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! 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.
"Pharaoh, watch out!" Shaddah shouted over the roar, summoning his ka to block the attack. Maria summoned Gold and the dragon wrapped her wings around the two rulers.
"Maria! Gold won't last under such a hit! Diabound is too strong. He probably grew stronger once he defeated Osiris!" Atemu exclaimed.
Maria looked up from where Atemu was holding onto her, shielding her with his body from the wind that did get through the struggling dragon's wings. "Are you sure?" she asked.
Atemu nodded, and Maria ordered Gold to fly up and grabbed onto the dragon's claw as she flew up, taking the queen to safety, and to prepare for a surprise attack. Atemu, seeing that she was safe, turned, bracing himself against the wind and waited till it died down. "Stop hiding in the darkness and fight you coward!" Atemu called.
The reply was instantaneous. "I'm not a coward! A thief does his dealings out of the light, so this is perfect. Besides the fact that Diabound extinguished all but one torch, I can see you as clear as day," Bakura snarled.
"He has help," Shaddah said as his panther ka breathed fire and lit quite a few of the torches, casting deep shadows around the room. Atemu looked to where Bakura was standing and saw two cloaked figures standing on either side of him, their kas glowering.
"Apparently you are weak if you asked your sister to help," Atemu replied as he gestured to the smallest of the trio.
"Bakura's my brother. I would never let him do this alone!" Rei spat, stepping forward but stopped as Bakura threw out an arm to stop her. Rei growled and her ka flew straight at Atemu.
Shaddah's Panther got in the way and started fighting with Dreadscythe. It looked like Shaddah was going to defeat Rei, had Ishtar not gotten involved.
"Uhh," was all Shaddah could say as his ka was sliced to ribbons under the two scythes. "P-Pharaoh, forgive me," he whispered.
"It's all right Shaddah, just rest for now," Atemu said, catching Shaddah as he collapsed from the lack of energy. After laying Shaddah down, Atemu turned to see the two kas watching him hungrily.
"Rei, Ishtar, have fun with him, but don't kill him. I want that pleasure," Bakura said to his closest acquaintances.
"Fine by me," Ishtar replied, ordering his Slime defender to attack Atemu, Rei ordering the same thing to Dreadscythe.
The two kas swooped closer to Atemu, the Slime Defender shape shifting into another Dreadscythe. Atemu covered his face with his arms, bracing himself for the blow.
"Madohaua!" a voice shouted and a ball of green energy appeared out of nowhere and hit the two kas. Slime Defender and Dreadscythe stopped their attack and looked around for their attacker.
Bakura growled in annoyance and sent Diabound to meld into the shadows to be able to hide. "Well Pharaoh, it looks like one of your priests decided to help out. Which one is it? Is it the girl? No, is it your cousin or your uncle? Maybe… I guess I'll have to find out on my own," Bakura mocked.
Atemu curled his lip in reply. At that sneer, Dreadscythe and Slime Defender went to attack him again. Atemu braced himself for the blows again, hoping they didn't kill him.
Just as the kas grazed Atemu with their scythes once again, at the shout of "Madohaua," another green ball of energy, only this time much bigger, appeared and hurled itself into the two kas. The blast was so powerful, it sent them flying only to crash into the wall behind their hosts.
"Every time you attack, the pharaoh, I'll merely deflect it or overpower it," said a voice near the ceiling.
"Show yourself!" Bakura shouted.
The voice snorted and a monster floated down from the ceiling, its aura glowing purple around the figure. As the figure touched down on the ground and stood straight with his arms crossed, the monster's aura faded, causing his features to show.
Bakura groaned suddenly. "Aren't you supposed to be dead?" he demanded.
"I could ask you the same question," Mahaado retorted. He uncrossed his arms and brandished his staff. "I say we settle this," Mahaado said.
"Suits me," Bakura said as he ordered Diabound to attack. Mahaado parried the blow and whirled around, trying to determine where Diabound was lurking.
'Mahaado? Is that you?" Atemu asked softly in Mahaado's mind.
'Yes it's me. How are you holding up?'
'I'm fine, just sore. Did you come to me in my dream?' Atemu replied.
Mahaado didn't answer at first as he blocked a blast from Diabound with his staff. 'Yes I did,' Mahaado replied, 'As I told Maria before I left for the Valley, I have my devotion to you and Maria and even Yugi. My faith in you three cannot fail. Then I pledged that my soul would be you eternal servant,'
'Yes, so I read. How did you know where to find us?' Atemu asked as he himself was forced to jump aside from a swipe by Dreadscythe. As Mahaado turned to protect Atemu, Diabound blindsided the mage with a blast from behind.
"Mahaado! Are you all right?" Atemu asked, running to the mage who lay face down on the floor.
