Ahae!! Chap is up at last!! ^_^
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
"Father!" Yami shouted as he ran through the dark mists. "Father! Where are you?"
'Do not kill Terran.' The words were spoken so whisperingly that the boy thought he had imagined them. But they came again.
'Do not kill Terran.'
"Father?" Yami gasped, feeling his heart pound in his chest. "Is-is that you?"
A man appeared, dressed in shining white.
"Y-you came back!" Yami exclaimed. "Father...you're really here!"
Xander the goldsmith smiled gently as the boy rushed into his arms. "I'm glad to see you too, Yami," he said quietly with characteristic impassiveness. "But you have worried me much, and I don't have much time to tell you it all."
"It all?" Yami glanced up at the apparition. "What do you mean, Father?"
Xander's face grew serious. "The time draws near that you face Terran," he began.
"Yes...?" The boy scowled, sensing bad news.
"When you confront him, you are not to kill him."
Yami's crimson eyes darkened. "Why?" he demanded softly.
"Because the great Osiris has not ordained it." The man noted the grim expression on his son's face. "If you kill him, the balance of the afterlife will be disrupted, and you will be cursed."
Yami clenched his fists, turning away from his father. "I swore that Terran would die by my hand," he hissed darkly.
"And so he shall," Xander replied. "But not tonight." There was a pause. "Don't try to tempt fate, Yami," he cautioned.
The teenager shut his eyes as he fought to regain control of his temper. "I understand, Father," he said at last. "I'll...I'll do it."
Xander nodded. "Thank you, Yami," he said gratefully, tilting his head as if an unheard voice called him. "I must go now."
"Wait." Yami put a hand on the man's arm. "Will...I see you again...Papa?"
Xander smiled understandingly. "Not in this life, Yami," he said softly, disengaging his son's grip.
"I'll see you in the afterlife then, Father," Yami whispered, tears stinging his eyes as his father disappeared.
"Yami!" Seto shook him hard. "Wake up!"
"Aah!" Yami's eyes shot open. "What...what happened?!"
The brown-haired boy frowned. "You were asleep."
"I'm sorry." Yami rubbed his forehead. He used to have that dream every single night after his father's murder. And Atari had always been there to calm him when he woke up screaming.
Unlike now.
"What's wrong?" Katsuya asked softly.
The spiky-haired teenager shook his head. "Nothing." He got to his feet and recounted the stack of weapons along the wall. "Where...is Ishtar?"
"Here," the white-haired teenager replied quietly. He entered the small chamber. "Did you hear all that noise from Terran's banquet hall? He and the other men will be dead drunk tonight."
Katsuya smirked. "Then I guess it's the perfect time to strike."
****
Seto lit a torch. "Go ahead, Katsuya," he said softly.
The blond-haired boy splashed oil onto the roof below them.
"Not so loud," Yami cautioned.
Ishtar scowled. "They're going to here us, anyway. So why delay it?" He lit his own torch from the one fastened to the wall.
Without another word, Seto tossed his firebrand onto the oil. "Get back!" The boys scrambled away as it burst into flames.
"All right!" Katsuya pulled his knife from his belt. The flames licked higher...
"What the hell's going on up there?!"
"Come on!" Yami prodded the others towards the waiting ladder. "We have to get the others!"
As the boys scrambled down the ladder, several men raced up the steps to the roof, only to find that it was afire.
"Dammit! Who did this?!" Terran demanded of Silas.
The overseer unstrapped his bow. "I don't know," he answered coolly as he notched an arrow to the string. "But whoever it is will pay."
****
"The fire's spreading!" Ishtar called.
And faster than I thought. Yami's eyes narrowed as they ran. "Katsuya!"
"Yes?"
"Get the rest of the swords. Everyone who can is going to fight."
Katsuya nodded. "Right." He dashed off to where the other slaves slept.
Yami turned to the white-haired boy. "Ishtar, you can start another fire on the other side. But be careful to leave an exit for us."
Ishtar ran off without a word.
"Seto, you and me are going to the banquet hall."
The boy's blue eyes widened. "What?! We could be killed there!!"
"Would you rather die or live as a slave for another day?!" Yami almost shouted above the now roaring fire. "Let's go!"
Something flashed by his face. "What the hell...?"
Seto glanced up. "Yami! Get down!"
"What was that?" demanded the boy.
The brown-haired teenager pointed. "Up there, see? It's Silas! He's shooting at us!"
Silas drew another arrow from his belt. Raising it to his bow, he took aim.
Yami shoved Seto towards the nearest room. "Move! These arrows are poisoned!!"
The two boys dived into the open doorway as the arrow darted past. Yami took a deep breath. "Now what do we do?"
"You won't need to 'do' anything," hissed a voice from the darkness.
"Ai!" Yami gasped as a pair of steel arms drew him into their crushing grip. He felt a knife blade at his throat. "Seto! Go!"
"Was it you who started the fire?" the voice, belonging to Terran, demanded. "Tell me, or I'll kill you!"
"You'd kill me even if I did tell you," Yami hissed, reaching for the sword in his belt.
"Watch your tongue, you impudent dog."
"Since when did I have to listen to you?" the dark-haired teenager demanded, drawing the sword carefully to keep from making noise.
Terran didn't see the sword. "Since you were enslaved, bastard."
Without another word, Yami struck Terran in the forehead with the flat of his blade. With a surprised howl, the man dropped his hold on the boy, clutching his forehead. Yami twisted away.
Terran recovered quickly and drew his sword with a resounding shiiing! He scowled evilly in the dark. "You have not won yet, slave!" he growled, before abruptly vanishing.
