Deep below the surface Yugi sat shivering in the cavernous hole. He could
hear them coming, their angry shouts echoing off of the dripping wet walls.
"Seto? What will we do?" He asked.
"I don't know." He replied tersely. "We are trapped down here, and this room I secret. But if whoever told them where we are knew about this room."
"Then we are just waiting for them to find us." Yugi replied. "We're trapped down here and they will corner us and kill me."
"No they won't. They may hold you to ransom." Seto replied. "The rest of us won't fare as well I'm afraid."
"What do you mean?" Yugi asked. Seto shook his head and looked down.
"He means that we are of no use to them." One servant girl replied. "They will kill us to get to you. They may even kill us in front of you, just to spite you. We are all going to die!" She burst into tears.
Yugi sat in silence for a while. He looked around him. They had been down here for hours and the strain was affecting them all. Sitting here doing nothing was not going to help them any longer. They all sat with their backs to the wall, hunched over, huddled close to each other for warmth and comfort.
Yugi's eyes fell on a man and a woman sitting opposite him. They were a married couple that both worked at the palace. The woman was crying and the man comforting her. Yugi noticed that the woman was heavily pregnant.
"Will my child die today?" The woman asked her husband.
"I don't know. But I will fight to the death to save you and our child." The man said back, hugging her tightly.
"This is stupid!" Yugi shouted. Everyone looked up as Yugi stood up and looked back at them. "We can't just sit here mopping around. Tea risked her life for us and is bringing help now. We have to do something."
"But what?" The pregnant woman asked. "It's hopeless."
"No it's not." Yugi replied. "We can save ourselves, or at least buy ourselves more time. But we have to forget about our problems and work together. Who is with me?" He looked around, knowing that his servants were loosing faith in him fast.
"I am!" Seto said, standing up.
"Me too!" Another servant stood up.
"And us!" The husband and wife shouted. In seconds all of the servants were rallying.
"Quiet!" Yugi ordered. "We can't let them hear us."
"I think they already have." Seto said. They all listened and could hear voices approaching.
"Quickly." Yugi said. "Everyone, as quietly as you can find rocks and boulders, anything that we can use to barricade the door."
Everyone jumped into action. The smallest rock was not left lying in a shadowy corner. Rocks were piled against the door. Even Yugi and Seto joined the effort, straining their backs as they all rolled heavy boulders across the doorway.
"This way!" Yami called as they reached the entrance of the cave. "Tea, and you four!" He called to Tea and four guards. "Stay here."
"Since when are you giving the orders?" The head guard asked.
"On Prince Yami's orders." Yami said, and made his way into the cave before anyone could ask any questions. He picked his way over the bodies of several of his guards, and of the enemy. "You shall all be remembered." He whispered, taking a fallen guard's sword and shield.
"We need to search the area." The head guard said to Yami.
"Fine, take one group and search the levels, working downwards. The rest of you follow me. If I know Seto he'll have taken everyone to the secret hide away at the base of the network of caves. And that's where the enemy will be heading." Yami announced. Taking some water from the walls he ran it through his hair, causing his highlights to stand on end like they normally did, so that he looked like himself again.
"How do you know all this?" The guard asked. But Yami ignored him.
"Follow me!" Yami called. He led the group down the passages that he knew so well, he had often been sent here as a child when war threatened the family or would-be assassins sent death notes to his family.
They round a final corner to see a small army knocking down the door that led to the hidden room.
"Attack!" Yami shouted. The guards charged forwards, their surprise attack taking the enemy unawares. Yami fought his way towards the door, but found his way to be blocked by Marik, who was still trying to batter his way into the room.
"Marik!" Yami shouted. "Were you looking for me?" Marik whirled around at the sound of Yami's voice.
"Yami!" He said. "But you're in there!"
"Guess again." Yami raised his sword to fight Marik. Marik raised another sword and the two locked in combat. Yami was an excellent fighter, having been taught by the best fighters in the realm. But Marik had greater experience of battles.
Yami began the attack by bringing his sword down at Marik. At the last minute Marik dodged and Yami's sword hit rock, sent waves of vibrations up Yami's arm. Yami recovered and turned just in time to block Marik's attack. Their blades locked together in a test of strength, after a few moments Marik kicked Yami backwards, breaking their tug-of-war effort. Yami had time to recover before blocking another of Marik's attack, then another.
No matter what Yami did he couldn't get Marik on the defensive. Yami defended himself valiantly, but Marik's blows were becoming weaker as his arms ached with wielding the heavy sword. Yami decided to wear Marik down. He only defended attacks, sometimes dodging so that Marik had to change the direction of his attack. Yami could see Marik's arms shaking with effort.
