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 whatever
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"Bakura tried to take Akunadin's Millennium Eye but didn't when Akunadin yelled in pain. However, he and another male stole Seto's Millennium Rod," Atemu replied, "I need you to stay here with Yugi. Osiris can take Diabound."
"But, Bakura's truly not that bad. I see that now. Oh Atemu, please don't kill him," Maria murmured after Atemu had galloped off, summoning Osiris as he went.
Bakura laughed due to the sheer adrenaline rush he was experiencing. Looking over to his right, he smirked seeing Ishtar riding on Sekhmet, apparently enjoying himself also. "You didn't drop it, did you?" Bakura called.
Ishtar turned and blinked from the depths of his hood. Flashing a grin, Ishtar reached into the waistband of his pants and pulled out the Millennium Rod. "Nope," he replied, "I wouldn't drop this for the world!"
Bakura started to reply but his ears caught the sound of horse hooves behind them, and the telltale roar of a monster. Looking over his shoulder, Bakura's eyes widened upon seeing Osiris. "Go to Kuru Eruna and hide!" Bakura hissed, guiding Anubis close enough to Sekhmet so that Ishtar's leg was behind his, both legs touching both horses, "The pharaoh set a damn god on us! I'll lure him away and you take the Rod and flee!"
Ishtar glanced over his shoulder, nodded, and turning Sekhmet into an alley, vanished into the shadows. Bakura looked at the Millennium Ring around his neck, grateful that he had mastered the powers over the week. Concentrating, Bakura made an imitation Millennium Rod. Turning, Bakura regarded Atemu with amusement. "What's the matter pharaoh?" Bakura taunted, waving the 'rod' in front of him, "Can't keep up with Anubis?"
Atemu growled and ordered Osiris to attack. Bakura turned and galloped off, heading towards the rock bluffs after summoning Diabound. 'Diabound, be a dear and attack the village, okay?' Bakura asked his ka. Giving his acknowledgement, Diabound flew up and shot blasts towards the village.
Atemu saw the blasts and had Osiris go between the blasts and the village. "Bakura! Stop being a coward and fight fair!" Atemu shouted as they cleared the village and approached the rock bluffs.
Bakura gritted his teeth and tried to ignore the insult, and headed to the top of the highest bluff. Of course, Atemu knew that Bakura hated being called weak, so he kept it up. "I see, you're nothing but a coward! I knew it as soon as I saw you flee the throne room to save your pathetic life! You probably ran away from Mahaado as well because his ka was too strong for you!" Atemu kept saying.
"That's it!" Bakura snarled, wheeling Anubis around so fast, the horse reared in surprise. Jumping off, Bakura faced Atemu still on Star. "I'll face you, and show you just how strong I am!" Bakura snapped, Diabound hovering behind him.
"This will be over shortly," Atemu replied, signaling for Osiris to attack. Diabound dispersed the attack and attacked the god with all he had. Meanwhile, Ishtar had reached Kuru Eruna and brushing off Rei's inquiries, headed up to the observation roof.
"What is it?" Rei asked, joining Ishtar on the roof.
Ishtar pointed to a splash of crimson in the sky. "That's where Bakura is fighting the Pharaoh," he explained.
"Then why aren't we helping him?" Rei demanded, turning to go, but stopped as Ishtar grabbed her arm, "Let me go!"
"Not until you listen! You forget I was the son of a noble even though my father didn't act like one. I heard of the strength that Osiris possesses. Dreadscythe and Slime Defender wouldn't stand a chance. Diabound has evolved greatly since I last saw him. We'd just be in the way," Ishtar snapped, letting Rei's arm go.
Rei growled but stayed put. "I hate it when you're right," she muttered, causing Ishtar to smirk.
…
Bakura waited patiently for Atemu to attack him. He had sent Diabound into the ground to sneak up behind the Pharaoh, while Atemu was preparing an attack from above the cloud cover. Hearing a roar directly above him, Bakura felt a faint glimmer of fear as he stared straight up into the mouth of Osiris as the said dragon spiraled from the sky straight at him.
