A/N: This chapter took a bit longer than I expected, but with good reason. I did not want to submit this chapter without being betaed (I proved to be quite right in this desire, as the entire chapters is four point six times better now), and that proved difficult. For whatever reason, Loki saw fit to unleash a stream of plagues upon my beta, including pestilence, locusts and Gundam Wing. Gundam Wing isn't a plague, but it does consume time. In any case, she did a great job, so special thanks to Tawnykit this chapter.
Disclaimer: Kazuki Takahashi owns Yu-Gi-Oh! I am not Kazuki Takahashi. Therefore, I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!
Chapter Twenty-Five: Double-Edged Sword
The air was thick. It was a ridiculous observation, but to Serenity, the first few steps into the temple felt almost like swimming. Even if Naphar hadn't led them to believe the structure was filled with spirits, she imagined she would've come to the same conclusion by herself. Each of the four comrades carried a torch, illuminating the dark hallways for a short distance ahead. The air seemed resilient to the assault of the torches.
As the path they trod began a slow decline, Damien pushed ahead of the rest of the group. Restlessly, he cast the light of his torch on the walls of the ruin. "I've been in my fair share of ancient ruins before. I've never seen any without wall writings of some kind," he stated speculatively.
"I don't think you've ever been in a Venyoran ruin before," Sagaelen replied. "How do you know they even had wall writings when this was built?"
"Then drawings, something!" Damien said irately. "There's nothing here. It's too plain, y'know?"
"Be quiet," Seto interrupted. "Our enemies are near."
Damien nodded, but strode ahead of the group again. Suddenly, the decline stopped and the rogue walked out into a massive chamber. The light of their torches was insufficient, but the size of the room could be felt more than seen. No ceiling could be spotted overhead, but not a one of them would have denied its oppressive presence. Around them, walls rose only three metres before ending abruptly.
Seto looked aroundbefore leaping to the top of one of the walls. He had nearly gained his feet when suddenly he was struck by a blur of black and green. Tumbling to the ground, the prince had his weapon drawn before he struck, but his aggressor was nowhere to be seen.
"What the hell?" he cursed.
Not far behind, Sagaelen looked up curiously. He grabbed a small chunk of stone from the cold floor and tossed it up above the limit of the walls. The black-green streak snatched it out of the air, vanishing back into the darkness.
"I don't think we're supposed to climb the walls," Serenity suggested.
Seto nodded. "Agreed. Looks like we're going to have to follow the passages."
The group navigated their way down the tunnels, and the walls began to split and merge and divide into dozens of other passages and hallways. It took none of them very long to realize that it was a labyrinth. "I guess a bird's eye view might be of some use to us," Sagaelen whined.
"Nothing we can do. I guess they anticipated that we'd try that," Damien said.
It didn't take them long to begin the hunt through the labyrinth in earnest. None knew exactly what they were looking for, yet they expended quite a few possibilities of where it might be. Finally, they reached what seemed to be the opposite side of the chamber they had entered initially.
"A fork," Damien observed. "Left or right?"
"Let's head right," Serenity suggested, and strode to march down the hallway. Her foot ignorantly knocked aside a small bit of limestone. Seto never saw the trap.
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"Lord Jophiel, I wonder if I might ask you a question," Raguel said cordially as he met the prelate in the halls of the Royal Palace.
"Certainly," Jophiel replied. "I always encourage such behaviour."
"Indeed, and that is why I feel comfortable asking you, though I know it is not my place to ask. What is it that Lord Azrael has been searching for so earnestly?"
Jophiel turned to regard the blackguard, though he never broke stride in his brisk march down the hall. "Isn't that a question more fitted for Azrael?"
"Yes," Raguel admitted. "But I assume it has something to do with the deiprelate's designs. And I know that you are privy to those. I only ask because there are rumours that Lord Remiel plans to summon the Forbidden One."
At that, Jophiel did stop. "Who has said such a thing?"
Raguel looked down, fearing to meet Jophiel's gaze. He had no intention of allowing Starke to be executed when he still proved so invaluable, and yet he doubted he'd be able to mislead the prelate. "I… hear whispers of such things, my lord," he answered.
