Chapter Seven, folks, and who would have thought I'd waste this much time?
Just kidding. I finally finished my plans for the story, and the finished
product will be a grand total of sixteen chapters! So, I'll keep writing,
and you keep reviewing! Also, I'm dying to give out spoilers, I think you
guys will really like the finished product! Thanks so much and now on with
the story. But you must know that everything I say about Sugoroku is true,
he is in touch with artifacts and professors in America and Japan, and yes,
Seto did murder his adopted father. But you know I must add my disclaimer,
so here it is!
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.
Oh, by the way, just some names for those who are confused. I've started using the Japanese names for everyone now:
Gozaburo Kaiba: Seto's adopted father.
Sugoroku Motou: Yugi's grandfather.
Yugiou: Yami
Now, on with the show!
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Rena woke up, a thin line of sweat on her forehead. She walked outside, and raised her hand to shield the sun from her eyes. It was an unnaturally hot September day, a freak warm front. She walked into her closet and chose her wardrobe for the day. A flashy red tube-top, cut low on the stomach, and a chic, white midriff blouse tied just under her breasts. She threw on a pair of faded shorts, and grabbed a pair of frost sunglasses and smiled as she looked in the mirror. Comfortable and cute, perfect. She grabbed her purse and walked out her door and down the stairs when she heard a voice that stopped her cold.
"Where do you think you're going?" Seto Kaiba looked at her; sitting up from the couch he had been laying on that night.
"I thought you said you were going to bed," she remarked.
"I meant to, but I was so drunk off my ass I didn't really care where I slept," he replied, laying back down.
"You actually admit to being drunk off your ass?" she laughed.
"It doesn't happened very often, so I decided to tell the truth," he grinned.
"If I didn't know any better I'd say you were still drunk," Rena noted.
"If I knew any better, I'd say I was having a hangover," he said.
"Well then, you'd better rest some more," she said. He opened his mouth to say something, but she covered it with her hand, and continued, "I know you have work today, but you had definitely better get some sleep. Even CEO's can have sick days. I'm staying here today too, so I can get a start on your document." He pulled her hand away and started to speak, but she covered it again with her hand and said, "You have no idea how sick you are right now. You smell like alcohol, you talk like your wasted, which in truth you are, but that's not my point. My point is that you, Seto Kaiba, are staying home today because you are an ill man, and that is final!"
"On my way, commander," he said.
"And don't you forget it," Rena said, snickering a little bit.
"Sounds good."
"Go take a nap. No wait, change of thought. Go take a shower. No offense, but you smell like vomit," she said, wrinkling her nose. Seto got up and trudged up the stairs, and Rena went into the kitchens.
"Ohayou gozaimasu, Regius," she said as she walked in the kitchens.
"Ohayou, Miss Campbelle," Regius said, as she opened up the pantry and started digging around. "Is there anything I can get for you this morning?"
"Nope, I'll scavenge on my own," she said. "Oh and Regius-"
"Yes, Miss?" Regius asked.
"Lock all of the liquor cabinets and deny any requests Seto might have for an alcoholic beverage. If he has any problems with it, tell him to speak with me," she said, grabbing a breakfast bar and a glass of orange juice. "One more thing too, could you pick up some granola bars, and maybe some low-fat milk. You guys don't have much it looks like," she added, and then headed out the door before Regius had a chance to answer. He only walked to the pantry door, and made a note on his list for granola bars and low- fat milk.
Rena walked to the front doors, and pushed them open. From the porch, she put her two fingers in her mouth and let out a shrill whistle. Not five seconds later, Amun and Seshat raced to her side, barking and jumping happily.
"What do you say you two join me for a little study hour?" she asked them.
They barked in response, and wagged their tails rapidly as if to say, "Yes, yes! Please take us inside! We won't make a fuss! Please let us come in! We won't be any trouble at all!"
"All right, you win!" Rena laughed, opening the door, and allowing the two dogs to race in.
She heard a yell on the other side of the door, and she raced in herself. Her look of panic and shock melted into relief when she saw that the only one that had yelled was Mokuba. The two dogs had immediately bounded on the boy, and were licking his face and yelping with delight. Mokuba laughed and yelped on his own, sitting up to play with the dogs.
"Rena, are you allowed to bring Amun and Seshat in here?" Mokuba asked between puppy kisses.
"Well, I don't see why not. They're house-broken and perfectly friendly," she laughed.
"That's good, because I love them," Mokuba said. "I always wanted a dog or puppy, but Gozaburo said a dog would ruin his furniture."
"Gozaburo?" Rena asked.
"He was our dad until Seto got rid of him," he said.
"What do you mean Seto got rid of him?" she asked warily.
"You mean he didn't tell you?" Mokuba asked. "Then I shouldn't have said that. Oh no, oniichan will be so upset with me!" He looked worried now, and Rena couldn't blame him.
"What's the matter, Mokuba? What did Seto do to get rid of Gozaburo?" she asked.
"You don't need to know," Mokuba said.
"Mokuba, please, I don't want to hurt your brother in any way, but you have to tell me what he did," Rena said, brushing his cheek.
"Seto pushed our father off a balcony and killed him. He deserved it though. He trained Seto to become a good CEO, but he never really loved us. And if he did, he never showed it. He would beat Seto, Rena. Not just punish him, beat him. Seto was abused, so he disposed of Gozaburo in order to keep me safe away from him. He's my hero," Mokuba said, trying to justify murder for self-defense. 'Maybe it was self-defense,' she thought, 'There are a lot of crazy people in the world.'
"All right, Mokuba," she said. She got to her feet, and walked up the stairs. The dogs ended their tirade of glee, and padded after Rena as she walked, dazed, to her study adjoined from her room.
"He's a killer," she gasped, unable to accept what the boy had told her. She grabbed the document and her notebook, and sat down heavily into a well- cushioned chair. She turned on the brass lamp at her desk, and the Tiffany lamp across the room. There was a Monet painting right above her, and she had no reason to believe it was a print or a remake. She pulled open the redwood desk drawer, and extracted several pencils and an ink fountain pen. With a delicate touch, she spread the document on the wide desktop and took a look at the complex drawings and olden hieroglyphs that lay before her on the papyrus.
"All right," she told herself. "What have we here?" She looked through the drawings. They were all encoded. "Stork, ibex, ram, one-handle basket." She wrote the transliteration on the notebook, and continued. "Double reed, wheat stalk, Ma'at, and Horus.
Now let's see, we've got the Ennead right there, so I'm guessing these are the gods who protect Nashti'ora. Yes, and this Ennead below it is the Righteous Ennead, who protect as I guess.Mana Ka'reph. Wonderful. Going on, I see four stairs, stork, head, frog, man, owl, reed, reed, ankh. Shield, scythe, and an overturned basket, wait." She noted something in her notebook's margins. "Overturned basket, that's a new one, in vizierglyphs, it's most likely the opposite of reed, so then it would mean it transliterates into a glottal stop "a", and that fits in perfectly! Now, let's move on. Snake, semi-circle, reed, sitting woman, long stair. That's right, now cane, right-handled basket, arm with salt, and two lined waves. Foot, hand pointing down, that means to go south if I'm translating right, and then a lined square." She looked through her notebook, then looked at Seshat and Amun, "That's funny, the vizierglyphs are using traditional determinatives, but that doesn't seem to make any sense. Determinatives are the symbols that come either before or after words to give them special meaning. Did they somehow try to give vizierglyphs determinatives that fit the encrypted code, or did they remain with the determinative glyphs they had had for centuries? What do you think, guys?" she asked the two dogs. She gazed at them for a minute before continuing, "Oh well, it doesn't really matter, because either way it means the same thing. Now, to figure out the glyphs I've got about right now." She looked over her notebook. In regular ancient Egyptian, this would have been a cure for boils (as long as you ignored the determinatives, and the gods parading around, smiting enemies), but it wasn't. The vizierglyphs spelled out words and phrases, new to the culture, and introduced special codes using adaptations of present glyphs, with all the flowing quality of poetry. They read,
"Dashing, dancing, earthly shaking, the beasts of magic alive! Beyond the realms of Osiris, The Shadow Games. Here we stand, endowed as the sons of Horus, we challenge the laws of fate. We are dealt the hand of justice, and now challenge the justice of Ma'at."
Who did those people think they were? Did they really think that they could challenge the gods, just because they knew of the monsters and magic? They were a great power as they were keys to the only mortal god, but did they think they could reign over the gods that supposedly brought their world into creation? Rena blinked and continued to translate. She saw a New Kingdom representation of Amun-Re, a man with a falcon head and two feathers sticking out of his crown, and Rena stopped. New Kingdom? In myth (or truth considering the current circumstances), the Shadow Games were to mark the fall of the Old Kingdom, dynasties zero to six. If that was true, why was this a New Kingdom representation, which was approximately five kingdoms later? The only reasonable assumption was that someone had created this document at the turn of the Kingdoms, and used the New approach to, to what? Warn others of danger? She read on.
"What's this one? Ah, his god's body Aten, the shining force and powers of the sun, represented as the sun disc, and here, we have.another god? Who's this? Ah, Horus, the falcon headed man with beaded eyes, one of the sun, the other the wadjet eye, the eye of the moon. More gods? What is this list for? We have a man with a papyrus spread across his lap, of course, that had to be Imhotep, the god of medicine, knowledge, and architecture. And here was Isis, with the sun disc and falcon wings on either side of her head. Next was a scarab beetle, which had to symbolize the god Khepri, followed by a woman with a single feather balanced on her head to resemble Ma'at, goddess of truth and justice. She saw a picture of a man bound in mummy wrappings, with black, or dark green skin (in ordinance to resurrection) carrying a crook and flail of Egypt. It was Osiris, lord of the dead himself. A mummified man with a shaved head and skull cap, carrying the djed pillar and scepter gave way to the fact this god following Osiris had to be Ptah, the patron to those who would utilize the written or spoken word in their duty. Rena read the last three symbols. They were the gods Sekhmet, Thoth, and Wepwawet, each symbolized in their own way. Sekhmet, the lion-headed goddess of war, who accompanied Pharaoh into battle, was the first, followed by the ibex-headed Thoth, and the jackal carrying a mace and bow, revealed the god Wepwawet. She looked at the glyphs following the procession of gods. It looked like a ram-headed man, wearing a Pharaoh's crown, and his arms swung aggressively cluing Rena in to the fact that this was the god Seth, the patron of strength, aggressiveness, and ruthlessness. But this god was doing something other than parading across the scroll like the others.
