DISCLAIMER: This is a work of fanfiction produced for entertainment purposes only. Yu-Gi-Oh! and all related characters are the creations of Kazuki Takahashi.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Sorry for the long break! There are 2 new chapters for this fic so make sure you read them both!

Hearts, Souls and Shadows
Chapter 13: The Plan Unravels
By Shadow's Mirror

Alasdair stopped for the third time in as many minutes and listened intently before peering around the corner. His frown deepened for the third time in response to what he saw. "All clear." He sounded even less happy about it than he looked.

His companion eyed him curiously as they set off again. "I would have thought that was a good thing. You seem to believe otherwise." He took care to keep his voice barely above a whisper.

"Aye. Even with the cover the others be providing for us, we should nay be having such an easy time of it. This be the Pharaoh's throne room we be heading for, after all." He glanced at the other man. "The most well guarded room in the palace and we be nearly at the door without a single challenge. I nay like this, lad. Be ye sure ye wish to go ahead? This be having a bad smell all over it." He looked worried.

The magician's eldest son nodded and sighed softly. "I was thinking the same thing. I have no choice, though. I have to face him. But you do not. You could..." He trailed off at the look in the warrior's eyes.

"Could what? Could leave ye here with naught but vague plans and no one to get your back if it be needed? Nay. I gave my word. I will nay back down on it. I just wanted to be sure ye knew what we be heading into." He grinned then and the other man returned an answering smile.

"A trap. Yes, I know." The magician's son looked thoughtfully at the deceptively ordinary doors ahead. If Alasdair, who knew the palace inside-out, hadn't been with him, he would have walked by them without a second glance. He'd expected the doors to the Pharaoh's throne room to be more impressive. Which was probably the reason why they weren't. But, no matter what they looked like, the important thing was what lay waiting for them on their other side. "What sort of a trap, though? That is the important question."

Alasdair considered. "There be a hidden door that leads to another room. My guess, guards will be in there, waiting for us. Likely some will circle round to follow us in, barring escape."

His companion nodded. "Yes, that is likely. But, from the little I know of the Pharaoh, he will not call them right away. He will bide his time, allowing us to think we have won before he shows his hand." He looked at Alasdair and smiles a little. "That is how he plays his games, is it not?"

"Aye." Alasdair smiled at the accuracy of the assessment. "That be exactly so." His smile faded as he remembered the last time he had been in the room ahead of them. "That be how I survived against him. I hit him hard and fast. I could tell he was going easy on me and guessed what he had planned, so I nay brought out my strongest monster. Merely had him ready to go. When he made his move, I was ready for it and countered. He nay expected that. It came down to one last turn. He beat me, but by so little his power nay had the same effect on me as it had his other opponents."

"I see." His companion nodded. "Then that is what we will do here, also. I will go in alone. When he makes his move, you come in. It will be the last thing he expects." He didn't add that the time before the Pharaoh made his move might be long enough for him to talk the Pharaoh into challenging him. If that happened, the Pharaoh would never make his move with the guards and Alasdair would remain safely out of whatever happened. It was a good plan.

As the magician's son moved forward and grasped the handle of the throne room doors, he ignored the little voice inside him whispering that it was good plans that most often went wrong.

Fear and bewilderment filling her heart, the magician's youngest daughter listened to the sounds of battle elsewhere in the palace. She had no idea what was happening, only an instinctive feeling that one, or both, of her younger brothers was somehow involved in it. Not for the first time since the sounds had begun, she wished she was free of the chamber she'd been locked in, so she could go in search of the source and see for herself what was going on.

She moved away from the door, too tense to remain still for another moment. Pacing the room eased her a little. Enough that she was able to set aside her fear and think clearly again.

It sounded as if an army had come to the palace. With luck, the Pharaoh was busy with fighting them. If she could get out of the room, she might be able to escape the palace and... what then?

With a heavy sigh, she left her pacing and dropped into a chair, sagging back into it in despair.

Her family was scattered. Her home was lost to her. Things would never again be as they once were. She had nowhere to go and no one to go to. She had nothing, except a feeling that her brothers yet lived. While she was sure of that, the fact remained that she did not know where they were, or if they would ever return to find her. Which all meant one thing...

For the time being, she was on her own.

