Okay this is the last chapter, so I made it especially long.
But don't cry yet, I may do a sequel.
I have an idea or one. It has to do with the Egyptian Underworld.
Sound interesting? Then review and tell me.
Hope you enjoy the final chapter of Blood of a Pharaoh.
*
Isis watched Atemu with tears in her eyes.
The Pharaoh had decided to leave the battle planning to Jou and Seto, and spend his last days in Egypt with his friends and his people.
He carried a baby on his hip and held the hand of a young girl. Several other children clustered round him.
Atemu led the children around an oasis, singing merrily and laughing.
The younger girls were dancing in the shallow water, pretending they were gypsies.
As Isis watched, a small boy let out a shriek and stuck his fist into the water.
He pulled out a shiny silver fish. It had been lying upside down on the rocks. "Pharaoh!"
Cried the child, and ran over to Atemu. "What happened to fishy?"
Sighing, Atemu knelt down and took the fish. "It's dying, Mori." He ran his fingers over the scales.
"But why?" The boy asked. "Why does it have to die?" Atemu chuckled.
"Everything has to die sometime, little one." The boy's lower lip trembled. "Everything?" He asked. "Even you?"
Atemu nodded. "Even me." Turning his face to the setting sun, Atemu sighed.
"Even me. Sometimes we know when we will die, other times we don't."
"Do you know when you will die Pharaoh?" Asked the girl holding on to his hand.
"Yes, Leila. I do know when I will die. I will die very soon." The children gasped.
"But we don't want you to die!" Atemu shook his head. "Sometimes, we must die not for ourselves but for others."
Atemu placed the fish back in the water where it sank to the bottom to rest on a papyrus leaf.
"And sometimes, we can die where we want. This little fish belongs in the water."
Atemu looked at his reflection in the water. "As I belong in the Underworld that lies to the west."
The Pharaoh placed his hands on the little girl's shoulders. "But remember this little one," Atemu said seriously.
"I will always watch out for you, no matter what. It is my duty to my people, and I dare not defy it."
Tears streaming down her checks, Isis fled.
*
"You don't understand. There must be some other way." Isis paused. "You didn't see what I saw, Seto."
"Listen, Isis. There is no other way. Jou has informed that already Ryad's men have pillaged 3 outlying villages. We can't afford to lose any more."
The High Priest looked directly at Isis. "The Pharaoh knows his place, as you know yours."
"I understand, Seto." Isis said softly. "But I do not agree." Her gaze steady, Isis left the room.
Sighing, Seto leaned against the wall. All the preparations had been made: the men were ready, the priests had gathered, and spies had been informed.
All that was left to do was let the Pharaoh talk to the soldiers and say good-bye to his friends.
Seto waited until Atemu had left the children and started up the palace steps before he walked over to him.
"Pharaoh," Seto said. "What is it?" Atemu turned to his cousin. "You must speak to Jou's men before the travel to Sudan."
"Oh okay. Show me where they are." Seto lead Atemu to the back of he barracks, where the men were drinking beer and laughing heartily.
As soon as Atemu was announced they hurried to get into a formation.
When Atemu looked at the meager group of men, less than three hundred, his face grew pale.
"Is this all we have?" The Pharaoh asked doubtfully. "That's it." He declared. "If this is our army then one thing's certain: we're doomed."
"Uh, Pharaoh? I don't think that's the kind of rallying pep talk Jou was talking about."
Atemu glanced at Seto. "Well what do you want me to do?" He demanded.
"Jump up and down yelling 'go team go'?" Atemu said sarcastically.
"Idiot." Seto muttered. "Just an idiot."
*
Atemu watched the Harpies fight. They were only playing, but already Harpie Lady had several wounds on her.
She was wrestling in the sky with her brother. The other sisters of the family were cheering them on, and Harpie's dragon was trying to scorch Harpie's Brother.
Exhausted, the two finally dropped down to land on a pile of rocks, congratulating each other on their match.