"You idiot!" Bakura laughed suddenly, "You left yourself wide open!" At the mental command that followed, Diabound rose out of the ground behind Atemu and swiped him clean off of his horse. Star, frightened, turned and bolted back towards Thebes.
Atemu gasped for air as Diabound attempted to squeeze all of the air out of him as the monster held him high off of the ground. 'O-Osiris, stop your attack on Bakura and help me!' he pleaded, the red dragon immediately pulling out of his dive and streaked towards Diabound, colliding with the ka. Diabound dropped Atemu in surprise, but luckily, Atemu landed on Osiris and slid down the tail to the ground.
Diabound grappled Osiris, and with the snakehead, snapped the weakened god in two. Bakura and Atemu watched, the latter in horror, and the former in glee. "I'm not done! I summon the third god, the Winged Dragon of Ra!" Atemu declared, gripping the Millennium Puzzle and pooling his ebbing strength together.
'Where the hell does his energy come from?' Bakura thought as the clouds parted and the great beast descended from the skies. Unfortunately, Bakura had little time to ponder that, for Ra attacked Diabound with such a blast, Bakura felt the life being sapped out of him. Collapsing on the ground, Bakura's vision started to darken, not knowing that the Millennium Ring started glowing and tapping into a hidden ability.
Ishtar and Rei watched in confusion suddenly as Ra looked like it was sucked up into the sky quickly. "Ishtar, do you know what happened?" Rei asked.
"I'm not sure, but I think the Millennium Ring used a hidden ability… the ability to rewind time," Ishtar said softly as Osiris reappeared in the sky.
"A hidden ability?"
"Yes, the Items all have special abilities that only the wielders who the items choose can bring them out. The Ring must have chosen Bakura," Ishtar explained.
…
Bakura blinked in surprise at finding himself suddenly standing and watching Atemu getting the squeeze put on him again by Diabound. Seeing Osiris about to ram Diabound, Bakura ordered Diabound to drop the pharaoh and destroy Osiris in a more painful way.
Atemu hit the ground and rolled, getting onto his hands and knees, gasping for breath, not noticing that he was not even a foot from the edge of the bluff. Diabound slammed Osiris into the ground and ripped the god in two again, creating a tremor to rumble through the ground when the two monsters hit the ground. Atemu, who had just staggered to his feet, felt the rock break underneath him and fell off the edge, just barely able to grab onto the edge before he plummeted to his death.
"Well, well, well. The pharaoh at my mercy," Bakura sneered, approaching Atemu and stomping on the hand that had grabbed the edge. "You won't be needing this anymore," he said, kneeling and taking the puzzle from around Atemu's neck.
"Bakura! Help me up!" Atemu begged.
"Why should I?" Bakura asked harshly, standing and grinding his heel into Atemu's hand, knowing that if he lifted his foot, the pharaoh would fall, "You wouldn't even consider saving my life if the positions were reversed, so why should I save yours?"
"If you won't help me for my sake, help me for Maria's sake," Atemu growled.
Bakura flinched at the mention of his best friend. Thinking about it, Bakura felt the tiniest of electrical shocks from his dubbed 'slave bands,' reminding him of the deity that lived inside him. "Not even the mention of her can sway me!" Bakura snapped and then lifted his foot. "So long Pharaoh!" Bakura called as Atemu vanished into the darkness, eyes wide with fear.
Bakura turned then and slid the Puzzle around his neck. "Come Anubis, take me back to Kuru Eruna," Bakura said with a yawn, getting on Anubis. The inky stallion turned and headed towards the destroyed village at a gallop.
"Are you okay Bakura?" Rei asked, coming up to her brother as he rode into the town.
"Why do you ask?" Bakura asked as he slid off of Anubis.
"Well for one you look pale, two you're covered in blood, and three, you're trembling," Ishtar replied, coming up behind Rei.
Bakura turned towards Ishtar and snorted. "You're so bandaged you look like a mummy," he laughed.
Ishtar flushed and glared at Bakura. "Don't change the subject, tell us what happened!" he snapped.
"Fine. I defeated Osiris, but Atemu managed to summon Ra as you may have noticed. I got blasted and felt the life draining out of me when time rewound somehow and I managed to defeat Atemu before he summoned Ra," Bakura said shakily, remembering the weird feeling of time rewinding.
