I don't own Yugioh. I do own Maria, Gold, silver, and this plot… which is co-owned by Rei…figures, but nothing more,
Woot! Very long chapter.
'Blah' mental conversation
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Bakura sensed Seth clear his throat and shook his head. "I'm sorry Maria, but I still tire easily. I just came to tell you that I miraculously recovered. Besides, I had to slip away from Rei, and you know how hard that is," Bakura said with a chuckle and felt Maria hug him again.
"Very well, rest up though. I expect you to visit again soon," Maria said, puling away and heading back in as Bakura left the balcony and headed home.
Reaching home sometime later after a walk, Bakura entered the house and saw Rei waiting for him. "Where were you?" she asked.
Bakura grinned. "I went for a walk," he replied.
"Don't lie Kura, where did you go?" Rei pried.
"I went to the palace to tell Maria that I recovered and then I did go for a walk," Bakura said sullenly.
"All right, I believe you. Just please tell me where you are going before you run off again, I don't want to worry about you. It's not in my nature," Rei said with a light laugh.
Bakura grinned and ruffled Rei's hair, since she had it down for once. "You're the best Rei."
Rei let out a low growl and pulled her hair back into its usual ponytail. "Whatever, just don't expect me to act all mushy," she snapped and then stalked to her room.
'Your sister is a feisty one, isn't she?' Seth asked, 'I wonder if she'd pass the weighing of the heart…'
'Don't you dare harm her in any way. You have me, isn't that enough?" Bakura growled at the god as he went up to his room, seeing as it was starting to become light out.
'For now,' Seth replied, 'Now, get some sleep. We're going tomb robbing tomorrow.'
'What tomb?' Bakura asked as he shed his coat and climbed into bed.
'Ex-pharaoh Akunumkanon's.'
'Let me guess, alone?'
'Precisely. Know why? You still need to get even with him for causing the death and ruin of your beloved Kuru Eruna," Seth explained.
"Yes," Bakura muttered, his eyes regaining their crazy, insane gleam, "revenge for my family." While he slept, Bakura's insanity was fueled, by watching the memory of the destruction of the Town of Thieves. Only this time, Bakura was forced to watch it through other eyes as well as his own, so he saw every single drop of blood spilled, rather than what he had witnessed when he lay in hiding.
Bakura woke up the next night feeling as if nothing would ever make him sane again. It was bad enough that he had to witness Kuru Eruna's destruction once when he was little, but having to watch everything again, even the things he didn't see three more times without being able to wake up in between them? It was enough to make anyone cold, uncaring, and purely insane… exactly what Seth was aiming for.
Going downstairs, Bakura wrinkled his nose at the smell of food. "Let me guess, Ishtar is cooking," he said.
"How'd you know?" Ishtar asked, turning.
Bakura smirked evilly. "Easy, I smelled the burning upstairs," he replied, taking a seat and catching his usual apple from Rei.
"It doesn't smell bad, it smells good…" Rei replied, "for once."
"What's in it?" Bakura asked, taking a big bite out of the apple, thus stopping Ishtar from retorting.
"Flesh from my father," Ishtar replied casually, laughing when he saw Bakura go wide-eyed and choke on the apple.
"You better be joking," Bakura hissed dangerously, once he worked the apple out of his throat.
"I was, calm down. That was just revenge," Ishtar retorted.
"Enough both of you, the food is ready," Rei intervened, setting the food on the table. Bakura and Ishtar spent the meal glaring at each other. Finishing his first helping, Bakura stood and put his dish on the counter, heading into the living room.
Rei and Ishtar looked at each other. Bakura only ate that little when he was going to go thieving. "Bakura?" Ishtar called, "What are you doing?"
Bakura reappeared in the doorway, in the middle of pulling on his red coat. "I'm going thieving," he replied, crossing his arms.
Rei looked skeptical. "Are you sure that you're okay enough to go thieving?" she asked.
"I'm fine!" Bakura exploded in such a harsh voice, that even Ishtar jumped. "I feel better than I ever did, so stop nagging!" he growled in a voice totally unlike his own while putting his head cover on.
"Well there's no need to bite our damn heads off," Ishtar snapped in return.
Rei ignored the insuing arguing and looked at Bakura. She was confused. Bakura, knowing her childhood and how she hated being yelled at, never rose his voice at her. Suddenly seeing something unordinary, Rei stepped to right in front of him and grabbing his chin, forced Bakura to stare into her eyes. "Ishtar," she murmured since both grew quiet to see what she would do, "His eyes, they're like yours. He has no pupils anymore."
'Hit the wench away from us! She's starting to catch on,' Seth demanded.
'No, I'll never hit my own sister!' Bakura argued, which caught Seth off guard from where he had been controlling Bakura's movements.
