Valkyria : Hello everyone, welcome to another chapter of Emperor's Prophecy, enjoy!
Disclaimer : I claim no rights to the anime/manga Yu-gi-oh
Beta'd by : Moondailian.
Current Song : Just Communication by Two-Mix.
"When we know our own strength, we shall the better know what to undertake with hopes of success; and when we have well surveyed the powers of our own minds, and made some estimate what we may expect from them, we shall not be inclined either to sit still, and not set our thoughts on work at all, in despair of knowing anything; nor on the other side, question everything, and declaim all knowledge, because some things are not to be understood." - John Locke.
Chapter Twenty-Six: Fault
"Gone? So suddenly? Did something happen?"
"I do not know. I doubt anyone but His Majesty and the Council know the real reason why King Crawford and King Dartz left so suddenly. The only reason I know is because I was ordered to clean out their rooms."
"Clean out their rooms? Surely they weren't in so much of a rush to leave their possessions behind?"
"Apparently they were. Honestly though, I'm just happy they're gone now. Maybe everything can go back to normal and we can stop tiptoeing around the palace."
"Do you really think everything is going to go back to normal? I mean, if they left so suddenly, something big must have happened."
"If something did happen, I'm sure His Majesty will tell us soon enough. That, or Andrea will tell us. You know how much of a big mouth she has."
"Ugh, I know! Do you remember when Serena went on that date with Lieutenant Citan? Andrea told everyone about it, including her parents! And you know how much Serena's parents despise military types."
"Tell me about it…"
Yuugi waited patiently until he could no longer hear the maids' chatter before stepping out of the small corner he had hidden himself in.
He had been on his way back to his chambers when he had caught the maids talking about King Dartz and King Crawford. Figuring it wouldn't hurt to eavesdrop, Yuugi had stopped and listened in to what the two women had been talking about.
He hadn't been disappointed.
This definitely explains why grandfather and Hector are suddenly training me into the ground. Both of them must've known what happened between King Dartz, King Crawford and Atemu. And again, I'm left out of the loop.
"Sneaking around, Young Seer? How unbecoming of our future co-ruler."
Yelping, Yuugi whirled around to see Fenrir sitting on his haunches, giving him an amused look. Yuugi placed his hand over his racing heart, all the while giving the wolf a half-hearted glare.
"I'm sneaking around?" Yuugi grumbled. "You're the one who's going around, performing your little disappearing trick on unsuspecting people."
"I resent that, Young Seer." Fenrir said, prowling towards him. "It's called teleportation magic, not a disappearing trick." Fenrir stopped at his side. "Are you finished with your lessons for the day?"
"Yes, Grandfather has released me for the day, so I'm on my way back to my chambers." Yuugi replied. "What about you? Out for a walk?"
"You could say that," Fenrir murmured vaguely. "Did they say something of interest?"
"Who?" Yuugi asked, deciding to play dumb for the moment. From the look Fenrir gave him, his efforts weren't appreciated.
"The maids, I didn't exactly catch what they said, but from the look you were sporting when I showed up, it must've been something interesting."
"They were talking about King Dartz and King Crawford's departure," Yuugi admitted reluctantly. "What's going on, Fenrir? Why did they leave so suddenly?"
"There was a slight disagreement."
"A slight disagreement," Yuugi repeated, raising an eyebrow. "That's a vague answer."
"Yes, it is."
Yuugi forced down his aggravation as Fenrir made no attempt to speak about the matter any further. "You're not going to tell me anything, are you?"
"I should," Fenrir stated, "but I think it would be better if you were to ask Atemu, or finished reading Leon's journal."
"What does Leon's journal have to do with any of this?"
"You can tell me the answer to that question when you're done reading it."
"What makes you think I'm going to read Leon's journal? I can just go to Atemu for answers. That would be easier in the long run."
"Of course it would be easier to ask Atemu what's going on, but do you always want to go to him for the answers you seek?"
Yuugi frowned thoughtfully, Fenrir did have a point. He couldn't always go to Atemu for the answers he wanted. And even if he did, there was no guarantee that Atemu would even give him a straight answer. Despite the fact that they had promised each other to never hide nor lie about anything, Atemu still had the habit of being overprotective.