After a few more minutes of viscous onslaught Yami decided that Marik was tired enough for Yami to launch an effective offensive. Yami dodged a blow and then brought his blade crashing down on Marik's. The effect was devastating for both sides. Marik's sword flew out of his hands and Yami's sword shattered. But he still had a dagger length stump left to fight with, whereas Marik had nothing.
In the background Yami could hear his superior army winning as he drove the dagger forwards. Marik ducked away and Yami's sword embedded itself in some soft rock, causing some rocks from the ceiling to fall onto them. Yami brushed dust out of his hair as he caught a punch from Marik. He took Marik's hand in his, and with the advantage that Marik had been weakened from his sword fight, he managed to twist Marik's arm up behind his back. With a resounding crack his arm broke and Marik fell to the floor in pain. Yami sat on his back and put his face close to Marik's.
"Next time you cross me I won't spare you!" He snarled. He got up leaving the whimpering Marik on the ground. He walked over to where the hidden entrance to the cave was. The enemy had managed to partially break through before they had arrived to save them.
"Seto!" He called. "Are you in there?"
"Yes!" Seto called back, not wanting to call Yami Yami, because then the other servants would suspect something.
"Move your barricade." Yami ordered. "It's safe, we have won!"
"Not so fast Pharaoh!" Marik shouted. He was standing up with his good arm resting on the ceiling. "You should have killed me when you had the chance. Now we will all die!" He had found his sword and using his broken arm he picked it up and transferred it to his good hand. He trust the blade upwards into the roof of the passage and twisted it, a malicious grin spreading across his face.
"You idiot, there will be a cave in." Yami shouted. But Marik carried on twisting the sword into the ceiling as bits of rock began to fall.
"That's what I was hoping for." Marik grinned. Yami looked around and spotted the broken sword lodged in the wall next to him. In a flash he grabbed the sword and pulled it out, then threw it at Marik. It plunged into Marik's stomach and for a second his smile faded. He fell to his knees, pulling both swords down with him. The roof immediately began to cave in and in seconds a pile of rocks covered Marik's body.
"Hurry!" Yami called to Seto, Yugi and the others who were making a hole in their barricade. "This place is going to cave in at any moment."
Once the hole was large enough servants began to climb through. Yami helped them out on the other side, and in the darkness they didn't notice that their prince was both inside and outside the cave.
"Get to the surface!" Yami ordered them. Soon Yugi came out and stood next to Yami. "I'm sure we both have some tales to tell, but later." Yami smiled at Yugi warmly as they helped out the pregnant woman, who was clutching her stomach.
"What's going on?" Yami asked as he watched her waddle up the passage, being helped by her husband.
"The shock sent her into labour. "Seto replied grimly, as he climbed out of the hole. "That's everyone."
"Then lets go." Yugi shouted as Yami and Seto embraced quickly to greet each other. Together they ran up the passageway.
On the surface Tea was helping the pregnant woman out of the narrow cave opening. "Take her to the medical tent." She ordered one guard. A tent had been set up in one corner of the canyon, and here all the soldiers were being treated for their wounds. Now that Marik had been killed, his mind control over them had been destroyed, and they were returning to their senses as if from a trance, all of them unaware of what they had been doing for almost two whole years.
"Where are they?" Tea said, squinting down the passage. She could hear the cave in and still Yami, Yugi and Seto had not appeared.
"Yami?" She called. "Yugi?"
She heard nothing except the roar of the cave in. Tears began to run down her face. They must have been trapped down there in the cave-in. They would be dead for certain.
"Come away Miss." One of the guards said as a final cave-in rocked the ground. "There's no way anyone could have survived that."
Tea let him lead her away from the entrance, letting tears fall down her face. But an indistinct coughing made her turn back. "What was that?"
"Nothing Miss, come and have a drink." The soldier said.
Tea turned away again, but this time when the cough came, both of them heard it. They turned round and saw three shadows emerge from the dust.
"Yami!" Tea shouted, flinging herself at Yami. But then she saw Yugi behind him, dressed, as he had been, when she knew him as Yami. "Yami?" She looked from one to the other.
All around them guards and servants were staring in awe. "There's two of them?" They murmured.
"We have a lot of explaining to do." Yugi announced.
"Yes, but it will be done back at the palace when every0one can hear." Yami said. "For now rest assured that your prince is safe and among you."
