This story was done in collaboration between me and Jriddle41 (Sodormatchmaker on DeviantART), and we both own the OCs that are used in the story. Credit to author AaronCottrell97 for a few ideas and character suggestions. Everything else belongs to their respective owners:
Thomas and Friends (c) Hit Entertainment and Mattel
The Railway Series (c) Rev Wilbert Awdry
Yu-Gi-Oh! (c) Konami
Song used in Intro and Outro (c) Unknown
WARNING: Once more, this story is rated entirely M for strong violence, blood and gore, frightening scenes, sexual content, and nudity. Reader discretion is strongly advised.
Opening up within one of the hallways of the Egyptian palace, Emily was still searching for a possible clue to the riddle's answer. So far, no such luck.
"Nothing," Emily sighed to herself, "Maybe everyone else is having better luck?"
Let's go and see.
(elsewhere…)
In another part of the palace, Gordon, Henry, and Toby each were searching for the riddle's answer.
"Where do we start?" pondered Gordon.
"Beats me," replied Toby.
"I have an idea," interrupted Henry, "Why don't we split up to cover further ground?"
Gordon and Toby gazed at the tall, green-haired boy suspiciously, making Henry feel rather nervous that his cover was about to be blown. Fortunately…
"Great idea," praised Gordon, "It should help a little bit."
"I'll check if there are any clues in the royal garden," added Henry, as he turned and ran off. In his mind… "That way, if I find something I won't let those idiots know."
From there, Gordon and Toby looked to each other and nodded, before taking off in different directions.
(elsewhere…)
In yet another part of the palace, Edward and Mavis both were walking down the hallway when they heard voices.
"Huh?" wondered Mavis.
"Someone's coming," whispered Edward, "Though we won't need to hide since nobody else can see us."
As expected, two Egyptian teenagers emerged from one corner. The first was male and had blue hair, and the other was female with black hair that contained yellow streaks. Mavis and Edward both were aghast over who they were seeing, mainly because those two Egyptian teenagers looked a lot like…them.
"Edward," said Mavis, "are those two…"
"…us?!" gasped Edward.
Yup, Ryo (Edward) and Mia (Mavis) both were waiting for Atem, Anzu, and the priests to return from fighting Montague. The group had been gone for a long time, and they were getting very worried.
"How long have the priests been gone?" asked Mia.
"Longer than I was hoping for," answered Ryo, "With how powerful Montague and his 'Diabound' both are, I'm not even sure if they, plus the Pharaoh and Anzu, can win," He brought a hand to his forehead wearily, "This whole thing is disturbing me."
"Me too," Mia agreed, shaking her head. She then turned and started to leave in another direction, "For now, until they get back, I'm going to relax at the hot springs to try and relieve the stress."
Ryo nodded, thinking that it might help the black/yellow-haired girl a little bit. Meanwhile, Edward and Mavis both stood in their spots for a few moments before recovering from what they saw.
"Come on, let's resume our search," suggested Edward.
"Good thinking," agreed Mavis.
And that's what the two Sudrian teenagers did.
Title: The Ultimate Shadow RPG
Back in the underground shrine of the village of Kul Elna, Montague let out an agonized gasp seeing as 'Diabound' was truly gone. It doesn't help that the remaining Ka he had aiding him in protecting the stone slab faded away.
"Thomas… Damn you…!" hissed Montague, sounding defeated, "Just you wait… I'll rip all of your lives right out of you… I'll steal all the Millennium Items and obtain the power of darkness for myself! I-!"
He couldn't say anything more, and merely collapsed onto the stone steps. Not about to give up though, the beaten and delusional Thief King turned and started crawling back up the steps.
"Damn it…!" he mumbled angrily.
"It's no use, Montague!" called Atem, "As long as we're holding the remaining Millennium Items, you won't be able to break the seal on Zorc! It's all over! You have lost!"
"Your reign of terror on our kingdom has come to an abrupt end, Thief King!" added Anzu, "Prepare to repent for all of your sins!"
"S-Shut up…!" growled Montague, crawling onto the stone slab.
From there, he started placing the Millennium Items he had into their proper spots. Of course, seeing as he lacked the Millennium Rod, the Millennium Necklace, the Millennium Eye, and the Millennium Key, his plan was not going to work.
"Just give up, Montague. The battle is over!" said Atem firmly.
There was the sound of sinister chuckling.
"Are you sure about that?" A familiar voice (male) echoed.
Everyone in the room turned to the nearby doorway, finding somebody weakly entering the room.
"Lord Aknadin!" gasped Seto.
The stern-looking priest had an insane-looking smile on his face, and in his right hand was the Millennium Key.
"Now everything required for the revival ritual has been gathered together," whispered Aknadin.
"What?!" demanded Atem.
Isis then saw the Millennium Key, "Th-That is-!"
"That's Shada's Millennium Key!" added Seto, "What has happened to him? What is the meaning of this, Lord Aknadin?!"
