Disclaimer: I don't own Yuugioh.
And I'd like to publicly apologize for the poem of the last chapter. I just wanted to find an excuse to put one of my poems in my story. And for the TWO whole people who reveiwed... kudos! I wonder if people are going to be upset at the end of this chapter...
UAQ: I don't know if that's what Atemu's mom was aiming for, but if it was, she did a good job, didn't she?
Hikari: Dearest, you flatter me. And I thank you.
Under Pressure
War and Murder
Atemu and Typhoon descended the steps majestically, having prepared to fight by changing into their armor. Typhoon's silver diamond and sapphire studded armor glinted magnificently, her bright blue cape hanging down to her ankles. Her long blue hair had been pulled up into a bun and covered by her silver helmet, also decorated with sapphires and diamonds. Her silver boots, that reached up to her knees, clinked against the marble floor loudly, echoing down the stairs, while her gloved hands quickly attached the hilt of her sword to her belt. Mana, in her customary pink and blue uniform, trailed behind Typhoon in a respective manner, her staff resting on her shoulder.
And while Typhoon and Mana's garb were flashy and showed their high ranking, Atemu and Mahaado's garb were a little less flamboyant. Atemu's uniform, as dictated by Mahaado, who knew the way of the Shadow Guardian's traditions, was onyx armor that shined dully, his raven boots, gloves, and belt allowing him to blend in with the darkened corridor. His black cape was made of a shiny material, that flashed against the occasional torch. A dark piece of cloth reached up from under Atemu's armor, up his neck and covered his mouth and nose, only his crimson eyes showing. He didn't wear a helmet like Typhoon, and had no diamonds and gems placed in his armor, but looked just as imposing. The only thing that was decorated, in black pearls, was the hilt of his sword on his belt. Atemu tucked the crystal bottle with the remaining Tainted Shadow Virus antidote into a pouch on his waist. Mahaado, who had been waiting in the Entrance Hall, in his dark purple robes and armor, followed Atemu, just as Mana followed Typhoon, clutching his staff nervously. They had gone back upstairs so Atemu and Typhoon could change.
"Are you sure about this, Empress? Normally royalty doesn't fight. In fact, they are taken away from fighting." Mahaado asked.
"In our realm, every able body will fight." Typhoon answered, not looking at him. "And that means royalty."
Mana glanced at Atemu, eyeing him as an older sister would. "Lord Guardian, you look very majestic." She said, as Atemu slightly inclined his head in her direction.
"Thank you, Mana." He said softly, his voice not at all muffled by the mask covering the bottom half of his face.
Then his eyes became wide and he jerked his head in the direction of the oncoming corridor. Hurried footsteps were coming ever closer and Mahaado stepped defensively in front of Atemu. Suddenly, a blur of gray sprinted past Mahaado and clung to Atemu's waist, knocking him back. Mahaado looked and saw Mokuba Kaiba attached to Atemu's torso, weeping hysterically.
"Mokuba!" Atemu gasped, regaining footing. "What on Earth is the matter with you? Where is Leucothea?"
"Mokuba Kaiba! Get back here… NOW! Oh, Little Boy, if I get caught by the Empress or the Lord Guardian… I'll be the one to get in trouble!" Leucothea's voice echoed loudly, and then she appeared from the dark corridor, her eyes searching wildly for Mokuba. She caught sight of Typhoon and Atemu and hid her fear by bowing deeply.
Mokuba's wails were interrupted by the occasional attempt to speak. "A-Atem… I-I was worried th-that I was n-never going to see you again!" Mahaado made to try and pry Mokuba off of Atemu and the boy latched on to the magician next. "A-and you! Wh-what's going to happen if y-you get hurt?"
Atemu placed a hand on Mokuba's head. "Don't you worry. We'll be fine. Now with Leucothea and be safe." Atemu gently tugged Mokuba off of Mahaado and led him into the arms of Leucothea.
"Okay Atem." Mokuba sniffed. He allowed himself to be taken away by Leucothea, who was cooing and humming sweet songs in Mokuba's ear, trying to calm the boy down.