No sooner had that thought formed in her mind when she heard the key turn in a lock and the door to the chamber was eased open. As the magician's daughter looked over in surprise, the little servant girl who had brought her food earlier slipped inside and eased the door shut again. The child kept her back to the door, her eyes appearing overly large in her thin face as she looked at the older girl, biting her lip and looking as if she would faint at any moment.

The child's obvious fear stirred emotions buried deeply inside the magician's daughter. There was something about this little girl that called to some previously unnoticed maternal instinct within her. Or perhaps she simply reminded her of the other child that her eldest sister had tried to trap her with. With effort, she forced the memories from earlier that night back into the deepest shadows in her mind. This was not the time for it. She focused all of her attention on the frightened child trembling before her.

"What is it, child? Whatever is going on out there?" The magician's daughter kept her voice low and gentle, trying her best to calm her terrified visitor.

The little girl bit her lip harder and it seemed at first that she could not bring herself to speak, but then she took a deep breath and, in a soft voice made even softer by her fear, she said the last thing the older girl expected to hear. "The prisoners have all escaped from the dungeon. If you want to escape too, I'll help you." She clamped her mouth shut, her last words taking all of her courage to say and draining it all in the process.

"Oh! Thank you, but... they would punish you for it." The magician's daughter felt torn. On the one hand, this was her chance to leave. On the other hand though, how could she do so, knowing this precious child would likely feel her sister's wrath as a result? Unless...

"Will you come with me?" She spoke before the idea was anything more than a slender thread of thought in her mind, but didn't regret doing so. The words sounded so right. Their effect on the child made her even surer.

The little girl's eyes widened more with surprise, the flash of hope easily recognisable before hard-earned caution made her visibly push that hope back down again. "I will get you out of the palace."

The magician's daughter stood and moved slowly nearer until she was only a few feet from the child. She smiled gently at her and held out her hand. "That was not what I meant. But it will do as a starting point. Perhaps you have family that you do not wish to leave."

"No. I have no one." The little girl hesitated before slipping her tiny hand into the older girl's.

Not wishing to push too hard so soon, the magician's daughter didn't refute that. A gentle squeeze was all the reply she allowed herself. It was enough. The child was smiling shyly as she opened the door again and led her new friend out.

"Well well. Who dares to enter my throne room without permission? As if I did not already know."

The Pharaoh's cold smile usually sent shivers up the spine of almost all who saw it, but the young man who had just slipped into the room looked steadily back at him, his eyes serious and unafraid.

"If you know who I am, then that makes this easier. I have come to stop you." He had to raise his voice to be sure it was heard, and it echoed faintly in the cavernous room as he closed the door behind him. He took the opportunity granted by the Pharaoh's answering laugh to glance around without being noticed. There was no one in sight other than the Pharaoh, seated in his throne on the far side of the room. He began to walk towards him.

"Give up quietly. You cannot hope to win against me."

The Pharaoh looked amused by that as well, but did not laugh again. His eyes never left the young man approaching him as he sneered at him. "Win? You imply that we are opponents in a battle that does not exist. Except in your deluded mind, perhaps. Why would I have need to win against you? I am the Pharaoh of Egypt. You are nothing. No, you are less than nothing." He smiled his cold smile again. "I have nothing to fight for. I have already won the ultimate prize. I have even won a little something extra. Just to sweeten the deal."

As he spoke, the magician's eldest daughter stepped out from where she'd been waiting for her cue, hidden out of sight behind the great throne.

"This is a family reunion, is it not, my dear? How very touching." The amusement was still in the man's voice, along with the sarcasm he didn't bother trying to disguise.

"Indeed, my Pharaoh." Her voice was a low purr of silk and her smile was just as cold and cruel as the Pharaoh's, as she eyed her younger brother. It also had the same lack of result on the young man still walking calmly towards them, his eyes never shifting from the Pharaoh's face as he ignored his sister completely.

He spoke quietly as he kept moving forward. "You may have the throne and the power that comes with it, but you do not have the magic you deceived my father for. The magic that you need if you are to keep your throne. Already, the few little things you did when you first gained the throne are fading from memory. You have done nothing but the games since then. People have noticed. How long do you suppose it will be before some of them realise how weak you truly are?" It was a good taunt, made all the better by being completely true.

