Empire of Shadows, a long YuGiOh! fanfic by Tsunami Storm
Chapter 13: The Golden Pyramid
Once again, Keith Howard could be found pacing angrily before his ill-gotten throne, his hands folded behind his back. He should've known that he couldn't trust that sub-rate bug brawler to win, even if he had used the power of the Orichalcos before. His stock of Shadow Hunters was getting alarmingly low, and he knew he would be facing the dragon hero himself before long. However, the most pressing matter on his mind was the absence of a Guardian of the Golden Pyramid. Originally, he had assumed that the Dominion had chosen one of Kaiba's 'friends'- that old man from Ancient Egypt who once held the Millennium Key [Shimon]- but it seemed that was not the case. That man had a powerful Ka to be sure, yet he was not a Guardian of a shrine.
Keith scoffed to himself. There was no fun in defeating such an old fossil anyway. The new Guardian of the Pyramid- at least, from what the Shadows had told him- was far younger than Shimon, and indeed had wielded a Millennium Item in the past.
"Maybe that's where the Rod went." Keith mused to himself. "It may have somehow sensed the danger and returned to a previous Bearer. In any case, I've been looking for any opportunity to get my revenge on that brat for ever thinking that he could use me like some puppet!" He growled aloud at the unpleasant memory, though at the time he'd had no idea what he was doing. Gripping the Millennium Ring around his neck, he used his stolen power to summon a group of his most terrifying servants- mindless beasts that answered only to magic older than even Atlantis.
"Go forth and fetch, my servants." Keith commanded. "There's a certain Guardian we're missing, and I would just hate for him to miss a trip down memory lane." He smirked, and the monsters growled their menacing laughter with him. Keith found the irony of it all deeply amusing. This Guardian had been raised in a tomb his whole life in the human world, why not remind him of his wonderful childhood in the Dominion?
"You're going to learn the hard way that no one messes with Bandit Keith and gets away with it, Marik Ishtar!"
"Nee-san! Where d'you want these manuscripts again?" Malik called to Ishizu as he lifted a box of ancient scrolls to transport somewhere. The young woman was hard at work on her computer in the living room.
"In the study please, Malik." came the reply, and the young man nodded. Even though the pharaoh had returned and regained his memories- thus freeing the Tomb Keepers from their duty- there were still many things about his rule, his predecessor's and his successor's that he still did not- but should- know. The young family was dutifully archiving the ancient manuscripts on modern technology so that they would not be lost to time. This was a very special task, as nearly all of the ancient documents were fragile and could fall apart at any moment.
"Got it." Malik answered, carrying the box to the designated room. Suddenly, he felt a prickling feeling on the back of his neck, an unwelcome feeling that sent a shiver down his spine. Not for the first time, he wished that the Millennium Rod had actually chosen him when he'd claimed it at ten years old. That way he could protect his brother and sister from the dangers of this world. He'd been feeling uneasy ever since Seth, Kisara and Noah had disappeared while they were touring Egypt with the former Tomb Keepers. He was worried about his friends in Domino, and that worry had only grown over time to become outright dread.
Almost all of the past Bearers are missing, and the present Bearers are gone too. The only one they left out is Shimon, but I can't figure out why. Who could be next? He agonized, worry fogging his mind as he transferred the boxes of documents to the study, looking almost like a robot or a zombie.
An ear-splitting, grating roar of some horrible creature jolted his mind back to the present, and he jumped as Odion and Ishizu came running into the front room where he was standing. Again, Malik wished he still possessed the Rod, but wishing didn't make the situation any better. Not one, not two, but five hulking monsters stood in front of the Ishtar residence- pounding at the door with their over-sized fists. A strange symbol marked their foreheads, and their eyes glowed blood-red in their sockets. Their bodies were a uniform color of mud-brown, with only dirty loincloths and spiked collars at their necks, wrists and ankles for clothing. [Not what the card image depicts, but just pretend they changed their 'clothing style'.]
