Author's Note: First, merry early Christmas...here's your present: a new chapter. Read it...review it...be happy... Next, we know Seto Kaiba's ancestor has been called "Seth" in other sources, but it just sounded so boring, so we found an alternative name that is indeed Egyptian. So don't try to correct us, we already know. Anyway, enjoy!
Chapter 15
"The Final Battle: Suppressed Memories"
Aset, priestess of the goddess of the same name, was kneeling in the temple in which she served, her long blonde hair falling in front of her face as she bowed her head to the golden statue before her. Her beloved, the High Magi Seti, would be coming that night and she wished to consult with the goddess before he arrived. She wanted everything to be perfect; she had already prepared a chamber for the two of them to spend the night, and she sought the goddess's blessing.
As she knelt on the stone steps, reaching out with her soul to the will of the goddess, she caught a subtle change in the wind, and her eyes snapped open. 'There's someone here,' she thought, and knowing at once that it was too early for it to be Seti. Fueled with the ferocity of the goddess she served, she leapt to her feet and dashed out of the room, pulling a short dagger out of a sheath on her belt as she did so.
She arrived in the chamber devoted to tributes quickly and silently. Within the chamber, a young man with wild white hair was stealthily picking through the most recent pile of treasures the city had offered to the temple. Deftly, she moved towards him, coming up directly behind him where he was crouched down admiring a large chest of gold and jewels. She placed the dagger along side of his throat, just enough so he could feel the cool touch of the metal, and said sternly, "On your feet, thief."
Barak froze, a shiver running through his body. He had never actually been caught before and his overconfidence had left him off his guard. 'I must be getting old…' He stood slowly, the wind blowing through his ragged, worn cloak. He glared at the woman (obviously a high rank official by her clothing), his dark brown eyes filled with a lifetime of rage and hate. The Millennium Ring around his neck glistened in the moonlight, the only untarnished part of his adornment. "What do you want?"
"I want you to remove yourself from this temple," she said, her own green eyes flashing dangerously, "You dishonor the goddess with your presence. Leave, and don't come back, lest you provoke her wrath."
Barak laughed out loud, not caring about the dagger still hovering close to his neck, "If the Gods had the courage, they would have killed me ten years ago." He shifted his stance slightly, bristling for a confrontation. The Millennium Ring began to glow slightly, removing some of the remaining shadows that were shrouding his face in darkness, "But they dare not move against a possessor of a Millennium Item."
"Possessor or not, I will not allow this desecration to continue!" she said, shifting the dagger so its point was nearly at his jugular.
"Put it away, girl," the man said angrily, a glowing, golden, Egyptian Eye symbol appearing on his forehead. The Ring began to shine even more brilliantly and Barak could feel the magical energies flowing through his body once again, "Depart from here and you may keep your life!"
"The sacredness of this temple is of more value to me than my own life," she said stubbornly, and moved to thrust the blade into his throat.
Barak half-closed his eyes, actually a bit amused. The dagger touched his throat, but that was as far as it could get. The Millennium Ring offered him its protection in time of need and the speed to grab the girl's arm in time had been granted him. It was a skill he hadn't used in ten years, not since that night where he had taken the life of Pharaoh Yami I with his own hands. He didn't give her a second chance at taking his life; the Ring was powerful, but not invincible. The thief grasped her hand with his own, forcing her to turn the dagger around. With a thrust of strength, Barak stabbed the Priestess with her own blade.
Aset's eyes widened in shock as pain tore through her stomach. She coughed and blood flew from her mouth in flecks that hit Barak's face, though he didn't even flinch. Grinning sadistically, he pulled the dagger back out and watched as she fell to the floor. He stood over her, unmoved as a pool of blood began to form around her, tainting her pure white clothes and beautiful blonde hair. It seemed a shame for something so lovely to end in this manner, but the foolish girl had brought it upon herself. He tossed the dagger aside, gathered up what treasures he had come for, and left the temple.
*
High Magi Seti couldn't help but smile as he climbed the stairs of the Temple of Aset. His life had taken a definite turn for the better in the past season. His plans for war on the Pharaoh were nearly complete (which was perfect with the Pharaoh bogged down trying to stop the string of robberies on the high temples) and he had even found someone he truly cared about: Aset. Beautiful, kind Aset.
She was not in the main chamber of the temple, so he took to wandering the rooms, searching for her. He discovered the room she had prepared for them, but she was not waiting for him there. Wondering mildly if her duties had let her lose track of the time, he passed by the tribute chamber.
The man did a double take a few feet past the door and ran back, gaping at what he could see so horribly clear in the moonlit room. Aset was curled on the floor in a puddle of blood, her own blood-stained dagger a few feet away. "Aset!!" he cried, running to her side, turning her slowly onto her back, staring aghast at her blood-drenched clothes and lifeless eyes.
