Silver Lily: Sorry that the update took so long! Homework, you know.
Teachers loooove piling it up just before spring break.
Jade: If only aibou would let me take care of them for good, we wouldn't have to worry about homework.
Silver Lily: *cries*
Jade: What?
Silver Lily: *sniffles* I have a muse!!! *whines*
Jade: *quirks eyebrow*
Silver Lily: She's my only voice of reason! And she makes me work! *cries*
Zuka: That's right, now get to it! *shoves keyboard under nose*
Silver Lily: *cries*
Sunstone
* * * * * * * * * *
Make 7, Up Yours.
* * * * * * * * * *
Tanned feet pounded heavily down the crowded corridor. "Hurry, Selene, summon the remaining wizards that are still loyal!"
"They're already on their way."
Yu Gi Oh tore open the door to the gaming room, where a small crowd of people stood waiting for instructions.
"Tell me where the first portal was opened and when."
"Three candle marks before the Eye's zenith, my lord. Two leagues west of Cairo. The next one was just a few minutes later, three city blocks outside of the eastern Lower Egypt," Jade explained hurriedly.
The pharaoh took a few deep breaths. He needed to relax to be able to concentrate. "Guard me from any outside disturbances, Kekeweht, Selene, I can't have any distractions."
With out even waiting for a simple nod of consent, he closed his eyes and focused. Extending his thoughts as far as possible, he Searched for the first portal. The longer they were open, the harder they were to close.
Yes, there it was. Now he could See it. A huge, black and purple rift in the blue and gold sky.
He pulled from the large node beneath him and forced the fibers to weave back together. Slowly, surely, the abyss began to close, the chaos turned into order.
There, it was done.
The earth shook with a violent tremor as the Balance shifted. This was good. This meant it was sealed.
The traitor could only open up so many portals at one time, he would exhaust himself soon.
Suddenly, the king's world went dark. He couldn't see, he couldn't hear, and he couldn't Feel anything.
"What the, where am I!?" he demanded into the emptiness around him.
He didn't sense the powers of chaos, or order. He couldn't feel the node or the pillars of strength that were Selene and Kekeweht who were always there to catch him if he fell.
Crying. Soft whimpers echoing endlessly off invisible walls. Why did it sound so familiar?
"Who's there?"
Blindly he walked forward. There, a small speck of something in front of him. It was a light! He followed it.
The crying continued, growing steadily louder. What was going on?
He reached his hands out like a blind man, feeling for anything that might be in his way.
"Hello?"
In a brilliant flash the small speck in front of him exploded on all sides. Yu Gi Oh nearly emptied the contents of his stomach.
Yuugi lay strapped to an iron table, covered in blood so old it had turned black, and blood so fresh it was still steaming. Iron chains bound him to the hard, cold surface, tools of torture lay strewn about him.
Yuugi looked at him with eyes that no longer held any life to them at all. An endless abyss of misery sat as empty holes in his head. Blood covered him from head to foot, vital organs spilling out of his exposed abdomen.
The crying continued. Insects came and started tearing away at the lacerated flesh, and the sobbing went on.
Yu Gi Oh put his hands to his head and creamed. This couldn't be real.
But it had to be.
He could smell the stench of decay, the old, crusting blood and the coppery smell of the new life force. His throat was clenched shut and he couldn't breathe properly. His lungs were on fire.
He could only scream.
'Yu Gi Oh,' a voice whispered. Maybe it was Yuugi, asking why he didn't protect him. Curse him for his lies of safety.
"Yu Gi Oh, come back,' it whispered again.
"Come back," he repeated. His eyes were squeezed shut, trying to block out what he saw.
'Yu Gi Oh, it's not real.'
A tiny spark of hope flared brilliantly inside of his chest. It's not real. It's not real.
He clung to that simple phrase. It's not real. But if it wasn't real, then it was an illusion.
"It's an illusion," he uttered.
'Say it louder Yu Gi Oh.'
"It's an illusion," he said again. And he repeated himself. Louder and louder each time.
"It's an illusion, it's not real!!" He screamed in now. He screamed until his lungs felt like they would flicker out like a candle in the wind. "It's not real!"
And suddenly he was back. His feet were on solid ground and the golden luminance of the Egyptian day flooded his vision.
Selene was standing over him panic-stricken. "Yu Gi Oh, are you all right? What did Seth make you see?"
Calmly, he stood and walked over to wear his throne was, where he usually sat to watch over the games. Turning his back on everyone, he allowed the bile to flow freely until no more resided within his stomach, using the throne to hold on to.
Selene averted her eyes from the convulsions. Sensing his muscles tensing was enough for her.
When he was done, he turned around and joined everyone once again.
"He sent me an image of Yuugi tortured to death," was all he said.
"This will happen again, you know, Each time you close a gate, it will leave you open and another illusion will be sent to you," Jade said.
"I know."
And so it continued. Another gate closed, another illusion ensued. Three gates, four gates, five, he lost count.
