Me: well, believe it or not, I did start this chapter as I finished the 10th chapter of Kept In The Dark, whether that reflected on this update or not (my Dad just moved, so I had a lot of things I had to do that apparently came before continuing to write. Humm...
'Leanne: if you say so...
Me: (puffy pouty face) what, you don't believe me??
'Leanne: oh no! I believe in you totally, Erin-chan! It's those guys over there that don't! ) (points to mob of angry reviewers)
Me: ahhh!!!! (panics and runs away in fear)
Warning: (once again sees Erin-chan running out of her room and follows) now what?
Me: (out of breath) huff...angry mob...puff puff...(takes deep breath) but I will prevail! (pounds chest) I have a message for this chapter! Bring it on!!
Warning: ':/ sometimes I seriously worry about that girl... (shakes head) well, like always, no yaoi, but shonen-ai is the nature of the story.
Disclaimer: (huffs) no own Yu-Gi-Oh! characters, only O.C.s and plotline.
Yami was sitting rigidly in the chair Kaiba's freakish butler had told him to stay in while he was waiting for Kaiba-san to emerge from his meeting. All in all, the pharaoh was not in the least bit happy. And he was also quite sure that whomever was meeting with Kaiba had previously known of him and his dire need, and was /deliberately/ keeping Kaiba from as long as he possibly could, and-
The intricate wooden door swung open, with a steaming CEO standing in it. You could almost see the flames engulfing him.
This happened to catch Yami's attention from thinking about conspiracies. "Uhh, Kaiba-san... I-I thought you were in..a..meeting.?" For the first time since his re-birth from the Sennen Puzzle, Yami was genuinely scared out of his wits.
"What's it to you?!" Now you really could see the flames burning in his eyes. Or was that a pile of paper on his desk? "I'm /this/ close to snapping, Yuugi!" He held up his fingers to demonstrate the sliver of sanity he had left. "It had better be good..."
Being called Yuugi again let Yami (theoretically) come back down to Earth and reminded him of his purpose in the first place. "Umm, you see...Kaiba-san, that is..."
"God damnit! I don't have time for crap! Spit it out or leave right now!"
"Well, I need a ride on one of your planes to Egypt."
Pause.
Kaiba was suppressing a chuckle before he asked why he would willingly give such a thing to anyone, much less his archrival.
In trying to come up with an answer, Yami did think of threatening to send Mokuba's mind to the Shadow Realm, but figured Kaiba would kill him long before he even got to lock onto Mokuba's life force. Eh, one idea out the window... So I guess that's how he decided to just go the simpler route and tell him the truth. Just really fast.
"Um, IgotthisweirdfeelingwhenmeandYuugi'sgrandfatherwereplayingGoandnowIhavetogotoEgypt'causeIthinkhe'sintrouble!" He stood uniformly at a standstill, making sure Kaiba-san wasn't about to chuck him out a window, or something equally damaging to his well being.
This, however, had quite the opposite effect. Kaiba Seto had just gotten off the phone with one of his annoyingly persistent managers of Kaiba Corp. informing him of several stuffy meetings he was to attend. Seto, being his mood-swingy self, decided he needed to find a reason, no matter how insignificant, to get away from his work-related duties. And then there was Yuugi (Yami), standing in front of him, wanting to go on a long-term trip to Egypt. Who said miracles don't happen on the spot?
"We leave yesterday, then." Yami blinked and stopped cringing. "Just don't bug me." Yami smiled. "And you owe me a re-match, damnit!" No reason to look /completely/ virtuous.
From there, Kaiba threw a couple of his favourite jackets into a suitcase and they both boarded immediately (the jets were kept in his back garage). Now there fell an awkward silence over the entire plane and its whole two passengers plus pilot.
Yami decided to be brave and break the limb-and-mouth-binding tempo. "So, umm, considering there's a pretty long, non-stop flight to Egypt with nothing in particular to do, you want to duel now?"
