?”

Malik stared down at the ground and shook his head. “I’m sorry, but no.”

“No need for apologies, after all, you took quite a fall earlier. My name is Ereshkigal.”

Malik’s jaw dropped. He stared at the woman in disbelief.

‘What in the name of Ra is going on here!’

Ereshkigal got to her feet and smiled.

“You just stay here and relax. I’ll go gather some firewood.”

Malik nodded his head.

“And if I see your little friend Bakura, I’m going to beat him with a log!” Ereshkigal laughed as
she hurried away.

Malik chuckled at her remark. “Be my guest!” he shouted back to her. Once she was out of sight,
Malik got up and walked back to the place where he first woke up. He saw a primitive chisel and
a fist sized rock laying next to a large flat tablet made of stone. It was too dark to see what was
written on the tablet, but Malik didn’t have to read it to conclude what had just happened. How it
happened was the question though! Not only that, but what was Bakura doing with them? Malik
walked back over to the fire and sat down. The sun had almost disappeared completely behind
the horizon. Malik rubbed his eyes as he tried to absorb everything that had just happened. He
had a bad feeling inside that he just couldn’t shake.

***************************************************

A/N:

Hey there. Sorry this update took forever. Since aff’s database crash, I’ve been busy trying to get
the chapters of all my stories fixed. It just seems every time I fix stuff, it gets screwed up again a
few days later. SO, what I’m going to do is keep updating, but not fix anything until the DB
issues are all resolved. If anybody needs me to send them a chapter, you can get my email addy
off my profile page and let me know. Cool? Oh yeah, if there’s any mistakes in this chapter I’ll
fix them tonight.