A/N: Christmas, Christmas, Christmas VACATION! Hi!!!! I wish you all merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, with health, happiness and love! That means, you'll tell me, that I'll have to update sooner… ne? Hey hey… Naruto rocks!!! I'm soooo caught up and I watch that show fanatically. The problem is, if I sit in front of the computer too much, my parents will go crrrrazy. I promise more well-written chapters, though. And I also have some other ideas for As Far As We Can Get; I thought it'd be good if I revise it, perhaps. Tell me what you think, ne?

Chapter 10: Plans and Plots

"I definitely shouldn't be helping you right now!"

Tristano was fuming. He was doing this for Hay Lin and no one else!! He gritted his teeth and tried to persuade himself. But even so, it still seemed like betrayal towards the Pharaoh and the Priests. Sure, he didn't approve of High Priest Akunadin's deeds, not even for one second, and he purely detested seeing people, no matter how 'evil' he was told they were, falling into the shadow realm. His brown eyes narrowed dangerously as he was thinking about it. All those people in the dungeons were really not looking at all that of a hazard, more like common thieves. But… his duty was other. It was to guard the palace. It was…

He sighed. If anyone found out about this, he would surely get executed. He glanced towards his female companion, as they were descending the stairs leading to where Jono and Mai were being held captives. Always careful not to burn her with the torch he was holding for light. "Hay Lin… Why do you want so desperately to free those people? Do you know them?"

She raised her eyes, to meet his. "No. I was just told to." And the only way to achieve this was only with Tristano's help. She was hurting; she really liked the guy. And now she was putting him in danger. "I'm an Amazon, Tristano."

"Yeah, you told me before." He was walking in front of her, and didn't turn his head to face her.

"And that's okay with you? For all you know, this could be a plan to destroy you!" She raised her voice. Which was and the truth, after all. "Why do you help me then? Why do you risk for me? Why do you care if the people down there rot or get thrown to the Shadow Realm?" She narrowed her eyes, she was pushing her luck.

Tristano still wouldn't face her. "My duty as a guard is to protect the palace." He stopped walking. "My duty as a human is to protect the lives of others." His fist clenched around the torch, and Hay Lin's eyes widened. Then he honored them by turning around with a smile. "So, it would be really bad if I didn't help you, wouldn't it? If by freeing Jono and Mai we can end the suffering, I won't obey in any rules given by whomever; I shouldn't. Right?" His smile became wider.

Hay Lin couldn't restrain herself. She threw her arms around Tristano's neck and kissed in fully in mouth. He had to lift the torch as high as he could in order not to burn her hair, as he responded with equal enthusiasm, and used his other arm to encircle her waist. When they broke apart, Tristano observed: "We… really had some other business down there, didn't we?"

She nodded and blushed. "Yeah, we better hurry." She giggled. What was wrong with her? Had she forgotten everything? Couldn't she notice that Tristano was theoretically an enemy of hers? Couldn't she see that sometime in the near future she would have to fight him? All those afternoons they had passed together talking, taking strolls, eating, having fun… He was proved to be a lot more than an acquaintance. It wasn't as easy as she had thought… And she wasn't blind. She could see Irma's eyes when she was talking about High Priest Seto. She had yet to see the face of that High Priest, but it was pretty obvious to her that her friend had fallen for him. Even if Irma herself hadn't notice, Hay Lin had, long ago. Maybe it was that weird powers of hers… She hadn't seen any of her friends die, she was the only one. She wondered if the more comrades' one would see dying, the more heartless they would get.

"We're here." Tristano's voice shook her out of her thoughts. She looked inside the cell and watched the two persons inside. They were totally worn out, completely exhausted. Even though they seemed to be sleeping deeply, they jerked immediately when they heard the sound Tristano made while unlocking the bars.

"Who are you? What do you want!" The blond boy stood up and stepped in front of his companion, taking a defensive pose. He gritted his teeth in anticipation for an attack.

"Calm down! And speak quieter." Tristano scolded at him. "We're here to free you, despite the High Priest's orders." He didn't give them the time even to blink. "Come on, follow us now! You owe your freedom to her, so don't do anything stupid!" He indicated towards Hay Lin, then turned and took the way of return, with the other three in his heels. All of them remained silent until they were finally out of the palace.

Hay Lin turned towards Tristano, with a determined look on her face. "You… I'll see you again. You have my word."

