This story contains TRIGGER WARNINGS for rape, violence, blood, physical and emotional abuse, suicide (mentioned). READ AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION.
This warning applies to the story in general. NO SPECIFIC WARNINGS FOR INDIVIDUAL CHAPTERS WILL BE GIVEN!
Chapter 31
Yugi lunged at Otogi and both tumbled to the ground. Yugi's hands wrapped around Otogi's throat in a tight grip. Otogi's eyes were wide.
"LIAR!" Yugi yelled so loud it echoed through the hall. "YOU DAMN LIAR!"
Otogi tried to push him off but in his rage Yugi was strong like Sekhmet and Otogi was nothing but a mouse. Arms pulled him back, despite him thrashing around and calling "LIAR!" over and over. Yugi's blood was boiling.
"For fuck's sake! He's just a whore! Restrain him already!" Dartz said as Yugi repeatedly kicked and punched the men holding him. "Otogi, go on already!"
"Of course!" Otogi said and rose with shaky legs. He opened his mouth but Yugi shouted:
"WHAT KIND OF RULER ENSLAVES HIS OWN PEOPLE?!"
Dartz slapped him with the back of his hand. Yugi spat out blood but he didn't care about the pain.
"As I was saying…" Otogi's voice was trembling. "The traitors will be brought to a ship and sold to Hellas. Soldiers, the usual procedure."
A couple of Atlanteans produced simple linen bags. Jou, Kisara, Honda, and all the others resisted but their shackles rendered them helpless. The soldiers pulled the bags over their heads, then led them out of the hall.
Those bags… And what Otogi had just said… The pieces in Yugi's mind assembled and the following realisation was like being thrown off a tower.
"Your loved ones were never executed!" Yugi said to the hall. Everyone looked at him. "They dragged them away with bags over their heads just like this, right?! They were all sold into slavery! They're still alive!"
Yugi only needed to see Dartz's shocked expression and his face turning even paler to know he was correct. A middle-aged noble with a beard emerged from the crowd.
"So my niece and nephew are still alive?!" he said, resisting as the soldiers were pushing him back into the crowd. "Where are they?! Answer me, Atlantean!"
A murmur grew and more people stepped forward.
"Where is my best friend?!"
"You have my son!"
"What did you do to my granddaughter?!"
The soldiers hit and shoved everyone who asked questions. But the news had ignited hope and anger, a combination that was nearly impossible to stop.
"I think you owe these people an explanation," Atem said and shot Otogi an icy look. "Their fury is more than justified. I'm sure as the future Pharaoh you will resolve the matter quickly and with grace."
"I'll be a better Pharaoh than you've ever been!" Otogi yelled, huffing. "And you'll be executed on the spot! Soldiers…!"
"DON'T YOU DARE!" Yugi shouted, another bolt of rage shooting through him. Kek approached him and grabbed Yugi's chin. Around his hips he wore the black leather pouch with bombs. An idea shot through Yugi's head.
"I think we need to teach this whore another-"
Yugi bit Kek's hand, his teeth digging into the brown skin like a cheetah attacking a gazelle. Kek screamed and before he could hit Yugi, Yugi kicked him between the legs multiple times. Kek fell backwards, holding his crotch.
While the others cheered or gasped Yugi made use of the Atlanteans' confusion. He stomped the feet of both soldiers holding him. Yugi slid out of their grip, then punched one man, and pushed the other into him. They toppled over each other.
Ignoring the pain in his fist, Yugi dashed towards Kek and ripped the bomb pouch off him. Before anyone could stop him, Yugi was standing next to a fire plate with a bomb in one hand. All noise in the hall died. Everyone stared at him.
"Yugi… Don't," Otogi said, fear in his eyes.
Yugi held the fuse into the flame and everyone shrieked or tried to get out of the way. Yugi threw it at Otogi who ducked and hurried away. The bomb exploded and chaos broke out.