Aknadin didn't answer; he instead started walking down the steps into the main chamber with evil intentions.
"The time has finally come!" he proclaimed madly, "The time for the Dark One to return…"
Montague, meanwhile, felt a purple aura begin to leave him. When the glowing ceased, Atem and Seto both noticed that he was acting differently than usual.
"Wh-Where am I…?" questioned Montague, sounding genuinely confused, "Just what…am I doing…?"
"You have done very well," came the echo of a voice (male), "but, now, I have no further use for you."
It was then Montague looked at his hands, which were turning to sand.
"Wh-What the…?!" he cried out, becoming scared, "What's going on?! H-Help me…!"
Everyone watched as Thief King Montague screamed before finally dissolving into sand, gone for good.
"Montague…!" stammered Mana, "He's… he's…"
"Dead," finished Anzu, "He was reduced to sand."
It was then Atem heard psychotic laughter throughout the room.
"The rules state that when a pawn is no longer needed, it disappears, Thomas…" The voice (male) explained
"Pawn?!" shouted Atem, with Thomas briefly in control.
Just then…
"Lord…Aknadin…!" The voice of Shada groaned, just before he entered the chamber looking delirious.
"Shada!" cried Isis.
Okay… This was getting interesting…
(elsewhere…)
Back in the Egyptian palace, Emily found herself in a new room filled with hieroglyphics on the walls.
"So many hieroglyphics…" murmured Emily, "If only I could understand what they meant…"
Not about to give up, the dark green-haired girl ran through the room to try and another.
(elsewhere…)
Within the royal kitchen, Percy, James, and Bobasa each were looking for the possible riddle answer.
"Come on, the answer's got to be here someplace!" complained Percy.
"Hey, let's ask that lady!" suggested James, briefly forgetting that nobody could see or speak to him, "Hey, I gotta question for you! We have a-"
The Egyptian lady merely walked through him, causing James to become spooked.
"James, nobody else can see or hear us," Bobasa pointed out sternly.
"Oh yeah… We're about the equivalent of ghosts here…" mused James sheepishly, finally remembering that tidbit.
"Don't you ever remember what you learn?" asked Percy bluntly.
Poor James…
(elsewhere…)
In another hallway, Toby was still searching for something that could be a possible clue to the riddle's answer.
"Nothing yet," The brown-haired boy mumbled, "Maybe if I…huh?"
He saw Mavis's Egyptian ancestor emerging from a nearby doorway, looking both ways and seeing if the coast was clear before turning and walking down the hallway. Once he was alone, Toby couldn't help but look rather surprised over noticing how much that Egyptian teenage girl seemed to resemble Mavis.
"That girl looked just like Mavis…" thought Toby, getting an idea, "Hmm… Maybe she could lead me to something that could help with this riddle's answer."
With that thought on hand, he started to follow Mia to wherever she was going.
(elsewhere…)
Toby's following Mia around eventually took him to an outside part of the palace with steam coming from what appeared to be hot springs.
"Hm?" pondered Toby, "Are those hot springs?" He then noticed Mia, "Hey! There's Mavis's ancestor!"
Indeed so… Standing by the edge of the hot springs was Mia. Without uttering a word, she started removing ALL of her clothing while a very shocked, red-faced Toby got a very big eyeful of her nude body as he watched from nearby. Seeing as she couldn't see Toby and the likes, Mia, obviously not even aware that she was being watched without any sort of approval, basically gave the brown-haired boy a free private viewing before she stepped in the hot spring to relax and try to hold onto hope that her brother and friends would return safely to the palace with Montague finally beaten, thus allowing the kingdom to finally be at peace again.
Toby Holden's reaction to the sight was very interesting to say the least—as in, he almost suffered a high-pressured nosebleed or passed out completely after seeing his own girlfriend's ancestor, who looked borderline identical to Mavis in almost every single way apart from both skin color and hair color, basically get naked. Similar to Mavis, Mia was shown to be decently endowed despite being playfully called flat by Anzu a few years ago, and was also quite toned on the stomach thanks to her being a tomboy and also enduring the enjoyment of working hard in the palace. At last, Toby couldn't take it anymore…
"I-I'm outta here!" cried Toby, turning and fleeing from the area in sheer embarrassment.
Hoo boy… Talk about awkward.
(elsewhere…)
Within the palace library, Edward and Mavis both were looking around the place.
"It's got to be around the place somewhere…" commented Mavis.
"But we can't touch any of the books," reminded Edward, moving his right hand to try and touch one of the books only for it to go right through, "See?"
"Geez!" complained Mavis, falling to her knees, "How are we supposed to search like this?!"
(elsewhere…)
In another palace hallway, Henry was busy searching for the riddle's answer as well.
"Hehehe…" The tall, green-haired boy snickered darkly, "Where is it? The Eighth Key… The riddle's answer…"
(elsewhere…)
"Shada!" cried Atem.