Mahaado groaned and pushed himself up onto his hands and knees. 'I'm fine," he replied, accepting Atemu's hand and pulling himself up, 'I was going to tell you that I won't be defeated unless you and Maria lose the will to fight.' 'As for your question, Seto received your message and sent me ahead since I can teleport. They are on their way, but we need to recover the Millennium Puzzle from that tablet if we want to win,' Mahaado explained before rising off the ground and raising his staff, blasted many holes in the ceiling.
"Nice try mage, but Diabound isn't up there," Bakura sneered.
"I know," Mahaado coolly replied, "Look around you though Bakura, there are no more shadows big enough for Diabound to hide in."
Bakura looked around and spotted Diabound, more than halfway out of the shadows, a look of shock on the monster's face. Either Diabound was shocked because Mahaado ruined his hiding spot, or a rather large piece of debris clouted him on the head.
"This evens it up again," Mahaado said, powering up and blasting Diabound with several blasts.
Bakura gagged and spit out quite a bit of blood. Making a face at the taste, Bakura wiped his mouth and ordered Diabound to continue fighting Mahaado.
As Mahaado and Diabound darted around, firing blasts and trying to avoid the other's, Dreadscythe perked at hearing Rei's mental command and snuck around towards Atemu. After all, the shadows may be too small for Diabound, but Dreadscythe could hide in them perfectly. As Dreadscythe raised her scythe to cut Atemu down, a growl stopped her. Curled near the pharaoh was none other than Gold and Silver, Maria standing on Gold's shoulder.
"Going somewhere?" she asked sarcastically. Dreadscythe hesitated, and in that moment of hesitation, five kas barreled into her, completely taking Rei and Ishtar by surprise.
"Glad you can make it!" Atemu called up as the priests slid down the steep stairs one by one, followed by Mana, now the Dark Magician Girl.
"Glad to see you alive, cousin," Seto said, clasping Atemu's shoulder.
"Spare me the boredom!" Bakura groaned.
"We need to find a way to get at least the Puzzle," Atemu said, softly, ignoring Bakura, as the four kas grouped in twos and attacked Dreadscythe and Slime Defender while Gold and Silver went after Diabound, giving Mahaado a quick break.
"Hmm," Mahaado thought and then knew exactly what to do. "I'll get it, just keep those three from attacking me," Mahaado said quickly before making a portal and entering it.
"Where's he going?" Seto asked, turning his attention to the fighting and stiffened when he realized that Duos was fighting the Slime Defender while Ishtar glared at him. Returning the glare, Seto commanded Duos to not hold back.
Mahaado carefully opened a portal near the tablet directly behind Bakura and cautiously stepped out. Grabbing the corners of the Puzzle, Mahaado pulled up quickly and winced when the Puzzle ground against the tablet.
Bakura, hearing the sound, turned and grabbed the rope to the puzzle and yanked it, causing Mahaado to stumble out of the portal from where he was trying to make a hasty retreat. "Don't you know it's not right to steal from a thief?" Bakura mocked.
"I guess I didn't learn my lesson when I died," Mahaado replied smugly, taking his staff and jabbing Bakura in the gut with the crystal part. Bakura let go and doubled over for a minute with an 'oomph.'
Once Bakura let go, Mahaado leaped back into the portal and closed it up behind him before Bakura could recover and come after him. Coming out of the portal high up near the ceiling, Mahaado flew towards Atemu but was crashed into by Slime Defender, causing him to drop the puzzle in surprise.
Everyone watched, shocked as the puzzle started to fall. At the same time, everyone sprung into motion, trying to get the puzzle. Mahaado dove for it, but was knocked aside by Diabound. The kas kept trying to push the opposing kas out of their way so they could grab the puzzle while Atemu, Maria, and Bakura raced to catch the puzzle. Atemu was closest to the puzzle, when Bakura leaped at him, tackling the pharaoh.
Atemu grabbed hold of Bakura, and the two struggled to get at an advantage over the other. "Maria, Run!" Atemu shouted to her as he pinned Bakura again.
Maria hesitated from where she had stopped to help him and then took off, sprinting towards the still falling puzzle. Diabound noticed Maria and fired a spiral wave attack at her. Maria heard the rushing and sprung off the ground, just as the attack had hit right where she had been a second before.
Hissing in pain as the wind cut her, Maria landed, rolled and leaped for the puzzle, knowing that Diabound's next attack wouldn't miss. Feeling the rushing wind hit her, Maria gave a little cry as the wind stung her eyes. Through blurred vision, she could see the puzzle extremely close. Reaching out, Maria smiled slightly as she felt her hands grab the cool gold.
Pulling the Puzzle tight against her body, Maria let herself fall and hit the ground, struggling to curl into a ball as the spiral wave pounded on her relentlessly. Mahaado flew towards Diabound and shot a ball at energy at the monster. "Hey Ugly!" Mahaado shouted as Diabound stopped his attack in surprise, "Didn't anyone ever tell you it wasn't nice to pick on girls?"