Tea looked at them inquisitively, but at that moment medical soldiers came over and led Seto, Yami and Yugi away for examinations.
"Seto? What will we do?" He asked.
"I don't know." He replied tersely. "We are trapped down here, and this room I secret. But if whoever told them where we are knew about this room."
"Then we are just waiting for them to find us." Yugi replied. "We're trapped down here and they will corner us and kill me."
"No they won't. They may hold you to ransom." Seto replied. "The rest of us won't fare as well I'm afraid."
"What do you mean?" Yugi asked. Seto shook his head and looked down.
"He means that we are of no use to them." One servant girl replied. "They will kill us to get to you. They may even kill us in front of you, just to spite you. We are all going to die!" She burst into tears.
Yugi sat in silence for a while. He looked around him. They had been down here for hours and the strain was affecting them all. Sitting here doing nothing was not going to help them any longer. They all sat with their backs to the wall, hunched over, huddled close to each other for warmth and comfort.
Yugi's eyes fell on a man and a woman sitting opposite him. They were a married couple that both worked at the palace. The woman was crying and the man comforting her. Yugi noticed that the woman was heavily pregnant.
"Will my child die today?" The woman asked her husband.
"I don't know. But I will fight to the death to save you and our child." The man said back, hugging her tightly.
"This is stupid!" Yugi shouted. Everyone looked up as Yugi stood up and looked back at them. "We can't just sit here mopping around. Tea risked her life for us and is bringing help now. We have to do something."
"But what?" The pregnant woman asked. "It's hopeless."
"No it's not." Yugi replied. "We can save ourselves, or at least buy ourselves more time. But we have to forget about our problems and work together. Who is with me?" He looked around, knowing that his servants were loosing faith in him fast.
"I am!" Seto said, standing up.
"Me too!" Another servant stood up.
"And us!" The husband and wife shouted. In seconds all of the servants were rallying.
"Quiet!" Yugi ordered. "We can't let them hear us."
"I think they already have." Seto said. They all listened and could hear voices approaching.
"Quickly." Yugi said. "Everyone, as quietly as you can find rocks and boulders, anything that we can use to barricade the door."
Everyone jumped into action. The smallest rock was not left lying in a shadowy corner. Rocks were piled against the door. Even Yugi and Seto joined the effort, straining their backs as they all rolled heavy boulders across the doorway.
"This way!" Yami called as they reached the entrance of the cave. "Tea, and you four!" He called to Tea and four guards. "Stay here."
"Since when are you giving the orders?" The head guard asked.
"On Prince Yami's orders." Yami said, and made his way into the cave before anyone could ask any questions. He picked his way over the bodies of several of his guards, and of the enemy. "You shall all be remembered." He whispered, taking a fallen guard's sword and shield.
"We need to search the area." The head guard said to Yami.
"Fine, take one group and search the levels, working downwards. The rest of you follow me. If I know Seto he'll have taken everyone to the secret hide away at the base of the network of caves. And that's where the enemy will be heading." Yami announced. Taking some water from the walls he ran it through his hair, causing his highlights to stand on end like they normally did, so that he looked like himself again.
"How do you know all this?" The guard asked. But Yami ignored him.
"Follow me!" Yami called. He led the group down the passages that he knew so well, he had often been sent here as a child when war threatened the family or would-be assassins sent death notes to his family.
They round a final corner to see a small army knocking down the door that led to the hidden room.
"Attack!" Yami shouted. The guards charged forwards, their surprise attack taking the enemy unawares. Yami fought his way towards the door, but found his way to be blocked by Marik, who was still trying to batter his way into the room.
"Marik!" Yami shouted. "Were you looking for me?" Marik whirled around at the sound of Yami's voice.
"Yami!" He said. "But you're in there!"
"Guess again." Yami raised his sword to fight Marik. Marik raised another sword and the two locked in combat. Yami was an excellent fighter, having been taught by the best fighters in the realm. But Marik had greater experience of battles.
Yami began the attack by bringing his sword down at Marik. At the last minute Marik dodged and Yami's sword hit rock, sent waves of vibrations up Yami's arm. Yami recovered and turned just in time to block Marik's attack. Their blades locked together in a test of strength, after a few moments Marik kicked Yami backwards, breaking their tug-of-war effort. Yami had time to recover before blocking another of Marik's attack, then another.
No matter what Yami did he couldn't get Marik on the defensive. Yami defended himself valiantly, but Marik's blows were becoming weaker as his arms ached with wielding the heavy sword. Yami decided to wear Marik down. He only defended attacks, sometimes dodging so that Marik had to change the direction of his attack. Yami could see Marik's arms shaking with effort.