"These creatures-" Ishizu gasped. "I remember seeing them on the news two years ago. They are Orichalcos Gigas, and they are not easily destroyed. But why would they come here?" She breathed, horror twisting her normally calm face.
Realization struck like a bolt of lightning. They're after me. Malik gasped mentally. Whoever's causing trouble in the Dominion of the Beasts has it out for me, that's why these butt-ugly things are attacking us. If I can get them away from the house, they might leave Ishizu and Odion alone. If it's me they want, then it's me they'll get! He thought confidently, pulling his deck out of his pocket and running to the side door, shouting a brief apology and explanation back to his horror-struck siblings.
"Malik-sama! Don't do this! It's too dangerous!" Odion cried, fearing for his adopted younger brother.
"They want me, Odion, not you and Ishizu. I'll lead them away from the house. And don't worry. I'm not going down without giving those guys a good butt-kickin'!" Malik called back as he raced out the door, summoning one of his monsters with his Duel Disk. He knew from the ancient manuscripts that his family- the Ishtar clan- had magic in their blood, and that four of its members had possessed Millennium Items in the past; Mahaad, Mana, Isis and Karim- though the last two were from a separate branch of the clan. Pharaoh Seth had entrusted the keeping of Atem's secret to Mana and her descendants, as she was the only one he could trust with such important information. All the others had perished in the Shadow War or did not have magic in their blood. He had not decreed that they should live underground, however. That mistaken belief had been added to their duty over the generations by the descendants themselves.
"Come out, 'Revival Slime'! [1500/500] Protect the house and my family!" Malik cried as the blob of jelly appeared in a burst of light. "And 'Felgrand Dragon', [2800/2800] help me make these freaks sorry they ever messed with the Ishtars!"
The golden dragon that appeared resembled a thinner Winged Divine Dragon of Ra, but looked no less impressive as it roared at the beasts that dared attack its duelist and his family. It reared back and spat a column of flames at the nearest monster, who exploded with a violent BOOM- taking three of its fellows with it. Malik smirked in triumph, but it soon faded as the same four monsters clawed their way out of the sand, bigger and uglier than they were before.
"Great. Now I get why Nee-san said they're nearly impossible to destroy." Malik growled to himself, then backed up to lead the creatures away from his house and siblings. "Up for a little game of 'cat-and-mouse', freaks? Then come an' get me!" He taunted as he ran, receiving several enraged roars as his answer.
-A while later-
Malik found himself surrounded by the five hulking monsters, now at least ten times bigger and stronger than when they'd first appeared. Revival Slime had returned to his deck a while ago, and only Felgrand Dragon was staunchly defending its duelist. Malik was focusing on the biggest and ugliest Orichalcos Gigas, so he didn't notice one of the smaller ones creeping up behind him. Without warning, it threw its fist with all its might into the center of the young man's back. Malik gasped, his head snapping backward from whiplash and his spine cracking in multiple places. He fell to his knees, then collapsed face-first on the ground- Felgrand Dragon fading from the human realm with a roar of outrage and pain. Outrage that the monsters would use such a dirty trick, and pain that its duelist had fallen and it hadn't been able to protect him. The Orichalcos Gigas grunted their glee and disappeared through a portal to the Dominion, the biggest one grabbing a leg of the unconscious Guardian and dragging him through the portal to their king.
-Meanwhile-
"Is it just me, or is it getting hotter the farther we walk?" Seto asked of no one in particular as they continued in their quest.
Mahaad smiled wryly. "It is not just you, my prince. This area of the Dominion has always been rather arid, not unlike the desert to the southeast that we passed through not long ago. Not much rain falls here, and even when it does rain, it does not stay for long."
"And there is no shelter from the sun to speak of in this area, apart from the shrine." Mana added. "We are just going to have to grin and bear it, I guess." She grimaced theatrically, and Seto smiled gently at her, appreciating her attempt to cheer him up.
