Hey! Chapter Six is here! Fifteen reviews! Thank you! Thank you! I
feel really bad about having to force you to review in order for more of
the story, but I had to do what I had to do to get a review. Hey, that
whole statement rhymed! Yee-ha! But the rules in this duel are compliant
to the Yu-Gi-Oh! Rulebook/Game Guide. I bought the Seto Kaiba Starter Deck
too, so the cards he uses are all his. I know, I'm so pathetic I scare
myself too. Anyway, you know what's next..
Disclaimer: All Yu-Gi-Oh characters used in this story, except for a
select few, are property of Konami, and copyright of Kazuki Takahashi in
1996. Except.guess.Rena! Right! You win 1,000 Monopoly dollars! Anyway,
I'm shutting up with bull.and continuing the story!
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"I really think you're spoiling me. I'm not used to rich-person treatment yet," she laughed as the butler moved in like an eagle to take their soiled dishes away to the kitchens.
"Will you shut up about that already? That's the tenth time in five minutes that you've said that, and I'm tired of hearing about your so- called deprivation!" Seto growled. "Besides, you owe me a duel."
"I don't owe you anything," Rena snapped. "But, let me go get my cards and stuff."
"And stuff," Seto sniffed. Rena went up the stairs. Seto brought out his cards, and walked out to an old room. The automatic lights switched on, and the arena glowed before him. This was the same place he had suffered his first great defeat, but had been the place on which he had made so many stunning victories. Stunning, at least, to the press. He had a feeling the Dueling Discs would be virtually impossible for Rena to figure out, so his best bet for a decent duel was here. He was getting ready to ascend to his stand, when he realized something. He had actually left his card deck on the dining room table. That was the first time he had ever left them somewhere that wasn't on his immediate person. He left to the table when he heard a vague,
"Hello?" He walked up the stairs until he came on the fifth level in the third corridor, where Rena stood, wandering like a ghost, helplessly lost.
"I can't find my room," she cried. Seto could do nothing but stare.
"Damn you baka onna," he said. "Come on." He led her down two flights of stairs until they approached her door.
"So, I need directions to my room. Bite me," she snapped, running inside. She emerged a few minutes later, deck and rulebook in one hand. She skimmed through it as they walked down more steps. Finally, they went back to Seto's personal arena, and she stood slack-jawed.
"Wow," she breathed, "this is so awesome."
Seto eyed his opponent carefully, "Right." They ascended to their respective stands, Seto at the blue end, and Rena at the red end.
"Are you ready?" he asked.
"Sure I'm ready."
"Then, it's time to duel!" he exclaimed.
"Okay," Rena whistled. "I think you take this just a little too seriously."
"Right. I'll go first then to spare you the trouble." While he drew his first five cards, Rena studied him carefully. Then, she read the first few directions in her book. "Okay, draw five cards." She grabbed the cards from her shuffled deck, and arranged them in her hand. The cards read, "Rogue Doll, Gyakutenno Megami, Monster Reborn, Judge Man, and Sweet Temptation." One of her new cards in her first draw. Pretty lucky. She would probably save Sweet Temptation; she read the cards description "Lowers the ATK and DEF of all monsters on the field by 600 points." "Whoa," she thought. That could really come in handy.
Seto looked at his hand. "Blue Eyes on the first draw. I shouldn't play it, at least not until I know what her cards are capable of." He looked at the rest of his cards. "Reverse Trap, Ookazi, Blue Eyes White Dragon, Ryu- Kishin Powered, and Reinforcements." Only two monsters, this was going to be slightly difficult. He looked at the Ryu-Kishin card. He had seen more of this monster than he really cared for. But, it was the only other monster he could play. And, now that he thought about it, this card could give him a bonus. This card would affect Rena psychologically. It'd shake her up, and give him the upper hand. He looked at the woman on the opposite side of the arena, her cards in one hand, rulebook in the other. He could tell she was thinking. Well, she wouldn't have to worry very much. Crush Card followed Sagi, and Sagi followed Reinforcements, almost always. He played Ryu-Kishin.
"I summon Ryu-Kishin Powered, attack mode."
"Okay, Summon, that's attack mode, and that's-" she looked from her rulebook down at the field. There stood the gargoyle that had frightened her so. She stumbled, and caught herself. She felt faint, but shook her head, and remembered she had the same exact card. He was trying to get to her. Fine, she looked at her hand.
She bit her lip, "Um.I summon Rogue Doll. Attack Ryu-Kishin with Ancient Spell." It said the doll was especially strong against dark forces, and Ryu-Kishin was categorized in the Dark element. She prayed it would work. The doll raised her staff, and let it work up some energy, before letting it release at Ryu-Kishin. The monster caught it, and Rena drew in a sharp breath, but the monster lost its grip on its armor, and was blown up into fragments of light.
"I don't get it," Seto said, "Their attack power was the same, nothing should have happened."
"Don't ask me, I just knew the Rogue Doll has a particular strength against Dark forces," Rena said, shrugging her shoulders.
'But it shouldn't have mattered,' Seto thought, looking at Rena in particular interest. And it wouldn't have; their attack powers were the same. Years of Duel Monsters taught him that. It was like she affected the outcome of the match. But that was impossible, wasn't it? Rena did have special gifts, but foresight wasn't one of them. "Hmm, the outcome of Ryu-Kishin's duel proved that the Blue Eyes probably shouldn't be summoned yet. So, let's see what I draw." He picked the top card from his deck. "Rude Kaiser, not Sagi, but oh well, I'll have to play it." He set the card and the Rude Kaiser came up on the field.
"Rude Kaiser, Side Arm Slash, and send that Doll to the Graveyard. Playtime's over." The Kaiser destroyed the Rogue Doll, ending Seto's turn.
Rena sighed. Megami could defeat Kaiser if he had been a Dark element, but his Attribute was Earth. And they had the same Attack power, so it'd result in a draw. She couldn't risk that. She had to end it, and she'd end it with Judge Man. They were the same Attribute, and his ATK was 2200. She played it.
He rose out of the ground, and Seto Kaiba recognized the card played. "No way, not a Judge Man." The Judge Man raised his weapon, and crushed Rude Kaiser underneath it.
"That's it," Kaiba roared. "It's time for something I know you can't attack! I summon the mighty Blue Eyes White Dragon!" He picked up his draw card, and smiled, Sagi the Dark Clown. Things were starting to go right.
"What can I attack that thing with?" Rena thought frantically, "3000 Attack points? Yeah right, I've got nothing that can even stand up to that!"
She drew her next card. She drew in a sharp breath as she looked at it. Dark Angel's Kiss. She laid it facedown on the mat, and put Fire-Eyes out in attack mode. And she noticed in her hand, Trial By Fire. 'When did I draw that?' she wondered. Oh well, I'll pair it the Maiden, and see what it does. She laid it with the Maiden, and saw a compass like icon by it. "Oh, it's a Field Magic card. What are they?" She flipped through her Rulebook. "Field Magic cards are used to alter the conditions on the field and modify the Attack and Defense capabilities of monsters. They are placed on the Field Card zone, right there, and are not included in the Magic & Trap Zone's 5-card limit. Field Magic Cards can be activated by a player, but not during an opponent's turn. Then I'll activate Trial By Fire, and change the field to my Maiden's liking, which raises all Pyro Type and Fire Attribute monsters attack by 200, and lowers all Earth Attribute monsters by 200 points."
"I don't have any Earth Attribute monsters on the field, Miss Campbelle," Seto rolled his eyes. He picked up his card and smiled, Crush Card. "It's time to end this," he said.
"Wait! If you play that Crush Card, I'll have no choice but to activate the single Card that will be the end of you!" Rena yelled across the stadium.