Slowly, he closed her eyes with one shaking hand. "…no…" He gathered her up into his arms, dissolving into tears as he felt the last bit of warmth leave her body. "…don't leave me…"
*
The sun was already rising by the time Seti had completed the trek back to his palace. His servants stared with a mixture of horror and disgust, but a single glance from Seti was enough to send them fleeing away back to their chores and the like. What he was looking for wasn't in his palace, it was behind it. The stone he had specially hand-carved of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon Monster shielded his eyes from the morning sun with its overcast shadow.
His own elegant robes were stained with Aset's blood, as he had carried her near to him all night, but he took no notice. He dropped to his knees before the carving, staring up at it, his face a mixture of so many emotions. In one single night, it seemed like his whole life had come crashing down around him. In one senseless act of greed and violence, his beloved had been taken from him.
He lifted her up towards the carving, pleading, "All mighty Creature of the Light, how many years have I been your faithful servant?? How long have we existed for each other's benefit?? How many times have you blessed me in my quest to become supreme? Why now, would you abandon me – leave me alone in this world with no more cause for my ambitions?" He brought Aset's body back closer to himself, his voice cracking with sadness as he continued, "I beg of you…don't allow her to leave this realm. Catch her soul before it reaches Anubis – do anything in your power to keep her from the Scales. I…I cannot continue on this way…I've been exposed to her for to long to let her go so easily."
He stayed on the ground for what seemed like an eternity, before out from the tablet of stone came the translucent form of the mighty dragon creature. It towered over Seti, looking down at its master and good friend with its small, watery blue eyes. The man locked eyes with the creature, unable to think of any other words to say to the monster. After another moment, the giant reptile knelt low to the ground, bending its head over towards the dead body in Seti's arms. It unfolded its enormous wings, revealing what looked like the sleeping soul of Aset on the monster's back.
The High Magi's face brightened and he lifted the body up once again, as the dragon lowered its head enough that the soul slid down its neck and merged with its physical counterpart. Instantly, the gaping wound in Aset's stomach began to close itself. She stirred and Seti clutched her close to his chest, overcome with joy and relief. The mighty dragon emitted a guttural sound almost like purring before it faded away, back into the stone carving once again, its work completed.
* * *
"You see now what I mean?" Jetsu asked softly, watching Seto's expression change with each paragraph of scripture, "Your ancestor was a sentimental fool, just like you – which is why he never achieved real power. That's why he was banished by the Pharaoh. You've had long enough! Time is up!" The man growled, bashing Kaiba in the head once again with a black energy blast which sent him sprawling across the floor.
Kaiba moaned softly and struggled to stand up again. His head was pounding and small red drops appeared all around him as he stared at the cold, stone ground. Once he managed to stand, he wiped his bloodied bangs out of his eyes, anger coursing through him. Jetsu was going to end both his and Vitani's lives here and now if he didn't do something quickly. Mokuba would be left alone…
Without thinking, Seto Kaiba, descendent of one of the most powerful mages in Ancient Egypt, raised his right hand and fired off a small blast of magical energy at his enemy.
Maeda was so surprised that he wasn't able to block the blow, which hit him in the stomach and toppled the evil overlord. He picked himself up quickly, and the glare he shot at Seto was one intermixed with confusion. "How the hell were you able to do that??" he spat, and then shrugged "Heh…well, it doesn't really matter. You won't get that opportunity again!" With that, he launched a barrage of black energy forward.
Seto fired another of his own, weaker, slower shots, but to no avail. His feeble, unpracticed beams of light were no match to the mighty bombardment of energy that was set against him. Even if there was any time to dodge away, Seto no he wouldn't be able to bring himself to. Vitani would be hurt and she had suffered enough already. Once again he was pelted with the magical black fireballs, felling the boy billionaire again.
"You're dead, Seto Kaiba. You can't win against me. You might as well leave this Realm now. If you go, I may even let you live once I have my own body back." Jetsu stopped walking forward, smiling like a small child, "But if you wish to continue, let's have a little fun first." He raised one hand and fired off a blast not at his opponent, but at the ceiling, bringing down a rain of stone and dust.
"NO!" Kaiba cried, "What are you doing?!?"
"This place is worthless to me. I see no point in keeping it intact, do you?" Maeda asked sadistically, powering up another shot, "Better get up, little Kaiba. Vitani's going all to pieces!" He released his grip on the tiny black energy orb, making another hole in the ceiling.