'Hit her or else you'll feel the consequences of disobedience again," Seth snarled. Rei, still gazing into Bakura's eyes saw the mask slip and fear shine through his eyes before the mask was replaced and Bakura started convulsing and crying out in pain.
"R-Rei! G-Get away from me!" Bakura managed to say between convulsions as he clawed at the area around his neck, even though Rei or Ishtar couldn't see anything. Finally the convulsions stopped and Bakura was on his hands and knees, drawing ragged breaths.
Rei went closer, but Bakura's next words stopped her in her tracks. "Stay away from me, both of you. I'm too dangerous and instable for anyone to come near me. I had impulses to hurt you when you were close Rei, I don't want to hurt you. Give me a wide berth," Bakura said, looking straight into both of their eyes.
"I won't do such a thing, and I'm sure Rei won't either," Ishtar replied stubbornly, "I think you owe us some explanations. For starters, why were you clawing at your neck?"
Bakura's eyes widened as he heard Seth chuckling at his predicament. "I did too much. Stay away from Kuru Eruna unless you want me to hurt you. I'm not putting either of you at risk by doing what I have to do."
"What do you have to do?" Rei asked as Bakura rose and headed towards the door.
Bakura paused and looked over his shoulder, an insane grin spreading across his face. "Revenge," he whispered before dashing out of the door and into the night.
"Let him go," Ishtar muttered, grabbing Rei's arm as his friend went to go after her brother, "This is his fight now,"
Rei glowered and knocked Ishtar's hand away, but stayed put. "Akunumkanon's tomb has the newest and best traps, and you expect me not to worry?" she demanded.
"You forget Diabound has the ability to go through anything," Ishtar replied calmly, making Rei calm down. 'I just hope he knows what he's doing,' Ishtar thought to himself.
…
Early the next morning, Atemu sat on his throne yawning. Atemu had barely slept last night, due to a nauseous feeling in his stomach. Nodding his head after making sure no one, especially Shimon, was watching, Atemu hoped to at least rest his eyes before court opened.
"Atemu!" came a hiss in his ear suddenly. Jerking his head up, Atemu blinked sleepily at sapphire eyes, vaguely aware that his six priests were laughing quietly.
"Yes?" he asked.
Maria rolled her eyes and sat in her throne next to Atemu. "You fell asleep. Tired?" she asked with a smile. Nodding, Atemu yawned extra wide.
"Pharaoh, may we open court?" a guard asked.
"Very well," Atemu replied, stifling another yawn. "If it weren't required for me to sit through court, I would just let you do it and get some sleep," he whispered to Maria, who tried not to laugh as the first prisoner was brought in.
"Pharaoh Atemu," Mahaado started, consulting a scroll, "This man was caught stealing from Pharaoh Akunumkanon's tomb."
"I didn't steal anything!" the thief declared, "The tomb was picked bare! There wasn't even a…"
"Quiet!" Seto snapped, "Tombs are sacred. Even if you didn't steal anything, setting foot for reasons other than worship and paying respects is considered sacrilege."
"Okay, this part I can't watch," Maria muttered, "I hate the judging part when the kas come out of the person's mouth."
"Well done Seto," Akunadin said after the monster was sealed away.
Seto snorted. "Please, I'm sure it was dull for the pharaoh and his queen. Shall we draw and quarter him for our Highness' pleasure?" he asked, glaring at the prisoner who eeped.
"Seto, there's no need for that. Isn't it one of the priests' duties to show mercy?" Isis asked.
"Feh, mercy shouldn't be wasted on scum like this," Seto spat, unsheathing the dagger part of the Millennium Rod, "I suggest that we flay him, break his bones, and kill him as a warning to other tomb robbers."
"Priest Seto! That's enough. I won't have you spill unnecessary blood on the throne room floor, or you're cleaning it up without magic," Maria interrupted. "Send that thief to seven years hard labor for his crimes," she said to the guards who immediately bowed and took the prisoner away.
"You know Seto, for not liking Bakura, you certainly have been acting like him lately," Atemu said, leaning back in his throne and chuckling.
Seto flushed and scowling at the two laughing people on the thrones, sheathed the dagger on the Rod. "Mahaado! Isn't it your guards' duty to supervise and guard the tombs?" Seto demanded, turning to the said priest, "The tombs have been defiled too many times, what do you have to say about that?"
Mahaado looked at the floor. "You have my sincerest apologies," he said quietly. "Atemu," he said, turning to the pharaoh, "I request to enlist more men to strengthen the guard at the tombs."
Atemu nodded, and Mahaado made a slight face at Seto. "Just because you're High Priest, doesn't mean you can take on Atemu's role," Mahaado said.
"Enough, you two," Atemu said sternly as Seto was about to reply.
Isis shook her head and was about to summon the next prisoner when the Tauk started glowing.
"What is it Isis?" Maria asked as Isis concentrated.