"Come, we're running out of time." Typhoon said, pulling on Atemu's arm. The four of them entered the dimly lit Entrance Hall once more, and exited the palace, in the swarm of thousands of Water Sprites. The crowd parted and created a path that led to two horses, one pure white and one pitch-black. As Typhoon, Atemu, Mana, and Mahaado walked down the path to the horses, the enormous horde of Sprites bowed in unison, causing Mana to blush slightly.
Suddenly the cry "ALL HAIL EMPRESS TYPHOON! ALL HAIL LORD ATEMU!" was bellowed in the back of the crowd and was being echoed in growing intensity until the shout was a roar that was barely understandable, as the Sprites both male and female were shouting and pumping their fists in the air. Typhoon climbed to the top of her horse somewhat clumsily, having had little practice riding horses, while Atemu mounted his horse gracefully. Mahaado and Mana took to the air, levitating high above the crowd, watching the oncoming threat slowly make its way to the village.
"They're awful slow, aren't they?" Mana asked, watching the army approach.
"Yes, but they're big." Mahaado answered stiffly.
"Well, you know what they say… The bigger they are, the harder they fall." The girl said, twirling her staff like a baton and watching Atemu and Typhoon move to the front of the defense from above.
Mahaado sniffed bitterly. "That may be true, but what they have so graciously forgotten to add to that is the bigger they are, the harder it is to make them all"
Mana frowned as she and Mahaado followed Atemu and Typhoon from the sky. "You're a pessimist, you know that?" She snapped.
"Well, you are naïve, so I guess that makes us equal." Mahaado said, nonchalantly.
Typhoon and Atemu took their places of the leader of the northern defense. Mahaado looked at the other directions and saw Calypso leading the eastern defense, Neptune leading western, and Triton and Proteus leading southern. He let out a breath of relief. Everything was going good. So far.
-
- - -
-
"Curse it all!" Dimys shrieked, leading the attack that came from the north side and watching her sister's army form outside the palace. "How did they know we were coming so quickly?"
"Perhaps it is the new Shadow Guardian's doing." Aura said vaguely, watching Dimys's face jerk toward her. "Perhaps he has the ability to see things that are to come."
"Damn him!" Dimys cried. "It matters not. We will kill him too if we have to!"
Aura looked slightly reproachful and then said, "Leave him to me, dear sister." Aura looked around, watching the cross breeds of sharks and leopards sprint slowly to the village. "Why are we using these accursed things again?"
"Because they are dumb muscle and don't get mutinous when their leader calls them 'accursed things'."
Aura sniffed. "Well, they'd better be worth it."
"Of course they are." Dimys snapped. She looked at Aura. "Why?"
"Because our dear sister has ordered the countercharge."
-
- - -
-
Mahaado watched closely from above as Typhoon's army of Water Sprites dashed toward Dimys's army of Beast Sprites. The group looked like an explosion of people, lunging toward the enemy. Neptune's western side hit the opposing army, the sound of clinking swords and screams and attacks filled the night air. Next was Calypso's eastern side, then Atemu and Typhoon's northern side, and last Triton and Proteus's southern side.
As it turned out, what Mahaado had said was true. The Beast Sprites were enormous and hard to take down. But Mana was correct as well. Once they went down, they stayed down. And, to Atemu's immense delight, they were dumb. But there was one person in particular Atemu was looking for… Dimys.
Neptune and his entourage plowed through the Beast Sprites like an arrow head, him at the head. His men went forward and then pulled north and south and then circling back toward the palace to capture any Beasts they happen to miss. He looked side to side to see his brothers' men doing the same and the Empress was going ahead while the Lord Guardian was pulling west into the view of Neptune. Neptune looked around and saw that he had managed to get back onto the palace grounds. Obviously, Typhoon and Atemu had ordered for their troops to use the same maneuver as Neptune.
A whirl of blue dashed past Neptune, heading due north. His eyes followed to see that the Traitor Princess Aura was sprinting toward the Lord Guardian, who had long since been thrown off his horse from an enemy Sprite. He watched in horror as the princess was abruptly behind Atemu's back, drawing a dagger from her belt. She pulled her arm back, getting ready to strike-
"ATEMU! BEHIND YOU!"