Making his appearance known, Atemu stepped forward and gave a long, low whistle.
The Harpies greeted him joyously, shrieking in delight and hugging him.
Atemu returned the welcome only half-heartedly.
"What's wrong, kit?" Asked Harpie Lady. Atemu faked a smile.
"I've just come to say goodbye. I probably won't be coming here ever again."
"And why not? You're a good kit; you always bring us nice, raw meat. Where are you going?"
"That's just it," Atemu said sadly. "I don't know where I'm going. At least not yet."
The Harpies squawked noisily. "Ooh, are you going to the other place?" One of the sisters asked.
"Probably." Came the dismal reply. "I'm not sure yet. Anyway," Atemu said, brightening up a little.
"I need to go say goodbye to the other monsters. There's still the Dragons and Spellcasters yet."
"Okay kit. But be good. Remember to always wash behind your ears, and keep those wings clean. We don't want any nasty mites in there now do we?"
Atemu laughed. "I suppose not, mother Harpie." Harpie Lady always liked to fuss over Atemu like he was her own.
"Good. Now off with you, kit." Atemu gave each of the Harpies a goodbye hug and left.
Climbing the cliffs that led to the dragon caves, Atemu thought about the upcoming day.
'I hope there are grapes wherever I'm going. And papayas too. Mmm, papayas.'
Atemu had a thing for papayas. He currently held the record for eating 53 of them in a row.
"Blue Eyes?" Atemu called as he entered the dimly lit cavern entrance. "Red Eyes? Anyone?"
A fuzzy orange lump launched itself into Atemu's arms. "Hey there Baby Dragon."
Atemu said, tickling the little dragon under the chin. "Do you know where the others are?"
The dragon chirped and scuttled off down the tunnel, motioning for Atemu to follow him.
Four dragons were arguing loudly about the price of peanuts.
Red Eyes was insistent that the price should be lowered; Blue Eyes thought the price should be raised, Curse of Dragon was snoring, and Tri-Horned dragon didn't even like peanuts.
"Ah! Atemu!" Said Red Eyes when he saw the Pharaoh.
"Perhaps you can help us with our debate. What do you think happened to the price o peanuts?"
"Um..." Said Atemu, unsure of what to say. "I think it should stay the same."
"Marvelous!" Cried Blue Eyes. "Amazing! What a clever lad! Why didn't we think of that!?"
Atemu shook his head, laughing. "I'm just here to say goodbye."
"Why? Where are we going?" said Tri-Horned dragon. "Not you, me. I'm going to die tomorrow."
"Oh." Was all Blue Eyes said. The others were silent, except for Curse of Dragon who wouldn't stop snoring.
"Well then, can you tell us if they play darts in the underworld? I've always wanted to know." Atemu laughed at Red Eyes' comment.
He didn't expect any sadness or sympathy from the dragons. They were incapable of such emotion.
"Well, I suppose I'll just go now." Tri-Horned dragon nodded.
"Okay cub, but good luck." Atemu laughed and said farewell to the rest of the dragons.
Blue Eyes offered to take him to the Yami field, where all the Spellcasters were.
"Thanks Blue Eyes." Atemu said once the large dragon had dropped him off.
"No problem, Pharaoh. Goodbye." With that, Blue Eyes flew back to his mountain.
"Dark Magician? Where are you?" Atemu called as he walked through the field.
He was nearly strangled when someone hugged him. "Atemu!" Cried a happy voice.
The Pharaoh turned round and grinned at Dark Magician Girl. She hugged him happily.
"What are you doing here? It's great to see you! Are you okay? Come on, I'll take you home with me."
She literally dragged the stunned Pharaoh to a large cottage at the far end of the field.
Inside, Dark Magician and Dark Sage were sitting at the table drinking coffee.
"Hey Darky, look at the thing I've got!" Dark Sage laughed. "I do believe the Pharaoh is a person, not a thing."