"I'm seeing an evil shadow approaching the palace, Someone with incredible amounts of heka (Egyptian for magic)," Isis reported. Atemu and Maria exchanged uneasy looks. Something bad was about to happen, and it caught them totally unprepared.
…
Meanwhile, the guards were having problems of their own. "How dare you approach the palace grounds! Who exactly do you think you are?" one guard demanded.
"Well, a king is robed in gold, right?" the figure replied, "Well I'm covered in gold so I guess my title fits. I am the King of Thieves."
"Y-You're Thief Bakura, the legendary tomb robber!" another guard exclaimed.
"Shut up! I have no time for worthless fools like yourselves," Bakura growled before sweeping the guards aside and striding into the palace.
"Your highnesses!" one of the palace soldiers said, bursting into the throne room and hastily bowing, "The tomb robber that robbed Pharaoh Akunumkanon's tomb is heading this way!"
The soldier didn't get to report anything else before he fell dead to the floor, a knife protruding from his skull. "At last, the throne room," Bakura said smugly, entering the throne room, stepping over the soldier's body.
"Bakura!" Maria called somewhat angrily, "What do you think you're doing?"
Bakura just smirked and flung the bag of treasures that was over his shoulder to the ground. "Well, I figured you lost some things, so I decided to see if these were them. I even brought the decrepit form I found in the sarcophagus," Bakura sneered, dragging the thing that he had been pulling along behind him forward.
Atemu looked like he had been hit with something very heavy and very solid. "Father," he murmured. Maria gazed at Atemu sympathetically and gave him a little hug.
"You defiled Akunumkanon's tomb?" Shimon asked in disbelief.
"Very perceptive. I'm really not that interested in the gold though for I have more than enough," Bakura said softly, looking at the trinkets scattered around his feet. Looking up, his expression hardened. "I came for the Millennium items, and if you won't hand them to me, I'll take them by force!" he finished, spreading his arms.
"To step before the throne of the Pharaoh unbidden is a serious and unforgivable crime!" Shaddah snapped.
"So 'pass judgement' on me already so I can get on with my life," Bakura replied impatiently.
Seto smirked. "For a thief like you, it must take guts facing the seven millennium items," he said brandishing the Millennium Rod, "I'll make sure that the canopic jars holding those guts is a large one."
"Bakura, if someone who didn't train their souls, like you, were to touch one of these items, your very soul would be set ablaze," Karim pointed out.
"You excite me. Now I want them even more. I'm not worried about those items hurting me," Bakura said with an evil smile. Laughing insanely, Bakura grinned even wider. "After all, my family is in those items, but if I'm forced to fight you, then so be it. I'll take all of you on at once!"
"Atemu, why would Bakura do this?" Maria asked.
Atemu looked at Maria, and knew she had been deeply hurt and betrayed. "I don't know. Maybe he had been harboring this in his heart for a long time and only just recently decided to release it," he said logically.
Shaddah, looking into Bakura's heart gave a gasp and stumbled backwards. "His ka…it's too great. The sealing stone won't hold it,"
'Seth, what is he talking about?' Bakura wondered.
'They're going to try to seal Diabound in the sealing stone. Normally, they would have been able to do it, but Diabound evolved when I combined myself with your soul,' Seth explained.
'Sounds like fun.' "Come out Diabound!" Bakura shouted, feeling power swirl around him as the massive ka erupted from his body.
"How did Diabound get so big?" Maria asked with wide, fearful eyes as she looked up at the once familiar ka.
"He evolved," was the only answer Atemu could give as he too stared at the monster.
"Don't underestimate the power of the Millennium Items!" Seto growled, "By using the power of the Millennium Rod, I banish Diabound into the stone slab!"
"You fool," Bakura laughed suddenly once Diabound was in the stone, "You should have listened to your priest."
"What?" Seto asked and then looked at the slab. Sure enough, there were cracks spreading across the whole thing and then exploded, allowing Diabound to emerge. "All right you heretical imbecile, we're not letting a shattered stone deter us from dealing you proper justice. We'll all fight you!"
"I can beat you priests with one arm tied behind my back, blindfolded, and on the verge of death. I'd rather duel the Pharaoh. How about it Atemu? If I lose to you, you can have my head. If I win though, I take every thing dear to you, your life, your finery, and the Millennium Items," Bakura offered.
"What's wrong with you Bakura? Why are you doing this?" Maria asked, fearing the reason.
Bakura picked up on the fear and laughed again. "What's the matter my queen? Do I scare you?" he asked in an oily voice, which made Maria cringe and draw backwards. "As for why I'm doing this… ask him," Bakura stated, gesturing to the mummy on the floor, "After all, he was the one who made the items."
"Bakura, Akunumkanon made the items for peace and justice…" Akunadin started, but trailed off when Bakura glared in a loathing manner at him.
