Battle End
Akhenaten was looking around the boy's soul room in satisfaction as he saw how much of it had been restored, partly by Shada's returns with fragments of it, and partly by Yuugi's own strength of soul and will. They only needed a few more pieces now, and he was finding himself rather comfortable and welcomed in the room. It was a gentle, peaceful place, but it stirred in him guilt over the events in the past which had led to the formation of the Millennium Items.
"Akhenaten, maybe you should go see what's happening outside?" Yuugi offered suddenly from where he sat, waiting, by the threads. "I mean, as long as these threads stay here, Shada can pass the fragments to me, and now that they found the dumping ground for the majority of the torn soul fragments, it won't take long to finish."
"There's one flaw in your reasoning," the Vizier-Priest answered dryly. "Shada can't pass the fragments to you, regardless of the threads—to send them here, he has to surround them in his energy. My role is to dissipate that energy and give them to you. If the energy isn't dissipated, you won't be able to assimilate them."
"...Oh, so that's how it works," the boy commented dryly. "Okay, then. I guess we wait until we're done. I'm worried about the city, though...How much longer can they...?"
"We are all worried, Yuugi...Little Prince," the Priest admitted with a sigh. "But Anubis said to Shada in no uncertain terms that we need you to survive this battle intact, and so, we must finish this task, and concern ourselves with the rest once we've finished."
After a pause, Yuugi nodded. "I understand." His gaze went to one of the still-damaged walls, where a patch was missing at about eye-level. "That one worries me..."
"What?" Akhenaten asked, following the boy's gaze.
"What I'll see in the picture which should be there," the boy clarified.
"...Why should that worry you? I would think it would be a fond memory there."
"...It updates depending on the state of my friendships and things."
"Again, why should that worry you?"
"...They wanted Atem back. I'm afraid my friendships with them...from my side, have faded or vanished."
"Is that how you currently feel?"
"I'm not sure. I...want to still be friends with them...and a few of them I think are still my friends, but others...I'm not so sure."
"Then restoring it is the best thing for you."
Chuckling, the boy nodded. "I know. I still worry about it."
"Akhenaten, these are the last we were able to find!" Shada's voice came to them, making the two look at the threads as three glowing fragments descended.
"Withdraw, then!" Akhenaten called back, reaching up to grasp the three. They came easily into his hands.
"Understood," the Priest of Anubis answered, and his thread was withdrawn as Akhenaten's disconnected from it and floated back down to the man.
The older man then faced Yuugi with the last three pieces and held them out. The boy took them and closed his eyes as they faded into his body—and what was left of the damage in the room was repaired in a flowing sheet of energy. The picture showed on the wall, and Akhenaten went over to it, examining it closely as he saw many smiling faces and clothing smiles he didn't know. However, he also saw all the people Yuugi had met in Egypt in the image, and smiled in spite of himself to see his own face there as well.
It was also the first time he was seeing how Yuugi viewed Atem, and was surprised that the image of the Prince...was an image of a Pharaoh bearing the weight of the world against all odds. In a way, the younger of the pair idolized him, making him front and center in the image, but the sheer power and burden Atem carried...He now understood what he had never understood before. The two 'Princes' shared the burdens, seeing what burdens the other carried as part of their own, all to try to ease the other's burden, and they often succeeded in sharing it between them.
"Uncle Akhenaten, I think we should go now that my room's restored," Yuugi said in an amused tone.
"Of course, though your—" the man began as he turned to face the grinning boy, then stopped as he realized what Yuugi had just called him. "You imp," he said with a wry grin. "Little Prince, your image seems to be intact—and very full. I am honored to be one of those amongst it."
The boy blushed faintly, but not with shame, with joy. "Thank you. Let's go, then."
He went to his soul room's door, followed by Akhenaten, and as they stepped out, the man felt himself returning to his own body, hand reflexively clutching the smaller one in his. When the small hand squeezed back, he opened his eyes to find himself in the healing room next to Isis' chambers, hand holding Yuugi's as Shada and Isis watched with a combination of hope and worry. Yet, he knew the boy was waking, or he wouldn't have returned the pressure.
"Little Prince, wake up now," he called to the boy, and Yuugi's eyes opened slowly. "Feeling better, little nephew?"
With a sleepy smile, the boy replied, "Yes, much. Thank you, Uncle."