"Alright," Yuugi acquiesced, "I'll see what Leon has to say. But this doesn't mean I don't trust Atemu to give me the answer."
Fenrir chuckled roughly. "I never said you didn't trust Atemu. I said you should find the answers for yourself. You are to become the future co-ruler of Elysian soon, and there will be times you will have to make decisions on your own."
"I know that."
"Very well, then." Fenrir sounded pleased. "I shall leave you to your task now, Young Seer."
Yuugi watched Fenrir disappear in a flash of white light before continuing his walk back to his chamber, wondering why Fenrir wanted him to read the journal so badly. What answers did it hold?
"Only one way to find out," Yuugi whispered, opening the door to his chambers to step inside. There, sitting innocently on his bed, was Leon's journal. Walking over to it, Yuugi grabbed the journal as he settled on the edge of his bed.
As he read each page, he couldn't help but feel angry and frustrated at the countless adversities that Leon and his group of Seers had faced. No one had bothered to help or listen to the Seers and their visions.
They had walked and fought on the battlefields. One by one each Seer that Leon had brought with him had fallen because of the Twilight Plague, which had shown up in the previous weeks, or because they had been struck down by an Elysian or Atlantian soldier along the way.
Yuugi couldn't help but feel connected when Leon admitted how lonely and sad he had become when he found out that he was the only Seer remaining in Eternia. The Emperor had finally passed judgment and had executed Amadeus along with the other Seers who had remained in the city.
Despite all of the setbacks he had faced, Leon had moved forward and had sabotaged both sides by knocking out the supply routes and barriers that each side had set up, gaining a surprising ally, Vincent, Prince of Elysian, along the way.
Together, they had continued to sabotage both sides by giving out false orders, paying off the occasional rogue mage to destroy the supply routes that came from the transportation gates Atlantis used. Unfortunately, their efforts had done little to halt the war.
It wasn't until three years later that the war slowly came to its conclusion. The King of Atlantis and the Emperor of Elysian had met on the battlefield to settle the matter with a single battle. Leon and Vincent, along with soldiers and mages from both sides, had quietly looked on in awe as their rulers fought intensely with blades and incantations that even some of the more experienced mages on the field at the time had turned green with envy over.
The battle had ended quietly when the King of Atlantis had killed the Emperor with a hidden dagger. Atlantis' victory had been short-lived as the King himself died shortly after from the wounds he had sustained from the battle. With both rulers dead, Vincent and the heir to Atlantian throne, Dante, had signed an informal peace treaty, effectively ending the conflict.
The months after the war's conclusion had been spent burying the dead, rebuilding the villages, cities, and temples; drawing up peace treaties; and crowning Vincent as the new Emperor of Elysian and Dante as the new King of Atlantis. After making sure Elysian was getting back on its feet, Leon had set out to explore Eternia as he had done before the war had begun, managing to explore more than half of the land before the age of one-hundred. When his lust for wandering had been satisfied, Leon had settled down in Asrai City, where Vincent, who had, by this point, retired and was one hundred and five himself, welcomed him home with open arms. The Celestial Palace was where Leon had spent his remaining days, still having the occasional vision.
At the age of one-hundred and sixty, in the last few weeks of his life, Leon had a scribe write down his final vision.
"War will touch these lands again. Not today, nor tomorrow, but centuries later. This war will be fought for the control over a fellow Seer, whose name I will not mention for I will grant him all the peace I can until it is that time. He will be protected and loved by the Valiant Emperor, who will sacrifice soul and body to protect the Seer from all harm."
Yuugi carefully closed the book after he finished reading the prophecy. Was this what Fenrir had wanted him to see? Was this the answer Fenrir had wanted him to find?
"War will touch these lands again," Yuugi recited softly. If war was coming then the sudden departures of King Dartz and King Crawford's suddenly made a lot more sense.
Yuugi tightened his grip on the worn journal as the rest of the prophecy ran through his mind. This war was being fought over him, and the mere thought of that made him sick to his stomach. He didn't want to be responsible for the deaths of thousands of people. He didn't want to be responsible for the countless homes that would be emptied, or the hearts and souls that would never be mended. He didn't want this to happen, but how could you stop a war that had been predicted centuries ago? A war that was most likely on the verge of happening.