Diabound whirled around and with a growl, resumed his fight with Mahaado. Seto ran over to Maria and lifted her off the floor, cradling his sister to his chest. "Are you hurt bad?" Seto asked.
Maria twitched and opened her eyes. "I won't have permanent damage…I think. All I know is that I need a nap and some bandages," she replied dryly. Seto laughed softly and took her to where Karim had gotten Atemu away from Bakura.
"Atemu, I got your puzzle for you," Maria murmured, reaching out and sliding the said item over Atemu's head and around his neck. Atemu smiled at the familiar weight and kissing Maria on the head, turned to the battle, feeling strength flow through his body. Mahaado, having been dealt a serious blow by Diabound's adopted attack of Osiris' Thunder Blast, looked at his hands and saw the injuries fading to nothing all over his body.
"Bakura! I thought you would have learned when I defeated you with Obelisk. Apparently not since you worked to defeat Osiris. How about we make it best of two out of three?" Atemu declared.
Bakura narrowed his eyes and knew Seth was interested I the challenge as well. "Very well, best monsters win," Bakura said, Dreadscythe and Slime Defender lowering themselves to stand on either side of Diabound.
"Atemu, I'll help with my dragons," Maria offered, struggling to stand, but Seto held her down firmly.
"No," Atemu said with a gentle smile, "Your dragons are weakened. I will summon the three gods to aid me."
"You're mad! There's no way you can summon all three of the gods! You don't have enough energy!" Mahaado exclaimed quietly so Bakura wouldn't hear.
"Yes I do. The puzzle is meant to be able to use all three of the gods at one time. Mahaado, I must ask you to watch over Maria," Atemu said before he stepped forward and the puzzle started glowing with a brilliant white light. The light was too bright for anyone to handle, so everyone shielded their eyes.
When the light died down, Bakura uncovered his eyes and gaped. There, behind Atemu and in front of the other priests were the three Egyptian Gods. "Oh shit," he mumbled.
"Now my Gods! Attack those three Monsters!" Atemu commanded, the gods all powering up and blasting down Dreadscythe and Slime Defender. Ishtar caught Rei as she collapsed and with his last strength, hid her unconscious form in a hollow and broken pillar before heading back to finally give in to exhaustion and exertion and collapsing near the tablet.
"Now it's over Bakura! Gods! Attack Diabound and make sure Bakura can't escape!" Atemu commanded once again. The gods moved and surrounded Bakura and Diabound, and attacked from all sides. The force of the blasts combining was enough for Mahaado to be forced to cast a shield over the priests, Atemu, himself, and the remaining kas. When the blast died away, Gold and Silver crept forward and after a moment, returned, Bakura dangling unconscious from Gold's mouth by his jacket, and Ishtar, also unconscious, dangling by his cloak from Silver's mouth.
Atemu sighed in sudden relief and after sending the gods away with a word of thanks, fell to his knees with another sigh. "Are you alright cousin?" Seto asked.
Atemu looked up at him and also at Maria who was still cradled in Seto's arms. "I'm tired," he replied with a sheepish grin, "And I don't think I can walk anymore, my legs feel like jelly."
"We can rest when we go home," Maria pointed out as Seto set her down next to Atemu. Seto and Mahaado looked at each other and then to the two unconscious thieves. Going over, Mahaado slid the Millennium Ring from Bakura's neck as Seto took the Millennium Rod from Ishtar's belt. Ishtar stirred, but didn't wake up.
"Guards, tie them up and lets go home," Maria said softly, feeling Atemu's head rest on her shoulder as he fell asleep. The guards bowed and quickly tied up Bakura and Ishtar.
"My queen, what about the girl…Bakura's sister? She's still out there," one of them asked.
"Leave her be. She only got into this fight because of her brother," Maria answered standing, and after a wince, pulled Atemu up and sleep-walked him up the stairs.
A while later, as the group rode into the palace yard, Maria glanced over at Bakura and running a finger over the stone from the gods that she had gotten incorporated into her crown, knew that she had to free Bakura. She didn't want him to die by Seth's hands, even though she knew he was facing execution anyway. Allowing the servants to take the horses, Maria helped Atemu, who was now awake, into the palace and to their room.
…
About two days later, Bakura sat in his cell brooding. The ring was gone, and he was under tons of spells to keep him from summoning Diabound. Looking across the hall, Bakura felt a pang of sympathy a he gazed into Ishtar's cell. Since the Millennium Rod was taken from Ishtar, he had weakened and became sick in a way. Bakura's thoughts were distracted as his cell door opened.
"What do you want?" he growled, and got hit across the face for his tone.
"Quiet you scum. The queen has asked us to bring you to her, even though I don't know why she'd bother with such a criminal," one of the guards said and trailed off when Bakura stood up without complaint and stretched his bound hands above his head before lowering them.