At twelve all of his advisors told him to stop. His face was flushed and stained with tears beyond count. Shadows sat heavy under his eyes.
"I can't, I'm the only one strong enough to close them up on my own," he panted.
"Yu Gi Oh, the gods are out ravaging the cities, and other monsters still. Selene and Jade can work together to close the remaining three gates, but you need all of the strength that you have left to obliterate the creatures back to where they came from."
The king of Thebes growled. "All right, fine. But be careful!"
Silently, he was grateful. He didn't know if he could handle one more image of Yuugi being dismembered or tortured, or worse.
The worst one, the last one he received, Selene was standing over half of the slaves body, holding a bloodied scythe with a sadistic grin on her face. He knew deep down that she would never do that, and that her eyes would never have a reddish hue, but it made his blood run cold just the same.
He heard the silver-haired advisor scream as he left for the cities, goose- bumps prickling up his golden-toned skin.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Doomed, we're all doomed," Aeyeta cried.
The pharaoh of Egypt lay on his bed with his eyes closed, clinging tightly to his china-doll replica. Yes, he heard what Aeyeta had said. He knew what was coming, even if he couldn't describe the way his marrow was chilled at those thoughts, or how he could stop it. So he did the only thing he could do at the moment.
He buried his head in the hollow of Yuugi's neck, thanking the gods that he didn't smell coppery and like death. No, he still smelled sweet and soft, with his hair still as silky-shiny as ever.
The greatest comfort was his heartbeat against his own. What was even weirder; their hearts beat in time with each other.
He wondered if Yuugi had noticed this.
"Selene, I-I saw something else last night. It's not pretty."
"What was it?"
The water apprentice whimpered. "Seth is going to come in a few days for one final battle. But, there's more than just his Blue-Eyes that he's going to use. He's been working on a dangerous spell for years now. When he fights the pharaoh, all he has to do to complete the spell is whisper Yu Gi Oh's name, and it will send his soul to the shadow realm forever, and obliterate his body. Nothing of his mortal existence will be salvageable. There's nothing we can do. All of the power inside of the king that could seal up the games forever will be lost."
Silence hung inside of the pharaoh's chambers like a snake about to strike. The silence before the storm, or the eye of the hurricane. Disaster lay on all sides, and there was no escape.
"Don't leave me," Yuugi whispered in his ear. Soft, pleading, and a warm aura that tickled his thoughts.
"Never," he whispered back, too low for anyone else to hear.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Silver Lily: Whee!!! Another chappie down!!! Hehe, guess how they deal with this little problem. . . Please, make a poor, brooding artist/writer girl happy. R&R.
Jade: If only aibou would let me take care of them for good, we wouldn't have to worry about homework.
Silver Lily: *cries*
Jade: What?
Silver Lily: *sniffles* I have a muse!!! *whines*
Jade: *quirks eyebrow*
Silver Lily: She's my only voice of reason! And she makes me work! *cries*
Zuka: That's right, now get to it! *shoves keyboard under nose*
Silver Lily: *cries*
Sunstone
* * * * * * * * * *
Make 7, Up Yours.
* * * * * * * * * *
Tanned feet pounded heavily down the crowded corridor. "Hurry, Selene, summon the remaining wizards that are still loyal!"
"They're already on their way."
Yu Gi Oh tore open the door to the gaming room, where a small crowd of people stood waiting for instructions.
"Tell me where the first portal was opened and when."
"Three candle marks before the Eye's zenith, my lord. Two leagues west of Cairo. The next one was just a few minutes later, three city blocks outside of the eastern Lower Egypt," Jade explained hurriedly.
The pharaoh took a few deep breaths. He needed to relax to be able to concentrate. "Guard me from any outside disturbances, Kekeweht, Selene, I can't have any distractions."
With out even waiting for a simple nod of consent, he closed his eyes and focused. Extending his thoughts as far as possible, he Searched for the first portal. The longer they were open, the harder they were to close.
Yes, there it was. Now he could See it. A huge, black and purple rift in the blue and gold sky.
He pulled from the large node beneath him and forced the fibers to weave back together. Slowly, surely, the abyss began to close, the chaos turned into order.
There, it was done.
The earth shook with a violent tremor as the Balance shifted. This was good. This meant it was sealed.
The traitor could only open up so many portals at one time, he would exhaust himself soon.
Suddenly, the king's world went dark. He couldn't see, he couldn't hear, and he couldn't Feel anything.
"What the, where am I!?" he demanded into the emptiness around him.
He didn't sense the powers of chaos, or order. He couldn't feel the node or the pillars of strength that were Selene and Kekeweht who were always there to catch him if he fell.
Crying. Soft whimpers echoing endlessly off invisible walls. Why did it sound so familiar?
"Who's there?"
Blindly he walked forward. There, a small speck of something in front of him. It was a light! He followed it.
The crying continued, growing steadily louder. What was going on?
He reached his hands out like a blind man, feeling for anything that might be in his way.
"Hello?"
In a brilliant flash the small speck in front of him exploded on all sides. Yu Gi Oh nearly emptied the contents of his stomach.