And to make matters worse, Atemu was the "Valiant Emperor." stated in the prophecy. He didn't want Atemu to sacrifice anything! Atemu was already doing enough for him as it is. Not only did the older man made sure he wanted for nothing, but he also took his hand in marriage to make sure that he was safe. He couldn't let Atemu go through with this.
With his heart in his throat, Yuugi rose from his bed and raced out of his chambers. He had to find Atemu. He had to do something – anything – to stall this war.
Standing before his most decorated commanders, Atemu despaired at the thought of telling them that they would have to prepare for war in three weeks. But as his father told him many times before, a ruler's life is full of trials.
"Your Majesty, may I ask why you have called us here? Has something happened?"
"I'm afraid so, Commander Rajah." Atemu looked around the table, making sure to catch each man and woman's eye while doing so. "Atlantis, along with Sylvantia, have declared war on us."
As he expected, his confession caused an immediate uproar in the room.
"War!"
"How long do we have to prepare, Your Majesty!"
"Have you told the people, Your Majesty?"
"Sylvantia and Atlantis? How long have they been planning this?"
"Does it matter how long they have been planning this, Amalia? What matters now is how we deal with it."
"I say we attack immediately! I can have my forces ready at a moment's notice."
"Do not be foolish, Raines! If we attack without preparation, we will be crushed! Do you know what Atlantis' dragon squadrons would do to our ground forces!"
"We have a dragon squadron of our own commanded by High Lord Kaiba, who is bonded to the Dragon Kisara if you'll remember, Reyna."
"That is only seven dragons, Raines! Atlantis has twenty! The odds are stacked against us!"
"Enough!" Atemu roared. "Be silent! All of you!"
A tense, silence consumed the meeting room. Atemu continued in a more weary tone. "Now is not the time to argue amongst ourselves. We need to calmly use our heads and come up with a strategy, several in fact, to keep our home safe." Atemu turned to Bakura and waved him forward. "Colonel Firimar, Why don't you start by telling us the information that you gained from General Howard."
"General Howard of Sylvantia? Why is he here?"
"King Crawford left him behind when he escaped with King Dartz." Bakura replied, smirking. "Unfortunately, the information we gathered wasn't informative at all. It seems that the reason Pegasus came to Elysian was because he had struck a bargain with Dartz."
"A bargain?" Amalia asked. "What kind of bargain, Colonel?"
"A cure for his ailing wife," Bakura replied. "Queen Cecelia was on her deathbed when King Dartz swept in and offered to make Pegasus' problem go away."
"And did he receive the cure for Queen Crawford?" Raines asked.
"We do not know, but are assuming he did because he has allied himself with Dartz in the war."
"In return for his wife's cure, he became a war ally?" Reyna mused. "A man's love knows no bounds."
"I am surprised that General Howard gave even this information up." Seto spoke up. "How much pain did you inflict on this man, Bakura?"
"None," Bakura replied. "General Howard doesn't have any love for his King. He couldn't care less if Pegasus survives the war."
"A soldier who has no loyalty is useless to his King." Raines growled. "If he has no further information we can use, then it is best if we get rid of him. I doubt King Crawford will come back begging for such a spineless man."
"Killing him would cripple Sylvantia," Reyna said, "but what would all of you say to returning Howard? If he truly has no love for Pegasus, it would only be a matter of time before he kills him. In the end, he would be doing us a favor."
"No, it would look suspicious to Sylvantia if we just gave their prized General back to them." Marik said, shaking his head.
"Then what do you suggest we do then, General Aegnor?" Reyna asked curiously.
"I have something in mind, so leave General Howard to me." Marik smirked, turning toward Bakura. "I will need your help with this, my friend, if you do not mind?"
"Of course not." Bakura chuckled darkly. "Any scheme that you have is bound to be fun."
"What of Atlantis? What is the reason they are taking us to war?"
Atemu had been afraid of that question. "King Dartz wants to take the Seer from us,"
"Seer Yuugi Motou?" Reyna blurted out. "Your intended? That is the reason Dartz is bringing war to our doorstep?"
"Yes."
"Dartz has some balls to try and do such a thing." Raines put in sourly. "To steal the Seer is despicable, I would have never thought Dartz to be such a man."