Rei went and gave him something rare for the both of them, a hug. "Just go and rest Bakura, you had a trying fight," Rei said taking Anubis' reins.
Bakura smiled and ruffled her bangs since he couldn't mess up her ponytail. "I'll do just that," he said with another yawn as he headed towards his room.
Back in Thebes, the priests watched as Maria paced the throne room, thoroughly wound up. Yugi was even awake, turning his head to watch his mother pace from where he was sitting on Atemu's throne.
"Maria, I'm sure Atemu's fine. Just relax, I'm sure he'll return in a little while," Isis tried to reason. Maria paused briefly to lock gazes with Isis before resuming pacing.
"Mommy, you're making me dizzy!" Yugi spoke up before clutching his head.
"Sorry," Maria replied, stopping and picking up Yugi. Sitting on the throne, Maria sighed and looked at Seto, ready to ask him something, but stopped when she saw something purple behind him.
"What is it Maria?" Karim asked before gazing in the direction that Maria and now Yugi were staring.
Seto raised an eyebrow as the other priests stared at him. "What?" he demanded.
"Behind you Uncle Seto," Yugi said.
Seto turned warily and jumped, seeing the purple clad figure behind him. "Oh my Ra!"
"I disappear for a week and that's all that you can say to me?" the figure asked with a chuckle.
Maria put Yugi down and stood, going cautiously over to the figure. "Mahaado?" she asked hesitantly.
Mahaado grinned broadly and hugged Maria tightly. "Yes it's me," he replied.
"Aren't you supposed to be dead?" Seto demanded.
"I am in a way," Mahaado said releasing Maria, "You're talking to my ba and ka." "Where's Atemu?" he asked looking around.
"He went after Bakura. He tried to steal father's Millennium Eye and failed, but managed to steal Seto's Millennium Rod beforehand," Maria explained.
"Not so cocky now that your item was stolen, are you?" Mahaado asked Seto. Seto snarled in reply.
Maria shook her head and as she went to break up the bickering, a guard rushed in and hastily bowed. "What is it?" Maria asked, Seto and Mahaado stopping their arguing to listen.
"Pharaoh Atemu's horse has returned…you may want to see for yourself," the guard replied before rushing out. Maria followed, Seto, Mahaado, and the others following her. Outside the palace, they found Star, tossing his head and shying away from anyone who came near.
"Yugi, stay with Seto," Maria said before going down the stairs and towards Star. "Star, it's okay, calm down," she soothed as Star reared when she got close. Star, recognizing the voice, landed and trotted towards her and stopped, allowing Maria to grab his bridle.
As she grabbed hold of Star, her magic kicked in and a gut wrenching sensation made her double over. Mahaado flew to Maria and managed to catch her as she collapsed.
"Are you all right?" Mahaado asked.
Maria weakly stirred and opened her eyes. "I'm fine, but I have a very bad feeling. It's like the feeling I felt when Nephoris hurt the horses, but this time it's much worse," she replied.
Seto and the others had come up at that point. Mahaado passed a hand slowly over Maria's face causing the queen to become limp. "What did you just do?" Seto asked.
"A simple sleep spell. Seto, organize a search party. Something obviously just happened to Atemu," Mahaado said as he stood, "I'll take Maria to her room and then join your search. Let's hope Atemu is only hurt," he added softly, looking at Maria and then at Yugi, motioning for the little boy to follow as he headed back into the palace.
…
Three days later, Atemu still hadn't been found, much to Seto's displeasure. Everyone believed him dead, and Maria had taken up the duties of the Pharaoh. In fact, she and Yugi were the only ones who didn't believe that Atemu was dead.
Seto jumped as Mahaado appeared next to him. "Don't do that," he said icily.
"Sorry," Mahaado apologized wearily, Seto seeing how much strain the Mage was under.
"Why do you push yourself so?" Seto asked, "You're still hurt from your fight with Bakura and you've barely returned to your tablet."
"I want to find Atemu," Mahaado explained.