What the hell-? Yami approached the spot where the man had disappeared. There was an open trapdoor leading deep into the ground.
Just then, Seto arrived with Katsuya, Ishtar, and his younger brother Mokuba.
"Where is he?" Seto demanded.
Yami pointed wordlessly at the trapdoor. Ishtar cursed under his breath.
"Let's follow him, then!" Katsuya declared, unsheathing his sword.
"Wait." Yami was more cautious. "He could be waiting for us down there."
"Coward," Seto hissed.
****
"Where are we?" Katsuya demanded for the thousandth time. Ishtar gave him an exasperated look.
"For the last time, Katsuya, we don't know!" he snapped.
The blond-haired boy reddened. "Never mind."
The farther down they went, the hotter it got. Slightly impatient to get the ordeal over with, Yami started a light-footed run. The others followed.
Suddenly, the passage took a turn to the left. Rounding the corner, Yami nearly ran over the edge of the cliff. "Ra!!"
A boiling lake of lava seethed a thousand feet below where he stood.
Seto, Katsuya, Mokuba, and Ishtar almost fell to their deaths as they hurried to catch up to Yami.
"No!"
When they had regained their balance and caught their breath, they stared down.
Katsuya cursed. "Osiris!"
"This place is scary," Mokuba said in a small voice. "I'm-I'm scared, Seto!"
Seto embraced his younger brother lightly. "I know," he whispered. "Scares me, too." The brown-haired boy glanced above him. "What is this place?"
"It is darkness's lair," replied a sinisterly familiar voice. "And anyone who enters never emerges pure!"
Everyone tensed, glaring into the fiery darkness as Terran emerged, standing on the opposite side of the vast gulch. Yami didn't move. "What do you mean?" he said coldly.
"Look around you, Yami," Terran said scathingly. "We are in the realm of darkness where monsters reside. Anyone who disrupts this sacred ground shall be cursed." He burst into a wild laugh.
"Be quiet!" Yami hissed, feeling his anger flame. "You laugh only because you're out of my reach. If we faced each other you wouldn't be half as ecstatic."
Terran frowned. "Let's see, then," he retorted, nodding towards something above. Yami looked up.
Ra! There was a narrow stone overpass that joined the two cliffs. It looked high and dangerous, but Yami didn't hesitate. Sheathing his sword, he began the climb. The other boys exchanged a questioning glance.
"Let's go," Katsuya whispered.
"No," Yami broke in quietly. "This is between Terran and me...alone."
"Well said!" Terran declared loudly.
"Yami!" shouted Mokuba. "Look! Above you!"
The spiky-haired teenager glanced up. Dammit! How did Terran get above me so fast?! There was no time to get an answer. The man leaped, extending his sword. At the last moment, Yami threw himself to the side, almost losing his grip on the rocks around him. He fought wildly for stability as rocks and several larger stones skittered down to melt in the lava. Osiris! Don't make me die! Please!
Terran landed on the slab of rock below him and immediately reached for Yami's feet, hoping to trip him. Yami finally got both hand on the rock above his head, and pulled himself up onto the stone bridge.
With a low rumble of anger, Terran climbed up after him. "I'm going to kill you, slave!"
"You're welcome to try!" Yami exclaimed, stepping quickly backward as his enemy's blade cut the air where he had been. "Didn't I tell you I was just biding my time?!" The two swords met with an earsplitting clash. Yami was forced to his knees, his sword the only thing between him and Terran's lethal cutting edge. He gritted his teeth. Terran was much stronger than him...but no, he couldn't think of things like that now. If he was distracted for one second, he would be the next one to die in the burning mass below...
"Ha!" Yami forced Terran back and scrambled to his feet. Terran stumbled dangerously near the edge...
The man fell, but grabbed onto a protruding slab of stone. Yami smirked pitilessly as he moved in to deal the final blow.
"Ra! Don't kill me!" Terran cried pleadingly, gripping the rock face tighter. "I'll do anything you ask...anything...just-just let me live!!! Have mercy on me!"
"No," Yami hissed coldly. He loved seeing someone as powerful as the vizier beg for his life. "You didn't show Father any mercy when you killed him." His voice rose in anger. "You didn't show Atari any mercy when you killed him. You didn't show me any mercy when you beat me. You didn't show any mercy when you used me as your toy. So what makes you think that I'm going to be merciful to you?!"
"N-no! NO!!" Terran shouted as Yami raised his sword.
Do not kill Terran.
If you do, you will be cursed.
The teenager paused, breathing hard.
The expression of fear on the vizier's face was replaced with a self-righteous smirk. "Too afraid, eh?"
Yami could barely catch his breath. "What...makes you think that-that I couldn't...strike you dead...now?" he hissed.
Terran chuckled malevolently. "Oh...I know you better than you know yourself, little Yami."
The words were enough to make Yami infuriated. "Bastard!" he yelled, stepping down...hard...on the man's hand. "You do not know me! No one ever has and ever will!"
With a howl of pain, Terran let go of the rock and fell...
Down...
To...
The...
Pool...
Of...
Lava...
"Yami!" Mokuba screamed in terror as Terran disappeared amidst the fire and smoke.
If you kill him, the balance of the afterlife will be disrupted, and you will be cursed.
"No." Yami shook his head in unbelief. "No!" He stood unmoving, not believing what he had just done.
I am cursed...
The teenager threw his sword down in fury. He clenched his fists. "Why me?!" he shouted at the stone dome high above. "Why am I chosen to be as cursed as this?!" Suddenly, Yami found himself choking and realized he was crying. He closed his eyes. "I'm sorry," the boy whispered shakily, not sure if he was apologizing to his father or Terran. "I'm so, so sorry."