Back in the underground shrine of Kul Elna village, Shada had just arrived after being attacked by Aknadin earlier.
"Lord Aknadin…!" spluttered Shada, "That's my Millennium Key…!" He started walking towards Aknadin like he was in a trance or something, "Please return it, Lord Aknadin!"
The delusional Shada grabbed Aknadin by the shoulders and started shaking him violently, but Aknadin was able to break free easily.
"Let go of me!" The stern-looking priest snapped, throwing Shada away from him, "You half-dead worm!"
"Lord Aknadin!" cried Shimon, "Have you gone mad?!"
"Why are you doing this?" demanded Anzu, "What's the meaning of this?! Tell us your reason!"
"Hmph! How arrogant you are," insulted Aknadin, looking at Atem hatefully, "The time is nearly ready for a new King to arise."
"Lord Aknadin" gasped Seto, "How dare you utter such venomous words in the presence of the great Pharaoh and his Queen? Even if it's you, Lord Aknadin, I will not allow for it!"
"Silence!" ordered Aknadin, thrusting his arm forward.
He then cast a spell upon Seto, causing him to freeze in place.
"Seto!" cried Isis.
"Seto, what's wrong?!" added Atem.
"He can't move!" exclaimed Karim.
Aknadin, losing what was left of his sanity, boomed an evil laugh in response.
"I believe I said 'the time has come'…" he reminded, before waving his right arm at the remaining priests, Atem, Anzu, and Mana.
Like Seto, those affected by the cast spell became frozen in place.
"My body…" cried Mana, with her lips unable to move when she said those words.
With nobody able to move, Aknadin slowly approached the frozen party to taunt them and take the remaining Millennium Items from them.
"How does it feel being unable to move, Pharaoh?" jeered Aknadin, before taking the Millennium Rod from Seto and the Millennium Necklace from Isis, "The Millennium Rod, and the Millennium Necklace!"
"What have you done, Aknadin?!" demanded Atem angrily.
Aknadin merely laughed, now that he had the remaining Millennium Items in his hands.
"By the power of the almighty Zorc, controller of time…" The stern-looking priest bragged, "…time has been stopped. At this moment, the only one permitted to move…is myself, and myself alone," He then sneered at Atem, "You are not qualified for the role of Pharaoh."
From there, Aknadin started to walk towards the stone slab that Montague had been protecting before being defeated and dying. Finally, he grabbed the Millennium Eye and pulled it out of the eye socket, causing him to scream in agonizing pain as everyone watched while frozen.
"Lord Aknadin!" Shimon and Isis both cried out.
"Stop this!" begged Atem.
"You don't know what you're doing!" finished Anzu.
Their words were ignored…
All of the Millennium Items have been gathered!" proclaimed Aknadin, with blood dripping from the empty eye socket.
"Well done, Aknadin," The voice (male), from earlier, praised, "Now, return the items to their resting place!"
"This is impossible," thought Thomas, "Montague has been defeated and turned into sand. So how am I still hearing his voice? The Shadow Game should be all over!"
"Aknadin has proven quite a worthy pawn," The voice (male) went on, "The Ultimate Shadow Game is nearly complete! Become our key to victory… Resurrect the Dark One - Zorc Necrophades!"
Aknadin then knelt over to place the remaining Millennium Items into the slab, laughing while doing the deed. Suddenly, Thomas saw the whole cavern envelope with light due to the slab being powered by the Millennium Items.
"Why!? Why have I not won, even after defeating Montague?! Why has time stopped? Just how long is this Shadow Game going to continue?!" he mentally asked himself, "Wait… could this really all be just a game?"
With only the Millennium Rod left, Aknadin gazed at it before placing it into its place on the stone slab.
"Just the Millennium Rod left," whispered Aknadin, as the slab started releasing more light.
It was then Thomas finally found the answer to the whole scenario…
"That's it! This is a game."
(elsewhere…)
Slowly, Thomas opened his eyes to find his head lying on a large gaming table. Getting back to his senses, he could see Montague seated at the other end of the table as the Millennium Puzzle hung overhead.
"About time you woke up, Mr. Game Master," grinned Montague, "You're sleeping through the most important game of your life."
"Where are we?" pondered Thomas, looking around his new surroundings.
The gaming table they were seated at was enveloped in an all-too familiar purple fog-like area.
"We're in the Shadow Realm," explained Montague, "A rather special section of it known as 'Domain of the Gods'. And this here is the Ultimate Shadow Game I've been talking about - The Shadow RPG."
"Shadow RPG?" asked Thomas, frowning slightly, "Sorry if I sound disinterested, but I am in no mood for your games."
"It's too late to turn back!" cackled Montague, holding both his hands out, "You're already in the middle of one! The field is Ancient Egypt, set in the Pharaoh's memories of 3000 years ago, and the pawns are the people of your ancestor's past. Since we are both Game Masters, we control characters from that time period. If you clear the conditions required for victory, you win."
