Hey everyone! Sorry I haven't updated this story in a long while. I've just been cranking out Yu-Gi-Oh fanfics lately xD Hope you all enjoy this one :)

I don't own anything familiar, just Katherine, Diamond, and their original story :D

One Mocha Please

Chapter 7

Assassin's Desert

An insistent hissing woke me up. My face was on a cold floor, and I could see my pale-colored hand lying next to my face. Something poked the top of my head and I slowly sat up to see that Diamond was giving me the equivalent of a worried look.

I wasn't going to lie - everything kind of hurt. It wasn't a panging hurt, but a burning hurt. My limbs ached in protest, but I had to get up.

Looking down at myself, it took a minute to register that I wasn't wearing what I normally wear. I was wearing a white dress with a beaded blue belt tied at my waist. My feet were bare and you could see most of my legs as well. I looked around to see a grand hallway made of sandstone and glittering objects. Green plants were in highly decorated vases and made the place seem... Alive?

Diamond hissed again, gaining my attention. "Lead the way," I softly said, using the wall to get up.

I don't know where that door leads me to, but it seemed to be hotter than Japan. Maybe a portal of some kind, but where?

He started slithering away slowly, taking what looked like to be backways and going through empty rooms. I was glad that he avoided the people - I don't know if I could explain how I got here. It seemed insane even to me.

But I had to focus. I had to somehow save Ryou from death, and dammit, I know that fucking door could help somehow.

We came upon a door that had a beautiful eye inscribed in gold onto it. Diamond reared up and hissed loudly. There was a thump from the other side and what sounded like a curse before the door was thrown open by someone who looked remarkably like Seto.

But it wasn't him.

This man had darker skin and wore white robes and carried a mini-cane. He looked down at Diamond with a surprised look in his eyes. He knelt down and started to speak to Diamond in a strange language, one I wasn't familiar with.

Diamond flicked his tongue then turned and slithered back over to me, then turned back to this man and waved the end of his tail to beckon him over.

He walked over quickly and grabbed my arm, voice harsh as he spoke to me. I winced at his hold, no doubt a bruise is going to form there. Diamond hissed angrily, and the man quickly backed off, a contemplative look stealing over his face.

Diamond slithered into the room, and I made to follow him, but the man would not move. He only looked me over a couple of times before stepping back and allowing me into the room.

The room was colorful. There was a rug that had geometric patterns in purples and greens and blues and what looked to be scrolls lined the walls crammed in bookshelves. A glassless window let light stream in, and I could see palm trees and sand in the distance. Underneath the window was a desk that had paper (it was wrongly colored, though) and what looked like calligraphy feathers all across it. Was he writing something before we came here?

I turned back to see the Seto look-alike speaking to Diamond, who was gesturing with his tail and hissing here and there. Can this man understand Diamond? A scowl settled over his face and then he stepped over to me.

He started waving his cane over me and whispering in that strange language from earlier. Smoke started to curl up from the ground in a circle around me. I didn't move, not knowing if this guy was trying to poison me or what. If he was - well damn, why don't you be more fucking obvious? Closing my eyes tightly, I waited for death to claim me.

"-ey, hey! Can you understand me?" My eyes shot open, looking at this guy as if he was some kind of alien. I nodded my head, and he relaxed, but he was still kind of tense. "Well, that is better."

I cleared my throat. "Can you tell me what's going on? I'm really confused..."

His eyes bored into mine. It was really fucking uncomfortable. "How did you get here?"

I pointed at Diamond, who seemed more than happy with himself. "Ask that one. And I walked through a door." I shivered. "I do not want to do that again."

"Describe what you went through."

"Okay..." This was definitely weird. "It was like a dark mass that was alive. I kept hearing people screaming and crying, calling me."

"You went through the Shadow Realm." That phrase sounded familiar to me, but first...

"Before we get into all of that non-sense, who are you and where am I?"

His chest puffed up in pride, a sardonic smirk making its way onto his lips. Definitely looked like Seto right then. "I am Priest Set, advisor and cousin to Pharaoh Atemu."

I blinked.

"And you are in the kingdom north of the Nile in the great Egypt."

"Egypt?!" Um, wow, okay then.

He sighed in aggravation. "Yes, I did say Egypt. You act as if you have never been here before."

"Um, no, I haven't. Must be why I don't recognize anything."

Another contemplative look stole over his face, and I wondered what he was thinking before he turned to Diamond and started speaking to the snake. It was the same language he was speaking to me, but it seemed to be modified for snakes, as there were a lot more hisses incorporated, and so I did not understand the conversation.