For a few brief, agonizing moments Jophiel scrutinized Raguel. Finally satisfied, he shook his head and chuckled slightly. "Don't listen to such whispers," he advised. "The Church has many enemies, but Deiprelate Remiel works only for the good of those in this world."
"Of… of course, my Lord," Raguel answered. He almost asked about the piece of metal that he had been given earlier that had allowed him to locate the boy on the beach. But somehow, he doubted that Jophiel had any answers for him.
The prelate turned and continued down the hall, exiting into another chamber. Raguel leaned against the wall and ran a hand through his thick red hair. Jophiel had always been a source of wisdom and peace. If he wouldn't tell him what he wanted to know, it was obvious no one in the church would. Still, something in the mercenary's eyes told him that, at the very least, Starke was confident that he was right.
He pulled the familiar piece of metal out of his pouch and turned it over in his hands. It was cold, smooth, featureless, and yet Raguel had seen the light that it produced. Now, it was dark. Whatever special trait it was that Azrael required, no one in Cobalt had it. Suddenly, the answer found Raguel. He strode out of the palace and into Cobalt. He knew who had his answer.
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The prince acted purely on instinct, and he was leaping through the air before he realized that he had moved. His path took him straight to the wall; he kicked off hard and snatched Serenity from underneath the path of the falling limestone block. The girl yelped, but Seto was already in a headlong roll. He rolled clear of the path of the block, but the floor did not possess the strength to withstand the blow. He and the girl fell along with the collapsing floor, tumbling down another story.
The dust settled. Seto had dropped his torch above and Serenity's had fallen when Seto grabbed her. The only light filtered in from the floor above, where they were separated from their companions by a two ton piece of limestone. It lay against the remnants of the broken floor, and even with the minimal light available it was clear to the prince that there would be no climbing back up.
"Are you alright?" he asked the petite girl in his arms.
"Fantastic," Serenity coughed. "What happened?"
"You sprung a trap," Seto answered.
"So you got to save me after all," she quipped. "You can let go now."
"Hng?" the prince grunted. He realized suddenly that he was still clutching her to himself, and he eased her to the ground. Leaning over her, he ran a hand along each of her limbs to ensure nothing had broken. Satisfied, his hand finally settled on her cheek. "I am glad that you are safe," he commented.
"Thanks to you," she admitted.
"As I recall, that means I'm only down one," he replied.
Serenity giggled, and then coughed again. Dust seemed to fill her lungs, but she suppressed another cough. After all, there wasn't actually any dust.
Producing a pair of sunglasses from a pouch at his waist, the prince quickly rose to his feet. He slipped the glasses on, shifting his entire world into a field of silver silhouettes. Serenity arose beside him, and placed a hand on his shoulder to try and get a sense of where she was. "Well, too bad we couldn't keep hold of a torch, hmm?"
"We'll be alright," he said calmly. He ensnared her hand in his own, running his thumb over hers, and gave it a slight squeeze. "Trust me?"
"Yes."
The prince smiled slightly and began to lead the girl down the narrow passages. Serenity struggled to keep up, but didn't comment. It was one thing to be led by the hand, but to ask him further to slow down would be intolerable. For whatever reason, the AI's opinion was quickly becoming very important to her. He twisted down passages until finally they came to a case of stairs running downward. Seto grabbed her shoulder to stop her and told her what was ahead.
"So what do we do?" she asked. "It seems like we need to head down to find our enemies, but our friends are above us."
"We descend. Damien and Sagaelen will catch up. Or if they don't, they can stay behind. It's irrelevant."
"You're just going to leave them behind?"
"We have no time," Seto asserted. "If we wait for them, they may unlock the card. And I can't let that happen."
Serenity glanced back over her shoulder and hesitated. Finally, she nodded. "Alright, let's go."
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Damien peered through the dust and nodded, satisfied that his comrades weren't among the rubble of the collapse. "Fine. Still, if we were to be separated, I really wish I could've been with the girl."
"You're telling me. Mind you, I would be thankful that I wasn't in that disaster," Sagaelen replied.