He was commanding several more men, some wearing priests skullcaps, but most were lordly crowns. Then, it hit her. This god was leading the nobles, lords, and priests into a battle against the gods shown above! Rena was shocked. What kind of power did these people think they have? It was perfectly abhorrent! She read on.
"Holy men clashing the rule of almighty gods, and now we stand the true New Kingdom, and led by our chaotic god we triumph over all others. We have prepared the daughter of Seth to come and take our place so our terror shall reign and our magic will always reign supreme. On we charge into glorious battle!"
She kept going reading on to the final battle between the young Pharaoh who finally decided that those worshippers of evil should be banished to their own realm of darkness. There were glyphs, each representing a different Millennial Item. She read further, and the glyphs seemed to be more of an account.
"After our incredible defeat, we vowed that the Pharaoh would be killed again, by our own hands, and that our Lord, through our Mistress of Darkness would arise again and claim the forces of Light. When the tool of the goddess is used, it will begin the clash of revenge that our Black Mistress will exact."
Rena took a good look at the vizierglyphs following that. The rest was a puzzle, explaining the entrance to Mana Ka'reph. But the following were words were of comfort, as if the story of evil had ended, and a new one of righteousness had taken its place.
"Look for us in the city of the Living, O Goddess of Light and nurturing. We will be hidden in the farthest sanctum in the deepest eye of the brightest light. From there you will seek the Embodiment of Fallen Allies, and fight the Entities among them. Never be in fear, dear Goddess, for your light shall always accompany you into this Abyss we call the Cosmos." She looked on, intrigued.
The rest was highly encoded detail, full of warnings and detail on how to destroy enemies. It would take several weeks to decode, and she had done plenty for a single day. She looked up at the clock and saw that had spent six hours in here, and it was now two o'clock. She walked out of the room, and headed down the stairs, ready to go out for a little bit. Seshat and Amun padded along behind her; glad to finally be out of the stuffy room in which they had kept her company for so long. She grabbed their leashes from her coat that was hanging by the door in a fashionably discreet alcove, so as not to clash with the interior design of the main entryway.
She snapped the black leash on Amun's gold and blue collar, and clipped another black leash onto Seshat's gold and garnet collar. Rena slipped her card deck in her pocket and headed out to the exquisite weather that had befallen Domino City. Seshat and Amun tugged and bounded at their collars, and quite looked as if they were trying to break loose. But really they were implying, "Let's run, let's run! All we know is the joy of running! We love to run don't you love to run? We have to run! Let's run, let's run, LET'S RUN!" She finally gave into their canine requests, and started off at a jog. It wasn't good enough for the excited dogs. She let out at a run, but the eagerness of the dogs pulled her into a sprint, and off they went, tearing off for Domino City. They came into the city limits, all three of them winded completely. Rena felt a dry, hard lump at the back of her throat, and walked up to the first store she saw. Tying off her dogs so that they could get a rest as well, she walked in and paid for a 32- ounce bottle of water. She came outside with it, and untied their leashes from the railing they had been on. She opened the water and drank voraciously. The dogs nosed her leg and looked up her expectantly. She smiled at them and sat down on a step, and poured some of the liquid into her hand. Both dogs lapped it up quickly, and looked at her, innocently begging for more. She poured more into her hand, and they drank it as well. She kept feeding them until when she turned and looked at the bottle there was no more.
"Now look you two, I'm completely out of water. I'll have to buy some more," she said frowning down at them. They looked down and whimpered, provoking submission.
She reached up to tie their leashes when a little boy came up and said, "I'll hold them, miss." She smiled at the boy. He was rather tall, and his long green bangs hid his eyes, which seemed beetle black, and held a glitter that seemed far from the stereotypical child's innocence. In fact, they seemed to crawl with malice and ghastliness.
"All right then," she said hesitantly and rushed into the store, purchased another bottle, and came back out in a hurry, for fear this little boy might try something with her pets.
"I really love your dogs," he said, handing her back the leash.
She eyed her dogs, seeing nothing was wrong, much to her relief, and replied, "Why, thank you. And arigatou for holding them while I went in the store." She took the leash from his outstretched hand, and shivered as her delicate fingers grazed his cold, reptilian-like skin. They walked off in a hurry. She came upon several more shops, but only window-shopped, pausing every now and then to let people comment, compliment, and pet her dogs. Seshat and Amun of course, were hogging all of the attention, eating it with a silver spoon, as they sat obediently while people remarked on their beautifully smooth coats, and followed orders to sit and come from strangers to show them just how perfect they were. Rena laughed as they played gently with curious children, dishing out licks gratefully. Finally, the trio arrived to their destination, The Turtle Game shop.
"Hello?" Rena asked coming in the door. "Is it all right if you allow my pets in here?" The old man looked up from the countertop and smiled, "Are they well trained?"
"Perfectly," Rena replied. She whistled and Seshat and Amun nosed the door open and trod inside, sitting respectfully at Rena's side.
"Very impressive, Rena," he commented. "But I'm afraid my Yuugi isn't here, nor are any of his friends."
"That's fine," Rena said, "I wanted to talk to you though, and maybe Yugiou too."
"Yugiou's not here, but I'm pretty available to talk," he chuckled, "and you can call me Sugoroku."
"All right, I have something to tell you. I dueled with Seto Kaiba last night, and nearly won, had I not left one of my cards unguarded.
And when I dueled, I felt strong. Like nothing could stop me, and yet, I own no Millennium Items," she said. Sugoroku nodded, and rubbed his beard thoughtfully, "Strong you say? Well, it could be that you are in tune with your Goddesses on a psychic level, and can speak to them telepathically. My Yuugi knows how to a little bit, but instead of communicating with his cards, he speaks to Yugiou, which is his other half."
"Yugiou is the Pharaoh who gave his life to save the Old Kingdom, isn't he?" she asked.
"Yes, from what I've been told, Yugiou is a Pharaoh who sacrificed himself, and imprisoned his soul in the Millennium Puzzle, and he recovered his memory when the seven Millennium Items were rejoined, and the three god cards were put together," Sugoroku leaned back in his chair.
"What if there is another Millennium Item? Another one the Pharaoh created?" she asked, leaning forward in her chair. Sugoroku rubbed his temple, trying to resurrect memories that he had not created, "Pharaoh made seven, no more. I'm positive."
"But I have the key to another in the scroll of Mando Nashti'ora," she said.
"Mando Nashti'ora, eh? What are you doing with IECI?" He asked.
"I'm second-in-command of the dig," she replied.
"How'd you get so far on Edward's good side?"
"How do you know the Professor?" she yelped.
"I know Edward from way back when."
"Sugoroku, how do you know about the IECI and Nashti'ora?"
"I'm in touch with the professor's at universities around here, and keep in touch with American gaming and Egyptology experts around the world."
"Really?" Rena said, impressed.
"Oh yes, I'm fascinated by the Egyptian culture. Especially," he smiled, "their games."
"Fascinating," she whispered.
"Oh, I guess so. But really, I'm just a retired world traveler."
"Just?" she asked, raising a curious eyebrow.
"Just," he said. Then he leaned towards her, wrinkling his wizened face in thought, and said; "You look just like your mother before she died."
Rena fell onto the floor. Amun stood up and growled, but settled back down, when she got back up and dusted herself off.
"You knew my mother?" she asked.
"I knew her rather well. She was a sweet woman, and incredibly smart. She was so proud of you, she always was. That's why she gave your hand away to Pegasus. She thought he would protect you, and I'll be damned if he didn't want to. The creepy loon was head-over-heels for you, even if he was crazy. Pegasus would have given you anything you ever wanted, and all the love you'd ever need, and personally, it scared your father to death until Pegasus swore to finance all of their expeditions for your hand," Sugoroku sighed.
"You knew my father too?" Rena asked. She fanned herself slightly, she felt sick. Her stomach knotted, and she tried to push it away as the grandfatherly old man continued.
"I knew your father very well. I taught him a thing or two, and he returned the favor. He was proud of you too. You have his talent for languages, and his good judgment on character. But you have your mother's eccentricity, and that's what gets you into trouble all the time. But yes, your father was a great man, an even greater adventurer. He loved to go searching for ancient mysteries, and even solved a few of them. He was friendly with everyone, and had an incredible charm. The only person he didn't trust was Pegasus J. Crawford. He didn't like him, not a bit. But the odds were against him, Rena. Pegasus made him an offer he couldn't refuse. Unlimited funding! He could do whatever he wanted, explore for any artifact. And your mother trusted Pegasus. I swear, he won her over, and your father had no choice but to let him get reeled in too. They didn't deserve their death, no. If there was anyone on this whole godforsaken planet that didn't deserve a death like that, it was Adrienne and Doug Campbelle," Sugoroku wiped a tear away from his ancient face.
"How did they die? I have to know, Sugoroku. I was never told, and I had thought they had sold me to Pegasus! I've misunderstood them. I've been wrong for seven years, and now I want the truth," she said. Rena felt like she was going to vomit. She had been so wrong! So horribly wrong!
"Are you all right?" Sugoroku asked.
"The truths heals all," Rena smiled. But she knew that this truth would just make her even more ill.
"They were killed in a cave-in. It was loaded with traps, and they were ensnared in a chamber full of them. Their final screams carried throughout the land of Thebes, but no one knows exactly how they died, but all that is known is that it was slow, murderous, and painful, excruciatingly, agonizingly, horrendously-"
"That's enough!" Rena cried. "I understand." She felt faint, and her vision swam for a second before she finally corrected herself.
"I'm sorry, Rena. But never forget this. Your parents were incredible, no, phenomenal people, who wanted nothing but the best for their greatest, most precious daughter. You," he smiled.