Yugi grabbed a spear from the floor and sliced at everyone in his way. Otogi, Dartz, and Kek hurried through the exit, protected by a circle of soldiers. Yugi was about to go after them but someone shoved him to the floor. That someone was Atem – and he was protecting Yugi from an Atlantean with his sword. Metal clashed a few times before Atem cut the soldier's throat and blood gushed from the wound.
"My Pharaoh! Royal Ornament!" Lord Seto said and pulled both of them into a corner behind a pillar. All three were panting.
"We need more weapons. We have to be quick or else the Atlanteans regain control," Atem said.
"You make your way to the armoury with some allies. Take these." Yugi gave Atem two out of the six bombs in his pouch. He handed two more to Lord Seto. "You go save Kisara and the others."
"What about you?" Lord Seto asked.
"I'm going after that filthy maggot and his friends."
Without another word, Yugi rose, tied the pouch around his hips, and ran through the exit. The fights had already spread to the corridors. The walls and floors were speckled with blood and some people squirmed on the floor. A few were dead, among them an Egyptian soldier with blue, spiky hair. In order to get through, Yugi had to stab and impale anyone in his way. In the process, he saved at least five Egyptians from being killed.
"Follow me!" Yugi shouted once most Atlanteans were wounded or dead. The Egyptians obeyed and together they stormed down the hallway and into the forecourt.
No blood was being spilled here yet. Four Atlanteans guarded the place. They startled at the sight of the armed Egyptians. Yugi pointed his spear at the neck of the tallest Atlantean.
"Where's Otogi?!" he demanded. His arm trembling, the soldier pointed to his right.
"A-At the stables! P-Please don't-"
Yugi hurried past him before the man could finish, as did the other Egyptians. Of course, the stables. That had to be where the bomb carts were too.
The stables were three small buildings with a court in the middle and a wall surrounding everything. Seven Atlanteans stood at the wooden gate, weapons raised.
"Attack!" Yugi said and everyone let out their battle cries. The groups clashed. Yugi had to slash open an Atlantean's stomach before reaching the gate. It was too heavy to be opened from the outside without something heavy. Yugi turned to his right and climbed a pillar to the top of the wall. The roofing was slanted and made out of straw. Bent over, he sneaked around the edges of the court inside.
Atlantean soldiers were rushing from one corner to another, barking commands. Dartz, Kek, and Otogi stood in a semi-circle not far from the four carts with bombs. Yugi's fingers dug into the straw upon seeing Otogi's face.
"What happened?! Your whore made a fool of us!" Dartz snapped.
"How am I supposed to know?!" Otogi said, his voice a little high-pitched.
The Atlanteans were tying two horses to one of the carts and pulled it towards the gate. Yugi knew he had to stop them. He remembered the last two bombs in his pouch and spotted a torch near a wall not far from him. He sneaked towards it, lay down on his stomach, and held one of the bombs into the fire. His fingers and eyes burned from the rising heat but he refused to pull back his hand.
The fuse caught fire. Yugi shot up, aimed into one of the carts below him, and threw the bomb, then crouched down.
BOOM!
The explosion vibrated through Yugi's whole body and was followed by a second one a moment later. When Yugi looked up, two of the carts had turned into black craters. Palm trees, bushes, and wooden pillars were on fire. Panicked screams and neighs came from several places.
Otogi lay on the ground, his leg caught under a large piece of what used to be a cart. Dartz and Kek had landed near the wall – or what was left of it after the explosion had torn a large hole into it.
Yugi descended from the roof with his spear in one hand. A few Atlanteans on the ground noticed him and scurried away. Otogi stared at Yugi like an antelope that was up against a lion.
"Dartz! Kek! Help me!" he shrieked. Dartz and Kek however, rose and limped through the hole in the wall as fast as they could.
"Let's get back to Asphaleia! We're safe there!" Kek said and Dartz nodded. Otogi punched the ground beneath him.