"Oops! Sorry Atemu!" Dark Magician girl hugged Atemu again and sat him down.
"So Atemu," Dark Magician said. "What brings you here?"
"I came to say goodbye to you all. I'm leaving tomorrow." In several minutes, Atemu had relayed the entire story to the three mages.
When he was finished, Dark Sage nodded gravely. "I see. Well, I hope good fortune follows you wherever you may go."
"Atemu." Dark Magician said quietly. "I want you to have something."
He handed the Pharaoh a small golden pendant. The outline of a circle was inscribed with runes. Two wings were attached on either side.
"Thank you Magician." Atemu said softly as he put the chain around his neck.
"This means a lot to me. I'll never forget any of you." Blinking back tears, Atemu hugged his friends fiercely.
"Goodbye." Atemu said, and left the Shadow Realm.
*
Four hours later Atemu watched the proceedings silently. One of Seto's spells had transported all of them to Soleb instantly.
Now the whole city was engulfed in flames, and people were screaming.
The battle had started over an hour ago, with no side seeming to win. Atemu's priests were busy summoning Shadow Monsters to their aid.
Their incredible strength held back Ryad's men barely, whereas the thousands of opposing soldiers killed of Jou's men like flies.
Atemu was surrounded by his friends, all of which were silent, except for the occasional sob.
Unexpectedly, a loud crack filled the air. Lightning rained down from the sky.
Heavy bluish-purple clouds hung over a grand temple, sending down torrents of acid rain.
Jou's men were mounted and lightly armored, which gave them a fast advantage.
They were slowly drawing Ryad's soldiers away from the temple, leaving the crazy mage unprotected.
Ryad was laughing manically and hurling fireballs at everyone, even his own men.
Isis managed to get away from the struggle and made her way over to Atemu.
"Pharaoh," she said quietly. "It is almost time. Only several more minutes remain until Ryad is left completely unguarded."
Atemu nodded without saying a word. On order of Isis he had been dressed in the finest clothes available.
Atemu thought it quite odd that he got better clothes when he was about to die than when he was crowned.
Standing up, he turned to his friends. "I guess this is goodbye then."
Shinzuka burst into tears and hugged him tightly. "I'm going to miss you." She said between sobs.
"I'll miss you too." In turn he hugged all of his friends and stepped back, looking each of them in the eye.
Anzu was holding back tears, but Honda was openly crying. Jou had a fierce look in his eyes, but Atemu knew that he was fighting back tears.
"Goodbye guys." Atemu said softly. Without another word he turned and walked down the hill with Isis.
Isis left him at the entrance to the city. "Goodbye my Pharaoh. Your deeds will not be forgotten."
"Thank you Isis. Look after the children for me would you?" Isis smiled. "Of course my Pharaoh."
Atemu smiled hollowly and walked into the burning city. Seto met him halfway through.
"Come on Atemu, follow me. We must avoid the battle on the east side of the city at all costs."
Atemu followed his cousin through the ruined city up to the steps of the temple.
"Goodbye Seto. Rule Egypt well." Atemu hugged his cousin tightly. "Not as well as you did, my Pharaoh."
Atemu left Seto and walked up the stone steps, unharmed by the acid pelting down on him.
His Millennium Puzzle began to glow faintly, and then got stronger and stronger.
The millennium symbol appeared on Atemu's forehead, shining brightly against the shadows.
Atemu entered the temple and stood opposite Ryad. The mage turned to face him, his flame red hair billowing round his face.
"Finally Pharaoh! I shall have my revenge for what you did to my village!"
"It wasn't my fault." Atemu said quietly. Ryad didn't listen.
"Now, while your precious friends are watching, I shall have vengeance!"
"It wasn't my fault." Atemu said again. "Nothing can help you now! Not even if you cheat! I vowed to have my revenge against your worthless family and finally I will!"
"It wasn't my fault!" Atemu screamed. There was a piercing flash of golden light from inside the temple, and an unearthly scream.
