Chapter 14: The Second Dark War

In the Pharaoh's chambers, Juliana kneeled before Atem while Vash and Naru stood off to the side. She was busy explaining Heishin's plans of attack. "A large army will come on all sides of the city, with Heishin himself approaching the main entrance. His forces will be very strong and well armed. We must act quickly and I do not say this lightly. They attack at dawn."

Pharaoh Atem looked out the window then nodded. "Very well. We shall gather every available man at once." He looked at Juliana and smiled. "Welcome back, Priestess Juliana."

"It's good to be back, my Pharaoh. Just wish I had listened to some wise words sooner..." She looked over at Vash and Naru who smiled.

"Vash."

"Yes, Pharaoh?"

"Gather every priest and head guard and tell them to meet me in the throne room. We have a lot of work to do before sunrise..."

A few minutes later--

Pharaoh Atem sat on his throne overlooking the nine priests and a hand-full of guards. He cupped his hands under his chin and stared at them in thought, invisioning the layout of the entire city and where to place the separate armies. "Alright. For the outside wall of the city itself, Akins I trust you to spread your men and the others evenly along the wall. Make sure every able body man is fighting in the morning."

"It will be done, Pharaoh." Akins bowed.

"Now..." He looked at the priests. "Seto and Mahado. You two will occompany me at the entrance to the palace. Akunadin and Naru I place you two in charge of the north wall. Isis and Vash will go to the south wall, and the rest of you will guard the west wall." (The palace entrance overlooks the East where the sun rises.)

They all bowed and began to walk off when Atem called out again. "Naru, Vash, wait a moment I would like to speak with you. Juliana, please stay outside the door and come in when they leave."

Juliana nodded and walked out with the others as Naru and Vash stayed behind. They watched as Atem slowly sat up from his throne and walked toward them. "Is there still something bothering you, Pharaoh?" Naru asked.

"Atem, please, for I now speak in upmost seriousness and as a friend." He looked at them. "I want to know if you two are truly ready to fight at sunrise. You both know what happened the previous Dark War, and Naru...I heard you saw with your own eyes the serious damage."

Naru slowly nodded. "Yes, but things are different now."

"How so?"

"Well, for one thing we have you." Vash smiled. "And you have us! We're more prepared this time around then the first."

"Heh heh. This is true. But I ask of you two to keep a promise."

"Anything." They both said in unison.

"Watch out for each other. Not just now but forever," Atem said to them. "You two and Juliana led different lives then the rest of us, and only you three alone can come close to understanding each other. But I know you're strong. Possibly even stronger than the rest of us, that's why I gave you the new Millennium Items. Promise me you'll look out for each other until the end of all time."

They both nodded, but Naru now spoke. "Pharaoh, why not bring Juliana in here if you mean for the three of us to look out for each other?"

"Because Juliana for now considers protecting others as duty, not friendship. She will in time though, with your guidance. Now go prepare yourselves and your troops for the upcoming battle."

The two bowed and walked out. Juliana watched them leave, then entered the throne room herself. "Atem."

"Ah, Juliana. Please come closer. First, do you know why I placed you to the west wall?"

She nodded. "To keep me away from Heishin."

Atem nodded. "Good, I'm glad you understand. We can't risk anything happening to you again and endangering yourself as well as the others. Now...I have a separate mission for you. And I will only say this once."

"Alright. I will complete this mission to the full extent."

"When I borrowed Isis' Millennium Necklace, I saw a glimpse of the future. Many many years after our own. Perhaps many millennia." he said, looking out the window.

"That far...? What did you see?"

"I saw someone who possesses the Millennium Puzzle. Lots of people who need people like us..." He looked at Juliana. "I need you to make a promise to me, now."

"Yes?"

"I'm going to cast a spell on your Millennium Sphere...that will allow you to live until this day arrives. I need you to watch over the keeper of the Puzzle, as you have for me. Watch out for all of the Millennium Items. I trust you to do the right thing, as my father did."

"I will never fail you, Atem. I swear it."

He smiled walking foward and hugged Juliana tightly. "I know you won't my friend. Now go prepare yourself well for the upcoming battle."

Juliana bowed and exited the room.

A few hours later, sunrise was only a few minutes away. All of the priests and guards were positioned at their appointed areas, ready for anything. Atem, Seto and Mahado sat on their horses at the entrance to the palace with a group of soldiers, watching the sun slowly rise. At the horizon, they saw a group of about five hundred men approuching the city, all walking with a dark aura around them.

The three stood watching as the army came closer. "Strange...," said Mahado. "Seeing this, I believe Juliana exaggerated a bit. I expected more than this."

"Perhaps this is part of Heishin's plan...to wear down our defenses with a first wave, and then attack with a much stronger second army," Seto said without taking his eyes off the army.

Atem nodded. "It is a possiblity. No matter what, don't let down your guard. I don't believe Heishin will make the mistake of underestimating us..."

They watched as the first battle at the gates of the city began. Both armies fought with all their strength and soon it was visible that both were dealing heavy casualties. Atem gripped the ropes of his horse tightly when he heard Naru's voice within is head. 'Pharaoh Atem!'

'Naru? What is it?'

'I just recieved word from one of Priest Shada's messangers. There's a fairly large army attacking from the west! We're on our way over there right now.'

Atem cursed and looked back at the palace. 'Alright. We're on our way as well Naru. Be careful.' He looked at Mahado and Seto. "Just as we thought. This isn't the only army. Naru just told me there's another attacking from the other side."

