A/N: First, sorry for the wait! I have a good amount of the part done so I hope to get them to you guys faster, but you gotta take into account that school's back, EVIL SCHOOL!, so that might slow me down a little too.
::Listen's to Desert Rose:: Heehee, really suits the fic. Anyways, thanks to all for the lovely review! Love ya guys!
Responce to reviews:
Chicary: He's a pretty important person our little Yugi is and a cutie to boot, heehee. I don't know if it's even possible for someone to do as much as he does and keep going. He must be full of energy I could use some of that energy myself, lol. I'm glad you like the way I write, because sometimes I think that I write too much detail. Heehee, t'was going to be someone else, but I went and changed the girl to be Téa all right. She needed to come into the fic somewhere Heehee. I had a couple of the others pop into the fic later on, but I won't say who Thanks again for your review! ::hugs::
deranged black kitten of doom: Glad you like! Bakura has other plans for poor little Yugi. Ransom means nothing to him right now, heehee. Just revenge! Thanks for the review!
Blazekin: Thanks for the reviews Blazekin! I'm glad you're enjoying this fic!
Towairaito Zoon: Oh yeah, Bakura's mean, but Bakura wouldn't be Bakura if he was nice, heehee. He's a major cool character and him being mean suits him so well Thanks for the review!
bast4: Yeah, poor Yugi ain't having much luck is he? I'm mean ; Oh, so many questions there, but I can't tell you the answers ; You'll get your answers in the upcoming parts! I'm actually as far as part nineteen and about to start part twenty, so I have it almost finished Little warning, there are some mean cliffies later on. They're funfun! Heehee. As for your last question, I would guess that Yugi would go on the throne, but that answer is also playing a part in the story, so enjoy! And thanks for the review!
SoulDreamer: Thanks for the nice review! Hope you enjoy!
Koumori-Dragon02: Oh I'll keep on writing for sure This fic is too much fun not to do! I've actually almost finished it, so hopefully I'll get the parts to you guys sooner. Thanks for the review!
ms. lady: Thanks for the review and sorry for the wait!
Sirithiliel: Sorry this took so long And thanks for the review!
that was great!: Cheers for the review Glad ya like!
Sakura53: Thankies very much and here's the update
Game Lover: Heehee, well having a nice sane Bakura just isn't the same. A nice sane Bakura would be Ryou, heehee. Thanks for the review!
cj: Thanks for the review!
Pharaoh Star Yami: Dia is muire duit a chara! First, lemmie say go raibh mile maith agut for the long review! I like fada reviews, heehee. Yeah, I know what you mean about the class. I'd love to be able to talk fluent Irish, but my teacher's so bad I don't think that will happen. I've got a three A4 page essay to write for Monday, and I've no idea what to put in it! I hope I think of something. Long day tomorrow I'd say, heehee ; Yeah, using it abroad is fun! I did with a friend once on a school tour and people were giving us weird looks, heehee. Funfun! Cheers again for the review! Hope you like this part
And here's number six!
Golden Sands
Part Six
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Yami's eyes opened and he looked down at the Puzzle around his neck. It had started to glow and he heard a voice calling to him.
'Yami... Please... Save me!'
"Yugi!" Yami grabbed the Puzzle and raised it up to eye level, straining his ears to listen. "Yugi? Can you hear me?" The glowing coming from the Puzzle ceased abruptly and so did the whimpering voice. Yami narrowed his violet eyes and rose from the throne swiftly. "That's it. There's no doubt in my mind now that Yugi's in trouble. The Puzzle doesn't glow for nothing," he muttered to himself as he ran from the main hall, anyone present bowing to him as he left.
'The Puzzle connects us because we are brothers,' he thought as he sprinted, 'It doesn't lie.' He was heading towards Yugi's room when he saw the girl from earlier, the one who had shown Yami to Yugi's room, come running in the opposite direction. He slowed down to a stop and waited for her to come to him.
"Pharaoh!" she gasped, dropping to the floor and bowing, pausing to catch her breath.
"What is it?"
"It's... the men.... that were at the back exit to the palace," she gasped through breaths. She swallowed hard and sat upright, eyes on Yami's feet. "I was sent to bring them their food just a minute ago and when I got there they were sleeping, on the floor. I tried to wake them but they wouldn't stir." She bit her lip and Yami could see her shuddering a little. "One of the guards was halfway down the hallway too," she finished and bowed her head once more.