Tristano winked. "Absolutely. You won't get rid of me that easily!" Hay Lin nodded, and then she and the other two rod hastily the horses awaiting for them and then disappeared. Tristano remained looking at them, under the moonlight. He had just committed betrayal, and strange enough… he wasn't feeling any guilty, or threatened. If the beauty with the pale skin and long black hair was alright, then he could deal with everything coming his way.

Thing that could have possibly been a fatal mistake.

As he was walking in a carefree manner inside the palace again, two pairs of blue eyes scanned him thoroughly from the shadows. One of their owners smirked.

"See, I told you."

"Seto, I don't know for how long we'll be counting on your hunches." Isis observed, and then glanced towards Tristano another time. "What do you think of him? Is he trustworthy enough?"

"Enough for me to manipulate him. And you don't talk to me about hunches." Seto commented, and then turned to walk away.

"You manipulate everybody." Isis replied chuckling, and joined him. "From the Pharaoh to the Amazons. I wonder who's manipulating you."

"Does it have to be someone? I'm independent, didn't you know that already?" He folded his arms across his chest.

"I won't let my guard down." She reminded him, smiling.

"Keh. Whatever." Seto shrugged. They continued walking as it was for some more time, until it was time to take different directions for their rooms.

Isis didn't want to leave it that way. "We saved those people because the Pharaoh would have to execute them. I understand that. But now, you know that you'll have to finish the brunette Amazon off, don't you? I can't understand why you kept her alive in the first place."

"Are we gonna talk about the same thing again?" Seto was losing his patience. "I already explained you, didn't I?" Isis nodded, and he continued: "I kept her alive at first, because I wanted to know what she'd do, what her plan would be. I put purposely papyruses with fake information on my desk and told her to do them up, just so that information could pass to the other Amazons. And when I met Jono, I understood that he and the other blonde could help us protecting the people of Egypt, in a way we would never be able to."

"I know, that's why I helped you!" Isis protested. "The point is…"

"Hn. More like you didn't tell anything to the Pharaoh when you saw it with your Necklace." Seto clarified.

"The point," Isis insisted annoyed, "Isn't that Jono and Mai can gather the people and help them protect themselves while we'll be fighting Bakura. If we don't leave a leader behind, we will have many victims, and fighting will be pointless. When we'll use all of our forces to defeat Bakura, Jono will protect the citizens. I fucking understand that!!!" She fumed. "What is out of our plans, is the Amazons! Their village was exterminated, and that wasn't among our plans! Now they're out for revenge!"

"That's were Bakura most likely counts on." Seto stated calmly. "However, if we manage to persuade them to come with our side…"

"Somehow I don't think they'll fancy that idea." Isis mocked, and he sighed.

"I know. But I also know that something Bakura did, destroyed their village, and turned us to the villains. If we manage to make them understand that…" He curled his fists.

"We have no proof, Seto." She reminded him bitterly. "We don't even know if what you say is true." His bangs covered his eyes, and her expression saddened. "What will you do with the Amazon spy? You know, the brunette girl with the sea-green eyes."

"I…" He bit his lower lip. "I can't kill her, Isis. She just spared my life."

Isis eyes saddened even more. "Do you know why?"

"I-I'm not sure."

"Do you also know that you can't lie to me?" Her Millennium Necklace shone.

Damn it, Seto thought and lowered his head. There wasn't much he could tell, if it was this way. He had done everything to cover for Irma, since she had stepped inside his tent. Her manners, her spirit, her smartass mouth, her story… all were indicating what she was from the start. At first, he was plainly curious. A beautiful Amazon… he had wanted to torment her, to push her to her limits, to sleep with her just to see how sex with an Amazon would be. But he had found in her the quality he hadn't in anybody else: Sincerity. Sincerity, in the depths of all of her lies. She had showed it to him when she hated him, when she despised him, when she started to like him a little… Damn it! He liked the way she was talking back, the way she was fighting, the way her eyes were radiating happiness…

Isis took her way back to her room, without saying much, when she saw him dazing off. He watched her utterly surprised.

"There isn't much I can tell you, Seto. Only… be careful, okay?" She whispered, as she was disappearing in the shadows.

SXIXSXIXSXIXSXI

Hay Lin, Jono and Mai had just approached the Amazons new settlement. They had been silent all night long, but now, Mai couldn't restrain herself anymore.