"Thanks Sugoroku," Rena smiled. "But I've digressed completely from my point. There is another Millennium Item, and I'm going to find it. It's called the Millennium Rapier, and I'm positive it exists. That's why I really want to talk to Yugiou as well."
"Well, look no further," a voice said. Yugiou stood in the doorway, a hand on his hip, and a smirk on his face.
"Yugiou! I need to talk to you. It's quite urgent," she said, "but we're going to need some privacy."
"That's fine," he said, "follow me." They walked out a ways, Seshat and Amun ambling along behind them.
"I recognize those dogs," Yugiou remarked.
"Well, you see, they're greyhounds. Egyptian dogs," Rena said as they continued into a little glade of forest.
"This is my, how do you call it? Thinking spot," Yugiou smiled. Rena looked around at the peaceful place that surrounded her.
"Now, what is it you need to discuss?" Yugiou asked.
"Well, hold onto those leather pants of yours, because this is a long story," she said, pulling a notebook from her purse.
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"Hurry Fukushuu, there is not much diggings done, and Mistress will be in a rage if we do not bring her the scroll," the little beast said to his putrid companion.
"There is many of the undead here. There was a great battle here, and dark forces did not win." The giant black beast had the head of a crocodile, and the rest of his body was that of a panther, but his skin was covered in warts and boils. He spread the crevice open, and jumped inside. Oni followed closely after. They walked into the damp crevice, past bodies that were decayed, and some were still decomposing. Oni reached down and looked at one that only seemed a few years old. He bit off a piece of the flesh, and it warmed in his dank mouth. This was a nice treat, but nowhere near the exquisite taste of immortal flesh. Fukushuu sniffed at a couple bodies, but did not stop to feed like Oni had. He padded stealthily up to the pedestal of the scroll and sniffed around some.
He detected a human, but not one of ordinary caliber. This had been an incarnate, one of those Oni spoke of. It was fresh, maybe four days old. But the scroll was not there. He looked frantically, searching every corner in hopes of finding it. But for his hopes, they were dashed in vain; there was not a trace of the scroll. The human must have taken it. Otherwise, it would still be here, Ryu-Kishin would make sure of that. He turned around and in a far corner he saw a broken statue. On further inspection, he noticed it was Ryu-Kishin; the gargoyle had been destroyed as he had come back to life. The Mistress would not be pleased with this. Not only was this not the entrance to Mana Ka'reph, but also a human who couldn't even understand it had lifted its treasure scroll. He motioned for Oni, and nearly laughed when he saw the demonic blood drain from his face. Oni would surely die for this last failure, and then Fukushuu would finally have a decent meal. He flew up on dark wings, away from the dead temple thinking seductively cannibalistic thoughts. Shitto should have started his work now, and soon, the unawoken Goddess would be dead before she even knew she was a goddess. How terrible. How terribly delightful.
--------
"So, you're saying another Millennium Item was created?" Yugiou asked incredulously.
"I know it sounds crazy, but it's true. I think the Rapier was created by someone who knew that one day, there would be a need for a force even stronger than you," she said.
"I don't mean to brag, but there aren't forces stronger than me," Yugiou said.
"Yes, there are. It's a little entity I like to call the gods," she said.
Yami sat up straight, "The gods are involving themselves? Are you sure?"
"Yes, I'm positive."
Yugiou lay back and closed his eyes. This is what his dream had meant. Two Goddesses had visited him in a dark chamber, and each had had a sword. One goddess left him with one, but he never felt like he could wield it. That would take an immortal. But she had said that he must fight her. Should he tell Rena? He had never trusted anyone except Yuugi and his closest friends, and maybe Seto Kaiba. But now, he felt as though he would have to swallow his pride, and begin to trust this new ally, or at least, he had hoped she was an ally.
"Rena, there is a dream I've been having. It's occurring now nightly," he started.
"I know the feeling, I've been having strange dreams too.about Egypt. And I know it's not just because I'm working there," she said.
"Peculiar, I feel my dreams are in Egypt, but I'm always in a dark cavern, so I can't tell. Then, a woman, no, a goddess approaches me and smiles. We share the mark of Horus, and she whispers to me, 'Something wicked this way comes.' Then, she hands me a sword."
"The Millennium Rapier," Rena gasped.
"Yes, I feel it's magic was similar to mine when I locked away the evil Games, but I feel its strength is innumerable next to mine. Then, she tells me she is the Goddess, that I must fight 'her,' and that 'she' will always be with me. Then Goddess leaves before she can tell me anymore, and I am hit by a dark energy. Then, a second goddess comes and stands over me. She has a blade too, one of completely black. Then, she whispers, 'Something wicked this way has come,' and then destroys me." Yugiou sighed. "But I can't figure out who the Goddesses are, and I don't know who the 'she' is that will always be with me."
"I think I know the answer, Yugiou," Rena said. "The 'she that will always be with you,' is the goddess that first came to you, and gave you the Rapier. The Goddess that murders you in your dream is the Mistress who is the Daughter of Seth," she said.
"I had a feeling she was. There were two goddesses in Egypt, one of evil, the other of good. I had been warned someday there would be a battle for the Cosmos between them," he sighed.
"Not for the cosmos, Yugiou, for revenge. The daughter of Seth is exacting justice on you by destroying your goddess," she said, putting her notebook away.
"There was a goddess in my temple, just before I locked the games away in the Millennium Items. I praised her the most, asking for her guidance as I went off. Her name is still a blank, but I think it was Akhten-He-Shesat," he said. "I loved her very much, she was my patron."
"You were in love with a goddess?" Rena asked, letting her jaw drop, no matter how uncouth it looked.
"Not love, but I had a high respect for her," he smiled. "And she was my protector, my patron. And now, it sounds as though she's returned to guide me again."
"But what about the Mistress? The one who was barred away? How could she have come back?" Rena pondered.
"She channeled through a paradox in the form of the black sword I told you she carried. Somehow she found a human insubordinate to channel the sword's energy, thus allowing her to channel herself through that human's body. It's the only way she could have been to the realm of the living," Yugiou reasoned. He lay back and closed his eyes, drifting into a lethargic state before coming back, alert and ready.
"Something wrong, Yugiou?" Rena asked.
"There's someone nearby," he said. He peered through the bushes, gazing for their unseen intruder. Suddenly, Amun and Seshat jumped up. They sniffed the air for a second, and then Amun got on his hackles and let out a low growl. Seshat's fur on her back was standing straight up and she was barking ferociously at a small shrub. Amun's growl grew louder and louder, until he was barking at full volume. Something was behind those bushes.
"No!" Rena shouted at her dogs, but it was too late. They attacked the trespasser, and Rena heard a faint cry, but was silenced. Amun and Seshat dragged the green-haired boy Rena had seen from before from behind the bush.
"I'm so sorry. They didn't mean to. They never act like that. Are you hurt, and can I help?" Rena spoke rapidly, pushing through her dogs that were still growling, their fur completely rigid. She helped him up, and inspected the bites, "Oh, I'm so sorry." He pushed her roughly off, and shouted, "Death to you!"
Rena was taken aback, and Yugiou got to his feet.
Then, the boy started to change. He grew hunched up and rose seven extra feet into the air, at a total height of about twelve feet. Dark green fur sprouted along his back, and his back splooshed right into a wiry, green tail. His skin cracked and wrinkled, going from a peachy flesh to a black, reptilian skin. His mouth was still human, and it grinned, but then it cracked and stretched out in front of him, and razor sharp teeth grew from them, lots of razor sharp teeth. It's eyes flashed from black to a cat-eye yellow. His body rippled, thick muscle spreading and tensing under his skin. His limbs grew out, and six-inch claws took the place of a child's hands. "Now you see my true form, sweet Goddess. I must say it took a great time to find you. You were hidden away so well, I thought I'd never find you. But no one can hide from me," it growled.
Yugiou stood in front of Rena, shielding her, "What are you? Why do you seek for the Goddess?"
"I am Shitto, a demon beast. And we long not for the goddess, but for her arrival to the gates of Hell."
"There is no goddess here," Rena said shakily.
"Sweet, little innocent Goddess. You mean you still don't know who you are," Shitto mocked them, but his gaze was focused on
Rena. "It is time for you to awaken."
"No! I won't let you hurt this woman," Yugiou said. "Crawl back to the pit of hate from which you came, or suffer your fate."
"You do not scare Shitto, tiny King," Shitto laughed. "I'm granted the powers of darkness, and none of the games you play will affect me in any way." Shitto charged for Yugiou, and knocked him away. Yami got up, four red streaks across his chest, and ran for Shitto. The monster kicked him squarely in the stomach, and he fell back, gasping for air.
"No, Yami!" Rena screamed. The beast came at her, and she scooted back. He kept walking forward, and she was stuck against the rock. "What do you want?" she whispered.
"I am here to kill you," it growled, its hot and blood-scented breath washing over her face. Its arm swung up and Rena fell down hard. A foot pressed into her back. She screamed in pain. She had been wearing her splint today and it was withholding the pressure for now but that would change really fast. What would the old Rena do? The old Rena was strong enough to get this guy off her back, but she couldn't. Shitto gagged, and the pressure was released from her back. Yami was holding on to the back of Shitto's neck, trying to cut off his air supply. Shitto shook his head back and forth to alight his rider. Yami was thrown back and forth, and at first glance, resembled a rodeo bull-rider. Yugiou looked at Rena and shouted, "Run, you have to get away. Protect the goddess inside you at all costs!"
"No," Rena said. She got to her feet. "I am the Goddess, and thus, I must protect you, mighty King."
"No, you can't. The goddess isn't one with your heart. You are not strong enough!" Yugiou yelled.
He was right. She couldn't feel any form of Trinity in her being at all. But it made no matter. "Thanks for your support, but Yami, no. I refuse to leave!" Shitto clawed Yugiou's hands, and flesh was ripped from his hands as he flew off. "Your foolishness will cost your life, Pharaoh!" Shitto roared.
"No! Yugiou!" Rena cried. She flung herself onto Shitto's back, and pounded her fists upon it.