"How did she know?" he gasped. Rena looked at her hands. "How did I know? What's wrong with me? What's going on? I.I knew. How? I can't see his hand! Something inside of me, just knew!" She backed up a step, to the very back of the box, a look of pure shock on her face. Not yet out of her controlled stupor, she raised her Dark Angel card. "If you continue the play with Sagi and The Crush Card, you will give me no choice than to play this, she flipped the card face-up. The Dark Angel appeared on the arena, and moved forward threateningly. "You know what this card does, Seto Kaiba? Let me tell you, the power of the Dark Angel's Kiss obliterates your deck. Not just your hand, your whole deck," she said.
"Discard Sagi and Crush, and I will put away the Dark Angel. It's a fair move, and we can continue the duel with honor," she reasoned.
"Fine, it just means it'll take a little longer to your inevitable defeat," he said, laying Sagi and The Crush on his discard pile, and Rena took Dark Angel's Kiss from the field and put it in her discard pile.
"It's my turn," Seto said, drawing a card. He grinned at his second Blue Eyes. He set Ookazi on the field facedown. "Blue Eyes White Dragon, time's up for the Judge Man, White Lightning." He grinned with satisfaction as Rena watched her life points go down as her Judge Man was reduced to rubble. He had lost Ryu-Kishin, Rude Kaiser, and his life points were 1100. He had destroyed Rogue Doll and Judge Man just now, and Rena's life points still remained above his though with 1500. Next, her Fire-Eyes Maiden would join the Graveyard, as soon as his next turn came by. This turned out to be even easier than he thought, even if he had abandoned Sagi's trap. Now he just needed one more Blue Eyes, and a Polymerization card.
"I'm in trouble," Rena thought. She knew nothing in her present hand could withstand the incredible force of the mighty Blue Eyes. "Please," Rena whispered as she drew her next card, eyes closed. She took a look at it. It read, "Wisdom Goddess.
One of the six Mighty Goddesses created from the six attributes of Earth, Fire, Water, Earth, Wind, Light, and Dark. This Wise Goddess is controlled by the infinite power of light." She took a look at the Life Points, and they read, an uncannily large Attack range of 3500.
"OH MY KAMI-SAMA!" Rena yelled as she laid the card on the field, then she looked back at her hand. She played Monster Reborn as well, waiting for her turn to use it. "All right Goddess of Wisdom, destroy that Blue Eyes, then use the power of Monster Reborn to make the Blue Eyes our own ally!" The Goddess flung a bright energy at the Blue Eyes and with a might roar, it disappeared, and reappeared on Rena's side of the stand. Seto stood wide-eyed, gasping for air.
"How? I don't understand, no. It can't be. How can this have happened? No, no, it's just not possible. No," he stammered, breathing heavily. Rena looked at him with concern, "I hope he's okay. He's taking this awfully hard, I mean it is only a game, after all." Seto stared as his life points went from 1420 to 400. Now he'd have to even the score.
"I play my second Blue Eyes in attack mode, and use the power of Ookazi to send your life points tumbling to 800," Seto said, as he exacted his move.
"What? No way!" Rena cried. Seto laughed as he drew his card. Had Seto believed in miracles, he would have been on his knees. The card that lay before him was Monster Reborn. He laid it on the field. "Now Blue Eyes White Dragon, use White Lightning with all your power, attack!" The dragon let loose a furious blast. Rena shielded her eyes as she looked at the ongoing battle. It was a ferocious battle between two brother dragons. Finally, the one she had incarnated gave up and let it become obliterated.
"Is it over?" she asked as the light faded. She looked at her life points. She had fifty life points remaining. "Very close, it can't happen again." She drew her next card, Pot of Greed. "Take that Seto! Be-da!" she said throwing him akanbe as she drew two more cards. She looked at them. One was a Polymerization card, and the other was another Goddess. This was the Earth Goddess. She remembered something the girl at the shop had mentioned. What had her name been? Anzu wasn't it?
"Then, couldn't you combine all three of those goddesses to make a kind of Super-Goddess?" That's right, if she drew the other Goddess, she could make a Super-Goddess! "I'm done," she said to Kaiba.
"All right," he said. "She didn't attack. I wonder what she's up to." He drew his card, Lord of D. He grinned as he read the description, "All Dragon Type monsters cannot be targeted by Magic cards or Trap cards, or other effects that specifically designate a target while this card is face- up on the field." There were no magic or trap cards laid or even in effect, and he had a feeling she might be laying a few for the time being. Especially if she was planning something.
Rena looked at her present hand, it was completely different from when she first started. She had Polymerization, Earth Goddess, had just drawn Isis' Gift, and the Cyber Warrioress had somehow ended up in her hand. She laid Isis' Gift in effect, which allowed her to draw two more cards from the top five of her deck in exchange for a Tribute Summon of one card. She looked through the choices, Ankh, Mystic Horseman, Double Faces of Bastet and Sekhmet, Egyptian Sprite, and finally, the Goddess Beautiful. She looked at this goddess's Attribute. "Ruled by the power of wind, that's so awesome!" She exclaimed as she drew out Goddess Beautiful and Ankh.
"Now I have all the power I need to end this match once and for all Seto Kaiba! I combine the Goddess Beautiful and the Earth Goddess with the Polymerization Card to fuse with Wisdom Goddess to create the.uh, the." Again the voice inside her spoke in her place, and she cried with power and dignity, "The Ancient Goddess! And using the power of Ankh, she is protected from any of your magic or attacks and granted the gifts of the immortals!" Two Goddesses appeared on either side of the Wisdom Goddess. One was true to her name, in sky-blue robes and flowing silver hair, she was beautiful, and the other, had dark, soil brown hair, and was dressed in robes of green. They fused into the center, and there stood the Ancient Goddess, dressed in sky-blue robes, with long, soil-brown hair, streaked in gold, and a helmet like Pallas' adorned her head. Bright silver wings sprouted from her back, and a sword fell into her hand, a spark of light on the blade.
"Incredible," Seto breathed as he watched the Goddesses meld into one. Now, it's my turn. The last piece of the puzzle fell into place, and he drew, the final Blue Eyes White Dragon. "Don't assure your victory yet. I combine my three Blue Eyes White Dragons with a Polymerization card of my own, and create the Ultimate Blue Eyes White Dragon!" The Dragons combined into one, revealing a mighty winged beast with three heads of unrelenting terror. "It will be a clash of the strongest monsters in the history of Duel Monsters," he said. He looked at the Goddess. Even his dragon wouldn't beat the power of the Goddess that stood before him, as much as he didn't wish to say it. But he looked at the playing field, which was still in Trial By Fire. The whole arena was aflame, as well the hearts of the duelists. Miss Campbelle stood, cards in hand, and faced him. The flames brought out her best features and her eyes danced with fury and passion. Her hair was falling all around her, and she looked at him with zeal. Her beauty was as stunning as the Goddess that stood before her. He tried to look away but his eyes wouldn't let him. He was infatuated with the woman that stood before him now, as much as he detested feeling for her. He had never seen her in this way, and he wished, deep in his cold, forbidding heart that she could look at him the way he saw her now. But a duel was for power, and this was one he would win. He saw that she had left her Fire-Eyes Maiden unguarded on the field, and now it would cost her the match. "Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon, use a Neutron Blast and destroy her Fire-Eyes Maiden." The dragon did as it was told and the Maiden burst in a display of fire.
"No! It can't be," Rena cried as her life points plunged to zero, and the stadium shut down and the Goddess glimmered away.
"That was such a novice move," Seto sneered as they stepped down. The familiar Rena replaced the battle-proud Rena, as she descended from the red box. "You should never have left the Maiden unguarded, or should have completely discarded her. She wasn't needed, and since your Goddess couldn't protect her, she was destroyed by my Dragon," he finished.
"Oh," was all Rena managed to say.
"But that was a good duel. Even for a novice," he admitted.
"Thanks," Rena said, brightening, "you know, you can be a decent person when you want to be." A small smile flickered at the corners of his lips, but as soon as it had come, it faded. "That's the first non-patronizing smile I've seen from you!" she laughed. Then, she put her hand on his shoulder, an involuntary gesture she had done with all the guys at the excavation camp, but to use it on this particular person came as quite a shock.to both of them. He looked at the hand on his shoulder and then at the face that was staring him in the eye. "Sorry," she said, "I guess that's just what us normal people do to show we like another normal person, but that won't work in this instance will it?" she asked.
