Thank you for reviewing, Protector of the Pharaoh and dragonlady222::hug:: Reviews make me happeh! And they ensure that, yes, I do still have more reviews than chapters. That is always an ego-booster. Nice guess, dragonlady - taking that path would have been quite an interesting writing challenge! But Yami's not the king of this strange timeline. We'll learn who it is in this chapter. ::tries to look sly:: Heeeeeeheehee.

Ah, and it is during this chapter that the page-count for "Consequence" passes the 100-page mark. Yayyyyyy.

This chappie has lots of bloooooooooood. Be warned.

Chapter Eight: Comprehension

Shadowwalker kept rocking, but as he did, he began to speak. All the old-man stutters and creaks had disappeared, and suddenly it seemed as though there was a young man sitting in front of them, telling them a story. Shadowwalker's face, as long as it was half-covered with the cloth and lit by the supernatural light, seemed youthful.

"Seven Items in all…."

Yugi started in shock.

"Each with a required balance between darkness and light… and each with great power…." Even though his blind eyes were covered, Shadowwalker seemed to be looking straight at Yugi. "Seven: the Ring, the Rod, the Scale, the Ankh, the Eye, the Tauk, and… the Puzzle. Beautiful. Precious. Made of gold, fit for kings and gods.

"They possessed magic, the type which people had never known… as these Millennium Items grew older, and were passed down from generation to generation in Egypt, legend became mixed with fact… how they could be used to summon terrible beasts… how they burned anyone who touched them, besides their true masters… how they could restore life to one long dead…. No one could know what was real and what was not anymore.

"In order to understand the future, you must first understand the past….

"There was a man, named Adome Loyein. He was a madman. A demon, some said, disguised as a human. And he wanted the Millennium Items. No one in Egypt knew why, so they invented rumors. None of his followers cared why, because that man seemed to have the power of the gods themselves. They worshipped him. Followed his insane plans. Loyein and his disciples left their own land of Syria to attack the great kingdom of Egypt, acquire these Items, and bring the land under their control."

Yugi suddenly realized where this was going. Egypt, a Cult, the Millennium Items… Shadowwalker was talking about the war that Egypt had been in when he and his friends had gotten there - the one Yami had been fighting against the Yashamaat.

"Twelve years of fighting. Loyein had thousands of followers, most voluntary, some under blackmail, some whose minds were under control. He finally gained control of enough of the Millennium Items' power to summon the Wele Sind, the Alabaster Dragon. It was a powerful creature, able to shoot lightning from its throat and tear stone apart with its claws."

The light of the fire suddenly exploded outward, blinding everyone for a moment. When the glare finally receded, Yugi unshielded his eyes and stared at the fire. The white flames had grown higher, and in them he could see images of people, their faces blurred at first, then slowly fading as the flames focused.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

It was a Blue Eyes White Dragon, twisting in the sky, with blue sparks flying from behind its sharp teeth. There was a rider perched on top of its neck, weaving with the wind. The flames drew in closer to the man; they could make out brown hair, cold blue eyes, like the dragon's, a black robe wrapped tightly around the person's form. Seto stiffened as he found himself looking at a man nearly identical to himself.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Seithe Kafit, Loyein's second-in command, was given the privilege of controlling this creature, in exchange for binding his life to its. He was an excellent master; the Alabaster Dragon very soon became a feared and legendary threat to the Egyptians."

The Blue-Eyes wheeled suddenly, Kafit directing it, and looped over what appeared to be a large city, formed of clay buildings. Yugi could make out shadowy figures running outside, pointing to it. Their eyes and mouths were opened wide.

"Shem! Come here - we have to run - come away from the open space!" an echoing voice cried, seeming to come from one of the blurry women. She ran up to snatch at a small boy's hand, dragging him out of view.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Shadowwalker's voice turned sharp and cutting, pushing hard against the words, hard enough to break them. "The pharaoh who reigned at the start of the war died, and his son took his place."

Quite suddenly, the pictures in the fire blanked out, and an image of Yami took their place. Yugi started, surprised. Solomon glanced down at him and squeezed his shoulder. "What's wrong?"

"N - nothing." Yugi wanted to hear what Shadowwalker was saying.