Atemu spun around only to catch the dagger in his stomach. But, thankfully, Neptune saw that Lord Guardian had a grip in the Traitor Princess's arm, preventing her from plunging the dagger in too far. Atemu twisted her arm, forcing her to spin around and drop the weapon. Aura brought her elbow around and smacked him in the face, forcing him to the ground, but he pulled her down with him. As blood spurted from Atemu's nose and through his mask, he scrambled to his feet, kicking the dagger away, for Aura was making a wild dash for it. Aura screamed in fury and threw herself at Atemu, her strong hands clamping on to his thin neck, throwing him back to the ground. Turning a delicate shade of purple, Atemu thrust his knees up, causing Aura to weaken her grip, and then swiftly swung his fist up, hitting her in the stomach. Aura was thrown backward, and, as she gasped for air, Atemu climbed back to his feet and pulled his mask down for a second to wipe his face, which was thoroughly covered with smeared blood, then pulled it back up.
Neptune sprinted over to assist Atemu, knowing Aura's cowardly tactics for winning a fight, but was flung to the ground as another flurry of blue dashed at Lord Guardian. Hoping desperately that it was Typhoon who was running to Atemu, Neptune jerked his head up to see none other then Dimys, hurling herself at Atemu, drawing her sword. Having fought Dimys himself, Neptune knew exactly how much trouble Atemu was in if he was fighting both Dimys and Aura.
Atemu barely had time to draw his sword before Dimys had swung hers down, and it would have cut Atemu in half if he hadn't pulled up his sword to defend, a stinging shooting through his lower abdomen. Aura crawled to her hands and knees, and grabbed her dagger. She stumbled to her feet and lunged at Atemu. Though Atemu was preoccupied with Dimys, he saw Aura coming from the corner of his eye. He jerked his body to the right, making Dimys slip and lose her balance, allowing Atemu to swing around and kick Dimys, who shot forward, tripping Aura, both women collapsing to the ground.
Neptune was stunned. He had never seen anyone take down both Dimys and Aura all by themselves, but Neptune saw it had taken a lot out of Lord Guardian, who was sagging slightly, panting heavily. Taking advantage of Atemu's moment of weakness, a Beast Sprite sprinted forward and caught Atemu its leopard arms. Neptune tried once again to run over and assist Atemu but a shadow flew overhead, shooting toward Atemu and the Beast that had a hold on him. Mahaado dropped out of the sky, shooting purple magic from his fingers and staff, searing the Beast's back and arms. The Beast let out a cry of pain and let go of Atemu, who fell to his knees, new claw scratches on his chest, and then began to fall forward. Atemu hardly had time to scamper out of the way, but managed to crawl out of harm's way.
"Lord Atemu!" Mahaado gasped, skidding to a stop at Atemu's side. "Are you alright?"
"Yes…" Atemu sighed, climbing to his feet and wincing slightly.
"I'LL KILL YOU!" Dimys's voice screeched from behind them. The magician and Lord Guardian jerked around to see Dimys sprinting toward them, her sword drawn.
Dimys leaped up and, spinning, kicked Mahaado in the head, sending the magician flying fifty feet. She slashed her sword across Atemu's chest, a spurt of scarlet staining the battle field. Dimys made to stab Atemu, but Atemu bounded backward, avoiding the steel. She swung again, even more wildly this time, but once again, Atemu proved that he was simply not willing to get slashed again. Again and again Dimys launched her sword at Atemu, and again and again he dodged her frenzied attacks.
"Keep still, damn you!" Dimys shouted.
"No, that would be stupid." Atemu grunted, crouching down to avoid a sharp jab. He was getting tired, but he was determined to fight as long as he could.
Suddenly Aura appeared behind Atemu again, dagger in hand. Neptune watched as the silver flashed through the air, ripped through Atemu's flesh, and erupted from his stomach, his blood once again gleamed in the moonlight. Atemu's eyes were wide, his body going limp for a second as he lost consciousness for a split second, then became tense as he forced himself back awake, kneed Dimys, who was coming at him again, in the stomach and then elbowed Aura in the face like she had done him. He yanked the dagger out of his back, wincing, and shoved it in his belt, preventing Aura from getting it again. He swaggered slightly, and, knowing that this was not a battle he was not going to win at that moment, retreated, his vision blurred. He would have to try again later. He collided with Neptune, who had been fighting his way over to Atemu, and moaned quietly.
