Chapter 4- Old Faces
It was the following morning before Seth, Seto, and the soldiers regrouped with Akefia, Mariku, and the other soldiers.
"It's about time!" Mariku said gruffly.
"Why is Seto here?" Akefia asked.
"He's here because he is going to help us get in. You have seen how defiant these people are. I have a scroll here, which is an order from Atemu for the village to allow us in. Besides, I think that Seto can help us because he is so good at diplomacy." Seth said.
"Do you think that you can?" Mariku asked.
"Well, I'm willing to try." Seto said.
"Did anyone try to leave the village?" Seth asked.
"No. We kept constant watch throughout the night, but no one left. If the last of the Baby Brokers are in the village the way we think that they are, they are still in there." Mariku said.
"I had the soldiers spread out so that we surrounded the village. There is no way that anyone could have gotten out without us knowing." Akefia added.
"Good. I think that we have work to do." Seth said.
The group headed toward the village once again.
Like before, the villagers met them before they could get too close to the village.
"I have already told you that I will not allow you to search my village." the village elder said none-too-kindly.
"You would impede the capture of men wanted for crimes against the kingdom." Seto said.
"Certainly not! They are not here, so you have no reason to search here." the village elder said.
Seto's cold, piercing eyes starred right into the village elders. "Two scouts that the Pharaoh sent out searching for the Baby Brokers saw them enter this village, and they reported such to the Pharaoh." Seto said.
The elder flinched at the cold look in Seto's eyes, but his resolve did not fall. "I know that such people are not in my village, and I have no intention of allowing you to upset the people in my village by searching everywhere for these men when they are not here." the elder said.
"These men were sent here under the Pharaoh's orders. By not allowing them in, you are all in violation of the Pharaoh. I'm certain that you do not wish for them to take you before the Pharaoh and tell him that you were preventing them from completing the task that they were assigned to do." Seto said.
"It doesn't matter. I do not know of this order, and there is no way that you will upset these people." the elder said.
The other men from the village looked ready to fight if necessary.
"Perhaps you should rethink that philosophy." Seto said.
"Why is that?" the elder demanded.
Seth held out a scroll. "I got this from the Pharaoh himself. It is orders to allow us to search this village. If you do not comply, we will arrest you and search this village by force." Seth said.
The elder looked at it and read it. It was clear that he was not happy with what he read.
"If you do not let us in, I am certain that the Pharaoh will be much less willing to go easy on you since you seem to be protecting the Baby Brokers that remain free." Seto said.
The elder hated to admit it, but Seto did have a point. Although Atemu was known for his mercy and compassion, if you crossed him wrong, there was hell to pay. "Fine. You may enter." the elder said although his disdain was clear.
"Thank you." Seth said.
The group then entered the village.
The villagers looked surprised to see palace soldiers as well as a priest enter their village.
Seth looked around. "Do there seem to be a lot of older children here?" Seth asked.
"Yeah. It's almost like the Baby Brokers never touched this village." Akefia replied.
"Maybe they didn't." Seth said.
The group dismounted.
"You know what to do. Search everywhere, but harm no one. We are to take the Baby Brokers back alive. If you need to use force to restrain them, do not harm them much. Anyone who does now do this will have to answer to the Pharaoh." Akefia said.
The soldiers all nodded.
Seto searched over the villagers and noticed that they were all spreading out. 'They're afraid, but why?' Seto asked himself. He then noticed the cold look the elder along with two others were giving the villagers. 'Why would these men protect such vile and immoral men?' Seto asked himself.
"We need to be careful. From the way the elder and those other men looked, it's possible that they will try and stop us from finding them." Mariku said.
"No harm is to come to the villagers. If they try to stop you, tell them that it is the Pharaoh's orders and that if they continue to interfere, they will be arrested and taken before the Pharaoh to answer for their actions. If they still interfere, arrest them." Akefia said.
The soldiers nodded.
Seto then saw a boy with raven hair and dark eyes. His eyes widened. 'No. It's impossible.' Seto thought, but the possibility made his heart sing. He then started to move through the crowd.
