Zypher: Yes, it's been a long wait but as you can see, I've been working so much with the Yami no Game sequel. But now I'm gonna take a break from that and give you all another chapter to The Demon King Saga. Thanks for the reviews from the last chapter and I hope you'll enjoy this one.
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The Demon King Saga
Chapter 3
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After the mishap at the elephant graveyard, the four demons were making their way back home. Yugi and Yami stayed quiet along the way and Atemu was deathly silent. It was only a little while longer that he spoke. "Mahaado?" he called, a stern tone still in his voice. "Yes, sire?" he asked.
"Take Yugi home. I've got to teach my son a lesson." Hearing this, Yami shrunk into the shadows of the high grass, Yugi looking down to him sadly. Mahaado nodded and walked over to where they were. "Come on, Yugi. Yami..." He placed his hands on the younger's shoulders. "Good luck." He patted his shoulders for reassurance before picking up the other and flew off.
Once they were gone, Atemu turned to look behind him. "Yami!" he snapped, voice still stern. Yami flinched when he heard his father's voice before walking forward, head bowed down low. As he walked, he found a footprint of Atemu's. Since he was still angry, some of his demon form still showed, leaving the claw print in the ground.
He shifted a bit and placed his own claw in the print, seeing now that Atemu is not only capable of dealing punishment but much, much more. 'And not only that but this will be a big role for me to fill in when I become king.' he thought before he continue his way to his father and stood in front of him.
Atemu was silent before turning to Yami fully. "Yami, I'm very disappointed in you." he said. Yami sighed and lowered his head again. "I know." he whispered. "You could've been killed. You deliberately disobeyed me and what worse is that you put Yugi in danger!" Yami had some tears gathering in his eyes, his head still bowed bow. "I-I was just trying to be brave like you." he whispered, voice cracking a bit.
"Yami, I'm only brave when I need to be. Being brave doesn't mean you have to go looking for trouble." Atemu said. "But you're not scared of anything." Yami countered.
"I was today."
Yami looked to him disbelievingly. "You were?" he asked.
Atemu nodded. "Yes." He walked over to Yami's side and knelt down to him. "I thought I would've lost you." Yami nodded, smiling lightly. I guess even kings can get scared." Atemu gave a hum in agreement. "But you know what?" Atemu looked to him curiously.
"What?"
"I think those vampire demons were even scareder." Yami said with a laugh and Atemu laughed as well. "You're right cause no one messes with your dad. Come here!" Yami squeaked as he was grabbed and Atemu playfully gave him a noogie. He protested and tried to escape and Atemu let him go before Yami leaped at him, tackling him down and they got into a playful tussle before Atemu slipped away from him and ran off. "Hey! Come back here!" he exclaimed as he followed and soon caught up with him, pouncing onto his back and knocking him down, both laughing.
"Dad?"
"Yes, Yami?"
"We're pals right?"
"Of course."
"And we'll always be together." Atemu was silent at this and sat up, bringing Yami to sit in front of him. "Let me tell you something my father once told me." He looked up to the sky and Yami followed his gaze. "Look at the stars. The great kings of the past looks down on us from those stars." he spoke. "Really?" Yami questioned in awe and Atemu nodded. "Yes...and remember, those kings will always be there to guide you. And so will I."
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Somewhere far away from the kingdom, a cave sat and in said cave was where the three vampire demons lived. A growl was heard from within. "Man, that lousy Atemu! I won't be able to sit for a week!" Crimson hissed as he looked to his backside, scratches from Atemu's claws a painful reminder of what happened.
Toben sat there, snickering. "It's not funny, Toben." But he only burst out laughing, trying to cover his mouth to muffle the laughter. "Shut up!" He continues to laugh and Crimson growled before attacking him, both of them fighting each other and Ruby, who was pacing earlier turned to them.
"Will you two knock it off!" he yelled and they both stopped, Crimson glaring at Toben who was chewing on his leg, thinking the fight was still going on. "Well, he started it!" Crimson grumbled. "Look at you guys? No wonder why we're dangling at the bottom of the food chain." Crimson snorted, a strand of saliva hanging from his mouth. "Man I hate dangling." he spoke before spitting off to the side. Ruby rolled his eyes and jumped down from the rock he was sitting on. "You know, if it wasn't for those demons, we'll be ruling this place."
