Disclaimer: I don't own it! only the plot and nephiris :) - not that i want to own her but there you go lol
Chapter 5
Seth rode towards the Sphinx urging his horse faster and faster. There was no time to lose. He had to recover the Pharaoh's soul and return it to his body. Failure was not an option. If word got out that the pharaoh was unable to perform his duties as pharaoh, there would be chaos in the land and, as the Pharaoh had no heir who would rule in his place?
Seth was also doing this because Yami was like a brother to him and he cared for him deeply. The shock he was feeling over Yami's soul being stolen like that was unrivalled by anything he had ever felt before. Anger surged and bubbled up inside of him like a well threatening to overflow in a tirade that would blow everything and everyone away so strong and powerful was the force of his emotions just then. Seth knew his anger would be released but it would be directed at that healer and channelled through his Blue Eyes White Dragon Shadow Monster which would make his attacks much more powerful. The creatures in the Shadow Realm shared in the emotions and feelings of those who could summon them and Seth's Blue Eyes was no exception. The Dark Magician was the same with Yami as was the Dark Magician Girl.
They were nearly at the Sphinx and Seth signalled that they should slow up a little so as to determine the location of the healer's hideout. They walked their horses across the scorching sand looking all around for a hidden entrance but they could see nothing.
Seth was about to dismount and order the search to continue on foot when there was a brilliant flash of light brighter than the sun and the group cried out and covered their eyes from the glare.
When it lessened a bit they were able to open their eyes. The first thing they saw were bottles hovering in front of their faces all except Seth's who saw a huge black snake rise up out of the sand and stand tall and poised like a cobra ready to strike. The snake jerked its head and streams of energy began to flow from the mouths of Seth's companions as their souls were sucked into the bottles. Some of the men tried to run but found the bottles followed them draining them and eventually they could no longer stand and collapsed to the ground appearing as if dead but really living soul-less bodies.
Seth cried out to his men and tried to run after them while they were still trying to get away from the bottles but found that he couldn't move. His feet had been shackled and the chains holding them driven deep into the sand and held by some invisible and powerful source.
"HEALER!" he roared at the snake realising that it was she in disguise. "You will pay for what you have done! You have stolen the pharaoh's soul and I cannot allow you to live. By Ra I will make you pay!"
The snake looked down at Seth and shook as if in laughter.
"Foolisssh boy, you cannot hope to ssstop me." It hissed through its fangs which dripped potent venom. "The pharaoh got what wasss coming to him, he hasss what rightfully belongsss to me and now I have enough ssstrength to claim it!"
"What do you mean 'rightfully yours'? The pharaoh is the rightful ruler of Egypt not some pathetic dessert healer. You have no right at all!"
"Ah you sssee that iss not true. You do not know who I really am and for your insssolence I am not going to tell you. However I AM going to take your sssoul, it will make a nice little addition to my collection. Then you can join your preciousss pharaoh in hisss maze prissson where you will be able to hear each other but will never be able to meet!"
Seth listened to all this in disbelief. How on earth could she have any sort of claim to the throne? There was no way!
"YOU LIE!" he yelled and activated his Armlet. "I summon the Blue Eyes White Dragon!" He felt some of his energy drain out if him as the dragon appeared behind him and roared its arrival.
"Go Blue Eyes! White lightning attack!" shouted Seth and felt the dragon drawing on his emotions, making him stronger before unleashing the powerful attack and blasting the snake square in the middle.
The snake screeched and hissed as it was attacked and Seth stood triumphantly and watched his dragon destroy the snake.
At least it looked as if he was destroying her but something was wrong.
'Why isn't she dying?' he thought and then his mouth fell open as he realised she was standing up to the attack and what's more, she was pushing it back at his dragon.
"Oh no!" he managed to say before the snake sent the blast back at him and his Blue Eyes. His dragon was hit and destroyed immediately, Seth was also hit and blown backwards a good way.
He felt tremendous pain in his chest where his Blue Eyes had been hit and he lay on the ground where he had landed gasping and panting. It was the first time his dragon had ever been defeated in a battle and he felt for all those people he had beaten 'If it feels anything like this.' He thought.
He was vaguely aware of movement next to him and the sound of a bottle being uncorked.
"I'm sorry my pharaoh…..my friend." He whispered. He began to black out as his soul was taken and he sent a quick prayer to Ra to ask him to help stop this madness before he lapsed into unconsiousness.
The healer, who had dropped her guise as a snake and was in the form of the beautiful maiden again, corked up the bottle containing Seth's soul before waving her hand and getting all of the other bottles to follow her. They floated along behind her as she descended into her lair and lined them up on a shelf.
