Scales of Destiny
Authors' Note: Voices here to thank all of you who have reviewed. We're glad that you like this story; we've worked very hard on it. We hope that more people will review as time goes on. Please and thank you!
P.S. If you like this chapter, thank Toxic, she graciously wrote all of this while I have major writers block.
Story Summary: The Millennium Scales have been passed from Shadi to another worthy of holding them. But as soon as she receives the mysterious Scales, she starts having bizarre dreams about things that happened thousands of years ago. Each dream ends with the same soothing voice and calming face. Can she meet this mysterious stranger in Domino City?
Chapter Summary: After the strange incident in the antique shop Shizuku and Tèa meet up with Yami at the mall. That night, at Tèa's house something strange happens.
Chapter Four
Bow Down to the Queen
"So what did you get at the antique shop Shizuku?" Yugi asked curiously.
"Oh nothing really," she said meekly.
"Well can I see it?" Yugi asked again.
"No," she said dryly "It's nothing, just a piece of metal, nothing worth seeing."
It was suddenly silent as the trio walked through the mall. Tèa tried to say something, but the words just wouldn't come out. Yugi patiently waited for the silence to be broken by Tèa, but she never said anything.
They reached the entrance to the mall, and Yugi hastily said goodbye and walked away sullenly. After Tèa watched Yugi disappear into the distance, she resumed the unusual perky attitude that annoyed Shizuku so much.
"Where should we go next?" Tèa smiled.
"How about we go to the museum now?" Shizuku insisted.
"Yeah I guess we could, it should be open still. Let's go!" Tèa started walking. Shizuku stared at where Yugi had once stood, turned, and started off after Tèa.
:-:
Shizuku stared up at the massive steps going to the museum. It was hard for her to believe that all of these marble steps led to one building.
'It's worth it!' she thought to herself. More than anything she wanted to see the Egyptian exhibit here. She just had to.
They started up the steps and continued to the top until they reached the museum. They started in the door and were met by a comforting voice. Tèa twirled around and found that the voice emanated from Ishizu.
"Hello Tèa, and hello, Shizuku, is it? My name is Ishizu, if Tèa has not already told you," Ishizu said in her usual misty voice.
"Um . . . yeah, it is Shizuku. Nice to meet you Ishizu," she answered, confused. How had Ishizu learned her name? "Would you be able to show us to the Egyptian exhibit?"
"Of course my dear, just follow me, this way," Ishizu said with a wave of her hand.
Ishizu showed them to the Egyptian artifacts and gave them a brief summary of which each was. Tèa could tell that Shizuku was completely engrossed; she was soaking all of this information up like a sponge.
"…and this was the sarcophagus of the great Pharaoh Atem, he saved the world from destruction nearly 5,000 years ago. Even after all of the suffering he went through; such as losing his wife, unborn child, and being betrayed by his best friend, he fought his way through the darkness, and brought the world peace again," Ishizu paused briefly and stared at the sarcophagus for a few seconds before starting up again. "Now, would you like to see some secret things Shizuku? I'll gladly show them to you since you are one of, Yugi's, friends." She hesitated on Yugi's name, like she was trying to speak a foreign language, or the just the word itself was strange to her.
"Sure! That would be wonderful!" Shizuku squealed.
Ishizu had them follow her down a set of narrow steps. Even at the top of the staircase, you could tell there was something important down there. It smelled of must and chemicals, and it was very hot. Shizuku was sweating under her layered tank tops and jeans.
"Shizuku," Ishizu said questionably, "do you remember the great king I told you about just a second ago?"
"Sure . . ."
"Well these tablets are all depictions of him," she smiled at the shock on Shizuku's face. "Well, I said he was very important didn't I? Anyway, these tablets are supposed to contain his memory for when this Pharaoh is born again to save the world." Shizuku was staring at her, "Now along with him being resurrected, his wife, Queen Zuka, is supposed to be born again as well. This tablet is supposed to hold only her memory. The stone over here is worn away, but we know that Atem's wife, Zuka, would have been depicted here."
"The museum will be closing in five minutes, I repeat, five minutes," came a sharp voice over the speakers. The voice repeated his message multiple times in various languages.
"I guess we should go Shizuku," Tèa said as she started up the steps.
Shizuku purposely dropped her bag and flinched when she heard the metallic twang as it hit the ground. She didn't want to leave, not just yet. She had to see about something on the tablet.
When both Tèa and Ishizu were out of sight, Shizuku slipped the strange antique out of its sack and examined it.
"Just what I thought," Shizuku said as she gently fingered the eye emblazoned in the middle. "The tablet has the eye too."
"Shizuku hurry up!" Tèa shouted from the stair case.