"Come back, you traitors! Come back!" he yelled.
"Scared?" Yugi hissed and stopped in front of Otogi. "You should be after what you've done to your own people."
Yugi drew back his spear but then…
BOOM!
The third cart exploded and sent Yugi flying through the air. He hit the ground and a sharp pain shot through his rib cage. The explosion had destroyed the piece of wood Otogi had been trapped under. He rose to his feet and limped towards the last remaining bomb cart, the one the Atlanteans had tied horses to earlier.
Otogi yelled at a soldier and both climbed on the seat in the front. The Atlantean tugged on the reins and the horses moved to the left and trotted towards the hole in the wall.
Rubbing his head, Yugi rose. He grabbed a bow and a quiver from a writhing Atlantean, then entered the stables. Most horses were nervously moving. Yugi chose one in the back that seemed relatively calm and led the brown mare outside.
He mounted her and spurred her. She galloped through the hole in the wall and Yugi steered her towards the bomb cart in some distance. It was racing along a path that was too narrow for it. The mare wasn't the fastest but her speed was enough to get closer to Otogi.
Dashing past pavilions, palm trees, and a pond, Yugi pulled out his bow and fired one arrow after another. The fourth one hit the Atlantean in the back. He fell and pulled the reins with him. The horses sharply steered to the right, towards the mansion's wall. The horses managed to avoid it but the cart crashed into the wall and bombs spilled everywhere. Otogi crawled out from a pile of wood and limped towards the only close building: the food storage.
Yugi came to a halt and climbed off the horse's back. A sword lay not far from him on the ground, probably once belonging to the dead Atlantean. Yugi picked it up and approached the food storage with slow steps. It was dark inside so Yugi took the torch next to the entrance from its sconce. He entered.
Rows of shelves stood in the hall. They were filled with crates and boxes and they exuded the faint scent of flour, fruits, lentils, and more. The only windows were small and high up, letting only little evening light inside.
"Face me, Otogi!" Yugi called and his voice echoed. "You can't hide anyway!"
Yugi moved slowly, following any sound of what resembled footsteps. A screech of wood came from around a corner. It was a dead end. Yugi placed the torch in another sconce. With his sword ready to strike, he jumped into the niche – and found nothing.
That was, until he looked up. Otogi was climbing the shelf. Yugi followed him to the top. The space between the shelf and the ceiling was so low both had to bend over. Otogi was rushing towards one of the windows. Yugi chased after him, despite the shelves shaking.
"Don't you dare!" Yugi yelled, lunged at Otogi, and caught him around the waist. The shelf they were standing on swayed, then fell over. It hit another one and both collided with the ground, their contents spilling everywhere. Yugi and Otogi also fell but Yugi didn't care about the pain.
He stood up, sword in hand, and Otogi scrambled to his feet. He held his side and raised one hand in defence. Otogi walked backwards as Yugi stomped towards him.
"Yugi, listen-"
"I'm done with listening! And I'm done with you!" Yugi yelled, swung his sword, and sliced open a bag of dried beans.
"Yugi calm down!" Otogi said, shaking. "You'll just mess everything up like you always do! Don't you remember Sobek's Bridge? Or how you shouted at the Pharaoh in front of everyone? Or how you caused that rebellion in Tamiat? Just put down that sword and let me-"
"I will never in my whole life let you decide over me again!" Yugi's heart was thudding like a war drum. Any chain that had ever kept him from telling Otogi the truth had broken. All his anger, fears, and frustration unloaded in an unstoppable storm. "All this time I made excuses for your shitty behaviour! Told myself you were honest when you said you wanted the best for Tamiat! Let you give me away like an object, treat me like a stupid child, manipulate me! All for the sake of my home! But all you care about his yourself! In your attempt to get rid of your nightmares you'd even sell your own people into slavery, the thing that drove my mother into her suicide! I swear to the gods that I won't let you! I won't let you hurt anyone anymore!"
