Sorry for the delay (writer's block got me), and thanks for your patience. ^_^
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By the time Yami and the others got back to the vizier's former estate, the place had already gone up in flames. Katsuya whistled at the sight.
"It's finally over," he said quietly.
Seto glanced at the blond-haired boy. "Did you get the other slaves out?"
Katsuya nodded. "No one's in there now."
"Hm."
No one spoke for a while, and the only sound was the flames, crackling in the night. Suddenly, Ishtar cocked his head. "What is that?"
Everyone heard it. The galloping of horses and shouts of soldiers grew closer.
"They're coming," Katsuya whispered. "What do we do?"
"Nothing."
"Huh?" The boys turned to Seto.
"If we try to resist, we'll die, anyway," he reminded them.
"Someone's here!" a man's voice shouted. Seconds later, they were surrounded by glaring torchlight.
"It's just some boys," muttered one.
"Wait," spoke up a tall man. He glanced at the boys. "Do any of you know who started this fire?" he demanded.
Katsuya opened his mouth. "I-"
"We did," Yami whispered, speaking for the first time since they had been in the cave.
"What?!"
"We started the fire," the teenager repeated.
The tall man exchanged a glance with his men. They looked uncertain.
"Now isn't the time...or place for explanations," he said finally in a softer tone of voice. "Come with us to the barracks. You all need to sleep."
It was then that Yami realized how tired he was. He barely had enough energy to walk down the hill with the others to where the horses waited...
"Are you all right?" the tall man asked.
"I'm fine," the spiky-haired teenager replied shortly, wincing at a twinge in his back.
The man abruptly gasped as he looked closer at the boy. "Aren't you the son of Xander the goldsmith...the one who rebelled against the vizier?"
"I am." Yami saw no point in hiding the fact. He wasn't surprised that the soldier knew him; after all, anyone who denounced the vizier Terran was sure to be infamous throughout Egypt.
"And you were enslaved by Terran?"
Yami gave him a venomous glare as he swung up onto one of the horses. "Yes," he said curtly.
The man nodded to himself. "That explains why you started the fire."
"I thought you said that this isn't the time or place for explanations," the teenager hissed.
To this the man didn't reply and a bitter silence washed over them all.
****
Yami sat alone in the back of the small room, wrapped in a large cloak. It was late, and most of the soldiers in the barracks were asleep, but Yami could hear voices in the next room.
Probably deciding how to kill us, he thought to himself. The teenager winced. Why am I thinking these things?!
There was a knock at the door.
"Come in," the teenager said quietly.
The door opened, and the tall man stepped in. "Why are you still in here, Yami?" he inquired softly.
Yami couldn't think of a suitable reply, so he said nothing.
"Aren't you going to get some sleep with the others?" the man asked.
"No."
"You don't surprise me at all, Yami," he said after a moment.
The teenager frowned. "What are you saying," he muttered sourly.
"Just like his father." The man sighed. "I knew your father, boy."
"Ne?" Yami got to his feet. "You knew Xander the goldsmith?" The soldier nodded. "Who are you, anyway?"
"Commander Nakht of the entire army of Egypt."
"Nakht...?" Yami thought hard. He nodded after a moment. "I remember you. You helped my father."
"I helped him in the...unsuccessful...revolt against Terran." Nakht crossed his arms. "When the vizier's soldiers came for us...I and a few others escaped. Obviously, your father didn't."
"What is that supposed to mean?"
The soldier chuckled. "What are you going to do now, Yami?"
Yami scowled. "We're going to leave here tomorrow," he hissed.
"Where will you go?"
"We'll find something."
Nakht arched an eyebrow. "And if you don't?"
Yami scowled in sullen silence. He couldn't think of an answer that would satisfy, so he didn't speak.
The man smirked, well-aware of the fact that he had won the argument.
"My point is...Yami," he said, his voice strangely soft, that I wanted to repay your father for what he did to me."
"What do you mean?" The teenager was listening. "What did he do to you that you wanted to repay him for?"
Nakht smirked again. "He saved my life...and more than once, at that. And he was the one who showed me that I could fight."
"How are you going to repay my father?" Yami asked.
"By helping you and your friends," the man said quickly.
"How?"
****
The teenager watched carefully as the ingot of molten gold swiftly melted. When he was sure it had been long enough, he used two stones to help him pour the mass into its final mold.
He sat back on his heels, sweating slightly from the severe heat of the fire. But he had gotten used to it. Every goldsmith had to.
The teenager smiled slightly, his eyes on the cooling gold. As soon as he knew it was cool enough, he painstakingly extracted the hardening gold piece. Taking the piece up between two fingers, the dark-haired one examined it carefully.
Perfect.
He got to his feet. It would make a nice touch to the object he was creating. He brushed several locks of blond hair behind his ear, staring unseeingly at the flames, his eyes reflecting the crimson of the fire...