"I'm coming," Shizuku replied. "Now let's get a closer view," she whispered as she gently raised the antique to the tablet.
The antique glowed and hummed under her touch. Finally, it had found its owner. In a bright flash of light she was on the ground. In the flashes, she remembered seeing a kind, handsome, and intense but gentle looking face. It seemed familiar, yet strangely distant. She looked at the antique again; a name flashed into her head. The Millennium Scales. How she knew what they were, she wasn't sure.
Shizuku shook the idea from her mind, picked herself up, and headed up the staircase into the gaze of a scowling Tèa. Tèa's scowl slowly faded into a smile as they walked out the door. Tèa was excited for Shizuku's first day at school with her.
:-:
"So are you glad that you're not going to be the only girl in a group of oblivious boys anymore?" Shizuku smiled at Tèa once they got home.
"Words cannot describe my joy. I'll have Joey and Tristan off my back," Tèa said while lying down on her bed.
"And why is that?" Shizuku questioned.
"Joey will be too busy scowling at you and bugging you about a rematch. Then Tristan, well, he'll be too busy drooling over you and flirting with you," Tèa winked at Shizuku.
Tèa didn't really want to talk about Yugi; Shizuku could see it in her eyes, so she kept silent. Tèa didn't really know why, she just didn't want to talk about what she had learned at the museum. She lost her chance at Yami, Destiny was going to bring someone to him, and she knew it wasn't her. She let the topic drift from her mind and headed off to bed.
Shizuku sat in her bed and stared at the Scales, she wanted to see the face again. When she couldn't stay awake any longer, she set the Scales atop her bookshelf head board and drifted into her dreams. The Scales hummed as she slept, flashing at various times during the night.
:-:
It was midnight, and Yugi couldn't get to sleep. Yami was sitting weightlessly upon his desk waiting for Yugi to stop staring and say something.
"Yugi, you're exhausted by the information we have learned today, but yet you still cannot sleep. Why are you so restless?" Yami questioned.
Yugi slipped off the Puzzle and silently said, "It's just . . . that woman, Zuka, she reminded me a lot of Shizuku."
"Why don't you go to sleep, you can ask Shizuku about the Scales tomorrow. If she has them, then we know if it is indeed Zuka, but until then, please, get some rest," Yami said as he faded into the Puzzle.
"'Night Yami." Yugi said as he, too, slipped into his sub consciousness.
:-:
Yami woke up with a start. He had no idea how he got out of the Puzzle, but he had another vision of his past. His memories were flooding in now, faster than ever. He saw bits and segments of other memories, but only one had played out to him in his mind.
The vision was about Zuka again. Yami really didn't mind though. They had met in secrecy and talked the whole time. He had learned so much about her that day. Yami could wait for his bride to come to him, oh how badly he wanted to see her, relive memories with her.
When Yugi came out of the Puzzle and scowled at him, Yami, unwillingly, gave up and exchanged places. Yugi got ready for school and started off, preparing what he would say to Shizuku when he got alone time with her.
:-:
Shizuku awakened to the worried face of Tèa, who was huddled over Shizuku, hands on her arms.
"You were sleeping really fitfully. It's time to go to school. Here's your uniform. Now don't look at me that way, get it on!" Tèa insisted.
Shizuku looked in disgust at the uniform after she left. It was a pink jacket with a blue pleated mini-skirt, knee-high socks, brown loafers and a hideous big blue bow on the jacket. It was horrible.
Shizuku reluctantly put it on, shifting it uncomfortably while she walked.
"Have I mentioned how much I hate this uniform?" Shizuku questioned as she walked into the kitchen.
"Come on, if we don't hurry up we can't meet up with Yugi," Tèa said, pulling Shizuku out the door.
"No! I'm not leaving the house with this on!" Shizuku shrieked, pulling away from Tèa and positioning herself in the door way so she could not be moved. Yugi was walking down Tèa's street, and decided to check out what was going on at Tèa's house.
"Hey guys," Yugi smiled before he realized what was going on.
"Hey Yugi," Shizuku smiled back as she stopped trying to stay as far away from the door as humanly possible. The trio began their walk to school while Yugi was still trying to piece together what he had missed.
Shizuku silently stomped along behind the ever persistent Tèa, and Yugi took this as the perfect moment to talk to her.
"Hi Shizuku," Yugi began
"Hey Yugi, what's up?" She wondered.
"Have you ever heard of the Millennium Scales?" He hoped that she would know what they were.
She froze, her heart stopped. How did he know about them? Does he know that I have them? She thought.