"You think he would've bailed you out?" Damien asked with a smirk. He turned and strode down the still intact section of the fork. Sagaelen opened his mouth to protest, but simply marched after him instead.
"Hurry up," Damien called as Sagaelen fell behind. "Seto won't be waiting for us, and they have a floor head start."
Sagaelen couldn't help but take a tentative glance around as he pursued Damien. The air felt wrong in the temple, and smelt heavily of death. There was something in the dark.
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"This might be an obstacle," Seto stated. Ahead, the passageway seemed a dead end. Nevertheless, Seto seemed certain that this was their route.
"Do you think there's another way around?"
The prince grunted. "Probably. But listen." He strode to the wall and struck it lightly with his sword. The wall rang out the sound of steel on stone, but the tone was distinctly hollow. "There's a mechanism to open this. It must be on the other side."
"So what do we do now? We could wait. Maybe Damien and Sagaelen will open it from the other side," Serenity suggested.
"It seems unlikely. But then again, it might happen. In either case, now's as good a time as any to stop for a short while. I need to think out where we're headed. This place is a maze," he muttered.
Serenity smirked. "Really? You can't find your way in the dark on the spur of the moment? Dear Seto, you must be slipping."
As he sat, the prince quirked an eyebrow at the redhead. "You're evil, do you know that?"
The girl sat beside her prince. "Pride myself on it. I learned it from you."
"Oh sure," Seto replied, "blame it on me. I think you simply bothered to hide it better before you met me."
"And how would you know how I acted before I met you?" Serenity asked sceptically.
"Oh, I can tell," the prince replied, leaning in toward the girl. "You lapse back to it every time you want to hide from me."
"Why would I want to hide from you?" Serenity pressed, inching forward to her prince.
"Because I'm terrifying."
"And how are you terrifying?" she giggled.
The prince's nose met Serenity's, as he replied, "I'm the worst kind of terrifying. I'm honest." He kissed her soundly, and Serenity leaned toward him. In a few short moments they were entwined together, before Serenity finally pulled away from Seto.
"You are terrifying," she said heatedly. "You understand me better than anyone I've ever known and I don't know why."
"Because," the prince replied, "I've been down the same path as you. The only difference is that I never had anyone to catch me, and you had too many. I suppose we could both do a little better on understanding who we need to catch us and when."
Serenity smiled. "I'll catch you."
"Will you? I just hope when I fall, I won't take you with me…"
The redhead brushed the hair away from Seto's eyes and peered into them. He was trying to say something, and she knew that if he didn't say it it might be lost forever. But something held him back. "What are you saying, Seto?" she implored him.
"I…" Seto began. And suddenly, the wall ahead slid into the floor with a moan. A blast of dead air spewed forth, carried on the not-quite-there voice of nothing. The prince turned immediately to regard it and exhaled slightly. "Let's go." He stood quickly and lowered Serenity to the floor. Serenity almost protested, but it was obvious that the prince had clammed up again. Offering him her hand, he led her down the passage again.
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"What purpose does that lever serve? It doesn't seem to have done anything!" Sagaelen groaned as he lifted his hand from the stone bar jutting out of the wall.
"It must serve some purpose," Damien replied with a shrug. "We'll have to figure it out once we get further in. Maybe a door opened. It must have been something," he postulated, nodding to the shattered bodies of the lever's guardians on the ground below. They had been Dark Assailants; the weak zombies had proven little threat. But nevertheless, Damien knew they must have been guarding the lever for a reason.
"Or closed," Sagaelen argued after a moment.
"Or closed," Damien admitted. "But there's no point in lingering here. Let's go on ahead, we still have to catch up with Seto and Serenity."
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Torneko eagerly placed the bag of Mokus in his register and moved toward his filing cabinet. As the customer exited, the door swung shut behind him, leaving the small shop in silence. Quietly, the merchant filed his cards, humming some obscure tune. Once he was satisfied, he moved across the shop to find his lunch. He nearly screamed.
Raguel stepped out of the corner of the shop and crossed the short distance to the counter. His black cloak hung about his shoulders as he towered over the stocky salesman. He imagined he must have looked very intimidating. All the better.
"H-how can I help the most illustrious commander of the blackguard?" he stammered.