Sounds easy enough, but…
"If I'm playing as Atem," commented Thomas, "and you're playing as the Thief King Montague, then I should have won once your Thief King was defeated. So why isn't the game all over? What's going on?!"
"It's a pity," said Montague unfeelingly, "When the seven Millennium Items are placed on the stone, a new stage of the game has been welcomed - 'The Search for Riddle's Answer', with new requirements for victory."
"New requirements?"
"You see," The Spirit of the Millennium Ring went on, "My soul rests with the Stone Tablet of the Underworld! And shall be resurrected along with the Dark One - Zorc Necrophades! From there, the final stage of the game will begin."
Montague burst into long, drawn out laughter.
"So if I don't defeat Zorc, does that mean I lose the game?" demanded Thomas, clearly knowing the answer.
"Oh you'll lose much more than 'that'," snickered Montague, "You'll lose your precious friends. As expected, they once again stuck their noses into matters that don't concern them. They travelled through the Millennium Puzzle's maze and ended up in the game world. So when the playing field disappears, so too will they fade into the shadows of darkness. And you will never see them again!"
"Montague, you bastard!" growled Thomas.
Of course, such a threat didn't phase Montague in the slightest.
"If you wish to save your friends," continued Montague, "then you will have to win the game. But at the moment, all of your pawns are frozen in time all thanks to one of my little items."
The Spirit of the Millennium Ring then gestured to a set of hourglasses, one of which had already been turned up.
"As the Game Master, I wield three 'Master Items'," he explained, placing an hourglass-like item onto the table, "You see, I used this little beauty to freeze time - the 'Time Controlling Hourglass'."
"The 'Time Controlling Hourglass', you said?!" repeated Thomas.
"You figured that out now?" taunted Montague, "Yes! You are correct! As long as this item sits on the field, all characters I don't recognize are robbed of their movement!" He then took out another hourglass, "And my next item is this - 'The Reversal Hourglass'! Don't you remember, Thomas?! I used this to turn time backwards and force your little friends away from you!"
"I remember now…" murmured Thomas, thinking back to when Thief King Montague had originally been defeated by 'The Winged Dragon of Ra' and time rewinded so that his defeat never happened, "When your Thief King was defeated the first time, time suddenly reversed and gave him the chance to steal the Millennium Puzzle! That was 'your' doing!"
"That's right. That hourglass saved my character and gave it the chance to steal your character's Millennium Puzzle. Oh, and Thomas, I have something else to tell you… I can activate its special effects up to three times. Meaning I can once again…" While speaking, Montague showed off a nightmare face, "…use my Master Item another time."
The spirit of the Millennium Ring burst into psychotic laughter, while Thomas could only stare on in defiance.
(elsewhere…)
Back in the memory world palace, Henry was still in the process of searching for the riddle's answer.
"Where the hell is it?!" he wondered, saying something he usually never says.
Before long, Henry found himself in a hidden room which held all the secrets of all generations of the Pharaohs. Smiling to himself, the tall, green-haired boy resumed his search.
"I found the hidden room which holds the secrets of all generations of the Pharaohs," commented Henry, "Let's see if it's here… The previous Pharaoh, Aknamkanon… Maybe I can find a clue to the riddle's answer here."
Unfortunately, he had no luck in finding it.
"It's not here either?!" yelled Henry, frustrated, "Dammit! Where? Where can I find it?!"
(elsewhere…)
In another hallway, Emily noticed that none of the servants were moving.
"Nobody's moving," she gasped, "A minute ago, they were moving about to do the chores of the kingdom. Now? Now, they find themselves unable to move a muscle."
(elsewhere…)
In the kitchen, James, Percy, and Bobasa each noticed that nobody was moving or preparing the meals of the day.
"Everybody's frozen!" realized Percy.
"What the hell's going on?!" demanded James.
Bobasa frowned, wondering if this was the work of somebody he knew.
(elsewhere…)
Back in the underground shrine…
"Zorc Necrophades!" chanted Aknadin, "Please hear the wish I beseech of thee!"
Over with our heroes…
"He's contacting something enormous, something terrifying…!" said Isis direly, "I feel a wave of wickedness! Lord Aknadin, you must not resurrect it!"
Back at the stone, a shadowy figure of a fiendish being began to rise. Although nobody knew it at the time, this was the Dark One Montague had been talking about - Zorc Necrophades.
"High Priest Aknadin…" The shadowed fiend began, pleased that he had been contacted, "I knew you would come here to complete the Dark Contract with me… Because you are the one who brought the Millennium Items into this world! Aknadin… rule this world! Become the slave of my soul… and I shall grant your wish!"
"My only desire is for a new Pharaoh to be named," insisted Aknadin, before a sadistic smile appeared on his face, "My own beloved son…Seto."
Cue shocked gasps from the priests.
"What did he…?!" began Shimon.
"Seto is…" put in Atem.
Seto, meanwhile, was the most horrified of all to learn of this.