"Especially since you aren't normal," he said, grinning that egotistic grin.
"I'm beginning to get the feeling I'm not," she said, darkening. A flicker of the Rena that had been in battle box surfaced, but quickly subsided, as if she had pulled it away. "When we were dueling, I was hearing someone, not so much beside or behind me, as it was inside me. That voice told me what cards to play, and what magic or monster to counter your cards with. It felt like I was two entities crammed into one," she thought, running her hand through her hair. It shimmered chocolate brown, and ran with red and slightly blonde natural highlights.
"Rena, tell me, do you have a Millennium Item?" he asked.
"A Millennium Item? No, but how do you know about them?" she asked. "They're priceless artifacts, given account to in some of the rarest scrolls of Egyptian papyrus in the history of ancient Egypt. They're filled with all sorts of magic supposedly, and now, even though I still don't want to believe in magic and ghosts and the supernatural, I'm left with no choice but to believe that those items truly boast what is written on them, the magic and ghostly spirits that were the Shadow Games."
"You do have every right to. The world is not as sane as we like to think it is. I know, or at least, am acquainted with the people who carry Millennium Items, and I knew the one of them almost too well, your fiancé," he cringed at the word, "was a carrier of the Millennium Eye, but it's been given a new owner."
"Goodness," she whispered.
Seto continued, "Miss Campbelle, there is another Millennium Item. An eighth one, known as the Millennial Rapier, and I'm convinced the location to its whereabouts are concealed within the scroll I've hired you to decode. And when that is translated, I'm going to need you to help me find Mana Ka'reph, the final hiding place. I think there's another person after it. My top five executives-"
"I thought you fired them from insubordination and mutiny on a corporate level? Sued their pants off, too."
"The Great Journalism God is a good one to his sleazy followers," he said, "But I did have them fired on those charges, so stop interrupting!" he shouted. "Would it occur to you I had hired new, more loyal and trustworthy ones?"
"Oh yeah," she said, looking down.
"Anyway," he said, "I found there's a new corporate company that's been funding over eighty percent of the archaeological excavations under bases of Egyptology. That's a lot of money. Whoever the CEO of this company is, they're really trying to find something. The Millennial Rapier would be, forgive my pun, the find of the millennium. So, when I found about your project, the name was confusing, but wasn't it something like."
"The International Egyptology Collegiate Interaction. IECI."
"Yeah, the IECI, when I read about it, I found you digging for the entrance to Mando Nashti'ora. Then, I found out from you that this site wasn't the actual temple, but the key to the temple, that could reveal Mana Ka'reph, the real temple, in the scroll. But I had to find out what you were doing, so I-" he was broken off by Rena's outburst.
"You used corporate espionage! You scum! You had to make sure none of the sites were selling off to a possible competitor!" she yelled.
"I used corporate espionage, yes, but not to make sure no one was selling off. I had to know what the intents of that company are. They could be trying to put the very fucking world in danger, dammit!"
Rena fell over she was so surprised by his outburst. She had never thought that Seto Kaiba would be one to use such words, and the fact he did took her aback.
"Whoa. Um.okay, all right. I believe you now. But I still think corporate espionage was not the way to go about things," she said.
"What was I supposed to do? Walk up to them with pansies in my hand and ask them ever so politely if they want to destroy the world as we know it?" he asked, a disgusted look on his face.
"Well, when you put it that way," Rena admitted, "but what is this corporation that has you so worried?"
"It's called Yume Shinkirou Industries, they bought out the rights to Duel Monsters, in hopes of continuing the game. They just started, but they're already an international thing," he said.
"I've heard of them, but what do they now of Egyptology?" she asked.
"Well, that's the hard part. They have impressive bases, and funding just about everywhere, but their reasons are disclosed from the public and anyone else who might be interested, including me. They say it's to further Duel Monsters into much more than a card game, but it's obvious they're up to a lot more than that. I know it," he said. "That's why it's so very vital that we find the Rapier before anyone else."
"Well, I'll translate your scroll for you, but I won't go with you to get it."
"I'm not forcing you to play delivery girl. We're going to do it together, just like last time."
"No. Last time, you didn't care if I ended up dead or alive. And I swore I would never fight again. I couldn't, I'm still in this splint. Every night I have to wear it to bed and all day on some occasions, and it'll take a month before I'm let out of it."
"But you can decode the scroll in a month, and then we can retrieve it. By that time, your injuries will have all healed." he said.
"What part of "no" don't you understand?"
"None of it. No is an unacceptable answer."
"But I can't fight."
"Yes you can."
"No, I can't. I've long since forced myself to forget."
"Shimatta, then you'll learn again. The only person who doesn't have confidence in you is yourself."
"So, you don't count yourself as a person?"
"Why the hell are you being so impossible?"
"Why the hell are you being so dense?" she countered.
"I'll teach you to fight again, you have to. Onegai, Campbelle-san."
"All right. But please stop with the 'Miss Campbelle' thing. It's too formal for people who live in the same house. It's Rena."
"Fine, Miss Rena."
"All right then, Mr. Kaiba."
"Please, Seto."
"All right Mr. Seto," she laughed. He only rolled his eyes and walked out, leaving Rena to think about her little victory, and the time it would take to recondition her body back into what she knew it could be, but longed to never see again.
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She sat upon her throne, playing with the cartouche at her neck. She noticed her little bakemono come in, and she addressed him, wondering whether or not to kill him for the fun of it.
"What do you want, Oni?" she yawned, toying with a dagger.
"I have come with the information, you seek, Mistress." At this, she perked up. Maybe this could spare his life.
"Well?" she said.
"There is four incarnates. One is a sorceress and healer, and the other is a guardian to Pharaoh. One is mighty scribe I feel his power. But a powerful mage or priest protects the Goddess. He will not be easy to destroy, but they know not where the scroll is."
"What? All that power, and they couldn't find the scroll?" She threw the dagger at the demon that stood before her, and it sunk deep into his belly.
"Please, Mistress. The goddess is not well. She has been injured. She fell into where Oni think the entrance be," he pleaded.
"Oh really?" she said, interested.
"Send Fukushuu to retrieve the scroll from the crevice you speak of. Go with him, and send Shitto to finish the Goddess and the mage, and see to it they do not escape." She threw her hand and summoned the dagger from the gut of Oni, it flew into her hand, and she wiped the dark green blood on a rag she had laid there for just that purpose. She couldn't, wouldn't let the Goddess be awakened and ruin everything she had tried to create for herself, right when she was on the verge of the world. She looked at the sundial that told time by the light of the moon, and saw that it was time for her to go to a meeting. She raised her hand and with a cloud of black smoke, emerged her disguised form, a woman with lengthy blonde hair with black streaks, and stunningly brown intellectual eyes, and wore a black dress. She gazed at herself in a piece of crystal, and smiled, "I guess old habits are hard to break, but I look convincing enough." The little Goddess still had no clue of what was coming and it would be too late before she even had an inkling of an idea.
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Rena sat cross-legged on her bed; in a white robe she had bought to replenish her wardrobe. She thumbed through her deck, and pulled out the Goddesses. There weren't three but four of them. She looked at them and read their names aloud to herself, "Of the attribute Earth, Earth Goddess, of the attribute Wind, Beautiful Goddess, of the attribute Water, Nile Goddess, and of the attribute Light, Wisdom Goddess." She looked at the four goddesses in her lap. The cards said there were six attributes, but she only had four of the six. And a thought surfaced in her mind. Who has the other two goddesses of Fire and Darkness? If the Goddesses of Earth, Wind, and Light had combined to make the Ancient Goddess, what did all four of them combined create? A goddess even more powerful than Ancient Goddess? She guessed so. She looked across her room as she threw herself onto her pillow, which smelled lightly of lilac blossoms. She thought of Seto Kaiba. Why was he being so stubborn? Did he really want to help? She blushed as she remembered his image, so proud and dreadfully handsome. She looked at her purse, and noticed a piece of twine, popping out of the top. She remembered, the presents! She still had three unopened presents to attend to! She jumped over, her robe falling off slightly. She pulled it back together, and grabbed the three presents. She looked at them and finally realized just how much she missed her friends, even though she had only been gone for a couple of days.