Kaiba smiled an evil smile.
Back inside the pyramid of ancient Pharaoh Atemu, our group of ruin explorers had become tired and suspicious. After all, they had been walking for a good four hours now, with nothing really as a set direction, with the exception of Shinu's word.
"Mae-san, are you sure you know where Marik went?" Yuugi mumbled. Especially with his unnaturally short legs, he tended to lag behind and wouldn't be able see even if there were a solid wall of dead corpses(1) blocking their path.
She turned back warily to look Yuugi in his eyes. "If I didn't then I'm sure Bakura would be sniffing around, trying to find his own way through."
Up until that particular moment, they had both forgotten completely about their third companion. So provoked the "Bakura!" Yuugi and Mae shouted in unison. Because the ex-tomb raider wasn't in sight behind or in front of them, they took off sprinting ahead. "Bakura! Where are you?! If you can hear us, please shout back!" Yuugi gasped. Hey, running and yelling at the same time is hard for a little kid. Even if you're supposed to be in high school.
Shinu turned to scowl at the pipsqueak of a boy. "That's no way to get anyone's attention. Watch and learn." She stopped for second. "BAKURA!! GET YOUR ASS BACK HERE!!!" And then she went to catch up with Yuugi (who didn't bother waiting for her).
The random shouts easily reached Bakura, whom was indeed very far ahead, because of the long and echoing halls. In fact, Mae's voice was not only brought to his ears, but was /amplified/ by the pyramid. So this sent Bakura sailing through the air, for he had been breaking world records running and tripped when he heard her.
"Arg!! I hear you, already!" And he sat, and waited uneasy in the dark for the rest of his companions, eager to get moving again.
Now Malik had been hunched over sitting in the sand, thinking over all his options and pros and cons for each one. For example, if he went after Bakura, Ryou, Yuugi and that other girl, then he did run the chance of meeting up with Marik while he was searching for them. Plus, they had gone in quite a while ago, meaning he might also get lost himself in the pyramid and never find them, anyway. But if he stayed here, sitting in the scalding sand, then he would probably get a nasty sunburn, despite his Egyptian skin. If he went home, he could call that turbaned man for council, but that would take precious time.
But since this one didn't have any side affects that would alter his beating heart, he decided to go with meeting up with this guy. Who knew? Maybe he could even help Malik get rid of a few 'problems'.
Dragging his sorry butt from the desert, the Egyptian boy made his way back to his sister's and his' home. He made it through the marketplace, retracing his steps, without being stalled, so he made it home in relatively one solid piece. Though he did pass by that kid and the goggles again.
But when he got to his door, not only did it open before he could touch the handle, but a tall, turbaned man in a robe was the one who opened it for him.
When Yuugi and Shinu had finally caught up to Bakura, they were at a loss for immediate words. After all, he was glowing a slight blue, the Sennen Ring was hovering just above his chest, and there were five duel monster cards floating around his head.
"Umm...Baku-" started Yuugi.
"Look at these cards." He started.
Though Shinu knew that perhaps Marik would have stopped Bakura from gathering meaning from his would-be tarot reading, she was curious, and besides, it wasn't like Marik owned her or anything. So the two knelt down beside Bakura on either side of him and watched closely and silently as he explained what the cards meant.
"This one here," he pointed to the first card to the left. "The 'Possessed Dark Soul' card. That's my Egyptian past. It's symbolizing my lust for revenge and Zork Necrofidasu(2); the course I took. And here," he ran his fingers over to the next card to the right. "Monster Reborn. That would be both my returning from the grave and turning personalities because of Ryou. But they're not what I'm worried about, nor are they important parts of my reading." He took both in between his forefinger and put them to rest with the remainder of his occult deck.