"Justice?" Bakura mocked, "Is killing off my whole town except for me defined as justice? The town is now little more than complete ruin except for a shrine under some buildings. That shrine holds the mold that the Items were created from." "Did you ever think, Pharaoh, that your father was after the evil power that is locked away in the Millennium items? This corpse got what he deserved, but my revenge isn't fulfilled yet," Bakura hissed, stepping on the body and softly laughed when an audible crunch came from the mummy.
"BAKURA! GET YOUR FOOT OFF THAT BODY!" Atemu exploded, leaping from his throne.
"Ah, so that got your ass off of the throne," Bakura observed.
All of the priests bristled and summoned their kas. As the kas flew at Diabound, Atemu walked forward in a numb state, totally ignoring the fighting kas.
"Atemu!" Maria called after him and started going forward, but was stopped by Shimon. "…Shimon?"
"He won't come back until he retrieves his father. The puzzle will protect him. For now, stay here. It wouldn't be good if both of you were harmed," Shimon soothed.
Maria nodded and turned to watch the battle. So far, Bakura was wiping out the priests' monsters one at a time. "What power!" Mahaado exclaimed as his mage avoided a blow by Diabound, which unfortunately wiped out Karim's and Shaddah's monsters.
"Don't give up!" Akunadin urged.
"Fools, you're no match for Diabound!" Bakura laughed and since he was caught up in the battle, never noticed Atemu come up.
"Move," Atemu said, shoving Bakura aside and picking up his father's body.
"Quite an emotional reunion, eh Pharaoh?" Bakura called after Atemu's form as he walked back to the throne, "I must admit, some pieces may have fallen off on the way here."
"Stay there. I'm going to destroy you," Atemu said pausing for a second and then walking on, missing the smirk that adorned Bakura's face.
'Destroy us? Can he do that?' Bakura asked Seth in an amused tone.
'You can still die, but the Pharaoh is nowhere near strong enough to do that,' Seth replied with a chuckle, 'What say you to killing him before he can get back to his perch?'
'Sounds fun,' Bakura replied as he ordered Diabound to set his sights on the Pharaoh.
"Atemu! Watch out!" Maria's screamed warning reached his ears and he leaped to the side just as the snake part of Diabound snapped at the spot where he'd been.
"Priests! Protect the pharaoh!" Maria ordered. Seto and Mahaado nodded and worked together for once. Seto brought his servant monster around to distract Diabound, setting Diabound up so Mahaado's mage could trap it with its spellbinding phantasm.
"Now you can't move, Thief," Seto sneered.
By that time, Atemu had reached the thrones. Maria helped him lay his father gently down and then stood uncertainly to the side.
"Great Pharaoh!" Shimon exclaimed, "To think he would come back to the palace in this state."
"…He's not the pharaoh," Atemu said softly raising his head and looking at Maria and Shimon with anger blazing in his eyes, "This battered and mistreated body is my father!"
"What shall we do?" Maria asked softly.
"You're willing to fight?" Atemu asked, surprised.
Maria nodded. "That's not the Bakura I know. The Bakura I knew is long gone," she said icily.
"Now Gadius! Destroy Diabound!" Akunadin ordered.
Bakura tried to hold in his laughter. The fools were very amusing. "You priests fell into my trap! I let you catch me just so I could destroy you all at once. Ready? Here I come!" Bakura chuckled and throwing off Mahaado's spell, crushed the remaining kas. Bakura, seeing that they were unprotected, was about to kill all six, when two figures blocked his path.
"We'll fight now," Maria said, closing her eyes and concentrating.
"Get back, all of you!" Atemu ordered to the priests, the Millennium Puzzle glowing.
"Feh, I'll destroy you both before either of your kas can emerge!" Bakura snapped, Diabound lashing the snake head at Atemu and Maria, intent on swallowing both of them.
"Not if I can help it!" Maria snapped, her twin ka dragons emerging full sized and knocking the snake part aside.
Bakura's eyes widened at the sight of the dragons. They were at their full sizes and were bigger than Diabound. The dragons didn't do anything, just glowered, ready to deflect another attack.
"Now Bakura, we're going to show you real justice," Atemu growled, summoning Obelisk, "Our justice is in the name of the gods, so I'm showing you one of our three great allies, the great god Obelisk!" Seeing astonishment fill Bakura's eyes, Atemu's eyes narrowed in return. "Bow before the gods Bakura!"
"Here comes a good move," Mahaado said.
"What do you mean?" Seto asked, looking at the slightly younger priest.
"Atemu and Maria have been practicing combination moves with the gods. I've seen Obelisk's and Osiris' combos, but never Ra's," Mahaado replied, "That's how Maria's dragons have become so big, they've trained with gods."
"This is an interesting twist," Bakura said with a chuckle as the two dragons came down to hover by obelisk's fists, "I was planning to kill you eight, and then just take the items. I never thought that I would be stopped by a god. Of course, if that's what it takes, Diabound will crush your god, and then we'll see who the real god is!"