After a few more minutes of viscous onslaught Yami decided that Marik was tired enough for Yami to launch an effective offensive. Yami dodged a blow and then brought his blade crashing down on Marik's. The effect was devastating for both sides. Marik's sword flew out of his hands and Yami's sword shattered. But he still had a dagger length stump left to fight with, whereas Marik had nothing.
In the background Yami could hear his superior army winning as he drove the dagger forwards. Marik ducked away and Yami's sword embedded itself in some soft rock, causing some rocks from the ceiling to fall onto them. Yami brushed dust out of his hair as he caught a punch from Marik. He took Marik's hand in his, and with the advantage that Marik had been weakened from his sword fight, he managed to twist Marik's arm up behind his back. With a resounding crack his arm broke and Marik fell to the floor in pain. Yami sat on his back and put his face close to Marik's.
"Next time you cross me I won't spare you!" He snarled. He got up leaving the whimpering Marik on the ground. He walked over to where the hidden entrance to the cave was. The enemy had managed to partially break through before they had arrived to save them.
"Seto!" He called. "Are you in there?"
"Yes!" Seto called back, not wanting to call Yami Yami, because then the other servants would suspect something.
"Move your barricade." Yami ordered. "It's safe, we have won!"
"Not so fast Pharaoh!" Marik shouted. He was standing up with his good arm resting on the ceiling. "You should have killed me when you had the chance. Now we will all die!" He had found his sword and using his broken arm he picked it up and transferred it to his good hand. He trust the blade upwards into the roof of the passage and twisted it, a malicious grin spreading across his face.
"You idiot, there will be a cave in." Yami shouted. But Marik carried on twisting the sword into the ceiling as bits of rock began to fall.
"That's what I was hoping for." Marik grinned. Yami looked around and spotted the broken sword lodged in the wall next to him. In a flash he grabbed the sword and pulled it out, then threw it at Marik. It plunged into Marik's stomach and for a second his smile faded. He fell to his knees, pulling both swords down with him. The roof immediately began to cave in and in seconds a pile of rocks covered Marik's body.
"Hurry!" Yami called to Seto, Yugi and the others who were making a hole in their barricade. "This place is going to cave in at any moment."
Once the hole was large enough servants began to climb through. Yami helped them out on the other side, and in the darkness they didn't notice that their prince was both inside and outside the cave.
"Get to the surface!" Yami ordered them. Soon Yugi came out and stood next to Yami. "I'm sure we both have some tales to tell, but later." Yami smiled at Yugi warmly as they helped out the pregnant woman, who was clutching her stomach.
"What's going on?" Yami asked as he watched her waddle up the passage, being helped by her husband.
"The shock sent her into labour. "Seto replied grimly, as he climbed out of the hole. "That's everyone."
"Then lets go." Yugi shouted as Yami and Seto embraced quickly to greet each other. Together they ran up the passageway.
On the surface Tea was helping the pregnant woman out of the narrow cave opening. "Take her to the medical tent." She ordered one guard. A tent had been set up in one corner of the canyon, and here all the soldiers were being treated for their wounds. Now that Marik had been killed, his mind control over them had been destroyed, and they were returning to their senses as if from a trance, all of them unaware of what they had been doing for almost two whole years.
"Where are they?" Tea said, squinting down the passage. She could hear the cave in and still Yami, Yugi and Seto had not appeared.
"Yami?" She called. "Yugi?"
She heard nothing except the roar of the cave in. Tears began to run down her face. They must have been trapped down there in the cave-in. They would be dead for certain.
"Come away Miss." One of the guards said as a final cave-in rocked the ground. "There's no way anyone could have survived that."
Tea let him lead her away from the entrance, letting tears fall down her face. But an indistinct coughing made her turn back. "What was that?"
"Nothing Miss, come and have a drink." The soldier said.
Tea turned away again, but this time when the cough came, both of them heard it. They turned round and saw three shadows emerge from the dust.
"Yami!" Tea shouted, flinging herself at Yami. But then she saw Yugi behind him, dressed, as he had been, when she knew him as Yami. "Yami?" She looked from one to the other.
All around them guards and servants were staring in awe. "There's two of them?" They murmured.
"We have a lot of explaining to do." Yugi announced.
"Yes, but it will be done back at the palace when every0one can hear." Yami said. "For now rest assured that your prince is safe and among you."
Tea looked at them inquisitively, but at that moment medical soldiers came over and led Seto, Yami and Yugi away for examinations.