His own blood was pounding in his ears as Seto struggled to his feet once again. He couldn't let this continue…there had to be someway he could stop it. He spotted the Rod, lying discarded on the floor near Vitani's crumpled form and a vague course of action began forming in his head. While Maeda powered up yet another blast, Kaiba made a dash for the Rod, grabbing it without ever breaking a stride. With a cry of fury, he made a near-complete circle of the room, placing himself in front of the High Priest. "I won't let you destroy her!" he shouted, feeling his own rage pulsated through him, manifesting itself in the pure white glow that enveloped the Rod.
Jetsu was quite surprised at the rashness of the young man, "You have no choice in the matter, boy!" Maeda pulled the Sword out of its Sheath and it began to glow completely black, a direct contrast to that of Seto Kaiba's Item, "This is the end of the line for you, Mr. Kaiba! Goodbye!" The descendent of Egypt's most powerful High Priest released his energy blast, putting his full magical force behind the attack. He was wasting time here with this boy; the longer he waited the more chance there was that Seline would call off their deal.
But the noble goal of the descendant of the most powerful mage in Egyptian history seemed to magnify the white energy of its own accord, and as Seto watched, blinded by his need to call forth the strength to save her, a blast equal to Jetsu's in size shot out of the Rod, hurtling towards the oncoming black blast.
The Egyptian man watched in shock as the two blasts collided, causing the very Realm around them to shake slightly. A bead of sweat began to slip down the man's forehead, but he pressed on, fueling his blast with every ounce of magical strength and training he could come up with. At the very center of the two fighting energies, the black energy slowly inched forward, pushing on its direct counterpart.
Kaiba felt himself sliding slowly back along the floor as the black energy surged closer to him, but he refused to relent. If only he could figure out how to summon more energy to his own blast!
A sudden flash of energy shot across the floor past him, nearly making him lose his balance! He watched the golden jet slide under the conflicting blasts with ease, and even though he could no longer see Jetsu, he heard the cry of surprise and anger that told him it was the only advantage he was ever going to get. So he willed his energy onwards with all his strength, and slowly but surely, his own white energy began pushing back on the black. 'YES!! Just a little more…'
Jetsu grunted in pain as the smaller blast came flying out of nowhere. He was startled to see Vitani supporting herself on one elbow for a minute, grimly smiling at him, "I cannot be defeated again, especially not by the likes of you, Seto Kaiba!" He forged onward, but could already tell that his efforts were all for naught. The growing red stain on the front of his pure white robes was a mark from the latest assault on him, and the injury; must have been more serious than he had originally thought. The white energy approached him rapidly, consuming more and more of the deadly black beam he had set against his enemies, 'I was so close… no one would have been able to stop me this time… but I failed. Once again, I failed.'
Jetsu Maeda, last surviving member of one of the oldest lines of Egypt, felt all will to continue leave his being. He lowered his hands and looked down towards the ground, "Seline Chrysogonus will destroy you for this. Her greed has no bounds, and I promised her riches she had only before dreamt about. Your days are numbered…Tell the Pharaoh for me, won't you?"
The white light filled the room and before Kaiba could consider Maeda's last words, he was blasted by cold air, marking his return to the physical world. He was still on his feet, sweating despite the cold, and breathing heavily. He felt movement close to him and turned numbly to see Yami staring up at him, his eyes wide.
"What happened…?" the Pharaoh asked.
Kaiba said nothing. His attention was solely on Vitani, who was lying on the ground in front of him. Stooping low, he gathered her up into his arms and left without another word, vanishing into the snowy night.
Shadi spoke up slowly, looking very drained from the excess of magic he had had to perform, "This battle is over…Maeda is gone…"
"Yes…" Yami nodded, "And yet…" he trailed off, unable to word his thoughts.
"You feel the true battle is only beginning?" Void finished for him.
Yami nodded and Shadi replied, "Time will tell…but I feel it is not worth considering tonight. I, for one, am ready for a long bout of meditation."
As they began their descent of the museum stairs, a sleek golden cat crossed in front of them. It stopped momentarily, blinked large emerald eyes at them, and then darted off into the shadows.
"What the…?" Yami said.
Shadi murmured, "We were not alone tonight…seeking the holder of the Millennium Statue would be a wise next move."
"A task that will be left for another time…" Yami added, "I expect I'll be seeing the two of you again soon."
"Indeed, my Pharaoh," Shadi nodded, "Until then…"
The master and apprentice then parted from the Pharaoh.
High above the King of Egypt, the Spirit of the Millennium Ring was still looking down on the scene of the recent battle. The cold night air and light snow could do nothing to cool the rage of Egypt's most notorious thief. Barak was livid, his fists clenched together in anger, 'That coward!' he thought indignantly, 'Allowing Seto Kaiba to do his dirty work for him! After all that shit he gave me about how he was more powerful than Jetsu…' He spat contemptibly down at the ground, hate for his half-sibling coursing through his veins. Barak snorted and walked off. Bakura was bound to wake up eventually, and he should be his bed at that time…