"Speakin' a' which, wat's da shrine in dis area again?" Joey asked the Black Magician Girl, but it was the newest addition to their company- the Elf Swordsman Karim- who spoke. "The Golden Pyramid. It is said to have been built in the human realm by a mysterious being known only as Shadi, and contains an entirely separate dimension within its depths. One populated by Duel Monsters, but more resembling Capsule Monsters than the ancient Shadow Games with which we are familiar."
"So this is where it went!" Seto smiled in intrigue and looked back at Commander Tristan, who looked impressed.
"Should've known Shadi wouldn't destroy it so easy. That was actually a really cool adventure in hindsight." The gunman admitted, lost in memories.
"Wonder who the Guardian is, though." Valkyrie Téa mused. "I get the feeling that it's someone from Egypt, but I dunno who."
"The Guardian of this shrine changed very recently." Mahaad spoke up, causing everyone to look at him in interest. "Up until a few years ago in the human realm, the Guardian was 'Sealed Exodia', but now it has shifted to another. I know not the identity of the monster, nor of its Ba- its duelist in the human realm."
Guess Shimon was the previous Guardian- Seto thought to himself- since his Ka is Exodia. But why would it change? Is Shimon too old to be a Guardian anymore? Maybe his Ka is just too powerful. It gives its holder an instant win in duels if they manage to summon it to the field, after all. That's gotta be it. Then another thought occurred to him. And I doubt Bandit Keith would bother with capturing Shimon. It's not his style. He'd want to bully someone younger than him. Maybe the new Guardian is Ishtar. Keith has a reason to hate him. But what would his Ka be? Surely it's not the Winged Divine Dragon of Ra!- Although that'd be pretty cool. I'd have an Egyptian god on my side!
He was jolted from his musings when he noticed their surroundings had changed. Instead of walking on sand, he was surprised to find that their route had become a sandstone brick path flanked by palm trees, leading all the way to a titanic structure in the distance. The pyramid looked as if it were made from enormous bricks of solid gold, and shone like the sun before their eyes. An enormous Eye of Wdjat molded right into the side of the pyramid stared back at them. It reminded the hero of the symbol on the Millennium Puzzle, but this pyramid was the right way up. Seto had to cast a 'Darkness' spell around himself and his companions to avoid being blinded by the brightness, especially considering his enhanced dragon senses.
They reached the entrance to the tomb just as the sun touched the horizon, and Seto removed the spell from around them and took a drink of water from his flask to replenish his energy. Joey crafted some makeshift torches out of the reeds that grew around the palms, then lit them with his 'Flaming Sword of Battle'. Seto carried one at the head of the group, Mahaad another, Joey another and Téa brought up the rear- using her 'Shining Spear' as a light source.
The travelers eventually came to a fork in their 'road', finding two staircases that led up and down respectively. Tristan remembered that the downward staircase led to the Capsule Monsters game, and that the upward staircase led to the 'reward chamber'. Seto guessed that the latter was where the Shadow Hunter would be hiding. He led the way up the right staircase and stopped at the top, where a strange and rather amusing sight met his eyes.
The Shadow Hunter wasn't any cause for concern, as he recognized his spiky white hair and gaunt physique from Battle City and knew that Atem had defeated him easily. What did make him smirk a bit was the sight of the Guardian. The monster was 'Revival Slime' [1500/500], but it had molded itself into an exact copy of the youngest Ishtar, though he was blue and wobbly like gelatin. The young man wore some blob-clothing in the style of the ancient Egyptians, just a simple skirt about his waist and a sash. His chest and feet were bare. ["It's not girly to wear a skirt, men wore these too back then!" -Malik]
Tristan snickered. "I know I shouldn't laugh, but Malik looks ridiculous like that."
The blob gave him a withering glare. "I've heard that enough from these robed freaks. I don't need it from my fellow Guardians too!" Malik growled, his blue cheeks turning darker with embarrassment. Then he grinned evilly. "Just be glad I made some blob clothes with this form. Normally Revival Slime doesn't wear anything."