The solider reached into the pouch obscured by his yellow sash and produced the black slab of metal. He lobbed it onto the countertop with one motion and recoiled inside the blackguard-issue cloak. "Do you know what that is?"
Torneko shrugged. "Judging by the dent it left in my counter… iron?"
Raguel hissed at the shop keep. Ordinarily, he left such tactics to the blackguards under him. They were, however, undeniably effective. Torneko recoiled and finally inspected the piece of metal.
"It's… it's an indicator of some kind. The metal must come from somewhere specific, and it likely detects people from that same area. Then again, this is only a replica. Well, it's not active now, anyway. And," the merchant pointed the piece of metal to the west, nodding slightly, "it doesn't seem to have any affinity for the Serendipity Islands or Venyore either."
"Where else is there?"
Torneko shrugged. Keeping the slab at arms length, he turned slowly in a circle. Finally, he dropped the metal of the counter again. "Nothing close enough. That rules out the Terminus Mountains too. I can't think of any other place that we know for certain exists. Maybe it's from Atlantis, or Mithos, or Japan," he suggested with a chuckle.
Raguel's eyes widened, but he managed to hide his surprise from the merchant. He forced a chuckle. "Perhaps," he said darkly. He retrieved the slab with a quick motion and deposited it back in the bag. The blackguard left in a flourish.
Again on the streets of Cobalt, Raguel quickly strode into an alley not far down the street. He followed the back roads for some distance, eventually reaching a small, run down house. All the windows were boarded up, and the house itself had been condemned long ago. He knocked.
"Who is it?" came a voice.
"Raguel."
The door swung open. Raguel entered hurriedly and sat down at a small wooden table just inside the door. He looked at the small, dirty man that lived in the house. "Tell me everything you know about Japan."
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Damien and Sagaelen charged down the stairs, eager to make up lost time on the other pair of adventurers. As they did, they came face to face with their quarry, descending an opposing staircase. Serenity and Seto looked equally shocked to see the others. A moment passed awkwardly.
"Oh good, you're fine," Sagaelen commented finally.
"Indeed. Shall we?" Seto said flatly.
Damien nodded. Both pairs of adventurers turned down the last remaining downward staircase and each found their way blocked by the other group. For a moment, the image of inept cartoon cops leapt to Serenity's mind, and she stifled a giggle. Damien pushed past the other three with a groan. The rogue led the group down and suddenly called them to a halt as they reached the bottom of the stairs. "They're ahead," he whispered to the others
Seto hardly seemed fazed. He brushed past the rogue and strode down the centre of the enormous chamber. Either side was lined with massive support pillars, and the pedestal was clearly positioned in the centre of the chamber. Shapes flitted through the pillars and flew around the roof above; trapped, malevolent spirits brooded in the perpetual darkness. There were not more than a dozen holy guardsmen and only one blackguard. The prince broke into a run.
Behind him, Damien slipped into the shadows cast by the pillars. Serenity quickly conjured Kagemusha, sending him in pursuit of the prince. Only Sagaelen seemed unsure of what to do. He decided to recline against the wall. Seto's footfalls were nearly silent, but his arrival was still detected. The holy guardsmen readied their pikes for his charge.
"Halt!" came the cry from the blackguard. Seto ignored it. "In the name of the Empress of Venyore." Seto stopped.
"What?"
"We are here on the permission of the Empress of Venyore," the blackguard repeated. "Any attack on us would risk starting a war."
"You're lying," Seto said coldly. "We're here with the Empress. She's waiting outside."
"She is?" the blackguard commented with a smirk. "How interesting. Perhaps, then, I should rephrase. She will be certain to give us her permission to be here. After all, this is simply a retaliatory measure. Venyore violated our territory first."
"I've heard enough," Seto interjected.
"What are you going to do?" the blackguard asked as Kagemusha reached the prince's side. "Even with that useless monster, you're outnumbered six to one."
The prince simply shrugged. "Easy odds."
