Hey, gonna try to keep it up as long as I can. Thanks for the five whole reviews I've got so far! *Sighs painfully.* Oh well, at least some people are reading it… Oh, and by the way, it's by now late November for our favorite gang.
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Konton no Millennia
By, Rena Campbelle
Chapter Eighteen: Lord Servant's Trap
"There now, see? It wasn't so bad," Andre laughed as they began to walk to the medical tent. Finally they had gotten both their permits and picture ID and were now heading to the med tent to check their immunization against harmful bacteria that still possibly lingered in the air down in the tomb. With only one slight setback, Mokuba would not be allowed down in the tomb.
"But brother, please," he had begged. "You have got to let me go down there."
"It isn't my place to say whether or not you can go down there," he said, apparently irked at the fact that his younger brother would be stuck up here while he was down with the other inside the crypt.
But just then, wonder of wonders, a pleasant young woman had walked up behind them, hearing Mokuba's obvious discontent, approaching them with a radiant smile that put them at ease immediately.
"I'm Addy," she said warmly, so warmly it took even Seto slightly off guard. "I'm sorry for being so rude, but…oh bugger…I'd just better say it. I found myself listening to your conversation and it seems there's some tension about the fact that your young friend can't visit the tomb."
"He's my brother," Seto had amended cautiously.
"Well, I was wondering if maybe he would like to join myself and a few other members of the staff to help us catalog and research some of the items we brought back up from the different rooms in the tomb," she had said, crouching down to eye level with Mokuba. "It may seem a little tedious at first, but it's actually quite fun and…" she checked her watch. "Bugger…well, if you want to come, make up your mind, I have to meet the others in the lab so we can get a good start."
"Can I brother?" Mokuba asked.
"Why not," Seto shrugged. "Just…just stay out of trouble." Mai had enjoyably informed him moments after Mokuba had tagged off behind Addy that she had never seen him quite so shell-shocked.
"I've never been so humiliated," Seto grumbled as he remembered both the encounter with Addy and in the ID tent. He held up his ID card, wherein he was glaring at the camera, his face frozen in a scowl.
"The picture person just asked you to smile," Mai said, taking the picture from him. Shuddering, she handed it back. "How can you stand looking at that?"
"After seeing myself in a mirror a few million times, I get used to it," he replied hotly.
"No, not that. I mean, just watching yourself glare at you like that. Doesn't it bug you?" she asked.
"No."
"It figures," she sighed, and jogged up to Jounochi.
Yuugi walked along silently. It was pretty foolish, he had to admit, but he had begun to worry over Anzu. She had just gone to the bathroom, but she hadn't come back yet. It didn't take this long, and no one would really want to linger in the outhouse, would they? Of course not.
Something wrong, aibou? Yami asked.
It's Anzu, she isn't back yet, Yuugi replied.
I see. Don't worry, Yami responded. She'll catch up.
I hope so. I don't want to go down there without her, he sighed, both inwardly and out.
Yami could feel his light's frustration. Yuugi… he murmured.
I still love her! he responded all of a sudden.
I…I know you do, Yami said assuredly, trying desperately to hide his toward Yuugi's outburst.
B-but she doesn't love me, he said thickly.
Of course she does, you're her best friend, Yami said.
No, you don't understand. It's more than that. But she doesn't feel the same towards me. She loves…she loves you, Yami.
It was Yami's turn to stutter. W-what do you m-mean ai-aibou? He had known how smitten she had been with him for a long time now, but he didn't have the heart to tell Yuugi. He just…he just couldn't. Because he was still in love, not with Anzu, but with someone who had her face…who she was…he didn't know; he couldn't remember. But he hid those thoughts from Yuugi. He never wanted to let his light know that they shared the same love interest. Yuugi would never trust him again! No, he couldn't know. He had to change the subject fast. Come on. Even if she still likes me, I don't feel anything besides friendship for her. Besides, who really would fall for a dead guy? Yuugi said nothing, but continued on in silence.
"Hey look!" Mai cried all of a sudden. "It's Anzu!"
Anzu was walking out of the medical building an ID card flipping along around her neck. She smiled and waved at them. "Hey guys!" she called. "Wait up!"
The whole caravan stopped, save Seto and Andre who continued making their way towards the tomb.
"Couldn't even wait up for us," Jounochi sighed. Mai elbowed him slightly and laughed. "Oh, come on, can you blame them? They're both protective of Rena, and good God, I don't think Seto can really go through two hours without her without suffering withdrawal."
"Yeah, I'm sure that's what is Mai," Honda laughed, standing back to wait for them. "But then, I just thought that they didn't even really notice we stayed behind."
"Well then, their minds have to be preoccupied on something else," she snickered.
Yuugi turned around and looked at her as she giggled behind her hands. "It's not Rena they're focused on," he said gravely. "It's everything at hand right now that has consumed their thoughts."
Mai looked at him curiously for a moment, then bent down to his eye level, and knocked on his head like a door. "Was that you Yuugi?" she asked earnestly. "Or was Yami moving your lips."
"Of course he wasn't!" Yuugi cried indignantly.
"Oh, sorry," she smiled. Looking at Anzu, who was still walking at them, she yelled, "Hurry your arse up, Anzu! We haven't got all day y'know."
"Sorry," she said, jogging up to them. Yuugi noticed her hair was a little mussed, and a couple translucent cobwebs clung to her sleeve.
Brushing them off, he said lightly, "How did it go?"
"How did what go?" she asked apprehensively.
"The exam," Yuugi said, smiling. "You told me you had asthma. Will they still let you down in the tomb?"
"What?" Anzu said. "Oh! Right, know I now what you mean. Yes, yes, everything's fine for me going down into the tomb."
"Great!" said Yuugi. "Then let's get going before Seto and Andre leave without us."
When they arrived there, as they had guessed, both Seto and Andre were at the entrance. Andre waved at them, beckoning them over. It looked as though he had mentioned something to Seto, but Seto hadn't either acknowledged him or simply ignored what he had said. He only stood there in the middle of the entrance, glaring at the darkness.
Once they had caught up, Andre picked up several flashlights and handed one each to Mai, Yuugi, and Honda. "I've only got so many," he explained, picking up one for himself. "So a few of you will have to do without. Now, let's go."
As soon as he spoke, Seto walked into the entry.
"Whoa! Hold it," Andre said, stopping him in his tracks. You don't even know where you're going!"
"Yes, I do," he murmured. "I can sense Rena's power, just like she can do mine. She's down this hallway and on the left." He started walking again.
"This time, it was Yuugi who stopped him; only, it wasn't Yuugi, it was Yami. "What do you mean?" he asked, striding alongside Seto. "You're able to tap into your ba spirit? I didn't think anyone could harness that energy save myself and Rena."
"I was taught how in Mana Ka'reph. It's still very rusty, but I have Rena's signature marked. I know yours too," he added quietly.
"Amazing, Kaiba. Who taught you this?" he asked, more pleased than surprised.