"There has to be more to it than that," Reyna said. "You don't declare war for the sole reason of gaining one person."
Marik snorted. "You'd be surprised how petty a man's reasoning can be to declare war on another land, Reyna."
"Their reasons matter little now," Bakura muttered. "The only thing we can do now is fight back and put them back in their place."
"Back to our defenses," Amalia spoke up. "What of the borders between Elysian and Sylvantia? Are they secure?"
"Yes," Marik replied, "we have increased security by three fold, along with placing an extra four hundred soldiers and three mage squads on all of roads leading to and from Sylvantia, they will have a hard time entering. The ports and shores leading to Atlantis have received five hundred soldiers and three mage squads. That should be enough to hold both sides off should they decide to attack early."
Atemu stood and leaned over the map that lay spread out across the table. "Our border defenses are secure for the moment so let us turn our attention to gathering our forces. Reyna, Amalia, how long will it take to gather your mage forces?"
"Our most experienced mages took a fresh batch of mages to the port town of Halas for a training exercise, so it will take about a week for them return. I will send them a message and ask them to return as fast as possible."
"No transportation gates?"
Reyna scowled. "Not with a fresh batch on their hands. Going through a transportation gate with them is like a bomb going off."
"Very well," Atemu said, "have them return as soon as you can, Reyna. Raines, Rajah, what of your ground forces?"
"Our ground forces can be ready at a moment's notice, Your Majesty." Rajah replied. "You only have to say the word."
"We have our soldiers and mages ready, but what about Atlantis' dragon brigade? What are we going to do about them?"
"Kisara and I will fly out tonight and plead for Kaeana and Caanan's help." Seto said. "They are the leaders of this continent's dragon clans. Their numbers are in the hundreds, so I'm sure they will have a couple of dragons that will want to lend us a hand."
"Some dragons are not too fond of humans, so are you sure you can get them to help?" Reyna asked.
"Kisara and I have proven ourselves to the clans, so requesting them to help shouldn't be a problem."
"Good, then Atlantis' dragon brigades shouldn't be a problem." Reyna said.
"Marik? Bakura? What of your forces?"
"It's going to take a little longer that we anticipated, Your Majesty." Marik replied. "With the new batch of mages and soldiers joining, I'm going to have weed the hot-heads out."
"How long?" Atemu asked.
"Two weeks time," Marik winced lightly. "We have over two thousand new recruits."
"I will send two of my lieutenants to help you with this, General Aegnor." Rajah offered. "They are compentent and I trust them with my life, so you have your troops ready quickly."
"I thank you, Rajah."
"Bakura? What of you?"
"My Shadow Units are ready, Your Majesty, my ground troops merely need outfitting for magic dampening armor."
"The medical teams?"
"Lady Ishtar will head five medical teams, and Ryou Lindel, her apprentice will head three."
"Very good, now that you have been informed of the situation," Atemu spoke up. "All of you are to return to your stations and begin preparations. I want daily reports from each of you via magical fire. Am I understood?"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
"Good, you are all-"
"Seer Motou! They are in session! You cannot enter!"
"I don't care! You are to let me in, now!"
"Seer-"
The door burst open at the guard's loud protest, Atemu frowned as Yuugi came in, flushed and panting. His heart leapt into his throat at the sight of Leon's journal in Yuugi's hand.
"Young One," Atemu began.
"No," Yuugi snarled, holding up the journal. "We are going to discuss this now,"
"You still have no desire to speak to me, Cecelia?" Pegasus resisted the urge to take his newly cured wife into his arms, instead keeping his arms firmly to his side. "I know you are angry with me, but I would make the same choice if I were given the chance again."
"Then you are a fool." Cecelia turned and pinned him with stern stare. "You have sacrificed our country and our most valued General in exchange for my life." Cecelia placed her hand against her heart. "I did not want this, Pegasus. I implore you, send a message to Emperor Faenor and tell him you are no longer allied with Atlantis."
Pegasus took a step closer to his wife. "If I were to do that, Atlantis would turn its gaze to us. We are not powerful enough to take them on. They would devastate us even worse than Elysian would."