Crimson nodded in agreement. "Man, I hate demons."
"So pushy." Ruby spoke.
"And scaly." Crimson added.
"And stinky."
"And man are they..."
"Uuuuugly!" They both said and started to laugh at their joke. Pegasus looked down to them as he walked on a protruding rock high above them. "Oh. Surely we demons aren't all that bad." he said and they looked up to him in surprise before sighing. "Oh, Pegasus. It's just you." Crimson said, relieved from his surprise.
"Yeah, we were afraid it was someone important." Ruby added. "Yeah, like Atemu." Ruby agreed with Crimson. "I see." Pegasus said scathingly. "Now that's power." Crimson spoke. Ruby snorted. "Tell me about it. I just hear that name and I shudder." Ruby said and Crimson grinned. "Atemu." Ruby shivered. "Ooh...do it again." he teased.
"Atemu."
"Ooooh!"
"Atemu! Atemu! Atemu!" They started to laugh hysterically, rolling over the stone floor. "...Oooh! It tingles me." he whispered, still laughing. Pegasus placed a hand over his eyes. "I'm surrounded by idiots." he muttered and Crimson looked up to him. "Oh nooo. Not you, Pegasus. I mean, you're one of us. I mean you're our pal." Crimson said. "Charmed." he said sarcastically, sitting down on the rock and crossing his legs. "Ohh, I like that. He may not be king but he's still so proper." Ruby said smugly. Crimson nodded before looking back up to him.
"Hey, hey. Did ya bring anything for us to eat, Pegasus? Hmm? Did-ya-did-ya-did-ya?" Crimson near pleaded, watching him. He looked down to him. "Hmm, I'm not sure if your deserve this." he spoke, pulling out a dead human. "I practically gift wrapped those two for you and you couldn't even get rid of two little demons." he said, taunting them with their presumed meal before dropping the person to them and they started to eat. Ruby tore a piece of flesh off before looking back up to Pegasus. "Well, it wasn't like they were alone, Pegasus."
Crimson nodded, ripping off a piece and chewing it. "Yeah. What are we supposed to do?" He swallowed the chunk he ate. "Kill Atemu?" They continued to eat before Pegasus gave an answer.
"Precisely." The three demons looked up to him as he stood before jumping down and landed in front of them. Smoke rose up from a vent nearby and he walked through, pacing around Toben who was chewing on the bone of an arm. "I know that your powers of retention are as wet as a warthog's backside. But thick as you are, pay attention!" He slaps the bone from Toben and he sits up straight in attention.
"My words are a matter of pride. It's clear from your vacant expressions," Pegasus waves a hand in front of Toben's face but he doesn't follow it. Crimson and Ruby started laughing from a nearby rock. "The lights are not all on upstairs. But we're talking kings and successions. Even you can't be caught unawares!"
He leapt up at them, causing them to yelp and fall back into two geysers. They geysers started to shake before Crimson went up into the air, Ruby following behind him, both falling to the floor not far away. "So prepare for a chance of a lifetime. Be prepared for sensational news. A shining new era is tiptoeing nearer."
As he spoke, he tiptoed along the ground and Ruby poked his head out from an opening. "And where do we feature?" He turned back to him and took hold of his cheek. "Just listen to teacher." He let go of him before walking off and Ruby rubbed his cheek, snorting.
"I know it sounds sordid, but you'll be rewarded when at last I am given my dues. And injustice deliciously squared," Jumps up to where Toben now sat, still chewing on the bone and without him noticing, kicked him off and with a yelp, he fell into a pile of bones where Crimson and Ruby were.
"Be prepared!"
The three emerged from the pile, wearing three different horned skulls over their heads. "Yeah, Be prepared. Yeah-heh... we'll be prepared, heh...For what?" Crimson looked up to Pegasus for an answer. "For the death of the king."