Shada and Isis gaped at the exchange, then the man let out a sigh. "I take it that means you spent the time bonding?"
"What else would we do while waiting for you to return fragments to us?" the Vizier-Priest asked dryly.
Before they could go any further, Yuugi asked, "What's been happening with the attack on the city and Palace?"
"The healers have been healing troops who had been guarding the perimeter, but we've had surprisingly few deaths," Isis said quietly. "The mages and priests left behind by Atem's party have been anchoring a shield around the city and Palace, but it's nothing compared to Mirror Force. So far, the farmland has suffered damage, and we can only be grateful we'd already brought in most of the produce before the attack. The city wall hasn't been breached. However, the Pharaoh is reaching the end of his endurance, and when he does, the shield will collapse—and likely him with it."
Sitting up, the boy nodded and said, "I need a change of clothes and food, then we need to secure the city better. Is it day or night right now?"
"Approaching night. The enemy gains the advantage in darkness," Shada answered.
The boy looked up at him and said, "Then cast and hold a spell called 'Dark-Piercing Light'. Just like Set was able to use the other one I told you about, you should be able to use this one. Give us the light we need to keep as much advantage as we can. Also, once you've done that, use 'Enchanted Javelin' to help restore energy and health to the troops and the Pharaoh."
"But—" Akhenaten began.
"Uncle, I need your help, too. You're just as strong as Shada, so I need you to use 'Gravity Bind Level Two', and summon 'Labyrinth Wall' defensively. Labyrinth Wall is a spirit being, so you don't need a tablet to summon it, and placing it defensively will leave the enemy with only one exit, and it's one they'll have to find before they can attack us again. Do it now, just after Shada activates the ones I told him to use, and we'll get a reprieve. Once I've eaten, Isis can show me to the—to my father's side," Yuugi cut him off calmly, making the other three blink, then trade looks.
Finally, the Vizier-Priest nodded and said, "I understand. We shall do as you instruct. Hurry to Ahknemkhanen's side." At the boy's return nod, he took Shada's arm and led the surprised man out.
Yuugi then looked up at Isis and asked, "So...a change of clothes and food?"
"Yes, Little Prince," she answered wryly, leaving the room quickly.
PA-HPS-YM-SK
The bodies and skeletons—also joined by some mummies—were closing in around them when Atem threw his head back and laughed. It was neither false, nor forced, but a truly amused laugh. Before anyone could ask him why he was laughing, he stopped abruptly and lifted a hand in the air, calling, "Raigeki!"
Massive bolts of lightning shot out of a clear sky and swirled across the field of battle where the undead were, leaving nothing but smoldering bits laying around. The stench of burning flesh and cloth nearly made Set gag, but Atem merely lowered his hand and looked up at the man in front of the shielded portal, who was noticeably pale and staring at the Prince in horror.
"How did you do that?" the man asked almost breathlessly.
"Why do you think I would tell you?" the Prince asked in reply. He then lifted the sword he still held in his hand. "Shall we fight, then, ringleader?"
"I have no need to do such a thing," the man sneered, drawing a thing from his pocket—an object Atem could have sworn looked like a grenade, yet there was something odd about it, too. There was energy attached to it.
As he threw it, instinct caused Atem to call, "Cyclone!"
The smaller bolt of lighting struck the flying grenade, making it fizzle, then vanish into thin air.
Around them, a silence had fallen, but Atem was quickly losing patience. They needed to get the shield around the portal down so they could destroy it, but the two maintaining it were inside the shielded zone now. There had to be a way to bypass their shield, or to take it down. It wasn't actually made with 'magical energy', so didn't count as either magic or a trap, but could it somehow count as a monster?
Suddenly, a thought came to him and he gave a little chuckle, intoning, "Time Wizard, come to my side!" The time-monster appeared with a questioning sound, and Atem ordered, "Time Wizard, set time on the portal and barrier back to the time before the barrier was set!"
Time Wizard raised its staff as the man called down to him with a laugh, "It's impossible to set time so conveniently back to a point where you want it!"
"Normally," Atem agreed, watching in satisfaction as the shield and portal began flickering rapidly.
Suddenly, when the barrier fell and the two holding it cried out in shock, Set yelled, "Fairy Meteor Crush!", then jumped at the portal with his sword raised, body blazing.
