A Dark Millennium
A Series of Shorts by TheNakedKing
Author's Note: Hello everyone, Rose here to let you know that this is not a chapter fic. The stories in this collection are a series of short shorts that take place in the world of Battle Tactics. They're mostly world building experiments so I promise no concrete order, but I would appreciate your feedback as I'm hoping this will actually turn into something one day. Let me know what you think!
Yuugi Mutou sat on his back porch, staring out at the small plot of land designated to them by The Empire. The sun was setting, but Yuugi barely noticed, his hands clenching and unclenching restlessly as he was swallowed by the deep current of thought.
He barely noticed when his Grandpa Mutou sat beside him on the sagging steps, holding two mugs of steaming cocoa in his weathered hands.
"You're not a boy anymore, Yuugi," Grandpa began, his voice careful. "I can't tell you what to do, and I can't protect you from getting hurt."
Yuugi didn't say anything to him, but he accepted the mug, chewing his bottom lip, his brow knit with frustration.
Grandpa sighed and continued, setting his mug on the Astroturf and folding his hands in his lap. "But you have to know that I trust you to do the right thing. You've always been a smart boy," his eyes shone with pride, though his mouth was drawn into a grim line, "and you won't make a reckless choice."
"I just … I'm worried," Yuugi said after the silence between them had stretched from uncomfortable to contemplative. His voice wavered with uncertainty, and he took a steadying breath, lacing his fingers through his hair. "I'm worried because what if they hurt you? What if they use you to get to me because I kept it?"
Grandpa reached out one wrinkled hand and placed in on his grandson's knee. "Don't worry about this old man, Yuugi. I can take care of myself," he smiled a weary smile, patting Yuugi's kneecap reassuringly. "You do what's best, my boy, not just for me, but for everyone."
Without another word Grandpa stood, scooping his cup off the Astroturf, the screen door slamming behind him, its hinges creaking feebly.
Left alone with his thoughts, Yuugi finally looked at the object hanging around his neck, cradling it in his palm.
The Empire was searching for this, but why?
To Yuugi's eyes it just looked like a piece of kitschy jewelry, a gaudy golden pendant with some weird eye pictoglyph on its triangular surface. There was nothing remarkable about it, nothing to indicate it was special. It didn't even look like the other artifacts Grandpa'd brought from Kemet and looked more like something found in a souvenir shop.
"I wonder what secrets you hold?" Yuugi asked aloud, removing the leather strap from around his neck. He sighed heavily and stood up, weighing the pendant in his hand. After a moment of silent deliberation he seemed to have made a decision. "Maybe I'll just throw you over the fence and you can be someone else's problem …"
"If you do that you'll end up regretting it."
Yuugi yelped and dropped the object on the ground. He stared at it as if it were his Grandpa with a second head attached to his back. He would have sworn that voice had come from …
"No, you're not losing your mind, but I ask that you be careful with me. I don't want my circuits jostled," the voice continued. "My wiring is delicate and I don't wish to be damaged beyond repair, especially considering my current state."
Yuugi's mouth floundered and he finally managed to stutter a response. "Y-you're talking -! Uh – I …"
"That is quite an understanding of the obvious that you wield. Quite deftly, I might add," the voice was impatient but somewhat amused. "Now please pick me up, the ground is hard and the material unfamiliar and inorganic. I wish to be away from it."
Yuugi swallowed and carefully picked the pendant up off of the Astroturf, staring at it in wide-eyed wonder.
"Yes, I am quite handsome, I know, but you may stop appreciating my golden luster now."
"I … Okay. Okay. What … Who are you?" Yuugi asked, hand shaking just a bit less than his voice was.
"Emperor of the Sand World of Kemet in the Ma'at Star System," the voice dripped with arrogance."More accurately … Atem."
Yuugi didn't need prompting to know the name. Emperor Atem was a bedtime tale parents on Domino told their children to remind them to be strong in the face of adversity. Every kid on the planet, maybe even in the star system, grew up wanting to pilot the ancient Mecha and do battle against the Empire because of Atem.