Yugi swung his sword at Otogi. Otogi ducked and Yugi's sword got stuck in a shelf. Only for a moment but it was enough for Otogi to kick Yugi in the stomach and steal the last bomb from his black leather pouch. Otogi ran. Yugi pulled his sword out of the wood and followed him.
"Get back here!" Yugi yelled. Otogi hurried towards the only source of light in the hall – the torch. He lit the fuse, threw the bomb into a shelf…
BOOM.
It rained scorched chickpeas and burned apples. The shelf was on fire and caved in a moment later. Something hit Yugi in the head and he fell. His vision darkened and pain enveloped his skull. He could only watch how Otogi ran away.
Yugi cursed and felt blood run over his temple. He tried to recover until he noticed a sharp smell in the air. His lungs froze. The fire had spread over several shelves. One of them screeched and fell over, sending vibrations through the ground and spreading the flames even further.
Coughing, Yugi searched for the exit and ran through it. Outside, he collapsed on a patch of grass, still struggling for breath.
"H-Help…!" he tried to call but it was barely louder than a whisper. His eyes were stinging and he was still dizzy from his head injury.
Luckily, others noticed the smoke. They tried to save a few supplies and put out the fire but they soon had to admit that it was no use. All they could do was make sure it wouldn't spread to any tree or other building.
More and more people assembled, watching the supplies burn with wide eyes. Nobles and commoners alike were holding weapons and their clothes were speckled with red. They were frozen and only moved when Atem made his way through the crowd. His nemes headdress was messy and a few strands of hair peeked out. A fresh cut ran across his forearm and his clothes were dirty.
"Yugi!" he said, dashed towards him, and fell on his knees. He hugged Yugi and only now Yugi realised how much he needed it. His energy from before was subsiding, leaving him with trembling limbs. "Are you all right?"
"Somewhat, yeah. What happened?"
"We got to the armoury and could overpower the Atlanteans. Busiris is free but Dartz got away, just like Kek and Otogi."
"Dammit," Yugi said, his shaky hand grasping Atem's clothes.
By now, Bakura had arrived. He was shouting commands, only to hear from the others that they had already tried everything to put out the flames. Kisara emerged from the crowd and she hurried towards Yugi.
"Oh my Ra, you're wounded," she said and brushed his blond bangs away. Part of them were soaked in blood.
"So are you." Yugi pointed at her bleeding shoulder. "You're here so does that mean Jou and the others…?"
Kisara shook her head with a pained expression. In a tone as if she wanted to apologise she said:
"Seto managed to save me but he got kidnapped instead. Ryou tried to help too but they took him as well. I'm the only one who could get away."
Yugi felt the colour drain from his face. He stared into the void, trying to make sense out of the situation.
"Well, fuck," Bakura said, now not far from them. "This is it. Despite everything that just happened, we now have no food and the Atlanteans still have their bombs. We're done."
No one could deny it. The only sound was the crackling of the fire. Atem and Kisara rose and talked to someone but Yugi didn't hear it. All sounds faded into the background. He looked at the burning food storage.
Yugi knew he should be devastated. But he wasn't.
It was as if he had thrown away something heavy that had been holding him back. As if he could finally spread his wings after being caught in a cage for an eternity. As if he had firm ground beneath his feet after a long time of almost drowning in an ocean. Yugi had lost something today and he'd never want it back.
He looked at the destroyed bomb cart to his left. The pieces of what he had witnessed today and in the months prior fit together effortlessly and formed a plan.
Slowly, Yugi rose. There was a calm and steady kind of strength coursing through him. Yes, he knew what to do. He turned to the others.
"We're not done," Yugi said so loudly everyone around him directed their attention to him. His voice was a little deeper than before. "We're going to win this war and we're going to save everyone from slavery."
The others remained silent. A laugh escaped Bakura's throat.