"He managed well, much better than his father had. The war was drawing to a close when…." Shadowwalker trailed off for a moment. "When the gods abandoned Egypt. In the final hour, the battle which destiny called for, the Egyptians were matched and overcome with the full strength of Loyein's army…."

The fire twisted in on itself, spitting sparks and gray smoke, then blossomed outward, licking at peoples' ankles and scorching the ends of hair. Smoke got into Yugi's eyes, stinging his throat. He rubbed at them hard, and when he could see again, almost wished he couldn't.

The fire was now showing scenes from the last battle. It was afternoon, the sun turning everything gold and red. Sand was clouding the figures, moving in snakelike patterns, metal ringing on metal. A swish of dust rose as the Blue-Eyes landed with a jarring thump. The fighters rocked. A burst of lightning swept over the ground; people dropped where they stood.

Right in the middle of the battle, looking like a tangled knot of arms and legs and swinging iron, Yugi looked around and spotted his dark side. Yami's sword seemed to be too long for him, and there was blood running down the side of his face. The cold metal flashed in the sun as it sliced downward, cleaving someone's arm clean off their shoulder.

Bright light drowned the image out; Yugi heard people hitting the sand. When the spots faded out of his eyes, he found himself standing up, almost trying to run over to the battlefield. He caught himself about to yell for Yami and swallowed it.

Solomon grabbed his sleeve and pulled him back to the ground. He felt slightly calmer there. This was just a story, that was all… a true story, but there was nothing he could do to change it….

"It shouldn't have happened!" Shadowwalker hissed, his blank eyes lighting up painfully. 'They didn't have to die!"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Pictures danced again. Kafit had dismounted, and the sun was setting. There was still fighting going on, but it was desperate, with no real doubt to the fact that the Yashamaat had won.

Kafit walked slowly around the red-smeared sand, eyes traveling at a deliberately slow pace over the fallen men. His hands were folded behind his back. He was careful not to step on any bodies.

Something moved. Kafit swung around immediately to face it, his sword drawn in his hand. Yami shoved a man off of him, standing unsteadily. He looked like should have been dead. One arm hung limp; he was favoring a leg; the trickle of blood had turned to a river; a burn was thrown across one side of his body.

Kafit twitched, and the controlled mask fell away. But Yami was the first to move, ducking down and swinging for Kafit's waist. The other man stepped back to parry it, suddenly beginning to smile; the dragon raised its head and whined eagerly. Heads turned.

But Yami was hurt and dizzy. His sword was knocked away soon enough.

Yugi flinched and his hands shot up to cover his eyes; but when he didn't hear anyone screaming, he opened his fingers. Kafit had his sword pointed directly at Yami's heaving chest. He was grinning and twisting the blade slowly, so that it cut gradually through the cloth armor. The other members of the Cult began to form an excited circle around them.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"The Pharaoh should not have had to die," Shadowwalker said, this time his voice heavy and tired. "He was a child."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

One of the men, taller than the others and broader in the shoulders, seemed to stiffen the closer Kafit's sword came to Yami's skin. His hood was thrown back; long, coarse black hair was tied away from his face, and emerald-colored swirls tattooed his dark countenance.

Kafit noticed him, and his smile broadened. He jerked his head toward the man – "Loyein," explained Shadowwalker – and said something, his voice faded and slurred through the fire.

But Yugi could get the general gist of it. "This is now God." Kafit pushed slightly harder at the sword. "So, bow."

Yami's eyes flashed and he didn't move.

Kafit's mouth turned into a thin line. "I gave you an order. Kneel. Now."

Loyein's dark-green eyes didn't waver. Neither did Yami. The setting sun cast purple shadows over the peoples' faces.

Kafit's hand snapped out and snatched the chain Yami wore around his neck, which held the Millennium Item. He pulled on it, bringing Yami's face closer to his own. Kafit was taller. Yami had to stand on tiptoes just to stay on the ground. "I said that this man is God. What is it that's not getting through to you?" He drew back his sword. "He is Adome Loyein of Syria! If I have to cut off your legs for you to kneel, I will! He is your king!"

Yami snapped. Kafit was thrown backwards as the king tackled him, landing in a shower of sand. Loyein's eyes flashed jade and he took a step forward, but by then the line of black-robed men had broken into a flood. Men surrounded the pair. Hands darted down. The two men were separated, Kafit, Yugi noted in satisfaction, with his nose bleeding.