"How weak you are!" Shitto laughed, and licked his razor teeth.
"No! Rena screamed. She felt emotionlessness surfacing within her, the old Rena forced her way into her consciousness, and she struggled for control. //No! I don't want you back in me, you heartless creature!// The old Rena spoke to her reprimanding, //Listen, you twit. It's up to you to awaken the Goddess. Use your magic!//
"I don't have any magic!" Rena screamed as she battered her fists on Shitto's dark hide. He roared in pain.
"How dare you!" He screamed. He pulled an oaken arm into her chest, and she fell back. Something fell onto the ground. She looked at it, and gasped. This was her magic! It was the tablet that the Professor had given her.
"Shitto, now you meet with your undertaker! Turn and face me!" she yelled. Shitto picked the Pharaoh up and threw him against a rock. A trickle of blood dripped from his head, and flowed over his brow. He lay there, unmoving.
"You will pay for what you have done!" she cried, tears welling in her eyes. She held the tablet in front of her and shouted, "Nach anket rew geter hesf, beshest rechterty!"
"No, not the Horus' damnation!" Shitto reeled back, landing on his animal knees. Light crawled around Rena's feet, and cascaded around her, shielding her from sight, but still she spoke, "Hesf Ma'at geth benun onisu preshyu!" The light streamed away from her, revealing a pure being with long silver-gold hair, shining with an incredible golden glow. Wings sprouted from her shoulder blades, pearly blue and silver. Her robes were thin and golden. She finished the incantation, "Hesf Amun Re werty!" Shitto screamed as the light surrounded him, it was hot, like a flame, and he felt his entire body burning. His skin parted from his bone, and the rest of his body incinerated away. The stench was horrible, and when the ashes finally faded away, all that was left were a few smoldering hairs.
Rena fell to her feet, and crawled to where Yami had fallen. "Yugiou, no. Please, stay with me, you have to be alive!"
His eyes opened briefly, "Goddess Akhten, how come you didn't tell me where you were? Oh well, it doesn't matter, you're here with me again." His eyes fluttered shut.
Rena cried, "No Yugiou! Please!" Her hand trembled as she touched his chest, tracing the path of blood with her finger. Her thoughts turned to Nazo. She had given her the amulet! But what had it been for? She couldn't remember, but she took it from her neck, and strung it around Yami. She put her hands together like she was praying and murmured, "Nakten rety inuset. Nakten rety inuset. Nakten rety inuset." The amulet cast a glow, and a metallic liquid flowed from it, seeking and covering all of Yami's wounds.
Rena gasped and her eyes grew wide, as his skin pieced back together and blood and life returned to his body. Not long after, the liquid returned to the amulet, and the amulet turned a dark crimson-black. Yugiou sat up, and gazed at the amulet around his neck.
"This is the Amulet of Imhotep," he said in awe, as he unclasped it and handed it back to Rena.
"You're kidding? I didn't think the amulet existed," she said.
"You're too disbelieving. Just because you've never seen it, doesn't mean it's non-existent. The amulet dates back to the time King Djoser," Yami said.
"When Imhotep was still alive," Rena breathed.
"Yes. This was his gift from the gods, and in a way, took him to the final step to immortality. As long as he wore it, he could shed no blood, and be kept alive within an inch of his life," Yugiou said.
"That's why it saved you," Rena said.
"No, I was indeed on my way to the next life, before you called on its power," Yugiou said, "And it wasn't designed for that kind of magic. It will take a week to recharge itself, and then it will regain its enchantment."
"Incredible," Rena sighed.
"Yes, but now we should be returning home. It's getting late, and the others will be worried for us," Yugiou said. Rena laughed, eyeing the blood that still stained Yugiou's clothes, "I think they'll be worrying for us no matter what time we get home."
"We shall simply tell them the truth."
"Given the past five days, the truth seems like such a pretense."
Yugiou laughed, "Yes, but we'll have to tell them that the Dark Mistress is here, and that she's begun her strategy."
"I'm impressed, you picked up on their strategy? I was a little busy with the giant demon that was bent on killing us," Rena said.
"Yes, I believe the Daughter of Seth is trying to kill you before the Goddess inside you is awakened, so that she can." he gazed off.
"What rule the world.the cosmos?" Rena asked.
"Yes, but shouldn't there be something else they want?" Yugiou asked.
"I don't think so, because I mean, once you have the cosmos, don't you have everything?"
"Yes, you are right."
"Wait, where's Amun and Seshat?" Rena asked.
"Hmm.they should be hiding behind that tree," Yugiou said. And he was right, two tails were sticking up from behind a tree, and there were Seshat and Amun, quivering like cowards.
"My heroes," Rena laughed, "Willing to attack a little boy, but they're off and running when he morphs into a giant demon." They walked in silence, alone and undisturbed, except for a few late-night travelers, up the street. Yami looked at Rena, and decided something.
"Rena, you act too weak for your own good," he said.
"What?" she turned around. "Weak? Listen up, I saved your butt."
"You could have done it much sooner. Your powers should have developed by now."
"Powers? Weak? What do you mean weak? I'm not weak. If it wasn't for me back there, you'd be a smear on a boulder!"
"Fine, fine. Let's just get home," he paused, "Mary Sue."
"Jerk!" Rena cried, punching him roughly on the shoulder.
Finally, they approached the Turtle Game Shop, and Yuugi, Jounochi, Honda, Anzu, Sugoroku, and Mokuba came running out to greet them.
"Yugiou! Where have you been! Are you all right?" Yuugi asked, a worried look on his face. Yami tousled the younger boys hair, just like an older brother, and said, "I came into an encounter with a demon beast, but as you can see, I am fine."
"Whoa, what do you mean demon beast?" Jounochi asked.
"You've got to be kidding," Honda said, preparing to laugh.
"I wish I could say that," he said, stepping into the light of the window. Everyone except Rena gasped.
"That's blood, real, actual blood," Anzu said.
"Wow Anzu, you sure are perceptive," Jou said. Anzu blushed, and hit Jounochi because of it.
"How could someone do such a thing," Honda said.
"It's not a someone, but a something," Rena sighed, looking to the stars, "Let's go inside, this is going to be a very long story.
"I always loved a good story," Sugoroku laughed as he exchanged a glance to Rena.
'Does he know?' Rena thought. She looked at Yugiou, who was puzzling over the same thing.
--------
"You mean, we're all in danger, and Rena's a goddess?" Jounochi cried, looking from Yugiou to Rena and back to Yugiou, then to Rena.
"How can that be?" Honda asked, fanning Anzu, who had just gone faint, not long after Yugiou had told the group about the Daughter of Seth's forthcoming and the Reckoning of worlds.
"Rena," Mokuba asked, tugging at her sleeve, "Are you in danger?" She looked at him, and nearly cried for the worry she saw in his eyes. This little boy, no, her little boy, he was so close to her now he might as well be hers, was worried for her. She couldn't bear to lie, so she said, "Yes, Mokuba, I am in great danger. But don't worry, because somewhere inside me, there's a beautiful person who's watching over me, and when the time is right, she's going to come out and protect me." He nodded his approval, and she smiled back at him.
Sugoroku finally spoke, "It looks like you're going to have to get going double time on finding that Rapier. This Mistress will do whatever it takes to find it."
"She couldn't find it if she tried. There is only one key to Mana Ka'reph, the final resting place, and I have it," she said.
"Don't you think that the Mistress knows it?" Sugoroku said. "And won't she do anything to get it from you?" He looked at Mokuba, who was starting to fall asleep on the couch.
"It's not going to happen. She's not getting Mokuba, I'll swear my life on it," she said.
"But she'll try."
"Over my dead body."
"It may well be."
Rena sat up rigid, before slumping down onto the couch. She felt a wave of nausea come over her before finally falling completely asleep.
She awoke to the face of the proud elder Kaiba staring down at her.
"I see Sleeping Beauty's finally awake."
"Ha, ha! That was ever so funny," she muttered sarcastically, before turning around and going back to sleep.
"Hey, no sleeping. Do you realize it's four o'clock?"
"In the morning?"
"No, the afternoon."
"What!" Rena shouted, bolting upright. "I've already slept the day away!"
"Yeah, but don't worry. I won't throw any parties without you."
"That's not funny," she said, pushing him away.
"I'm just trying to lighten the mood," he said, helping her to her feet. "Listen, Rena, we got off on a pretty bad start. I really do think you're a good person."
"So are you," she smiled, "when you want to be."
"So what's with the new look?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. He ran his hand through her hair, picking out a strand and showing it to her. She looked at it, and gasped. It was a shining gold color.
"Well, you see, it's because of the fact that, well, you see it's hard to explain," she stammered.
"Is it because you're the Goddess Akhten-He-Shesat?" he asked. Rena sat down hard, "How did you know?"
"You slept through a lot. Yugiou gave me the story in full detail."
"Oh," was all she could manage to say. She felt sick again as the other days events came flooding back to her. "Seto, I." she reached for his hand, before falling on the couch and letting sleep overtake her.
~Saisei No Megami
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I know I switched back and forth between Yami and Yugiou, but Yami is much easier type, and it kind of sounds better. Also, I get reviews telling me that I need to let Rena start to warm up to Seto, but please understand this. It's been murder for me not to make Rena run straight into Seto's arms, and have everything be perfect and happily ever after again. But unfortunately, that would give this story incredibly little plot. Also, I appreciate all the comments I've gotten from you (the reader), but I have one request I'd like to make. Keep your reviews clean. In one, I had a suggestion that they should "have sex" and personally, I take that as an insult to my writing. I want their (Rena and Seto) love to be pure, and I think I can convey that without putting them in highly sexual relations. I'm not saying it's a peck and hold hands, but it's not going to be erotic and steamy either. I'll find a nice medium, and hopefully, you guys'll be good with that. Besides, I don't want to have to up my ratings to NC-17; it's bad enough you have to search for anything rated "R"!
Now, please, I don't want the person who sent me that review to take this as an insult, I did love some of their other comments, and one they completely read my mind on! So, keep up all reviews, but let's leave intercourse out of them, shall we? Thanks so much! Chapter Eight will probably be up within the week!