Cecelia turned to the window of their chamber. "So we do nothing? We go along with Dartz and stay his puppets for however long he desires? Do you know how this will affect us, Pegasus? Do you know how many homes this war will empty? How many futures it will take away?"
Pegasus flinched at the blunt questions. "More than I can possibly imagine. But as I stated before, we cannot afford to betray Atlantis."
"The man I know, the man I fell in love with, would not be afraid to face a powerful opponent such as Atlantis. What changed you, Pegasus? What has made you so afraid that you would not even try?"
"It is the thought of loosing you that has made me a coward, Cecelia." Pegasus stepped closer and pulled his wife into his arms. "I would do anything to keep you here with me."
"You would do anything to keep me here," Cecelia repeated. "You have sacrificed everything, Pegasus. I am not worth the lives of thousands. You are the King; you should have understood that! We are always to put the people's needs before our own!"
"And I have!" Pegasus hissed. "All my life I have put the people's needs before my own. Just this once, Cecelia, I want to be selfish."
"And look where that moment of selfishness, that moment of weakness, has gotten us."
Pegasus pulled away. "I will always regret bringing the fires of war to our home, but I am not sorry for saving your life."
"Pegasus-"
"I have a meeting with our commanders to attend," Pegasus cut in coolly. "If you'll excuse me."
"Pegasus, please, wait…"
Ignoring his wife's pleas, Pegasus left the room and made his way to the council room located down the hall.
Knowing Cecelia's self-sacrificing nature, Pegasus had known she would be upset about this. Knowing that didn't make it hurt any less to see the accusation and disappointment in her eyes, though.
Stepping into the council room, Pegasus closed the door firmly behind him and turned to see all of his commanders, General Howard excluded, sitting at the round table.
"I assume by your silence that our troops are ready?" Pegasus asked, taking a seat at the table.
"Yes, Your Majesty." Panic stood from his seat. "Our ground forces are ready to depart at a moment's notice."
"We just have one problem that needs to be addressed, Your Majesty." a female commander, Freyja, spoke up "It is about General Howard. His father has found out that he is still in Elysian, and demands an audience with you."
"He is most likely expecting you to offer some type of trade with the Elysians," Panic stated. "I am not fond of the General, but it would be best if we try and get him back."
Pegasus raised an eyebrow at Panic's confession. It was widely known that the Colonel had always wanted Keith's position, but the large man had never done anything underhanded to obtain it. Unfortunately, it seemed that Panic would be getting what he wanted on this day.
"I'm afraid that we can not spare the effort of retrieving General Howard, nor can we risk entering Elysian to even initiate some type of trade."
"Then who will lead our troops, Your Majesty?" Panic asked.
"As if this moment, you are temporarily promoted to the rank of General, Panic, granted this will be temporary, General Howard has uncanny luck on his side for getting out of impossible situations."
"And if luck decides to run out on Howard?"
"Then you keep your cushy promotion, General Panic."
Panic bowed his head. "I thank you then, Your Majesty." Pegasus nodded his head, not failing to notice to suppressed excitement that Panic was failing to keep under wraps. The soldier was damn good in the battlefield, but his morals were definitely lacking.
"We must offer our congratulations, General Panic-" Captain Para spoke up.
"You will make a fine, leader to our troops." Captain Dox finished.
"Thank you, Captain Para, Captain Dox."
"Has King Dartz contacted you yet, Your Majesty?" Panic asked. "If we are to go to war together, it is important we stay in contact constantly with each other."
"No, King Dartz is having a few problems with his chain of command at the moment." Pegasus replied. "We will worry about our own troops for the moment, and collaborate with King Dartz' forces when the time comes."
"I do not trust those Atlantians, Your Majesty," Freyja, spat out. "As long as we don't have more power, they and their superiority complex cannot be trusted."
"Indeed we cannot, but let us see how things turn out for now, shall we?"
"It is done, Your Majesty."
Dartz turned his gaze from his unconscious daughter to the inquisitor, who was standing in the doorway. "Both of them?"
"Yes, Your Majesty. Generals Critias and Hermos have both received seventy-eight lashes and have had their magical systems temporarily sealed."
"And General Timaeus?"
"General Timaeus has received his twenty lashes and is currently in the infirmary."