"The Rogue Doll guardian of Mana Ka'reph showed me my spirit and my power. And ever since then I have tried to hone it into perfection. I want my power to be as perfect as it can be. My power," he whispered through clenched teeth.
"I understand," said Yami. "But make sure your longing for power is a righteous one, and not that which will lead you astray from what matters most." The crimson-violet eyes bored into him, searching intently as they always did, but he only looked coolly ahead.
"I don't need one of your talks," he said simply. "I know what I want. I want what power I am given to be perfect. I'm not going to stand idly by while someone else fights for me. You know that."
Yami nodded. "I understand." He decided to leave it at that.
"All right then," Andre said with a tone of forced enthusiasm. "This is it."
"Hello," Nazo said. She smiled at Andre, "I see the Cowardly Lion decided to come after all."
Andre smiled sheepishly, "I told you I would. Besides, these guys would've gotten lost if I hadn't."
"No we would not have," Seto murmured. "You just use that as an excuse to exploit your own courageous concern, of which there's little."
Andre tried to ignore him, but a certain laugh kept him from successfully moving past the remark. "Well Andre, he's certainly got you numbered."
Andre looked over in a corner where a single figure sat laughing in the corner. "Rena?" he asked. It certainly looked like her. They shared the same eyes, but she hadn't been wearing a long leather coat or pants when she had went in the tomb, nor was her hair that black. Not to mention, Rena, like most people, didn't have wings.
"Hello, Megami," said Seto, a pained expression on his face. "Did you take over with or without Rena's permission this time?"
"I very much so had her acquiescence and consent," Megami replied.
"Don't glare at me," he said with a snort. "Heh, you taking over with her approval is rare and you know it." Megami looked away decisively.
"She's yelling at you now."
"No, she's not. She's agreeing with me," Seto smirked.
Megami gaped at him. "How did you know?"
"How could I not?" he responded. "Her mind is like a three page book, not to mention the fact I shared the same house with her for almost three months."
Megami sighed and rubbed her temple. "Now she's yelling at you."
Seto shoved his hands in his pockets and grinned. "I know."
Anzu watched them a look of alarm and curiosity etched on her face. "How will I lure them away?" she thought.
"Hey Anzu," Jounochi cried. "Check this out!" He was standing in front of the alter where there were hundreds of gifts piled up before a single statue. "Look at all this!"
Anzu walked over behind him and smiled over his shoulder. "It's very lovely," she said.
"Yeah, look at these," he reached for one of the golden statuettes.
"Please don't touch anything," the Professor said. He had noticed some restless hands and had decided to make the announcement. "Now then, I believe everyone's here, we may proceed to the burial rooms."
Suddenly Megami jumped up and Rena's voice came out of their mouth, "Wait!! I haven't inspected the room yet! Maybe there are clues! Ack! No!"
"Trust me, you'll have the whole day to explore and look," the Professor laughed. "Come on now. I want to get you acquainted with the place. Follow me everyone." He led them down a passage on the left. "Now make sure you turn here," he said. "The other way leads down a false path and you end up in a pit. One of our good researchers almost fell down it, poor chap. Now, here we are. All you have to remember is always turn left. Anything on the right will lead you into a wall or a pit or anything unpleasant. Ah now, here we are, just need to find the light switch. Here it is." Suddenly, the whole room was bathed in the familiar dim yellow light.
In the middle of the room stood two great tombs, one maybe eight feet high, the other four.
"Supposedly the team at work here is still trying to find a way to remove the body from the bottom of the sarcophagus, but unfortunately there seems to be no way of attaining it," the Professor sighed. "We can't get in without damaging the hieroglyphs and since there are no other written records in here, the markings on these tombs are invaluable, and most of the inscriptions are in vizierglyphs."
"Wait, you mean there're two tombs in one?" Honda asked incredulously.
"Of course there are two," Megami stated, brushing past him to the coffin. "Look here, this is the divisor," she pointed to an imaginary line beneath the foot of a winged woman on the corner of the stone sepulcher. "You can tell that there's two tombs, because the top one has all the necessary accompaniments for the life beyond. Spells, incantations, triumphs, glorifying oaths to the gods." She noted each one in turn, and then dropped to the lower half. "But here, spells that inhibited the spirit from returning to its body after it left are inscribed on just about every turn. Not to mention there were two different names carved in each cartouche. And the pharaoh has two cartouches for every time his name is written. Duh," she finished brusquely. "It's just totally obvious."
"Just totally obvious, huh?" Seto asked, a smirk playing at his face.
She rolled her eyes, "Do I have to repeat myself?"
"Not at all," he said, turning away to examine the far wall. But it occurred to Megami that Seto's actions were rather strange. After all, the wall had been chiseled clean. There was nothing on them. So, doing the most sensible she could think of, she strode over to confront him, ignoring the audible sigh Rena issued in their mind.
"What's wrong with you?" she asked, tapping his shoulder.
"Nothing. It just amuses me how alike you two are sometimes," he smiled at her with what she would've sworn was a goofy grin did she not know better.
"I'd like to inform you we are nothing alike, mortal," she replied with an air of haughtiness that she hoped sounded more genuine than it felt.
Seto just gave her a hopeless look and walked away. "So when do we get meet all of our dead friends?" he asked the Professor.
"No idea," Professor Geb replied. "For right now, three of the bodies are up in the lab being tested. The two in here, and one of the other females. I figure we'll drop by there once we've finished here."
Yami watched the scene before him vacantly, barely acknowledging where everyone was. Faintly he could make out Anzu in the far corner, Jounochi, Honda, and Mai all standing by the smaller sarcophagus. Seto and Megami were at the wall farthest to him. Looking away, he ran his hands over the smooth stone of the tallest tomb, his fingers tracing the tiny marks and hieroglyphics. His hand stopped briefly over the cartouche where the Pharaoh's name had been carved. Briefly he thought he could feel the remaining marks of the engraving that had been chiseled out. Whoever had ransacked this tomb had only one main concern: to destroy the memory of the Pharaoh's reign. But which Pharaoh was it whose reign was erased from the memory of Egypt? His heart told him he already knew.
'This is my resting place,' Yami thought with a pang of stricken sadness.
Yuugi sensed his yami's unease. Are you all right?
Don't worry about it, he said, trying and failing to sound reassuring.
I know when something's wrong, Yuugi replied gently. Our souls are bonded, and I know what you're thinking. Always, he added.
Yami smiled. I know you do. But these thoughts are mine and mine alone. You should not be forced to bear them.
But I do, he whispered. As long as we are connected, your pain is mine. I don't do this because I have to, you know. It'd be easiest to shut you out, and keep you away. I could do it. But I don't. I shoulder your load along with mine because you're my friend. And I know that you will do the same for me.
Aibou, in due time you'll understand. But for now…for now all you can do is…all I ask is…that you will be there, he said.
I will be.
Yami's gentle smile broadened as he looked at the case that once housed his lifeless body.