"Bakura, I'll never forgive the person who tries to steal the items," Atemu growled, "The items were forged to bring peace to the world."
"Don't make me laugh," Bakura retorted, "the items are made of good and evil, kind of like a double-edged sword. Of course you would think they are good. You're too idiotically goody-goody to believe different. Rich and powerful scum like you just love to talk about this so called 'justice.' To have the right to punish those you fear…to kill those you hate and call it execution, not murder."
"What are you getting at?" Maria demanded.
"That is your ideals really justice? Or is it evil, and you merely fear your opponent's version of justice! No one can draw the line between good and evil, and I'm living example of that. I claim justice on my side as well…justice for my family. I'll kill every one of you," Bakura declared.
"Murder? Grave robbing? Betrayal? Where is the justice in your actions? You're not getting away with this!" Atemu snarled in response, his anger beyond his control.
"I'm not answering you. I'm bored and want to fight so, Diabound! Destroy Obelisk! Surpass the power of the gods!" Diabound leaped forward and prepared to strike Obelisk. Atemu stood his ground, Maria not a foot from him, both ready to counter-strike.
"Perish!" Bakura yelled, "Spiral wave!"
Obelisk put his arm in front of the two rulers as the two dragons closed their wings around them as well. All that Maria and Atemu could hear and feel was the tearing wind that managed to leak past the wings. Finally the wind stopped and the three monsters lifted their cover, totally unscathed.
"I-Impossible! The spiral wave didn't do anything!" Bakura murmured, backing slightly, Seth even shaken and slightly uneasy.
Looking at the two, Bakura was surprised to see Maria crying freely, her usually composed self totally gone and broken down. Meeting his eyes, Maria's tears fell faster. "I'm sorry," she whispered, motioning a signal to her dragons.
"Bakura," Atemu said softly but fiercely as Gold and Silver settled next to Obelisk, poised to attack, "We'll now show you just how flimsy your justice is with the iron fist of a god! God hand crusher!"
At those words, the two dragons fired their blasts, making them spiral around Obelisk's arm and fist as Obelisk punched Diabound. The impact and force were so great, Diabound and Bakura flew across the room and crashed into the wall behind them.
"Amazing," Isis breathed, "They took both down in one blow!"
"I'd hate to be on the receiving end of that," Mahaado muttered, earning nods from the other priests.
Bakura groaned and got to his knees, vaguely aware that he was being watched. 'That blow took a lot of our Ba,' he said shakily to Seth.
'Yes, but we still have enough to get out of here and recover,' Seth replied, angry that they lost.
Bakura staggered to his feet, holding a hand to his throbbing stomach, Diabound rising behind him. Hearing one of the bumbling priests say something about him still having power, Bakura smirked as Diabound held out his hand and he hopped onto it. "Not bad," Bakura called to the pharaoh and apparently his former friend. "You're better than I thought. But next time, things won't go so well for you. So long!" He called as Diabound held him securely and flew through the wall.
"Don't just stand there! Go after him!" Seto ordered the guards. Atemu banished Obelisk back to his tablet and turning, saw Maria still shedding tears.
"Are you alright?" Atemu asked quietly.
Maria looked at him and rubbed her eyes, causing the kohl she wore to become greatly smeared. "Let me guess, my face is a mess from crying," she said, seeing Atemu trying not to smile and pointed to his own eyes to indicate she smeared her kohl. As her husband did that, she smiled humorlessly and then saddened again. "I never thought Bakura would betray me," she said, "I'm fine, but seeing him kill that one soldier mercilessly tore my heart in two."
"It'll hurt for a while, but soon it'll become a dull ache," Atemu soothed, kissing Maria's forehead.
"One thing's for sure," Seto said, tucking the Millennium rod into his sash and embracing his sister in a much needed hug, "We can't trust Bakura ever again."
Atemu nodded and turning to a guard, ordered court to be closed for the remainder of the day before taking Maria to their room.
Meanwhile, Bakura managed to escape Thebes and made it to a nearby rock bluff, Diabound right beside him. Bakura let loose an evil laugh as he looked down at the city, just barely seeing the guards spreading through the city, not worried about Rei and Ishtar. They knew what to do when he got into more trouble than expected and had to hide or flee while the guards searched every house for him.
"This is the prelude to the fall of your dynasty. I'll kill you, Yugi, and then finally Maria. One thief will start a war, and you better give it all you got, Pharaoh!" Bakura laughed as Diabound picked him up and flew on to Kuru Eruna.
That night, Atemu stood on the balcony that gave the second greatest view, gazing out at the desert. He would have stood on his room's balcony, but he didn't want to disturb Maria. He had told her to rest after that fiasco, and later brought Yugi in to cheer her up. She was sleeping when he last checked up on her.