Going quietly, as Bakura passed the guard who had spoke, he murmured, "What you don't know can't hurt you…most of the time. It just so happens that if you make such comments again, I'll see to it personally that you get dragged down to whatever hell I'll be soon going to." The guard stuttered, and Bakura smirked as he was led out of the cell.
As the guards led Bakura into what he recognized as Maria's private chambers, he was surprised when he saw that Maria wasn't waiting for them. "You may untie his hands and feet, he won't run," came Maria's gentle voice as she entered.
The guards looked at each other uneasily before complying. "Good," Maria said, stepping in front of them, "Now leave and go back to your posts."
"But my Queen, he's…"
"Don't make me repeat myself," Maria warned, her eyes flashing. Bakura couldn't help but smile slightly when the guards cowered and hurriedly left the room.
"I must admit, you sure surprised me with this move. I expected you to hate me and have me chained to a wall in my cell," Bakura said smoothly, knowing that Maria's mood could easily change for the worse.
Maria laughed. "No, Atemu wanted to do that, but I convinced him otherwise," she replied.
"So why did you bring me here to the place where even servants don't want to step foot in without your permission?" Bakura asked.
Maria looked at the floor. "To talk," she whispered and then looked at Bakura, all humor gone from her face, "Why didn't you tell me?"
"Tell you what?" Bakura asked.
"Why didn't you tell me that Seth was controlling you?"
"H-How do you know?" Bakura demanded, not sure whether or not to be shocked or angry.
Maria smiled sadly. "I was told and shown, so I decided to free you from Seth," she explained, going over to Bakura and grabbing his arms, concentrated on a god power. "Imhotep, Ipy, Isis, and Amenhotep. Lend me your power so I can free Bakura," she said.
Bakura hissed as he felt magic flowing throughout his body. 'This is madness! Push her away and kill her!' Seth ordered.
'N-no! My revenge is over! I refuse to be your eternal servant, so get out of my body!' Bakura argued.
There was a silence and then, 'You dare disobey me?" Seth demanded in a dangerous voice.
Bakura didn't care anymore. He just wanted all pain to end, because if it wasn't one pain, it was another. 'Yes I do,' he replied in a bitter voice and then screamed in pain as a shock unlike any that he had felt before ripped through his body, followed by another and another, until he couldn't tell the difference between one bolt and the next.
Maria tried to pull her hands away, but it was as if they were stuck to Bakura. She could actually feel the shocks running through her body as well and vaguely realized that Seth was aiming to kill her as well. "Bakura! Focus! Drive Seth from your mind!" Maria shouted over Bakura's cries.
Maria's mind started to go numb from the pain and she started succumbing to it when memories flashed before her eyes. As she saw and remembered each and every one, Maria realized that they were happier memories of her, Bakura, and even sometimes Rei and Ishtar included. 'I have to save Bakura! This must be the death that the gods were telling me about!' Maria thought and then hugged Bakura, holding him close.
Bakura knew he was going to die if Seth kept up that magnitude of shocks. Suddenly, he felt Maria's arms circle around him in a hug and he focused on banishing Seth from his body. Slowly, the pain and shocks subsided, replaced by a cool, empty feeling as the magic radiating from Maria filled him and healed his wounds.
"Bakura…Bakura? Are you okay?" Bakura heard Maria ask softly. Bakura groaned and opening his eyes, looked at Maria. "I'll be fine. I feel…like myself. Like I'm in full control of my body and thoughts once more," he said with a soft, sincere smile for the first time in weeks.
Maria smiled in reply and stroked Bakura's hair. "At least you can rest before your 'trial.' Atemu was worse off in health than we thought, so it's going to be a while before you and Ishtar are tried," she pointed out.
Bakura nodded and drifted off to sleep from exhaustion. Maria smiled and then summoned Gold. "Gold, take Bakura back to the dungeons, but put him in Ishtar's cell. Tell the guards to not bind him again," she said. Gold nodded and placing Bakura on her back, left for the dungeons.
Ishtar stirred as he heard his cell door open. Raising his head, he was met by a wet tongue. "H-Hey Gold," he yawned after fending the dragon off. Gold tugged on his cape and shrinking, padded over to where an unconscious form lay. Ishtar got up and shakily made his way to the form. "Bakura," he breathed and then looked at Gold. "Why is he in this cell?" he asked, leaning against the wall, feeling drained suddenly.
'Because,' Gold finally replied in his mind, 'Maria moved him so that you two wouldn't be lonely on the condition that you don't try to escape.'
"Like I can," Ishtar snorted, "I can barely stand, let alone help you get Bakura to his cot." Gold gave him a reproachful look and Ishtar sighed and pushing himself off of the wall, helped pick up Bakura. After laying Bakura on the pallet closest to the cell door, Ishtar crawled back to his pallet as Gold left and tried to rest.