He poked his head over the edge where Pegasus stood. "What...is he sick?" He yelped again as Pegasus' tail wraps around his neck and pulls him up to his face. "No you idiot, we're going to kill him. Yami and Aqua too." He drops him back to the floor and he landed on the floor between Ruby and Toben. "Hey, great idea! Who needs a king?" He started trotting around Crimson in a dance, Toben following along behind him. "No king! No king! la-la-la-la-laa-laa!" He, along with Crimson, sing-songed jokingly.
"Fools! There will be a king!" Pegasus yelled.
"Hey but you said..." Crimson stated and Pegasus cut him off. "I will be king! Stick with me and you'll never go hungry again!" He said with a toothy grin. Both Crimson and Ruby smiled. "Yeah! All right! Long live the king!" Soon, more vampire demons, them looking more human-like appeared from the shadows, grins on their faces. "Long live the king! Long live the king!" They chorused. Smoke rose up again before the vampire demons started marching down the cavern, Pegasus standing above them all from a ledge.
"It's great that we'll soon be connected! With a king who'll be all-time adored!"
"Of course, quid pro quo, you're expected to take certain duties on board." Pegasus spoke, motioning a slice across his neck. "The future is littered with prizes. And though I'm the main addressee. The point that I must emphasize is," He jumps down again, singling out a hapless vampire demon and backs him up, said vampire demon unaware that the ground was cracking from beneath him. "You won't get a sniff without me!" The crack underneath him grew larger, causing the vampire demon to fall into the fiery crevice.
As Pegasus walks through the horde of vampire demons, they started to join in, dancing with glee and jumping upon protruding rocks. "So prepare for the coup of the century. Be prepared for the murkiest scam. Meticulous planning, tenacity spanning. Decades of denial. Is simply why I'll...be king undisputed. Respected, saluted and seen for the wonder I am. Yes, my teeth and ambitions are bared. Be prepared!" Crimson, Ruby and even Toben grin as they spoke out. "Yes, our teeth and ambitions are bared-"
"Be prepared!"
Pegasus and the vampire demons laughed evilly as their soon to be plan will set in motion.
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The next day, Pegasus called for Yami and Aqua and they followed him down to a canyon, Pegasus leading them to sit upon a rock that was under a small tree. "Now you two just stay here. Your father has a wonderful surprise for you." he said. "Oooh...What is it? Come on, Uncle Pegasus, tell us." Yami asked eagerly. "Now, you should know if I told you, it wouldn't be a surprise." he spoke as he started to walk off. "If you tell us, we'll still act surprised." Aqua added, also eager to know of the surprise.
Pegasus chuckled to himself. "You two are such naughty boys. Just wait here and your father will come." He said, stopping to look back to them before walking off again. Aqua jumped off from the rock in attempts to follow him. "Please, Uncle Pegasus?" he pleaded and Pegasus turned back, shooing him back onto the rock with Yami. "No-no. This is just for you two and daddy. You know, like a sort of father-son thing...yeah, like that." Yami pouted at his dismissive attitude before shrugging. "Fine, we'll stay."
"Good. I'll go and get him. And you best not follow since I know you don't want to end up in another mess like you did with the vampire demons, Yami." Yami flinched when he heard that. "You know about that?" he questioned meekly. "Yami, just about everyone knows that." Yami's ears drooped. "Really?" Pegasus nodded. "Oh yes. Lucky for you, Daddy was there to save you." he spoke before placing an arm around his shoulder. "And just between you and me. Why don't you work on that roar of yours a little?" He pulled away and Yami nodded.
"Hey, Uncle Pegasus, will we like this surprise?" he asked and Pegasus nodded as he turned away, a grin on his face. "Oh, Yami, it's to die for." he spoke before he left. Not far away from them on the high ledge of the gorge where a plain filled with wildebeest. Not far away from the herd were Crimson, Toben and Ruby.
Crimson's stomach growled and Ruby glared at him. "Shut up, you idiot!" he hissed. "Does it look like I can help it?" he growled before jumping up. "I just gotta have a wildebeest!" He said and was about to run off towards the herd when he was jerked back. "Stay put." Ruby snarled.
"Oh come one? Can I at least pick off one of the sick ones?" he whined, looking through the herd again. "We have to wait for Pegasus' signal so sit your butt down and wait for it." Ruby growled before he looked and saw Pegasus landing in a rock in view of them. "There he is...let's go." He said with a smirk before they slunk off towards the still grazing herd.