A flash of anger, swiftly controlled, was the only sign that the barb had hit its intended mark. Then the mask fell back into place as the Pharaoh sneered. "Weak? Oh no. Hardly that. I know exactly what the problem is and I have taken... steps... to ensure that it will not be a problem for much longer. Soon, very soon, all of Egypt will know my power in all its glory." His smile was malicious but also smug and the young man had to fight to keep from shivering as an icy chill ran up his spine at the sight of it. "But come, you surely did not come here just to try and insult me. All this way from the dungeons... with your companion."

The young man couldn't stop a slight reaction at the mention of Alasdair and the Pharaoh's smile widened at it. "Oh yes. I know all about you both. Did you truly believe that you managed to reach me without being noticed? How quaint. Or perhaps you knew and came anyway. Did you think you could trick me? Taunt me into challenging you, perhaps? Ah, but I have been warned about you. Your beloved sister here could not speak about you enough. Your skills with magic. How your dear father taught you everything he knows." He sneered as the young man slowed his approach slightly. "Or perhaps you thought you could use that servant to challenge me in your place? Is that why you brought him here with you? Or did he perhaps wish a rematch with me of his own accord?" He smirked. "Such a pity that I have no intention of satisfying either of your wishes. Guards!"

The young man frowned as he stopped walking. So much for his plan. Or maybe not... If the Pharaoh was not going to challenge him, there was still one thing he could try to get his plan back on track.

Ignoring the men streaming in through a door on the other side of the throne room, the young man lifted his head and spoke softly but clearly. "Pharaoh! I challenge you to a Shadow Game!" The moment the words left his mouth, silence fell in the room. Even the guards were shocked at the unprecedented event.

Everyone knew that to challenge this Pharaoh to a Shadow Game was beyond foolish.

The silence was broken by a sound that filled the hearts of all who heard it with dread.

The Pharaoh was laughing.

The younger brother and his companion made their way to the kitchens via the corridor that ran along the front section of the palace. They walked quietly and quickly but made no effort to try and remain undetected. Instead, they acted like regular palace servants carrying out a task, whenever they ran into someone else. Not that there were many others around. It seemed all of the guards were attending to the escaped prisoners and the servants they saw all seemed to be fleeing from the palace themselves. The girl finally managed to stop one of them long enough to find out what was going on.

Word had spread through the servants about the prisoners' escape and many of them were taking the chance to escape as well. The two were advised to do the same, as the Pharaoh and his 'lady' were likely to be furious after the dust settled. Especially since the Pharaoh's own guards had been called to the throne room to protect him from the two prisoners who had started the revolt.

When the frightened servant had scurried off again, the young boy turned to his companion, worried. "One of those two prisoners has to be my brother. I'm sure of it. I was right. Something went wrong for him, just as it did for me. He's gone to challenge the Pharaoh to a Shadow Game."

The girl bit her lip and nodded. "Are we still looking for your sister?"

He nodded back. "We have to find her. But when we do, you should go with her, out of the palace."

"What about you?" The girl frowned slightly.

"I..." He looked unsure. "I don't know. I was supposed to go too but... Things have gone so wrong, my brother might need my help."

"Then we'll find your sister and work things out from there. All right?"

At her reassuring smile, the young boy smiled back and nodded. "That sounds like a..." He paused, the word 'plan' forgotten on his tongue as he heard sounds nearby. "Someone's coming." They quickly started moving again, back to acting like servants as they continued along the corridor.

Up ahead, the corridor turned. The two had almost reached it when two others came around the corner. The wide-eyed and frightened little girl caught the young boy's attention immediately, so when her companion spoke, he was caught by surprise.

"Brother!"

He blinked at the girl's companion, too shocked to believe what his eyes were telling him. Then he smiled.

"Sister!"

They ran into each others' arms and hugged tightly. The girl had to fight to keep back her tears. "You are alive! I knew it. I knew it. But when I saw... Oh I am so glad. So very glad!" The words tumbled out of her.

He nodded and hugged her again. "I know. I am sorry you saw that. I am fine. Truly."

She looked around and he shook his head. "No, he is not with us. He is in the throne room, I think. They took him to the dungeons. The 'deepest, darkest dungeon', on our sister's instructions." He shivered at the memory of it.

The little girl frowned slightly. "That is where..." She immediately fell silent as the other three looked at her and put her head down, as if scared that she'd spoken out of turn.

The magician's daughter smiled gently as she knelt down in front of the child. "It is all right, little one. If you know something, will you please tell us? I am so worried about my younger brother."