Megami watched the pharaoh as he stood before the tomb that was once his. Resolutely, she walked over to him, laying a hand softly on his shoulder. "Come on," she said. "We need to be going if we're going to find what we're looking for."
"What exactly are we looking for?" Anzu asked.
"A roaming spirit in this tomb. I cannot find where they are. My powers are not as sure after having been suppressed for thousands of years. But they are here, and I can sense them," she said quietly.
Yami's head snapped up. "You're right. There's another spirit in here." The others looked around accusingly, trying to spot an invisible presence in the room.
"Well, come on then," the Professor said. "We'd best be moving on before anything happens."
"Yes," Megami said. It was apparent in her detached tone of voice she hadn't been paying attention. She was busying herself scanning the complex of the temple, searching for the flicker of life she had felt earlier.
It's nearby. Damn my senses. They almost feel like they've gone numb, she yelled mentally.
Keep it down, Rena said. It's not hard to hear anything in here.
Akhten, please. I'm trying to locate what it was I felt.
Rena sighed audibly. Jeez, it's Noriyuki, that crazy sorceress slash bitch that kidnapped Ryou!
Megami gave a soft murmur of surprise. Of course! B-but Akhten… she regarded her light with both surprise and slight awe.
I recognized it as soon as I felt it, Rena responded tersely. I put a marker on it as soon as she took Ryou. But I can't feel where she is.
Some kind of spell, Megami said. It hides her ba mark so we can't find her.
Great, so she can spring a trap on us whenever she damn well feels like it.
Precisely, Megami said. "We must be careful."
The group looked around at each other in silent agreement.
The Professor blotted his sweaty forehead with a handkerchief. "Well, follow me." He walked through another entryway, flicking light-switches as he proceeded downwards.
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"There now, my Lord," Ayaroi whispered.
"Then I am ready?" he asked.
"Of course," she murmured seductively. Smiling at him through her silver eyes, she ran a hand down his chest, purring in amusement.
He grabbed her hand in mid-stroke, squeezing it until she winced in pain. She grinned up at him insidiously, wetting her lips with her tongue. "Never lay your hands on me," he hissed. He tightened his grip. She let out a sharp cry as bones snapped and lay on top of bones, then looked from him to her hand and back at him, her smile widening.
"Pain," she whispered, shuddering with pleasure at the thought of it. "My hand…"
"Is broken," he sighed. "Go heal yourself with your ridiculous incantations."
"And you, my Lord?" Ayaroi asked, cradling her wounded hand.
"I'm going to claim what is rightfully mine," he said in a monotone.
"What will you do with her, my Lord?" Ayaroi asked in an anticipated undertone.
"I will tear open her deepest emotional scars," he said in a pleased voice. "And make them bleed anew." Receding into the shadows, he let forth a gale of maniacal laughter.
Ayaroi watched him fade, and then looked to the corridor of the throne room where the Daughter of Set lay in wait. "My Mistress will not be kept waiting for long," she said contentedly.
+~+~+~+~
"Are we there yet?" Honda sighed. "It feels like we've been walking forever."
"It's only been about five minutes," Nazo said, checking her watch.
"Yeah, but it does seem longer when you don't really know where you're going," Andre said. He laughed nervously. "It is a little eerie down here."
"What's the matter?" Seto asked. "Afraid the evil spirits are going to come and drag you away?"
"Listen, kid," Andre said. "I'm not taking crap from someone five years younger than me."
"Does it count if we're five years smarter?" Seto replied, cocking a curious eyebrow.
"You smug little son of a…"
"That's enough you two. You're both acting like children," Megami interjected. She sighed and came to stand in-between them giving both a prominent glare. "When you're done bickering, you'll kindly notice we're in the first room."
"What?" Seto looked up at where they were standing. Again, in the room before, the walls were bare, chiseled free of any signs of a usual Egyptian tomb, and again, two solitary graves lay in the center, and now the whole group had split up and was migrating to different parts of the room. A chill ran down Seto's spine as he walked closer to one of the stone slabs. Running his hands over its smooth surface, a depiction of a single man standing there caught his eye. Around the man's arm was a snake, it's head reared back as though it was ready to strike. As Seto purveyed the surface of the coffin an increasing anxiety ran through him, ominous as it filled his body, numbed his senses. Then, several blinding flashes of light forced his eyes closed as he gripped the coffin for support, and still behind closed eyes the lights wouldn't disappear. Soon though, they stopped as soon as they had come and all that was left were spots in his vision, blinking insidiously. He looked around at the others, though none seemed to notice the light that had flashed through the room, unless, unless he had been the only one to see it.
Megami watched silently as Seto seized the coffin suddenly. She observed him with quiet interest as he blinked rapidly, clearing his vision. He looked down at the tomb again and then, his eyes met hers. She stared back at him unflinchingly, his eyes ceaselessly seeing as much as she saw in him. He knew who and what she was, his eyes observed just as quietly as she, he perceived as much as she could. She noted with a kind of satisfaction the blue color of his eyes, like the Nile as she knew it, blue as Aten's disk rained rays of light upon its calm waters. I love looking into his eyes, she murmured. Because when I look into them, I see qualities that I, too, possess. I see his fear and his sorrow…his loneliness and his compassion. She let out a soft sigh.
Compassion huh, has he been making puppy dog eyes at you? Rena snickered maliciously.
No, she said. Whenever I see compassion, he's looking into your eyes.
What are you talking about? Rena protested. You're crazy!
I'm not and you know it, Megami said smugly. So stop acting.
Megami beamed at him, though the smile she gave felt ill timed and given in the wrong place. Seto just scowled, and looked back at the crypt beneath his hands. Walking over to him, she said, "This is the burial place of great priest, and over there," she pointed to the tomb opposite, "Is the resting place of a woman who vowed her love to him."
"I suppose my dead body lies here," he said flatly.
"It may," she mused. "It may not."
"Is there a such thing as a straight answer from you?" Seto asked her.
"Of course, that is, if your smart enough to understand my mystical blather," she grinned. He looked at her out the corner of his eye, and let a faint grin grace his lips.
"Anyway," Megami said. "I have other business to attend to. Where is the pharaoh?" She looked around the room, but he wasn't there.
"Where is Yugiou?" she asked, loud enough for everyone to hear her. For a while frantic glances traipsed the room, until Jounochi finally said, "He's not here!"
"Thanks genius," Mai snorted. "Neither is Anzu."
"Man, this is so not the time or place for a makeout session," Honda grimaced.
"Shut up," Mai said, slapping him over the top of his head. "Don't be so stupid!"
"They must be lost," said Nazo. "We should most definitely try to find them."
"You lot stay here," said Andre. "Professor Geb, Nazo, and I will go look for them. We'll be back in a flash."
Suddenly, a voice issued from Megami's lips. It was Rena again. "Wait you guys!" she cried. "Don't go!"
"We'll be perfectly okay," said Nazo reassuringly, picking up a flashlight and heading out the door with Andre and the Professor.
