Oooh boy…summer school is hard. So is life right now. Sorry about the lack of updates everyone; I just seem to be wallowing in work lately. Plus, I lost my plot line, so I can't remember what supposed to happen next. O.o My muses aren't being very helpful…so I can't say when the next chappy will be out…
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Seto was in the private rooms of Aknadean. The elderly priest was seated across from him, apparently still weak from accepting the Eye. Seto gripped the Rod, feeling it's cool slenderness. In his hands was a lot of power. Although Seto placed a lot of value in power, this just didn't feel right. The Rod may have belonged to his ancestor. It did not belong to him.
"You are troubled."
Seto nearly jumped at the priest's voice and cursed himself silently for not paying attention. Aknadean smiled wryly.
"Power has its uses, Seth. That's why I called you here." The old man paused. "You know that one day, I will pass to the Underworld and you will be the new high-priest of AmunRa."
"Yes." Seto said.
"That position is a heavy one. You will be one of the most powerful men in Egypt; in the world. You will only be rivaled in power by the Pharaoh." Aknadean, with difficulty leaned forward. "Sit boy, it hurts my neck to look up at you."
Seto found a stool and sat obediently.
"There we are." Aknadean smiled, but it was a weary one. "Be cautious. Too many times have my predecessors valued their own wealth and power above Egypt. In that vein, we as an order of priest have too often been at odds with the royal family. That is something that should not be; we are priests of Amun and Pharaoh is his Son." He paused. "Seth, I look on you as a son. You are bright and if you are careful, you will go far. But let me caution you; do not seek to rival the Pharaoh when you come to power. Only grief will come of it."
Seto nodded, but inwardly he felt confused. These words were for Seth; a young priest. Not for Seto Kaiba, head of the most powerful company in the world.
"You can go now, son." Aknadean said. "I see you have made friends with the crowned prince. Cultivate that; it may be of use to you someday."
Seto could only nod as he left. Tristan and Joey stood as he came outside.
"So." Joey said after a few moments. "How'd it go?"
"You really expect me to tell you, Wheeler?" Seto growled. "Mind your own business."
Joey narrowed his eyes, but a well-placed nudge from Tristan kept him quiet.
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Katya followed Ankh's instructions, but it was pretty late by the time they stopped. The teenager was exhausted. More than that she missed her friends. And she missed Tristan. Sitting on the floor in the front room, she looked at the necklace he had given her. A tear rolled down her cheek.
'Tristan where are you and the others? I hope you're okay.'
In a dimension and time apart from hers, a young man with green eyes looked worriedly at the clear blue sky and thought about her.
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Serenity was kept very busy; being a lower maid to the Princess Tefnut had been harder than she first thought. Usually Serenity was too tired to worry about much, but when Tea had confided her worry about Katya's whereabouts, Serenity found herself seldom thinking about anything else.
She had finally decided that she needed Seto's help. But he had not visited this part of the palace for days and she was getting desperate; not too mention lonely.
"Mutemwia!"
Serenity turned to see one of the younger maids running up. "One of those charioteers asked to see you. I said I would come and get you; but you must hurry. If Senmut finds our you skipped your duties-"
Serenity didn't let her finish, but pushed the pot of water she had been holding into the younger girl's hands and ran as fast as she could in the direction the girl had pointed.
"Joey?" she said hopefully as the charioteer stood and turned. "Oh…Tristan."
The boy made a funny face. "You don't have to sound so disappointed."
Serenity had the grace to blush. "Oh, no, that's not what I meant. Sorry."
Tristan shrugged. "It doesn't matter."
There was a pause.
"Erm, Tristan, I don't want to be rude, but I don't have a lot of time and-"
"Right, sorry. Look, have you seen or heard of Katya lately?" his green eyes looked into Serenity's. They were filled with worry. Serenity shook her head.
"No. Sorry." She said. "Tea asked me about that a few days ago."
Tristan sighed with frustration. "Well, thanks. Oh, by the way. Seto's here today. Maybe you'll run into him."
Serenity's face brightened. "Really? Thanks, Tristan!"
He gave a weak smile in return. "Welcome."
Serenity placed a hand on his arm. "Don't worry; she'll be fine. I'm sure!"
Tristan nodded as Serenity slipped back inside.
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"My sister."
"Hm?" Qenamun turned to see Malik striding towards him.
"My sister. She continues to be in a fever. You told me that was the anti-dote. Did you give me more poison instead?" the boy snapped.
"Patience, Ishtar. Your sister should wake soon. Perhaps she has been given a higher dose than I first thought."
Malik glared at him. "If you are lying…"
"You will kill me?" Qenamun asked. Malik narrowed his eyes.
"Perhaps."
"Come back in a little while. I will have some more of the anti-dote then." The priest promised. Malik turned on his heel and strode out. Qenamun smiled to himself. Things were falling into place nicely.
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Rei shook her head as a little cousin splashed water in her face. The boy giggled and Rei couldn't help but smile at him. She was never very good with children, but this little boy, Khonsu, had caught her attention. They had made fast friends and he helped some of the loneliness wear away.