Seth saw his husband stet to move. "Seto, what are you doing?" Seth called.
Seto didn't stop or answer.
Akefia motioned for the soldiers to go on.
Mariku, Akefia, and Seth followed Seto, who was far ahead of them by now.
'I don't know if it's him, but I pray that it is. It would be an answer to my prayers for years.' Seto thought. He was closing in on the boy that he had seen. "Mokuba!" Seto called.
The boy stopped and turned to look wide-eyed at Seto. "S-Seto?" the boy asked.
Seto's eyes lit up. "It is you." Seto breathed.
Seth, Akefia, and Mariku had caught up with them by this time.
"Seto!" Mokuba cried, launching himself at Seto.
"Mokie! It is you!" Seto said, hugging his brother happily.
"Did I miss something?" Akefia asked.
"Apparently, whatever I'm missing." Seth replied.
"Oh, Seto! After you were taken by the slave traders, I thought that I would never see again!" Mokuba said.
"Me? I heard that village was destroyed. I thought that you were dead, Mokie." Seto said.
"No. I managed to get out." Mokuba said.
"That's good. Joey will be so glad to hear that you're alive and well." Seto said.
"Joey's with you?!" Mokuba exclaimed.
"Yes. Back home." Seto replied.
"Serenity is going to be so relieved. She didn't know what had happened to Joey, and she was so scared that Joey was dead." Mokuba said.
"Serenity's with you?" Seto asked.
Mokuba nodded. "Yeah. We're both okay." Mokuba said.
The two hadn't let go of each other yet.
"Seto?" Seth finally said, tired of being out of the loop.
Seto turned. "Seth, Ra answered my prayers. My brother is alive." Seto said.
"This is Mokuba?" Seth asked, surprised.
Seto nodded.
Mokuba's eyes widened as he realized who was standing there. "My lord." Mokuba said, starting to bow.
"Don't bother. I don't need the formality. Besides, there's no need for you to bow. We're family." Seth said.
"Huh?" Mokuba said, confused.
"Seth and I are married." Seto said.
"What about Joey, though?" Mokuba asked.
"All three of us are married to each other." Seth explained.
"You said that Serenity is here as well. Where is she?" Seto asked.
"She's back at the house." Mokuba answered.
"Seth, we have the time." Akefia said.
"Take us there, Mokie." Seto said.
Mokuba nodded and led the three to a house near the edge of the village. The group entered.
"Mokuba, you're back." Serenity said, walking in. She had red hair and green eyes. Her eyes widened. "Seto!" Serenity exclaimed, running and hugging him.
"Serenity, you have no idea how happy I am so see you." Seto said, hugging the girl back.
"Seto, we thought that you were dead." Serenity said, tears in her eyes.
"I'm alive and well, and so is Joey." Seto said.
"My big brother is alive?" Serenity asked.
Seto nodded.
"Thank Ra! I thought that he was dead." Serenity said.
"Well, I know that Joey will be glad to see you." Seto said. He then turned and said, "I think you should meet these three."
"M-my lord." Serenity said, starting to bow.
"Please don't. You don't need to." Seth said.
"Serenity, you should know that Joey and I are married to Seth." Seto said.
"You are?" Serenity asked.
"Yes. All three of us are married." Seth said.
"That's great!" Serenity said.
"This is Akefia, and this is Mariku." Seto said, pointing to both of them.
"It's good to meet both of you." Serenity said.
Akefia and Mariku nodded.
"Then, you live at the palace?" Mokuba asked.
"Yes, I do, Mokie." Seto said.
"And you two will, too." Seth said.
"What?!" Serenity and Mokuba exclaimed.
"Well, you two are related my husbands, so there is no way that I am going to leave you here. You'll come back with us." Seth said.
"I think Atemu will like that." Akefia said.
"Well, I know you, Seto, and I know that there is no way that I can talk you out of it." Mokuba said, putting his arm around Serenity's waist.
Seto noticed this. "Are you two together?" Seto asked.