Yami's eyes narrowed. "What is your name?"
"Anzu, my pharaoh."
"All right, Anzu, listen to me. I want you to go and get the high priest and get him back here as soon as you can, no excuses. Now hurry!" Anzu nodded, jumped to her feet ran down the hallway. Yami watched her for a moment before turning and heading towards the back exit of the palace. He was accompanied all the time by two guards. He was hardly ever alone, not since Bakura had gotten free.
They rounded a corner and Yami's Puzzle suddenly erupted into a bright glow as soon as the three sleeping guards came into plain view. "Dark magic," Yami muttered and halted in his tracks. He told the two guards to search around the area for any signs of intruders or potions; bottles or small cases. He approached the sleeping forms of the guards' cautiously and knelt beside them. They hadn't been moved since the spell had been cast on them the night before. Yami's Puzzle stayed glowing, protecting him from any remaining dark magic that could be in the air. He rolled the men onto their backs and looked them over. Fast asleep. 'At least they're all right.'
Yami looked up when he heard sandaled feet running towards them. Seth, the high priest, appeared. He was a tall man, much taller than Yami, nearly a whole two heads above him, and a year or so older than him too. A rod made of gold rested in his purple sash, another Millennium Item; the Millennium Rod. The rod had a golden orb on the top with an eye shape on the front and two blades, one shaped like an axe blade, protruding from opposite sides of the orb, but they were only small. The head of the Rod was smaller than the high priest's hand, but the whole thing itself was about two-thirds the length of the man's arm.
Seth wore midnight blue robes that reached all the way to the floor, and a turban of the same colour, covering up his brown hair. Gold armlets adorned his arms and one ring rested on a finger. His icy-cold blue eyes surveyed the area and he shook his head.
"Evil powers were at work here."
"Yes, I know that." Yami stood up and faced Seth. "Can you help them?" he asked, motioning to the sleeping forms behind him. If he had trained with his Millennium Puzzle longer he probably could have been able to help the men himself, but the high priest would do it now.
The priest nodded and walked over to the men in a few long strides. He removed the Rod from his belt and held it out, the eye pointed at the men. "Evil spirits of the shadows, be gone and leave these mortals." The Rod began to glow and Seth continued, "Return to your world, let them be, return them to being free." A bright yellow glow surrounded the two men before Seth and the third lying further down the hall. Their shadows seemed to peel of off them and rose up from the ground. The blackness took a rough shape of a winged demon and the three hissed at the priest.
"Be gone!" Seth yelled, pointing the Rod at each of the shadows in turn. A horrible, glass-shattering screech was heard and the shadows evaporated in the sunlight. Seth turned to face Yami and bowed his head. "They have left, but these men will not awaken for another hour or so."
"Thank you. Tell me, can you read their minds now and see what they saw last night?" It was well known that the strongest power of the Millennium Rod was that of mind reading and mind control. Yami was thankful that the Item was being used on their side and not in the hands of enemies.
"I can, pharaoh." Seth turned to the men and the Rod once again glowed. Seth closed his eyes and pointed the Rod at the first man, his form going rigid. "This man didn't see much. He saw a shadow moving on the wall. Over there," he said and pointed towards a far wall. "It was dark and he was about to go and see what the shadow was when he fell asleep."
Yami looked towards the wall. It was a wall heading down another hallway, one that would eventually lead to Yami's sleeping chambers. "Go look down that hall," he told the guards, who had returned from their search just to be sent off again, and turned around as Seth spoke.
"This man saw the first fall, and woke the third. When trying to wake the first he fell."
"That doesn't help us much."
"Now, for the last man." Seth walked down to the final fallen body and repeated his actions. "The third man was sleeping until woken by the second. He saw the shadows moving and enveloping the second so he ran, but still he fell." Seth turned around. "That is all I can tell you, pharaoh. Their minds are blank after that."
"Thank you very much, Seth. You have been most helpful."
"Pharaoh!" one of the guards called and came up to him, giving him a rushed bow. "We found some blood by the wall down that hall."