"Bener?"
She turned to see Ryou. "Hello, Bakura."
"Hello!" Khonsu echoed.
"Khonsu, why don't you go see if cook will give you some dates, all right?" Bener quickly urged. Khonsu's eyes lit up at the thought of something sweet and he set off at a run.
"Come on, we can talk privately in the warehouse over here." Rei motioned for Ryou to follow her.
A few minutes later, they were both seated on the floor of the warehouse.
"How are you holding up?" Ryou asked.
"All right, I suppose." She said. "It's actually kind of nice here; life has a rhythm to it."
"I know what you mean." Ryou agreed. He looked at Rei. They were sitting side by side and she had leaned her head against his shoulder; he had placed his arm around her loosely. He looked back down at the ground.
The night they had danced in the moonlight had been one of the most magical in his life. He and Rei had become fast, close friends. But they had never been anything more.
He felt truly comfortable with her, but it was more than that. Ryou thought - no he was sure he was falling in love. More in love than the rush of feelings he had had when he first met her. He could tell this was deeper.
But the trouble with Rei was that it was so difficult to tell what she felt. It made him nervous.
"You're quiet today." She said with a quiet humor that stirred him from his thoughts.
"Sor-" he began, but she put a finger up to his lips.
"What have I said about apologizing all the time?" she said, a teasing light in her gold-flecked eyes. Ryou swallowed and suddenly blushed. If he leaned down just a little bit….
Rei must have noticed as well, because her smile faded and she quickly snatched her hand from his mouth and looked away. "Sorry."
"Now who's apologizing?" he asked. Rei looked up at him in confusion. He had never teased her before.
On his part, Ryou was really wondering what it would be like to kiss her. He wanted too; and this was a good place to do it. They were alone, it was un-likely anybody would come into the abandoned warehouse…but there was still the thought that maybe she wouldn't respond. And that scared him a little.
Rei felt a blush creep up. Ryou was staring at her with an intensity he never had shown. He had his arm around her shoulders still and they were very close; she just hadn't thought about it till now.
"Ryou…?" she whispered. He didn't answer but brought his head down and touched her lips with his. Rei straightened in shock, but then slowly relaxed.
It wasn't a very long kiss; and quite an amateur one at that. But it still left her feeling weak at the knees. They pulled apart and Ryou's eyes widened as he hastily pulled away from her and looked at the ground.
"I'm sorry." He said. "I don't know what came over me, I just-"
"Ryou." She came forward and put her hand on his shoulder. "Don't be sorry."
"You're not mad at me?"
"A little surprised but not mad. I just…" Rei sat down next to him again. "I didn't expect you to do something like that-"
"I love you." Ryou said.
"Huh?" Rei looked at him.
"I love you. That's why I did it." Ryou looked at her. "That's why I'm so scared of you being taken away from me, Rei."
"How long?" She asked quietly, looking at the ground. Ryou swallowed.
"Since the moment I met you." He whispered. There was a pause, then Rei got up and walked to the entrance. She paused.
"Ryou, I…" she trailed off and turned to look at him. "I don't know what to say."
Ryou felt his heart shatter. "I understand…"
"No, you don't." Rei walked back over to him. "Ryou, you are the best person I ever met and I am so honored to have captured your heart but…I'm not ready."
Ryou looked at her. "I don't understand now."
Rei looked down then back up at him with tears in her eyes. "I've…my past…I'm just not ready to give my heart away."
Ryou swallowed and looked down. Rei cupped his cheek. "Just wait a little longer, okay?" she whispered. He looked at her with hope stirring in his eyes.
"I can't promise anything, but you're the only person I can think of right now who I'd be willing to trust my self with." She continued. Hesitantly, she kissed his cheek and then left. Ryou sat in the darkness a little longer, feeling somewhat that he had won a bittersweet victory.
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"What are we going to do?" Yami asked.
"I don't know." Shadi admitted. The two were seated at Shadi's table. The guardian felt as if everything was unraveling. "I don't know what to do."
Yami was quiet, though inwardly he was fuming. They both should have known better than to leave the bodies alone. Isis was something that they probably could have foreseen if they had bothered to stop and think. The former Pharaoh was angry, very frustrated and had pretty much been beating himself up mentally the whole evening.
"I think that they will be all right."
Yami and Shadi looked up to where Ankh had appeared in the door way. He smiled.
"The children. I think they'll be all right."
A look of relief passed over Yami's face and Shadi's relaxed a fraction.
"Good. Thank you, Ankh."
"You're welcome, Shadi."
Katya appeared in the doorway looking exhausted. "Is there a place I can sleep?" she asked tiredly.
"Yes." Shadi stood to show her the way. Ankh watched them exit, then came and sat opposite Yami.
"We are in trouble, aren't we?" He asked. Yami stared at him, then looked away.
"I don't know." He admitted. Ankh was quiet.
"I don't really know anything." Yami sounded upset. Ankh knew that the spirit was having a hard time with losing control. With feeling helpless. They all felt that way, even Scales (though it was doubtful if he would admit it).
