WHEN MEMORIES WOULD NEVER BE ENOUGH
Chapter Eighteen – Defining Moments
Deep within the night, Thief Bakura quietly emerged from the secret passageway that Akunadin showed him. Although he tested his cleverness on finding innovative ways to infiltrate, a little help from high places was still welcome.
Eventually, a dark mist conjured up by Zork seeped through the opening – leaving Bakura unaffected but making all that the mist touch fall into deep sleep.
The thief went to the high priests' rooms. He secured each Item without a fight until he possessed six Millennium Items. Per his agreement with Akunadin, he did not enter Set's room. After going through series of hallways to return whence he came from, he stopped halfway upon hearing a voice that said...
"You have gone far enough, Thief!"
Almond eyes went wide in shock, but eventually narrowed as their owner maniacally chuckled. He recognized the familiar voice and turned around. "Why am I not surprised that you are not affected?"
Atemu - awakened immediately after Xandra stepped inside the mystic portal and her spell took full effect - stood firm as the mist swirled around them. "The Millennium Items belong to Egypt – give them back!"
"I would not be too confident in my words, nor would I be too cocky to bark orders. I will use the same Items that your father created from my townspeople's blood to spill yours!" Shortly thereafter, Bakura slipped into the secret passageway, ran through the long tunnel, rode his horse, and galloped away.
The Pharaoh – through a quicker route that he used during his younger days – ran through a series of hallways, slipped into a secret passage inside the mages' study, ended up in the stables, and galloped away with his horse. Maneuvering the reigns to draw his horse's full strength and speed, he narrowed the distance between him and the thief.
Shortly thereafter, Set, Shimon, Isis, Karim, and Shadah followed suit on horseback. During the time that the Pharaoh ran after Bakura, the high priest - the only one left with a Millennium Item and also unaffected by the mist – woke up the counselor and the rest of his peers when he saw Atemu leave the palace.
As the sable-haired high priest inched his way beside the Pharaoh, he yelled with excitement and teasing laced in his voice, "Do you think I would just let you gallop throughout Egypt without me? Reminds you of old times, does it not?"
Atemu gave Set a rueful smile – thanking him for being there, recalling times wherein they raced against each other on horseback, and eliciting a scolding from Shimon or Akunadin for not using a chariot. He was glad to hear his old friend talk with him just as if it were old times.
Long before they became Pharaoh and High Priest respectively, they have been friends and brothers. They were there for each other through thick and thin. Their complicated but strong friendship, however, always had an element of competition which drew out the best from each other. They were the worst of rivals but the best of friends - both having the passion and drive to perform at their very best, taunting the other to surpass the challenges before them, and not fearing to harshly admonish the other when needed.
Set gazed sideways as he prepared the reigns of his horse. "Has the crown and a couple of years' worth of peace have taken off your edge? Where is your sense of adventure?"
Memories of mischief, adventure, and camaraderie made the Pharaoh long for those times as he told the high priest, "The stakes have changed this time around. If we do not get the Items back from that Thief, then I do not know what would become of Egypt."
With his customary smirk, the sable-haired young man then remarked, "What are we waiting for, then? Are we now cowering from a challenge? What do you say, Atemu?"
As amethyst met azure and their respective owners exchanged knowing smirks, the two young men simultaneously prompted their horses to go faster. Throughout the chase, the two were neck-to-neck as adrenaline pumped within their system from their mission as well as their competition with each other.
The others followed the competitors' lead - with Shimon muttering and shaking his head on how unreasonable and juvenile the two could be at a time of crisis. As the royal court galloped away in pursuit of Thief Bakura, all of them had a strange feeling that something – or someone – was greatly amiss...
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Xandra emerged from the portal – sending her three towns before the main city. She knew that these towns were heavily populated and so close to each other that they had shared commercial establishments separating one town from another. Scanning the area, she mused, "Hyperion plans to massacre one village after another until the Sparti reach the palace walls."
Although most of the populace was sound asleep, there were a few stragglers either going to the local tavern or walking home.
It was ironic for her as passersby either glared at her for noticing her foreign features or paid no attention as they conducted their own business. She shuddered as she remembered Set's story about Kisara, and how merciless the townspeople could be for wanting to stone her to death. To avoid suspicion, she walked the familiar dirt roads and kept her vigilance low-key. As the night grew deeper, she suddenly stopped dead in her tracks as she stared at the ground. A lump formed on her throat and her heart pounded.
A mass of bronze helmets were slowly emerging from the ground.
She grabbed the enchanted bag of dragons' teeth - loosening the velvet pouch's strings and securing a huge handful of teeth. Her heart raced as she repeatedly uttered, "Let mystic warriors be contained in thy seal to protect this land - never to be broken until the last enemy falls into opposition's hand."
This time, blood-thirsty soldiers were half-buried in the ground - waiting for their moment of release.
As the pentagram medallion activated, a star formed under her feet - scattering its bright light until it illuminated all the areas where dragon's teeth were present. Once the area was secured, the light rose up to the sky. She repeated her words until the mystic energies from the medallion took that entire area into the Shadow Realm. Immediately thereafter, she equally scattered the contents of her pouch around her protective pentacle.
"You are always the fool, dear cousin – or should I say the fifth part of the disbanded Mages' Council?"
Recognizing Hyperion's voice, her eyes wandered around the dark realm looking for him. "You will pay!"
The intimidating voice echoed throughout the realm. "We shall see about that!"
Once those words were said, Hyperion's battalion of Sparti emerged from the ground - unsheathing their swords, screaming for blood, and rushing towards her.
Her eyes narrowed as she yelled at the top of her lungs, "Awaken, my warriors!"
Within seconds, all the dragons' teeth that surrounded her sprung into full-grown Sparti. Once the spell activated, her armor changed to match those of her mystical soldiers - making her one of them. The men then let out their fierce battle cry and rushed to fight Hyperion's troops.
As the protective pentagram surrounding her disintegrated, she raised her sword and bellowed, "Fight with me to the death, my warriors! For Egypt!"
Being one of the multitudes, all she could see for every Sparti that she killed was her treacherous cousin's face. Her hatred and thirst for revenge boiled within her being every passing second. Her eyes flashed in insane fury, as she saw more blood. The more merciless, bloodthirsty, and blinded she became in the battlefield, the more she fueled her Sparti's fierceness.
The bloody battle inside the Shadow Realm continued – with her knowing from the very beginning that if she wanted the Sparti to fight to the bitter end, she must then join them in that crusade without any fear or hesitation.
End of Chapter Eighteen
Author's Notes
Yu-Gi-Oh is the copyrighted property of Kazuki Takahashi. Emrys / Xandra, Hyperion, the Orichalchos Medallion, the Mages' Council, and this fanfic are the author's property.
This fanfiction was written for entertainment purposes only, thereby releasing the author from all liabilities.