She rubbed her ribcage, trying to fix her splint. She grimaced as she hit a tender spot, but relaxed as she opened Andre's first. Two things fell out with a note. She picked up the note and read to her, "I picked the relic out for your protection, and the necklace I stole from the site. Don't tell Professor! Get well soon, I miss you as I write this, and you're just in the next room! Well, I really love you! From Andre." She looked at the gifts. One was a relic of Isis, her favorite Egyptian god. The necklace she remembered. It was a falcon, carved from lapis lazuli, as the most important Egyptian stones were really only semi-precious, as there were no diamonds or sapphires and such. The falcon was set in gold, on a chain an inch thick. She fastened it around her neck, and felt the weight of it caressing her collar.
She plucked up Nazo's gift, and unwrapped slowly and carefully, so that she wouldn't damage the ornate paper in any way. Again two items fell out of the package. A note written in pristine calligraphy accompanied it all, and Rena read this aloud as well, "Rena, you've been like my sister, even though we've known each other for only two weeks. So, I've given you my dentou hairpiece. Wear it with honor, and may the amulet I enclose remind you of your time here, and heal all your pain, worry, and strife. With all the love of a sister, Nazo." Rena wiped a tear away, as she put up her hair in the gilded hairpiece with set rose quartz, garnet, and amethysts. On it was carved the symbol for beautiful. She strung the amulet around her neck, and read it. It was a jumon for healing and relinquishing of pain. She wondered if the magic stored in this was real too.
Finally, she turned to the brown paper package from the Professor. The only message was scribbled hastily down on a piece of papyrus. It read, "Use these wisely, and I think they will provide you with a weapon in which to fight for your destiny. With love, Edward." She untied the twine, and three small objects fell into her hand. One was a tablet on which was inscribed, "Nach anket rew geter hesf, beshest rechterty, Ma'at geth benun onisu preshyu! Amun Re werty!" She translated it in her head, I am the power of the sun and stars, and will not be denied, Ma'at grant me with truth to exact justice, and Amun-Re, guide me! Why would the Professor give me a spell, if he didn't think I'd use it? Wait, what if he did mean for me to use it? What does he know that I don't? She looked at the other gifts, one was a key, resembling a puzzle, and was gilded in gold, but the iron part of it that had been wrought in, was rusted. There was a small hieroglyph, she recognized easily. The eye of the sun, glint in the temple; unlock the secret to Mana Ka'reph.
This was the final key to enter into the Inner Sanctum of Mana Ka'reph. It was most likely where Seto had said the Millennium Rapier would be. And now, it seemed she had been dragged into this. Any other time, she would be excited by this new adventure, but that part of her had hidden away. She had buried herself, and had hence become a coward. She had fled from where she was needed, because she was scared. Now she cried over how she missed them when she had left them of her own volition. There had been a time, when a battle wouldn't scare her. She had faced worse. She could easily picture the time in which she would face adventure easily. She had been strong, unburdened with unbridled passion or emotion. She loved the thrill of her life. And now, she was weak. She felt compassion and now, maybe even love. At this thought she gasped, she had been just like Seto Kaiba! Now, she was trying to change him too, and make him as weak as she was. How could she do that? But now, she felt power rising, and it wasn't cowardice. She felt a power in her love of passion, one that she couldn't deface. It was a power that when she was the old Rena, she wouldn't have been able to comprehend in its strength.
All because of one night. It was so hard to figure out, but there was one thing she knew. She would have to rejoin the old Rena to this new one. Together, they would make a powerful woman, and she would be able to face destiny. It was so deep, so emotional, physical, and spiritual. She stepped out onto her balcony terrace. There was a beautiful autumn breeze out, and it played with her, soothing and caressing her worried face. She felt a voice rise in her, and let her song start, softly at first, growing in intensity,
"Columbine, flower blue, tenderly I sing to you, Columbine, rosebud red, Heartbreak overflows my head, Columbine, flower blue, Columbine there's hope for you, Columbine, friend of mine. Turn our pain, to your gain, Keep our hearts on the mark Comfort us with your love, Love again, Comfort, peace, and sweet release, This come from you.where it's true I hide myself in you. Columbine, friend of mine, Peace will come to you in time Columbine, friend of mine. Columbine, flower blue, tenderly I sing to you Columbine, rosebud red, heartbreak overflows my head, Columbine, friend of mine, peace will come to you in time, Columbine, friend of mine."
Seto stood from his doorway, watching her sing from her balcony. She quite resembled an angel, sitting there in the silken white robe she wore, and sounded like one too. The notes hit perfectly, lulling with a soothing quality. Damn her, he had never felt this confused. His emotions had been so strict, nothing could penetrate, and now she was without even trying. What happened to his perfect life? First, the threat of Yume Shinkirou Industries finding the eighth Millennial Item which would mean quite possible, the end of the world, and in the very least, he had to keep running the most prominent corporate organization in the world, and now on top of all that, he had teach Rena how to fight again. Now, she comes and tries to change him. He drank the scotch in his hand in one drink. He went to the bottle to pour his sixth glass, and noticed it was empty. "Dammit," he said, this time reaching for the brandy and a bigger glass. He poured it and finished it in two drinks this time. He stood up, and his head swooned a little bit. He drank another glass of brandy shot with vodka and walked to his office, slightly reeling.
The scroll lay on his desk. He wanted to punch it and grind it into fine, ancient powder for all the trouble it's caused, but he'd never do that. Not when they were so close. He'd just drop it off in Rena's room; it wasn't like he could do anything with it. He picked it up and drudged his way up the stairs, clutching the railing tightly. She jumped when he opened the door, and he dropped the scroll on her bed. He lost his balance and fell, face-first onto her pillow. He felt his stomach heave, but he held it in.
"Dear God, Seto are you all right?" she asked helping him up.
"No, I'm fine," he said.
Rena reeled back, "You're eyes are bloodshot." She turned him to face her, and he smiled a little.
"No really, it's ok," he said. She sputtered and coughed a little, waving away the stench of alcohol.
"Seto, do you realize just how drunk you are?"
"No, tell me."
"For Christ's sake, Seto, this isn't funny."
"Thank you, mother. But I think I'll leave now."
"Go to bed, you need your rest."
"I've got some work to do still."
"You can do it later, right now, you need sleep," she looked at him, trying not to inhale too much.
"I'll go retire to my bed, but I think I should use the bathroom first."
"Oh, by all means, go barf your brains out."
"I intend to." He left, leaving Rena feeling a little too helpless. She flopped onto her bed, face first into the pillow. She lifted her head, wrinkling her face in disgust as she tossed the liquor-reeking pillow off her bed.
~Shinsei Shinpi
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Wow! What a way to end a chapter! Rena falling asleep while Seto's throwing up! That's comedy folks! I expect twenty reviews by now, so until then, I'll get straight to work on another chapter of the misadventures of Rena and Seto, even though my next chapter is mostly about Yami and Rena. Oooh, you'll have to read this one! And what of the Mistress we've been introduced to? And what is the strange spirit inside Rena? All this and more on the next exciting tale of Konton No Millennia! Also, great polls! I've had really interesting answers! So now it's time for this chapters quick poll!