Yuugi lay strapped to an iron table, covered in blood so old it had turned black, and blood so fresh it was still steaming. Iron chains bound him to the hard, cold surface, tools of torture lay strewn about him.
Yuugi looked at him with eyes that no longer held any life to them at all. An endless abyss of misery sat as empty holes in his head. Blood covered him from head to foot, vital organs spilling out of his exposed abdomen.
The crying continued. Insects came and started tearing away at the lacerated flesh, and the sobbing went on.
Yu Gi Oh put his hands to his head and creamed. This couldn't be real.
But it had to be.
He could smell the stench of decay, the old, crusting blood and the coppery smell of the new life force. His throat was clenched shut and he couldn't breathe properly. His lungs were on fire.
He could only scream.
'Yu Gi Oh,' a voice whispered. Maybe it was Yuugi, asking why he didn't protect him. Curse him for his lies of safety.
"Yu Gi Oh, come back,' it whispered again.
"Come back," he repeated. His eyes were squeezed shut, trying to block out what he saw.
'Yu Gi Oh, it's not real.'
A tiny spark of hope flared brilliantly inside of his chest. It's not real. It's not real.
He clung to that simple phrase. It's not real. But if it wasn't real, then it was an illusion.
"It's an illusion," he uttered.
'Say it louder Yu Gi Oh.'
"It's an illusion," he said again. And he repeated himself. Louder and louder each time.
"It's an illusion, it's not real!!" He screamed in now. He screamed until his lungs felt like they would flicker out like a candle in the wind. "It's not real!"
And suddenly he was back. His feet were on solid ground and the golden luminance of the Egyptian day flooded his vision.
Selene was standing over him panic-stricken. "Yu Gi Oh, are you all right? What did Seth make you see?"
Calmly, he stood and walked over to wear his throne was, where he usually sat to watch over the games. Turning his back on everyone, he allowed the bile to flow freely until no more resided within his stomach, using the throne to hold on to.
Selene averted her eyes from the convulsions. Sensing his muscles tensing was enough for her.
When he was done, he turned around and joined everyone once again.
"He sent me an image of Yuugi tortured to death," was all he said.
"This will happen again, you know, Each time you close a gate, it will leave you open and another illusion will be sent to you," Jade said.
"I know."
And so it continued. Another gate closed, another illusion ensued. Three gates, four gates, five, he lost count.
At twelve all of his advisors told him to stop. His face was flushed and stained with tears beyond count. Shadows sat heavy under his eyes.
"I can't, I'm the only one strong enough to close them up on my own," he panted.
"Yu Gi Oh, the gods are out ravaging the cities, and other monsters still. Selene and Jade can work together to close the remaining three gates, but you need all of the strength that you have left to obliterate the creatures back to where they came from."
The king of Thebes growled. "All right, fine. But be careful!"
Silently, he was grateful. He didn't know if he could handle one more image of Yuugi being dismembered or tortured, or worse.
The worst one, the last one he received, Selene was standing over half of the slaves body, holding a bloodied scythe with a sadistic grin on her face. He knew deep down that she would never do that, and that her eyes would never have a reddish hue, but it made his blood run cold just the same.
He heard the silver-haired advisor scream as he left for the cities, goose- bumps prickling up his golden-toned skin.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Doomed, we're all doomed," Aeyeta cried.
The pharaoh of Egypt lay on his bed with his eyes closed, clinging tightly to his china-doll replica. Yes, he heard what Aeyeta had said. He knew what was coming, even if he couldn't describe the way his marrow was chilled at those thoughts, or how he could stop it. So he did the only thing he could do at the moment.
He buried his head in the hollow of Yuugi's neck, thanking the gods that he didn't smell coppery and like death. No, he still smelled sweet and soft, with his hair still as silky-shiny as ever.
The greatest comfort was his heartbeat against his own. What was even weirder; their hearts beat in time with each other.
He wondered if Yuugi had noticed this.
"Selene, I-I saw something else last night. It's not pretty."
"What was it?"
The water apprentice whimpered. "Seth is going to come in a few days for one final battle. But, there's more than just his Blue-Eyes that he's going to use. He's been working on a dangerous spell for years now. When he fights the pharaoh, all he has to do to complete the spell is whisper Yu Gi Oh's name, and it will send his soul to the shadow realm forever, and obliterate his body. Nothing of his mortal existence will be salvageable. There's nothing we can do. All of the power inside of the king that could seal up the games forever will be lost."
Silence hung inside of the pharaoh's chambers like a snake about to strike. The silence before the storm, or the eye of the hurricane. Disaster lay on all sides, and there was no escape.
"Don't leave me," Yuugi whispered in his ear. Soft, pleading, and a warm aura that tickled his thoughts.
"Never," he whispered back, too low for anyone else to hear.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
Silver Lily: Whee!!! Another chappie down!!! Hehe, guess how they deal with this little problem. . . Please, make a poor, brooding artist/writer girl happy. R&R.