"Why did you…" She started interrogating Hay Lin, but the other cut her off:

"I'm an Amazon. We need you. Now that High Priest Seto has probably died, we need you for the final blow."

Jono pulled the bridles of his horse so strongly that it almost tossed him aside. He turned towards Hay Lin with eyes wide and shocked. "High Priest Seto is… dead?! What the hell are you talking about!!! H-how… when, where???"

"I don't know for sure." Hay Lin responded him truthfully. "The plan was to kill him tonight. I don't know if Artemis made it or not. She seemed… I wouldn't call it reluctant…" She hesitated.

"Like hell she would make it!" Jono yelled. "I fought the guy! He's strong enough without the hocus pocus magic of his! And you're telling me a girl could bring him down that easily?!"

"You don't have to sound so surprised." Mai put him in his place quickly, glaring. However, Hay Lin wouldn't let that pass that easily.

"You'll be surprised when you find out what we can do." Her eyes were cold and Jono felt his blood freezing. "In fact, boy, I don't need that horse I'm riding right now at all. I only use it so we won't attract any unnecessary attention. Got it?"

"And… how the heck can one travel so much of a distance without a horse?" Jono raised his eyebrow, and Hay Lin winked.

"Why, flying of course."

"Oh, flying… WHAAAAT???!!! Are you freaking joking with me!" Jono almost fell off his horse for a second time.

"Now seriously." Mai looked bored. "You're not serious, are you?"

Hay Lin smiled. "You'll see…"

SXIXSXIXSXIXSXI

"Hey, Artemis, you returned!" Orube exclaimed. All of them had gathered in Will's tent, where they usually did, since it was the path from the palace's fountain and their settlement. Will, Taranee, Cornelia, Hay Lin, Phobos, Elyon, Cedric and Orube had gathered and waited for Artemis to show up. When they showed Jono and Mai their powers, it was a little too much for them, in addiction to what they had been recently put through. Elyon's main strategist, Caleb, had the task to make them comfortable and help them communicate with the other rebels. As a result, he wasn't among them waiting for her. And he had reasons to avoid Cornelia as well.

That was when Irma showed up.

"So? Where's the dagger with his blood?" Cornelia asked to find out.

Irma's chestnut bangs were covering her eyes, as she tossed the dagger to their feet. Everyone tilted their heads to see it, and when they did, they remained as they were, staring blankly. In the end, Taranee stuttered: "T-this has on blood upon in, Artemis…"

"Don't tell me! I hadn't noticed!" Irma scoffed at them and threw herself on a nearby chair. If her plan right now didn't work, they would kill him, probably her as well… She could proudly say she had screwed everything up alright!

Phobos raised an eyebrow. "Does this mean you killed him in some other way?" He had to confirm.

"No. This simply means I didn't kill him at all." Irma just shrugged, and watched each for any reactions.

Thing that was proved a right decision to make. Will had just opened her mouth to ask 'why?' but Cornelia was already one step ahead. She walked determined towards the dagger, and when she reached it, she bent and picked it up. When she stood up, she faced Irma as coldly as a glacier. "If you refused to do it, then we don't have another choice." She turned, and moved towards the fountain, while Irma's eyes were picturing each one of her steps.

"Ariadne, what are you…" Hay Lin was about to ask, but the blond girl raised a hand and stopped her.

"If Artemis didn't make it… for whatever reasons…" Cornelia looked suspiciously at the brunette from the corner of her eye, "I'll go kill High Priest Seto!" And she continued to pass the gate from the fountain.

Everything happened in the blink of the eyes.

"I fucking said NO!" Irma jumped from her sit and sent a dagger that was previously tied on her waist flying towards Cornelia. There wasn't much the blond girl could do, she just watched the weapon cutting some blond strands from her hair and darting right beside her temple. She remained speechless, staring at it during its oscillation.

Irma didn't give anyone the time to start interrogating or attacking. "Just what do you think you're doing, Corny?" The best defense is an attack.

"That's my line." Cornelia cut her off coldly. "If that dagger had missed a bit…"

"If you're suggesting that I intended to kill you, then I inform you that this dagger would have been plunged into your forehead if it was so." Irma smirked. "I just intended to stop you. Do you honestly believe that the reason I didn't kill High Priest Seto is because I've gone to his side? Do you believe I would choose him over you? After all this? And even if all these hadn't happened. Do you really believe I would choose someone else other than you guys?" She was sounding hurt. Oh God, I play this role way too much persuasively.

