Hi everyone! I have sad news; this is the last pre-written chapter for a little while. We'll try to update next week as usual, but if we don't please keep checking back and hopefully by the week after we'll have something. Thanks once again for reading and reviewing, and cookies to our three loyal reviewers! Have a great day and a Happy Belated Valentine's Day! As a warning, there is a dream sequence in here that might be a little graphic, but it is a dream. You can probably skip over it if you don't want to read it and not be worse off. Warnings out of the way, enjoy!
Chapter 10
Amethyst orbs flickered open. The room faded in and out of view despite the Pharaoh's efforts to order it into focus. A thin voice reached his ears as though muffled by sand, the noise only serving to make him wince in pain as it reverberated through his aching skull. It felt as though Set had taken a hammer to it. Frowning, he struggled to make out the words even as the identical features of his aibou materialized in his field of vision.
"Yami! Thank goodness you're all right. I was so worried when you collapsed," his light exclaimed, relief evident in his voice.
"W…What h…happened?" the Pharaoh demanded. At least he tried to demand however it came out more a breath of wind. Yugi merely shrugged at him before smiling.
"We can figure it out later. Right now I think I should take over for a little while," Yugi stated. Yami almost started to protest but changed his mind on that score. Yugi could be determined when he wanted to and the spirit didn't feel up to an argument right now. Besides they were perfectly safe and the comfort of his soul room was sounding like heaven. He finally nodded in agreement, grimacing as the movement only served to lance sharp bursts of agony through his skull. Whatever god was having a drumming session in his head he wished would stop. The Millennium Puzzle flashed and Yami retreated into it, content to nurse his aching body while Yugi dealt with the now quite solid Dark Magician.
Dark clouds swirled through the air, completely blocking out Ra's rays. Heaviness hung on the air, not unlike the feeling before a storm only darker, more deadly. It seared his lungs and deadened his movements, making it hard to even think. His magic surrounded him with a purple glow as it writhed over his body but even its comforting power was draining, struggling as it was with the evil that tainted the very land. Where once proud buildings had stood only ruins remained. The dead and dying littered the streets, men, women, and even children; their faces lit up eerily in the red glow of one of the many fires raging within the walls. Mahad dragged his attention away from their desperate gazes. They were beyond his help; many already well on their way to join Anubis. No, he could not help them.
Find Pharaoh. That mantra pounded through his head, an incessant whisper, as he raced through the labyrinth of streets. Dimly he was aware that this was not what had happened in the past but his dream self didn't spare time for such trivial concerns.
Shadows flickered around him, whispering to him as he raced through them. Find Pharaoh. Where was his king? The dread in his heart seemed to only strengthen the darkness. His feet carried him along down the path, leading him through the tattered gate that had once proudly guarded the palace. He did not spare a single glance for the palace itself, choosing instead to pass it in favor of the tablet shrines that loomed behind its bulk. Distantly, he noted that the walls of many of the shrines were crumbling; his own and Seto's were on fire, flames lapping up the walls in gleeful abandon. Each step was harder and harder to take, as he subconsciously recognized what he was racing towards. The Pharaoh's shrine had an entire wall caved in, rubble strewn the path. Deep furrows marked the stone and surrounding ground, as though some great clawed creature had tried to tear it to shreds. Already flames were starting to lick at the stone as the darkness swirled around the area.
Mahad swallowed hard. He knew what lay ahead; his heart seized in grief but still he pushed on. The bodies of civilians had long since given way to the muscular builds of guards and even though it was different, Mahad knew that just like in his past, they had died trying to protect their king. Here the air held the metallic tang of blood and he had to avert his eyes from the accusing faces, forcing himself to push on. They all seemed to tell the same story. Why weren't you here? Why did you break your promise? Why did you abandon your Pharaoh? These were questions to which he had no answers, no excuses. He almost lost his fight to not retch at the sight of the first Guardian.
Karim lay, half buried under a slab of stone. His sightless green eyes stared up at the sky, fixed on the point where the sun would have been had it not been eaten by the darkness. Mahad stopped once, to close the still staring eyes before the whispering started up again, pressing him on. Find Pharaoh the voices hissed and he obeyed, continuing down the path.
The next was Shada. He lay face down, unmoving, one blackened arm faintly outstretched as though reaching for someone. Mahad knew with certainty that he had been electrocuted, though he wondered if that conviction was only the cause of his own memories. The air was even heavier here and Mahad panted, forced to slow to a walk now through the heaps of bodies. Clearly, this was where the priests had chosen to make their final stand, among the tablet shrines that held their ka.
The short figure of Shimon lay just ahead, sprawled across the path and Mahad averted his eyes, swallowing as he stepped over the advisor. He already knew Shimon's fate, he did not need to look closer to see the cause of death.
The fourth was the most painful so far. Isis lay sprawled by the side of the road. Even though it sickened him to see the strong priestess so broken, Mahad hesitated beside her, kneeling on the blood stained earth to tilt her face towards him. Blue eyes met his own, sadness etched in every line. Gently, Mahad traced the tear tracks down the woman's face before softly closing her eyes and moving on. The mantra pounded through his head still, driving his thoughts from grief. Find Pharaoh.
Determined now, he barely spared a glance for Aknadin's form, instead pushing his way into the Pharaoh's tablet sanctuary. Almost instantly, his heart leapt into his throat and forgetting his earlier semblance of calm, he sprang forward with a cry to cradle his Pharaoh's battered form. Amethyst eyes flickered before meeting his own. His king's face lit into a tired smile.
