Author's Note; Hi ppls, yep another twist of events in this chppie...mwuhahahahahahahah(I know- I get a little finger-happy with these keys!)
As yet another, louder crash was heard above; few of the group cast their gazes upwards, including the twins, worriedly.
"Don't worry, he'll be fine."
One of the older men, Takhar, reassuringly placed a hand on one of their shoulders, unsure of which was which; he'd known Denian since the lad was born and despite sometimes coming off as stoic and taciturn, the lad was a gifted Aralanti in all senses of the word. Saheed and Daknar looked to each other and nodded their heads, summoning their Kas and proceeding through the catacomb-like caverns. It was interesting and slightly amusing to behold the twins' Kas; Saheed was the vessel of the Mystic Horseman, whilst the Battle Ox shared Daknar's soul. And as a result of being twins, the duo could combine their separate Kas to form the revered Rabid Horseman.
"Kisara…"
As the door of the cell-structure was forced open by some "persuasion", Daknar stared at his cousin, his equivalent of a little sister; whereas she was normally bright, sharp-tongued and bubbly, this figure that lay limp on the ground, somewhere between consciousness and unconsciousness, was only a mere shadow of that girl.
"That bastard!"
Saheed looked over his brother's shoulder and continued to curse Bakura in his extensive vocabulary of Egyptian swears; Herani had told him she was in a bad way…but he'd never fathomed this bad; she was sporting vicious bruises that remained painfully prominent on even her darkly tanned skin, her left arm was swollen and bruised, probably broken and countless cuts peppered her body…then, just above her waist bloomed the large swollen, telltale bump, within which the unknowing child was sustaining life. It surprised them that, with the beatings she'd been receiving from her "fiancé", Kisara's body hadn't aborted the embryo…but if they left her here any longer, the child would surely be stillborn.
"C'mon cus…"
As his twin was still a lot worse for wear, Daknar gently slipped one of his muscled arms underneath her knees, the other supporting her head, and lifted his cousin's disturbingly slight weight, turning towards the rest as Saheed and a few of the more experienced men summoned a couple of portals to Kaiba's mansion. The cell shook violently as the battle continued to rage above them.
"Mmmm…Daknar?"
The lad smirked as she stirred, her eyelids fluttering slightly, and spoke in an almost inaudible murmur; even in her current state, Kisara was still capable of telling the difference between him and his identical counterpart.
"Yeah, it's me…we're taking you outta here, cus…"
With that, she blacked out in his arms as they walked into one of the awaiting portals…more clashing and collisions from above threatening to collapse the entire underground cavern…
"Tombkeepers are to create a perimeter around the mansion and aid the Aralanti!"
Marik called this as he and Odion took charge of their family, Ishizu having called upon the help of the Tombkeepers' doctor and was now a floor above, aiding in the caring of the girl called Kisara. It had been over an hour now since Saheed and Daknar had returned with their cousin and a group of their clan, but lacking their older brother. Upon their arrival, the skilled members of their little band had immediately gone outside and proceeded to cast numerous protective spells around the fenced borders of Seto's mansion, ensuring nobody who wished to harm Kisara or the child could enter the grounds of the elaborate home.
Three times Saheed and Daknar had attempted to return to their family's base and aid their brother and three times they'd been prevented from doing so by their fiancées and fellow renegade Aralanti members; if Denian had fallen, then their most skilled had been felled and they needed to rely upon the twins, who were useless if killed aswell.
"Hey, der's something goin' on in here!"
Joey called this from the large living room, where a black mist was hovering in an undefined orb about three feet above the ground.
"It's Denian!"
Saheed and two others raised their right hands and commenced opening the dark window from their side.
"Why can't he summon the portal?"
Ishizu had returned and was standing behind the Aralanti, gazing at the manifesting portal. Daknar glanced over his shoulder; having decided this wasn't the time for one of his smart comments.
"He must've summoned his Ka; it's too powerful and takes up most of his strength, stopping him from using magic…he gets really weak afterwards; that's why he barely ever summons it."