Bravery, honor, kindness … They were all things that Atem taught.
"Atem?" Yuugi worried his lips, running his hand repeatedly through his hair. "Are you … Are you sure?"
"Am I …" the voice paused, the arrogance fading in favor of cold certainty, though it was far from being at a loss for words. "What do you mean? Kemet is a Galactically recognized power, and if your planet is a member of the ILF … Well, then you should likely know who I am."
"The Interplanetary League of Fellows hasn't existed for 3000 years …" Yuugi muttered, forgetting for a moment that the pendant in his hand was more than just a piece of jewelry, able to hear his every word.
Silence lay between them then, thick and oppressive as a summer heat wave. It spanned heavy moments before the voice once again spoke, more hesitant than it had been before.
" … Are you certain it's been that long?"
Yuugi couldn't bring himself to answer. "I … I … Well it's … "
"Spit it out," the voice was hard, reminding Yuugi that the person he was speaking to was supposedly a king. "Don't cut corners. Whatever the answer is I want to hear it, and I want you to be honest." A breath's pause spanned between them. "Listen to me …" the voice became gentler, "whatever it is that you are going to say … I cannot be hurt more than I already have been, I promise you."
Yuugi ran his hand through his hair again, wanting to be tactful, but the impatience of the other presence was almost palpable. Finally and with great difficulty Yuugi gave his response. " … I … Well … Yes."
There was no response, and Yuugi wondered if he had dreamed the whole encounter as the seconds slipped into minutes. It was more than farfetched, wasn't it? To think that there was some kind of alien life form living inside of his piece of junk necklace was crazy, so it looked more and more likely that Yuugi had lost his mind each moment there was no response.
Just when he was resigned to admitting to himself that he had imagined the voice, there was a response. "Then … We lost the war. We lost and nothing has been done to right the consequences since?"
"The Empire is too strong to rebel against," Yuugi told him softly, voice catching in his throat. It was forbidden to speak ill of the Empire, even though every kid grew up dreaming about defeating them. "No one has tried since Kemet fell."
" ... I see." The words were crisp, bitter like wine, and Yuugi shuddered. "Then the world as I knew it is gone," the voice said, "and I am adrift in a world without context, without hope."
"I'm sorry," Yuugi offered feebly, uncertain what to say to someone who had just found that his whole world had changed and left him behind. "I wish there was something I could do to help …"
"At this point," the pendant said, "I am not really sure that anything can be done for me, though I find I am disappointed …" The voice trailed off. "I had hoped that when I at last returned to the world I would at least find a Rebellion."
There was a sudden rushing hiss of air and an explosion propelled Yuugi forward. He hit the Astroturf with a violent smack, skinning his palms and tearing the knees of his vinyl pants, the air knocked from his lungs.
It seemed that the world stopped spinning in that moment as he grew temporarily deaf to all but the ringing in his ears, struggling to stand. Strangled screams escaped from his mouth as he called for his Grandpa, but he heard nothing and saw nothing but smoke. It choked him, filled his nostrils and his mouth, and he fumbled forward to the edge of their plot of land, leaning against the fence.
He squinted into the churning curls of smoke, seeing the orange glow of fire from within the depths of the Toy Shop. He wanted so badly to go look for his Grandpa, but his knees were knocking so badly he could barely support himself, even with the help of the fence. He called out again, unable to hear even his own voice over the ringing that had grown so bead it reverberated through his head and made his stomach roil.
As he watched a shape emerged from the smoke, at first vague, but as it drew nearer he saw the familiar military uniform of an Imperial Officer, followed by another, and then another.
Yuugi's knees knocked and his gripped slipped as the pounding in his head threatened to send him spiraling into unconsciousness. But he looked up, and he found himself staring into the faces of the officers, two men and a woman, all with pale hair and grim faces. In the face of the youngest he thought he might have seen a glimmer of sympathy, but he was claimed by the blackness long before a pair of arms reached out to catch him.