"Lord Guardian… are you alright?" Neptune asked, knowing his question was a stupid one, but feeling as thought he should say something anyway.
Atemu didn't answer, but he did point to Typhoon, who was being backed into a corner by multiple Beast Sprites, and croaked, "Help her."
"But sir-"
"Now."
Having no choice but to follow orders, Neptune left Atemu and sprinted to Typhoon's aid.
-
- - -
-
"Damn… they're really going at it, aren't they?" Joey muttered, his nose pressed to the window of the darkened room they were hiding in. Leucothea had taken them to a small room on the second floor of the palace.
"Come away from there!" Leucothea snapped, "you don't want to see what happens if Dimys or Aura finds Typhoon."
"Right now I'm not sure they really care about finding Typhoon." Tristan replied, his face pale.
"And why might that be?" Leucothea asked.
"Because they found Atemu."
"WHAT?"
Yuugi, Tea, and Kaiba ran up to the window as well, their eyes wide, shoving Tristan and Joey out of the way.
"Where's Atem?" Yuugi asked, his eyes wildly searching the ground.
"There." Joey answered, pointing toward two blue figures, shooting water jets out of their hands, and a dark one, sprinting away from the two as fast as possible.
"No! Atem!" Yuugi cried, running toward the door and wrenching it open.
"No!" Leucothea shouted running after him. "We were ordered to stay here!"
But Yuugi was gone. One day, Yuugi would look back on this choice, and pray that there would be a way for him reverse time… just so he could make himself turn back and heed Leucothea and Atemu's warning.
-
- - -
-
Proteus drifted east, toward his sister's area, searching wildly for Aura and Dimys. Not that he wanted to fight them, of course. That would be foolish, Proteus thought to himself. He just wanted to know where they were, because he knew that if no one knew where those two where, it usually wasn't a good thing. He paused, crouching low, as to not draw attention to himself, and looked around for Calypso. Calypso was, of course, handling herself fine, slashing through her enemies with her lethal talons.
"BE STILL YOU COWARD!"
Proteus jumped, knowing the voice of Dimys well, and looked around, his sharp silver eyes in the direction of the sound. It was coming from the north side of the palace. Proteus slunk against the wall, inching his way toward the sound. Suddenly, Atemu came barreling around the corner, crashing into Proteus, throwing them both to the ground. Atemu felt his wrist snap as he landed on it. Soon Dimys and Aura caught up, smiling dangerously at Atemu and Proteus.
"Well, well, well." Aura said, materializing water in her palm and stepping toward Atemu and Proteus. "I thought we'd catch you eventually."
"Keep thinking…" Atemu grunted, trying to muster some way to figure out how to use his powers. Aura threw the water at Atemu and Proteus, and it shot out of her palm like a bullet from a gun. Atemu grabbed Proteus's shield that was hanging off his back, and faced it toward the threatening force coming at him. It reflected off of the shield and shot back at Aura, throwing her back several feet. Shrieking with rage, Dimys shot at Atemu and Proteus, who were both still trying to get up off of the ground, gathering water in her palm just as Aura had done. Atemu suddenly had an idea. If they can summon water into their hands, why can't summon shadows into mine? He thought.
Concentrating fiercely, Atemu focused on gathering the shadows, and nearly sighed with relief when the shadows appeared. It looked like a hunk of purple, black, and blue mass that was completely formless and ice cold against Atemu's bloody palm. He put his hand up, toward the oncoming threat of Dimys, closed his eyes, and willed all of his power to be released. The shadows, that were the size of a watermelon, shot forward with the speed of a bullet train and twice the force. The force hit Dimys squarely in the chest and she flew back, crying out.
"That was amazing!" Proteus shouted, his usual smile painted on his cheery face. Atemu smiled kindly, all pain in his abdomen forgotten. "Can you do it again?" Proteus asked excitedly.
