Reviews from the Peanut Gallery:
SukiLovesAnime: Thank you kindly! I'm glad you enjoy it so much.
ANAYAS-CREATER: You're very, very welcome. I can't wait 'til you update again, I am liking it lots. (grins)
SGCred:
Yeah...poor Yami-kun, ne? (cries herself) And we can always be
optimistic, can't we? And don't worry, he'll see her again.
Rainbow Guardian Angel: (grins
evilly) Tea DOES deserve to die a painful death... (burns Tea with
Mizumi) Ah...there's too much evil in the world, ain't there? At least
we can torture all of it in various ways. And Yugi will be coming out
more, don't you worry!
RobinIV: I know, I know... I really hate doing things like this. But Atem will get back to her!
ZeldaAlly: I agree with Ally 100 percent. (grins evilly) I know I haven't updated this in a long time, and I'm very sorry...and sadly I had to delete Foxy Charms as all the chapters I've worked on are wiped clean thanks to my STUPID DAD! (growls angrilly)
ice suzaku: Sad, but true...evilness is a must in a fanfic. And you'd be surprised how often I have trouble updating... (winks)
Chapter
Seven:
A
Future Unwilling
POV: Sahara
I appeared in the center of my father's throne room, and there waiting were my parents, Isis and Osirus.
"Sahara!" Mother ran over and embraced me, "Sunshine, we were so worried about you…"
"Well, likely if I'd told you I was leaving, you would've stopped me," I said coldly, pulling out of my mother's arms.
"Sahara, you know you weren't supposed to leave the God World," Father replied, "You knew you were breaking the rules…why now of all times to go?"
"For love!" I shouted, "Why didn't you stop the marriage contract? Why did you let this happen? You know I hate Khayer with everything in me!"
"I tried, darling," Osirus whispered, "But I couldn't override it. The final decision of Ma'at cannot be ignored."
"FUCK MA'AT'S DECISION!" I swore, tears streaming down my face, "THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT! NOW I HAVE TO MARRY THE BASTARD WHO TOOK ME AWAY FROM ATEM TWICE IN ONE LIFETIME! I'LL NEVER FORGIVE YOU FOR THIS, NEVER!"
And with those words, I ran out of the hall and to my room.
POV: Khayer"Having family problems?" I asked silkily as I flew down from the rafters where I had been hiding.
Osirus tried not to glare at me as I was still his flesh and blood, but I could see the true hatred in his eyes. "What have you done to my daughter?"
I smirked evilly. "I am only claiming what is mine, fool…it's not my fault Atem was reincarnated."
"You know as well as I do that Sahara is the Goddess of Innocence," Osirus whispered coldly, "What have you done?"
My smirk broadened. "Sahara and I made a deal…if she came home, then I'd leave her friends alone…and as we made that pact, I planted a seed of my power into her. Now with each passing second, her heart will become darker and darker…until the only thing that can satisfy her lust for darkness is me."
Isis looked ready to tear me apart (which was rather amusing to watch), but Osirus held her back.
"Your daughter's mine, Osirus," I hissed, "And soon…her innocence will be gone in two ways: as a wife and as a goddess…"
And with that, I vanished.
POV: SaharaI ran to my room, slamming the door behind me. Khayer may have taken me away, but at least I can still make sure Atem's alright…
"Leila? Leila, can you show me-?"
I stopped in my tracks.
My long mirror was shattered into a million pieces, small bits of green and red magic fusing out of the glass.
"LEILA!" I screamed.
I ran over to the shattered glass, trying to find some trace of my only friend for so long…
"Your little friend's gone, Sahara."
I whirled around to become face-to-face with Khayer.
"WHAT DID YOU DO?"
"I said you'd stay in the God World, and you will," Khayer smirked, "Now you won't have any temptation to leave or any distraction from being my whore…I mean wife," he added evilly.
I feel hatred within me that I'd never known before. I wanted to see him die a thousand mortal deaths…yes…dead in a sea of blood…
I fazed out of these thoughts, feeling horrified. 'What's happening to me?'
"Feeling your new dark heart, my dear?" Khayer asked coolly, "It's going to get worse. Soon…the only thing you'll be able to turn to is me…"
He struck me, and I felt myself fall to the ground.
"Get up," Khayer mocked me, "Get up and show me your dark heart…"
I felt my hand reach for a shattered piece of glass…ready to stab him…ready to make him suffer as I have…
I clenched my reaching hand into a fist. 'No…I won't let this control me…I won't be controlled…I'm not evil…I'll never be evil…'
Khayer laughed derisively. "You won't be able to fight it forever, dear…better get downstairs and get dressed…the wedding will begin soon."
POV: Joey
Everyone was in shock. Yami was breathing hard, his eyes darting around the room at each of us.
"Don't just stand there!" Yami yelled at us, "We've got to find someway to rescue her!"
There was a silence.
"But, Yami," I spoke first, "What can we do?"
"SOMETHING!" Yami yelled, "ANYTHING! I can't lose her again! I won't!"
"Yami, calm down-" Serenity tried to speak.
"CALM DOWN? CALM DOWN? SAHARA'S GONE!"
"Yami," Mai pushed him onto the couch and forced him to look at her, "If you want to help Sahara, then you'll listen to me. There's no way we could find her on our own. We don't have magic…we've got nothing that could lead us to her."