Gold like the hawk's eyes and a puzzle, like the pyramids.
****
Yami scowled down the long corridor. It was very dark. Grasping the torch he held in both hands, the teenager slowly entered the hall. He sucked in his breath as he saw the colorful paintings that covered every inch of the walls on either side of him.
They were the portraits of the monsters that were so often used in the Temple of the Seventh Duel, where he was now.
The Temple of the Seventh Duel was the place where Seto had been apprenticed to the high priest. Mokuba had gone with him, since he didn't want to be separated from his older brother.
And because he got to sneak and watch the duels.
Suddenly, from far off, Yami heard an explosive roar. Glancing around, he saw a speck of light that was growing brighter. And he heard chanting. Quietly, the boy inched closer to the brightness.
As he reached the end of the passageway, the light unexpectedly became brighter. It nearly blinded him, and he stumbled back, dropping the torch.
What in the-?!
All too soon, the brilliance had faded, and all that was left was one man standing at the far end of what seemed to be an arena. The high priest, Yami thought automatically, dropping behind one of the two pillars that stood at the entrance to the room. It's Rai-djedi. Behind the man stood others, wearing black cloaks. The lesser priests.
As he took in the empty space on the platform nearest to him and the inactive tablets engraved with monsters, the reason for the light became crystal-clear.
He just beat an opponent in a Shadow Duel, and played a Heba Sbauu on whoever it was! That person who lost is now in the Shadow Realm.
The high priest smirked at the empty platform opposite him. "Perhaps now you will begin to see why I do not tolerate those who oppose me," he said bitingly. "Ahmose."
He turned, and would have left the huge room, but he caught sight of a light in the hallway beyond. With a start, Yami remembered the torch and swiftly extinguished it. But it was too late.
"Who is there?" Rai-djedi said, sounding half-annoyed.
There was no sense in hiding like a child, so Yami stepped out from behind the column. "It is Yami," he said quietly.
The high priest scowled angrily. "You're the one who's been sneaking around watching our duels."
The teenager was becoming equally enraged. "Something wrong with that?"
"You should know by now that only the priests and occasionally the pharaoh come here. You should also know that you are neither a priest nor a pharaoh...and as long as I am alive, you never will be."
Yami clenched his fists, desperately trying to hold back his boiling temper. He didn't reply.
"I'm going to speak to Nakht about this," Rai-djedi warned over his shoulder as he and the other priests left the arena. "Urchins like you have no place here."
The dark-haired teenager watched them go. He sank onto the near platform with an angry sigh. Damn...
Absentmindedly, Yami extracted the pyramid-like puzzle he had been keeping in the small bag at his belt. In spite of the trouble he knew he was in, the dark-haired boy couldn't help but smile. He had been working on the golden puzzle for several months now, and had just finished it. The teenager found himself thinking about how much his life had changed ever since Nakht had adopted him and the others.
Had it only been a year since he had been a slave?
Surprisingly, it had. He was fourteen now. Just one year ago, the only think he had to look forward to was a beating because he had done something "wrong." Now thanks to Nakht, he had so much more in store for him.
"What is that?"
Yami glanced up. "Who's there?" he demanded.
A boy slightly shorter than Yami entered the room.
"Who are you?" the teenager inquired cryptically.
The boy stepped closer. "My name's Kashta. But my friends call me Kashti. You can call me...Kashta." He indicated the puzzle that the dark-haired one held. "What's that?" he asked again.
"It's a puzzle," Yami replied.
Kashta frowned. "Can I see it?"
The teenager handed the golden object over without a word. Kashta gasped. "No..."
"What is it?"
The dark-haired boy Kashta ran a hand over the Eye engraved on the puzzle's center. "This...this is..." His voice trailed off and he stared into space, shaking his head. "Come with me."
****
"Nakht!"
With a sigh, the man turned from his conversation with Seto. "Yes, Rai-djedi?"
"That...that boy whom you adopted...he is utterly unmanageable!"
It was all Nakht could do not to make a face. It was also all he could do to not comment on the idiocy that had flourished within the priests. Stupid...
"I thought you were the high priest," the man snapped. "Can't you handle it?"
Rai-djedi scowled darkly. "And you are his father."
"I am not his father...only his guardian." Nakht stepped menacingly close. Seto could no longer restrain himself.
"I mean no disrespect, Neb Rai-djedi," Seto began, "as you are the high priest and I am below you...the champion of all the duelists here, but you have no sense."
The high priest gasped. "Take that back, Seto," he hissed.
The brown-haired teenager only frowned. "You and Yami have been enemies...ever since you two met," he reminded Rai-djedi, his words biting deep. "You were also the one who taught me that the best way to vanquish your opponent is not to go crying to his parents like an irresponsible brat! You said to challenge them...to never rest until they are gone."
****
"Here we are." Kashta paused before a wall.
Yami almost made a face. "This is a wall," he snapped at the boy, becoming rather irritated.