Now we approach the daily poll!
This is more for my information, than it is anything else: Should there be a sequel to Konton No Millennia? (I'll probably ask this later, too.)
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.
Oh, by the way, just some names for those who are confused. I've started using the Japanese names for everyone now:
Gozaburo Kaiba: Seto's adopted father.
Sugoroku Motou: Yugi's grandfather.
Yugiou: Yami
Now, on with the show!
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Rena woke up, a thin line of sweat on her forehead. She walked outside, and raised her hand to shield the sun from her eyes. It was an unnaturally hot September day, a freak warm front. She walked into her closet and chose her wardrobe for the day. A flashy red tube-top, cut low on the stomach, and a chic, white midriff blouse tied just under her breasts. She threw on a pair of faded shorts, and grabbed a pair of frost sunglasses and smiled as she looked in the mirror. Comfortable and cute, perfect. She grabbed her purse and walked out her door and down the stairs when she heard a voice that stopped her cold.
"Where do you think you're going?" Seto Kaiba looked at her; sitting up from the couch he had been laying on that night.
"I thought you said you were going to bed," she remarked.
"I meant to, but I was so drunk off my ass I didn't really care where I slept," he replied, laying back down.
"You actually admit to being drunk off your ass?" she laughed.
"It doesn't happened very often, so I decided to tell the truth," he grinned.
"If I didn't know any better I'd say you were still drunk," Rena noted.
"If I knew any better, I'd say I was having a hangover," he said.
"Well then, you'd better rest some more," she said. He opened his mouth to say something, but she covered it with her hand, and continued, "I know you have work today, but you had definitely better get some sleep. Even CEO's can have sick days. I'm staying here today too, so I can get a start on your document." He pulled her hand away and started to speak, but she covered it again with her hand and said, "You have no idea how sick you are right now. You smell like alcohol, you talk like your wasted, which in truth you are, but that's not my point. My point is that you, Seto Kaiba, are staying home today because you are an ill man, and that is final!"
"On my way, commander," he said.
"And don't you forget it," Rena said, snickering a little bit.
"Sounds good."
"Go take a nap. No wait, change of thought. Go take a shower. No offense, but you smell like vomit," she said, wrinkling her nose. Seto got up and trudged up the stairs, and Rena went into the kitchens.
"Ohayou gozaimasu, Regius," she said as she walked in the kitchens.
"Ohayou, Miss Campbelle," Regius said, as she opened up the pantry and started digging around. "Is there anything I can get for you this morning?"
"Nope, I'll scavenge on my own," she said. "Oh and Regius-"
"Yes, Miss?" Regius asked.
"Lock all of the liquor cabinets and deny any requests Seto might have for an alcoholic beverage. If he has any problems with it, tell him to speak with me," she said, grabbing a breakfast bar and a glass of orange juice. "One more thing too, could you pick up some granola bars, and maybe some low-fat milk. You guys don't have much it looks like," she added, and then headed out the door before Regius had a chance to answer. He only walked to the pantry door, and made a note on his list for granola bars and low- fat milk.
Rena walked to the front doors, and pushed them open. From the porch, she put her two fingers in her mouth and let out a shrill whistle. Not five seconds later, Amun and Seshat raced to her side, barking and jumping happily.
"What do you say you two join me for a little study hour?" she asked them.
They barked in response, and wagged their tails rapidly as if to say, "Yes, yes! Please take us inside! We won't make a fuss! Please let us come in! We won't be any trouble at all!"
"All right, you win!" Rena laughed, opening the door, and allowing the two dogs to race in.
She heard a yell on the other side of the door, and she raced in herself. Her look of panic and shock melted into relief when she saw that the only one that had yelled was Mokuba. The two dogs had immediately bounded on the boy, and were licking his face and yelping with delight. Mokuba laughed and yelped on his own, sitting up to play with the dogs.
"Rena, are you allowed to bring Amun and Seshat in here?" Mokuba asked between puppy kisses.
"Well, I don't see why not. They're house-broken and perfectly friendly," she laughed.
"That's good, because I love them," Mokuba said. "I always wanted a dog or puppy, but Gozaburo said a dog would ruin his furniture."
"Gozaburo?" Rena asked.
"He was our dad until Seto got rid of him," he said.
"What do you mean Seto got rid of him?" she asked warily.
"You mean he didn't tell you?" Mokuba asked. "Then I shouldn't have said that. Oh no, oniichan will be so upset with me!" He looked worried now, and Rena couldn't blame him.
"What's the matter, Mokuba? What did Seto do to get rid of Gozaburo?" she asked.
"You don't need to know," Mokuba said.
"Mokuba, please, I don't want to hurt your brother in any way, but you have to tell me what he did," Rena said, brushing his cheek.
"Seto pushed our father off a balcony and killed him. He deserved it though. He trained Seto to become a good CEO, but he never really loved us. And if he did, he never showed it. He would beat Seto, Rena. Not just punish him, beat him. Seto was abused, so he disposed of Gozaburo in order to keep me safe away from him. He's my hero," Mokuba said, trying to justify murder for self-defense. 'Maybe it was self-defense,' she thought, 'There are a lot of crazy people in the world.'
"All right, Mokuba," she said. She got to her feet, and walked up the stairs. The dogs ended their tirade of glee, and padded after Rena as she walked, dazed, to her study adjoined from her room.
"He's a killer," she gasped, unable to accept what the boy had told her. She grabbed the document and her notebook, and sat down heavily into a well- cushioned chair. She turned on the brass lamp at her desk, and the Tiffany lamp across the room. There was a Monet painting right above her, and she had no reason to believe it was a print or a remake. She pulled open the redwood desk drawer, and extracted several pencils and an ink fountain pen. With a delicate touch, she spread the document on the wide desktop and took a look at the complex drawings and olden hieroglyphs that lay before her on the papyrus.
"All right," she told herself. "What have we here?" She looked through the drawings. They were all encoded. "Stork, ibex, ram, one-handle basket." She wrote the transliteration on the notebook, and continued. "Double reed, wheat stalk, Ma'at, and Horus.
Now let's see, we've got the Ennead right there, so I'm guessing these are the gods who protect Nashti'ora. Yes, and this Ennead below it is the Righteous Ennead, who protect as I guess.Mana Ka'reph. Wonderful. Going on, I see four stairs, stork, head, frog, man, owl, reed, reed, ankh. Shield, scythe, and an overturned basket, wait." She noted something in her notebook's margins. "Overturned basket, that's a new one, in vizierglyphs, it's most likely the opposite of reed, so then it would mean it transliterates into a glottal stop "a", and that fits in perfectly! Now, let's move on. Snake, semi-circle, reed, sitting woman, long stair. That's right, now cane, right-handled basket, arm with salt, and two lined waves. Foot, hand pointing down, that means to go south if I'm translating right, and then a lined square." She looked through her notebook, then looked at Seshat and Amun, "That's funny, the vizierglyphs are using traditional determinatives, but that doesn't seem to make any sense. Determinatives are the symbols that come either before or after words to give them special meaning. Did they somehow try to give vizierglyphs determinatives that fit the encrypted code, or did they remain with the determinative glyphs they had had for centuries? What do you think, guys?" she asked the two dogs. She gazed at them for a minute before continuing, "Oh well, it doesn't really matter, because either way it means the same thing. Now, to figure out the glyphs I've got about right now." She looked over her notebook. In regular ancient Egyptian, this would have been a cure for boils (as long as you ignored the determinatives, and the gods parading around, smiting enemies), but it wasn't. The vizierglyphs spelled out words and phrases, new to the culture, and introduced special codes using adaptations of present glyphs, with all the flowing quality of poetry. They read,
"Dashing, dancing, earthly shaking, the beasts of magic alive! Beyond the realms of Osiris, The Shadow Games. Here we stand, endowed as the sons of Horus, we challenge the laws of fate. We are dealt the hand of justice, and now challenge the justice of Ma'at."
Who did those people think they were? Did they really think that they could challenge the gods, just because they knew of the monsters and magic? They were a great power as they were keys to the only mortal god, but did they think they could reign over the gods that supposedly brought their world into creation? Rena blinked and continued to translate. She saw a New Kingdom representation of Amun-Re, a man with a falcon head and two feathers sticking out of his crown, and Rena stopped. New Kingdom? In myth (or truth considering the current circumstances), the Shadow Games were to mark the fall of the Old Kingdom, dynasties zero to six. If that was true, why was this a New Kingdom representation, which was approximately five kingdoms later? The only reasonable assumption was that someone had created this document at the turn of the Kingdoms, and used the New approach to, to what? Warn others of danger? She read on.
"What's this one? Ah, his god's body Aten, the shining force and powers of the sun, represented as the sun disc, and here, we have.another god? Who's this? Ah, Horus, the falcon headed man with beaded eyes, one of the sun, the other the wadjet eye, the eye of the moon. More gods? What is this list for? We have a man with a papyrus spread across his lap, of course, that had to be Imhotep, the god of medicine, knowledge, and architecture. And here was Isis, with the sun disc and falcon wings on either side of her head. Next was a scarab beetle, which had to symbolize the god Khepri, followed by a woman with a single feather balanced on her head to resemble Ma'at, goddess of truth and justice. She saw a picture of a man bound in mummy wrappings, with black, or dark green skin (in ordinance to resurrection) carrying a crook and flail of Egypt. It was Osiris, lord of the dead himself. A mummified man with a shaved head and skull cap, carrying the djed pillar and scepter gave way to the fact this god following Osiris had to be Ptah, the patron to those who would utilize the written or spoken word in their duty. Rena read the last three symbols. They were the gods Sekhmet, Thoth, and Wepwawet, each symbolized in their own way. Sekhmet, the lion-headed goddess of war, who accompanied Pharaoh into battle, was the first, followed by the ibex-headed Thoth, and the jackal carrying a mace and bow, revealed the god Wepwawet. She looked at the glyphs following the procession of gods. It looked like a ram-headed man, wearing a Pharaoh's crown, and his arms swung aggressively cluing Rena in to the fact that this was the god Seth, the patron of strength, aggressiveness, and ruthlessness. But this god was doing something other than parading across the scroll like the others.