Yami looked up at Mai for a moment, before completely losing it and starting to sob.
"Yami…" Tea put a hand on his shoulder, but Yami shoved her away.
"Sahara…" he moaned, "I failed you again, Sahara…I'm sorry…I'm so sorry…"
I didn't know what Yami meant, but I felt awful seeing him this way.
It was then that someone knocked at the door.
I sighed, before standing up and going over to the door.
When I opened it, I blinked in surprise.
"Mokuba? Kaiba? What are you guys doing here?"
"Is Yami okay?" asked Mokuba, "Seto and I heard about what happened at the Game Shop, so…"
The two brothers came in, and the younger of the two went over to the crying Pharaoh.
"Yami?" Mokuba said tentatively, "Yami, are you okay?"
But Yami kept on crying.
Kaiba looked pretty surprised with Yami's reaction to all this. Mokuba, however, looked up at me worriedly.
"What happened to Sahara?" he whispered.
"How'd you know?" Serenity and I said together in shock.
"Sahara was assigned to watch over me when Seto and I lived at the orphanage," Mokuba explained, "You could say she was my guardian angel for a while. She told me about her old Pharaoh lover named Atem and that she knew how it felt to only have an older brother for company…" he frowned, "But she had it much worse than me… at least I didn't have a cousin controlling her…"
"I am going to make Khayer suffer for this," Yami growled, "He will regret this…I swear by my royal blood, he shall pay…"
"First, Yami, you've got to calm down," Tea tried to sooth him, "Then we can maybe think of a plan."
"I doubt you would be able to figure out everything you needed in time on your own," said a voice.
A falcon flew through the door the Kaiba brothers had not yet closed, and perched itself promptly on the coffee table in front of Yami.
POV: AtemI stared at the falcon for a moment. Then I smiled in relief.
"Horus! Am I glad to see you."
There was a gust of wind, and then Horus stood on top of the coffee table in the falcon's place. He jumped down with a smile.
"I've missed you too, Atem," he replied.
"Horus?" Serenity gasped, "Isn't he an Egyptian God too?"
"The son of Osirus," Tea agreed, her eyes wide, "Nephew to Seth…but that means…that means you're…"
"Sahara's brother," Horus finished for her with a solemn nod, "And if we don't work quickly, Sahara will be chained forever to Khayer…in more than one way."
"What do you mean?" I demanded.
"Too much to explain right now," Horus replied, "But I need your help. The only way we'll be able to stop the marriage between her and Khayer is if we can find a weakness in the marriage contract…otherwise, there'll be no way to save Sahara."
And to everyone's surprise, Kaiba spoke up.
"Your sister saved Mokuba's life," he growled, "And as I officially despise owing someone a favor, I'll examine the contract for any flaws…hell, I even put KaibaCorp's top lawyer Johnson out of business. If you have it with you right now, the examination will be immediate."
Horus made it appear in his hand, and he handed it to the CEO.
Kaiba's eyes went down the page in straight lines, before rereading it and rereading it again.
"Is there another pact binding your sister to this 'God World?'" asked Kaiba.
Horus nodded. "Why?"
"Because if we can find a weakness there, then we'll have won," Kaiba replied, "This contract is reliant on that document. If Sahara isn't a Goddess bound to the God World, then Khayer can't marry her. Can I see the pact, if you please?"
Horus made it appear out of thin air and then handed it to Kaiba, who read only the first line before smirking broadly.
"Found it," he told them, "The contract says the following: 'Sahara, Goddess of Children and daughter of Osirus shall prosper on earth as a mortal girl with no sight nor hearing, and return home when deemed appropriate by her father, to live the rest of her immortality in the world of her parents.'"
"And…?" I said impatiently.
Then it hit me hard, like a mallet on one of those toy Whack-a-Moles.
My eyes widened. "Of course! Why didn't I think of that before? Osirus and Isis were first born into the mortal world to rule Egypt…therefore the contract could say either she'd return to the world they were born in OR the world in which they're living now!"
Horus grinned. "Perfect…now all we need to do is get to the God World and stop the marriage…"
Then he frowned. "But it's very dangerous for mortals to enter the God World…your very soul is at risk."
"I don't care," I whispered, new determined fire in my eyes, "I will not let Sahara down again after everything she's done just to see me again."
"Well, if Yami's going, I'm going," Joey smirked.
"Me too," nodded Tea, "There's no way we'll let you go alone."
Again, Kaiba surprised everyone and said, "I'll go too."
I stared at Kaiba curiously, and he glared back at me.
"I'm only doing this for Mokuba," he snapped.
But in my heart, I could almost hear Seito's voice replying to me instead.
I smirked at him. "Thanks, Kaiba."
"Is your other half going or staying, Pharaoh?" Horus asked suddenly.
I blinked. "What?"
"That's how it is," Horus replied sheepishly, "Only mortal souls go into the God World…so you and Yugi would be separate."
/So Yugi/ I used the mind-link.
/No way am I going to let you go without me/ my Hikari replied, /Count me in./
"He's coming," I told Horus.
"Very well," Horus replied, before raising his hands and starting to chant.
"To the God World do we go
To fight against a family foe.
Now with mortals and a god
A tragedy will end quite odd;
Now open the hidden door
To go, let me chant no more!"
And with a black flash of light, the god vanished and the four mortals fell onto the ground in a dead heap.