What songs can you relate Yu-Gi-Oh to? (What I mean by that is, what song when you hear it, makes you think about the show Yu-Gi-Oh! or one of its characters in particular?) Mine is Broadway, by Vertical Horizon, and it makes me think about Seto because the lines "Broadway is dark tonight, little bit weaker than you used to be," is how Seto sees himself after his first great loss. And "See the young man sittin' in the old man's bar, waitin' for his turn to die," is like when Seto inherits his adopted father's company. I could go on forever, but you don't want me to, because I make some of the strangest connections. Just kidding. And by the way, this the last time I pressure you guys into reviewing. I realize I'm writing this story just because I like to write, and I think it's a good story, it doesn't matter what anyone else says about it!
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"I really think you're spoiling me. I'm not used to rich-person treatment yet," she laughed as the butler moved in like an eagle to take their soiled dishes away to the kitchens.
"Will you shut up about that already? That's the tenth time in five minutes that you've said that, and I'm tired of hearing about your so- called deprivation!" Seto growled. "Besides, you owe me a duel."
"I don't owe you anything," Rena snapped. "But, let me go get my cards and stuff."
"And stuff," Seto sniffed. Rena went up the stairs. Seto brought out his cards, and walked out to an old room. The automatic lights switched on, and the arena glowed before him. This was the same place he had suffered his first great defeat, but had been the place on which he had made so many stunning victories. Stunning, at least, to the press. He had a feeling the Dueling Discs would be virtually impossible for Rena to figure out, so his best bet for a decent duel was here. He was getting ready to ascend to his stand, when he realized something. He had actually left his card deck on the dining room table. That was the first time he had ever left them somewhere that wasn't on his immediate person. He left to the table when he heard a vague,
"Hello?" He walked up the stairs until he came on the fifth level in the third corridor, where Rena stood, wandering like a ghost, helplessly lost.
"I can't find my room," she cried. Seto could do nothing but stare.
"Damn you baka onna," he said. "Come on." He led her down two flights of stairs until they approached her door.
"So, I need directions to my room. Bite me," she snapped, running inside. She emerged a few minutes later, deck and rulebook in one hand. She skimmed through it as they walked down more steps. Finally, they went back to Seto's personal arena, and she stood slack-jawed.
"Wow," she breathed, "this is so awesome."
Seto eyed his opponent carefully, "Right." They ascended to their respective stands, Seto at the blue end, and Rena at the red end.
"Are you ready?" he asked.
"Sure I'm ready."
"Then, it's time to duel!" he exclaimed.
"Okay," Rena whistled. "I think you take this just a little too seriously."
"Right. I'll go first then to spare you the trouble." While he drew his first five cards, Rena studied him carefully. Then, she read the first few directions in her book. "Okay, draw five cards." She grabbed the cards from her shuffled deck, and arranged them in her hand. The cards read, "Rogue Doll, Gyakutenno Megami, Monster Reborn, Judge Man, and Sweet Temptation." One of her new cards in her first draw. Pretty lucky. She would probably save Sweet Temptation; she read the cards description "Lowers the ATK and DEF of all monsters on the field by 600 points." "Whoa," she thought. That could really come in handy.
Seto looked at his hand. "Blue Eyes on the first draw. I shouldn't play it, at least not until I know what her cards are capable of." He looked at the rest of his cards. "Reverse Trap, Ookazi, Blue Eyes White Dragon, Ryu- Kishin Powered, and Reinforcements." Only two monsters, this was going to be slightly difficult. He looked at the Ryu-Kishin card. He had seen more of this monster than he really cared for. But, it was the only other monster he could play. And, now that he thought about it, this card could give him a bonus. This card would affect Rena psychologically. It'd shake her up, and give him the upper hand. He looked at the woman on the opposite side of the arena, her cards in one hand, rulebook in the other. He could tell she was thinking. Well, she wouldn't have to worry very much. Crush Card followed Sagi, and Sagi followed Reinforcements, almost always. He played Ryu-Kishin.
"I summon Ryu-Kishin Powered, attack mode."
"Okay, Summon, that's attack mode, and that's-" she looked from her rulebook down at the field. There stood the gargoyle that had frightened her so. She stumbled, and caught herself. She felt faint, but shook her head, and remembered she had the same exact card. He was trying to get to her. Fine, she looked at her hand.
She bit her lip, "Um.I summon Rogue Doll. Attack Ryu-Kishin with Ancient Spell." It said the doll was especially strong against dark forces, and Ryu-Kishin was categorized in the Dark element. She prayed it would work. The doll raised her staff, and let it work up some energy, before letting it release at Ryu-Kishin. The monster caught it, and Rena drew in a sharp breath, but the monster lost its grip on its armor, and was blown up into fragments of light.
"I don't get it," Seto said, "Their attack power was the same, nothing should have happened."
"Don't ask me, I just knew the Rogue Doll has a particular strength against Dark forces," Rena said, shrugging her shoulders.
'But it shouldn't have mattered,' Seto thought, looking at Rena in particular interest. And it wouldn't have; their attack powers were the same. Years of Duel Monsters taught him that. It was like she affected the outcome of the match. But that was impossible, wasn't it? Rena did have special gifts, but foresight wasn't one of them. "Hmm, the outcome of Ryu-Kishin's duel proved that the Blue Eyes probably shouldn't be summoned yet. So, let's see what I draw." He picked the top card from his deck. "Rude Kaiser, not Sagi, but oh well, I'll have to play it." He set the card and the Rude Kaiser came up on the field.
"Rude Kaiser, Side Arm Slash, and send that Doll to the Graveyard. Playtime's over." The Kaiser destroyed the Rogue Doll, ending Seto's turn.
Rena sighed. Megami could defeat Kaiser if he had been a Dark element, but his Attribute was Earth. And they had the same Attack power, so it'd result in a draw. She couldn't risk that. She had to end it, and she'd end it with Judge Man. They were the same Attribute, and his ATK was 2200. She played it.
He rose out of the ground, and Seto Kaiba recognized the card played. "No way, not a Judge Man." The Judge Man raised his weapon, and crushed Rude Kaiser underneath it.
"That's it," Kaiba roared. "It's time for something I know you can't attack! I summon the mighty Blue Eyes White Dragon!" He picked up his draw card, and smiled, Sagi the Dark Clown. Things were starting to go right.
"What can I attack that thing with?" Rena thought frantically, "3000 Attack points? Yeah right, I've got nothing that can even stand up to that!"
She drew her next card. She drew in a sharp breath as she looked at it. Dark Angel's Kiss. She laid it facedown on the mat, and put Fire-Eyes out in attack mode. And she noticed in her hand, Trial By Fire. 'When did I draw that?' she wondered. Oh well, I'll pair it the Maiden, and see what it does. She laid it with the Maiden, and saw a compass like icon by it. "Oh, it's a Field Magic card. What are they?" She flipped through her Rulebook. "Field Magic cards are used to alter the conditions on the field and modify the Attack and Defense capabilities of monsters. They are placed on the Field Card zone, right there, and are not included in the Magic & Trap Zone's 5-card limit. Field Magic Cards can be activated by a player, but not during an opponent's turn. Then I'll activate Trial By Fire, and change the field to my Maiden's liking, which raises all Pyro Type and Fire Attribute monsters attack by 200, and lowers all Earth Attribute monsters by 200 points."
"I don't have any Earth Attribute monsters on the field, Miss Campbelle," Seto rolled his eyes. He picked up his card and smiled, Crush Card. "It's time to end this," he said.
"Wait! If you play that Crush Card, I'll have no choice but to activate the single Card that will be the end of you!" Rena yelled across the stadium.
"How did she know?" he gasped. Rena looked at her hands. "How did I know? What's wrong with me? What's going on? I.I knew. How? I can't see his hand! Something inside of me, just knew!" She backed up a step, to the very back of the box, a look of pure shock on her face. Not yet out of her controlled stupor, she raised her Dark Angel card. "If you continue the play with Sagi and The Crush Card, you will give me no choice than to play this, she flipped the card face-up. The Dark Angel appeared on the arena, and moved forward threateningly. "You know what this card does, Seto Kaiba? Let me tell you, the power of the Dark Angel's Kiss obliterates your deck. Not just your hand, your whole deck," she said.