Then he was gone.
But don't cry yet, I may do a sequel.
I have an idea or one. It has to do with the Egyptian Underworld.
Sound interesting? Then review and tell me.
Hope you enjoy the final chapter of Blood of a Pharaoh.
*
Isis watched Atemu with tears in her eyes.
The Pharaoh had decided to leave the battle planning to Jou and Seto, and spend his last days in Egypt with his friends and his people.
He carried a baby on his hip and held the hand of a young girl. Several other children clustered round him.
Atemu led the children around an oasis, singing merrily and laughing.
The younger girls were dancing in the shallow water, pretending they were gypsies.
As Isis watched, a small boy let out a shriek and stuck his fist into the water.
He pulled out a shiny silver fish. It had been lying upside down on the rocks. "Pharaoh!"
Cried the child, and ran over to Atemu. "What happened to fishy?"
Sighing, Atemu knelt down and took the fish. "It's dying, Mori." He ran his fingers over the scales.
"But why?" The boy asked. "Why does it have to die?" Atemu chuckled.
"Everything has to die sometime, little one." The boy's lower lip trembled. "Everything?" He asked. "Even you?"
Atemu nodded. "Even me." Turning his face to the setting sun, Atemu sighed.
"Even me. Sometimes we know when we will die, other times we don't."
"Do you know when you will die Pharaoh?" Asked the girl holding on to his hand.
"Yes, Leila. I do know when I will die. I will die very soon." The children gasped.
"But we don't want you to die!" Atemu shook his head. "Sometimes, we must die not for ourselves but for others."
Atemu placed the fish back in the water where it sank to the bottom to rest on a papyrus leaf.
"And sometimes, we can die where we want. This little fish belongs in the water."
Atemu looked at his reflection in the water. "As I belong in the Underworld that lies to the west."
The Pharaoh placed his hands on the little girl's shoulders. "But remember this little one," Atemu said seriously.
"I will always watch out for you, no matter what. It is my duty to my people, and I dare not defy it."
Tears streaming down her checks, Isis fled.
*
"You don't understand. There must be some other way." Isis paused. "You didn't see what I saw, Seto."
"Listen, Isis. There is no other way. Jou has informed that already Ryad's men have pillaged 3 outlying villages. We can't afford to lose any more."
The High Priest looked directly at Isis. "The Pharaoh knows his place, as you know yours."
"I understand, Seto." Isis said softly. "But I do not agree." Her gaze steady, Isis left the room.
Sighing, Seto leaned against the wall. All the preparations had been made: the men were ready, the priests had gathered, and spies had been informed.
All that was left to do was let the Pharaoh talk to the soldiers and say good-bye to his friends.
Seto waited until Atemu had left the children and started up the palace steps before he walked over to him.
"Pharaoh," Seto said. "What is it?" Atemu turned to his cousin. "You must speak to Jou's men before the travel to Sudan."
"Oh okay. Show me where they are." Seto lead Atemu to the back of he barracks, where the men were drinking beer and laughing heartily.
As soon as Atemu was announced they hurried to get into a formation.
When Atemu looked at the meager group of men, less than three hundred, his face grew pale.
"Is this all we have?" The Pharaoh asked doubtfully. "That's it." He declared. "If this is our army then one thing's certain: we're doomed."
"Uh, Pharaoh? I don't think that's the kind of rallying pep talk Jou was talking about."
Atemu glanced at Seto. "Well what do you want me to do?" He demanded.
"Jump up and down yelling 'go team go'?" Atemu said sarcastically.
"Idiot." Seto muttered. "Just an idiot."
*
Atemu watched the Harpies fight. They were only playing, but already Harpie Lady had several wounds on her.
She was wrestling in the sky with her brother. The other sisters of the family were cheering them on, and Harpie's dragon was trying to scorch Harpie's Brother.
Exhausted, the two finally dropped down to land on a pile of rocks, congratulating each other on their match.