"NO!!" Rena shouted, but it was too little, too late. They had already gone, and just faintly could she perceive three figures turning right. "What're they doing? They went right!" she exclaimed.
"They probably figured that Yami and Anzu took a wrong turn somewhere in the tunnels and are checking all those false ones to make sure they're not there," Mai said matter-of-factly.
"But even so," the voice that came from Megami and Rena's lips was slurred between one and the other's. "Even so," this time it was distinctly Megami, "The spirit sorceress, Noriyuki, she's here. And she's lurking somewhere down here."
"What do you mean?" Jounochi asked. He reached for Mai's hand, squeezing it protectively.
"I mean that witch is down here, obviously ready to set a trap for us," Megami said, exasperated.
"We should go look for them, then," Honda said.
"No," Megami said quickly. "No one's leaving this room. As for the other three, it is probably too late. We'll stay here for right now. If push comes to shove, we'll all go out and search these catacombs together. But I do not want to risk anyone else."
+~+~+~+~
"Yami," a voice whispered. He turned around suddenly as he heard his name called. Nothing else came from the darkness but silence. 'Great,' he thought to himself. 'It's bad enough I took a wrong turn and got lost, now I'm hearing voices.' He had been so busy thinking about his grave that he had lost sight of the others and unwittingly turned down a right path. Now he was lost, groping around in the dark with the flashlight he held's feeble light poking through the dark.
"Yami," the voice came again.
This time, he flashed the light around. "Who's there?" he called.
"Ouch!" the voice said. "Put that light away, it's too bright!"
He flashed the light onto Anzu was walking at him, picking cobwebs out of her hair and brushing dust off her clothes. "Anzu," he said, breathing a sigh of relief. "What are you doing down here?"
"Well," she said meekly. "I got lost too. One of those tombs in there, the smaller one, well," she gave a sniffle. "It was so frightening."
"What?" he asked as she began to sob. "Anzu, what's the matter?"
"I'm fine," she said, regaining her composure for a brief second, then broke down in tears.
"What's the matter?" he asked again, trying to sound as soothing as he could, despite the growing feeling in the pit of his stomach. Something was wrong, but he couldn't yet figure out what.
"Oh Yami," she cried, wiping tears off her dirty sleeve, streaking her face with grime. "Something about that grave. I know the soul buried there, I simply know it! I could feel it, just like I could feel the body that lay there. It felt like me," she sobbed.
"…There…there," he said at last, not sure what else there was he could say. He laid a hand on her shoulder and with an emphatic cry; she threw her arms around his neck. "Anzu?" he asked.
Grinning as she slipped more tears down her cheek, Anzu fought down the urge to laugh. 'Pathetic.'
Yami felt his unease growing as Anzu tightened her grip around him. She had felt her own essence? How was that possible when the only people who he knew for a fact could entertain such powers were himself, Seto, Rena, and Megami? And the body wasn't even in the tomb, the Professor had mentioned that. Wait, Anzu…
Yuugi woke up in alarm, just as Anzu turned to look at him, a sad smile on her face. "I feel so safe when you're here," she murmured and bent her head in towards him, meeting her lips on his.
That's not Anzu! cried Yuugi. Snap out of it, you idiot!
But Yami didn't, couldn't. Not when it was just like feeling her lips again. He knew this wasn't Anzu, and a sweet voice in the back of his mind told him he didn't care. He didn't care, not when he could be with her again.
Yami! Yuugi screamed.
Yami's eyes flew open with a start, and immediately they locked with Anzu's blue ones. Laying a hand on the side of his face, she broke the kiss and whispered, "Kenjet dusorium."
"I know that spell," he said, just as a golden light flashed from her hand and devastated both his soul link with Yuugi and his state of consciousness. He fell back, completely comatose, as Noriyuki screeched, "That's right, pharaoh! You fool!"
+~+~+~+~
Anzu sighed as she laid her head on top of her knees. The blackness still surrounded her, making her unease increase with every moment. The scuffling in the darkness was gone, the perpetrator left without a trace before she could even guess as to who it had been. All she could remember was a brief flicker of pale light, the only light she had seen thus far. Framed for a moment in its eerie glow she had seen the silhouette of a single woman's shadow. She wondered if it had been her double, or maybe if it was someone who had come to rescue her. But it left as soon as it had come, and she was immediately immersed in a new terror that someone had trapped her here, and her life was now at the mercy of a follower of the Daughter of Set. Or worse, she had taken a glimpse at hell and seen the Daughter of Set herself. Her stomach tightened in a knot and again she broke out in a cold sweat at the terrible memory.
A noise rang out, and her head snapped up.
"Look what I brought for you," a voice said, as something heavy fell to the floor with a thud. "A guest to keep you company until the whole party has arrived." The voice was horrible and twisted, a kind of sick combination between her own and the voice of another, darker and more evil than she.
"Who are you?" she asked shakily.
"It doesn't matter," the voice, a female for sure replied flip. "All that matters is your new guest. A very royal one at that." From the roof of the tomb the voice let out a shrill cackle, and a crystal illuminated, growing brighter until the room was filled with fantastic light. Anzu screamed as she saw Yami on the floor, his face pallid and slack.
"You hurt him!" she cried, feeling her constitution weaken.
"Tell me, dear Anzu," she grinned. "Are you going to faint again?"
"Of course not," Anzu growled, fighting down every urge to pass out before the sorceress.
"Damn," she sighed. "I could have used the laugh." She gestured to the small chamber that had since been illuminated by the crystal on her staff. Anzu had been wrong about traps laid in the room. It was only a small chamber, hidden and sealed without any entrances or exits, it seemed.
Noriyuki snapped her head around to the far right corner. "It seems three more guests are on their way to our party," she whispered excitedly, extinguishing her crystal light, and disappearing once more into the shadows.
+~+~+~+~
Megami looked up at the ceiling, feeling rather bored. It had to have been at least twenty minutes since the Professor, Andre, and Nazo had left, and as of yet, there had been no sign of them.
Not that I didn't expect there to be, she said.
Do you really think Noriyuki's found them? Rena asked. She sounded worried.
Megami knew they had been taken, and there was no point in lying, trying to evade the truth. Yes, I believe they have already been captured. Their energy pulses are faint.
Do you think Noriyuki will spare them? Rena asked with genuine concern.
She might, though none of us really know her motives yet. She probably has the pharaoh, which is one of her goals, but her main objective is…
Trapping us, Rena interjected. Moreover, luring you into her trap.
It's rather cliché, isn't it? Megami sighed.
Heck yes. Taking our friends first, leading them down into her trap where she'll be lying in wait for us to play the hero and come save their butts. It's all been done before, Rena said, laughing sarcastically.