"Discard Sagi and Crush, and I will put away the Dark Angel. It's a fair move, and we can continue the duel with honor," she reasoned.
"Fine, it just means it'll take a little longer to your inevitable defeat," he said, laying Sagi and The Crush on his discard pile, and Rena took Dark Angel's Kiss from the field and put it in her discard pile.
"It's my turn," Seto said, drawing a card. He grinned at his second Blue Eyes. He set Ookazi on the field facedown. "Blue Eyes White Dragon, time's up for the Judge Man, White Lightning." He grinned with satisfaction as Rena watched her life points go down as her Judge Man was reduced to rubble. He had lost Ryu-Kishin, Rude Kaiser, and his life points were 1100. He had destroyed Rogue Doll and Judge Man just now, and Rena's life points still remained above his though with 1500. Next, her Fire-Eyes Maiden would join the Graveyard, as soon as his next turn came by. This turned out to be even easier than he thought, even if he had abandoned Sagi's trap. Now he just needed one more Blue Eyes, and a Polymerization card.
"I'm in trouble," Rena thought. She knew nothing in her present hand could withstand the incredible force of the mighty Blue Eyes. "Please," Rena whispered as she drew her next card, eyes closed. She took a look at it. It read, "Wisdom Goddess.
One of the six Mighty Goddesses created from the six attributes of Earth, Fire, Water, Earth, Wind, Light, and Dark. This Wise Goddess is controlled by the infinite power of light." She took a look at the Life Points, and they read, an uncannily large Attack range of 3500.
"OH MY KAMI-SAMA!" Rena yelled as she laid the card on the field, then she looked back at her hand. She played Monster Reborn as well, waiting for her turn to use it. "All right Goddess of Wisdom, destroy that Blue Eyes, then use the power of Monster Reborn to make the Blue Eyes our own ally!" The Goddess flung a bright energy at the Blue Eyes and with a might roar, it disappeared, and reappeared on Rena's side of the stand. Seto stood wide-eyed, gasping for air.
"How? I don't understand, no. It can't be. How can this have happened? No, no, it's just not possible. No," he stammered, breathing heavily. Rena looked at him with concern, "I hope he's okay. He's taking this awfully hard, I mean it is only a game, after all." Seto stared as his life points went from 1420 to 400. Now he'd have to even the score.
"I play my second Blue Eyes in attack mode, and use the power of Ookazi to send your life points tumbling to 800," Seto said, as he exacted his move.
"What? No way!" Rena cried. Seto laughed as he drew his card. Had Seto believed in miracles, he would have been on his knees. The card that lay before him was Monster Reborn. He laid it on the field. "Now Blue Eyes White Dragon, use White Lightning with all your power, attack!" The dragon let loose a furious blast. Rena shielded her eyes as she looked at the ongoing battle. It was a ferocious battle between two brother dragons. Finally, the one she had incarnated gave up and let it become obliterated.
"Is it over?" she asked as the light faded. She looked at her life points. She had fifty life points remaining. "Very close, it can't happen again." She drew her next card, Pot of Greed. "Take that Seto! Be-da!" she said throwing him akanbe as she drew two more cards. She looked at them. One was a Polymerization card, and the other was another Goddess. This was the Earth Goddess. She remembered something the girl at the shop had mentioned. What had her name been? Anzu wasn't it?
"Then, couldn't you combine all three of those goddesses to make a kind of Super-Goddess?" That's right, if she drew the other Goddess, she could make a Super-Goddess! "I'm done," she said to Kaiba.
"All right," he said. "She didn't attack. I wonder what she's up to." He drew his card, Lord of D. He grinned as he read the description, "All Dragon Type monsters cannot be targeted by Magic cards or Trap cards, or other effects that specifically designate a target while this card is face- up on the field." There were no magic or trap cards laid or even in effect, and he had a feeling she might be laying a few for the time being. Especially if she was planning something.
Rena looked at her present hand, it was completely different from when she first started. She had Polymerization, Earth Goddess, had just drawn Isis' Gift, and the Cyber Warrioress had somehow ended up in her hand. She laid Isis' Gift in effect, which allowed her to draw two more cards from the top five of her deck in exchange for a Tribute Summon of one card. She looked through the choices, Ankh, Mystic Horseman, Double Faces of Bastet and Sekhmet, Egyptian Sprite, and finally, the Goddess Beautiful. She looked at this goddess's Attribute. "Ruled by the power of wind, that's so awesome!" She exclaimed as she drew out Goddess Beautiful and Ankh.
"Now I have all the power I need to end this match once and for all Seto Kaiba! I combine the Goddess Beautiful and the Earth Goddess with the Polymerization Card to fuse with Wisdom Goddess to create the.uh, the." Again the voice inside her spoke in her place, and she cried with power and dignity, "The Ancient Goddess! And using the power of Ankh, she is protected from any of your magic or attacks and granted the gifts of the immortals!" Two Goddesses appeared on either side of the Wisdom Goddess. One was true to her name, in sky-blue robes and flowing silver hair, she was beautiful, and the other, had dark, soil brown hair, and was dressed in robes of green. They fused into the center, and there stood the Ancient Goddess, dressed in sky-blue robes, with long, soil-brown hair, streaked in gold, and a helmet like Pallas' adorned her head. Bright silver wings sprouted from her back, and a sword fell into her hand, a spark of light on the blade.
"Incredible," Seto breathed as he watched the Goddesses meld into one. Now, it's my turn. The last piece of the puzzle fell into place, and he drew, the final Blue Eyes White Dragon. "Don't assure your victory yet. I combine my three Blue Eyes White Dragons with a Polymerization card of my own, and create the Ultimate Blue Eyes White Dragon!" The Dragons combined into one, revealing a mighty winged beast with three heads of unrelenting terror. "It will be a clash of the strongest monsters in the history of Duel Monsters," he said. He looked at the Goddess. Even his dragon wouldn't beat the power of the Goddess that stood before him, as much as he didn't wish to say it. But he looked at the playing field, which was still in Trial By Fire. The whole arena was aflame, as well the hearts of the duelists. Miss Campbelle stood, cards in hand, and faced him. The flames brought out her best features and her eyes danced with fury and passion. Her hair was falling all around her, and she looked at him with zeal. Her beauty was as stunning as the Goddess that stood before her. He tried to look away but his eyes wouldn't let him. He was infatuated with the woman that stood before him now, as much as he detested feeling for her. He had never seen her in this way, and he wished, deep in his cold, forbidding heart that she could look at him the way he saw her now. But a duel was for power, and this was one he would win. He saw that she had left her Fire-Eyes Maiden unguarded on the field, and now it would cost her the match. "Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon, use a Neutron Blast and destroy her Fire-Eyes Maiden." The dragon did as it was told and the Maiden burst in a display of fire.
"No! It can't be," Rena cried as her life points plunged to zero, and the stadium shut down and the Goddess glimmered away.
"That was such a novice move," Seto sneered as they stepped down. The familiar Rena replaced the battle-proud Rena, as she descended from the red box. "You should never have left the Maiden unguarded, or should have completely discarded her. She wasn't needed, and since your Goddess couldn't protect her, she was destroyed by my Dragon," he finished.
"Oh," was all Rena managed to say.
"But that was a good duel. Even for a novice," he admitted.
"Thanks," Rena said, brightening, "you know, you can be a decent person when you want to be." A small smile flickered at the corners of his lips, but as soon as it had come, it faded. "That's the first non-patronizing smile I've seen from you!" she laughed. Then, she put her hand on his shoulder, an involuntary gesture she had done with all the guys at the excavation camp, but to use it on this particular person came as quite a shock.to both of them. He looked at the hand on his shoulder and then at the face that was staring him in the eye. "Sorry," she said, "I guess that's just what us normal people do to show we like another normal person, but that won't work in this instance will it?" she asked.
"Especially since you aren't normal," he said, grinning that egotistic grin.