Some of the tension left Seto's face as he smiled a true smile. "Rest now Mahaado. I promise if anything happens, I'll summon you," he said as he turned to leave and putting a hand on Mahaado's shoulder as he left.
Seto entered the throne room and saw Isis sitting on the steps leading up to the thrones concentrating while Maria sat on Atemu's throne, polishing her crown. "What's Isis doing?" he asked.
Maria looked up and glanced at Isis. "She's searching the bluffs through Spiria's eyes," Maria explained, breathing on the gem in the center of the crown and rubbing it with a cloth piece.
"Why the bluffs?" Seto asked.
"Mahaado was searching that area yesterday and he found signs of battle," Isis replied, not opening her eyes. Seto nodded and joined Isis on the steps.
"I hope we find him," he said.
…
Meanwhile in the bluffs, in a hidden cave, Atemu lay unconscious. In his mind, he was dreaming, since his mind couldn't seem to wake his body. In his dream, he was walking along the Nile when everything around him erupted into flames. As the flames came closer, a figure appeared before him. It was Mahaado.
"Mahaado! Help me!" Atemu said.
Mahaado nodded and his outfit went from his priest outfit to that of his ka's outfit. Grabbing Atemu's hand, Mahaado floated upward, pulling Atemu up just as the flames consumed where they had been standing a few seconds before.
"Where are we going?" Atemu asked as Mahaado started to rise higher and higher.
Mahaado looked down at Atemu and smiled. "I'm bringing you back to reality," he explained, "You've been missing for three days and everyone is worried."
Atemu nodded and closed his eyes as the two were shrouded in a bright light. "Mahaado!" Atemu called as he woke up, sat up, realized he was alone, and then twitched from getting up too fast while hurt. Sitting with his back against the wall, Atemu sighed and looked around at his surroundings and remembered how he got there.
Flashback
"If you won't help me for my sake, help me for Maria's sake," Atemu growled.
Bakura flinched at the mention of his best friend. "Not even the mention of her can sway me!" Bakura snapped and then lifted his foot. "So long Pharaoh!" Bakura called as Atemu vanished into the darkness, eyes wide with fear.
Atemu fell for what seemed like an eternity before his back collided with a small ledge. As his body bounced off of it, Atemu quickly grabbed onto the ledge, causing him to slam into the cliff face-first. Using both hands to pull himself up, Atemu rested for a minute with just his legs hanging over the ledge and looked up, spotting a cave. Thanking the gods and crawling inside, Atemu collapsed from expending his energy and fell into unconsciousness.
End flashback
Atemu knew he had to get out of there. Already he was thirsty and hungry. Staggering to his feet, Atemu limped to the mouth of the cave and looked out. Groaning at the sight of how far he was from Thebes, he leaned against the wall of the cave to gather his energy, but started when something caught his eye. Looking up at it, he noticed it was Spiria, and she was coming closer, having apparently spotted him.
Isis gasped suddenly and snapped her eyes open. "Isis, what is it?" Maria asked, alarmed.
"Hang on," Isis said, consulting the Millennium Tauk to confirm what she saw, "I was right. I found Atemu and he's alive!"
"He is?" As Maria said that, Seto noticed that some of the fatigue and stress left her face, to be replaced by joy and hope.
"Yes," Isis said with a laugh, "He's alive and probably really hungry and thirsty, so I expect us to not stall."
"Right, I'll go get the horses ready," Maria said and started to leave when Seto's call stopped her.
"Just get yours and Atemu's horses ready," he said. Seeing Isis' confused face, he sighed. "I'm sure Atemu wouldn't want all six of us to come and get him. I'll get Shaddah and a few guards to accompany Maria," Seto explained. Maria shot him a grateful look and sped out to the stables.
Once she left, Seto left as well, finding a servant and ordering him to get water and food and send it to the stables. That being done, Seto went to the Shrine of Wedju and climbing the stairs, found Mahaado's tablet, positioned right below the god tablets.
"Mahaado, we found Atemu. He's alive and Maria and Shaddah are going to meet him and bring him home," Seto said. The tablet glowed and Mahaado appeared in front of Seto with his arms crossed.
"Why did you come out?" Seto asked, "You still need to recover."