"I did once." Cornelia lowered her head. Her tone was neutral.

"I'm not you." Irma replied steadily, not meanly though. "The reason I didn't kill High Priest Seto is because I didn't find any particular meaning in it."

"Eeeeeeh? Are you serious?" Orube protested. "Weren't you the one who was talking about miasma and what a terrible humiliation for us would be…"

"Well yeah. Firstly, High Priest Seto wasn't even the one who ordered the destruction of our village, so there are no grudges held." Irma took a professional tone. "Secondly, as I saw from the death of another High Priest that weird dark magic of them doesn't let them die per say, but it transforms them to creatures like the ones who they control, so it gives them more power in addition. And thirdly and most importantly…" She sighed, "Think about it. What would we earn if I killed Seto now? The Pharaoh would just choose another High Priest and it would be like nothing happened."

"That's true." Elyon commented. "But in that case, all we needed to do was to destroy the rod he holds."

"Impossible." Cedric interfered. "I've done research for it. It would cost much energy for us to destroy it, and it is highly doubtful if we could ever succeed."

"We could." Will interrupted them. "Our powers of light can do everything. But…" She seemed very thoughtful. "…I'm worried about the balance, afterwards. I don't know what will happen if we destroyed the rod, and I'm sure that this isn't the right time to try."

"Then we should probably steal it." Hay Lin suggested.

Irma shook her head negatively. "It won't work. They can call the monsters without their Items."

"Damn in then! What should we do?" Cornelia fumed.

"I've got a plan. We'll just play with their rules." Irma grinned wolfishly. "They wanted a hostage? If they took our queen, then we shall capture one of them as well."

"So? Won't they replace him as well?" Cedric asked, with the I-know-it-all expression.

"Oh, no, they won't." Irma's grin widened. "You see, I learnt how their mind works. All of them consider each other a part of family, friends like we do. If we kill one of them, there won't be much they can do about it, but if we capture one and threaten to kill him, that will tie Pharaoh's hands. He values his subordinates more than his life, I can tell. Thus…"

"…It's decided." Will stood up. "We'll face them tomorrow, and capture as many as we can." She turned to Irma. "Do you have any information about each?"

"Pfeh." She replied arrogantly. "Each one of them is a faithful dog to the Pharaoh, save Seto and Akunadin. All the others are complete weaklings and can't take any initiative without the Pharaoh holding their hands. Choose the victims."

"I'll fight with Shada, the one who can see into the minds of others." Taranee stated, as she was standing up. She smirked.

"I'll take on the woman, Isis." Hay Lin declared. "I heard she has a monster that flies, it'd be better if I face her."

"I want to fight Seto." Irma folded her arms across her chest, and narrowed her eyes. "I owe him."

"I'll handle Karim, the one with the scale." Cornelia blew some of her bangs. "No matter how strong he may seem, he's going so down against my powers."

"So I guess I'll fight with Akunadin." Orube shrugged. "It's the better. He's old, and won't be able to make it through against my speed and power."

"Will, that leaves us, since Mahado and Pharaoh Atem are fighting together now." Elyon commented. "You should face the Pharaoh; I'll make sure the magician won't help him… ever again." She smirked. Being the queen of the North, she had incomparable magical powers, without having to undergo things like her companions did.

"That's my sister." Phobos praised her jokingly. "So Cedric and I will continue to guide our army. But, if you want my advice: Save the fight for later. Let's let Irma remain in the palace a little longer, so she can tell us when it's the right time for you to attack, when will they take different routes and get divided. Don't get so hasty."

"Very well." Will's eyes narrowed and glistened. Phobos advice were always right, it would be stupid not to follow them. "Amazons, did you hear?"

"YES!"

"Let's set our plan into motion then! We will definitely crush Pharaoh Atem and his minions! It's time to get our queen and our pride back!"

Among the general enthusiasm, Irma could only think this, and she chuckled bitterly when she wondered how cliché it sounded:

Seto, I'll save you. Even if… it costs my own life. I really don't see any other way. Her expression saddened. She really couldn't.

A/N: Well? Review pls. Oh, and the next chapter will probably have a lemon… and you know my lemons, very very very kinky! I think I'll get it a little bit more extreme than my last one, do you agree?