Chapter 4. The Treasure of Egypt

The entire week that Naru was given to train hard on in archery was a very long one. She woke up at 5 a.m. every morning and rode Southwind to the eerie city that Priestess Sehka had called Syene. Naru would then on practice against the stationary targets until noon. At noon she would take a small lunch break by the Nile River which ran on the east of the banks on the city. It had never occurred to Naru to wonder why a town would become deserted if it were so close to the beautiful river, for she knew that Sehka had always thought that she asked too many questions for her own good. After lunch, she would secretly travel down the stairs to the location of the strange, but interesting, creatures she had learned were called Shadow Monsters. They were magical creatures that the Priests and Priestesses and even the Pharaoh himself would call upon in order to protect the kingdom of Egypt. She had also learned from Pharaoh Akunumkanon himself that the world that the Airknight Parshath had taken her to was the realm of the Ancient Beasts which was also known as the Holy Land.

Without Sehka to watch her every move throughout the days, she explored the city and the depths beneath it as the presence of the White Knight floated by her side. She did this until the blistering hot sun would retreat at last and she would train once more and then return to the palace just before the moon reached out its hand to touch the skies above the kingdom. This would continue to go on for another couple days as at last Naru's skills grew so strong in archery that even Sehka would be proud of what she accomplished… or so she hoped anyway.

"Fire your arrow at the center of the target. We shall see if how much you've learned this week and what you're about to learn. You will not only shoot at the center of the target…," Sehka muttered to Naru. "You must also hit this apple into the air using your foot on this board…," She placed a plank that was similar to a teeter-totter in front of Naru. Sehka then placed an apple on the opposite side of Naru so Naru's side of the teeter-totter was lifted into the air. "And then hit your arrow into the apple and then the center of the target." Even with such a nearly impossible task that was given to her, Naru nodded with obedience and raised her bow to aim at the target. "And Naru…," Naru's head turned slightly to her mentor, "don't you dare miss…" The moment of truth had come. As her sight was set on the target once more, fire lit in her eyes and an enormous amount of confidence swept her.

'I know I can do this… somehow… I know I can make my parents proud.' Her foot pushed down on the board to fling the apple in the air and, as it came into eye level, Naru's arrow whizzed through the air into the apple and then hit the center of the target head on. She then turned to Sehka and bowed with the bow to her side.

Sehka was stunned at what she had just witnessed. Naru's worst skill had suddenly become one of her best in a matter of days. How could this have been possible? Perhaps she would become a worthy second apprentice after all…

Months passed since that fateful day and because of that one domino falling, the others soon followed in Naru's life. But the dominos fell to an advantage of Naru's.

"Alright children, settle down…," Secmenton yelled over the class. The class instantly settled down and looked straight at the center of the classroom which was where Priest Secmenton stood to teach. "Good... now. I have a surprise for you all." Whispers went about the room quickly and Naru glanced up knowing what he was about to say to them. "The Pharaoh thinks it be best that you all learn to use your magic through experience... and tests..."

"Sir? Does this mean that we're going to have a pop quiz?" Asked the girl that Naru had come to learn was named Chira.

"In... a way, I suppose Miss Hawkana."

"Wah!! I didn't study!" She screamed. Naru's eyes narrowed at the wailing and placed her hands over her ears.

"Shh... Quiet, Chira. I've got a plan," Mana whispered. "There's this spell that I learned that can help us both pass this quiz."

Secmenton, over-hearing this, shook his head in a frustrated fashion. "That will not be possible as this is not a hand written test, Mana... If you had been listening to me, then you would have known that."

"What kind of test is it then, Master Secmenton?" Chira asked confused.

Secmenton smirked and glanced at all of them. "That's what you're going to find out..." Chira and Mana gulped hard and glanced at each other. "Stand up and hold still." The class did what they were told, stood up, and kept as still as possible.

In the blink of an eye the class vanished into thin air and reappeared in a cold and foggy city. Barely anything could be seen because the fog was so thick. "Master? Where are we?" Chira asked.

"We, Chira, are in the city of Harlidium which is just south of the great river Nile."

"So that explains the fog..." Naru muttered. Secmenton glanced back at her.

"Indeed. The city of Harlidium is known as the foggy city. It is believed that the Gods grew angry at the people of this city and thus clouded their beautiful sky. The Harlidiums eventually died out because that loss destroyed their crops and they had no way to survive."

"ANYway... let's get to your test. You all will be working as a team. One body, one ka, one mind... Your objective will be to destroy the threat in the city and retrieve a treasure that the threat has captured. You may use any method of doing so."

"Master Secmenton?" Vash piped up and Secmenton glanced at him. "What do you mean that we will be one body, one ka, and one mind?"

"And what kind of treasure is it that the... threat... has?" Isis questioned.