He was commanding several more men, some wearing priests skullcaps, but most were lordly crowns. Then, it hit her. This god was leading the nobles, lords, and priests into a battle against the gods shown above! Rena was shocked. What kind of power did these people think they have? It was perfectly abhorrent! She read on.
"Holy men clashing the rule of almighty gods, and now we stand the true New Kingdom, and led by our chaotic god we triumph over all others. We have prepared the daughter of Seth to come and take our place so our terror shall reign and our magic will always reign supreme. On we charge into glorious battle!"
She kept going reading on to the final battle between the young Pharaoh who finally decided that those worshippers of evil should be banished to their own realm of darkness. There were glyphs, each representing a different Millennial Item. She read further, and the glyphs seemed to be more of an account.
"After our incredible defeat, we vowed that the Pharaoh would be killed again, by our own hands, and that our Lord, through our Mistress of Darkness would arise again and claim the forces of Light. When the tool of the goddess is used, it will begin the clash of revenge that our Black Mistress will exact."
Rena took a good look at the vizierglyphs following that. The rest was a puzzle, explaining the entrance to Mana Ka'reph. But the following were words were of comfort, as if the story of evil had ended, and a new one of righteousness had taken its place.
"Look for us in the city of the Living, O Goddess of Light and nurturing. We will be hidden in the farthest sanctum in the deepest eye of the brightest light. From there you will seek the Embodiment of Fallen Allies, and fight the Entities among them. Never be in fear, dear Goddess, for your light shall always accompany you into this Abyss we call the Cosmos." She looked on, intrigued.
The rest was highly encoded detail, full of warnings and detail on how to destroy enemies. It would take several weeks to decode, and she had done plenty for a single day. She looked up at the clock and saw that had spent six hours in here, and it was now two o'clock. She walked out of the room, and headed down the stairs, ready to go out for a little bit. Seshat and Amun padded along behind her; glad to finally be out of the stuffy room in which they had kept her company for so long. She grabbed their leashes from her coat that was hanging by the door in a fashionably discreet alcove, so as not to clash with the interior design of the main entryway.
She snapped the black leash on Amun's gold and blue collar, and clipped another black leash onto Seshat's gold and garnet collar. Rena slipped her card deck in her pocket and headed out to the exquisite weather that had befallen Domino City. Seshat and Amun tugged and bounded at their collars, and quite looked as if they were trying to break loose. But really they were implying, "Let's run, let's run! All we know is the joy of running! We love to run don't you love to run? We have to run! Let's run, let's run, LET'S RUN!" She finally gave into their canine requests, and started off at a jog. It wasn't good enough for the excited dogs. She let out at a run, but the eagerness of the dogs pulled her into a sprint, and off they went, tearing off for Domino City. They came into the city limits, all three of them winded completely. Rena felt a dry, hard lump at the back of her throat, and walked up to the first store she saw. Tying off her dogs so that they could get a rest as well, she walked in and paid for a 32- ounce bottle of water. She came outside with it, and untied their leashes from the railing they had been on. She opened the water and drank voraciously. The dogs nosed her leg and looked up her expectantly. She smiled at them and sat down on a step, and poured some of the liquid into her hand. Both dogs lapped it up quickly, and looked at her, innocently begging for more. She poured more into her hand, and they drank it as well. She kept feeding them until when she turned and looked at the bottle there was no more.
"Now look you two, I'm completely out of water. I'll have to buy some more," she said frowning down at them. They looked down and whimpered, provoking submission.
She reached up to tie their leashes when a little boy came up and said, "I'll hold them, miss." She smiled at the boy. He was rather tall, and his long green bangs hid his eyes, which seemed beetle black, and held a glitter that seemed far from the stereotypical child's innocence. In fact, they seemed to crawl with malice and ghastliness.
"All right then," she said hesitantly and rushed into the store, purchased another bottle, and came back out in a hurry, for fear this little boy might try something with her pets.
"I really love your dogs," he said, handing her back the leash.
She eyed her dogs, seeing nothing was wrong, much to her relief, and replied, "Why, thank you. And arigatou for holding them while I went in the store." She took the leash from his outstretched hand, and shivered as her delicate fingers grazed his cold, reptilian-like skin. They walked off in a hurry. She came upon several more shops, but only window-shopped, pausing every now and then to let people comment, compliment, and pet her dogs. Seshat and Amun of course, were hogging all of the attention, eating it with a silver spoon, as they sat obediently while people remarked on their beautifully smooth coats, and followed orders to sit and come from strangers to show them just how perfect they were. Rena laughed as they played gently with curious children, dishing out licks gratefully. Finally, the trio arrived to their destination, The Turtle Game shop.
"Hello?" Rena asked coming in the door. "Is it all right if you allow my pets in here?" The old man looked up from the countertop and smiled, "Are they well trained?"
"Perfectly," Rena replied. She whistled and Seshat and Amun nosed the door open and trod inside, sitting respectfully at Rena's side.
"Very impressive, Rena," he commented. "But I'm afraid my Yuugi isn't here, nor are any of his friends."
"That's fine," Rena said, "I wanted to talk to you though, and maybe Yugiou too."
"Yugiou's not here, but I'm pretty available to talk," he chuckled, "and you can call me Sugoroku."
"All right, I have something to tell you. I dueled with Seto Kaiba last night, and nearly won, had I not left one of my cards unguarded.
And when I dueled, I felt strong. Like nothing could stop me, and yet, I own no Millennium Items," she said. Sugoroku nodded, and rubbed his beard thoughtfully, "Strong you say? Well, it could be that you are in tune with your Goddesses on a psychic level, and can speak to them telepathically. My Yuugi knows how to a little bit, but instead of communicating with his cards, he speaks to Yugiou, which is his other half."
"Yugiou is the Pharaoh who gave his life to save the Old Kingdom, isn't he?" she asked.
"Yes, from what I've been told, Yugiou is a Pharaoh who sacrificed himself, and imprisoned his soul in the Millennium Puzzle, and he recovered his memory when the seven Millennium Items were rejoined, and the three god cards were put together," Sugoroku leaned back in his chair.
"What if there is another Millennium Item? Another one the Pharaoh created?" she asked, leaning forward in her chair. Sugoroku rubbed his temple, trying to resurrect memories that he had not created, "Pharaoh made seven, no more. I'm positive."
"But I have the key to another in the scroll of Mando Nashti'ora," she said.
"Mando Nashti'ora, eh? What are you doing with IECI?" He asked.
"I'm second-in-command of the dig," she replied.
"How'd you get so far on Edward's good side?"
"How do you know the Professor?" she yelped.
"I know Edward from way back when."
"Sugoroku, how do you know about the IECI and Nashti'ora?"
"I'm in touch with the professor's at universities around here, and keep in touch with American gaming and Egyptology experts around the world."
"Really?" Rena said, impressed.
"Oh yes, I'm fascinated by the Egyptian culture. Especially," he smiled, "their games."
"Fascinating," she whispered.
"Oh, I guess so. But really, I'm just a retired world traveler."
"Just?" she asked, raising a curious eyebrow.
"Just," he said. Then he leaned towards her, wrinkling his wizened face in thought, and said; "You look just like your mother before she died."
Rena fell onto the floor. Amun stood up and growled, but settled back down, when she got back up and dusted herself off.
"You knew my mother?" she asked.
"I knew her rather well. She was a sweet woman, and incredibly smart. She was so proud of you, she always was. That's why she gave your hand away to Pegasus. She thought he would protect you, and I'll be damned if he didn't want to. The creepy loon was head-over-heels for you, even if he was crazy. Pegasus would have given you anything you ever wanted, and all the love you'd ever need, and personally, it scared your father to death until Pegasus swore to finance all of their expeditions for your hand," Sugoroku sighed.
"You knew my father too?" Rena asked. She fanned herself slightly, she felt sick. Her stomach knotted, and she tried to push it away as the grandfatherly old man continued.
"I knew your father very well. I taught him a thing or two, and he returned the favor. He was proud of you too. You have his talent for languages, and his good judgment on character. But you have your mother's eccentricity, and that's what gets you into trouble all the time. But yes, your father was a great man, an even greater adventurer. He loved to go searching for ancient mysteries, and even solved a few of them. He was friendly with everyone, and had an incredible charm. The only person he didn't trust was Pegasus J. Crawford. He didn't like him, not a bit. But the odds were against him, Rena. Pegasus made him an offer he couldn't refuse. Unlimited funding! He could do whatever he wanted, explore for any artifact. And your mother trusted Pegasus. I swear, he won her over, and your father had no choice but to let him get reeled in too. They didn't deserve their death, no. If there was anyone on this whole godforsaken planet that didn't deserve a death like that, it was Adrienne and Doug Campbelle," Sugoroku wiped a tear away from his ancient face.
"How did they die? I have to know, Sugoroku. I was never told, and I had thought they had sold me to Pegasus! I've misunderstood them. I've been wrong for seven years, and now I want the truth," she said. Rena felt like she was going to vomit. She had been so wrong! So horribly wrong!
"Are you all right?" Sugoroku asked.
"The truths heals all," Rena smiled. But she knew that this truth would just make her even more ill.
"They were killed in a cave-in. It was loaded with traps, and they were ensnared in a chamber full of them. Their final screams carried throughout the land of Thebes, but no one knows exactly how they died, but all that is known is that it was slow, murderous, and painful, excruciatingly, agonizingly, horrendously-"
"That's enough!" Rena cried. "I understand." She felt faint, and her vision swam for a second before she finally corrected herself.
"I'm sorry, Rena. But never forget this. Your parents were incredible, no, phenomenal people, who wanted nothing but the best for their greatest, most precious daughter. You," he smiled.
"Thanks Sugoroku," Rena smiled. "But I've digressed completely from my point. There is another Millennium Item, and I'm going to find it. It's called the Millennium Rapier, and I'm positive it exists. That's why I really want to talk to Yugiou as well."