"I'm… I am…?" stammered Seto, still being unable to move a muscle, "I am Lord Aknadin's…son?"
Yikes… This was a serious plot twist if I ever saw one.
"I have heard your wish!" The shadowed fiend acknowledged, firing off a beam of purple energy from his chest, "Take my power within you, Aknadin!"
The purple beam struck Aknadin, causing him to scream.
"Aknadin!" called Atem.
Instead of hurting Aknadin, however, it instead caused him to gain power and transform into a whole new form. He was now a masked creature with shocks of red hair, robed in dark purple.
(elsewhere…)
Back in the Domain of the Gods…
"As you can see, my Aknadin game piece has just leveled up and doubled in overall strength," explained Montague, "He is now known as 'High Priest of Darkness - the Great Shadow Magus'."
"Great Shadow Magus?" demanded Thomas, "What I want to know is what did you do to Aknadin!"
"I haven't done a single thing," insisted Montague (which was a partial lie), "All these events are reoccurring exactly as they did 3000 years ago—with a few minor modifications, of course. Thanks to this Shadow Game, I am able to influence certain events. In the old days, Atem managed to seal Zorc away at the cost of his life. However, it won't be so easy to do so 'this' time… For you see, Zorc Necrophades, the Dark One, will be reviving real soon… And then he shall turn this world into a paradise of destruction and ruin!" He then waved his right arm about, "Look at my third Master Item!"
A third hourglass, more wicked looking than the other two, manifested onto the Spirit of the Millennium Ring's side of the table.
"Is that-?!" began Thomas.
"Now that the seven Millennium Items have been placed into the Stone Tablet of the Underworld," laughed Montague, "the third hourglass, the 'Hourglass of Isolated Desperation', can now be activated!"
"What?!" Thomas cried out, "What the hell is the Hourglass of Isolated Desperation?!"
"The last spec of sand that falls from this hourglass…will usher in the moment of Zorc's revival!"
From there, Montague burst into loud, cackling laughter. Thomas, meanwhile, knew he had to do something to stop Zorc Necrophades from being reborn again.
(elsewhere…)
Back in the palace, Henry, after looking over the room with secrets of previous Pharaohs, found himself entering a new section of the area. He eventually entered one room, where he found Kisara still sleeping in the bed.
"I almost forgot about you," whispered Henry in a sinister tone, "You will play a crucial part in my plans for victory. But for the time being, you may sleep well."
He then turned and left while uttering an evil chuckle.
(elsewhere…)
Before long, the party regrouped in the courtyard, having searched and searched for any clue towards the riddle's answer.
"Anything?" asked Emily.
Edward shook his head, "Nothing."
Mavis then saw Toby looking a little uneasy about something.
"Toby?" The blonde-haired girl wondered, causing Toby to cringe, "What's the matter? You look like you've seen a ghost or something."
"Not like it's the first time he has," snickered James.
"I… I don't wanna talk about it," said Toby, looking flustered as he stared at Mavis (having seen her ancestor undress herself and get naked before stepping into the hot springs), "All I'll say is that I didn't find the answer either."
At last, before anything else could be said, Henry arrived.
"About time," huffed Gordon, "Where were you, Henry?"
"Searching for the riddle's answer," replied Henry, before frowning a bit, "I couldn't find it anywhere."
"Well, this is just peachy," groaned Percy, "It wasn't here either. All James, Bobasa, and I found were people being unable to move."
"Same here!" interrupted Mavis, "Edward and I saw some people not moving during our search!"
"I did, too," put in Emily, "Something's not right here."
"Let's get out of this place," suggested Gordon, "The answer might be in another part of town."
And the group left the palace at last.
(elsewhere…)
Within the town, the townsfolk, like the palace servants and soldiers, were frozen in place.
"The townsfolk are frozen as well…" Mavis pointed out, "I have a bad feeling about this…"
"We seem to be the only ones able to move," added James, noticing that Honda, his ancestor, was also frozen.
Percy then noticed that Jono, his ancestor, was frozen and not able to move either.
"Everyone's frozen as if they are figurines of a game," The green-haired boy remarked.
"Figurines?" repeated Emily, before thinking, "Figurines… Wait, that's it!"
"Emily?" quizzed Mavis.
"What's up?" added Toby.
"Maybe we're actually inside a game world," explained Emily, "And everyone that's frozen are non-playable characters."
"Whaaaat?!" cried James, "This is a game world?!"
"No wonder we can't be seen or heard," realized Percy, "We don't interact with certain events that alter the game. And the people only act as they are meant to."
Before Edward could add to that, he noticed something going on with Bobasa.
"H-Hey, Bobasa!" The intelligent, blue-haired boy pondered, "What's wrong?"
The Millennium Items hidden in Bobasa's body started glowing as his eyes became dull and empty.
"Bobasa! What the-?!" began James, but didn't finish.
"The light of the Millennium Items is shining from Bobasa's body…!" realized Gordon.