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Back down inside the gorge, Yami and Aqua were still sitting on the rock, now becoming bored. "Practice my roar, puh!" he grumbled and saw a lizard walk by. He roared at it and it didn't even flinch. He tried again and still no reaction from the lizard. He took a deep breath and let out a loud roar, making the lizard skitter off.
"Good one." Aqua congratulated and Yami smirked, puffing out his chest before he looked around, hearing a low rumble. Aqua also heard it and looked down to the ground, seeing pebbles jumping. "This doesn't sound good, Yami." Aqua whispered. They both look up towards the end of the gorge where the herd of wildebeest was seen stampeding over the lip of the gorge.
They gasped in horror before running off ahead of the herd. "Perfect! We get ourselves into this and all we can do is run! Why can't we fly like father?!" Aqua cried as they continued to run. Back on the plains with the charging herd was the three vampire demons, nipping at the heels of the scared wildebeest to drive them off the edge.
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Not far from the gorge, Atemu and Mahaado were walking along the way when Mahaado saw the wildebeest. "Oh look, the herd is on the move." he spoke. "Odd...they shouldn't be moving now." Atemu spoke before they saw Pegasus fly towards them and landed, out of breath. "Atemu...stampede...in the gorge. Yami and Aqua are down there!" he said breathlessly. Atemu gasped.
"Yami and Aqua?!"
Back at the gorge, Yami and Aqua quickly climbed up a dead tree and clung onto it, watching as the stampede ran below. Back with Atemu and Pegasus, they were in full demon form, running across the savannah and towards the gorge. Mahaado flew past them from above and reached the gorge, looking down to try and spot Yami and Aqua.
He couldn't spot them still just as Atemu and Pegasus came to the gorge and Atemu didn't waste any time running down and joining the path of the herd. A wildebeest hit the tree, making Aqua cry out in fear. "Dad! Dad help us!" Yami cried when he saw the black scales of Atemu and he ran towards them.
Mahaado flew down to Pegasus' side and looked about frantically. "Oh dear, this is awful! What will we do? What will we do?! Oh! I know! I call for help! That's what I'll do." he was about to fly off again when Pegasus slammed his tail into him, making him hit the wall and fall unconscious.
He snickered before turning back to the stampede. Atemu was still running through the herd when he came across the tree and turned back, making his way back but roared when he was hit by a passing wildebeest.
He crawled through the heard, snarling as the wildebeests' hooves tore up his wings. Another hit the tree, causing it to break apart. Yami and Aqua cried out as they were up in the air, ready to hit the ground and be trampled if Atemu didn't leap up to catch them on his back.
They held on tight as he ran through the herd, reaching and rock ledge and climbed up, letting them slip off his back but roared as he was tackled by an oncoming wildebeest and Yami gasped as he stood, looking through the stampeding herd frantically.
He saw Atemu leap up once more, digging his claws into a nearby ledge and started climbing up towards where Pegasus was standing, watching with a dark look. Yami smiled and nudged Aqua before they started to run up the slope to meet up with him.
As Atemu was getting closer, Pegasus glared down to him. "Oh brother, how the mighty saves all but himself." he spoke. He snarled angrily. "What do you mean by that?" he hissed as he continued on his way up and was about climb onto the ledge when he roared in pain, Pegasus' claws digging into his.
Pegasus grinned as he lowered his head down to Atemu. "As they say, long live the king." he whispered before pulling Atemu's claws from the wall and tossing him down towards the still stampeding herd.
Because of his wings being in tatters and nothing to latch on, he could only fall, eyes widened in horror as he hit the ground in the center of the rampaging herd. "Nooooooo!" Yami cried as he saw him fall but didn't see Pegasus leaving from the ledge. Once the herd finally past, Yami and Aqua jumped down to the canyon floor, looking around for Atemu.
"Dad!" he called, looking around. He coughed from the dust that gathered before they heard something. Yami looked towards where he heard the sound. "Dad?" he whispered softly and only saw a wildebeest run by.