"We'll be okay." Ankh finally said firmly. Yami gave him a weak smile.
"Your optimism…it reminds me of Yugi." A brief flash of pain went through Yami's eyes. He had grown so very attached to his aibou; without Yugi's presence, Yami almost felt lost. "Thank you."
Ankh nodded, smiling in a friendly way, as Yami got up and left the room. As soon as he was gone, Ankh sighed and leaned on his hands.
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"Useless." Bakura snarled, lifting Seto's limp hand and dropping it. Malik said nothing, his pale violet eyes scanning the bodies.
"There's some missing." He said softly. "Didn't you say that there were fourteen of you?"
Bakura was silent. "Yes. I have Ryou's body and the Pharaoh is using the brat's-" he paused. "One is missing."
Malik nodded. "So. Is Qenamun keeping this extra body away from us? Or did something go wrong?"
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"Katya?"
The girl looked up as Shadi knelt next to her. "I know it is late and I apologize for waking you." The Egyptian man said. "But I need to know what happened."
Katya blinked her grey eyes. "What happened when?"
"After that power burst in the temple."
"Oh." Katya looked down. "It was the weirdest thing…"
"Did you go to a place; a dark place? Perhaps with monsters?" Shadi asked. Katya looked at him as if he were crazy.
"No! I just…kept hopping through time."
Now Shadi looked confused. "Hopping through time?" he asked. Katya nodded, her black curls bouncing with the movement.
"Yeah. Like, have you ever seen those time-travel movies? Sometimes they, like, go to a bunch of different places in a few minutes. That's what it felt like."
Shadi blinked, more confused then ever now. Katya sighed.
"I don't know exactly what happened. I would wake up in one place…let's say, Medieval England. I'd black out and end up in another place; like pre-Cold War America."
"Ah." Shadi mentally sighed. He had never heard of this sort of thing; time travel? A type of fear crept up inside of him. The Shadow Realm he could handle; this was something else entirely.
"Thank you." He finally said, standing. "Once again, I apologize for disturbing you."
"No problem." Katya answered quietly, watching him leave the room. Shadi gave her a somewhat hesitant smile, then left. Climbing up the outdoor stairs, he seated himself on the roof. His thoughts were whirling around in his head, but they came to a point where he stopped wondering what he could do and started to worry about Isis. In all of this confusion, he had to go out and find her. If indeed he could.
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Rei was in her room, preparing for another dinner party. She felt nervous at the prospect of meeting Ryou again. Things wouldn't be the same, she realized with a sinking feeling. Putting down a bronze mirror, she thought for a moment.
'Okay, Ryou's admitted that he loves me. He's a wonderful person; you like him. But do I love him? Could I…?'
'You're just being a coward…' an inner voice whispered. Rei blinked.
'What?'
'You're being a coward.' The voice repeated. 'You are scared of trusting yourself entirely with another person and so you push him away and refuse to acknowledge your own feelings.'
'Don't be ridiculous. I decided a long time ago I wanted to stay single.' Rei snapped back at the voice. 'I don't…I don't…I don't want to end up with a broken heart…'
A tear rolled down her cheek and she angrily brushed it away. The voice was right; she was a coward, but she couldn't help it! Being in love meant pain. Rei hated pain; she hated confusion. She liked everything to be in a neat little package that she could analyze and not get emotionally attached too.
'It's not all pain…' the voice whispered. 'But how will you know if you don't give it a chance?'
Rei was quiet. "I don't know." She said aloud. "I just don't know anymore." She leaned her head into her hands.
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"Here." Qenamun handed Malik another vial. "Give this to your sister. And then meet me in the secret room. We can finally put that Rod of yours to a good use."
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Once again, no notes. I'm too tired and have a lot more stuff to do. Can't wait to read your reviews! ^__^
Zelda – Thank you very much! Erm…it will be revealed. I was originally was going to have Katya be another maid, but it got too complicated so I came up with a reason for her to stay.
DDW – Is it okay if I still call you that? Anywayz, sorry about that. I try to make it as clear as I can. *sweatdrop*
Indigo – lol, I know how that is. I hope you like this one.
Serena – lol! Well, the poor girl deserves sympathy, that's for sure. I can't wait for that new chapter!
Dr. Vorlon – I will read your new chapters soon! And review! I promise. Gomen means sorry. ^_^
Black Mistress - *smacks head* I will e-mail you! I promise! And review your new chapter…O.o…
Dragon Spirits – lol. So you have a broom stick now? Nifty. I'll e-mail you soon; promise.
FirePendant – Sorry! I'm trying hard not to make this all confusing. O.o I don't seem to be succeeding. Lol, thank you! Shadi is cool; but a little freaky sometimes. I just read some of the first edition magna with him in it and he is a little…crazy…in a way…never mind. Hope you like this chapter!
Coco strawberry – Thank you very much! Wow, I never thought Ryou and Rei would be a popular couple…^__^
Cassie - *sweatdrop* Eh, sorry about that. Thank you very much for the compliments!