"Very good," Dartz praised. "Make sure that Critias and Hermos are taken to the infirmary so that they may recover, and get rid of the Council's bodies. I do not want to stink up the palace with their rotting corpses."
"Yes, Your Majesty. Is there anything else you desire?"
"No. you are dismissed. Please close the door on your way out."
Dartz turned his attention back to his daughter as the door to her chambers closed. Reaching over, he clasped her hands between his gently.
He had returned to find his daughter recovering from the verge of death, his elite guard dead, and his once pristine palace partially destroyed. From the short message he had received, he knew that his daughter was at fault for what had happened, but he had decided not to punish her for the moment. He had instead turned his attentions to Critias and Hermos, who had still been recovering from their own battles.
He had sent both men to the dungeons and had executed the council once he had gotten the story out of them. When Timaeus had protested against this, he had lashed out against him and had given him twenty lashes; a light punishment.
Dartz wanted nothing more than to give Critias and Hermos the death penalty for such a betrayal, but with war on the horizon, he could not afford to lose his top three commanders, so he gave what punishment he could in exchange for death. It would have shown him to be weak in front of the soldiers if he had let the three of them go without some kind of reprimand.
Once order had been restored to the palace he had reported to Leviathan, only to find the God highly displeased with current events. He had only managed to save himself from punishment by saying that he had declared war on Elysian in order to obtain the Seer. This, surprisingly enough, seem to please Leviathan.
A soft moan derailed his train of thoughts. Dartz looked down to see his daughter slowly opening her eyes. He pulled his lips into a tight smile as she turned to him, tightening his grip on her hand when she tried to pull away.
"Hello, my child."
Christina stared at him through half-lidded eyes. "F-Father? When did you get back? Where am I?"
"I returned a few days ago, and you are in your chambers."
When she tried to rise, he released her hand and pushed her back down onto the bed. "You need to rest, my child."
"I-I'm fine, Father. Where are Critias and Hermos?"
"In the infirmary, healing up from the battles and their punishment."
"Punishment?" Christina whispered. "Father, what did you do?"
"I have done what is needed. Be grateful you are not next." Ignoring his daughter's startled stare, he continued. "I am very disappointed with your actions, Christina. I expected better from my heir."
"I did what was needed, Father." Christina stated. "We cannot go to war with Elysian."
"That is not your choice; it is Leviathan's will we go to war. His will is law."
"Are you listening to yourself! You sound like a mindless drone! Leviathan this and Leviathan that! Will Leviathan care if Atlantis is destroyed because of this war!"
"Atlantis will remain as it is now; glorious and untouched."
"You lie!" Christina hissed. "You are not my father! You are just a mindless drone possessed by Leviathan.'
Ignoring his daughter's words, Dartz rose from the chair. "There are guards outside your door with orders not to let you out of this room. There are curse spells on the windows in case you are foolish enough to try and escape through there."
"You can't keep me here forever," Christina whispered. "Critias, Timaeus and Hermos will not let you."
Dartz smirked cruelly. "You seem so confident in your knights in shining armor. However, they will not be here to rescue you as they will be occupied with the war."
"They will never cooperate with you, Father. You must know that, at least."
"They are soldiers; it is their duty to defend their honor and their homeland. Using you as a bargaining chip will help things along as well."
"Coward."
Dartz smiled at the insult. "I prefer to be called a man of strategy, my child. Since you are awake and full of energy, it is time for your punishment for your involvement in this fiasco."
"And that would be?"
"You will announce to the people that we are going to war," Dartz stated.
"That's the best you can do?" Christina goaded. "I thought you were more creative than that."
"I believe that it is a fitting punishment for you, my child. You love the people deeply, so to see the looks on their faces when you announce such a thing is something that you will never forget."
"I will not do this, Father, you can not make me."
"Stubborn child," Dartz murmured. "Very well then, you will remain in this room for the time being," Dartz leaned down to press a kiss to her forehead, smiling again she moved away like a startled mouse. "I will come see you again, Christina."
"You will not get away with this, you hear me!" Christina stared at him with determined eyes that reminded him of her mother.
Giving his daughter a pitying look, Dartz turned to make his way out of the room. "I believe I already have, my child."
A/N : What a chapter, eh? I hope you guys had fun reading it! See you next time.