"The Millennium Scales? Uhh…" she was cut off in mid sentence, a strange voice in her head said to tell him that she had them, another said to keep it quiet, "Yeah, I've heard of them, they're one of seven magical Egyptian artifacts."
As soon as Yugi's heart had done a back flip, it had landed on concrete in one second.
'Let me talk to her Yugi. She might tell me,' Yami persisted.
'Well, I guess so. But not too long, got it?'Yugi warned him. They switched bodies and Yami continued on, "Have you ever seen them or anything like that?" he soothed with his deep harmonic voice.
She blinked in disbelief, Yugi looked different, he looked older, and he looked like, the Pharaoh Atem! His voice was the one in her dreams too.
Something strange overwhelmed her, and she felt like something else was controlling her thoughts, emotions, and actions. "Atem?" she whispered. "Is it . . . can it . . . can it really be you?" Shizuku didn't know what was coming over her; feelings were flooding in like an overflowing river. She lunged at him and embraced him. "I never thought I would see you, I thought I lost you." She nuzzled the nook between his shoulder and neck and let go.
"Is there something wrong, Shizuku?" Yami asked nervously, he didn't know how she could tell them apart. It took more than two years for Tèa and Joey to figure it out. She had only known them for a few days and she could tell. What if she is Zuka? He wondered. Yami had already blocked Yugi off from his vision and thoughts. He would be in trouble but it was necessary.
Yami took her hand and jogged closer to Tèa, and then he whispered softly, "Till our next meeting, my queen," he teased, kissing her hand.
In a flash of lights Yugi returned and Shizuku involuntarily pulled her hand away and continued walking. Yugi blinked as he tried to recall the past five minutes of conversation, it was all a blank.
'I'll get back at you for this,'Yugi sent to the Pharaoh.
'It was well worth it,' he mused.
Yugi was fuming and tromped off towards Tèa.
:-:
Shizuku chewed on the eraser of her pencil. She was hardly concentrating on what her first period English teacher was droning about. All she could think about was the force that had propelled her to feel that way about Yugi, no, not Yugi, Atem. How had Yugi turned to Atem? Why was she asking herself these questions, why did she care?
"Atoma, Miss Atoma, please introduce yourself to the class," Mrs. Hikata said as she narrowed her eyes behind her horn-rimmed glasses. Followed by Mrs. Hikata's stare, Shizuku walked up to the front of the classroom.
"I'm Shizuku Atoma, I'm from New York . . . and that's about it."
"Try telling them one of your interests," Mrs. Hikata snapped.
Shizuku blinked twice from Mrs. Hikata's harsh tone, but quickly recovered. "I like to play Duel Monsters..." Shizuku was interrupted by a low sneer from the back of the room. Mrs. Hikata quickly seated Shizuku and scowled at a tall boy in the back of the room with a smirk across his face.
:-:
Shizuku slowly lifted herself from her desk after class finished. Tèa had said a quick "Meet me outside." Before she left and Shizuku was gathering her massive pile of books.
She stood up from her gathering position as a deep voice sounded from behind her back. She turned around and saw the boy who had smirked at her. "So you like duel monsters huh?" He asked, "I guess you can like something, but not be good at it. So, Shizuku, are you any good? Have you beaten any good players here yet?" He sneered at her like it was the only thing he could do.
"Yeah, as a matter of fact I have. I beat Joey Wheeler just yesterday…" she was cut off by his laughter.
"You beat that hack Wheeler! I would brag about that to much, but I guess if your better than him, your okay. I'll ask you about the duel later, right now I have to go." He said looking at his pager.
He left the room in a hurry and Shizuku soon followed. She was just about to walk out the door when Tristan jumped in front of her. She was so scared that she dropped all of her books on the ground.
"Sorry I didn't mean to scare you like that." He started to bend down and pick up her books. He stood back up and said, "Here, let me carry your books for you Shizuku. Sorry about before, I just saw you and I thought I would say hi. So, hi!"
"Hi." She said as they got to the door. Shizuku mouthed 'Help me' to Tèa when Tristan wasn't looking at her, which was a hard moment to come by.
"Come on Shizuku, we need to get home. Bye Tristan!" Tèa rushed.
They started walking home but Shizuku couldn't stop thinking about Atem. She couldn't even connect that she could be Zuka. She had forgotten all about her.
"Shizuku, are you listening to me?" Tèa continued once she had Shizuku's attention "I thought you might like to know that I have to stay after tomorrow. So, you will have to go home without me. I am sure that Tristan would give you a ride on his motorcycle though." Tèa wanted to laugh so hard that she couldn't hold it in any longer.
"Yeah, of course." Shizuku said with a monotone. This was her chance, tomorrow she would bring the Scales, and after school she would talk to Atem and show him.