Serenity blushed. "We're engaged, actually." Serenity said.
"You are?' Seto asked.
The two nodded.
"I guess we have a bit more to celebrate." Seth said.
"Serenity. Mokuba, Who is it?" a gentle voice asked.
The group looked to see a boy with tri-color, start-shaped hair entered the room with huge amethyst eyes.
Seto's eyes widened. "Yugi!" Seto exclaimed.
Seth, Akefia, and Mariku all tensed at the name.
"Seto, what are you doing here?" Yugi asked, shocked.
"Me? I'm surprised to see you. When Joey, Ryou, and Malik arrived at the palace, they thought that you had been killed when the village was destroyed." Seto said.
"No. I managed to get out with Mokuba and Serenity." Yugi said.
"Then, you three have been alive this whole time." Seto said.
"Yes. We have." Seto said.
'Oh-no. Atemu is in for a big problem now.' Seth thought.
"What exactly is going on?" Yugi asked.
"Sit down. This will take a while." Seth said.
All seven sat down, and Seto told them about getting to the palace, how Joey, Ryou, and Malik came to the palace and told them about the village's destruction, about how they thought that Yugi, Serenity, and Mokuba were dead, how they all married to Seth, Mariku, and Akefia.
Seto left out that Yami was married to Atemu. He felt that Yami should tell Yugi that.
"Wow. That's unbelievable." Yugi said.
"Yeah. It's pretty amazing." Seto said.
"If you don't mind my asking, why are you here in this village, though?" Yugi asked.
Seth took over. "I'm certain that you heard about the Baby Brokers." Seth said.
"Yes, we know. It's horrible what those men did." Serenity said.
"Well, after Seto and the others came to the palace, they told us of the Baby Brokers. Until then, we knew nothing of them. Atemu went into action, and we have hunted them down. Only three Baby Brokers remain free and unpunished. We tracked them here. Unfortunately, the people here try to protect them." Seth said.
"Not everyone wants to protect them." Yugi said.
"What do you mean?" Akefia asked.
"The village elder along with three of the older men hold a great deal of power in the village. It is they who protect the Baby Brokers, not the village. The villagers want to turn them in, but they fear these men." Yugi said.
"Why do they protect them?" Mariku asked.
"The last three Baby Brokers are family to the three who want to protect them. The Baby Brokers never came here and stole the babies from here so that they would have a safe place to come and hide." Yugi explained.
"I thought there seemed to be a lot of children here." Seth said.
"Then they are here." Akefia said.
"Yes. Check the homes that those three live in. There are trapdoors in the floor to hide them while you are here." Yugi said.
"Thank you. You have helped us." Seth said.
"Hey, Yugi." a male voice said.
The group looked to see a man with triangle-shaped brown hair and green eyes walk into the room holding a child.
"I think she wants you." the man said.
"Come here." Yugi said, getting up and going over. He took the child from him.
The child was a girl who had tri-color hair and her eyes were crimson.
'Yami's child.' Seth thought.
"Yugi, is that-" Seto started.
"Yes, Seth. This is my little girl that I had with Yami. This is Mayella." Yugi said.
"If you'll excuse us, we need to go find these men." Seth said.
Yugi told them where they could find the men, and Seth, Akefia, and Mariku left.
"Who is this?" Seto asked.
"Seto, this is Tristan. We met him, and he's helped us out a lot." Yugi said.
"It's nice to meet you. I've heard a lot about you." Tristan said.
"It's good to meet you, too. If you've helped them, then I am grateful to you." Seto said.
Seth, Akefia, and Mariku walked through the village.
"What do we do about Yugi?" Mariku asked.
"We take them back." Seth said.
"That will interfere with Atemu and Yami's marriage, thought." Akefia protested.
"I know, but Atemu said that if they ever found Yugi alive, he would let Yami go if he wanted to. Besides, Yami has suffered enough. He deserves to know that Yugi is alive. We have to take him back and let them see each other again. They deserve that much." Seth said.
"Okay. Let's get the last of these Baby Brokers." Akefia said.