I--, she started, but trailed off. There was a blowing in her ears, like a whisper. She looked around but no one was near enough to do it. Jounochi and Mai were huddled against each other on the far wall, Honda standing by them nonchalantly, and Seto was still leaning against the tomb. Then, her mind felt a jolt as though a club had struck it from behind, and the harsh ringing voice she had heard before bellowed in her ears:
"DJETEN! BY THE HONOR OF YOUR POSITION, DID YOU LOVE YOUR HIDDEN MISTRESS, ENOUGH TO SACRIFICE YOUR OWN PRIESTHOOD?"
And the response, the same response came in its soft yet intense reply, "Yes, and I still love you…"
Over and over the words of both men cried out in her mind, and she wretched over, collapsing onto the floor, grabbing her head, her eyes rolling their sockets as she screamed. "NO!!! Get out of my head!" she cried, and dropping her hand, she felt the hilt of her sword appear beneath her fingers. "The sword responds to my call now," she said in amazement. "The Rapier recognizes me even in this place." And with triumph, she drew her blade. "Silence!" she commanded herself.
"What the hell is going on?" Jounochi asked.
"Megami!" Seto cried. "Put the Rapier down before you hurt yourself." He took a tentative step towards her but she swept the blade around in a full circle, forcing them all to jump back.
"Megami!" Seto shouted. "Please! Stop this!"
"No!" she shouted. "Djeten needs me!"
"Zayten?" Seto asked. "Zayten?"
"No! Djeten, the priest who gave his life for my sake!" she screamed, hot tears pricking the corner of her eyes.
"Then he's gone!" Jounochi yelled. "Snap out of it."
"Rena!" Mai said. "Rena stop her!"
"Akhten," Megami said, two tears falling down her face. "Rena?"
"Yes," said Seto.
The voices still echoing in her mind, Megami let the sword fall to the ground with a harsh clatter. "What curse is this upon me?" she asked them, slumping to the floor. "A memory haunts both my mind and Rena's. Or I believe it to be a memory."
"You mean, you're remembering things from your past life?" Honda asked.
"It is not a past life. I have never died. My spirit has been preserved through both Rena and the Holy Rapier, which I fashioned from…from," she stopped. "Damn it all!"
Seto grinned with relief as Megami flung her arm behind her and punched the stone wall, then cursed as she hurt her hand against it. He laughed as she cursed again, and soon burbles of laughter were all around him until all of them were laughing along with Megami. But it was a nervous and fake laughter, something that kept their minds preoccupied from the rest of their problems.
And then of course, since things were already going so pleasantly, the electricity flickered out.
"Well fuck," Seto moaned.
"Yeah, fuck," said Jounochi. "That about sums it up."
"Everyone, stay together," Megami said. From her hands, the Holy Rapier began to emit a soft, golden glow. She could just see the softly illuminated forms of Seto, Jounochi, Mai, and Honda, all in a small ring around. She thrust the Rapier into the stone floor of the tomb, and sat down heavily beside it.
"What're we going to do?" Mai asked warily.
"All we can do for now," Megami said. "We wait."
"But—" Jounochi said. "But what about Yuugi and Anzu and all the others? How can we just sit around and wait for them when we know they're never going to show up. It's obvious!"
"We are going to wait until we can think up a plan of action," Megami said evenly.
"Yuugi and Anzu and even your friends could be dying right now!" he cried, a look of mixed terror and disbelief on his face. "How can you possibly just sit by when your, Rena's, closest friends are in danger."
"I do not wish to endanger more human lives," she replied calmly.
"No! That's not the right answer. Listen, you have the power to kick that sorceress's ass, and right now, you're letting her get away with all this?"
"He's got a point," Mai said. "It isn't right to just sit here and let that Noriyuki pick off our friends one by one. And besides, if she wants to lay a trap for us, then she must have some sort of plan."
"Let's do it!" Honda said.
"No! You mustn't say that. If we go, she'll certainly catch you," Megami said, hoping that someone would get a clue. She looked to Seto for help.
"Well," he said, holding his index finger to his lips. "Well, I think if we go ahead and fall willingly into her trap, it'll give us a lot of clues to where the Daughter of Set is."
"You're all crazy!" she yelled at them.
"Yeah," Mai said.
"It's not crazy at all," Seto said, still musing in thought. "It may be a little daring, but still worth it, if we can find out where the enemy is located. Or better yet, Noriyuki herself might take us there. If that happens, this whole ordeal could be ended today."
"Yes," Megami sighed dejectedly. It dawned on her that she had been trying to put off the final stand against the Daughter of Set for a long time now. True, finding the Rapier was a necessity, but everything else had been a clever stall tactic to keep Rena's friends safe from harm. But now, Seto was right. They could end it all today. But did she want to do that just yet?
"You know I'm right, don't you?" he asked, index finger still lay gently upon his lips.
"Please, make it worse," she sighed. "But damn you, you are right, so my plan…is this: We all go and find her together, no splitting up, no rash decisions. Is that understood?" The group nodded silently. "Well then," she said, pulling the sword up out of the floor.
"Let's go!" Honda cut in. Then he and Jounochi both ran off for the entrance.
"Stop!" Megami yelled. "YOU IDIOTS!!" She whirled around on Mai, "Where the hell do they think they're going?"
"Like I'd know?" she said shrilly. "I can't even believe they did that."
"Don't run off after them," she sighed. "We three will go together then. Come on." She led them out of the burial room, and down the tunnels, the echoes of footsteps still ringing through the halls.
"All right, well, I'm completely terrified," Mai said edgily.
"Stop," Megami commanded suddenly. The Rapier's glow illuminated another entrance on the right. "We shall go right."
"Are you sure?" Mai asked. "Isn't this the dangerous way?"
"Yes, but it's the only way to find Noriyuki, she's hiding in these passages," Megami answered surely.
"Here," said Seto, running up ahead of them. "I'll go check it out."
"Don't get too far ahead," she called after him.
"I'm staying within sight," he answered.
"Wait for us," Mai said impatiently, jogging to catch up with him. In the glow, Megami just barely discerned what looked like another entrance, but the light of the Rapier wouldn't illuminate its interior. It just stood there, like a pool of black ink against the wall.
"Mai, STOP!" she screamed. Mai stopped with a jerk right in front of the ink spot passage, then whirled around on Megami.
"Why?" she demanded. Just then, soft words began to emanate in the tunnel; Megami saw the dark passage quiver.
"Shet keper en neru…""Mai!" Megami hollered, but it was too late. The dark mass leapt forward, engulfing Mai before she even had a chance to scream, dragging her down into it. With a flicker of golden hair, she was gone into the murky well. The shadow leapt back upon the wall and disappeared.
"No!" Megami cried. "How can you do that Noriyuki?" No response came, only the echoes of her own voice, and the echoes of the spell that had been cast. "Shet keper en neru," Megami repeated.
It means 'hidden forms of terror,' Rena said inside their mind. She sounded rather rattled, and the only way to alleviate her tension was through showing off a little bit.
I know what it means! Megami snapped. But it's a strange spell, one I haven't heard for a long time.
It served it's purpose though, Rena said. She might have continued, but Megami felt her looking through their eyes. Where's Seto? she asked.