"You can't believe just how fast monsters recover. How else would the priests be able to battle with their kas every day," Mahaado replied.
"So you're healed?"
"Yes, and I also played a part in finding Atemu. He was unconscious so I entered his dream and helped him wake up," Mahaado said proudly.
"Nice," Seto replied, "be prepared to leave. The pharaoh may need our help."
Mahaado nodded and went back into his tablet as Seto left the Shrine.
About a half-hour later, Atemu was sitting, looking out over the desert from where he had worked his way to the bottom of the cliff, when he saw riders come into view. As the riders drew closer, Atemu recognized Maria and Shaddah and stood, waving.
"Atemu!" Maria exclaimed in relief as she dismounted before Jasmine stopped and embraced him. "You're hurt," she observed as she pulled away slightly.
"Minor cuts and a sprain or two, nothing time won't heal," Atemu said soothingly.
"We brought food and water for you. We figured that you'd need some after three days," Shaddah said as he and a guard rode up.
"Nope," Atemu joked as he accepted a flask of water, "I'm like a camel."
Maria sat next to Atemu, watching him eat. "Come on," she said standing once he finished, "let's go home and patch you up. Then you can take a nice hot bath and then sleep the rest of the day."
Atemu shook his head as he got on Star. "I can't go back. Not just yet anyway," he said, "It would be disgraceful to see me return without regaining the puzzle first. You go back to Thebes, I'm taking on Bakura."
Maria looked at him and sighed. "Fine, but I'm coming with you though," she replied, holding up her hand to stop Atemu's protest. "One, you don't know where Kuru Eruna even is, and two, you alone won't be able to take Diabound. My dragons can help," she insisted.
Atemu sighed in defeat. "At the condition I'm in, I'll be lucky if I can even summon Kuriboh, so your help is appreciated," he admitted before turning to the guard who had Horakedu perched on his shoulder. "Send a message to Thebes. Tell Seto to gather the priests and come to Kuru Eruna. We'll need all of the firepower we've got," he commanded before turning with Maria and galloping off, Shaddah right behind them.
…
Rei hesitated outside of where Ishtar slept, slightly concerned for her friend. Ishtar had been acting strangely for the past few days since he had started learning the Rod's powers. Finally making up her mind, she walked into the room and sat on a cushion next to the blonde. "Are you okay?" Rei asked.
"No," Ishtar groaned, turning his head to look at Rei from where he had been laying face down in his cushions, "My damn head feels like it's splitting in two."
"Hmm," Rei said brushing Ishtar's bangs aside and stopped with a gasp.
"What?" Ishtar asked, propping himself up.
"Your forehead, there's a glowing eye in the middle of it," Rei said as calmly as possible…which for her, is indifference in a situation like this.
Ishtar regarded her with a look of suspicion, but looked into a bowl of water that used to have a rag that went along with it. "What the…Hang on, it looks like the eye on the Millennium Rod," Ishtar said out loud, looking at the Item clutched in his fist. As he gazed at the eye on the Millennium Rod, it started glowing, and Ishtar felt a soothing feeling flow into his head.
"The eye is still there but it's not glowing," Rei pointed out bluntly once the glowing stopped.
"And the pain's gone," Ishtar added, "It's weird, I somehow know the abilities of the Millennium Rod, and just how to activate them…Hey, what are you doing?"
Rei paused from dragging Ishtar out of the door. "Simple, we're going to see Bakura. He'll know about this occurrence," she explained.
"But we don't know where he is. He disappeared yesterday," Ishtar protested as they entered a building Bakura had told him to stay away from. Ishtar saw why in a second. There were spirits all over, and were about to attack had Dreadscythe not shooed them away.
"You don't know where Bakura is. I do, so we're going to see him," Rei growled, moving to the wall and kicking a rug to the side.
"Here, let me," Ishtar said, going to the revealed trapdoor and pulling it up.
"Thanks. I can never seem to pull that up fully. Too heavy," Rei said with a nod before disappearing down the stairs. Ishtar followed, and as soon he reached the bottom, he heard Bakura's annoyed voice echoing through the vast cavern that they came into.
"What the hell are you two doing down here? I thought I told you not to come here Rei!" Bakura snapped as torches lit themselves, illuminating the darkness.