A while later, Bakura woke up and sleepily rolled onto his stomach. While he had been sleeping, he had vaguely heard Maria telling someone to put him in a different cell. Opening his eyes, Bakura raised his head and realized he was in Ishtar's cell. Getting to his feet, he crept over to Ishtar and pushed the boy's bangs away from his forehead.
"What is this split doing to you?" Bakura whispered as Ishtar shivered in his sleep as his skin became clammy. Taking off his jacket, Bakura took off Ishtar's cloak as well and covered Ishtar with both of them. Going back to his cot, Bakura sat on it and looked out of the window and gazed at the moon, wondering if Rei was okay. He knew that Ishtar had hid her, but he wasn't sure on her location and condition.
…
Bakura sat on his cot and looked worriedly over at Ishtar. His condition kept getting worse as the week progressed. If only he could get the Millennium Rod for him, Bakura was sure Ishtar would be fine. Suddenly, a thump caught his attention and he turned in time to see a guard crumple to the ground in a heap at a figure's feet.
"Rei?" Bakura wondered softly, making out a very thin figure in the shadows.
"Bakura? Is that you?" Rei replied, stepping out of the shadows and then going over to him.
"Yes, it's 100 me," Bakura replied with a smile as he reached through the bars and hugged Rei. Rei stiffened at the unusual show of affection but allowed it.
"What do you mean by 100 you?" Rei asked after a second.
"Well, I'm my own person once again. Maria used some form of powerful magic and managed to free me from Seth's enslavement," Bakura explained.
"Where's Ishtar? I came to see both of you," Rei asked, pulling out of the hug finally.
Bakura frowned. "Hold on a second," he said, vanishing into the shadows of his cell before returning a minute later, half-carrying Ishtar.
"What happened to him?" Rei asked, kneeling cradling Ishtar's head through the bars as Bakura set him down on the floor.
"Well, they took the Millennium rod away from him. Remember when in the temple I took the Millennium Rod for a minute? Well, Ishtar's been separated from it for over a week, and this is the result," Bakura explained quietly.
"Does he just need the Millennium Rod to get better?" Maria asked softly as she emerged from the shadows, her dragons at her side. When the dragons saw Rei, they relaxed and shrinking further, flew to Maria's shoulders.
Bakura nodded in reply to Maria's question. "How come you're not running for the guards?" Rei asked.
"I was going to, but when I heard your voice, I changed my mind. Besides, you just knocked all of the guards unconscious," Maria teased.
"Maria…can you help me?" Ishtar asked, scaring Rei, because she didn't know that he was awake.
Maria smiled and kneeling, brushed Ishtar's damp bangs from his forehead. "I might be able to bring you the Millennium rod. It refuses to work for Seto, so we locked it up so power-hungry people won't be able to get it," she replied, "It may take me a few days, but I'll try."
"Thank you," Ishtar said with a small smile. Maria returned the gesture and motioning for the dragons to leave her shoulders, turned to leave.
"I'll leave Gold and Silver here so they can alert you if anyone is coming," she explained as she disappeared down the hallway.
Every day, Rei kept coming to visit Bakura and Ishtar. Maria had let her stay in her private chambers so Rei wouldn't have to sneak by too many guards. One day, while Rei was visiting, Ishtar suddenly hissed and clasped his hands over his forehead.
"Eye hurting?" Bakura asked dryly. When Ishtar nodded painfully, Bakura retrieved a cool, damp cloth and put it over Ishtar's forehead.
Ishtar sighed as the pain subsided to a dull throbbing. "Apparently, someone is handling the Millennium Rod that isn't me," he said, turning his head to face Rei and Bakura.
Rei frowned in thought and then slid between the bars of the cell. Going over to Ishtar, she adjusted his cloak over his body. "Just relax. Maybe Maria's bringing it," Rei murmured and then turned to face Bakura's incredulous stare.
"You mean to tell me," Bakura said slowly, "that you could have come in here instead of being on the other side of the cell this whole damn time?"
Rei flushed a bit, noting that Bakura got a little riled at her trick. "It never occurred that I was skinny enough to do it until a minute ago," she replied.
"Rei, are you trying to tell me something?" Maria said, approaching the cell. Rei grinned in response and Maria unlocked the cell and entered.
"Here," she said, handing a cloth-wrapped package to Bakura, "I disabled the powers, and Atemu knows you have them. In fact, he only allowed it because they're literally sealed tight with spells."
Bakura accepted the package and unwrapping it, stared at the revealed Millennium Ring, and the Millennium Rod. Finally snapping out of his thought, Bakura got up and carried the Millennium Rod to Ishtar.
Ishtar looked at it and weakly reached for it. As his hand closed around it, the eye on his forehead and the eye on the Rod glowed simultaneously. When the glowing faded, Ishtar didn't look sick anymore. Sitting up, Ishtar flexed his hands and beamed childishly.