Megami looked up, Seto had disappeared. "No! She probably captured him when she took Mai too!"
Come on, Rena said brokenly. We're the only ones left now.
"I suppose," Megami murmured. But then, we were expecting that, weren't we?
Yeah…
"Well then, let's not keep our hostess waiting," she said with a small grin. "Noriyuki!" she cried. "It's just the two of us. I challenge you to find me!" With a soft phluf her wings sprouted from her back, and she was off, gliding down the tunnel. As she flew, more ink spots like the one that had captured Mai appeared on the walls, and the words of the spell echoed dreadfully in the passageways.
"Shet keper en neru! Shet keper en neru!"Maybe we should make it look like we put up a fight, said Rena. But let her win in the end.
Why? Megami asked.
Because that's how they do it in the movies.
Akhten, not everything needs to be done by a cinematic guidebook, she replied incredulously.
Yeah, but it'll be fun. Besides, we have to work off this adrenaline high anyway, Rena laughed madly.
The first shadow leapt at them, followed closely by several others. "Shut en heru!" Megami cried, making a wide slash with the Rapier, scarring the air with a bright light that dispersed the inky shadows.
One behind you, Rena said in a singsong voice.
Doubling back, Megami crowed the same counter spell. "Shut en heru!" The shadow dissipated, but as she turned around, four more were seething up to meet her.
"Damn!" she cried. "Shut…" she made a hard swing with the blade, "En!" She charged right into the midst of the Shadows. "HERU!!" With a flash of blinding light, the rest of the shadows were debauched.
There's one right underneath us, Rena said.
"I know," Megami sighed. "But I'm tired. I put up a good enough showing, didn't I?"
Eh…sure, Rena said, just as the shadow below sprung up and engulfed them. It swirled around her like smoke, filling up their lungs with the sinister refuse.
This isn't so bad, she thought. I was expecting pai…OW!
What?" Rena asked, alarmed.
The damn thing just broke my wings! she cried angrily.
The shadow opened up beneath her, and Megami came tumbling out of the black vortex, falling several feet to the floor.
FOOMP!
"OOF!"
"Owww," Megami moaned, rolling onto her side. "What did I land on?"
"You landed on me," Yami groaned. "And you nearly sliced me with the Rapier."
"Oh, sorry," she said quickly, setting the sword down. "Didn't mean to."
"I'd hope so," Yami sighed. Megami looked around for a moment, letting her eyes adjust once more to the Rapier's glow. She could see several figures sitting around like ghosts in the darkness when one of them ran up to her, wrapping her arms around her neck.
"Rena!" Mai cried. "Oh my God, I thought I'd never see you again!"
"And you brought a light!" Anzu cried.
"For some reason, all of our flashlights won't work, and Mai can't find hers," said Jounochi.
"That's all right, the Rapier provides enough light to see by," Megami said. Mai let go of her neck; slightly disappointed it was still the goddess, and not Rena. "So then, is everyone here?"
"Not yet," said Jounochi.
"Nazo and Professor Geb are still up there," Andre said, moving forward quietly. "And so are Seto Kaiba and the brown-haired boy."
"Really?" Megami asked, surprised. "I truly thought I would be the last one captured."
"Well, so far, everyone's been taken to this room," said Yami. "So the rest are probably on their way as we speak."
Just as he finished his sentence, the ceiling tore open once again, and Honda came flailing from one of the shadows.
"AAH!"
FOOM!
"OOF!" It was Jounochi this time. "Get off, get off!" he cried, shoving Honda off of him, and rolling onto his back.
"Sorry," his friend replied sheepishly.
"People have been shooting up from all different corners of the room," explained Yami. "You and Honda fell from the ceiling. Your friend, Andre, came shooting out of the far left wall, Mai came up out of the floor, and Jounochi shot out of the wall nearest us, sending Anzu flying."
"I see," Megami said, laughing despite the circumstances.
"So, what's going on?" Honda asked.
"Um, no one really has any idea yet," Yami said.
"Well, I have a little one," said Megami.
The room rumbled softly, and one of the far stone walls seemed to soften.
"Here comes another one," said Jounochi.
"DUCK!" Mai screamed.
+~+~+~+
Seto edged his way slowly along the treacherously dark hallway, feeling around the walls for support. He had gotten too far ahead of Rena and Kujaku, and now he couldn't be sure if they were all right. He had heard Megami's cries of frustration, but just then the floor beneath him had softened into a gross polymeristic mass, and he had fallen right through to the floor below it, and was again wandering blindly through corridors and hallways. Focusing on his ba essence, he tried to illuminate the hallway. Slowly, pinpricks of reddish light gathered themselves on the back of his hand, enough so that they gave some light to the dark tunnel. Holding it up, he noticed several irregular shapes looming just ahead. As he walked closer, he noticed they were two idol-like statues of a man with a dog-like head, a mace and a bow in each of his hands, and at the foot of the statues, several hieroglyphs were carved: a dog-headed cane, another cane-like staff, oval, a half-circle, and a slanted "U" with a snake tacked on the end. He reached in his pockets and fished out an old scrap of paper and a pen from his pockets, and jotted down the hieroglyphs. Then, holding his hand out carefully before him, he moved onward farther into the cave.
He hadn't even progressed maybe fifty yards when the walls began to rumble ominously, and suddenly, loose stones began to drop from the ceiling. Holding his arms over his head, he broke out into a run as heavier and larger stones started to rain down. However, it didn't take very long for large stones to become boulders, and Seto was weaving his way through, sprinting as fast as his legs could allow. Finally, the barrage of rubble stopped, and he was given a chance to rest. Lungs burning, he lay back against a wall, panting and gasping for breath. After several minutes, he finally regained enough strength to stand and continued walking carefully.
Suddenly, the ground crumbled beneath his weight. Snagging the edge of the newly formed hole with his hand, Seto heaved himself back up. With a sick chill he was reminded of Mana Ka'reph and the pits that had been laid as traps there, the demon-god Ammit waiting beneath the murky waters for them. Shuddering, he jumped the ten-foot chasm and went along tentatively.
He noticed a murky door just up ahead. Or was it a door? He went closer to examine it. It looked like some kind of passage except there appeared to be no corridor following its entrance. Just as he stepped in front of it, it leaped from the wall, threatening to engulf him. Instinctively, the pricks of light on his hand concentrated and sprung out at the shadow, dispersing it. Sighing thankfully, he focused on the palm of his hand until it began to glow a faint red-orange. In the dim light he saw another dark shadow moving towards him. He focused on both his palms now, letting one burst of ba light go at the shadow, and letting the one in the other hand go at the shadow that had advanced after the second one. Vaguely now he realized that words were being spoken, their echoes bouncing off the walls of the hall.
"Shet keper en neru..."