"I'm beginning to get the feeling I'm not," she said, darkening. A flicker of the Rena that had been in battle box surfaced, but quickly subsided, as if she had pulled it away. "When we were dueling, I was hearing someone, not so much beside or behind me, as it was inside me. That voice told me what cards to play, and what magic or monster to counter your cards with. It felt like I was two entities crammed into one," she thought, running her hand through her hair. It shimmered chocolate brown, and ran with red and slightly blonde natural highlights.
"Rena, tell me, do you have a Millennium Item?" he asked.
"A Millennium Item? No, but how do you know about them?" she asked. "They're priceless artifacts, given account to in some of the rarest scrolls of Egyptian papyrus in the history of ancient Egypt. They're filled with all sorts of magic supposedly, and now, even though I still don't want to believe in magic and ghosts and the supernatural, I'm left with no choice but to believe that those items truly boast what is written on them, the magic and ghostly spirits that were the Shadow Games."
"You do have every right to. The world is not as sane as we like to think it is. I know, or at least, am acquainted with the people who carry Millennium Items, and I knew the one of them almost too well, your fiancé," he cringed at the word, "was a carrier of the Millennium Eye, but it's been given a new owner."
"Goodness," she whispered.
Seto continued, "Miss Campbelle, there is another Millennium Item. An eighth one, known as the Millennial Rapier, and I'm convinced the location to its whereabouts are concealed within the scroll I've hired you to decode. And when that is translated, I'm going to need you to help me find Mana Ka'reph, the final hiding place. I think there's another person after it. My top five executives-"
"I thought you fired them from insubordination and mutiny on a corporate level? Sued their pants off, too."
"The Great Journalism God is a good one to his sleazy followers," he said, "But I did have them fired on those charges, so stop interrupting!" he shouted. "Would it occur to you I had hired new, more loyal and trustworthy ones?"
"Oh yeah," she said, looking down.
"Anyway," he said, "I found there's a new corporate company that's been funding over eighty percent of the archaeological excavations under bases of Egyptology. That's a lot of money. Whoever the CEO of this company is, they're really trying to find something. The Millennial Rapier would be, forgive my pun, the find of the millennium. So, when I found about your project, the name was confusing, but wasn't it something like."
"The International Egyptology Collegiate Interaction. IECI."
"Yeah, the IECI, when I read about it, I found you digging for the entrance to Mando Nashti'ora. Then, I found out from you that this site wasn't the actual temple, but the key to the temple, that could reveal Mana Ka'reph, the real temple, in the scroll. But I had to find out what you were doing, so I-" he was broken off by Rena's outburst.
"You used corporate espionage! You scum! You had to make sure none of the sites were selling off to a possible competitor!" she yelled.
"I used corporate espionage, yes, but not to make sure no one was selling off. I had to know what the intents of that company are. They could be trying to put the very fucking world in danger, dammit!"
Rena fell over she was so surprised by his outburst. She had never thought that Seto Kaiba would be one to use such words, and the fact he did took her aback.
"Whoa. Um.okay, all right. I believe you now. But I still think corporate espionage was not the way to go about things," she said.
"What was I supposed to do? Walk up to them with pansies in my hand and ask them ever so politely if they want to destroy the world as we know it?" he asked, a disgusted look on his face.
"Well, when you put it that way," Rena admitted, "but what is this corporation that has you so worried?"
"It's called Yume Shinkirou Industries, they bought out the rights to Duel Monsters, in hopes of continuing the game. They just started, but they're already an international thing," he said.
"I've heard of them, but what do they now of Egyptology?" she asked.
"Well, that's the hard part. They have impressive bases, and funding just about everywhere, but their reasons are disclosed from the public and anyone else who might be interested, including me. They say it's to further Duel Monsters into much more than a card game, but it's obvious they're up to a lot more than that. I know it," he said. "That's why it's so very vital that we find the Rapier before anyone else."
"Well, I'll translate your scroll for you, but I won't go with you to get it."
"I'm not forcing you to play delivery girl. We're going to do it together, just like last time."
"No. Last time, you didn't care if I ended up dead or alive. And I swore I would never fight again. I couldn't, I'm still in this splint. Every night I have to wear it to bed and all day on some occasions, and it'll take a month before I'm let out of it."
"But you can decode the scroll in a month, and then we can retrieve it. By that time, your injuries will have all healed." he said.
"What part of "no" don't you understand?"
"None of it. No is an unacceptable answer."
"But I can't fight."
"Yes you can."
"No, I can't. I've long since forced myself to forget."
"Shimatta, then you'll learn again. The only person who doesn't have confidence in you is yourself."
"So, you don't count yourself as a person?"
"Why the hell are you being so impossible?"
"Why the hell are you being so dense?" she countered.
"I'll teach you to fight again, you have to. Onegai, Campbelle-san."
"All right. But please stop with the 'Miss Campbelle' thing. It's too formal for people who live in the same house. It's Rena."
"Fine, Miss Rena."
"All right then, Mr. Kaiba."
"Please, Seto."
"All right Mr. Seto," she laughed. He only rolled his eyes and walked out, leaving Rena to think about her little victory, and the time it would take to recondition her body back into what she knew it could be, but longed to never see again.
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She sat upon her throne, playing with the cartouche at her neck. She noticed her little bakemono come in, and she addressed him, wondering whether or not to kill him for the fun of it.
"What do you want, Oni?" she yawned, toying with a dagger.
"I have come with the information, you seek, Mistress." At this, she perked up. Maybe this could spare his life.
"Well?" she said.
"There is four incarnates. One is a sorceress and healer, and the other is a guardian to Pharaoh. One is mighty scribe I feel his power. But a powerful mage or priest protects the Goddess. He will not be easy to destroy, but they know not where the scroll is."
"What? All that power, and they couldn't find the scroll?" She threw the dagger at the demon that stood before her, and it sunk deep into his belly.
"Please, Mistress. The goddess is not well. She has been injured. She fell into where Oni think the entrance be," he pleaded.
"Oh really?" she said, interested.
"Send Fukushuu to retrieve the scroll from the crevice you speak of. Go with him, and send Shitto to finish the Goddess and the mage, and see to it they do not escape." She threw her hand and summoned the dagger from the gut of Oni, it flew into her hand, and she wiped the dark green blood on a rag she had laid there for just that purpose. She couldn't, wouldn't let the Goddess be awakened and ruin everything she had tried to create for herself, right when she was on the verge of the world. She looked at the sundial that told time by the light of the moon, and saw that it was time for her to go to a meeting. She raised her hand and with a cloud of black smoke, emerged her disguised form, a woman with lengthy blonde hair with black streaks, and stunningly brown intellectual eyes, and wore a black dress. She gazed at herself in a piece of crystal, and smiled, "I guess old habits are hard to break, but I look convincing enough." The little Goddess still had no clue of what was coming and it would be too late before she even had an inkling of an idea.
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Rena sat cross-legged on her bed; in a white robe she had bought to replenish her wardrobe. She thumbed through her deck, and pulled out the Goddesses. There weren't three but four of them. She looked at them and read their names aloud to herself, "Of the attribute Earth, Earth Goddess, of the attribute Wind, Beautiful Goddess, of the attribute Water, Nile Goddess, and of the attribute Light, Wisdom Goddess." She looked at the four goddesses in her lap. The cards said there were six attributes, but she only had four of the six. And a thought surfaced in her mind. Who has the other two goddesses of Fire and Darkness? If the Goddesses of Earth, Wind, and Light had combined to make the Ancient Goddess, what did all four of them combined create? A goddess even more powerful than Ancient Goddess? She guessed so. She looked across her room as she threw herself onto her pillow, which smelled lightly of lilac blossoms. She thought of Seto Kaiba. Why was he being so stubborn? Did he really want to help? She blushed as she remembered his image, so proud and dreadfully handsome. She looked at her purse, and noticed a piece of twine, popping out of the top. She remembered, the presents! She still had three unopened presents to attend to! She jumped over, her robe falling off slightly. She pulled it back together, and grabbed the three presents. She looked at them and finally realized just how much she missed her friends, even though she had only been gone for a couple of days.