Now it was Tristan's (and the girls') turn to change color as Seto and Joey snorted. "Nice one, Ishtar." The dragon warrior grinned at the Guardian, who looked smug. But then the hero noticed something disturbing about the Guardian that made his smirk disappear. A band of solid matter around Malik's waist was encircled by another Orichalcos bracelet, just like all of the other Guardians so far besides Tristan.
Malik looked down in shame. "The Shadow King froze my midsection with a spell of never-melting ice and locked this bracelet around it. Since it's part of my body, I can't just get rid of it and still hope to function normally. If I did, it would look really freaky. I'd be missing my whole waist. And because it's frozen solid, I can't mold it into any shape I want." He growled. "And the only way it'll melt is if you get this Ra-damned [excuse the language] bracelet off me first." He added to Joey, who was about to suggest they melt the ice with his FIRE-attribute.
"Well, we know we can't do that." Seto grimaced. "I've tried removing those bracelets using just about every method I can think of. Nothing works. I don't think there's any way in the world to remove those things once they're attached to you." He said sadly, and Malik looked down in defeat.
"Enough of your sob stories, dragon-boy!" The Shadow Hunter barked, tired of being ignored. "You want to free your friend from his shackles, physical and metaphorical? You'll have to get through me first!"
"Like I haven't heard that before." Seto growled while rolling his eyes, activating his Duel Disk at the same time.
"Battle City rules-" The Hunter began, but Seto cut him off. "4000 Life Points. I know the drill. I've defeated twelve of you clowns already, so the terms are kinda second nature by now."
"You'll find that I'm a cut above those other losers, Kaiba! Even without Exodia, I can still wipe the floor with you and your pathetic deck! If you ask me, your other one was better." He taunted, trying to get a rise out of at least a few of the Guardians and possibly their leader. Seto just glared at him, not bothering to grace the comment with a response.
That's not to say that all of Seto's companions had the same self-control as he did. "What'd you jus' call us? Come over here an' say dat ta my fist, ya jerk!" Joey exploded, once again displaying his hot temper for the umpteenth time. [Pardon the pun.]
Seto just sweat-dropped at his companion's short fuse, then answered, "My regular deck has a different focus than this one. My strategy in the human world is usually beating down my opponents with raw power. But this world doesn't need another oppressive overlord. My deck of Guardians is meant to help fix this world, not make it worse. Besides, my deck here isn't complete yet, so to a beginner's eye it might look a bit weak- but only at first glance."
Mahaad grinned. "Well said, my prince." He complimented, gratitude in his teal eyes for the subtle compliment Seto had just given all of his teammates. The grin was a reaction to the subtle insult directed at their opponent.
"Oh, that's it! Your little 'quest' ends here, Kaiba!" Seeker snarled, activating his own Dark Disk.
"Bring it on." Seto challenged with a grin, his personal magic flaring in his eyes in excitement for the impending battle.
-Elsewhere-
The suited man paced back and forth angrily before his captive, wondering how in the mortal and dead worlds the Guardian had managed to claim the artifact in his possession and keep it from his Emperor for so long. He wondered also how the beast-warrior/man was able to survive freezing himself into the very walls of the Temple of Ice itself, surrounding himself with nearly twenty feet of solid, never-melting ice on all sides. He knew that the soul within the Guardian had not been accustomed to sub-zero temperatures in his previous life, and the beast-warrior itself was not suited for the cold either. Just the opposite, in fact. Both Guardian and Ka had existed in ancient Egypt, where the coldest it got was in the single digits (ºF). [At night, obviously. XD]
"Not so." A faint growl sounded behind the man, and he wheeled around in surprise to find 'Dark Bishop Daemon' [300/1400] watching him and his 'prisoner'. "Duos is a powerful swordsman, but he is most known in our world for his psychic abilities. He often meditates on the peaks of the coldest mountains, training both his mind and his body- though for what purpose no one can really say. Only he knows the methods behind his madness." And with that cryptic bit of information, the Fiend-type monster disappeared into shadows- once again leaving the man and his captive alone in the Temple of Ice.