"Show me, I can try and place who's it is," Seth said, walking over to stand behind Yami. The guard looked to Yami for agreement and the pharaoh nodded. They were led down the hall to where a small pool of blood lay, about the size of Yami's palm. It was hard now, the heat after drying it hours ago. Seth knelt down and touched it with his index finger and the Rod glowed once more for a few seconds. "Whoever this was, they live in this palace." Yami didn't question how the man knew this and just listened. "There is a strong sense of loyalty here, courage, strength, and determination. It's from a male, young."
"Can you place the age?" Yami asked, moving to stand beside Seth.
"One moment." There was a pause then Seth spoke. "Twelve."
"There's only one boy in this palace of that age." Yami frowned, looking at the blood with a foreboding feeling twisting in his gut. "Yugi. He's been captured."
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Yugi cowered at the back of his small cage and shuddered. He'd gotten sick another time since the last, and had cleaned it up without hesitation that time, as he knew what it meant if he didn't. He was starting to feel better, the fever passing, but he felt hungry now. He hadn't eaten anything in ages, and anything he had in his stomach was now in the bucket beside his cage. 'At least the fever has broken at last,' Yugi thought and looked over at Bakura.
The thief was currently sitting on the stool and sharpening his daggers on a slip stone, as he had been for the last few hours. The hissing sound as the blade glided over the stone filled Yugi's ears, and his heart with dread. Every once and a while Bakura's gaze would go over to the boy in the cage and he would smirk. This would send Yugi's heart racing and his mind whirling.
'Why's he looking at me like that? Please, don't let him hurt me anymore. Please let Yami find me. Please...' He looked down at the ground and started whispering prayers to the Gods for safety.
"What do you say, runt?" Bakura asked, lifting up his dagger and looking at it as it glinted in the sunlight. "Should I send a note to that brother of yours? I'm sure he's noticed your missing by now." He grinned and looked over to Yugi. "Yes, I think we should, if only to twist the blade in the wound." He got up and twirled the dagger around expertly. He closed the gap slowly between him and Yugi. "Ohh, but there's one little problem."
Yugi pushed against the back of the cage and made himself as small as he could, wrapping his arms around his legs and lowering his head, but not taking his eyes from Bakura. "W-what's t-that?" he stuttered, his voice shaking, his whole body shivering.
"I have something to write with," he said, holding up the sharpened dagger, "But I have no ink." His grin grew more and he reached for the key to Yugi's cage and undid the lock, throwing the lid open. "I intend to fix that, right now."
Yugi's eyes widened as he was pulled to his feet and over to a small table where some parchment lay. Bakura sat down and the dagger was pressed against Yugi's upper arm. "D-don't..." Yugi shut his eyes tightly as he felt the cold blade slice through his skin with ease, creating a deep wound. He bit his lip and tried not to yell out loud, but couldn't suppress a yelp as the dagger jabbed him. Blood poured out of the wound, staining his once white tunic red with his life's liquid. 'It hurts so much!'
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Yami looked down at his Puzzle glowed and Yugi's voice filled his ears.
'It hurts so much!'
Yami shut his eyes and clenched his hands in fists. 'No... Yugi...' He felt the anger raging inside of him like a violent desert storm. Yugi was being hurt, and he couldn't do anything about it. "Whoever took my brother is going to die for this!" he growled, almost yelling. He was in Yugi's room at the time and he took out his anger on Yugi's feather bed, punching the soft mattress. After a few punches and angered growls, his anger lessened, but didn't die. He stood upright and composed himself, sighing once he'd gotten a hold of his senses.
Once calm, he returned to looking around his brother's room. He went over to a table and spotted a book lying there. He picked it up and admired the stitch work on the leather covering. 'I wonder if he made this himself,' Yami thought and opened it, turning a few pages. He looked at the writing and started reading to himself.
"Today was like always. I woke in the morning, did my chores, and then went to wake Yami. He was talking in his sleep again when I went in. This time he was muttering about some beauty feeding him grapes. His face was hilarious! He would open his mouth and then half chew, as if he was eating the fruit. Oh how I would love to freeze that moment in time and keep it, just to watch it again and laugh. I didn't catch the girl's name because he woke up, but I would bet that it was a certain girl that I know he likes. No names being put down. I don't think he realised that he had been doing that, and I wasn't going to be the one to tell him. It's my little secret, and my little joke. He still doesn't get it why I put grapes beside his bed now and always offer him some."