"No!" all three lizards yelled, but it was too late.
The High Priest struck the portal ring—and the entire thing exploded into bits.
Now, with the Prince on one side and the High Priest on the other, the three began to worry, particularly since they now had no escape. Both younger humans shot at one each of the barrier-holders, killing them, then faced him. In an attempt to frighten them off, he sent off another wave of power which lifted the debris and targeted it on the two of them, but it was too late.
Two swords, one dark and one light, pierced his body and he fell into darkness, even as the battlefield fell still and silent, all enemies dead without escape.
"Finally..." Set breathed, panting from the effort and energy he'd used.
"I can agree with that sentiment. Great Gods...Now I know how Yuugi could so easily have overused his energy..." Atem answered tiredly, dismissing the sword in his hand and releasing the summoned beings from his control.
"...Yes, that's true," the High Priest replied dryly, releasing his spells and summons as well. "Atem..."
"Yes?"
"I hope I never have to see you so terrifying again."
The Prince laughed at the words and moved over to hug the other young man tightly. It was returned just as fiercely.
PA-HPS-YM-SK
When Yuugi first saw the Pharaoh, he saw exhaustion, but gratitude for the reprieve granted by the maze now filling the invaded lands outside the city. The man had taken a seat on the edge of the open room, gazing out at the city and stone labyrinth below in a contemplative way. Still, it was obvious there were injured still out in the area the battle had been taking place in, and Labyrinth Wall was currently the only summon in place.
"Isis, summon Mystical Elf, and grant her the extra power of 'Gift of the Mystical Elf' to heal everyone," Yuugi said to the woman, making the Pharaoh start and turn to face the pair.
"As you wish," Isis agreed readily, now that she could see the help Yuugi's orders had given them earlier. Even the Pharaoh didn't look as tired as he had. "Mystical Elf!"
"Yuugi," the man called out to the younger of his sons.
"I'm here," he agreed, joining the man and gazing out at the same view the Pharaoh had been focussed on before. "I'm glad that helped. But as we are right now, I need to make this quick, or we're going to run into a problem..."
Ahknemkhanen blinked and asked, "What do you mean?"
"I still have a limited amount of energy, so the one thing I do—it has to end this, otherwise I won't have the strength to keep fighting, either," the boy answered, meeting his eyes. "Even though Atem told me I shouldn't do it, I have to. I'm going to summon the Winged Dragon of Ra."
The Pharaoh's eyes widened, then he slowly nodded. "They no longer obey me. I can only hope Atem..."
"He can summon them, don't worry, Father," Yuugi answered with a smile, and the man smiled back, tiredly though it was. "And as for me, I'll be sent home soon, so I won't be in conflict with anyone. You're welcome to tell the people you were the one to summon Ra."
"That I will not do. Allow them to assume, yes, but claim credit for it, no."
"If you wish."
"The soldiers are as healed as they can be, Little Prince," Isis said, making both turn to her and the Mystical Elf.
"Good, thank you, both. Isis, get a message down to them telling them to make sure they're all under the shield," Yuugi replied with a smile.
"That is easily enough done," Isis nodded, then intoned, "Shining Abyss, come to my side!" The golden, hieroglyphic monster appeared, so she told it, "Carry a message in my voice to our allies outside the city shield. All Egyptian forces are to retreat within the shield for our final attack on the enemy to be launched, by the order of the Pharaoh and carried by Priestess Isis." She paused and nodded to the being, then said, "Take that message to them." It quickly flew down to the battlefield.
"Good," Yuugi smiled again at her. "That takes care of the preparations. Now they just need to be out of the way, so Ra doesn't have to hold back."
"Your tactical ability easily matches Atem's," the Pharaoh said wryly.
"Of course. It would have to be for me to even stand a chance of beating him," the boy answered with a laugh. Ahknemkhanen joined him in a chuckle, then fell serious again as he gazed intently at the boy beside him.
"Are you truly recovered from such damage, Yuugi?" the man asked quietly.
"Yes. Priest Shada and Uncle managed to find all the pieces and return them to me, so I'm fine, just a little tired," Yuugi answered.
After a few minutes had passed with them watching the field for the retreat of their soldiers, the battlefield was clear, so the boy straightened and held a hand forward as he focussed and intoned, "Winged Dragon of Ra, come before me, Gryphon Form active!"