"Much better!" he exclaimed. Bakura just rolled his eyes and put on the Millennium Ring.
"Thanks," Bakura said once the familiar weight was settled around his neck.
"No problem. However, Bakura, your trial is tomorrow," Maria said rather reluctantly.
"Why such short notice?" Rei asked.
"Atemu only told me just as I was heading down. Bakura, you know you're going to be executed, right?" Maria asked.
Bakura nodded. "I'm not afraid of death. It's the staying dead part that scares the hell out of me. I'm not going to pass the weighing of the heart, and when that happens, I'll be at Seth's mercy yet again," he said quietly.
Maria felt a pang of sympathy towards the tomb robber. "I don't know if Atemu will go for it, but there is an alternative."
"What would that be?" Ishtar wondered.
"Eternal imprisonment in an object of your choice. You'll die, but your soul will go into the item instead of to the weighing of the heart," Maria answered.
Bakura looked at Maria, hoping that he wasn't hearing things. "I can do that?" he wondered softly.
"If I can convince Atemu. I must go, but you'll find out tomorrow. In the meantime, choose your object wisely," Maria replied before leaving.
Bakura watched her go. "What object should I choose?" he asked, turning to Rei and Ishtar.
Ishtar twirled the Millennium Rod between his fingers as he thought and then caught it in his hand. "I know!" he exclaimed, "you could request to be sealed into the Millennium Ring!"
"Why?" Rei and Bakura asked at the same time.
"Ishtar, I know in death you rejoin your family, but this stretches that particular principle a little too far," Bakura replied dryly then.
Ishtar blinked, wondering what he meant and then remembered that Bakura's town was boiled into the items. "I didn't even make that connection. What I meant was they would have to lift the binding spells on the Millennium Ring. If your soul were to be sealed in it, you would automatically gain its powers," Ishtar replied, his eyes darkening, "You'd be immortal and powerful if you were ever released."
Bakura nodded and looked at the golden item around his neck. 'Mother, father, my friends, I hope you'll forgive me, but revenge has to wait a while,' he thought. "All right, I'll do that. Let's just hope the pharaoh will go for it," Bakura agreed.
…
The next day found Bakura standing in front of Atemu and Maria's thrones waiting for his sentence. Bakura smirked to himself, remembering the trial, if it could be called that. The list of his crimes was so long, Bakura had actually drifted off to sleep while standing before Shimon was two thirds of the way done. 'Now that I think of it, that probably wasn't the best idea. Atemu's probably still pissed at me for managing to pull that off,' Bakura thought idly, shifting his attention back to the two thrones as Atemu and Maria came back into the room and sat on their thrones.
Maria caught his gaze and looked solemnly at him, but her eyes had a hidden gleam to them. Bakura kept his gaze locked on hers, unraveling the meaning behind the gleam. It was something they had developed over time when Maria grew up with him. One would think of something and the other would be able to interpret their body language into the thought. When they got into trouble together long ago, they could have whole conversations without uttering a word.
Studying Maria's face, realization hit Bakura. Hearing Atemu clear his throat, Bakura broke his gaze and looked at Atemu. "Bakura, due to the magnitude of your crimes, you are to be executed in three days time. However, you have a choice. You can either be normally executed and risk the weighing of the heart, or you can undergo a ritual to seal your soul away for eternity," Atemu said.
Bakura nodded. "If I choose the ritual, I'm allowed to choose any item I want, right?"
Atemu slightly winced. He knew he should let him, but he knew Bakura would pick something that Atemu would regret later. "Fine, but only because you'll be spending eternity inside of it," Atemu consented.
"Then I want to be sealed into the Millennium Ring," came the immediate reply. When Atemu looked suspiciously at Bakura, Bakura feigned innocence.
"What? I want to rejoin my family. That way, you will have a whole town under your control," Bakura replied with a hint of sarcasm on the last part.
Atemu glared at Bakura and opened his mouth to reply, but a look from Maria silenced him. "Very well," Atemu snapped, very irritated.
Bakura shot him a smug look in reply as he was led back to the dungeons. Once he entered his cell after the guards untied his hands, Rei immediately came over to him.
"What's happening?" Ishtar asked from where he was trying to de-spell some of the magic that was restricting the Rod's powers.
"Well, I'm going to be sealed into the Millennium Ring in three days," Bakura replied nochantly.
Ishtar broke his concentration, causing his third eye to stop glowing. "Three days?" he repeated.
"Yeah, I just hope my remaining days don't fly by," Bakura replied.
…
Of course, when you don't want something to happen, it usually does. On the day of Bakura's execution, Bakura stood in the palace courtyard, listening to the incantation that would seal his soul away once the cut was made. Gazing the small crowd of people, Bakura looked for Rei. Finally spotting her next to Maria, and Ishtar next to Rei, Bakura fixed those three in his sights as he saw, out of the corner of his eye, the knife come and slash him deeply across his chest. Glancing down, Bakura saw his blood flowing freely from his chest and onto the Millennium Ring. As he lost blood, Bakura kept getting more and more dizzy. Feeling a sucking sensation, Bakura's world went black as his soul entered the Millennium Ring.