"I can sure try, can't I?" Atemu answered gently, opening his eyes. He couldn't help but be warm to Proteus. The young Sprite was one of the most kind, gentle creatures he had ever met. Proteus was caring and loving as well. Atemu almost smiled. Proteus was a lot like Yuugi.
"ATEMU!"
Atemu scowled and closed his eyes. Only Proteus followed orders. Yuugi sprinted to Atemu's side, his arms over his head. Only then did Atemu see what a gory mess he was. He had blood all over him, along with stab wounds and he was pretty sure his nose was broken. Luckily, Atemu was wearing all black so possibly…
"Atem! You're all hurt! What happened to you?" Yuugi cried, kneeling down beside Atemu.
Atemu sighed angrily. "Yuugi Mutou! I told you to stay inside the palace! For your own safety! How am I supposed to protect you if you constantly throw yourself into danger?" Atemu snarled, climbing to his feet with Proteus's help.
"But Dimys and Aura were attacking you! I saw them, Atem!" Yuugi looked down. "I didn't think that-"
"Precisely right, you didn't think. Now you are in mortal danger." Atemu snapped coolly, his eyes flashing angrily. "And what did you think you could do against Aura and Dimys, hmm? Did you think you could fight them? Yuugi, I'm just trying to watch out for you!"
"I'm sorry Atem." Yuugi murmured, looking at Atemu guiltily.
Atemu was silent for a moment, then his eyes softened. "Don't worry about it Yuugi. We will talk about this, but now is not the time." He looked up, his crimson eyes searching the sky. "Mahaado!" He called, still looking up. "Mahaado!"
There was a whooshing sound and Mahaado swooped out of the sky, his eyes watching Atemu carefully. "Yes, Lord Guardian?"
"I want you to escort Yuugi somewhere safe. I would, but I'm in absolutely no position to do so with Aura and Dimys chasing me around." Atemu said, his voice sharp.
Mahaado bowed and muttered, "It will be done, Lord Guardian." He took Yuugi gently by the arm and led him away from Atemu and Proteus, who were once again throwing themselves into battle. Mahaado pressed himself against the wall, and Yuugi mimicked the magician, thinking it would be best if he just follow Mahaado's lead.
"Why did you disobey the Lord Guardian's orders?" Mahaado asked Yuugi quietly, his soft voice sounding tired.
"I thought he was in trouble." Yuugi answered, feeling the guilt bubble up again.
"So why did you not leave that matter to me?"
"You weren't there."
Mahaado paused, and looked back at Yuugi, his soft blue eyes examining Yuugi. "If the Pharaoh was in real trouble, he would have called me. He obviously believed he could defeat Aura and Dimys, and, seeing as how he asked me to take you back to the palace and not stay by his side to defend him, he still believes that."
"So why doesn't he think I can take myself to the palace?" Yuugi asked, seeing that Mahaado knew more about Atemu thought then he did.
"What do you mean, Young Master?" Mahaado said, glancing around a corner carefully.
"Why did Atemu send you to take me to the palace when I obviously got away from it just fine? Does he think I'm-"
"He does not think you are weak, Young Master." Mahaado cut across him, gesturing for Yuugi to follow him. "He is very protective of the ones he loves. Therefore, he will never stop trying to protect you or I, even if we became Heavy Weight Champions. He knows you, Mana, and I think differently from him, so we would make choices that would prove… bad."
"How do we think differently, Mister Mahaado?" Yuugi said, inching down the wall like Mahaado.
"We think emotionally, Young Master. We rely on what our heart tells us to do. We react on our emotions, not what our brain tells us to do."
"What about Atem?"
Mahaado smiled sadly. "The Lord Guardian does not. He thinks logically. He does not allow his emotions to cloud his judgment."
"So are you and I wrong? Should we think logically?"
"Well, both have good and bad traits." Mahaado ducked down, seeing the entrance to the palace, behind a bush and Yuugi followed him, sensing the conversation was over. From behind the bush, there were loud bangs and explosions, with cries and screams. "Now, Young Master, we are going to enter a firefight, so before we go, are you a fast runner?"
"We're going to run head-on into a firefight?" Yuugi gasped.
"That's right."
"Wait… who's in the firefight?" Yuugi asked, confused.