Power throbbed and pulsed, and Yuugi blazed with light visible from the Valley of the Kings as a great, white being descended from the sky. It was huge and the light emerging from it dwarfed Shada's spell, making the region so bright even 'day' was no comparison. A shriek rose from the white-golden, bird-like form before it descended on the battlefield with such force the other spells and summons dissipated by force. Pure white flames shot in all directions, flowing like a wave of light over the enemy forces.
Then, suddenly, the light went out and everything was still and silent, the great golden-white beast gone. Within a minute, however, greenery bloomed and flourished across the whole battlefield where the white light had burnt away the enemy. Lush, green land right down to the Nile became visible as the light faded back to natural night, stars and the moon coming out in a black velvet sky.
It was over.
"By all the Gods..." the Pharaoh breathed. "I could never summon a being of such pure light, life, and growth...My soul is far too tainted..."
"Your 'soul' can't be tainted, Father," Yuugi said from beside him, making the man look up at him in surprise. "Your thoughts and feelings can be, but never your soul. If you allowed yourself forgiveness for your past crimes, Ra and the others would come to you, as well."
Slowly, the older man smiled and said, "Thank you, my son."
Isis watched the exchange with a sensation like she was missing a very, very large part of the picture, but a smile filled her features as she realized it was now truly over.
PA-HPS-YM-SK
Atem and Set tiredly trudged across the wasteland battlefield to join up with Karim.
"My Prince, High Priest!" Karim yelled, running down to meet them. "What happened? That—that—"
"It's all right," Atem told him, rubbing his eyes. "We're just tired. Can you spare a little healing energy?"
"Of course," Bastet's Priest agreed willingly, holding his hands over Atem's wounds to heal them. When he finished and dropped his hands, he said, "Between Mahad and myself, we kept them locked in the Valley, and it wasn't hard to pick them off with our soul summons. There were no survivors, unless someone out there is still alive."
"That I doubt," Set snorted.
"Your Highness!" Mahad called to them as he and his group ran up to them.
Suddenly, as the group was finally gathering again, the sky in the direction of the Palace lit up.
"What's that?" Karim asked in shocked horror while everyone stared.
As the huge, golden-white being descended from the sky, Atem felt ill. He said, "Someone just summoned the Winged Dragon of Ra—the battle there must have been a losing one. We have to get back!" He quickly focussed and called, "Ships Crossing to the Afterlife, we need your help to return to the Palace!"
The five amused ships appeared again, and everyone scrambled on board quickly so they could take off. Just like the first time, they rose into the air and sailed steadily and quickly in the direction the Prince had asked them to travel, even as they all watched the light fade and the sky return to night. From their vantage point, they had expected to see carnage and damage to the city directly—but that wasn't what they saw.
Instead, the city was intact and there was a massive, growing plain leading right down to the Nile through several farmers' fields.
What?
The ships dropped them off in the space between the Palace wall and the front doors to the Palace, where they jumped off and Atem thanked the ships. With his thanks, they quickly dissipated.
As they were about to head inside, the doors opened and Yuugi ran out happily, calling, "Atem!" Moments later, the smaller teen collided with the taller, both hugging the other tightly as they whispered verifications of health and safety to each other, as well as updating the other on the status and events of their battles.
A voice interrupted them with some amusement, saying, "May I assume you were successful in preventing further attack on your end?" Everyone looked up to see the Pharaoh as all the Guardian-Priests joined them.
"We were, Father," Atem agreed with a small, tired smile. He then looked down at Yuugi and said, "But I think when you go home, you'll have to find them and destroy the data they have on the portal so they can't create another from their end."
"That's something I had already guessed. It's good to have it confirmed. And Atem, I don't think I can stay here much longer, not if I'm going to be able to stop more from coming. There's no time...There can't be time...But I wish I could stay..." With those words, Yuugi buried his face in Atem's chest, shoulders shaking as he wept silently.
"...I'm sorry. I can't control the Egyptian Gods. But we'll meet again, Yuugi. You know we will one day," the Crown Prince whispered to his younger lookalike.
Yuugi nodded, then after a minute, shifted back and wiped off his cheeks. He then took a step back as the darkness from so long ago opened under his feet. "I'll stop them! Count on it!" he yelled as he was dragged through the God-made portal.