"The Pharaoh is in danger," mumbled Bobasa, "He needs my help!"
"WHAT?!" Emily and the likes cried out.
"I…am the one who guards the stone tablet," Bobasa went on, starting to speak with a whole new voice, "I have protected the tablet all these years…"
Emily was shocked, "Bobasa, you-"
"This light is a sign…that the Millennium Items have been returned to the stone tablet where they were made…" explained Bobasa, with his eyes now glowing a golden yellow, "And now…"
"He's changing appearance!" gasped Emily.
Everyone watched as Bobasa, glowing all white, began changing body shape into something completely new.
"My other self… Hasan, the spirit of the stone tablet…will show the way to where the riddle's answer lies!" Bobasa, turning himself into Hasan (the same one Atem met earlier on), boomed, "I have waited to carry out this task for 3000 years!"
"Who or what are you?!" demanded Percy.
"I am Hasan, the spirit of the stone tablet!" announced Hasan.
"Bobasa transformed into a masked man!" Emily thought to herself. She then spoke out loud, "Hasan, you can help us find the answer to the riddle?"
"I cannot take you to where it is, but I will tell you of the answer's location," confirmed Hasan, "The answer you seek lies in the place where his soul sleeps."
"The place where his soul sleeps?" pondered Mavis, "Is that supposed to be a riddle?"
"The Pharaoh's Tomb!" realized Emily.
"The Pharaoh's Tomb?! But he's still alive!" protested James.
"In Ancient Egypt, the Pharaohs built their tombs while they were still on the thrones," reminded Edward.
"The Valley of the Kings!" announced Emily, "That's where his tomb must be…!"
"You have little time," warned Hasan, "Only all of you may enter that holy place. You 'must' the answer to the riddle at all costs!"
"We won't fail!" nodded Emily.
Hasan nodded back, "I leave it to you!" he acknowledged, "Until we next meet!"
From there, Hasan flew off into the sky.
"He flew away…?!" gawked James, "Who the heck is he?!"
"We better hurry, too!" cut in Emily, "To the Valley of the Kings!"
"That's way over on the other side of the Nile!" Percy pointed out.
"How will we get there?" asked Toby.
"This is a game, remember?" said Emily, "So that means we can do anything we want," She then jumped into the air, "Like, say, fly!"
And, as if by magic, Emily began flying like a winged spirit.
"HUH?!" Percy and the likes all exclaimed.
"Come on, everyone!" called Emily, "We have an answer to find!"
From there, the rest of the group jumped into the air and flew behind Emily. As of now, their journey to reaching the Valley of the Kings was gonna go much more smoothly than from before.
(elsewhere…)
Back in the underground shrine of Kul Elna, trouble was brewing for Atem and the others—who were still frozen in place.
"Now, my Priest of Darkness!" The shadowed fiend bellowed, "If you eliminate the Pharaoh right now, your wish shall be granted!"
Great Shadow Magus cackled wickedly in response.
"H-He said my Father…?" stammered Seto, "Lord Aknadin…is…my Father?"
A flashback ensued.
FLASHBACK
Years ago, Young Seto and his Mother were seeing Flashback Aknadin off.
"My Father never came home after that day," narrated Seto.
END FLASHBACK
The short flashback ended.
"And you're telling me Lord Aknadin turns out to be the very same Father?!" Seto asked himself, "I… I cannot-"
"Let me tell you, my son, Seto," said Great Shadow Magus, overhearing the Egyptian Spencer talking to himself, "The truth that the former King, Aknamkanon, was actually my brother."
"What?!" cried Atem.
"Aknadin is the Little Brother of Atem's Father, Aknamkanon?!" added Anzu.
Shimon, despite being frozen in place, couldn't help but grimace a little bit as a flashback started up.
FLASHBACK
Years ago, Flashback Aknamkanon stood outside on the balcony, absorbing the cheers, cries, and adoration from the citizens below. Inside, Flashback Shimon watched from nearby along with Flashback Aknadin.
"This…is the truth that only myself and Sir Aknadin knows of currently!" narrated Shimon, "It's a secret the two of us swore to keep to ourselves!"
END FLASHBACK
The flashback ended.
"And why now, of all times…" thought Shimon, looking at Great Shadow Magus, "Why are you breaking that promise?!" Then he realized something, "Montague must have preyed upon the hidden jealousy Aknadin always felt towards his brother, and the incredible guilt he must have harbored after giving up his family."
"Because you, my son, Seto," continued Great Shadow Magus, before holding his arms up with a sense of triumph, "are the most fitting to rule as a rightful King! Meaning that if you rid yourself of all obstacles, you can steal the throne and reign over this country!"
With that said, the man that was formerly Aknadin raised his hands as they crackled with purple electricity and he himself was surrounded by such power
"Weep as, right here and now, Seto becomes the new King of this country!" boomed Great Shadow Magus, charging something in his hands, "Never again shall we live in my brother's shadow, Seto! Together, we will rise up and claim our rightful place on the throne of Egypt. The era of King Seto has begun!"