There was a dim glow left over from his attacks and in it, he could see another shadow, dripping towards him menacingly from above. He let out an angry cry as the shadow fell on top of him, overwhelming him, filling his lungs with dark vapor. The sensation didn't last very long though, because soon it had opened and he heard a voice cry, "HIT THE DECK!" just as he flew from the gloom.
He landed on stone with a heavy, "OOF!" Despite his aching chest, he bolted up. "Rena!" he cried. It was her voice that had shouted as he had been flung.
"Hi there," she said, grinning away at him like they weren't trapped in a dark tomb.
"Wh-where's?" he started to ask, stumbling over his words in relief.
"She went back into our head to think up a plan of action. She thinks she's in charge for some reason, but I've been nice and haven't interfered on her ego trip…yet," she added with a coy grin.
"What about everyone else?" Seto asked.
"We're all here," Yami spoke up. "You were the last to come through the walls."
"The walls?" Seto asked, unsure of what Yami had meant.
"It's a long story," Rena said dramatically. He doubted if anyone had yet picked up on it, but he sensed Rena's cheery demeanor was masking something much darker. He wished he could figure out what.
"Shut up," Mai said, cuffing her gently over the head. "It's not even averagely long. The witch bitch Noriyuki that kidnapped Ryou cast a spell to make these shadow thingies kidnap all of us and transport us to this room." She flipped her golden hair back triumphantly. "So there."
Rena sighed. "What she said, except there's a little bit more to it than just that. Noriyuki, we're guessing, has laid this trap for us in an effort to bring us to the Daughter of Set or wipe us out in one quick blow, though I doubt the Daughter of Set would let Noriyuki do that. So for now, we're all just hanging around, trying to keep ourselves entertained as we wait for the—"
"Witch bitch!" Mai crowed. She laughed hysterically, "I came up with that all by myself."
"Yeah, good job," Rena said. Seto noticed she was looking tired. He sat down next to her and examined her face carefully.
"Are you all right?" he asked her.
"Well, I've certainly been better," she admitted.
"I think that goes for all of us," Andre said. Nazo smacked him in the head. "Ow! What the deuce was that for?" She whispered something in his ear and his eyes widened. "Oh," was all he managed to say.
"By the way," Seto mentioned, handing her the scrap of paper he'd written on earlier. "What do these mean?" She took it, examined it briefly, and handed it back. "Well?" he asked.
"It says Usert," she replied.
"Bless you," said Jounochi. Rena looked at him and rolled her eyes.
"And Usert means…?" Seto pressed.
"Usert is the god Upuaut."
"What a mouthful," Jounochi laughed.
"Jou. Shut. UP!" Rena grumbled.
"Upuaut?" Seto continued.
"The god who laid the traps in Ka'reph," she explained. "He's a man wit ha jackal's head."
"Dammit," Seto said angrily.
+~+~+~+~
"Noriyuki," the man whispered. A shadow crept up to him, building itself in front of him until it dispersed and Noriyuki stood there, her head bowed to him.
"My lord," she murmured softly. "The trap is prepared for you."
He nodded and reached a hand up to her face, stroking it carefully. Sliding his hand down to her throat, he grabbed a hold of it suddenly, bringing her face close to his. "I sense the Pharaoh's essence on you. How is this?"
"My lord," she gasped, her eyes wide with shock. "I had to."
He held tighter, "Why did you?"
"I had to get him to put his guard down! The only way by was distracting him. I laid my lips upon his, my Lord, I'm sorry!" Briefly her mind flashed back to the kiss she had given the Pharaoh, and how she had felt something foreign and strange. She could not recognize the twinge in her soul, but had enjoyed it very much, and later again, a slew of new emotion had crept up on her, so that when she had struck the Pharaoh, her whole body had ached.
"I'm sure you enjoyed it didn't you?" he asked, a grin slowly starting to spread across his face.
"I'm sorry, my Lord. I didn't mean to!" she croaked, gagging and gasping her breath. Glaring and smiling in an evil combination, he sent a wave of lethal essence through her, letting her fall with a desolate scream into a pile of shadow on the ground, disappearing forever.
"Thank you, Noriyuki," he said softly. "My ruse has been laid."
+~+~+~+~
"Hey Honda, have I ever told you the one about the blonde and the microwave?" Jounochi asked in a cheesy comic voice.
"Yes, you have," Honda replied in an equally as corny voice. "But I have a feeling you're going to tell me anyway."
"You're right!" Jounochi crowed. "Well, there was a blonde who walked into an appliance store and—"
"Stop! Stop!" Mai howled, gripping her head with her hands. "No more blonde jokes! Have mercy on a poor girl, won't you?"
Jounochi grinned wickedly. "But I've only got five hundred more!"
At this Mai screamed in anguish. "No! Please, just stop!"
Rena watched the scenario quietly, a bemused expression etched on her face. Jounochi and Honda had been doing their best to raise everyone's spirits by telling jokes and being general pains-in-the-ass, but it had been helping, and she was feeling a lot better, if not annoyed by the two's comic mischief. Their current target was Mai by telling countless banal blonde jokes to the point where Mai was…was at the state she was in now, much to their delight. Earlier they had teased Seto ruthlessly about crushing on Rena, and Seto thank goodness, had taken it rather well, glaring at them stonily instead of issuing the usual death threats. She leaned up against him, laying her head on his shoulder. "God, I'm bored," she sighed. Seto wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "It's getting old," he agreed.
Forgetting Jou and Honda, Mai watched them in interest. She was fascinated how Rena could just lay her head on Seto's shoulder, when Seto just about had kittens if anyone other than his brother touched him. She wondered just how Rena had gotten him to be so friendly, because he wasn't just nice to her; he had been more polite around all of them. Maybe not nice, but at least polite. She had to admit; she enjoyed seeing this other, nicer side of Kaiba. Rena was so damn lucky. But then again, she had to admit she was too. She looked over at Jounochi who was still joking around with Honda, though their new target was now Anzu. He caught her gaze after a while and immediately his expression changed. His smile was more docile; his eyes were warm and kind beneath that jungle of blonde hair she was always threatening him to cut. "You let your hair grow long, I don't see why I can't either," he had always responded carelessly when it came to her threats to cut it off while he slept.
She turned and blushed. Rena saw it, and grinned at her, so she in turn made a face back at Rena. Rena laughed.
"What's so funny?" Seto asked, laying his head on top of hers.
She brushed his brown hair out of her eyes. "Feh…oh, Mai's just making faces."
"Okay," he said distractedly.
She lifted her head and looked at him. "What's wrong?" His eyes were focused on the darkness, as though he was trying to see past it. After a few seconds spent gazing intensely into the dark, he sighed and looked at her, barely smiling.
"Nothing. I just…thought I heard something. Maybe I was wrong," he said.
"You might have been right," she murmured. She heard a soft skitter before, but had dismissed it as a figment of her imagination. She looked over at Yami, who was gazing intently into the dark, searching for something as well.
"You heard it too, didn't you?" she asked him. At this remark, everyone stopped, looking at either her or Yami.
"Heard what?" Jounochi asked softly.