"Both good questions. Well done, Vash and Isis. It is always wise to learn more about your circumstances so you are prepared." Vash and Isis glanced at each other, then quickly looked away again. "I see that look in your eye, young Vash. No... you will not truly join bodies. I could do that if I so wished, but the Pharaoh will not permit me to do so which means that you all must use your strengths to your advantage. If you leave even one person out then you all fail... I really would rather not describe what happens if you fail."

Each of the children glanced at each other unsure of the other's abilities as magicians. "As for your question, Isis, well... you'll find out when you get there."

"Any other questions?" The class was silent. "Excellent. Well then... Mahado, Naru, Chira, Mana, Vash, Shada, Isis and Karim...," he glanced at each of them in turn, "good luck." He disappeared leaving them all alone with their problem.

"So what do we do NOW?" Vash yelled annoyed.

"Well isn't it obvious?" Naru said out loud as they all looked at her. "We pass the test."

"Yeah well... I dunno about you, Princess, but it's obvious that we've all noticed that each of us are very different people. There's no way we can coexist and beat this test."

Naru sighed. "Look... we're all being put together because we're so different. We do all have strengths and weaknesses and if we can learn to overcome each other's weaknesses than we will be a very strong force. And I'd APPRECIATE it...," she took a breath, "VERY... much if you'd not call me princess."

Vash rolled his eyes but Isis looked at him. "She's right. The Priests and Priestesses do it... so can we." Vash stared at her with a curious look in his eyes but then looked away again.

A few of the others still looked uncertain. Chira looked at them all seriously. "Who's in?!"

Naru, Chira, and Isis put their hands in. Mahado looked at them. "It is the best thing to do." He put his hand in as well.

Mana glanced at them all. "Well... I... aww! I'm with you guys no matter what. Through thick and thin... through wind and rain... through thunder and lightning... through..."

"Just put your hand in!" Chira yelled and Mana quickly put it in.

Shada and Karim glanced at each other and nodded. "We have no other alternative." They both placed their hands in and all eyes moved to Vash who was chewing on a piece of wheat he found.

For a few moments they all stared at him and he stared back. "Well?" Naru asked.

"You have got to be kidding me..."

"Please, Vash... We need you," Isis pleaded as Vash stared in her soft eyes.

"I... well... anything. I... er... mean... sure. Whatever." He quickly put his hand in. "Ok ladies and gentlemen... we've all agreed to work together... how? We don't even know what we're up against yet," Vash spoke in an almost annoyed tone.

Almost at the exact moment that Vash had said that a roar came out from the fog and an outline of a huge beast towered over all of the children. Naru looked up with her eyes wide. "Ask and yee shall receive, Vash."

"What do we do now?" Karim asked in awe.

The monster raised its claws and a glowing light appeared in it. "RUN!" Isis yelled and they all scattered. A beam of light shot down from the monster's claws and just barely missed the group but it kept firing and eventually struck down nearly hitting Isis. "Ah!" She dove sideways out of the way just in time but another zoomed at her. Time slowed for a moment as the beam slowly came closer. Then, at the last minute, Isis had felt a push and she was no longer in the line of fire... someone else was.

Vash yelled out in pain for a moment when the beam first hit, then a grin grew on his face. But it wasn't a happy grin. It was an amused, yet painful grin. The next moment they all knew, a powerful glint appeared in Vash's eyes. Vash turned around and faced the blast head on still smirking. "Hey there, Ugly..."

"VASH! Get out of there!" They all shouted to him but he shrugged the warning off.

"You think that blast's good then you ain't seen nothing yet..." The monster stopped the beam and stared at Vash in confusion. "Bad move, Ugly..." He waved his arm and an ancient duel disk appeared on it.

The others stared at him in amazement. "Where'd you conjure one of those from?" Shada asked.

"Well... I've been studying with Mahado lately. Though I don't have this shadow dueling down yet."

"You used it without perfecting it?!" Naru exclaimed.

"Sheesh. You're such a worry wart." The monster, in utter confusion and now seen clearly through the fog, raised its claw again.

"Well use it!!" Chira yelled and Vash quickly looked up at the monster.

"Don't think so..." He raised his duel disk and chanted a spell. "Powers of water and earth infuse thyself to create thy ruler of the sea. Come forth the water monarch Mobious!" Water shot from the ground and when it finally fell a warrior in a watery steel armour (yes, I know. hard to believe that such a compound exists. haha) stood next to Vash. The opposing monster roared and fired a blast at Vash but Mobious raised his fists and water shot from them at the monster's blast, went through it, and hit the monster causing it to vanish in defeat. As soon as the monster vanished, Vash fell to his knees and collapsed in Isis' arms.

"Vash! Vash are you alright?!" Isis held him sadly knowing he used so much of his strength just to protect them.