His thoughts were torn back to reality when he felt someone slip their arm through his and lean on his shoulder. Looking down, he smiled softly seeing Maria there. "Are you okay?"
"Yes, I'll live. Atemu, what are we going to do? I can't keep fighting him," Maria murmured, burying her face in his shirt as he faced her. Remembering something, Maria looked up at Atemu. "How are you holding up?" she asked.
"I'm still sorrowful that my father was desecrated like that. Shimon told me that he'll be interred into the Valley of the Kings after we repeat the funerary rites," Atemu replied, stroking her hair and looking out over the desert again.
The priests had been standing quietly behind them for a couple minutes. Finally, Mahaado couldn't take the guilt gnawing at him. "Pharaoh, I'm to blame for this. It's due to my ineptitude that your father's tomb was defiled…I await your punishment," he said, getting down on one knee and staring at the ground.
Maria and Atemu turned to face him. Atemu regarded him seriously and then smiled softly. "Mahaado," he said, "Please see that my father is interred with great respect."
Mahaado's head snapped up and saw that Atemu wasn't joking. "Yes, I'll comply and I'll stake my life upon succeeding," Mahaado replied bowing again.
"Mahaado, Atemu would never punish you. He knows there wasn't anything you could do, and trusts that you will correct your mistake on your own," Maria said, with an agreeing nod from Atemu.
Mahaado nodded and got up, going to stand beside Atemu, the other priests coming to stand on either side of the royal couple, all looking out over the desert.
"You know," Maria said after a peaceful silence, "If we work together and remain loyal to one another, Bakura won't be able to defeat us."
"What about his sister?" Karim asked after Seto and the others had left, leaving him, Atemu, Maria, and Mahaado on the balcony.
"You mean Rei? If I knew Bakura at all, he would have told her to stay out of it. If there's one thing that's certain about Bakura, is that he loves Rei more than anything and it would kill him if anything happened to her," Maria said, and then noticed that the other three were looking at her. "No, leave her alone. If Rei were a part of this, she would have been here with Bakura," she said fiercely.
"That may be, but it would be wise not to trust either of them again," Atemu replied darkly before turning away from the desert, "Come, let's all get some rest. We still have to do court tomorrow."
"Just get some sleep tonight Atemu," Mahaado joked suddenly as they were heading in, "We wouldn't want you to fall asleep again."
…
A little while later, Seto strode down the walkway towards the shrine of Wedju, the guards admitting him immediately. Climbing the stairs to the center of the shrine, Seto nodded to Akunadin. "You wanted to see me?"
"I wanted to know if there's word on Bakura's whereabouts," Akunadin said, turning to face Seto.
"No, but we have expanded the search area to not only Thebes, but also to the desert, the gorge, and soldiers were even sent to Kuru Eruna, but there hasn't been any luck yet," Seto reported.
"I hope we catch him. We both know if Atemu hadn't been able to wield one of the gods, we all would have died," Akunadin replied.
"That's the problem with most scum. Their kas aren't strong enough for us to use. Weak hearts equals weak monsters, and we can't keep relying on the gods if Diabound gets stronger," Seto said gazing around the shrine at all of the monsters.
"Diabound got so strong from Bakura's hatred being fueled. Since Bakura is a survivor from Kuru Eruna, His hatred and anger will be bottomless," Akunadin sighed, not looking up, "Few know about the evil side of the Millennium items."
Seto was greatly surprised. "You mean that Bakura's cock-and-bull story about the Millennium items was true?" he demanded.
"Yes, and that's why we can't let Bakura have the items," Akunadin replied.
"I have an idea," Seto said, his eyes narrowing, "If Bakura's ka had hidden abilities, who's to say that people in Thebes don't have kas with hidden abilities? We should capture them, and develop their ka, and turn them into powerful weapons! If kas grow by hatred, then we can torture our captives. No one will question our motives, seeing as we are the highest authority under the Pharaoh. We should get results."
"You're mad Seto! Pharaoh Atemu would never allow you to abuse the commoners like that! Besides, your sister would be crushed if she knew you had such intentions! She needs you as a support for the time being," Akunadin exclaimed, shocked.
"Of course my dear cousin would never let me go through with it, but why should either him or my sister know? They have enough on their plates as it is. In times like this, it's up to us priests to become the pharaoh's shadows in a manner of speaking and protect the royal household with shadow tactics. I'm asking you to leave everything to me," Seto reasoned. Akunadin just sighed and nodded finally.
"Just be careful," Akunadin said. Seto nodded and left the shrine.
A few days later, Pharaoh Akunumkanon's body was once again laid to rest in his tomb. After Atemu's father was put in the tomb, Atemu, Maria, and the priests returned to the palace to continue training. Over the past few days, the priests had been fighting mock battles to strengthen their kas. Atemu noticed progress in some of the kas and was happy. What delighted him the most, was that the mock battles cheered Maria up, and they amused her and Yugi.