Seth's bottle she put next to the pharaoh's and went over too look into the maze. Sure enough, there were now two souls in there, the pharaoh and Seth. Seth was looking round bewildered and calling out and the soul that was Yami's was listening and calling back but try as they might, they could not meet up.
"Enjoy your prison." Smirked the healer and began to gather a few small potion jars together. She might be in need of reinforcements if not everyone in the palace was cooperative with her way of thinking.
She was ready soon and after laying the soul-less bodies out in her caves, she took the horses and strung them together. She cared a great deal for horses and did not wish to leave them to die in the dessert. A few more hours delaying her rise to power would not make any difference as such.
It was late in the afternoon when she arrived at the city. Leaving the horses with a trader who looked as if his birthday had come early, she turned down the nearest alley and then uttered some ancient words before vanishing.
In his room at the palace, Yugi was sitting up in bed waiting for news of Seth and to see if the pharaoh's soul was to be returned to him. He hoped they would succeed as he liked the pharaoh a lot and would always be grateful to him for saving his life. 'I wish now I could save his.' He thought ruefully but he was still fairly weak and anyway what could one small slave-boy do against such a power as the healer? He thumped the bed in annoyance and made Ishizu jump.
"Yugi? What is wrong?"
"I just wish there was something I could do to help." Yugi said sadly and Ishizu nodded.
"I know little one, I wish I could do more too but I have faith in Seth. He cares deeply for the pharaoh and will do his best to get back the stolen soul."
"I know Ishizu, but I wish…."
What Yugi wished no one would ever know because at that moment there was a flash of light and the healer appeared before them in the room. There was only Ishizu and Yugi present and the healer held up her hand towards Ishizu.
"Freeze." She said and Ishizu found she could no longer move.
'Oh no.' she thought, 'if the healer is here then that means that Seth failed.' Tears ran down her face but she could not move to wipe them away and so they ran freely down her face.
"What did you do to him?" She just had to know.
"His soul is trapped alongside the pharaoh's in an endless maze. They can hear each other but never meet. It will drive them insane in the end." She said smiling an evil smile.
"Why you…" came a voice from the bed and the healer looked at Yugi to see that his fists were clenched and fury blazed in his eyes.
"Ah yes Yugi, I am sorry you have gone through so much in your life, please do not blame me for everything that has happened. If it had been within my power to stop it believe me I would have but I was too weak to help."
Yugi stared at the healer. 'She knows me? She knows what I have gone through? How? How can she possibly know me?' He looked her in the eyes.
"Who are you?"
"Well let's see. I should start from the beginning really, I used to be a dancer here in the palace and the then pharaoh, Yami's father took a shine to me and eventually took me as his mistress. He and his queen had been trying for an heir for a number of years with no success and so he took me into his bed to try and gain an heir that way. However I did not find myself with child even after many tries and the pharaoh was becoming frustrated. Then the news came that his Queen was expecting a child and the king was overjoyed. He kept me on as his mistress in case the queen had a girl so he could keep trying. Then the queen had her baby and it was a boy – Yami. The pharaoh doted on his son and I was pushed to the background. Eventually he had enough of me and I was thrown out of the palace onto the streets. What the pharaoh didn't know, was that I was with child then and more than half-way to term. I ran to a safe-house in the city where women in my condition could hide out safely and stayed there till my baby was born. When I finally held my son in my arms I loved him more than life itself. I wanted to get away from that house and build a life for us somewhere in the city but I could find nothing and I could not feed my baby so I found a place to take him in and left to build a life on my own and when I was ready I would return and claim him. And so I have. Tell me Yugi, did you wonder why you look so much like Yami?"
Yugi listened to the entire speech with wide eyes and as realisation began to sink in his memories came to the fore and he remembered in his very early years being looked after by an old couple. But they had died and he had been left to fend for himself on the streets. Could it be that this woman was his real mother?
"Mother?" Was all he could manage and the woman nodded.
"Yes Yugi you are my son and Yami's half-brother." She made her way towards him with her arms outstretched.
"Come now my son, you are going to take your rightful place on the throne of Egypt."
Yugi looked at her in shock.
"Me? But I'm nothing, a slave."
"It should have been you ruling as pharaoh if the queen had not fallen pregnant you would be the rightful pharaoh."
Yugi gazed at her open-mouthed.
"But I don't want to be pharaoh, Yami is the pharaoh, and he's my brother." Saying it gave him a warm feeling inside. He didn't want to be the pharaoh, but as he looked at his mother, her face took on a very ugly look and she advanced on him threateningly.
"You will do your duty as my son and be the pharaoh or suffer the same fate as him." She growled and Yugi shrank back on the bed afraid.
"Please mother don't make me do this it's not right, I look different to the pharaoh. Our hair may be similar but he is taller and his eyes are a different colour."