Rei saw Bakura collapse, and ignoring Ishtar trying to hold her back, ran to Bakura and pulled him into her arms. Brushing his hair from his eyes, Rei noticed that her brother looked like he was sleeping, for he was breathing shallowly. "Bakura, Bakura wake up," she whimpered, feeling like the much younger, more innocent version of herself.
"It's no use Rei," Maria said quietly, coming up, "Bakura's soul is sealed into the Ring. If you were able to wake him up, this Bakura wouldn't recognize you. It's literally just a shell of him."
Rei shrugged Ishtar's hand off and remained where she was, watching Bakura's body die in her arms. Only when Bakura's body let out a breath in a sigh and didn't draw another as the bleeding stopped, Rei set Bakura's body down and allowed Maria and Ishtar to lead her away.
…
Ishtar watched Rei sleep, occasionally murmuring and scrunching up her face. "How is she taking the loss?" Maria asked, coming to the cell door.
"She really hasn't talked for the past four days. I think she's taking her brother's loss really hard," Ishtar admitted, "Rei just lays on Bakura's old cot and stares into space when she's awake."
Maria frowned in thought and glanced at Rei. Entering the cell, she went over to Rei and took out a bundle of cloth. After removing something from the center, she unfolded what Ishtar recognized to be Bakura's coat and draped it over Rei like a blanket. Rei, taking in the scent of Bakura still on the coat, pulled it closer in her sleep and relaxed.
"How did you know what to do?" Ishtar asked.
Maria smiled slightly. "Believe it or not, Yugi and Mahaado were super close. When Mahaado died, Yugi was devastated. To get him to settle down, I found a cloak of Mahaado's and put it on Yugi like a blanket. It worked, so I decided to give it a try with Rei," she explained.
"So, what was that object you pulled out of the middle?" Ishtar asked.
"Bakura's Millennium Ring. I thought Rei might like to have it," Maria answered, pulling the Millennium Ring out.
Ishtar took the Millennium Ring from Maria and went to Rei. "Rei, come on, wake up," Ishtar gently urged, shaking Rei slightly. Rei stirred and opened her eyes, but they looked dead. "Rei, we have something for you," Ishtar said, slipping the Millennium Ring around her neck.
Rei looked at it and then went back to staring into space. Ishtar and Maria stared at each other and then sighed, but jumped when an all too familiar voice cut through their minds.
'I can't believe that you're still moping Rei. I didn't think that you were still this dependent,' the voice spat in disgust.
Rei jumped and snapped out of her stupor. "B-Bakura?" she wondered.
'Yeah it's me,' Bakura's voice replied, losing its angry tone, 'and your pathetic sulking is making me sick. There's no way in Ra's name you can go on like this forever.'
"I thought you were sealed in the Millennium Ring," Maria wondered.
'I am…I guess it's because someone has the ring on. When no one is wearing it, I can't see or hear anything. Since Rei has the Millennium Ring on, I can see and hear what she hears and I can also talk,' Bakura said.
"What's getting your soul sealed away like?" Ishtar asked, "I'm thinking on choosing that as my sentence just so I don't have to meet my father in Hell."
Bakura snorted in laughter. 'Well the ritual part hurts like hell, and I kept getting more and more dizzy as my soul became detached from my body. Finally, my world went black as I got pulled into the Item,' he described.
Maria nodded in understanding. "It sounds like it'd hurt," she agreed.
'Now, if you mortals wouldn't mind, my spirit is still exhausted and hurt from Seth, so I'm going back to sleep.' Bakura stated and fell silent. Rei took off the Millennium Ring and looked at Maria.
"Thank you," Rei said.
"No problem," Maria replied, "but it's Ishtar's turn for his trial. Ishtar, your crimes aren't as severe as Bakura's were, but I can't promise that you'll be lucky enough to get a life sentence in prison."
"That's all right Maria, I think I'd prefer the death sentence over life imprisonment. Imprisonment means I'd have to do hard labor, and I'm not that type of guy," Ishtar reassured.
"If you're sure. Your trial is later today. I swear, Atemu is afraid I'll let you escape or something. He never tells me anything concerning you guys until the night before, or that day," she complained.
Ishtar laughed lightly and waved it away. "He probably just doesn't want drag this on anymore. Don't worry about it Maria, I don't care," he said.
Maria nodded and headed back up. Ishtar sighed and looked at Rei. "I may prefer the death sentence, but I don't want to die, seeing as that would leave you all alone in this world," he said softly.
Rei smiled slightly. "Well, if you get to be sealed in the Millennium Rod, I'll just ask Maria if I can have it as well. Then I won't be separated from either of you, nor will I be alone," she reasoned.