"Mahad. I knew you would come," he whispered, voice barely above a croak.
"Yes, my king. I'm here," Mahad responded, clasping the Pharaoh's hand tightly in his own as though it would lend him strength. He didn't add 'don't die'. They both knew it was inevitable.
"Seto?" the Pharaoh questioned, eyes searching Mahad's features. The magician spared a brief glance towards the doorway where the lanky priest lay, barely clinging to life. Seto was always stubborn, even to the end, but from what the spirit magician could sense, he couldn't help but pray that the teen would let go soon. Kisara's soul had been torn from where it had merged with Seto's own soul, most likely by Zorc. Consequently, Seto's own soul had been ripped in two. Mahad could not have wished that fate on even his worst enemy. The pain would be unbearable. Vaguely, Mahad wondered if it was anywhere close to how he was feeling right now, holding the dying Pharaoh in his arms and unable to save him. He turned back to his king, expression grim. The Pharaoh saw and did not press.
"Mahad…" he started to speak, but coughed instead, violent tremors wracking his frame and blood splattered onto his robes.
"Shh, Pharaoh, please," Mahad begged, desperate. This was not how it was supposed to happen, how it had happened! The Pharaoh shook off his protests however, gripping his hand back in a vise like grip as his eyes sought and held Mahad's.
"Promise… me. Promise me you'll stay by my side," he whimpered weakly and for the first time in a long while, Mahad saw his Prince, the scared little child who had been forced to grow up far too fast.
"Whenever, wherever you need me," he vowed, the bounds constricting around his heart tightening in response to that dazzlingly innocent smile. He wasn't sure how long he knelt there, holding the Pharaoh's hand, or even how long it was until he realized that his king was no longer breathing. Dreams had no time after all and Mahad could have cared less. All he cared about was the fact that his best friend was dead and he had been unable to stop it. He bowed his head over his king, his prince, his friend and wept bitter tears as flames consumed the temple around them.
Mahad jerked upwards, instinctively gasping for air that suddenly seemed scarce. His entire mind leapt into over drive, launching his heart into a frantic rhythm. Someone nearby gave a startled yelp and there was a crashing noise as something breakable collided with the ground. Mahad twisted in that direction, eyes widening in his surprise. He should have been back in the shadow realm, surrounded by emptiness as the shadows feasted away at his soul. However, carpets and panels surrounded him instead of the writhing bleakness of the shadows. Mahad stared at Yugi, the smaller boy staring back with wide amethyst eyes. Vaguely, Mahad noted that Yugi seemed somewhat different when viewed as a human as opposed to a cat. For a minute there was silence as the two waited in shock before Yugi's face split into a wide grin.
"Ah, you're awake! I'm so glad," he declared happily.
"Yugi," Mahad started before hesitating, unsure of what to say. He looked down, guilt filling him at the thought that he had been tricking Yugi and his king for the past several months.
"You can talk?" Yugi asked before blushing," I mean I knew that you could talk but I didn't know that you could speak Japanese." Mahad blinked and glanced up before giving a slight nod, struck once again by the differences between the Pharaoh and his host.
"Yes, I am capable of speaking most languages," Mahad replied, letting his head fall forward again. His light brown locks veiled his guilty expression from Yugi's seemingly accusing gaze.
"That's great," Yugi beamed, his innocent smile practically lighting up the room and making Mahad's heart clench as he remembered his Prince. "Ah, I'm sorry. How are you feeling? You looked pretty messed up when we got you in here. What were you doing anyway?" Yugi continued, even as he knelt down and carefully used his t-shirt to sweep most of the porcelain shards into a pile on the carpet.
"I am fine," Mahad replied, carefully avoiding the second question with a quick sideways glance of his eyes. Thankfully, Yugi didn't seem to notice. Instead he seemed completely focused on cleaning up the pieces of the bowl, sparing only a second to glance up at the mage.
"Do you need anything to eat or something?" Yugi asked, amethyst eyes turning worried. Mahad shook his head in response.
"I am a creature of shadows. I require no nourishment," he said. Yugi's features seemed to fall briefly and Mahad winced at the thought of causing his Pharaoh's host pain. Yugi had grown on him rapidly due in part to his close resemblance to the Pharaoh when he had been Prince.
"I am truly sorry for causing such problems," he whispered, glancing down at where his hands were folded in his lap. Subconsciously he flexed one slightly and wondered why he he had not vanished back into the shadows. He blinked, noting for the first time since he had woke up that something was different. It took him several minutes to figure it out. Deep in thought, his only response was a vague nod as Yugi told him that he was going to throw away the shards. No sooner had Yugi left the room than he realised what it was. The almost constant strain of sacrificing his Heka in place of his Ba was gone. By all logic that meant he should have already returned to the shadow realm. However, since he was still present that could only mean that someone else had taken up the demands of the summon. He did not even need to access the growing connection that filled his mind and lent strength to his tired limbs. There was only one person with the ability to summon him, only one person for whom he had taken a vow of loyalty and sworn to protect- the Pharaoh. The link between them was not as strong as it had been in the past, having only been tended on one side, yet it seemed to pulse with life. Mahad frowned. He had entered this world with the intention of helping his Pharaoh, however he had only brought the Pharaoh problems and lies. To top it off, now the Pharaoh was being forced to sacrifice his own life force to keep Mahad there. Perhaps Bakura was right. Mahad supposed he had given up any right to meddle in the affairs of the light world after he had given up his life for his Pharaoh. Perhaps it was time to learn to stand on the sidelines. As far as he could tell, there was nothing more he could do to help.