With that said, he fired off an enormous beam of energy aimed directly at Atem. Still being frozen, the blue-haired Egyptian boy was unable to evade or do anything to stop the attack.
(elsewhere…)
Outside the village within the sky, Hasan was flying towards his destination at the speed of light.
(elsewhere…)
Back in the underground shrine, it looked certain that Atem was going to be hit by the energy blast.
"DIE, ATEM!" screamed Great Shadow Magus.
Before it was too late, Hasan suddenly swooped into the chamber and blocked the blast from hitting Atem and his friends and potentially ending their lives.
"The attack was repelled before it could make contact!" thought Atem.
(elsewhere…)
Back in the Domain of the Gods…
"What?!" cried Montague, "He's protecting the Pharaoh! Who 'is' this guy?!"
"Have you forgotten that there are 'two' people playing this game?" laughed Thomas, before holding up a small figurine that looked like Hasan, "I have a Master Item of my own."
Montague gasped, "That's…!"
(elsewhere…)
Back in the game world, the attack by Great Shadow Magus started to weaken a little bit.
"Who are you, fiend?!" demanded Great Shadow Magus, rather hypocritically since he himself WAS a fiend, "You, who dares to to repel my attack and protect the Pharaoh!"
"I am Hasan, protector of the Pharaohs!" declared Hasan, "The former Pharaoh has given me the duty to protect this land of Egypt and the great Pharaoh!" He then turned to look at Atem, "As the late Aknamkanon wished, I shall protect you!"
"Hasan…!" muttered Atem, "It's you from before…!"
A flashback ensued.
FLASHBACK
As his vision finally came back, Flashback Atem saw somebody standing over him. It wasn't anybody he recognized; the person wore white robes and wore a golden, Egyptian-styled mask of a sort.
"Who are you?" asked Flashback Atem weakly.
"My name is Hasan," The masked man answered.
"Hasan?" repeated Flashback Atem.
"Pharaoh, Zorc Necrophades is about to revive," warned Flashback Hasan, "Only 'you' can defeat Zorc."
"Zorc?" quizzed Flashback Atem, wondering who that was.
"The former King, Aknamkanon, is also watching over you."
END FLASHBACK
The flashback ended.
"Hasan, or whoever you are…" snarled Great Shadow Magus, "If an insect like you truly has the ability to communicate with my brother, the late Aknamkanon… Tell my brother this! That the only one deserving of having the glory to rule as King is my son, Seto!"
"I shall not listen to the ramblings of someone who heeds the soul of Zorc Necrophades to satisfy his own desires!" retorted Hasan, "DARKNESS BEGONE!"
With a cry, the masked man raised his hands and deflected the energy blast upward.
(elsewhere…)
Back in the Domain of the Gods, the same purple energy blast was shown firing from the center of the game table. All Montague could do about it was scream in shock. Soon, the energy blast started raining down beams upon the table, striking and destroying one of the hourglasses.
"The Time Controlling Hourglass…!" panicked Montague.
"With your hourglass destroyed," grinned Thomas, holding his right hand out, "my friends are now free!"
(elsewhere…)
Back in the game world, the time spell finally wore off, freeing everyone.
"M-My body…!" rejoiced Mana, "I can move it again!"
"Why are you able to move?!" demanded Great Shadow Magus angrily, "Only those I permit are supposed to be able to move!"
"Not anymore, Great Shadow Magus," declared Hasan, with a swirl of his cape, "Your time-halting spell has been broken. Time has begun to move again!"
Indeed, Atem and the others were able to move once again. This meant they could help Hasan fight Great Shadow Magus if needed.
"Curse you… Hasan!" threatened Great Shadow Magus.
(elsewhere…)
Back in the Domain of the Gods…
"You sure did screw me over there!" admitted Montague, "However, it's a little 'too' early to celebrate at ease, Thomas. It's only a matter of time before the darkness claims your spirit, and everything you care about crumbles. Your poor friends are running out of steam."
"How?" asked Thomas.
"Take a look at the gauges of your pieces?" suggested Montague, smirking darkly.
"What? What do you mean by gauges?!"
"It's the gauge of their souls which lies on the Diabiankhs," The Spirit of the Millennium Ring explained, "My piece, Great Shadow Magus, is operating at full power level right now. 'Your' pieces, however…"
(elsewhere…)
Back in the game world, the Diabiankhs of the priests, Atem, and Anzu were running very low on power/Ba.
(elsewhere…)
Back in the Domain of the Gods…
"Anyone who's gauge reaches zero crosses over…" continued Montague, "And if the Pharaoh is injured in battle, and his Ba gauge depleted… you yourself will die alongside him," He his smile grew eviler, "And not only you… Your friends as well!"
Thomas scowled in response.