"Now look at these," The next card was to the bottom right of Monster Reborn. "This is my 'present'; Destiny Board." Shinu gasped. Because of course, she had learnt of the Tarot, and adapted versions like this one. To get Destiny Board as your present... "-is to face the biggest change in your life. I know." Bakura finished her thought. "But see the next one? It's Change of Heart. I'll come out of it one way or the other, but I still might be changed; for better or worse. And this last one." This card didn't follow the order of the line, for it was above all the rest, and looked out of the way. "I delt an extra card, because I wanted to get some answers to a question I've had for a while." He smiled. It was the Lady of Faith. "'I should hold onto what I think right now, no matter what.' That's what it's telling me. So I'll go with you as far as you want in this labyrinth of a pyramid, Mae." He collected the remaining cards, stood up, and motioned for the others to follow suit. "Lead the way, O fearless leader."
This took her totally off-guard. He really /did/ trust her, didn't he? But the girl with copper-metallic hair stood up anyway, and pointed them in the direction of the King's Chamber. "It'll be a couple more hours of navigating until we get there. But I'm sure Marik wouldn't have picked any other place."
Bakura walked without engaging himself in the several short conversations between Mae and Yuugi. Instead, he had his hands jammed so far deep in his pockets of his jean jacket that they were nearly up to his elbows. But he made sure to keep Change of Heart safely in his hand.
And he remembered back to when Ryou told him that it was his very favourite card. That was a week after Bakura re-entered the material world once more and became curious of the cards his host sometimes would play with. They resembled the monsters of old so much, he just had to learn about these new creature-cards. Ryou had gladly taught him how to play, even if Bakura had only known broken Japanese.
They reached another hidden passage that Shinu opened with ease. This new passage they walked on was lined with torches, enchanted to hold light through all the ages, until The Wrath of the Nile took the walls of the tomb to it's riverbed. But Bakura could also see tiny inscriptions, like to the one he had seen on the exterior bricks.
'I'll be there soon, Ryou.'
Malik had told his thoughts and last few days over to the man whom had revealed himself as Shadi. He had sat patiently through all of this, at the request of his younger company, and was very much troubled by what he heard.
"If what you say is indeed the truth, then I am sorry to say we have a grave situation on our hands. The girl you previously mentioned; her name is Mae Shinu. Recall your Japanese, friend. You know what it means. Take it not lightly, for it is also truth." Shadi stood up and told Malik to follow him.
"We must make haste to Pharaoh Atemu's tomb, before your split self takes them for his. Hurry, Malik."
He obeyed without hesitation, because this man, being the bearer of the Sennen Ankh and Scales, had power to take them both to Bakura and Ryou's immediate aid, no snags attached. Like changing genders without warning when wet. Bad side-effects like that.
But as he rose from the seat he had taken, Shadi did not take them to the pyramid where his friends were. In fact, he had just erected a barrier around Malik's home so he could not exit. When he saw this, rage surfaced in his face.
Malik clenched his fists tightly. "But why?! You, you were going to-"
"I must, above all things, abide to my ancient calling; protecting the flow of destiny. I cannot have you stopping whatever may happen, though I do regret telling you, if it provoked this behaviour. Listen to your own purpose of the tomb keepers, Malik! The purpose of your father! I leave you now, though know that the barrier will dissipate when it is all over!" Before he received an opinion from the dumbstruck Egyptian home captive, Shadi disappeared into the heat mirages rising from the floor.
"BASTARD!! Get! Get, back..here..." and Malik fell into a deep sleep of exhaustion.
A foreboding light penetrated Ryou's eyelids and arose him from his deep slumber. Groaning, he began to take in more of what surrounded him. And, more importantly, why he could feel cords digging into his burning wrists.
"Welcome to Pharaoh Atemu's Chamber. The heart of the pyramid." Marik's cool voice could easily be heard in the closed off room. He happened to be standing right behind his hostage, which scared Ryou even more.
"Wh, what?!" The albino boy let out a sharp yelp as Marik snapped the wires holding him to his platform.
Malik's split chuckled sadistically. "How do you like lying on top of a sarcophagus? One that still may very well contain a three-thousand year old Pharaoh?"