Yami didn't scream or cry or anything - just tried to whack whoever was holding him down. Yugi bit his lip so hard that blood trickled over his chin.

Loyein's eyes had dulled back into their normal dark green. He swept the hood back off his face, letting the sun pool into a red shine on his cheekbones, the blue-black streaks contrasting sharply with the weary sunshine. Almost smiling, he reached for the sword belted at his waist….

…And Kafit jumped, shouting, into the middle of the group. The younger man's sword flashed down again and again and again, coming up smeared a bit more crimson each time. "You insolent - I am the high priest! You can't do that to me! I -"

Loyein bellowed something and hit Kafit as hard as he could in the temple. The brown-haired man dropped like a rock, his eyes still open. He sprawled on the sand. The sword dug itself into the ground and stayed upright, quivering.

Loyein glared down at the former king, who was also lying on the earth, also unmoving, also staring wide-eyed at the empty sky - he seemed much too small when he was like that…. The Cult-Leader's eyes flared bright again and he snapped an order to the person standing next to him.

The young man held back, growling angrily at Loyein, but Yugi could see him shaking. Another member of the Cult pushed him forward, and the hood fell back. Silvery-white hair gleamed in the last of the light.

Ryou looked rather sick - his face was pale and his eyes seemed too big - but he didn't wait for any more instructions; he knelt down and pulled the gold talisman off of Yami's chain. His hands were trembling. He hung the little pyramid from the rope around his waist and stood up. He turned around to face Loyein, took a mouthful of air, and said dryly, "Congratulations. You just had a little child-king killed - don't you feel wonderful?"

The green-eyed man's arm darted out and swung, flooring Ryou instantly, and then the rest of the Cult turned around and left the three of them lying there: Kafit and Yami, who were dead; and Ryou, who wished he was.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"And that was how the pharaoh of Egypt died."

Yugi jumped, not expecting Shadowwalker to speak. He had been leaning forward through the entire thing, the images now blanking out into white flames again. He found himself with his hands locked together in front of him, right where the Puzzle would have been hanging if he hadn't taken it off. His face was wet.

Seto was silent for a moment, then spoke up, "Did that really happen?"

Shadowwalker tried to summon a glare, failed, and sighed heavily. "Of course it happened, Seto. I never lie in any of my stories. Just watch. You," he exclaimed suddenly, turning his empty face toward Yugi, "this hurts you?"

"Y - Yes," Yugi said, unhooking his hands from each other.

"Why?"

"I… um… well, the people in there… remind me of people I know," he finished lamely. "That's it."

Shadowwalker gazed sadly at him. "That's all?"

"Yes, that's all," he lied, and looked down.

"All right," Shadowwalker said after a moment. "Shall I continue?" He didn't wait for an answer, just flipped his hands again and the fire swirled. The young version of Shadowwalker returned. Yugi scooted backwards until his back came into contact with Solomon.

"Loyein was insane, but by no means a fool. He wanted power, power and revenge. He was willing to do nearly anything for disciples, for people to follow him." It was suddenly as if the man were breathing down everyone's necks: "He had ways to make people sell their souls to him."

The fire flickered. This time, a room came into focus: a large, high-ceilinged room made of marble. It would have been grand, but chunks of the roof were knocked out, flooding the place with moonlight. The light illuminated broken statues, overturned tables, smashed altars, rubble everywhere.

One space was clear, almost directly in the middle of the room. Moonlight poured onto it like a liquid, turning everything to silver and pearl. In the center of the clear patch there were two people, blurry and out of focus. Seto squinted.

Shadowwalker smiled grimly and flicked a finger. The images cleared, revealing themselves, and everyone drew back hastily.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The two people looked very similar: almost-white hair, dark eyes. They seemed tiny in the immense room. The larger, stronger of the two was holding the other up, but they both looked like they had been using red paint. Buckets of it.

Ryou wasn't saying anything. He was on his knees, completely silent, his arm around Bakura's shoulders, looking at his little brother's face. Bakura was staring glassily at the ceiling, eyes wide open. Too wide. Too glazed. The face too pale.

Ryou slowly moved one hand, pulling the cloth away from an object that was - there. In the littler one's chest. It was made from wood, one end of it snapped and splintery. Ryou tightened his hand around it and yanked. It pulled away cloth and skin. Bakura didn't even move.