"That is where they put Dare." Such a timid little voice, but she said it without hesitation.

"Dare?" The three all said it at once, causing the little girl to smile a bit. She nodded.

"That's what he said to call him. None of us could say his full name. It was too hard." She looked around at the three older ones, her eyes worried and sad. "I like Dare. He was angry with the Pharaoh, though. He challenged him to a game. He lost and the Pharaoh threw him in the dungeon. The deepest, darkest dungeon."

The three blinked at that. "That dungeon, specifically?" The young boy looked thoughtful. "So that's what the guard who escorted me meant. Well, it seems Brother turned the situation to work for him, at least." He looked at his sister. "We were on our way to the kitchens to try to find out from a servant where you were. But I guess now we should all get out of here, instead." He frowned slightly. "Why are you shaking your head? The plan was to get you to safety."

"While our brother does what? Challenge the Pharaoh?" The young boy's wince was all the confirmation she needed.

"That will not work. My new friend here," she nodded towards the little girl, who smiled happily at her new title as if it was a precious gift, "just finished telling me that the Pharaoh does not play Games anymore. He has not done so for the past few days, where he was playing all he could, before that. She overheard some other servants talking about it. They also said he has been speaking with our eldest sister a great deal. I believe she has promised him that she and our other sister will aid him and so he is gathering his magic, unwilling to 'waste' it on the Games. If our sisters have learned how to keep their items from reacting to his, I may be the only one stopping him, now." She looked a little scared as she voiced what had been no more than a thought at the back of her mind until then, but even as her words still hung in the air, her back straightened and her voice became more sure. "I have to find our brother."

"Then I am coming with you." At her startled look, the boy shook his head. "You are right. Our brother will not be able to do this alone."

She nodded. "Very well." She looked at the other girl and smiled at her. "Forgive me, but might I ask a favour? Could you take this little one out of the palace? Somewhere safe..." She paused and looked down as the child tugged on her sleeve. "What is wrong, little one?"

"I... I will go with you." The little one was obviously terrified... but also seemed determined. "Dare will be there. He said he would challenge the Pharaoh again if he got out. The guards said so. They were laughing about it, but I know Dare. He keeps his word."

"He is a friend to you?" At the little girl's nod, the sister smiled gently and nodded back. "Then I like him already. Come, then, but keep out of sight when we get there." She took her hand and squeezed it. "I do not know what is going to happen, but it may not be good."

The little girl nodded.

"I will come too, if I may?" The other girl looked at the boy. "I want to help him. I mean..." She blushed.

He smiled a little. "All right. But stay with this child. At the first sign of trouble, get her out of the palace."

"I can do that." She nodded and he again noticed the gleam of excitement in her eyes. It worried him, but he remained quiet.

He looked around at their little group. "So, new plan. We go to wherever the Pharaoh is. Because chances are strong that is also where our brother is, by now."

As the others nodded in agreement, the little girl bit her lip. She looked very shy as she softly spoke up. "The throneroom. It is not far. We just passed the corridor that leads to it."

The sister smiled at her. "Then lead the way, child."

As the four of them set off, the boy tried very hard to ignore the sense of foreboding filling his heart. If the Pharaoh was no longer playing games, the chances of ending this easily were all but gone.

As the guards stood poised to receive their instructions, the laughter of the man seated on the golden throne at the back of the room filled the chamber. It wasn't a pleasant sound. More than a couple of the guards shuddered to hear it. It was a sound of humourless mirth but there was an odd edge to it. He stopped laughing before anyone could identify it. As the young man again started moving towards him, the guards also moved. The Pharaoh held up his hand to stop them as he sneered at his would-be opponent.

"You think you, a nothing, a nobody, the son of a nothing and a nobody, have the right to challenge me to a Game? I am the Pharaoh. All of Egypt bows before me. Those in the lands beyond... in this world and the next... bow before me." His eyes gleamed as his sneer twisted in a cruel smile. "Perhaps I should make you bow before me, also."

The young man kept moving forward. "Never." He spoke softly. "The laws of this land say that anyone may challenge anyone else to a Game. Birth or fortune do not matter."

"True. But as Pharaoh... I am the law of this land. Challenges do not need to be accepted and I will not accept yours." His sneer reappeared for a moment before his eyes became hard and cold. "Nor will I accept the challenge from your companion. Although it appears he has abandoned you, since you are here alone."