Rei stood her ground, only moving to cross her arms in a defiant manner. Bakura stared at her from across the apparent temple and then sighed. "Fine, but this better be good," he growled before sitting on a raised object.
"Something happened to Ishtar. He had a headache, but then it faded, and he had and still does have a weird looking eye on his forehead," Rei explained.
Bakura thought and then motioned for Ishtar to approach him. "Give me the rod for a minute," he said once the blonde approached. Ishtar hesitated and then handed it over. However, as soon as Bakura's hand closed around the Millennium Rod, Ishtar let out a cry of pain and collapsed onto his hands and knees trembling.
"What did you do?" Rei demanded, running over as Bakura regarded Ishtar emotionlessly, still holding the Millennium Rod.
"It's just as I thought," Bakura murmured, kneeling and putting the Rod into Ishtar's hand. Once Ishtar's hand touched the cool metal, his trembling stopped. "The Millennium Rod has chosen Ishtar to be its master," Bakura explained, "That explains the eye on his forehead. The Millennium Rod is connected to him now, and the bond is still tender…" Bakura would have continued but a spirit hovered near his ear and said something.
"I see," he said with a nod. Once the spirit vanished, Bakura turned back to the tablet and pulling the Millennium Ring out of its slot, slid it around his neck. "Rei, Ishtar, I have to tell you something very important. As you may or may not have noticed, I have become more insane, and by all logic shouldn't be alive right now," Bakura said reluctantly, "When I was poisoned, I was about a minute from dying when I made a deal with Seth to save my life. That's why I was convulsing that day I robbed Akunumkanon's tomb. Seth was trying to make me obey his order, but i refused so he shocked me."
Ishtar looked up at Bakura and squinting, could make out the shape of black bands around his neck, ankles, and wrists. "I can sort of see the bands. Rei can you?" he asked.
"No. You must be able to see them because you posses an item," Rei replied, "So, what I want to know is why you didn't tell us sooner."
Bakura looked uncomfortable under the scrutinizing stare. "Trust me, I wanted to, but Seth threatened to kill me if I told anyone. He doesn't care about you two knowing now, because there's a good chance that one of us might be dead wen the day ends," he answered.
"What do you mean might be dead?" Ishtar demanded suddenly.
"It appears that Maria finally gave away Kuru Eruna, and there are plenty of guards and priests that can summon monsters on the way. Of course, the queen is coming as well," Bakura growled venomously in a voice that Rei suspected was partly Seth's.
"We can beat them. Whatever they may throw at us, we'll be able to throw it right back with our three kas," Ishtar assured.
'I hope so,' Bakura thought as he snuffed the torches with magic so that the three of them could wait in the darkness. They waited for about ten minutes and then a shadow blocked out the shaft of light from the left open trapdoor.
Rei had worn her cloak down into the temple, so she pulled the hood up as soldiers tramped down the stairs. "Rei, you and Ishtar get back against the wall with your kas ready," Bakura murmured. Once he was sure they had followed his command, Bakura summoned all 99 ghosts to him and sent them to attack the soldiers.
The air was soon full of screams and gurgling sounds as the soldiers died. "P-Pharaoh, don't come down here. There's…" a gurgle cut the soldier off as he died. Bakura watched, easily seeing where they had lit a few of the torches, as Atemu skidded down the stairs and knelt at the dead soldier's body.
"What happened?" Maria asked, her and Shaddah joining Atemu at the bottom of the stairs.
"I don't know. There doesn't seem to be any wounds on his body," Atemu replied softly, looking over the body.
"Pharaoh, Pharaoh, Pharaoh. I'm surprised you're still alive," a voice echoed mockingly suddenly.
"Bakura," Maria murmured.
"Bakura! Give me back my puzzle!" Atemu shouted into the darkness. All they heard in reply was a dark chuckle and a whooshing sound as Diabound attacked with Spiral wave.
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YSF: Two more chapters! The fight, and then the aftermath, with each having their own chapter. And as always: 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. Again, by the way, if anyone would be so kind, read my best friend's fic: Immortal Death by Night Spirit1.