Ryou rolled the shaft in his fingers, staring at it, shifting from the piece of wood and stone to his brother's face; rolling faster and faster the harder he tried to suppress the thoughts building. He can't be d - no. No, he's not. He can't be, he's the only - my only - my life - my little brother, he can't be dead, he CAN'T-

A single voice floated from the back of the room. "Are you going to get up?"

Ryou twisted around, still supporting the limp back and shoulders, still clutching the broken shaft. Loyein stood at the temple entrance, impassive but for the eyes. His hair had come loose from its tie and fell tangled down his back.

"Did you…." Ryou's thoughts clicked and he jumped up. Bakura slid to the floor. "Did you do this?" The young man's voice rose to a scream. "Did you?! TELL ME!"

He was suddenly in front of Loyein, grabbing him by the cloak, fists tight, eyes much too wide and wild. He pulled the taller man down to his level. "Did you kill my brother?!"

Loyein sighed and stared heavenward. "Why are you asking me when you are the one holding the weapon, Tlanra?"

"I -" Ryou looked blankly at the shaft. "I - I didn't -" He glared up glassily, then seemed to reassure himself by screaming, "I WOULN'T! He was my brother! He was - the only thing you didn't take away!"

Loyein flashed a crooked smile. "Perhaps you weren't quite yourself."

"I -" Ryou stumbled again, looking down at the blood all over him, fresh and soaking to the skin. He looked at the shaft and the stone head, then at Bakura.

"Could you?" Loyein said softly, almost purring. "Could you have killed him?"

"I didn't…." Ryou started, but trailed off. His arm dropped to his side as he stared up, speechless. "…I don't remember…."

"Of course not." Loyein put one hand on the smaller man's shoulder and guided him over to Bakura. Pressing down on Ryou's shoulders to make him kneel, he took the suddenly motionless hand and moved it back and forth, to the cut in the chest and back again. "See… see how nothing else killed him… the weapon you are holding, yourself… why are you accusing me, when you are the one with the arrow?"

Ryou said nothing.

"Does it hurt, knowing that I am no guiltier than you?" Loyein reached around and traced one finger down Ryou's back, seeming to follow some sort of guideline through the folds of cloth. There was no response; Ryou's hand just tightened around the arrow's head, drawing blood from the palm. Noises came from his throat.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

In the firelight, Shadowwalker stood up, gesturing. "I told you. Loyein's no one's fool. It's difficult for him to control minds when the victim struggles, so -" he shrugged, nervously pulling the blindfold higher up his face, "- he has them surrender willingly."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Loyein's image in the fire looked disturbingly happy as he clapped Ryou on the shoulder and stood up, walking towards the hole - formerly the door - in the wall. "Think about it."

"Wait." Ryou methodically rolled the shaft up and down his fingers. "I… killed him?"

"Yes."

"And I wanted to?"

"Why wouldn't you?"

A flicker of life appeared - "I don't know…." - and was swallowed. "I might have wanted to."

Loyein didn't proceed any further. "It hurts, doesn't it? Should I help?"

"You'll take me over." A statement, not a question.

"Perhaps." Loyein's voice was bored, but his face held an expression of eagerness and hunger, and his fist was gripping the neck of his cloak too tightly. "But really - child -" emphasizing the word, "would you rather continue as you are… an evil creature, so disillusioned, so susceptible, that you would kill the one person who trusted in you?"

Ryou winced and didn't get up from his knees. The younger brother stared unseeing at the sky. The narrow gold circle gleamed at Ryou's chest. His arms didn't seem to have any strength.

"…Okay."

Loyein grinned and swung around, pulling a thick wand from inside of his sleeve. The images became blurry, fading out, as the shadows and the stark white of the temple mixed.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Shadowwalker was breathing hard, trying to keep the images alive. He reached out to the fire, stretching. He sat down suddenly, breaking the image. He seemed to be exhausted from producing the story. Clapping his hands once, he sighed as the flames dwindled down to their normal, red-and-gold flickers. He leaned his head back against his stone seat, squirming a little. Once again an old man.