Kashta smiled up at him. "You think I don't know that? Look." He took a key hidden in his sandal strap, inserted it between two rocks, and turned it quickly. The two boulders slid apart with an earthshaking groan.
Yami gasped. "What is this?"
Kashta indicated the passageway. "I'll show you."
Once the two were inside and a torch had been lit, he continued. "My father is guardian over this room," the boy whispered as the two walked down the dark hall and into a small room. "And I have the spare key."
"What is special about it...that would make it need a guardian?" Yami questioned. "And what does the puzzle I made have to do with it?"
"Look there." Kashta pointed to the back of the room. The teenager looked and gasped.
"Ra!!"
The boy smirked. "I told you..." Yami wasn't listening. He walked closer to...whatever it was.
It was a stone sculpture, with six other golden objects resting in niches perfectly carved just for them.
But one was empty.
Reaching for the puzzle with fumbling hands, Yami hesitantly held it up to the vacant triangular slot. He didn't know why he was nervous. It wasn't like it was a big deal...except for the fact that a puzzle he had made fit perfectly into the open space.
"It...it fits..." he whispered. "But what does it mean?"
As if in answer to his question, light burst from the puzzle. It was very brief, but enough to make Yami and Kashta cover their eyes.
A voice spoke from the darkness.
Egypt is fallen, Yami, it said. Evil is worshiped, and darkness runs rampant. Help us, Yami. For you are the one to bring the good back.
When it was dark once again, Yami stared hard at the sculpture.
"W-was it my imagination...or did I hear a voice?" Kashta managed through clenched teeth. He was obviously badly scared.
"You heard it," the teenager whispered. "And so did I." He ran a hand over the puzzle he had made, which now rested where it seemed to belong, with the six other objects of the stone sculpture. "But what does it mean? And why me?"
"I...think I can answer that," Kashta said quietly. "You didn't know about the Makaoa Kha Renput before this, did you?"
"The...what? Charms of a Thousand Years?" Yami indicated the sculpture. "That's what these are?"
"Yes." As Kashta spoke, his face became strangely grave. "Some call the Millennium Items, but all you need to know is that there are seven of them. The Puzzle that you made, the Rod, which Rai-djedi uses; the Tauk, which my father has; the Eye, the Ring, the Scales, and the Ankh.
"My father told me that each of them has powers. I don't know what all of them are, but what I do know is that some of them can help a lot during duels. And that your puzzle is said to be the strongest."
"I...don't understand," Yami confessed. "Why are you telling me this? You don't even know me!"
Kashta scowled. "I do know that the one with the Millennium Puzzle is the one who will save Egypt. And-"
A far-off shout cut him off.
"Yami! Where are you?!"
The teenager clenched his fists. It was Rai-djedi. "I must go." He reached for the puzzle—the Millenium Puzzle—but Kashta caught his hand.
"There's something else you should know...Yami. There are many people who want these Charms, because of a prophecy. It said that, 'whosoever shall wield all seven Millennium Items will possess power...unimaginable.' Only my father, Rai-djedi and I know about this place, and Rai-djedi is one of those who's trying to find the Puzzle. If he does...he could rule the world with the help of the other six Items!"
"So you don't want me to take the Puzzle because he'd probably kill me to get it?" Yami demanded. The shouts were getting closer.
Kashta nodded sharply. "Yes."
The teenager took the Millennium Puzzle and stuck it in the small bag at his belt. "I thank you for the warning...but no. I'm not going to hide. I've been whipped for keeping secrets before. This is not so bad."
****
"You want me to duel you?" Yami said, repeating the high priest's words in disbelief.
"I do," Rai-djedi replied. The dark-haired boy hesitated. "This will settle our grudge," he reminded the teenager.
Yami scowled. "Very well. I accept your challenge."
Rai-djedi smirked. "Good."
As the small group made their way to the arena room, Katsuya sidled up to Yami.
"Why the hell did you accept that devil's challenge?" he hissed. "You know you're going to lose and be killed...!"
The teenager's hand brushed against the pouch that held the Puzzle. "Why are you so quick to jump to conclusions?" he snapped.
"But...Rai-djedi's a champion. And the only one among us who can duel is Seto...and even he says it takes a lot of energy." Katsuya was obviously not enjoying the prospect of his friend—and amateur—going against the high priest—an experienced duelist.
"Are you ready, Yami?" Rai-djedi asked from his side of the room.
Yami's eyes narrowed. "Yes. I am."
"Good!" The man began to laugh, loudly and maniacally, raising the golden rod he held.
The Millennium Rod.
"Let the Shadow Games begin!"
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Well...how was it? Good? Bad? Ne? Tell me! REVIEW!!
Oh, and here's the list of Egyptian words that I used in this chap...
Neb = Master, Heba sbauu = Penalty Game, Makaoa kha renput = Charms of a Thousand Years (Millenium Items, duh)
~KR