"Well, technically, it's not a firefight… but a water-and-shadow-fight sounds funny." Mahaado said, smiling.
"I'm glad you think this is funny!" Yuugi said, sounding scandalized. Mahaado's smile only grew larger. Yuugi continued. "Dimys, Aura, and Atem are the ones fighting… so Atemu can control his powers?"
"Well he can use them to produce an attack. But mind you, that's only one attack." Mahaado paused. "Now… are you a fast runner?"
"I guess so." Yuugi answered, sighing. "But what if I fall behind? Are you going to take off without me?"
"Don't you worry about that, Young Master. I won't leave you. All you need to think about my foot connecting with your behind if you slow down." Mahaado said, laughing openly now. Yuugi smiled hopefully, and got ready to dart through Atemu's fight.
"When I say go, run. Don't look back… you know what? Don't even look to the sides. Just go straight back to the palace, and don't stop until you are safely inside. Now remember: Atemu won't shoot at you but Aura and Dimys will certainly try and hit you. Don't give them that opportunity." Mahaado said, setting himself in a position to run behind Yuugi.
"Mister Mahaado?"
"Yes, Young Master?"
"You'll make sure Atem is safe too, right?"
"Of course."
"Alright then. Let's go."
"Ready… GO!"
-
- - -
-
Atemu wove in between shots of the now boiling water being thrown at him. The water was now boiling simply because Aura and Dimys were in foul moods and their anger was effecting their attacks. Atemu shot two more of his shadows at the two women, who were forced to back up several feet. Proteus shot two arrows at them with his fingers swiftly reaching into his case on his back for another two arrows to place on his bow.
"GO!"
Atemu looked around to see Yuugi sprinting across the grounds with Mahaado at his heels, heading for the palace.
"Get the Lord Guardian's brat and slit his throat!" Dimys screamed, pointing at Yuugi, who now being prodded in the back by Mahaado to hurry up.
"No!" Atemu cried, but he felt himself being lifted and thrown backwards into Proteus. Only after a few seconds did Atemu feel the pain of boiling water burning his chest plate and scorching his skin. Another shot was fired and Atemu and Proteus were thrown back again, both grunting in pain, feeling like they both received third degree burns. More and more shots were thrown, each hitting their mark, throwing Atemu and Proteus against the wall of the palace. Dimys caught both of them by the throat and threw them up, cackling madly when they ended up on the roof of the first floor.
"Uh… Lord Guardian?" Proteus said, crawling away from the edge of the roof. "I don't do so well in heights."
"It's okay, just be careful." Atemu said, stumbling slightly, trying to get his footing on the slanted surface of the top of the palace.
" 'Be careful'!" Dimys's voice echoed from one of the towers of the palace. "Really Lord Guardian, is that all you know how to say?"
"Dimys! Show yourself!" Atemu shouted, gathering power in hand, trying to find where the voice was coming from.
"Very well!" Dimys screamed, swinging down from a statue on one of the towers right above him. She swiftly kicked him in the stomach and tried to push him over the edge of the palace. Atemu fell to his knees and put his hand up, shooting the shadows out of his palm, knocking Dimys off her feet. Atemu's breathing became ragged and labored. Suddenly, Atemu felt all of the pain from all his wounds at once. His nose, his cuts and dagger wounds, his bruises and broken wrist, his burnt skin, and now his lungs… why did his body choose now to have an asthma attack? Now of all times! Dimys slid down a twisted tower, drawing a small knife from her boot.
"Die!"
Atemu saw the silver blade coming toward him… coming toward his neck… and suddenly he knew that he needed help.
"MAHAADO!"
A flash of purple light appeared and Dimys was thrown up to the higher towers. Everything was blurred and mashed together. Atemu felt a strong grip on his shoulders.
"Lord Guardian! Atemu… can you hear me? Answer me!" Mahaado begged, his voice shaking.
"What's wrong with him? He looks awake." Proteus said, looking into Atemu's eyes. Atemu blinked and the world came back into focus.
"Pharaoh! Are you alright?" Mahaado asked, helping Atemu to his feet.
"Yes…" Atemu muttered, but after catching Proteus's facial expression, he hastily said "No."