In that moment, it dawned on Ishizu the reason why none of her family had ever witnessed the young man's Ka; unlike most of the Aralanti, he never depended on it, putting his strength into his magic utilizing and combat skills. As the window reached it's full height, a body was sent flying through, crashing into Daknar and a couple more, followed by a string of curses from the new person.
"Fucking white-haired, scarred cunting son-of-a-bitch!"
Denian got to his feet, a few new gashes and livid bruises visible, still cursing as his Ka hovered in the air before him. Daknar just remained on his butt and laughed at his brother's erratic swearing; it was just so unlike Denian to curse like that…it was more a trait of his, Kisara and Saheed's…but definitely not Denian of all people.
"When d'you start cussing like that, bro?"
"Since I was blown through a goddamn wall by that sadistic asshole and his fucking cunting Diabound!"
As it seemed that his and Daknar's habits had rubbed off somewhat on their older brother, Saheed looked around from where he and a few others had sealed the portal and looked to the older sibling inquisitively.
"He summoned it?"
Denian, despite his abrupt arrival, nodded his near-hazel head and grinned like a child on Christmas morning, malevolence shimmering within his striking eyes as though he had delighted in the fighting of Bakura.
"Two right…so I summoned mine!"
As he indicated the being, it was only then that Ishizu, and everyone else outside of the Aralanti, looked to his Ka…the leader of the Tombkeepers could do little more than stare at this creature for a couple of silent seconds, before Yugi Muto spoke, his eyes instantly recognizing the figure; he'd seen it enough times in his eighteen years.
"D…Dark Magician?"
The age-old mage turned and stared down at the lad with the spikey, tri-coloured hair…slight recognition shimmered in his millennia-old eyes, then he directed his piercing stare to his vessel…
"Thanks."
As Denian spoke this, the purple-clad magician nodded and dissipated, returning to his harbouring in the young Aralanti's soul. The Denian turned to face the young, attractive woman whom commanded the Tombkeepers.
"Kisara?"
"She's safe; upstairs resting…still asleep. Kaiba is up with her at this moment- Denian!"
Before she could properly react, the young man suddenly crumpled and Ishizu had called out his name without thinking, surprising herself as she did so… She managed to catch him before he hit the ground and, as one of his younger brothers and another Aralanti man relieved her of his limp frame, Ishizu heard the presumed-unconscious young man whisper in her ear.
"Isis…"
Upon hearing that name, it was like a trigger; images flashed through her mind of an ancient, sunny Egypt whose sands she hadn't visited in years now…of a grandeur palace with huge stone obelisks guarding its royal entrance, and of a young man with sandy, near-hazel hair…the Millennium Ring hung from a piece of rope around his neck in this blistering sand-swept courtyard. He looked down at her, hands around her waist as he smirked handsomely…she'd seen that smirk only moments ago…
"You okay, Ishtar?"
One of the older Aralanti men, Takhar they had called him, snapped her back to reality as he made this enquiry. With a slight start, Ishizu looked to where Denian was now lying unconscious on the sofa, asking the question without hesitation.
"What's wrong with him?"
"I told you he gets really weak, didn't I?"
Daknar looked to her, slightly confused; he was sure he'd told her… Ishizu nodded her head, only now recalling the twin's earlier statement about why his brother had been incapable of opening a portal. So, he went like this everytime the Dark Magician returned to him…it explained why none of her family had seen it…though, judging by the damage reports, Denian Hirotsh didn't need to rely upon his Ka to slaughter a large number of her forces; he was the only Aralanti member in history to master the Marthui; a form of magic which enabled him to strike people stone cold dead by speaking only a word or two… As she stared at his apparently sleeping form on the couch, a strange, yet blissfully name sprang to Ishizu's mind, out of the sheer blue, she spoke it low in her soft voice, aware of how fitting it seemed for her tongue to pronounce it…as though it had once been accustomed to doing so on a regular basis.
"Mahad…"
a/n- did u like dis chptr?? Well, tell me what u thinks of this newest plot development????!!!! XxxxxX