The moment the Pharaoh said the words, the young man knew what the result would be and mentally consigned his lovely plan on a one-way flight out of the nearest window. He also steeled himself. When the loud crash echoed through the room a moment later, he was the only one there who didn't start in surprise.

"He nay be alone!"

Angry footsteps sounded behind him, but the young man's eyes remained focused on the Pharaoh. He sensed rather than saw his headstrong companion move to stand by his side.

The Pharaoh sneered at the servant who had just kicked the door in, as he held up his hand again to stop the guards who had, rather belatedly, begun to move towards this new threat. "Well now... and here I thought I had seen the last of you when I sent you to the dungeon. The deepest, darkest dungeon, as I recall. It will be difficult to find somewhere worse to put you... however, I relish the challenge."

Before either the young man or Alasdair could reply, a new voice spoke up from behind them. Around where the door had been until a minute earlier.

"Then you will need to take all of us. Because none of us will let you take either of them so easily."

The voice was young, but rang with such confidence that the Pharaoh instinctively turned his head to see who dared speak so against him. At his side, Akila's eyes widened slightly and then narrowed into a frown.

The young man didn't need to turn around, but he felt Alasdair do so. "My brother." He muttered quietly in introduction.

"More of your sisters also?" The murmur was so soft he nearly missed it and he was almost sure he'd misheard. He glanced around and blinked when he saw his younger brother heading for them, a female following on either side of him.

"The older one is... the other is..." He frowned very slightly as he tried to remember. He knew her. He was sure he'd seen her before, at least. "I think she is a neighbour of ours."

"Lad... she be almost as fair as the fair Rhonwhen."

The murmured comment nearly made the young man smile, but the urge was quickly forgotten as his younger brother came to stand at his other side. He glanced at him and arched an eyebrow. The boy merely shrugged slightly in reply. Then there was no more chance for conversation.

The bang of the Pharaoh's staff on the tiled floor rang out. The man glared at them all. "I see you intend to make a mockery of me! Such nobodies coming here, daring to stand before me! Bow! You should all be bowing before me!" The odd note that had been in his laugh earlier was now in his voice, but it was still not quite identifiable. He struck the staff on the floor again. "Guards!"

As the guards began to move forward, though, Akila smiled. "Please, my Pharaoh, allow me. I will make them all bow before you." Before the man could do more than frown and start to glance at her, the magician's eldest daughter had extended her hand towards them. "Bow!"

She was in full control of her item. Her magic burst out of her extended hand like a bolt of black lightning and headed for them... only to suddenly stop within a foot from them all. It wavered, as if unsure and Akila frowned. "Bow!" Visibly angry, she was obviously trying to force the bolt to obey her will, but something was stopping it.

An unseen wind began to rise around them. The more Akila tried to force the magic towards them, the more the wind rose, fluttering their clothes and hair.

The youngest sister stepped forward, moving slightly in front of her brothers and their companions, her item glowing as she tried to defend them; tried to fight back against Akila's item. Much to her surprise, her item was responding a little to her desperate wish, but it was more glow than power. Barely working, it wasn't the source of the protecting mage wind. She knew she had to pretend that it was, however, in an attempt to shield the truth from the Pharaoh.

Her item was not the only thing glowing in response to Akila's use of the Shadow Magic.

Realising the danger, her brother tried to move but it was too late. The glow had been noticed.

"Well well... what have we here?" The Pharaoh's smile was cold and calculating, his eyes gleaming with desire and a hunger for more power. "It seems, my dear, that your little show has proven more entertaining than I expected. Your brother appears to have brought me a gift. A token of respect from his father, no doubt, for his Pharaoh."

Akila looked confused. "What? But Father did not make..." She looked at her brothers and they both saw the moment she realised that they did indeed have an item for themselves. "So... he was holding out on me all this time. He made something for himself." Her eyes narrowed and she moved as if she was going to charge her brother physically.

"Enough, woman!" The Pharaoh's icy glare seemed to bring her back to her senses. "Enough of your meaningless chatter! Be silent!" He looked at his guards. "Guards. Seize them all. Then kill the two with the glowing objects. It will be far easier to hunt down the new bearers and turn them to my side."

As the guards headed for the small group, the Pharaoh settled back in his throne to enjoy the show. His lips twisted slightly, forming his coldest, most merciless smile.

To be continued...