"Heh… are you kidding? This is nothing…" He tried to stand up, but fell over again.

Naru stood in front of him. "You should stay with Isis. You look exhausted."

Vash shook his head. "No, you guys leave me here. I'll catch up when I feel up to it."

"And what will you do if a big bad boogie man comes back?" Chira teased.

"Do I look like a baby to you, Chira? Get going!"

"Oh alright, alright. Geez! You're such a grouch sometimes. You know that?" She and the others started walking off... all except Isis that is.

"Are you certain you'll be fine? I don't want anything bad to happen to you, Vash," Isis said to him.

"Heh." He winked at her and slightly smiled. "I'll be just fine. They need you more than I do. Hurry up before they leave you here."

"Oh... ok. Call me if you need me, though. Ok?" She stood up.

"I know. Don't worry, I'll be okay."

Isis nodded and ran off after the others who were not that far ahead. "So... what do you guys think the treasure is?" Chira asked.

"Something biiig and shiny!" Mana smiled and giggled to herself. "Maybe it's a statue of one of the Gods or Goddesses, all made of gold and decorated with all kinds of gems."

Chira's eyes widened in awe and then looked at Mana. "That would be sooooo cool!! Which God or Goddess do you think? I like the God of the sky." She smiled cutely.

"Nah, someone more important. Like Isis or Osiris." She gasped. "It's Ra! That has to be it!"

"Has anyone ever seen what Ra looks like, Mana?" Naru asked curiously.

"Uhh…yes?" She put her finger to her chin and looked up. "I can't remember though."

"Ra rarely shows its form to mortals, Mana," Mahado said to her.

"But they have drawings and stuff don't they?! You two ruin everything." Mana crossed her arms and pouted, walking slightly faster than the rest now.

"She may be right, you know. We don't really know what we're supposed to be finding. We could have passed it already for all we know," Karim spoke up.

"We shall probably know that it is the treasure when we see it," Mahado said.

"I see something!" Chira stopped suddenly as if frozen.

"What?! Where?!" Mana stopped and moved her head around in every direction quickly. "Where is it?! I want it!"

A shaky hand pointed upward into the fog ahead of them where a grey wolf sat snarling. "W...w...wolf!!!" Chira screamed.

"Eeek!" Mana ran and hid behind Mahado. "Ehehe…you get him, Mahado."

"Niiice doggie…"

"But Mana, shouldn't you be practicing your magic here? You cannot hide behind others forever."

"Ouch...," Chira mumbled. "Tre' harsh."

"Come on, Mana. Try," Mahado said to her. Everyone else nodded in encouragement.

"A-alright…" Mana slowly walked away from the others and very slowly approached the wolf. "Nice doggie…you're not gonna hurt anyone are you? Nooo…you're just a puppy."

The wolf snarled showing its teeth to her. He took a step closer to her and barked.

"Eep." She hopped back and held out her hand. A long pink and blue wand with a gold ball on the top appeared in her hand and she pointed it at the wolf. "Sleepy time." She muttered some words under her breath and tightly closed her eyes for a moment.

The wolf stared at her staff for a moment and stopped growling. It slowly started wobbling around until at last collapsing. It has fallen asleep.

Mana opened her eyes and blinked then stared at her wand. "It worked?"

"Well done, Mana!" Mahado pat her on the back.

"Congratulations!" Everyone else yelled out with some, including Naru and Chira, hugging her.

"Told you that you could do it," Naru smiled.

"Yay! I did it! I did it! I did it! Yay!" She flung her staff into the air and it, upon landing, ended up whacking Karim on the head with it.

"Ow!" Karim yelled out in pain. The staff had left a huge red bruise where she hit. He rubbed where it hit and handed her back her staff while biting his lip to hold in the pain.

"Eh heh…. Mad Karim is scarier than angry wolf!" Her wand disappeared and she ran ahead.

"Are you alright?" Shada asked him. Karim gave him a look and followed Mana. The others soon followed after them both.

"Alright! I'm next!" Chira jumped up on a boulder. "Whether it be rain, sleet or snow I will conquer all!" The wind blew hard and she fell off crashing into Shada. "Oi..." She got up and helped Shada up too. "Oops. Sorry, Shada."

"Just be more careful next time," he said to her.

They continued walking through the city trying to look around until a strange sound echoed through the streets.

A scream was heard up ahead.

"Oh no! Mana!" Mahado yelled.

"After her!" Yelled Shada and they all ran forward after her.

Mana was curled up in the middle of the street, holding her head and her eyes were tightly closed. "Heeeeelp!"

They all reached her quickly and looked around cautiously.

"Mana! Mana what is it?" Chira asked nervously.

She said nothing, only pointed a shaking hand into the fog.