Inside his self-imposed ice prison, Duos meditated in a deep, coma-like trance- awaiting the day when the dragon prince would ascend the peak of the mountain and free this shrine from the darkness that now gripped it. He could sense that the warrior and his fellow Guardians were near- perhaps even in the Shrine to the east of his mountain- and the spirit of the Guardian within him swelled with joy and pride. Joy in the fact that he would soon see his hikari again, and pride as he sensed how much his descendant had accomplished already- in so short a time.
"Seto-" The Guardian prayed. "-be safe, and may the gods go with you in your journey."
"It can't be! It's impossible! How could I lose to such a pathetic and incomplete deck as this?! This can't be happening! AAARRGH!" Seeker raged as he fell to his knees within the circle of blood-red light that encompassed him and was slowly shrinking around him. Seto was too busy equipping his reclaimed vambraces to his forearms, and didn't notice as Seeker lost his soul to the magic he'd thought would bring him victory.
"I swear there's still a bit of your goo on here, Malik." Seto teased as he inspected his right forearm piece with a critical eye.
"Yeah yeah, keep 'em comin'. I've heard 'em all by now." Malik sighed, waving off the ribbing and just letting it pass over his head. He knew the prince was only teasing. "Your dragon armor only absorbs things that'll make it stronger. It doesn't get dirty easy. Probably a good thing in your case. There's bound to be some pretty bloody battles ahead, especially if you plan on facing the Shadow King."
"Really?" Seto asked, honestly intrigued now that they were talking about his armor.
"Yeah, didn't you know? Dragon armor is special. It's magical, so it only 'accepts' things that will make it stronger, like dragon blood. Not that you'd ever kill a dragon- it's just an example- but their blood is extremely useful for a variety of things. Anything that's useless- like dirt or regular, non-magical blood- will just slide right off. The armor rejects it. I think the same goes for your sword, though I can't be sure because you don't have it back yet." The blob explained, and Seto looked at the armor pieces he'd reclaimed in wonder.
"Wow. Guess I don't have to worry about keeping it clean, then." The hero joked, and the Malik-shaped blob shrugged and smiled in agreement. "I doubt the same applies to your belt and scabbard, though. Those are just made of leather, right?" The blob asked, and Seto nodded. "The belt is just one of my old belts that I didn't use much, and the scabbard is made of old, broken belts that I re-formed and shaped with my magic. All things considered, I did a pretty decent job with it, since I was just going on memory of what a scabbard looks like."
"That means it does not carry any of your power within it." Mana interjected suddenly, making the young man and blob jump, startled. "If you made it in the human world, it will have none of your dragon strength here. And the same goes for your locket, my prince." She somehow knew that the piece of jewelry that Seto always wore was part of the set they had yet to reclaim.
Seto smiled sadly when he thought of the final- and most important- piece of his armor: the locket molded in the shape of a Duel Monster card that contained a picture of the most important person in his life, the person he loved with all his heart: his little brother Mokuba. The locket's twin hung around the young boy's neck, and- like Seto- he almost never removed it.
Mokuba- The young CEO thought. Please be all right. I'm coming.
End of chapter 13
Next chapter teaser: The Temple of Ice
Oh Ra. How will you guys ever forgive me for this alarmingly long hiatus? I won't blame Life for getting in the way, it was a total lack of inspiration and story content to actually put in this chapter. Writer's Block, y u so mean to poor authors like me? *sad whimper* What did I ever do to you?
All right, enough complaining out of me. On to the chapter content!
I know the youngest Ishtar's name is Malik- at least his good side- but Keith got their names confused. I don't really blame him either. They are very similar. In name only, Malik, so you can stop glaring at me like that!
*Malik stumps off, feeling insulted that I called he and his dark similar*
*Author shakes head* Touchy.
Up until VERY VERY recently the Guardian of the Golden Pyramid was going to be Shimon, and his Ka would be 'Protector God Exxod'. (I couldn't use Exodia for obvious reasons.) But then I realized that Exxod was far too powerful for Seto to have in his deck, as he's about as strong as Giant Divine Soldier of Obelisk. Not to mention he's HUGE.