Now that he had regained all of his working senses again, Ryou was literally frozen in fear. His father had told him long and gruesome stories of people whom had recklessly degraded the King's Chamber and had been slaughtered by Anubis. 'It could be possible...Think of everything that has happened so far...' he thought. The magick of the pyramid was working its way into his mind.
His wrists, neck, thighs, ankles and abdomen had been strapped down with steel wires that were cutting into his flesh, and nailed to the ancient coffin's perimeter. Blood was dripping out of his mouth, and trickling down his raw thought; choking him.
"I guess we'll have to wait until your friends get here to eradicate you..."
Ryou whimpered.
Now that they were only about half an hour from the King's Chamber, arrayed thoughts began to surface on their minds.
"Mae-san, you said that you'd never been inside a pyramid before. How do you know the way?" Yuugi questioned. This awkward inquiry forced Mae to think fast if she wanted to carry through without doubt.
"Umm, well I used to study ancient burial techniques through out the ages last lifetime, Yuugi! Yeah, and the pyramids were particularly interesting; y'know..all those traps and gods..." This seemed to satisfy the hikari among them, but Bakura didn't buy it. Now that this had been called to his attention, he was starting to wonder himself. But, regardless, he kept to his reading and kept walking in silence, still eager to get to Ryou before Marik did.
But now that Shinu knew that they might catch on soon, she stayed quiet for a while. And that's about when she began to fade in and out of consciousness; though still leading them the right way. If anything, her feet knew where to go next.
So it went on like this, until she was completely out of control of her physical body, and was seeing the corridors from outside of her body. Almost like her soul had been ripped painlessly from her body.
(Shinu... )
'Eh? who's there?!' her shadow self shouted, not noticing that neither Yuugi nor Bakura knew she wasn't really there.
(I know you haven't forgotten about me yet... You think of then too often for memories missing... )
'You...it can't be! No! I won't listen! You're...you're gone, from my life.' Now she was positive it must be Jemkae's voice. But, he refused eternal life a long time ago...there was no way he could come back...
(Follow your heart, Shinu. Believe in what's right, not vengeance. Think why. )
Why? What did he mean, why!? This was her only chance to get back at Bakura... She couldn't just throw this chance away...
(Lead them away from here. They mustn't become part of the Turning! Lead them away! )
And just like it never occurred, Mae was back in her material body. The questioned surfaced again. Why did she seem to only live for taking what was taken from her? What had Bakura actually done? She knew it was something or other, but it was like only a shard of the memory had remained with her through out the ages.
But she knew what she had to do know. Jemkae was right. And if she couldn't even remember what it was that he had done, then it wasn't worth taking his other away from him.
"Oh! Is that the King's Chamber ahead, Mae-san?" Yuugi pointed to an elaborate double door set right ahead of them. And know Bakura was closely following her body language, and trying to read what she would do next. Because, as any Egyptian thief knows, there is always a decoy for the King's Chamber. After all, that's where the real treasure lies.
Shinu stalled. If she led them through the door up ahead, she knew exactly how to escape the tomb without traps in their way. But she also knew that Bakura would know exactly what she was doing, and stay behind for Ryou.
"No, it's just up a little further, past the last torch."
Me: omg, that took /forever/ to write! X( Just because we moved and went on a month long vacation.. Yes, I know. Excuses, excuses.. :P
'Leanne: (1) dead corpses is an inside joke. (i.e. we were playing Balderdash and I was trying to explain one of the words as: a natural bacteria that grows on dead corpses. Kind of a contradiction, as corpses tend to be dead.. / )
Bakura: (2) Zork Necrosfidasu is Akunadin's split person type thing. Think Malik and Marik scenario. (AkunadinPegasus's incarnation in the Egyptian Saga, and the mastermind behind the Sennen Items) I was basically his vassal.
Chibi me: Ja ne, mina! R/R! (promise to have the next chapter of Kept in the Dark out asap!)