All eyes looked towards where she pointed trying to see what she saw. Several red eyes watched them from the fog. The only thing that was seen from the creature was a large black wing. The creature stepped out of the fog to reveal the Red Eyes Black dragon... and it was charging a blast to attack them.

"Move!" Naru yelled to them and most of them scattered. She looked at Mana who had not moved. "Hurry! Get up!" Naru was still next to Mana to make sure she got to a safe place.

"Bad dream. Bad dream. Bad dream. Bad dream," Mana repeated while rocking on the ground.

Naru's eyes widened in shock. "GET... UP!!!" Red Eyes raised its mouth and aimed at the two of them.

"Mana! Naru! Get out of there!" Shada yelled to them from behind a building.

"Naru, make it go away!" Mana whimpered.

"I.... I don't know how!" Naru stared directly into those merciless blood red eyes in terror.

Red eyes' eyes flashed and it fired the blast directly at them. "MANA!! NARU!!" They all yelled as Naru, without thinking, jumped out in front of the blast to block it from hitting Mana.

"No one...hits... my friends!!!" She glowed white and continued to take the blast. The ground was shaking and started cracking around where Naru and Mana were, but Naru remained standing.

When the blast finally ended, Naru collapsed in front of Mana as Red Eyes charged another blast. "Naru! Naru, get up!" Mana started to cry as she nudged Naru.

"Everyone! Send out your guardians! Quick!" Mahado yelled. Red eyes fired another blast at them and just at the last second five creatures appeared between the Red Eyes, Mana, and Naru. The creatures easily took the attack and then struck back at the dragon and destroyed it.

As soon as they were sure Red Eyes was gone, they ran over to Mana and Naru. Naru was a bit bruised and was unconscious but she was still strangely glowing white and she was still alive.

"Naruuuuu." Mana cried into her robes, wiping her eyes and nose. "I'm soryyyyyy."

Mahado knelt down next to both of them and put his hand on Mana's shoulder. "Don't worry. She'll be fine."

"When is this stupid test gonna be over?!"

"S...soon..." Naru quickly started regaining consciousness and strangely enough all of her bruises started to vanish. "We're... almost there... It is only fitting that…one of the stronger monsters are at the end. Don't you all think?"

They all had shocked looks on their faces as she looked at everyone. "What is it?" She asked.

They all shook their heads strangely and looked towards her. "I do suppose that near the end of the test, there would be a strong beast," Karim said.

"The question is... where is this treasure?" Shada asked.

Naru slowly got to her feet and held her hand out to Mana. "C'mon Mana. It's alright." Naru smiled to her.

"Ok!" Mana smiled back and jumped up, grabbing Naru's hand.

"We should look around. It has to be around here somewhere," Isis suggested. They all nodded and searched around where they were to see if they could find anything of value.

"I… I think I found something!" Chira yelled over to them from a building.

"Shiny?!" Mana quickly ran over to Chira and stared over her shoulder.

"Erm... well... it's sorta shiny." She pointed to a dusty gold staircase that had been hidden by the sand. Everyone else walked over.

"How do we get that home?" Mana asked.

"I... don't think that we take the staircase back with us, Mana," Mahado said to her in a somewhat amused tone.

"How about one stair?"

"Wouldn't it just be easier if we try going down the stairs?" Shada asked.

"Where's the fun in that? We've been walking for hours," Mana grumbled.

A yell of pain was heard from down the stairs causing several of them to jump back. "Well, that didn't sound good…" Mana looked at the others, then down into the darkness. "Do we really have to go down there?"

"It appears so... it sounds like somebody is hurt down there," Naru muttered.

'I know that yell...,' Mahado thought to himself. "Let's go!" He quickly started running down the stairs.

The others followed trying to keep up with Mahado's fast pace. A bright light shone at the bottom of the stairs.

"What's that? Shiny!!" Mana yelled out in delight.

As soon as they all reached the bottom of the stairs they could see the sun shining through the cave and an unconscious figure laying in the sunlight.

"Who is that?!" Chira asked. A bunch of confused looks appeared on their faces.

"The treasure, Chira..." Mahado walked up to the figure and knelt next to the figure. The sun shone brighter to reveal some features of the figure. The figure was a young boy... A boy with gold and crimson hair and a gold crown placed upon his head.

Mana gasped upon looking at the boy. "Atem!" She pushed the others out of the way and jumped down the last of the stairs, then ran to him.

"Atem...? PRINCE ATEM?!!!" Chira gasped.

Naru's eyes widened and she approached them all. "Is that really the Prince of Egypt?"

"Of course it is!" Mana nudged him slightly. "Hey, get up."

"He's unconscious, Mana," Mahado looked up suddenly. "We are not alone..."

Everyone looked around and noticed it too... they were surrounded.