Diamond slithered up to rest on my shoulders, then nuzzled my face, seemingly happy about something or other. Chuckling, I pet the snake's scales, at least happy there was one familiar thing in my life. I brought this upon myself, however, so I can't complain all that much.

"Almas favors few people." I looked at Set, wondering if he meant Diamond. Judging by his look, I would say so. "Consider yourself lucky." His gaze then went from Diamond – Almas, whatever his name was – to me, eyes dark and watching and all-knowing. It was a little creepy, to be honest. "Why are you here?"

I sighed, wondering if Priest Set would be even able to help me. "I have a very good friend of mine. He is very sick, possibly dying, and I want to do everything possible to make sure he lives the life he deserves." One of my hands clenched, the slight sting of nails digging into skin a welcome reprieve from my rising emotions. "There are people who love him, and he deserves to live." I looked at the Priest. "Is there any way you can help me with this? Diamond sent me here, so obviously, he thinks you have some kind of knowledge that could help my Ryou."

His interest looked piqued when I said Ryou's name. "Ryou, you say? Hm, interesting." I wasn't sure if the look he gave me was good or not. After standing in silence for a few seconds, Set turned towards the door and opened it, gesturing for me to follow him.

"I have a couple ideas of how to help your friend, but we must consult the pharaoh first and foremost." He glanced over at me, Diamond still resting on my shoulders. "He'll be interested to hear your story."

"Will he help me?"

Set smiled at that. "My cousin has a too-kind heart, and he wishes to help all who have troubles. Worry not."

That did little to ease my worries, but I decided to place my trust in him, simply because I did not know anybody else in this place and he had power that I had never encountered before. If they could somehow harness that power to help Ryou become healthy again, I think this adventure would be more than worth it.

We then entered a grand hall, the stones and pillars high and gleaming. Several feet in front of us was a raised area with a throne on it, and a familiar looking person with star-shaped hair sitting on said throne. He stood, catching Set and I entering his room, and waved a couple of women whom were fanning him with what looked like large ass leaves.

I think Yugi would have loved this place – he always told me he had a bit of a fascination with Egypt and their Pharaohs and history.

"Cousin!" The familiar-looking man called, a smile wide on his face. He stepped forward and embraced Set, who frowned but accepted the affection none-the-less. "It is good to see you out of your chambers every once in a while." I could tell it was a tease – the man, who I could assume was the Pharaoh, was smiling, and there was a twinkle in his eyes that screamed mischief. Set only grumbled half-heartedly, turning away from the both of us.

If he was anything like the Seto I know, there was probably a blush on his face. How cute.

"Hello, Atemu."

This was getting weirder and weirder by the minute. I could definitely pull together that this Atemu looked exactly like my Atemu – how I did not put together the dots before-hand frustrates me greatly.

I looked over at Diamond, wondering just where the fuck my favorite snake took me when I went through that bloody door. I have yet to decide if this entire ordeal was a good idea or not. My body still hurt, and I just wanted something to eat and drink right now, maybe somewhere to rest for just a moment.

But first, I have to take care of Ryou. Anything and anybody else comes second.

"I have someone to introduce you to." Both of the men turned to me, making me nervous under their piercing gazes. I shuffled in place, wondering if I should bow or something. God, this is really fucking awkward. "This young woman has come to me seeking aid for one of her friends, and I believe that this would interest you as well."

Atemu's eyes darkened, scanning me up and down. Probably assessing whether or not I was a threat. The most I could probably do to him was insult his pride, and that would be the very last thing I would ever do in this world. Better keep my sarcasm to a minimum then.

"What's your name?"

"My name is Katherine, but most people call me Kat." I smiled and bowed a bit, deciding that being polite would be more conducive to my plan than being a rude asshole.

"And what is this problem you need help with?" I relayed to Atemu the same thing I told Set, petting Diamond in order to keep myself calm. I was getting more and more antsy the longer we stood there, nothing happening for my friend Ryou. That poor boy…

"I see…" He rumbled, a hand on his chin in thought. This Atemu had the exact same habits as my Atemu.

I had a feeling that I would be comparing a lot of people in this place to the people I knew back home.

Atemu turned to Set. "Look in your scrolls, see if there is anything that can help." I felt relieved – I was so glad that he was willing to help little ole me a few minutes after meeting. Must be my wonderful charm, I guess. He then turned to me. "I'll have one of my servants show you to a guest room. We must chat some time later today."

I bowed deeply to Atemu. "Thank you so much for helping me. This means more than you can imagine." He chuckled, bring forward a hand and forcing me back into a standing position.

"It is my pleasure, Kat. Please, it looks like you have had a tiring journey. Rest and eat and we will speak later." Atemu gestured to the side, a female servant materializing out of the shadows and gesturing for me to follow her. I did as bid, feet threatening to drag themselves against the stone.