"I'll kill you all!" Dimys screamed shooting down attacking Mahaado, who was thrown backward. Dimys plunged her knife into Mahaado's shoulder, causing him to cry out in pain. Atemu shot an attack at Dimys throwing her upward, and Proteus followed her up, brandishing his bow and arrow threateningly. He shot two arrows at her and smiled proudly at hearing her screech in pain. She retreated up the towers more, screaming threats and insults at the determined Sprite.
"Proteus, be careful!" Atemu called up to him. Atemu turned back to Mahaado who was twitching on the ground, crying miserably, and screaming in anguish. He placed a hand on Mahaado's color-drained face and heard Mahaado whisper, "Atemu… Prince… watch out for the cobra…". Atemu's eyes widened. Dimys's knife was poisoned! Mahaado has the Tainted Shadow Virus! He hurriedly reached into his pouch on his waist and plucked the crystal bottle out of it. There was only a little potion left, but Mahaado had only just been poisoned. Atemu hoped it was enough, and emptied the contents of the bottle into Mahaado's mouth. The jerking and twitching stopped and Mahaado fell limp, his chest steadily rising and falling.
Atemu turned his gaze furiously to Dimys, who was still fleeing Proteus's attacks. Arrows flew at the angry woman, and she screamed out angrily. Suddenly, she swooped down and caught Proteus's neck, raised him off the ground, and squeezed. Hating to leave Mahaado's side, Atemu cried out angrily and began climbing to the top of the towers.
"You like to play protector, Lord Guardian? Okay, then I'll play villain!" Dimys shrieked madly. She climbed to the highest tower with Proteus in tow, perched herself at the highest point of the palace and dangled Proteus above the ground, now hundreds of feet below them. Proteus tried to get Dimys to let go, but it was no use. She held on tighter, and he turned a deep shade of blue. She took another knife from her belt and jammed it right into Proteus's chest.
"DIMYS! NO!" Atemu bellowed, climbing higher and higher. There was a clap of thunder and a light drizzle began to fall on Atemu's face. The higher he went, the harder the wind blew. His cape was flapping wildly, his bangs falling annoyingly in his eyes. Proteus still hung limply from Dimys's grip.
"I'm going to let him go now, Lord Guardian!" Dimys called down to Atemu. "One…"
Atemu doubled his pace, his soreness forgotten, his eyes wide and terrified.
"Two…"
Atemu hurried even faster, realizing he was never going to be able to get there in time. The rain was falling heavily now, washing away Atemu's blood from his body and his thoughts.
"THREE!"
Atemu opened his mouth to protest, to beg, to plead, whatever he had to do, but it was too late. There was a slight gasping noise as Proteus inhaled air, and then his mangled cry of fear as he began to fall. He seemed frozen in air for a split second, then slowly began to fall. Dimys evil cackles seemed so far away. Atemu hooked his belt to a railing of one the towers and reached out desperately, and grabbed Proteus's arm as he fell past. Proteus slipped a little bit, for he was soaking wet, but Atemu held tight. He felt Proteus grip weakly onto Atemu's thin arm.
"I've got you Proteus!" Atemu gasped, the icy downpour, soaking him and making his grip slippery.
"I… I… am going to fall, Atem." Proteus mumbled, blood flowing freely from his chest. Atemu's dropped. Proteus had called him by his name… he was terribly hurt.
"Don't talk like that! I've got you!" Atemu moaned, trying to pull them onto solid ground, but finding that his body was shutting down, weakened from all of his injuries.
"You have to let go!" Proteus cried. "If I slip, I'll drag you down with me!"
"Nonsense." Atemu grunted, fighting fiercely to get back up on the roof.
"ATEM!" Proteus screamed. "LET ME GO!"
"Absolutely out of the question." Atemu responded weakly, his grip slipping. The rain was now a torrent, falling from the sky relentlessly, draining Atemu's strength.
"Then allow me to help!" Dimys screeched, dropping down to their level.
"Oh, Lord…" Atemu moaned, tears forming in his eyes. "I can't… hold… on."
"Atem?" Proteus's voice came weakly.
"Yes, Proteus?"
"Thank you for trying to save me."