Making his appearance known, Atemu stepped forward and gave a long, low whistle.
The Harpies greeted him joyously, shrieking in delight and hugging him.
Atemu returned the welcome only half-heartedly.
"What's wrong, kit?" Asked Harpie Lady. Atemu faked a smile.
"I've just come to say goodbye. I probably won't be coming here ever again."
"And why not? You're a good kit; you always bring us nice, raw meat. Where are you going?"
"That's just it," Atemu said sadly. "I don't know where I'm going. At least not yet."
The Harpies squawked noisily. "Ooh, are you going to the other place?" One of the sisters asked.
"Probably." Came the dismal reply. "I'm not sure yet. Anyway," Atemu said, brightening up a little.
"I need to go say goodbye to the other monsters. There's still the Dragons and Spellcasters yet."
"Okay kit. But be good. Remember to always wash behind your ears, and keep those wings clean. We don't want any nasty mites in there now do we?"
Atemu laughed. "I suppose not, mother Harpie." Harpie Lady always liked to fuss over Atemu like he was her own.
"Good. Now off with you, kit." Atemu gave each of the Harpies a goodbye hug and left.
Climbing the cliffs that led to the dragon caves, Atemu thought about the upcoming day.
'I hope there are grapes wherever I'm going. And papayas too. Mmm, papayas.'
Atemu had a thing for papayas. He currently held the record for eating 53 of them in a row.
"Blue Eyes?" Atemu called as he entered the dimly lit cavern entrance. "Red Eyes? Anyone?"
A fuzzy orange lump launched itself into Atemu's arms. "Hey there Baby Dragon."
Atemu said, tickling the little dragon under the chin. "Do you know where the others are?"
The dragon chirped and scuttled off down the tunnel, motioning for Atemu to follow him.
Four dragons were arguing loudly about the price of peanuts.
Red Eyes was insistent that the price should be lowered; Blue Eyes thought the price should be raised, Curse of Dragon was snoring, and Tri-Horned dragon didn't even like peanuts.
"Ah! Atemu!" Said Red Eyes when he saw the Pharaoh.
"Perhaps you can help us with our debate. What do you think happened to the price o peanuts?"
"Um..." Said Atemu, unsure of what to say. "I think it should stay the same."
"Marvelous!" Cried Blue Eyes. "Amazing! What a clever lad! Why didn't we think of that!?"
Atemu shook his head, laughing. "I'm just here to say goodbye."
"Why? Where are we going?" said Tri-Horned dragon. "Not you, me. I'm going to die tomorrow."
"Oh." Was all Blue Eyes said. The others were silent, except for Curse of Dragon who wouldn't stop snoring.
"Well then, can you tell us if they play darts in the underworld? I've always wanted to know." Atemu laughed at Red Eyes' comment.
He didn't expect any sadness or sympathy from the dragons. They were incapable of such emotion.
"Well, I suppose I'll just go now." Tri-Horned dragon nodded.
"Okay cub, but good luck." Atemu laughed and said farewell to the rest of the dragons.
Blue Eyes offered to take him to the Yami field, where all the Spellcasters were.
"Thanks Blue Eyes." Atemu said once the large dragon had dropped him off.
"No problem, Pharaoh. Goodbye." With that, Blue Eyes flew back to his mountain.
"Dark Magician? Where are you?" Atemu called as he walked through the field.
He was nearly strangled when someone hugged him. "Atemu!" Cried a happy voice.
The Pharaoh turned round and grinned at Dark Magician Girl. She hugged him happily.
"What are you doing here? It's great to see you! Are you okay? Come on, I'll take you home with me."
She literally dragged the stunned Pharaoh to a large cottage at the far end of the field.
Inside, Dark Magician and Dark Sage were sitting at the table drinking coffee.
"Hey Darky, look at the thing I've got!" Dark Sage laughed. "I do believe the Pharaoh is a person, not a thing."