A nap sounded so good right now. And so did a pizza… I wonder if they have those here.

The constant beeping of the machine was the only reassurance that Bakura had that Ryou was alive. They put him under anesthesia an hour or so ago to prepare for the surgery, and because of how delicate and long the surgery would be, they wanted Ryou to be as relaxed as possible.

In other words, they had to knock the shit out of him in order to do so.

Bakura's mind, however, was not on the impending doom of the surgery. They were stuck on Kat's words, her crying face and knowing eyes searing themselves deep into his mind. Marik and Malik watched as Bakura scowled even deeper, his agitation turning into anger. Marik turned to Malik, who shrugged at the silent question.

They were only here for moral support, nothing more, nothing less.

Marik and Malik were both aware that Kat had lost someone important to her a long while ago, but they didn't know it was in a similar fashion as to how Ryou was currently going. It was a bit weird, a bit too coincidental, for that to be happening. Both Egyptians suspected that something other-worldly was at work here.

"You won't come out of that room alive…" The room was silent once Katherine said those words. Yugi was shocked and stepped back into Atemu and Yami, whom embraced him in their own shock.

"You don't know that!" Jounouchi snapped back, irritation and sadness painting his words. "Ryou will get out of that surgery alive because there is no other option!"

"The operation they are going to try on him has only had an 8% success rate." Kat snapped back, crossing her arms and looking away. "Even if, by some miracle, he did survive the surgery itself, there is still a period of 24 hours afterwards where it is highly probable where he would die from either blood loss or shock."

"How do you know this?" Yugi asked, morbidly curious, but sadder for his obviously distraught friend.

She was silent for a bit, her hands coming up to cover her face. "My mom had something similar to what you have, Ryou. She survived several more years than your current age because all the doctors she visited misdiagnosed her, putting her on drug after drug." Kat then scoffed, anger obvious in her tone. "It was only after she had me that they finally realized that her lungs were collapsing, along with her heart stuttering at random points."

After she fell silent, Jounouchi prodded Kat for more information. "What happened?"

"The surgery was a new concept at the time, still being perfected by a select few surgeons and groups. Because mum was a perfect candidate, she was one of the first to be operated on, along with about five others who had similar problems." Kat turned to look up at the ceiling, eyes tracing an unseeable pattern. "Mum was the only one who made it out of the surgery itself." Her jaw clenched, and she willed away the tears that threatened to cascade once more. "She died thirteen hours after surgery."

It was silent in the room again. None of them knew what to do with this new information – was this why she had so little faith in this surgery?

Her head snapped back to Ryou, and there was an angry determination in there that made him sit up a little straighter in surprise. Where there was a sad, broken woman, there was now a warrior with purpose.

She stood and grabbed Ryou's free hand, clutching it in both her hands. There was a fleeting thought that Kat's hands were a little colder than usual, but it was only that, a fleeting thought.

"I swear to you, Ryou Bakura, that I will find a way for you to survive, even if I have to go to the ends of the Earth and the galaxy itself in order to make sure you have a life outside of this damned surgery." There was the Kat he knew, Ryou thought, an unsure smile painted on his face. She leaned in closer, her nose only centimeters apart from his own. "You are one of my friends, and therefore, you will fucking survive."

Kat looked up, locking eyes with everyone in the room. They saw the determination there, the will to fight everyone and everything in order to do what was right. "You are all witness to this oath. Remember it when Ryou survives."

"It was a complete one-eighty from what she said before," Marik muttered, eyebrows scrunched together in thought.

Kat had stormed out of the room right after that, saying that she had somewhere to go and to keep an eye on Ryou. They haven't heard from her since, but they trusted her enough to know that she was doing exactly what she swore to do – finding a way for Ryou to live no matter what.

"That woman is an enigma…" Bakura muttered, arms crossed in thought. Still, he had to admire her – she did swear something he himself swore a long time ago before he could jump her ass for being a negative bitch, and then she went to go do exactly what she said. He didn't know how helpful that would be, though.

"You better survive, Ryou." Bakura said, gazing at his light. "There are people depending on you."

Note: according to Google (which is what I have) Almas is the Arabic translation of Diamond, so it's Diamond's name while we're here in Egypt :D

Reviews:

Ern Erstine 13624 - Well... we'll see :) Thank you for being patient about me updating my story xD And thank you for the review :)

Vanitas' Queen21 - Aw, thank you :D I'm glad you enjoy it and my characters xD sorry for not updating in a while, but here it is :D Thank you for the review :)

Alright guys, I hope you enjoy! Please tell me what you thought of this chapter :D

~Tiryn~