"Listen up!" exclaimed Montague, as images of the citizens of Atem's kingdom were shown above the table, "This includes all the people of this world! They all have a Ba gauge! But, since most of them don't have a Diabiankh… it's impossible to know how much Ba they have remaining… And they blindly wander the city, believing tomorrow will come as it always does," He then chuckled evilly, "My goodness, what ignorant people they are. They don't even know that the two of us are deciding whether they live or die!"
The images above the table faded away.
"This must end!" ordered Thomas.
"Of course," agreed Montague, "'Every' game has to come to an end eventually. It's simply a question of who the victor will be, and who will be doomed to wander in the Shadows for all of eternity. Here we sit, high above the rest of the world, deciding the future of mankind. The fate of the world rests in our hands! Say, Thomas… How many civilians do you suppose have been killed during our previous battles?"
Enraged, Thomas did not dare to respond to that question.
"Don't bother answering, because even I don't know how much people were needlessly sacrificed," Montague said mockingly, "Not only that, you shouldn't act like you're innocent! And don't try to tell me you aren't just as responsible. Since you were, you know, in the battles as well. Listen well! This is a battle of Gods! As far as this game is concerned, the two of us are divine Gods! And he who dominates this RPG…will become the God of all Gods!"
The Spirit of the Millennium Ring laughed madly in response.
"Montague, don't lump me together with you!" demanded Thomas, "I have no interest in 'wanting' to become a God!" Images of Emily, Percy, Toby, Edward, James, Henry, Gordon, Mavis, Seto, Shimon, Isis, Karim, Shada, Anzu, etc. were shown as he spoke on, "You may fight for greed, but I fight for the safety of my friends and the world. And no matter what happens to me, I will do everything in my power to protect them!"
"Even if it means turning your back on them?" taunted Montague, "Don't go thinking that I don't remember your depression phase where you drove everyone else away out of fear for their safety. Oh yes, I even know how you gave into your inner darkness during that summer when you were on a little journey to rescue Emily…"
A very familiar flashback ensued.
FLASHBACK
Flashback Thomas (possessed), during his duel with Flashback Nathaniel, finally readied his card. It was an all-too familiar one, too...
"From my hand, I'll activate this card…" Flashback Thomas (possessed) announced at once, "…'The Field of Dark Graves'!"
Flashback Nathaniel only looked on silently and grimly. Flashback Thomas (possessed) soon slotted the card inside the Field Spell Zone on his Duel Disk, causing it to start sparking.
"It is…" The possessed blue-haired boy mumbled, which was also all he could say.
Suddenly, the dark aura around him thickened and became much more powerful than ever before, causing him to scream in intense agony while emulating a massive shadow over the whole field. Flashback Nathaniel had been shielding himself and looking away from the powerful burst of dark energy. Soon, he recovered and looked on ahead to whoever was standing in the nearby purple smoke. As the smoke began to fade, standing there was what looked almost like Flashback Thomas, but with grey skin, black hair, red eyes, ripped pants, no shirt, and a respective scar on the side of his face and across his chest. It was 'him'! It was the 'Evil One'! It was…Diablon. The 'new' Thomas said nothing, but there was a grim look of anger on his face.
END FLASHBACK
The flashback ended, with Montague cackling wildly at having brought the memory up, seeing as a piece of himself had been inside the Millennium Puzzle during that time period.
"It's hard to imagine that the descendant of a Pharaoh, who swore to protect the world from darkness, was also the reincarnation of a being who was created 'by' darkness," said Montague, "Talk about irony, if you ask me!"
"Are you quite finished?" asked Thomas coldly, "Your attempts to break me are quite boring. I admit that mistakes were made, but guess what? I 'learned' from them! I managed to put the past behind me, and become a stronger person in the process, learning how to use the power of darkness to 'help' people instead of hurting them."
Montague actually flinched from hearing that speech. Nevertheless, the Spirit of the Millennium Ring wasn't going to give up until he broke his enemy's spirit to fight on.
"Prattle as much as you like, Thomas!" Montague yelled out, before regaining his composure, "I plan to become the evil God of this world… and become the key that unlocks destruction and terror! And I plan to show you…the end of the world as we know it!"
It was then Montague burst into insane laughter yet again.
"I still have time to stop you!" insisted Thomas.
Montague merely placed a hand on his third hourglass to show that time was still counting down.
"Too little, too late!" declared Montague, "Because the countdown to destruction has already begun!"
(elsewhere…)
Back in the game world, the priests, Atem, Anzu, Mana, and Hasan all stared down Great Shadow Magus as Montague's psychotic laughter echoed throughout. With the countdown until Zorc Necrophades finally appeared, could Thomas stop Montague from succeeding, and can the Ancient Egyptian cast put a stop to Great Shadow Magus from killing Atem and making Seto the new Pharaoh? Stay tuned for more action and drama!
There was originally not going to be a Mavis-based fanservice moment here, but Aaron included such a good idea for one into the chapter outline that I couldn't resist adding it in. Granted, it's not actually Mavis who endures it, but you should know what I mean, right?