"Oops! Sorry Atemu!" Dark Magician girl hugged Atemu again and sat him down.
"So Atemu," Dark Magician said. "What brings you here?"
"I came to say goodbye to you all. I'm leaving tomorrow." In several minutes, Atemu had relayed the entire story to the three mages.
When he was finished, Dark Sage nodded gravely. "I see. Well, I hope good fortune follows you wherever you may go."
"Atemu." Dark Magician said quietly. "I want you to have something."
He handed the Pharaoh a small golden pendant. The outline of a circle was inscribed with runes. Two wings were attached on either side.
"Thank you Magician." Atemu said softly as he put the chain around his neck.
"This means a lot to me. I'll never forget any of you." Blinking back tears, Atemu hugged his friends fiercely.
"Goodbye." Atemu said, and left the Shadow Realm.
*
Four hours later Atemu watched the proceedings silently. One of Seto's spells had transported all of them to Soleb instantly.
Now the whole city was engulfed in flames, and people were screaming.
The battle had started over an hour ago, with no side seeming to win. Atemu's priests were busy summoning Shadow Monsters to their aid.
Their incredible strength held back Ryad's men barely, whereas the thousands of opposing soldiers killed of Jou's men like flies.
Atemu was surrounded by his friends, all of which were silent, except for the occasional sob.
Unexpectedly, a loud crack filled the air. Lightning rained down from the sky.
Heavy bluish-purple clouds hung over a grand temple, sending down torrents of acid rain.
Jou's men were mounted and lightly armored, which gave them a fast advantage.
They were slowly drawing Ryad's soldiers away from the temple, leaving the crazy mage unprotected.
Ryad was laughing manically and hurling fireballs at everyone, even his own men.
Isis managed to get away from the struggle and made her way over to Atemu.
"Pharaoh," she said quietly. "It is almost time. Only several more minutes remain until Ryad is left completely unguarded."
Atemu nodded without saying a word. On order of Isis he had been dressed in the finest clothes available.
Atemu thought it quite odd that he got better clothes when he was about to die than when he was crowned.
Standing up, he turned to his friends. "I guess this is goodbye then."
Shinzuka burst into tears and hugged him tightly. "I'm going to miss you." She said between sobs.
"I'll miss you too." In turn he hugged all of his friends and stepped back, looking each of them in the eye.
Anzu was holding back tears, but Honda was openly crying. Jou had a fierce look in his eyes, but Atemu knew that he was fighting back tears.
"Goodbye guys." Atemu said softly. Without another word he turned and walked down the hill with Isis.
Isis left him at the entrance to the city. "Goodbye my Pharaoh. Your deeds will not be forgotten."
"Thank you Isis. Look after the children for me would you?" Isis smiled. "Of course my Pharaoh."
Atemu smiled hollowly and walked into the burning city. Seto met him halfway through.
"Come on Atemu, follow me. We must avoid the battle on the east side of the city at all costs."
Atemu followed his cousin through the ruined city up to the steps of the temple.
"Goodbye Seto. Rule Egypt well." Atemu hugged his cousin tightly. "Not as well as you did, my Pharaoh."
Atemu left Seto and walked up the stone steps, unharmed by the acid pelting down on him.
His Millennium Puzzle began to glow faintly, and then got stronger and stronger.
The millennium symbol appeared on Atemu's forehead, shining brightly against the shadows.
Atemu entered the temple and stood opposite Ryad. The mage turned to face him, his flame red hair billowing round his face.
"Finally Pharaoh! I shall have my revenge for what you did to my village!"
"It wasn't my fault." Atemu said quietly. Ryad didn't listen.
"Now, while your precious friends are watching, I shall have vengeance!"
"It wasn't my fault." Atemu said again. "Nothing can help you now! Not even if you cheat! I vowed to have my revenge against your worthless family and finally I will!"
"It wasn't my fault!" Atemu screamed. There was a piercing flash of golden light from inside the temple, and an unearthly scream.
Then he was gone.