"Easily rectified." She said and stood over him chanting some words. Behind her Ishizu looked on in shock as Yugi's appearance changed and when the healer had stopped chanting, Yugi looked almost exactly like Yami except for his eyes which retained their striking violet colour.
Yugi heard Ishizu's gasp and looked questioningly up at his mother.
"What have you done to me?" fear was etched in his voice and his mother smiled down at him before fetching a small mirror and holding it up in front of Yugi.
"Hello pharaoh." She said and Yugi nearly fainted from shock when he looked into the mirror to see Yami staring back at him. At least it looked like yami to start with until he saw the eyes.
"You made me look like Yami?"
"Yes my son, now no one will question you. And what is more, you will help me to hide your brother's body somewhere no one will find him."
"Mother please don't so this. Yami is my brother not to mention he saved my life, how can you do this to him? He has done nothing to you and yet you seek to make his soul suffer so and Seth too. I nearly died and it was yami who helped me – where were you then mother?"
"I would not have allowed you to die my son, I am your mother and I would not have allowed it."
"Mother, if Yami had not arrived back when he did I would have died."
"But you didn't. I made sure of it. I had to get your brother out of the way so you could become pharaoh. Don't you want to be pharaoh? Most would jump at the chance of riches and people waiting on you hand and foot!"
"Not at the cost of my brother's soul mother. I would sooner be back dying in the alleyway than be party to this evil plan."
"You will do what I want my son or you will suffer the same fate as your brother."
The voice of the Dark Magician Girl came to Yugi then.
"Young master, you must play along with her plan for now. The Dark magician and I are planning something in the shadow realm with another creature who she tricked into betraying the Dark Magician and the pharaoh."
"Alright my friend if you say so, but I do not agree with her."
"I know young master, when we are ready I will let you know."
Yugi looked up at his mother and bowed his head as if in submission.
"Very well mother I will do as you say."
"That's it my son. You will rule as pharaoh and announce me as the new high priestess of the temple of Osiris and Ra. Seeing as the current high priest is shall we say, a little busy at the moment? and likely to be away for quite some time – if not forever." She smiled down at Yugi who cringed inwardly but outwardly his expression did not change. His mother didn't concern herself with this apparent sudden change of heart, she just presumed the lure of being pharaoh was too much for him to resist and Ishizu was gazing at Yugi open mouthed in shock.
Yugi saw her and signalled to her as soon as his mother looked the other way that he had a plan. Ishizu nodded to show she understood and prayed to Ra that whatever it was he was planning would succeed.
"Now pharaoh, it is time for you to be dressed." Said his mother and pulled a cord by the bed to summon servants. She released Ishizu from her frozen state after whispering that Yugi's soul would suffer worse than Yami if she breathed a word to anyone about what she had seen.
Ishizu knew she had to trust Yugi and so she said nothing just watched as servants brought pharaoh's garb and dressed Yugi in it all down to the gold bands round his legs and arms. The only thing that was missing was Yami's crown, something which Yugi's mother intended to rectify as soon as possible. The servants left when Yugi was all finished and Yugi looked at the woman who was his mother.
"Mother," said Yugi, "What is your name?"
"Nephiris, come my son we have much to do."
Nephiris took hold of Yugi's hand and the two vanished in a flash of light, reappearing in Yami's bedroom where the true pharaoh lay on his bed looking for all the world as if he was just peacefully sleeping.
Yugi looked down at his brother and felt intense sorrow for the torment his soul was going through.
'I will free you my brother and the others this monster has imprisoned. I swear by Ra I will find a way and hope that you can forgive me for posing as you.' He thought to himself as Nephiris removed the crown from Yami's head and placed it on her own son's head. It felt heavy but fitted him perfectly but to Yugi it felt like it was burning a mark of guilt into his forehead.
'Please forgive me.' He silently begged to Yami as Nephiris wrapped up his brother and then vanished with him suddenly leaving Yugi alone.
"I thought she wanted me to help her?" Yugi wondered out loud and then panicked slightly as now he wouldn't know where yami's body was.
"Dark magician Girl, whatever you are planning – it had better work." He said and began to pace the room waiting for his mother to return.
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Yugi: I'm pharaoh? COOL/strikes a pose/
Yami: Hey I'm pharaoh/glares at Yami Seirei/ You better fix this mess/grabs frying pan/
Yami Seirei: EEP/runs away very fast/ I can't write if you're chasing meeeeeeeeeee!
Yami KITG: Er don't worry folks I'm sure Yami Seirei has something up her sleeve to fix all this /growls/ she better had/grabs frying pan and joins in the chase/
Yami Seirei: HELLLLLLPPPPPPP!