"Well, look no further," a voice said. Yugiou stood in the doorway, a hand on his hip, and a smirk on his face.
"Yugiou! I need to talk to you. It's quite urgent," she said, "but we're going to need some privacy."
"That's fine," he said, "follow me." They walked out a ways, Seshat and Amun ambling along behind them.
"I recognize those dogs," Yugiou remarked.
"Well, you see, they're greyhounds. Egyptian dogs," Rena said as they continued into a little glade of forest.
"This is my, how do you call it? Thinking spot," Yugiou smiled. Rena looked around at the peaceful place that surrounded her.
"Now, what is it you need to discuss?" Yugiou asked.
"Well, hold onto those leather pants of yours, because this is a long story," she said, pulling a notebook from her purse.
--------
"Hurry Fukushuu, there is not much diggings done, and Mistress will be in a rage if we do not bring her the scroll," the little beast said to his putrid companion.
"There is many of the undead here. There was a great battle here, and dark forces did not win." The giant black beast had the head of a crocodile, and the rest of his body was that of a panther, but his skin was covered in warts and boils. He spread the crevice open, and jumped inside. Oni followed closely after. They walked into the damp crevice, past bodies that were decayed, and some were still decomposing. Oni reached down and looked at one that only seemed a few years old. He bit off a piece of the flesh, and it warmed in his dank mouth. This was a nice treat, but nowhere near the exquisite taste of immortal flesh. Fukushuu sniffed at a couple bodies, but did not stop to feed like Oni had. He padded stealthily up to the pedestal of the scroll and sniffed around some.
He detected a human, but not one of ordinary caliber. This had been an incarnate, one of those Oni spoke of. It was fresh, maybe four days old. But the scroll was not there. He looked frantically, searching every corner in hopes of finding it. But for his hopes, they were dashed in vain; there was not a trace of the scroll. The human must have taken it. Otherwise, it would still be here, Ryu-Kishin would make sure of that. He turned around and in a far corner he saw a broken statue. On further inspection, he noticed it was Ryu-Kishin; the gargoyle had been destroyed as he had come back to life. The Mistress would not be pleased with this. Not only was this not the entrance to Mana Ka'reph, but also a human who couldn't even understand it had lifted its treasure scroll. He motioned for Oni, and nearly laughed when he saw the demonic blood drain from his face. Oni would surely die for this last failure, and then Fukushuu would finally have a decent meal. He flew up on dark wings, away from the dead temple thinking seductively cannibalistic thoughts. Shitto should have started his work now, and soon, the unawoken Goddess would be dead before she even knew she was a goddess. How terrible. How terribly delightful.
--------
"So, you're saying another Millennium Item was created?" Yugiou asked incredulously.
"I know it sounds crazy, but it's true. I think the Rapier was created by someone who knew that one day, there would be a need for a force even stronger than you," she said.
"I don't mean to brag, but there aren't forces stronger than me," Yugiou said.
"Yes, there are. It's a little entity I like to call the gods," she said.
Yami sat up straight, "The gods are involving themselves? Are you sure?"
"Yes, I'm positive."
Yugiou lay back and closed his eyes. This is what his dream had meant. Two Goddesses had visited him in a dark chamber, and each had had a sword. One goddess left him with one, but he never felt like he could wield it. That would take an immortal. But she had said that he must fight her. Should he tell Rena? He had never trusted anyone except Yuugi and his closest friends, and maybe Seto Kaiba. But now, he felt as though he would have to swallow his pride, and begin to trust this new ally, or at least, he had hoped she was an ally.
"Rena, there is a dream I've been having. It's occurring now nightly," he started.
"I know the feeling, I've been having strange dreams too.about Egypt. And I know it's not just because I'm working there," she said.
"Peculiar, I feel my dreams are in Egypt, but I'm always in a dark cavern, so I can't tell. Then, a woman, no, a goddess approaches me and smiles. We share the mark of Horus, and she whispers to me, 'Something wicked this way comes.' Then, she hands me a sword."
"The Millennium Rapier," Rena gasped.
"Yes, I feel it's magic was similar to mine when I locked away the evil Games, but I feel its strength is innumerable next to mine. Then, she tells me she is the Goddess, that I must fight 'her,' and that 'she' will always be with me. Then Goddess leaves before she can tell me anymore, and I am hit by a dark energy. Then, a second goddess comes and stands over me. She has a blade too, one of completely black. Then, she whispers, 'Something wicked this way has come,' and then destroys me." Yugiou sighed. "But I can't figure out who the Goddesses are, and I don't know who the 'she' is that will always be with me."
"I think I know the answer, Yugiou," Rena said. "The 'she that will always be with you,' is the goddess that first came to you, and gave you the Rapier. The Goddess that murders you in your dream is the Mistress who is the Daughter of Seth," she said.
"I had a feeling she was. There were two goddesses in Egypt, one of evil, the other of good. I had been warned someday there would be a battle for the Cosmos between them," he sighed.
"Not for the cosmos, Yugiou, for revenge. The daughter of Seth is exacting justice on you by destroying your goddess," she said, putting her notebook away.
"There was a goddess in my temple, just before I locked the games away in the Millennium Items. I praised her the most, asking for her guidance as I went off. Her name is still a blank, but I think it was Akhten-He-Shesat," he said. "I loved her very much, she was my patron."
"You were in love with a goddess?" Rena asked, letting her jaw drop, no matter how uncouth it looked.
"Not love, but I had a high respect for her," he smiled. "And she was my protector, my patron. And now, it sounds as though she's returned to guide me again."
"But what about the Mistress? The one who was barred away? How could she have come back?" Rena pondered.
"She channeled through a paradox in the form of the black sword I told you she carried. Somehow she found a human insubordinate to channel the sword's energy, thus allowing her to channel herself through that human's body. It's the only way she could have been to the realm of the living," Yugiou reasoned. He lay back and closed his eyes, drifting into a lethargic state before coming back, alert and ready.
"Something wrong, Yugiou?" Rena asked.
"There's someone nearby," he said. He peered through the bushes, gazing for their unseen intruder. Suddenly, Amun and Seshat jumped up. They sniffed the air for a second, and then Amun got on his hackles and let out a low growl. Seshat's fur on her back was standing straight up and she was barking ferociously at a small shrub. Amun's growl grew louder and louder, until he was barking at full volume. Something was behind those bushes.
"No!" Rena shouted at her dogs, but it was too late. They attacked the trespasser, and Rena heard a faint cry, but was silenced. Amun and Seshat dragged the green-haired boy Rena had seen from before from behind the bush.
"I'm so sorry. They didn't mean to. They never act like that. Are you hurt, and can I help?" Rena spoke rapidly, pushing through her dogs that were still growling, their fur completely rigid. She helped him up, and inspected the bites, "Oh, I'm so sorry." He pushed her roughly off, and shouted, "Death to you!"
Rena was taken aback, and Yugiou got to his feet.
Then, the boy started to change. He grew hunched up and rose seven extra feet into the air, at a total height of about twelve feet. Dark green fur sprouted along his back, and his back splooshed right into a wiry, green tail. His skin cracked and wrinkled, going from a peachy flesh to a black, reptilian skin. His mouth was still human, and it grinned, but then it cracked and stretched out in front of him, and razor sharp teeth grew from them, lots of razor sharp teeth. It's eyes flashed from black to a cat-eye yellow. His body rippled, thick muscle spreading and tensing under his skin. His limbs grew out, and six-inch claws took the place of a child's hands. "Now you see my true form, sweet Goddess. I must say it took a great time to find you. You were hidden away so well, I thought I'd never find you. But no one can hide from me," it growled.
Yugiou stood in front of Rena, shielding her, "What are you? Why do you seek for the Goddess?"
"I am Shitto, a demon beast. And we long not for the goddess, but for her arrival to the gates of Hell."
"There is no goddess here," Rena said shakily.
"Sweet, little innocent Goddess. You mean you still don't know who you are," Shitto mocked them, but his gaze was focused on
Rena. "It is time for you to awaken."
"No! I won't let you hurt this woman," Yugiou said. "Crawl back to the pit of hate from which you came, or suffer your fate."
"You do not scare Shitto, tiny King," Shitto laughed. "I'm granted the powers of darkness, and none of the games you play will affect me in any way." Shitto charged for Yugiou, and knocked him away. Yami got up, four red streaks across his chest, and ran for Shitto. The monster kicked him squarely in the stomach, and he fell back, gasping for air.
"No, Yami!" Rena screamed. The beast came at her, and she scooted back. He kept walking forward, and she was stuck against the rock. "What do you want?" she whispered.
"I am here to kill you," it growled, its hot and blood-scented breath washing over her face. Its arm swung up and Rena fell down hard. A foot pressed into her back. She screamed in pain. She had been wearing her splint today and it was withholding the pressure for now but that would change really fast. What would the old Rena do? The old Rena was strong enough to get this guy off her back, but she couldn't. Shitto gagged, and the pressure was released from her back. Yami was holding on to the back of Shitto's neck, trying to cut off his air supply. Shitto shook his head back and forth to alight his rider. Yami was thrown back and forth, and at first glance, resembled a rodeo bull-rider. Yugiou looked at Rena and shouted, "Run, you have to get away. Protect the goddess inside you at all costs!"
"No," Rena said. She got to her feet. "I am the Goddess, and thus, I must protect you, mighty King."
"No, you can't. The goddess isn't one with your heart. You are not strong enough!" Yugiou yelled.
He was right. She couldn't feel any form of Trinity in her being at all. But it made no matter. "Thanks for your support, but Yami, no. I refuse to leave!" Shitto clawed Yugiou's hands, and flesh was ripped from his hands as he flew off. "Your foolishness will cost your life, Pharaoh!" Shitto roared.
"No! Yugiou!" Rena cried. She flung herself onto Shitto's back, and pounded her fists upon it.
"How weak you are!" Shitto laughed, and licked his razor teeth.