"And how in the gods' names are we going to do that?" he asked, arms crossed. Yugi didn't care for his dismissive tone.
"Earlier, Dartz and Kek refused to help Otogi when he was in danger. Considering Otogi's dramatic act about betrayal earlier, I think it's safe to assume that their alliance is over. When the Atlanteans got here yesterday, Dartz said the rest of the bomb shipment was stored in Tamiat. Otogi will no doubt make his way back to Tamiat but he will refuse to let Dartz have any of the bombs. At least for now. We've got to make use of that short time."
"What do you mean?" Atem asked. Yugi pointed at the pile of bombs near the wall.
"They're not much but they'll be enough if we use them wisely. I heard Kek and Dartz talk earlier and they seem to plan on going back to Asphaleia. We seize it and take Dartz hostage. Dartz mentioned dozens of times that his father is a general as well. If he wants his son alive, he'll have to retreat all Atlantean forces from Egypt."
"We'll go in there blind! None of us knows that place, that Asphaleia!" Bakura said.
"I do! I grew up there!" Yugi approached Bakura, his chin raised. "And what's with that cowardly attitude of yours all of a sudden? Do you want to save your brother or not?"
Bakura ground his teeth, on one side offended, on the other determined to get Ryou back. Yugi stepped on a boulder from which he could look over the crowd. All eyes were on him as the setting sun immersed everything in reddish light.
"Nobles and commoners, listen to me! The situation is grim but we can still be victorious. Remember, your loved ones aren't dead! They're still alive and we can save them if we fight!" He pointed at the flaming storage behind himself. "Yes, they destroyed our food but they also set us free! We've got nothing to lose and everything to win! Now is the time for us to show these bastards that, when provoked, each and every one of us carries Sekhmet's unstoppable wrath in their hearts! Think about your loved ones and everyone else who was killed, tortured or enslaved! Think about all the tears that were shed, all the blood that was spilled, all the lives that were ended either through death or cruelties that have ripped their souls apart! Feel that rage towards these criminals who invaded Egypt and tell me: ARE – YOU – WITH – ME?!"
Kisara immediately came forward and said:
"I'm with you! I'd rather die fighting than starving!"
A moment of silence. The others shot each other glances, nodding and whispering. Shouts came from the crowd:
"Even if I can't get my daughter back, I'll still fight for her!"
"Let's show them what the north is made of!"
"I will repay them for what they did to my family!"
Everyone let out their battle cries. A new kind of energy swept through the crowd. It was now all or nothing and there was no point in holding back. Their anger was ready to be unleashed.
Yugi jumped off the boulder and approached Atem and Bakura.
"Your people are ready to fight. Lead them," he said. Atem and Bakura exchanged looks, then nodded. Atem stepped forward.
"As your Pharaoh I promise that we'll go into this battle with everything we got! We will make them regret the day they declared war on Egypt! Everyone who suffered shall be avenged and not one Atlantean shall remain on our divine land! We finally have a chance to end the misery Atlantis forced on us and by Sekhmet's thirst for blood, we will take it! Tomorrow, with all our strength and wrath, we attack Asphaleia!" Atem said and the others cheered.
"And Busiris will lend its support," Bakura added. "We shall never be divided again and our vengeance shall never be stopped! We'll fight together with our Pharaoh!"
"WE'LL FIGHT FOR EGYPT!" Atem said and the crowd roared. Yugi took a deep breath and it was as if he could taste everyone's eagerness. It was sweet but it would be nothing compared to their victory.
Kisara walked towards Yugi and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Are you all right? Otogi, he…"
"Otogi is a piece of dirt who lied to all of us," Yugi said, clenching his fists. With everything Otogi had done, he hadn't only destroyed the supplies. He had kindled a fire of fury within Yugi – and Otogi would burn himself on it. "I'm going to take back my childhood home. I'm going to save my friends. And I'm going to drag Otogi off the throne he doesn't deserve. I swear."