Seto acted first, lunging toward the holy guardsmen. Predictably, they lowered their halberds at him, but it proved to be an ineffective barrier. The prince's sword dived down, driving the weapons aside. Quickly, he spun between the two and raised his blade into the spin, decapitating both. He swatted the next wave of halberds up just in time to render the guards defenceless for the charge of the summoned monster. The swordsman attacked the first guard ferociously, his blade and staff tearing into the eunuch.
The prince, however, felt no safer with the monster at his back. A massive left sweep of his blade parried another three pole weapons aside, but the move left him exposed from behind. There was no time to finish the mutes. Instead, he slid through the wave, letting his trailing leg twist to trip one of the holy soldiers. He was beside the next soldier before he was ever aware of it, and the soldier was swiftly dealt a lethal blow to the chest. The move brought the prince between another pair, and they both thrust their weapons toward their foe. Seto spun furiously, knocking both back and parrying the blows, and charged past. The blackguard was in his sight.
His target, however, was not so unprepared as the holy guard. The blackguard held a mace in either hand, and met the prince's charge with one of his own. Obviously, he hoped to drive his opponent back at his foes behind him. It was a risk Seto couldn't take. Instead, he dove into a roll that took him past the blackguard. When he regained his feet a moment later, the blackguard had already renewed his attack. Seto met both weapons head-on, locking one in the spur of his blade and pressing against the other, forcing the blackguard to try and outdo the prince's superior strength.
"Stop!"
Seto turned, not because of the cry, but because of who had said it. The blackguard took the moment to distance himself from the prince, and Serenity quickly recalled Kagemusha. The Empress of Venyore stood in the entryway to the chamber. Beside her was Nakir, commander of the Holy Guard.
"What are you playing at, Empress?" Sagaelen asked uncomfortably.
"Prince, Serenity, Sagaelen," the Empress called miserably. "Let them conclude their business and leave."
"I can't do that," Seto replied flatly.
"Damn it, Seto, do you think I want to do this? It's your own damn fault."
"What?" Seto hissed. "How is thi-"
"You sent your friend there to Kaiba in one of our lodeships. Do you even understand what that means? It means we violated their airspace before they violated ours. It means that we made the first strike. It means if we act against them now, it'll mean war between us. I don't like it any more than you do, but I have no choice. I am responsible for my nation," the Empress stated bitterly.
"I'm under no such obligation," the prince sneered. He wheeled on the blackguard and readied his weapon.
"Seto please!" she cried. "Remember what it was like to feel for your people. I know you did once."
"I still feel for them, Empress. I fight for them now, even if they've turned their backs on me. If you held the same regard for your people, you wouldn't stand here and let these men leave."
"If they win today, we still haven't lost, and we may still keep any innocent people from dying. But if they lose, it will mean war, and many will die."
Seto's hand clutched his blade, and his knuckles turned white with force. Slowly, he shook his head. "No," he snarled. He drove his blade forward and up, aiming for the soft spot beneath the blackguard's ribs. It was intercepted. By a rapier.
"Damien, what are you doing?"
The rogue clenched his teeth and forced the prince's sword back. "Stopping you. The Empress is right. We can't risk war over this."
"I don't think you understand what's at risk."
"This won't be the end," Damien replied confidently.
"I won't let it be," Seto replied. He drove the rapier back in a burst of force and charged at his new opponent. His blade drove the smaller rapier back and forth in the first few sweeps, weakening the rogue's grip on the weapon. Satisfied that the next parry would be impossible, the prince set himself for the incapacitating blow.
This time is was Serenity's turn to scream. Charging across the chamber, she called out to Seto to stop. The prince glanced at her only briefly, but the scene struck a chord. He had seen this before. His sword hit the ground in a clatter of metal. Damien's rapier passed through his shoulder.
The prince staggered backward, clutching at the weapon piercing him. His mind, however, seemed entirely elsewhere. He struck one of the pillars and dropped to the floor, and still his gaze locked on something that wasn't there. Finally, he blacked out.
A/N: I'm actually almost done the next chapter, but given other technical difficulties (laptop related technical difficulties), it will probably take about the usual of time. However, I assure you, the plot will be twisty and the characters will be angsty and some parts will be fluffy next chapter. But that won't be for a little while, so you might as well leave a review. After all, the average person burns 700 calories while leaving a review.