It curved around the fallen tree and they spotted the black scales of Atemu there. They ran over quickly and gasped at seeing his condition. He was bloodied, scuffs and gashes from the wildebeests' hooves leaving the bloody spots on the once obsidian scales, wings still in tatters and eyes closed. Yami looked to his father hopefully, hoping the older will get up.
Aqua walked past him and gently nudged him. "Dad? Dad, please get up." He nudged his head lightly but his head only lolled back. He pulled at his ear lightly, trying to get a reaction from the prone form. "Come on, dad, get up. We have to go home." he whispered but again, there was no response.
He backed away, scared and Yami wrapped his arms around him to comfort him before looking around. "Help! Somebody! Anybody!" Tears gathered in his eyes as he bowed his head. "...help..." Yami looked back to their father and pulled Aqua over and they both curled up to his side, wrapping one of his tattered wings around them both. It was silent for the moment until Pegasus, now reverting back to his regular form, walked out from the dust.
"What have you two done?" he whispered sadly as if he saw the entire thing and wasn't the cause of it. Yami and Aqua jumped back from the dead body, tears still in their eyes. "There were wildebeests...and he tried to save us...I didn't mean for this to happen! It was all an accident!" Yami cried.
Pegasus cooed softly as he wrapped his arms around the two distraught demon children. "Of course. No one ever means for these things to happen. But the king is dead." He looked down to the two with mock regret. "And he would still be alive if it wasn't for you two." Pegasus gasped lightly as another thought occurred to him.
"And what will dear Heba think?" Yami gasped when he imagined the sad yet angry look on Heba's face when he learned of what happened. Aqua wiped his eyes before looking back up to Pegasus. "What...what should we do?" he whimpered.
"Run away, Yami and Aqua...run away and never return." he spoke softly and still brokenhearted for what they caused, they ran from Pegasus' arms and blindly into the depths of the canyon. From behind Pegasus, Crimson, Ruby and Toben appeared. When he heard them come, he smirked.
"Kill them."
They bolted off behind the two demons while Pegasus stood there motionlessly, smirk still on his face. They chased them down to end of the canyon and they stopped seeing that another slope blocked their way. The three vampire demons came, growling with hunger. Thinking quickly, Yami climbed up through the rocky slope, Aqua following behind him.
Crimson clawed the rock behind them, growling. They ran through until they came up to the edge, a patch of briers below a steep hill. The three made their way up the ledge and stalked towards them. Yami looked to Aqua. "We have no choice unless we want to get killed." he spoke and Aqua nodded as they jumped down, running along the steep hill but soon lost their footing and tumbled the rest of the way down and into the briers.
Crimson, Ruby and Toben followed behind and both Yami and Aqua crawled through the patch in attempts to escape. Crimson saw the briers and recoiled. "Whoa!" he shouted, sliding to a stop and let out a relieved breath.
But his save was short lived as Ruby crashed behind him, then Toben which flung him into the brambles and he yelped as he jumped out, covered in thorns and both Ruby and Toben laughed as he climbed back out, wincing. He walked by, flinching with each step before Ruby turned to see Yami and Aqua escape from the brambles.
"Hey! They're they go! They're they go!"
Crimson started removing some of the thorns before looking to him. "Then go get 'em." he hissed. Ruby huffed. "There ain't no way I'm going in there! What, you want me to come out looking like you? Cactus butt?" he snickered and Toben watched Crimson with a grin. He pulled out a few from his backside with his mouth and glared at Toben before spitting the thorns at him, making him yelp as he rubbed his nose free of the offending thorns. "But we gotta finish the job." Crimson spoke.
"Well, they both are as good as dead out there. But if they come back, we'll kill them." Ruby replied. Crimson grinned as he looked out to Yami and Aqua's retreating forms. "Hey! Ya hear that?! You come back and we kill you both!" he yelled, the last few words echoing through the canyon before they laughed, walking back towards the canyon to enact the final piece to Pegasus' plan.
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Zypher: And that's the end of this chapter. Hoped you like and soon, we'll be getting to the introduction of Jou and Kaiser and the fun they'll be getting into. And if I think about it, I'll probably get to the next chapter very soon ( not only to get to the big fight scene and laugh at the thought of Jou in drags but to also get to the antics that they'll be getting themselves into) so keep an eye out for it. For now, see you later.