"No! Rena screamed. She felt emotionlessness surfacing within her, the old Rena forced her way into her consciousness, and she struggled for control. //No! I don't want you back in me, you heartless creature!// The old Rena spoke to her reprimanding, //Listen, you twit. It's up to you to awaken the Goddess. Use your magic!//
"I don't have any magic!" Rena screamed as she battered her fists on Shitto's dark hide. He roared in pain.
"How dare you!" He screamed. He pulled an oaken arm into her chest, and she fell back. Something fell onto the ground. She looked at it, and gasped. This was her magic! It was the tablet that the Professor had given her.
"Shitto, now you meet with your undertaker! Turn and face me!" she yelled. Shitto picked the Pharaoh up and threw him against a rock. A trickle of blood dripped from his head, and flowed over his brow. He lay there, unmoving.
"You will pay for what you have done!" she cried, tears welling in her eyes. She held the tablet in front of her and shouted, "Nach anket rew geter hesf, beshest rechterty!"
"No, not the Horus' damnation!" Shitto reeled back, landing on his animal knees. Light crawled around Rena's feet, and cascaded around her, shielding her from sight, but still she spoke, "Hesf Ma'at geth benun onisu preshyu!" The light streamed away from her, revealing a pure being with long silver-gold hair, shining with an incredible golden glow. Wings sprouted from her shoulder blades, pearly blue and silver. Her robes were thin and golden. She finished the incantation, "Hesf Amun Re werty!" Shitto screamed as the light surrounded him, it was hot, like a flame, and he felt his entire body burning. His skin parted from his bone, and the rest of his body incinerated away. The stench was horrible, and when the ashes finally faded away, all that was left were a few smoldering hairs.
Rena fell to her feet, and crawled to where Yami had fallen. "Yugiou, no. Please, stay with me, you have to be alive!"
His eyes opened briefly, "Goddess Akhten, how come you didn't tell me where you were? Oh well, it doesn't matter, you're here with me again." His eyes fluttered shut.
Rena cried, "No Yugiou! Please!" Her hand trembled as she touched his chest, tracing the path of blood with her finger. Her thoughts turned to Nazo. She had given her the amulet! But what had it been for? She couldn't remember, but she took it from her neck, and strung it around Yami. She put her hands together like she was praying and murmured, "Nakten rety inuset. Nakten rety inuset. Nakten rety inuset." The amulet cast a glow, and a metallic liquid flowed from it, seeking and covering all of Yami's wounds.
Rena gasped and her eyes grew wide, as his skin pieced back together and blood and life returned to his body. Not long after, the liquid returned to the amulet, and the amulet turned a dark crimson-black. Yugiou sat up, and gazed at the amulet around his neck.
"This is the Amulet of Imhotep," he said in awe, as he unclasped it and handed it back to Rena.
"You're kidding? I didn't think the amulet existed," she said.
"You're too disbelieving. Just because you've never seen it, doesn't mean it's non-existent. The amulet dates back to the time King Djoser," Yami said.
"When Imhotep was still alive," Rena breathed.
"Yes. This was his gift from the gods, and in a way, took him to the final step to immortality. As long as he wore it, he could shed no blood, and be kept alive within an inch of his life," Yugiou said.
"That's why it saved you," Rena said.
"No, I was indeed on my way to the next life, before you called on its power," Yugiou said, "And it wasn't designed for that kind of magic. It will take a week to recharge itself, and then it will regain its enchantment."
"Incredible," Rena sighed.
"Yes, but now we should be returning home. It's getting late, and the others will be worried for us," Yugiou said. Rena laughed, eyeing the blood that still stained Yugiou's clothes, "I think they'll be worrying for us no matter what time we get home."
"We shall simply tell them the truth."
"Given the past five days, the truth seems like such a pretense."
Yugiou laughed, "Yes, but we'll have to tell them that the Dark Mistress is here, and that she's begun her strategy."
"I'm impressed, you picked up on their strategy? I was a little busy with the giant demon that was bent on killing us," Rena said.
"Yes, I believe the Daughter of Seth is trying to kill you before the Goddess inside you is awakened, so that she can." he gazed off.
"What rule the world.the cosmos?" Rena asked.
"Yes, but shouldn't there be something else they want?" Yugiou asked.
"I don't think so, because I mean, once you have the cosmos, don't you have everything?"
"Yes, you are right."
"Wait, where's Amun and Seshat?" Rena asked.
"Hmm.they should be hiding behind that tree," Yugiou said. And he was right, two tails were sticking up from behind a tree, and there were Seshat and Amun, quivering like cowards.
"My heroes," Rena laughed, "Willing to attack a little boy, but they're off and running when he morphs into a giant demon." They walked in silence, alone and undisturbed, except for a few late-night travelers, up the street. Yami looked at Rena, and decided something.
"Rena, you act too weak for your own good," he said.
"What?" she turned around. "Weak? Listen up, I saved your butt."
"You could have done it much sooner. Your powers should have developed by now."
"Powers? Weak? What do you mean weak? I'm not weak. If it wasn't for me back there, you'd be a smear on a boulder!"
"Fine, fine. Let's just get home," he paused, "Mary Sue."
"Jerk!" Rena cried, punching him roughly on the shoulder.
Finally, they approached the Turtle Game Shop, and Yuugi, Jounochi, Honda, Anzu, Sugoroku, and Mokuba came running out to greet them.
"Yugiou! Where have you been! Are you all right?" Yuugi asked, a worried look on his face. Yami tousled the younger boys hair, just like an older brother, and said, "I came into an encounter with a demon beast, but as you can see, I am fine."
"Whoa, what do you mean demon beast?" Jounochi asked.
"You've got to be kidding," Honda said, preparing to laugh.
"I wish I could say that," he said, stepping into the light of the window. Everyone except Rena gasped.
"That's blood, real, actual blood," Anzu said.
"Wow Anzu, you sure are perceptive," Jou said. Anzu blushed, and hit Jounochi because of it.
"How could someone do such a thing," Honda said.
"It's not a someone, but a something," Rena sighed, looking to the stars, "Let's go inside, this is going to be a very long story.
"I always loved a good story," Sugoroku laughed as he exchanged a glance to Rena.
'Does he know?' Rena thought. She looked at Yugiou, who was puzzling over the same thing.
--------
"You mean, we're all in danger, and Rena's a goddess?" Jounochi cried, looking from Yugiou to Rena and back to Yugiou, then to Rena.
"How can that be?" Honda asked, fanning Anzu, who had just gone faint, not long after Yugiou had told the group about the Daughter of Seth's forthcoming and the Reckoning of worlds.
"Rena," Mokuba asked, tugging at her sleeve, "Are you in danger?" She looked at him, and nearly cried for the worry she saw in his eyes. This little boy, no, her little boy, he was so close to her now he might as well be hers, was worried for her. She couldn't bear to lie, so she said, "Yes, Mokuba, I am in great danger. But don't worry, because somewhere inside me, there's a beautiful person who's watching over me, and when the time is right, she's going to come out and protect me." He nodded his approval, and she smiled back at him.
Sugoroku finally spoke, "It looks like you're going to have to get going double time on finding that Rapier. This Mistress will do whatever it takes to find it."
"She couldn't find it if she tried. There is only one key to Mana Ka'reph, the final resting place, and I have it," she said.
"Don't you think that the Mistress knows it?" Sugoroku said. "And won't she do anything to get it from you?" He looked at Mokuba, who was starting to fall asleep on the couch.
"It's not going to happen. She's not getting Mokuba, I'll swear my life on it," she said.
"But she'll try."
"Over my dead body."
"It may well be."
Rena sat up rigid, before slumping down onto the couch. She felt a wave of nausea come over her before finally falling completely asleep.
She awoke to the face of the proud elder Kaiba staring down at her.
"I see Sleeping Beauty's finally awake."
"Ha, ha! That was ever so funny," she muttered sarcastically, before turning around and going back to sleep.
"Hey, no sleeping. Do you realize it's four o'clock?"
"In the morning?"
"No, the afternoon."
"What!" Rena shouted, bolting upright. "I've already slept the day away!"
"Yeah, but don't worry. I won't throw any parties without you."
"That's not funny," she said, pushing him away.
"I'm just trying to lighten the mood," he said, helping her to her feet. "Listen, Rena, we got off on a pretty bad start. I really do think you're a good person."
"So are you," she smiled, "when you want to be."
"So what's with the new look?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. He ran his hand through her hair, picking out a strand and showing it to her. She looked at it, and gasped. It was a shining gold color.
"Well, you see, it's because of the fact that, well, you see it's hard to explain," she stammered.
"Is it because you're the Goddess Akhten-He-Shesat?" he asked. Rena sat down hard, "How did you know?"
"You slept through a lot. Yugiou gave me the story in full detail."
"Oh," was all she could manage to say. She felt sick again as the other days events came flooding back to her. "Seto, I." she reached for his hand, before falling on the couch and letting sleep overtake her.
~Saisei No Megami
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I know I switched back and forth between Yami and Yugiou, but Yami is much easier type, and it kind of sounds better. Also, I get reviews telling me that I need to let Rena start to warm up to Seto, but please understand this. It's been murder for me not to make Rena run straight into Seto's arms, and have everything be perfect and happily ever after again. But unfortunately, that would give this story incredibly little plot. Also, I appreciate all the comments I've gotten from you (the reader), but I have one request I'd like to make. Keep your reviews clean. In one, I had a suggestion that they should "have sex" and personally, I take that as an insult to my writing. I want their (Rena and Seto) love to be pure, and I think I can convey that without putting them in highly sexual relations. I'm not saying it's a peck and hold hands, but it's not going to be erotic and steamy either. I'll find a nice medium, and hopefully, you guys'll be good with that. Besides, I don't want to have to up my ratings to NC-17; it's bad enough you have to search for anything rated "R"!
Now, please, I don't want the person who sent me that review to take this as an insult, I did love some of their other comments, and one they completely read my mind on! So, keep up all reviews, but let's leave intercourse out of them, shall we? Thanks so much! Chapter Eight will probably be up within the week!
Now we approach the daily poll!
This is more for my information, than it is anything else: Should there be a sequel to Konton No Millennia? (I'll probably ask this later, too.)