"Okay! Today's duel will be a team duel of three versus three," Maria announced, "Each team gets three stones, and you can either use your stone to summon a monster or you can use your ka, it's your choice, but only one monster apiece, so choose wisely. The first team to defeat all three of the opposing monsters wins."
"Yugi, would like to get the ball rolling?" Atemu asked the child on his lap as the priests split into teams. Seto, Akunadin and Shaddah were on one team, while Mahaado, Isis, and Karim were on the other.
Yugi nodded and called out, "Diaha!" Of course, Yugi shouted it in a cute way, which made most of the priests laugh and the ones that didn't, smile.
"All right, I summon Duos, my ka!" Seto commanded as the said monster appeared.
"Then I'll summon Zerua!" Shaddah called, summoning the monster from the stone slab behind him.
"Fine! Then I'll summon my Magus of Illusion!" Mahaado said. Isis summoned Spiria, her ka, and it was a face off, each side daring the other to make the first move.
"This will be interesting to say the least," Atemu chuckled.
"I agree, Karim must have a trap monster waiting in a stone slab," Maria replied, settling back to watch.
"Let's get this ball rolling! Duos! Attack Mahaado's monster!" Seto commanded.
"You're an idiot Seto!" Mahaado called before activating his ka's power, "Spellbinding phantasm!"
"I'll summon a monster from the tablet now! Dark Ushebti!" Akunadin replied, summoning the said monster.
"Ushebti are substitutes, so it'll abrorb you phantasm, allowing me to continue my attack!" Seto said, urging Duos forward.
"Not if I can help it Seto!" Isis retorted, "Spiria! Use your rainbow barrier!"
"This is a good duel. While Seto's side is relying on Duos' strength, Mahaado's side is relying on teamwork and skill," Atemu commented.
"Yes, but it's Shaddah's move now," Maria replied as Yugi clapped.
"Zerua! Use your special power to dispel the rainbow barrier!" Shaddah commanded. Zerua continued through the barrier and headed straight towards Spiria.
"Now! Desert Trapdoor Spider! Stop Zerua!" Karim commanded. The spider spit a web and ensnared Zerua in it.
"Thank you for destroying the barrier Shaddah," Seto smirked, "Now let me return the favor." Duos whirled and sliced Zerua in half.
"What are you doing Seto?" Akunadin asked.
Seto smirked as Duos destroyed the Dark Ushebti. "Simple, every time Duos sacrifices an ally, his power increases. Since he destroyed two monsters, Duos' attack power is tripled! Now I'll take care of all of your monsters at once! Aura sword!" Seto replied as Duos took out the three monsters.
Mahaado and Karim fell off the platform from the blast, and Isis was forced to kneel and protect herself from flying debris. "That's enough Seto!" Maria called once the attack settled and ended, "You win."
"Mahaado! What kind of ka was that?" Seto spat, rounding on Mahaado as Karim helped him up, "It was pathetic! You need to strengthen your ba if you're going to protect Atemu with that!"
"Seto, I admit that we lost, but what point is winning if you sacrifice your allies?" Karim asked when Mahaado didn't reply.
"War isn't won by the number of soldiers or words," Seto sneered turning and starting to walk off, missing Karim's and Mahaado's glares, "Mark these words, I'll listen to you after you become a better opponent!"
"Seto!" Atemu called.
"Yes Atemu?" Seto asked curiously.
"Seto, a battle strategy that relies on brute strength alone in time will reveal unforeseen weaknesses," Atemu replied with a sideways glance at Maria.
"Is that so…" Seto observed.
"Tue power never involves hurting your friends and allies," Maria added softly.
"Really, then what is power? This may be presumptuous of me, but I would appreciate instruction from the 'great pharaoh.' Would it be possible for a duel right now?" Seto asked mockingly while bowing deeply.
"As you wish," Atemu replied, not at all offended by the lack of respect. Handing Yugi over to Maria, Atemu stood and went to one side of the dueling platform, the other priests moving out of the way as Seto went to the other side.
"I'm interested to see the power of the gods," Seto said as the two faced off.
"What? Oh, I'm not going to use any of the gods, it would be a waste of their time," Atemu said, waving his hand in a dismissing manner, "All I'll need is one stone."
"No god? But Duos…are you sure?" Seto asked.
"Positive. You need not hold back," Atemu replied.
"Diaha!" Yugi called with a giggle. It was rare that he watched his father duel.
"Okay, I'll summon Duos!" Seto started, his ka appearing behind him.
"Then I'll choose Kuriboh," Atemu replied, the little monster appearing on the slab, but not summoned yet.
"Are you making fun of me?" Seto demanded, "It matters not, I'll crush that pathetic slab before you can summon the monster."