Seto pulled Yugi aside.
"Seto, what is it?" Yugi asked.
"Yugi, I don't want to pry, but are you and Tristan-" Seto started.
"We're just friends, Seto. Tristan is nothing more than that. I knew Yami was alive, and I couldn't' betray him like that." Yugi said.
"I understand." Seto said. 'I just hope you can handle Yami being married to Atemu.' Seto thought.
"Seto, are you okay?" Yugi asked.
"Yeah. I am. I'm just glad that you're okay. We thought that you had died, and we thought that the baby had died with you." Seto said.
"We're both fine. Seto, how is Yami?" Yugi asked.
"Yami is okay. He's upset that he lost you." Seto said.
"I know. I hate that he went through that." Yugi said.
"Don't worry. He'll feel a lot better when he sees you." Seto said.
Yugi smiled. "Thanks." Yugi said.
'I just hope that you feel the same way.' Seto thought.
Seth, Akefia, and Mariku had gathered the soldiers and headed for the three houses.
"What are you doing?" the elder demanded.
"We're searching for the Baby Brokers." Seth said.
"You cannot enter my home!" the elder snapped.
"I have the Pharaoh's permission. I can do what I want." Seth said.
"I won't allow it." the elder said.
"Fine. Arrest him. We'll let the Pharaoh decide what happens to him." Seth said.
A soldier grabbed the struggling man.
The other soldiers then searched the inside of the house and found nothing.
Seth kicked the rig away from the floor and found a handle. He opened to find a man down in a tunnel. He reached down and grabbed the man, dragging him up. "Here he is." Seth said.
A few soldiers grabbed him.
"Let go of me! My father will never let you do this!" the man said, struggling.
"Your father has been arrested for interfering with our work. He can't help you. Besides, you can't explain away the fact that you stole innocent babies and sold them." Seth said.
The man paled.
"Get him out of here." Seth ordered. He followed the soldiers out.
Akefia and Mariku joined him.
"I guess we have six prisoners." Akefia said.
"They tried to stop you, too?" Seth asked.
The two nodded.
"Well, Atemu will decide what happens to them for interfering." Seth said.
"What now?" Mariku asked.
"We have all of them. We'll go back and get Seto and the others. We have a lot more that we're going to have to do." Seth said.
"Yeah. This one is going to be fun to explain." Akefia said.
"We have to do this. It wouldn't be right not to." Seth said.
Yugi and Seto had been talking while Mokuba, Serenity, and Tristan were all playing with Mayella.
"I know that Yami will be happy to finally meet his daughter." Seto said.
"I know. I've wished that she would have the chance to get to know, Yami. I'm just glad that she will get the chance." Yugi said.
"How old is she now?" Seto asked.
"She just turned two a few months ago." Yugi answered.
"Well, she certainly has Yami's eyes." Seto said.
"I know." Yugi agreed.
There was a knock on the door.
Yugi got up and opened the door to find that Seth, Akefia, and Mariku were there.
"We caught the Baby Brokers. We had to arrest their relatives for protecting them." Seth said.
"I didn't expect that they would give up without trying to stop you." Yugi said.
"We need to go." Akefia said.
"When will I see you again?" Yugi asked.
"You're coming with us. I know that Atemu won't mind.' Seth said.
"If you're sure." Yugi said.
"What about Tristan?" Serenity asked.
"I don't know." Seth admitted.
"Don't worry about me, guys. I'll be fine on my own." Tristan said.
"Well, as long as he's not a threat to the Pharaoh, I don't know that it would hurt." Akefia said.
"You can come, but it will be up to Atemu what happens from there." Seth said.
"All right." Tristan said.
"Get what few things you need. We'll be leaving soon." Seth said.
The group nodded and went to get the things that they wanted to take.
"Seth, what will happen with Yugi alive?" Seto asked.
"I don't know. That's something that we will have to wait and see." Seth said.
When Yugi and the others were ready, they left with Seth and other others, heading to the palace.
Hope that you liked it.
Next: Yugi and Yami meet again.
R&R.