"Shh," Rena hissed. She had heard it again. Seto had too. Standing quietly, she moved her hand towards where Megami had shoved the Rapier into the stone floor. She tugged on it, but it didn't budge. "Shit," she whispered, pulling on it hard. It still refused to move. "How the hell did Megami do this?" she asked incredulously, straining as hard as she could to pull it up. "It's wedged in here!" It moved up slightly. With new hope, Rena pulled up as hard as she possibly could, and the sword shot up out of the crevice, sending Rena toppling over.
"Looks like it was just stuck," Seto said. "Once you got it out of that wedge, it shot right back up through the crevice Megami had made."
The look she gave him shot daggers. "Thank you," she said dryly. Holding the Rapier loosely in her hand, she crept forward, towards where she thought the noise had come.
"Get back here," Seto demanded.
"What do you think you're doing?" Yami asked.
"I'm going to see if anything's there," Rena replied simply. "But I doubt there is." She moved forward silently, holding her blade at the ready. She searched the dim light, but there was nothing except the smooth, stone walls.
"Whatever it was, if anything, it's gone now," she said, coming back to her friends.
"That's strange," Nazo said. "I could have sworn we had heard something."
"This is strange," the Professor nodded. "And I feel very uneasy about having to do this so horribly uninformed."
"We all are," Yami said, walking over to them. He had been standing several feet away from the rest of the group, and now had come to join them. "We don't know much about anything. So far, all we know is that the Daughter of Set, forged by vengeful priests, is coming to exact revenge on myself and my patron goddess, who happens to reside in Rena's soul."
"That's the most basic idea," Rena said. "We also know about the Rapier, how it was supposed to contain the powers of the one goddess. I think that's true; Megami has been a lot stronger and a lot more aware since we've had it. And then, I think we've got all the temples figured out, too. Mando Nashti'ora, where I used to work, was where the scroll was kept, and it was the Key to Mana Ka'reph, the place where the Rapier was hidden. And then this place, Kara Ma'reph, a horrible play on words I might add, is where the Pharaoh and his court are buried. And that's about all we know."
"And everything else is resolved in mystery," the Professor said glumly.
"Pretty much," Rena cringed.
"Well you see, that's why I'm here to change all that."
Rena's head snapped up. "Who was that?"
This time Yuugi spoke up. "That can't be."
Rena jumped as Yuugi spoke. "Yuugi!" she cried, throwing her arms around him. "I haven't seen you in God knows how long!"
"It hasn't been that long," he winced in her grip. "Just yesterday."
"Will you just shut up?" Seto asked her. "Listen."
The skittering sound was growing louder. Rena let go of Yuugi and grabbed the Rapier once again. "What's happening?" she asked.
She held it up and focused its light, illuminating the room for one brief moment. The skittering intensified, and suddenly, she realized where it was coming from. Something was moving rapidly behind the walls. It was circling them, whatever it was, and whatever it was, had been the voice that had spoken to them before.
"It's been such a while, my friends."
"Where the hell are we?" Seto demanded. His fists were clenched at his sides, and he was gritting his teeth. Whoever thought they could do this him and his friends was going to pay.
"You're at the dawn of a new millennium," the voice said.
Suddenly, Rena started to cry. "No!" she grasped her head in her hands, sinking to her knees. "NO!!"
Yuugi closed his eyes, trying to find the voice, but the echoes the room produced made it impossible to locate.
Jounochi found Mai's hand in the dark and squeezed it. "I'm scared," she whispered, as laughter began to ring in their ears and Rena's cries became louder.
"Show yourself," Seto demanded.
"By the time I am through, I won't have to," it cried maniacally. "Anrekh ankh em ammem."
Rena stopped and lifted her head. "Remember life in lamentation," she whispered.
And then, from the ceiling a bright light flashed, and their lives were changed forever.
+~+~+~+~
Anzu screamed as the light flashed, and a falling sensation crept through her body. She reached for Yuugi's hand. He grabbed it and held on tight.
+~+~+~+~
Rena swung once with the Rapier, but something wrenched it out of her hands and it fell away. Trying to speak, scream, swear, anything was futile. She could hardly move as the light swathed around them. She felt an arm around her waist, but just as quickly it disappeared, and she felt like she was falling. Her voice returned.
"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH…OOF!" She hit the ground hard, the jolt of the impact knocking the wind out of her. She rolled over, moaning, her eyes swimming in their sockets. She lay still for a few moments, her insides screaming at her, and let her vision slowly return.
As it did, she noticed she was looking into a clear blue sky. Blue sky? She was in the tomb last. Finding her strength she pulled herself up and stood. The Nile River, clear and blue, without a trace of any pollution, lapped against its black riverbanks. "Where the hell? Egypt?" she thought. Stumbling around, and trying to regain her footing, she looked around. Small houses had been built some feet away. She guessed that this had to be the very tale end of the Inundation season, and the Nile was retreating back to its confines so farmers could plow their new fields. But then… "No…no, no, no, no, no," she said to herself. "That's not happening." She regained the rest of her senses, and started up past the small houses in search of her friends. They were nowhere to be seen. Suddenly, a farmer came out of his house. She panicked for a moment, but he walked right past her, heedless of her presence. Confused, she kept on until the tiny village grew into a city, the marble gates looming above her.
"How am I supposed to get past this?" she asked. She pressed against it, testing it, and then
suddenly, she was on the other side.
But she hadn't gone through the gate.
Well, she had gone through it…literally. "How the hell?" she cried.
Her mind flew back to the spell that the voice had cast. "Anrekh ankh em ammem," she murmured. "Remember life in lamentation. Remember life? What…" It dawned on her
as she realized what the spell had done.
Whirling around she was confronted by a small plaza, in which a temple
was being erected. Marble statues tens
of feet high looked down on her, all bearing the likeness of one man,
pharaoh.
"Oh…my…Isis," she said, shock at her realization dispelling her disbelief. "It's a memory."
She was back in Ancient Egypt, and she was completely alone.
~Meshitsukai-sama no wana.
_________________________________________________
Wow! Did you read that? That's amazing! What adventures will be in store next for Rena and her band of adventurers? *Gets thumped over the head by readers tired of cliffhangers.* I'm just kidding! Here's another taste of what to expect from the next chapter!
Akhten brushed up against him silkily, "Come to me that I may see your beauty."
Djeten reeled away so hard she almost fell over. "You," he stammered. "Y-you're unclean."
"You dare defy what you feel in your heart," she shouted at him. "Dare you not to deny me, when all I have done and will do is love you."
Rena watched with uncanny interest as Akhten continued to yell at Djeten. It was actually kind of funny how wimpy Djeten could be. "It's just like when Seto and I fight," she noted with content. Then she stopped, thunderstruck, as she realized what she had said. Akhten had been who she was once, she had been told that countless times. But then, if that was true, and if what Megami had said was true, then she was going to watch these people's die.
There ya go! See at the beginning of a new chapter!
~Rena C.