Ishtar nodded and focusing on the Millennium Rod, once again concentrated on breaking a spell or two, and smiling when he succeeded in disabling one of them.
Later that day and towards evening, Ishtar returned to his cell, head bowed. Rei remained in the shadows until the guards left and then went to Ishtar. "Hey, what's the matter?" Rei asked.
Ishtar shook slightly. "I'm going to be sealed into the Millennium Rod," he murmured.
"Well that's not too bad, you'll be with me and Bakura then," Rei said.
'Rei, I don't think that's what's upsetting Ishtar,' Bakura murmured quietly, appearing next to her as a spirit.
Ishtar looked up into Bakura's fierce, brown eyes and drew in a shaky breath. "You're right. I'm going to be executed at sunrise tomorrow," he said and then broke down.
Rei was stunned into silence. 'Atemu must just want to end this so all of those who are still alive can move on,' Bakura mused, disappearing back into the Ring as Rei took it off.
"That was uncalled for," Rei growled at the Millennium Ring. The Ring, in response, glowed and grew hot, causing Rei to drop it.
"Rei, I have a confession to tell you," Ishtar murmured.
Rei blinked and scooted closer to Ishtar. When Ishtar thought she was close enough, he pulled her into a tentative kiss. "Ever since I came to live with you and Bakura, I've loved you," he said when he pulled away.
Rei just responded by embracing Ishtar, allowing this sentiment and emotion to show through because this was Ishtar's final night alive. "Why didn't you ever tell me sooner?" she asked, laying her head on Ishtar's shoulder when he returned the embrace.
"I was afraid."
"Afraid of what?" Rei asked as Ishtar continued to hold her.
"I was afraid of rejection," Ishtar replied. Rei pondered that and decided that Ishtar had a point. With her cold heart, she probably would have rejected him. Then again, she was anemic so she was cold easily, and Ishtar was warm. 'Warmness is a curse,' Rei thought as being warm for once caused her to fall asleep still in Ishtar's arms.
The next morning, before the sun was up, Maria came to the cell door and couldn't help but laugh slightly. Ishtar was sitting against a wall sleeping, while Rei was sleeping on his lap, her head on his shoulder, and Ishtar's cloak wrapped around the both of them.
Maria's laugh caused them to wake up. Seeing their position, both hurriedly detangled themselves. "You know," Maria said, still laughing at their expressions, "that's a position I wouldn't be surprised to find myself and Atemu in, not you two."
Ishtar just shrugged and silently went with the guards, Rei and Maria close behind him. When they got to the courtyard, Ishtar turned and gave Rei a final kiss before he stood where Bakura stood, only facing east so he could see the sunrise once more.
Holding the Rod, Ishtar saw the executioner come and slash his wrist after the spell was said. Watching his blood run over the Millennium Rod, Ishtar became dizzy, so he focused on Rei instead. Slowly, his vision swam as he became dizzy and his eyes closed as his soul was sucked into the Millennium Rod.
Rei ran towards Ishtar and caught his body as he crumpled. Knowing she was holding a shell of his former self, Rei hugged the body tightly until Ishtar stopped breathing. Picking up the Millennium Rod, Rei set Ishtar's body down and stood. Walking off, Rei went back to the cell and picked up the Millennium Ring.
Licking off Ishtar's blood from the Millennium Rod, Rei went to Ishtar's cot and saw that he had left her his earrings. He had long ago promised them to her, along with his choker, but the choker was kind of fused together around his neck by his father.
Leaving once she put on the earrings, Rei slipped away from the palace grounds so Maria wouldn't stop her. Heading to her house, Rei entered and went immediately to Bakura's room and grabbed his weapon collection. Going down into the basement, Rei grabbed a pack and put Bakura's daggers, some food, the Millennium Rod, and the Millennium Ring into it. Taking the rest of the weapons, Rei went to the hidden trapdoor and pulled it up to reveal the second basement full of treasure. Going down, Rei carefully put the weapons among all of the treasure and then headed back to the first basement.
"I'll keep all this safe," she murmured, covering the trapdoor with about a foot of dirt, and smoothing it down to look like the dirt floor. Going back up, Rei jumped at seeing Maria calmly waiting for her in the living room.
"Where are you going?" Maria asked, following Rei out to where Rei had Anubis and Sekhmet ready.
"There's nothing left for me here," Rei started, and then trailed off when she saw Maria's face. "I'm going to wander and explore Egypt. I'll return to visit someday," Rei promised, clasping Maria on the shoulder before getting on Anubis and riding out, Sekhmet following close behind.
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YSF: I can't believe this chapter is finally done. One more chapter remains. Will Rei fulfill her promise, or will she never return. Please tell me what you think. 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, read my best friend's fic: Immortal Death by Night Spirit1.