She rubbed her ribcage, trying to fix her splint. She grimaced as she hit a tender spot, but relaxed as she opened Andre's first. Two things fell out with a note. She picked up the note and read to her, "I picked the relic out for your protection, and the necklace I stole from the site. Don't tell Professor! Get well soon, I miss you as I write this, and you're just in the next room! Well, I really love you! From Andre." She looked at the gifts. One was a relic of Isis, her favorite Egyptian god. The necklace she remembered. It was a falcon, carved from lapis lazuli, as the most important Egyptian stones were really only semi-precious, as there were no diamonds or sapphires and such. The falcon was set in gold, on a chain an inch thick. She fastened it around her neck, and felt the weight of it caressing her collar.
She plucked up Nazo's gift, and unwrapped slowly and carefully, so that she wouldn't damage the ornate paper in any way. Again two items fell out of the package. A note written in pristine calligraphy accompanied it all, and Rena read this aloud as well, "Rena, you've been like my sister, even though we've known each other for only two weeks. So, I've given you my dentou hairpiece. Wear it with honor, and may the amulet I enclose remind you of your time here, and heal all your pain, worry, and strife. With all the love of a sister, Nazo." Rena wiped a tear away, as she put up her hair in the gilded hairpiece with set rose quartz, garnet, and amethysts. On it was carved the symbol for beautiful. She strung the amulet around her neck, and read it. It was a jumon for healing and relinquishing of pain. She wondered if the magic stored in this was real too.
Finally, she turned to the brown paper package from the Professor. The only message was scribbled hastily down on a piece of papyrus. It read, "Use these wisely, and I think they will provide you with a weapon in which to fight for your destiny. With love, Edward." She untied the twine, and three small objects fell into her hand. One was a tablet on which was inscribed, "Nach anket rew geter hesf, beshest rechterty, Ma'at geth benun onisu preshyu! Amun Re werty!" She translated it in her head, I am the power of the sun and stars, and will not be denied, Ma'at grant me with truth to exact justice, and Amun-Re, guide me! Why would the Professor give me a spell, if he didn't think I'd use it? Wait, what if he did mean for me to use it? What does he know that I don't? She looked at the other gifts, one was a key, resembling a puzzle, and was gilded in gold, but the iron part of it that had been wrought in, was rusted. There was a small hieroglyph, she recognized easily. The eye of the sun, glint in the temple; unlock the secret to Mana Ka'reph.
This was the final key to enter into the Inner Sanctum of Mana Ka'reph. It was most likely where Seto had said the Millennium Rapier would be. And now, it seemed she had been dragged into this. Any other time, she would be excited by this new adventure, but that part of her had hidden away. She had buried herself, and had hence become a coward. She had fled from where she was needed, because she was scared. Now she cried over how she missed them when she had left them of her own volition. There had been a time, when a battle wouldn't scare her. She had faced worse. She could easily picture the time in which she would face adventure easily. She had been strong, unburdened with unbridled passion or emotion. She loved the thrill of her life. And now, she was weak. She felt compassion and now, maybe even love. At this thought she gasped, she had been just like Seto Kaiba! Now, she was trying to change him too, and make him as weak as she was. How could she do that? But now, she felt power rising, and it wasn't cowardice. She felt a power in her love of passion, one that she couldn't deface. It was a power that when she was the old Rena, she wouldn't have been able to comprehend in its strength.
All because of one night. It was so hard to figure out, but there was one thing she knew. She would have to rejoin the old Rena to this new one. Together, they would make a powerful woman, and she would be able to face destiny. It was so deep, so emotional, physical, and spiritual. She stepped out onto her balcony terrace. There was a beautiful autumn breeze out, and it played with her, soothing and caressing her worried face. She felt a voice rise in her, and let her song start, softly at first, growing in intensity,
"Columbine, flower blue, tenderly I sing to you, Columbine, rosebud red, Heartbreak overflows my head, Columbine, flower blue, Columbine there's hope for you, Columbine, friend of mine. Turn our pain, to your gain, Keep our hearts on the mark Comfort us with your love, Love again, Comfort, peace, and sweet release, This come from you.where it's true I hide myself in you. Columbine, friend of mine, Peace will come to you in time Columbine, friend of mine. Columbine, flower blue, tenderly I sing to you Columbine, rosebud red, heartbreak overflows my head, Columbine, friend of mine, peace will come to you in time, Columbine, friend of mine."
Seto stood from his doorway, watching her sing from her balcony. She quite resembled an angel, sitting there in the silken white robe she wore, and sounded like one too. The notes hit perfectly, lulling with a soothing quality. Damn her, he had never felt this confused. His emotions had been so strict, nothing could penetrate, and now she was without even trying. What happened to his perfect life? First, the threat of Yume Shinkirou Industries finding the eighth Millennial Item which would mean quite possible, the end of the world, and in the very least, he had to keep running the most prominent corporate organization in the world, and now on top of all that, he had teach Rena how to fight again. Now, she comes and tries to change him. He drank the scotch in his hand in one drink. He went to the bottle to pour his sixth glass, and noticed it was empty. "Dammit," he said, this time reaching for the brandy and a bigger glass. He poured it and finished it in two drinks this time. He stood up, and his head swooned a little bit. He drank another glass of brandy shot with vodka and walked to his office, slightly reeling.
The scroll lay on his desk. He wanted to punch it and grind it into fine, ancient powder for all the trouble it's caused, but he'd never do that. Not when they were so close. He'd just drop it off in Rena's room; it wasn't like he could do anything with it. He picked it up and drudged his way up the stairs, clutching the railing tightly. She jumped when he opened the door, and he dropped the scroll on her bed. He lost his balance and fell, face-first onto her pillow. He felt his stomach heave, but he held it in.
"Dear God, Seto are you all right?" she asked helping him up.
"No, I'm fine," he said.
Rena reeled back, "You're eyes are bloodshot." She turned him to face her, and he smiled a little.
"No really, it's ok," he said. She sputtered and coughed a little, waving away the stench of alcohol.
"Seto, do you realize just how drunk you are?"
"No, tell me."
"For Christ's sake, Seto, this isn't funny."
"Thank you, mother. But I think I'll leave now."
"Go to bed, you need your rest."
"I've got some work to do still."
"You can do it later, right now, you need sleep," she looked at him, trying not to inhale too much.
"I'll go retire to my bed, but I think I should use the bathroom first."
"Oh, by all means, go barf your brains out."
"I intend to." He left, leaving Rena feeling a little too helpless. She flopped onto her bed, face first into the pillow. She lifted her head, wrinkling her face in disgust as she tossed the liquor-reeking pillow off her bed.
~Shinsei Shinpi
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Wow! What a way to end a chapter! Rena falling asleep while Seto's throwing up! That's comedy folks! I expect twenty reviews by now, so until then, I'll get straight to work on another chapter of the misadventures of Rena and Seto, even though my next chapter is mostly about Yami and Rena. Oooh, you'll have to read this one! And what of the Mistress we've been introduced to? And what is the strange spirit inside Rena? All this and more on the next exciting tale of Konton No Millennia! Also, great polls! I've had really interesting answers! So now it's time for this chapters quick poll!
What songs can you relate Yu-Gi-Oh to? (What I mean by that is, what song when you hear it, makes you think about the show Yu-Gi-Oh! or one of its characters in particular?) Mine is Broadway, by Vertical Horizon, and it makes me think about Seto because the lines "Broadway is dark tonight, little bit weaker than you used to be," is how Seto sees himself after his first great loss. And "See the young man sittin' in the old man's bar, waitin' for his turn to die," is like when Seto inherits his adopted father's company. I could go on forever, but you don't want me to, because I make some of the strangest connections. Just kidding. And by the way, this the last time I pressure you guys into reviewing. I realize I'm writing this story just because I like to write, and I think it's a good story, it doesn't matter what anyone else says about it!