The other reason I changed Guardians is that Shimon doesn't strike me as that interesting of a character. I mean, the show just treats him like an ordinary old man that happens to be Sugoroku/Solomon Mutou's incarnation. So- at pretty much the last minute- I changed both Guardian and Ka to a far younger, more interesting character, the one and only Malik Ishtar. You're welcome, fangirls. XD
I also got some laughs out of this change, because I made Malik's Ka 'Revival Slime'. He couldn't use Ra because one, he didn't have him anymore- having given the card to Atem in Battle City- and two because Ra's too powerful for Seto to have in his gathering of Guardians. Not to mention he's freakin' ENORMOUS.
Another reason I changed the Guardian was because I couldn't think of a reason why Bandit Keith would be interested in enslaving Shimon, whereas Malik would be a more 'fitting' Guardian for a pharaoh's tomb. (Irony. Oi.) He also relished the chance to exact his revenge on Malik for brainwashing him with the Millennium Rod, and he got his chance. Poor kid. XD
In case it wasn't clear in the chapter, Malik and his family are now living in the Egyptian city of Luxor, just a short distance away from the famous Valley of the Kings. His brother and sister are probably worried sick now, since he disappeared in the same manner that all the others did. I'm such an evil author to my borrowed characters, aren't I? ^-^'
Hana: Not just the borrowed ones. You're mean to your OCs too! *all my various OCs fold their arms and glare at me*
Me: YIPE! *runs and hides from Death Glares*
On that note, something worse than unconsciousness has gripped the youngest Ishtar after that attack from the Orichalcos Gigas, but like the evil author I am, I won't be telling you what it is! Not in this next chapter, anyway. You'll just have to guess, and maybe I'll tell you if you got it right if you review! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
Malik: *walks back in* So I'm actually a descendant of Black Magician Girl? Sweet!
Me: No, you're Mana's descendant. BMG is her Ka.
Malik: *shrugs* Same thing.
Oh, yeah, Seto's probably going to come back to the Dominion eventually after this whole 'Empire of Shadows' mess is over and take on Shadi's Capsule Monsters challenge. He did sound interested when Tristan mentioned it in 'Brothers in Time'. And maybe he'll bring Mokie along too. His best game is Capsule Monsters chess, after all. (According to the manga and Season 0, anyway.)
Seto: Hey! Only I'm allowed to call him 'Mokie'!
Me: Whatever. *mutters to self* Big baby.
Seto: I heard that!
Me: EEP!
If you recall, Atem tore up all of Seeker's Exodia cards after their duel, as he had cheated. I'm not entirely sure if he did that in the dubbed version, but he did in the subbed, which is what I watch. I'd forgotten that until recently, and that's another reason why I switched Guardians.
And instead of showing you lovely readers the very boring and anticlimactic battle that was Seeker vs. Seto, I decided to give you a little teaser of what's to come in the next chapter, sort of like a small amuse-bouche in a French restaurant. *le gasp* Could we finally have discovered where the Millennium Rod disappeared to?! I think we did! Squee! I've been wanting to let that cat out of the bag for a LONG time!
On that note, I'm guessing it's pretty obvious now who the Guardian of Ice is. Yeah, not very subtle, am I? XD
I borrowed a little tidbit from Harry Potter regarding Seto's armor. Like the goblin-made Sword of Godric Gryffindor, Seto's armor only accepts that which makes it stronger. Just borrowing, Ms. Rowling, I own nothing! (Except copies of books 1-7 and movies 1-8. Awesome series!)
I know I said last chapter that we'd see what was going on with Moki- er, Mokuba, but somebody had to go and shred my outline again. You do know that's supremely annoying, right? *glares at my muse*
*Seto just smirks evilly at me* Yeah, I know.
Sigh. What am I going to do with him?
Wow. Long author's comment. Thankfully we're at the end.
See you next chapter, and make sure to bundle up! It's gonna be cold on that mountain of ice!
God Bless!
Tsunami Storm