'So that's why he does it.' Yami could feel himself warming up and his face flushing. 'I talk in my sleep? And Yugi heard me?' His thoughts were rushing around quickly. 'Wait, he knows who I like too? Oh brother, he'd better not try and bribe me with that information.' He shook his head and chuckled. 'This must be some sort of diary,' he thought and closed it, not reading any more. He got up from where he'd been sitting on the bed and placed the book back in its place on the table. His fingers slid over the leather covering and his brow creased in worry.
"Don't worry, we'll find you brother."
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Yugi whimpered as he held his arm while sitting on the floor. He would have to expose the wound if Bakura needed more of his blood to write with, so he stayed there like an obedient animal. It hurt so much when the blade jabbed his flesh again but he didn't want to think about what would happen if he didn't do what he was told. Bakura had already beaten him for not cleaning up earlier, and now he was using his blood as ink. Objecting to moving his arm away would probably result in more gashes or beatings, and Yugi could do without them.
Bakura finished writing and looked at the parchment for a moment. "That should do," he said in satisfaction. He lifted up the dagger to his mouth and gingerly licked off the blood. "Hm, you taste good runt."
Yugi's face twisted into an expression of complete disgust and he shuddered and closed his eyes, resting his head on his knees.
"Now, just to send this." Yugi looked up when Bakura said this, slight hope that the thief would leave him alone for a while. But no such luck. "If you wanted me to leave you've got another thing coming," Bakura said, as if reading Yugi's thoughts, and smirked. He looked down at the Millennium Ring and muttered a chant, make some shadows from the walls peel away and come over to him like black cloaks. The black reshaped itself into the form of a raven and it landed on Bakura's table. Bakura rolled up the parchment and the raven took it in its claws, giving one silent caw, and then it flew out of the cave.
Bakura looked down at Yugi and saw the disappointment in his violet eyes. "Those eyes," he muttered, getting Yugi's attention. Bakura stalked over and knelt in front of Yugi. He grabbed the boy's chin in his hand and pulled his head forward with a rough jerk, making Yugi wince. "Your eyes, they're the same as that pharaoh's." His own brown orbs narrowed in annoyance. "I despise your brother, did you know that?"
Yugi thought of a smart answer, but didn't want to risk it, so just nodded.
"What do you know, you're not all stupid." Bakura chuckled. "Yes, I hate him. I hate him, I hate his father, and I'm glad that Marla killed him."
Yugi's eyes widened and he pulled his head away from Bakura's hand, the rough skin scratching him a little. "How'd you know my mother's name?!" he yelled.
Bakura stared at him for a while and then smirked. "Oh, I knew your mother very well. Great woman. Did us all a favour by killing that piece of dirt. Too bad she didn't kill that runt brother of yours too." He tilted his head to one side and looked into Yugi's eyes. "You have her height problem."
"That's not my fault!" Yugi blurted out and Bakura laughed.
"Of course it isn't you dolt! You know, I actually didn't even know Marla even bore a child by that bastard until yesterday, when I had a talk with those lovely merchant folk of yours."
"The traders?"
"Yes, the same ones that were in your presence just yesterday, about noon, as was I." He grinned at Yugi's astonished expression.
Yugi felt his jaw drop. "You... You were with them? In the palace?"
"Of course. Who knew it would be so easy? Those foolhardy people thought I was one of them, after being attacked by raiders, so they agreed to let me follow them. Ha! Gullible fools."
Yugi looked up at the man with big eyes. Bakura was still kneeling close to Yugi, casting a cold shadow over the boy. "What did they say about my mother? And how do you know her?"
Bakura didn't see the harm in telling Yugi, plus it would only burden the boy more with what he had to say, so he was more than happy to tell. "They explained how after the current pharaoh's mother died, Marla had come out of nowhere and fallen in love with that bastard. They married and stayed so for about a year I believe. Then you were born. The stories are that your birth drove her to insanity and she murdered the pharaoh in a blind rage, but I know better. She used to live near me, but she was sent on a mission to kill the pharaoh. So you see, little Yugi, your mother was nothing but a hired assassin."
"No. I don't believe you! You're lying!"
"Oh no I'm not. And there's more." Bakura stood up and grinned widely. "Marla was my older sister."
To be continued....
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Slán slán!
Ashla
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