Duos leaped forward and smashed the stone to thousands of pieces. "You think it's over?" Atemu asked with a light laugh at seeing Seto's triumphant grin.
"W-What?" Seto asked and then looked at the now smoking pieces. On every piece, a figure of Kuriboh was forming.
"Thank you for activating Kuriboh's ability for me. You saved me some energy," Atemu laughed. He then summoned the Kuribohs. A thousand of the furballs emerged from their stones and multiplying even more, covered Duos from head to toe.
Maria, knowing this move all too well, covered Yugi's ears, ready for a loud bang. Sure enough, a sound akin to an explosion erupted as all of the Kuribohs exploded simultaneously, wiping out Duos in the process.
Mahaado and Karim barked a laugh at Seto. Since the duelist feels what their ka feels, Seto was covered in scorch marks, a stunned expression on his face. "Told you," Atemu got out between laughs. Seto snarled in reply and stormed off to clean up.
Later, once the excitement died down, the priests, Maria, and Atemu went different ways, Seto and Shaddah saying that they were going to supervise the search. Since the servants were busy repairing the wall near the entrance, court was closed. Maria and Atemu walked with Yugi, the little boy running around laughing.
"I wonder why Seto and Shaddah decided to go supervise the search," Maria wondered, playing with her magic and making little animals for Yugi to play with as they sat in the garden.
"Knowing those two, they're probably thinking that the guards are slacking. You know that Seto needs to get out and do things," Atemu laughed.
Meanwhile, Seto and Shaddah were walking with some of the guards, looking for good candidates for Seto's experiment. As the guards searched the houses for Bakura, they brought out possible people under the pretense that they were merely questioning them.
Shaddah would test their hearts and decide if they were suitable. They had been doing this for over an hour when a guard shouted something. Turning, Seto saw about three guards pulling a figure towards him. The figure had a black cloak with a black hood on covering the figure's features. Seto smirked when he saw the figure struggling to escape.
"We spotted this boy coming and when he saw us, he started fleeing. Luckily we caught him," The one guard said.
Seto strode closer and pulled the hood off of the figure. The figure was merely a boy no more than two years younger than himself. Lavendar eyes glared wildly as the boy twisted to break free.
"Enough, boy!" Seto snapped, grabbing one of his arms and twisting it into a submission hold.
"Don't call me 'Boy.' I do have a name, and it's none of your damn buisness," Ishtar growled, blowing a lock of his hair out of his face.
"Shaadah, check his heart. I think we'll use him regardless, but I want to make sure," Seto said as guards tied Ishtar's hands behind his back and forced him to stand.
Shaddah complied and saw that this boy's heart's shadows were as deep as Bakura's. Looking further, Shaddah saw his ka. It was a shimmery blue blob looking monster.
"It's nothing right now, but if 'trained' right, this ka could rival at least the queen's dragons," Shaddah replied.
"Excellent. Bring him along and make him…comfortable," Seto told a guard. The guard bowed swiftly and he and a few others dragged Ishtar away, their captive struggling every step of the way.
As they passed his and Rei's house, Ishtar pursed his lips and whistled shrilly, earning a hit to the back of the head, knocking him unconscious. All he hoped, was that Rei had heard his trouble signal.
Some time later, Ishtar woke up and found himself facing the wall, his wrists chained above his head, his cloak and shirt missing. Panicking, Ishtar started to at least try to turn himself so his back was against the wall, horrible memories from when his father was alive and what he had done to him coming back in a rush. Finally getting his back against the wall, Ishtar looked up as he heard the door to his cell open and paled seeing High Priest Seto standing in the doorway, a jailer behind him.
"Good, you're awake. You see, it's no fun torturing someone when they're unconscious," Seto said approacing Ishtar, but paused when Ishtar snapped his teeth at him. "You really want your chest to be marred?" Seto asked, using the magic of the Millennium Rod to paralyze Ishtar before going over and shackling his ankles down.
At the signal to procede, the jailer uncoiled a whip and started towards Ishtar, Seto backing up so as not to get hit. Ishtar, seeing the whip, let out a little moan and started struggling fruitlessly.
"Remember to scream. It'll only fuel the jailer more if you don't," Seto chukled as the jailer snapped the whip, making it smack across Ishtar's chest and stomach. At first Ishtar refused to scream, but as the jailer started hitting the sensitive areas on his chest, arms, legs, and stomach, he couldn't help but scream, hating the high priest with every fiber of his being more and more with every hit.
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YSF: How's Ishtar going to get out of this one? Find out next chapter. By the way, there's only going to be around four more chapters and then I'll get started on a sequel. Remember: All I ask is that you review. It doesn't have to be a long review, you can just put nice or good in it and I'll be happy.
And again by the way, if anyone would be so kind as to read my best friend's fic: Immortal Death by Night Spirit1. She needs five reviews, so please help her out. It's really a good story.