Seto was the first to speak. "…Shadowwalker, that was incredible!" he said, jumping up. Yugi, who'd been leaning on his arm, lost his balance. Seto looked wayyyyy too excited. "You can do magic? Like that? Make mirages and things, how'd you learn to do that?"

Yugi resisted the urge to kick him. Those people weren't characters some old man made up for fun, they had been real! And he knew them!

"What happened next? Did he let himself be taken over?"

Shadowwalker flinched, hesitating, then said carefully, "Yes. In short, the boy died."

"Who was his brother?"

Shadowwalker didn't answer. Yugi felt sympathetic all of a sudden, and tugged on Seto's sleeve. "C'mon Seto, he doesn't want to talk."

"Hang on - okay, no brother questions. What'd those gold things have to do with it? What do they do? That's why those people were killed, right? That first one."

'The first one' had been Yami.

"Those 'gold things' were the Millennium Items," Shadowwalker said. "Loyein found all of them after that one battle."

"You said there were seven."

"Only one was left after that."

"So he got them."

Shadowwalker wriggled uncomfortably, obviously unused to questions. "Yes… he hunted down the final Holder and stole his Item." He traced one finger across his scarred face. "Seto, stop now."

This time another person spoke up. "But why did you show us that story? It doesn't seem to be… significant."

"It IS!" Shadowwalker struggled to sit up. "It's important because - you don't know - none of you -" He got up all the way, panting from exertion. "Loyein - that mad, sadistic - HE became our KING, you foolish people! And right now he has three children with him doing gods-know-what to them!" He glared at Seto, who sat down with a thump and a pale face. "I showed you what happened to Ryou to get through to you what kind of power he has."

"Well, you didn't really show us -" someone said timidly.

Shadowwalker interrupted them. "That young man - you know who he is." He laughed shortly, which then turned to a cough. "Silver-Hair? Cres-Exe?"

Solomon stared, gripping Yugi's shoulder painfully hard. "That boy who was defying him? Who killed his brother?" Shadowwalker smirked. "He became the High Priest of Yash?"

Yugi blinked. He couldn't imagine Yami Bakura - Ryou - being a priest of anything. And given his obvious opposition to Loyein, especially not a priest for him.

"Who's Cres-Exe?" he asked Solomon, stumbling over the strange syllables. "Ryou's a priest? But how's he still alive? How's Loyein still alive?" Solomon didn't answer. "What happened to my friends?"

Nobody answered. A woman stood up and brushed sand off her clothes. A kid threw earth on the fire to put it out. The inhabitants of the camp stretched, helped Shadowwalker to his feet, straggled back to their own tents. There was no talking.

"Hey!" Yugi said. "Isn't anybody gonna say something?"

Within a minute, the fire was dead and he was alone, staring into the blackness.

The air was cold, the sky clearer than he'd seen before. Stars were strewn across it, dotting the velvety expanse with light. He wrapped his arms around himself and shivered, picturing the faces of the people he'd seen - too familiar, too far away. Blood. I hate blood, he reflected.

Yugi shuddered again, turned around, and walked hastily back to his own tent. The fur fell heavily over him, warmth spreading. Zanebia muttered in her sleep and rolled over, draping one arm over the ground and grabbing a fistful of his hair.

He eyed the Millennium Puzzle, wondered idly whether this meant there were two of them now – one with Loyein, one with him. The gold eye dared him to pick it up.

He reached for it, then stopped dead, visualizing it hanging around Yami's neck, in Ryou's fingers, swinging from Loyein's hand. The king. He shook his head and drew his arm back in, turning to look at the cloth wall of the tent instead.

Oooh, I'm a bad person... I killed Yami, Kafit and Bakura all in the same chapter. Bad Yutaan. ::sob:: But it had to be done. Don't worry, time-travel is a wonderfully convenient invention. Although so complicated to pull off correctly, eh, Yugi:: That's a very badly-disguised spoiler, by the way. Hee.::

Oh, my friend asked me what "Tlanra" meant. Yes, it's a title from the Yashamaat's language, but its translation is a secret, since giving it away would be a big plot point. Sooo, gomen! We'll just have to find out what Ryou's title means later...

The next chapter, I've been told, is the weirdest in the story. It's also long... so expect another update in two weeks. Once-a-week updates just don't seem to be working out... ::sigh:: Anyways, so please check back soon, and leave a review!