A shot of water came from the tower they were attached to. Atemu was able to shot up his shadows before the boiling water hit. Atemu was tossed back up on the roof like he was a rag doll, but Proteus was thrown down, falling to the ground below, Dimys falling right behind him, her screeches filling the night air.
-
- - -
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Mahaado woke up to mournful sobbing . The rain came down cruelly, drowning out all sounds except for the lament that was echoed around the towers. Wind was blowing the misery to Mahaado. He flew up to the source of the weeping. He was shocked to see that Atemu was weeping, his head buried in his hands, shaking uncontrollably.
Mahaado didn't know what to do. He had never seen Atemu cry before. The young Pharaoh never cried… he never let himself cry… what in the world could have possibly happened to him…? Mahaado looked around, and he was surprised to see that Proteus and Dimys were nowhere to be found.
"Atemu… where is Proteus and Dimys?" Mahaado said, confused.
"D-dead…" Atemu choked out.
"What?"
"Proteus is dead and I let him fall!" Atemu shrieked.
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Calypso saw it all. She looked up and saw it. She saw the Lord Guardian try and rush up to save Proteus, she saw Dimys drop Proteus, she saw Atemu grab Proteus… and she saw Dimys attack. She neared her brother's body, tears in her bright silver eyes. Hoping to save Proteus, the Lord Guardian made one last desperate attack on Dimys, causing her to lose her balance and fall. But Proteus fell as well.
Dimys was lying eagle spread on the ground, her eyes closed, her bright blue hair everywhere. Calypso kicked Dimys away from her brother's limp form; he was lying facedown in the mud. She sprinted over and fell to her knees. She picked up her brother and turned him on to his back, the rain washing away the mud. His bright silver hair that reached down to his shoulders was plastered to his face, his eyes were closed. Proteus's face looked peaceful.
Behind her, the battle was dying down, the Beasts losing. Neptune ran to her side, looking battle worn but proud, Triton at Neptune's side, looking the same.
"Did you see that, Cally?" Neptune said excitedly. "We whooped them!"
Triton spotted what was in Calypso's arms. "Cally… is that Proteus?"
Calypso nodded slowly. Neptune gasped. "Is he hurt?"
Calypso nodded again. Neptune crouched down so he was level with his sister. "He looks like he's asleep. Did he get hit with a Sleeping Spell, or something?"
Calypso gasped for air, and burst into tears. "NO! NO, NO! HE'S BEEN MURDERED! BY THAT DAMNED WOMAN!" Calypso howled, pressing Proteus's forehead to hers. "DIMYS PUSHED HIM OFF THE TOP OF THE PALACE!"
Triton collapsed to his hands and knees. Neptune backed away nervously.
"No…" Neptune muttered. "It can't be!"
A whooshing sound filled the air as Mahaado flew down from the top of the palace, Atemu hanging limply from his back.
"The Shadow Guardian is dead, too?" Calypso exclaimed.
"No, but he's seriously injured." Mahaado answered, slowly, his bright blue eyes looking at Proteus. "Is he…?"
Neptune nodded, knowing his sister was in no condition to answer anymore questions.
"I'm sorry." Mahaado whispered, bowing his head.
"I want to thank Lord Guardian for risking his neck to try and protect Proteus." Calypso said, looking up to Mahaado.
"He thinks it's his fault Proteus is dead. I'm sure if you told him otherwise, it would be for the best." Mahaado said, looking back at Atemu. He looked at the pale form that was Dimys. "And is she good and dead?"
Neptune crawled over and checked Dimys's pulse. "Yeah… she's gone."
"Lord Atemu tripped her." Calypso said, watching Atemu sadly. "When she tried to hurt Proteus."
"I'm not going to fight." Triton whispered. "Not anymore."
Mahaado nodded and sat down, laying Atemu gently on the ground. The group sat there for about an hour. Soon both the rain and battle died. Typhoon limped over to the group, and informed them that they had officially won, Aura had been captured, but Dimys escaped.
"No Dimys didn't." Triton said. "She's dead. And so is our brother."
Typhoon was silent for a moment, tears in her large sapphire eyes. "He will have a funeral. He is a national hero and will be treated as such."