Seto cursed in Egyptian. "Of course! They knew most of our defenses would be focused at the city."

"Mahado. Go and make sure they're ok." Atem said.

Mahado nodded, dismounted his horse, then ran toward the back of the palace.

Meanwhile, Shada, Karim and Juliana were busy fighting a large group of men that had come through a large whole in the palace wall. Karim growled as he knocked about five men to the ground. "How did they get through so easily! These walls could survive any blast!"

"Perhaps there was a weakness in the part of the wall that fell. But only a constructor would know something like that..." Shada said.

"Correct!" said a voice within the crowd. A few soldiers parted, leaving two men just standing there. They both wore beige Egyptian robes that were old and tattered and were darker than even some of the townspeople. "We built this part of the palace and know every part of the wall...every nook and every cranny.." said the same man.

"Who in the name of Ra are you!" glared Karim at the two men.

Juliana looked at them and growled. "Two of our own builders. The one with the mouth is Zaiko, and the younger one is Zaltor. How could you two betray the Pharaoh like this!"

"For the better benefits, my lady. We choose to live, to work for the stronger side. You haven't even tasted our full strength..." Zaiko laughed and he and Zaltor ran out, followed by the rest of the soldiers.

Naru and Akunadin then ran up, Akunadin stopping in the middle of the hallway. "What's going on? Are they retreating?" Naru asked.

Mahado then also ran up. "Everyone! The army at the front of the city is retreating! The Pharaoh wants everyone there to pursue, we won't give them the chance for another attack."

"I don't think they're retreating..." Juliana said, staring at the way the army they fought had left.

"What do you mean?" Naru said looking at her.

"Hm...Mahado." She turned and looked at him. "You help supervise the building of the pyramids right?".

"For the most part, yes. Why?"

"Which one was made recently? They'll be going there I know it. They probably hid traps and secret passage ways all inside, that's where they'd want us to fight."

Soon Pharaoh Atem and the rest of the priests arrived and were filled in on the situation. Atem sighed and looked around at the priests. "Alright, we'll have to change our plan. We'll have to split up into singles, one army to priest, all around the pyramid. Make sure you're not by yourself. And Juliana, I want you positioned the last place we'd find Heishin, is that clear?"

"Yes, Pharaoh."

"Alright, let's go!"

All of the priests mounted horses and the army rode out into the desert, toward the pyramids. The most recent pyramid to be built was perhaps the largest to have been built in a hundred years. Its outside walls were completely covered in gold and protected by a power spell so no theif could steal pieces of the wall. It contained hundreds of rooms and passage ways, as well as unknown mysteries that were placed there by a few builders. When they reached the pyramid the split off in all different directions.

Juliana and her army slowly walked down a large hallway, carefully looking around. She heard movement ahead of them and looked forward. There stood Zaltor with a torch in his hand. "It's Zaltor! After him!" They all ran after Zaltor and found themselves in a large room, facing a large group of Heishin's army. A great and bloody battle began all throughout the pyramid. Many men on both sides lost their lives that morning, and the battle wasn't even half over.

Soon the ground beneath them began to shake, and the ceiling above them began falling on top of them. Some men ran for their lives, but the brave stood their ground and continued to fight. Juliana looked around, then began running. "Pharaoh!"

The young Pharaoh stood in disbelief as the whole pyramid began caving down. This was not supposed to happen! How did it get like this? If he was to do something, it must be now. There was only on thing left to do. He turned around and ran down the collapsing corridor. Warriors were running in every direction. Most heading toward where the Pharaoh had left.


"Where is she!" He said to himself. His purple cape was then caught be a falling stone and he fell back. He tugged hard, trying to release himself when Juliana ran to him and cut him free.


"Sorry I was late. How is our army holding out?" she asked looking around.


"Not as well as we would hope...," Pharaoh Atem sighed.


Juliana looked at him. "My unit's doing well against the two traitors. I will go and help your unit," she said. She was about to run off when Atem grabbed her.


"Wait. You must do something for me," Atem said urgently.


She blinked and nodded. "Anything."


He reached into his pocket and removed a small, black orb. "I do not know what will happen when this battle is over but I know we'll need this. This orb contains the spirit of one of the most fierce Shadow Monsters in my possession." He puts it in the Juliana's hand. "I wish you to give this to the chosen one. You know who I mean."


"But...," she began. Vash then ran up to them.


"My Pharaoh! My unit has taken control of the bottom sector," he said.


"Great Vash. Good work," the Pharaoh said.


Vash looked Juliana and smirked. "What's wrong with you? Your weak unit hasn't beaten the traitors yet?" he said jokingly, trying to ease the mood.


She glared at him. "MY unit is doing quite fine, thank you. At least they have skills. Unlike a certain someone I know."


"Please stop fighting you two. This is not the time or the place! I'll need you two to take care of things for a while," Atem sighed.


Vash looked at him curiously. "What do you mean?"


Pharaoh Atem looked at Vash. A serious look crossed his face. "Remember the promise. We can't afford any mess ups at this time."


Vash nodded and Juliana looked at both of the questioningly. She then looked at Pharaoh Atem. "Please don't...,"


"I must. I'm counting one you two now. Don't let me down," he began walking and stops before he turned the corner. ' Five thousand years from now. Don't forget.' He said telepathically as he disappeared around the corner.


Vash stretched. "Well, I guess I better go help the Pharaoh." He looked to his side and noticed that Juliana was gone. "Hmm? Oh well." He ran in the direction Pharaoh Yami went and finally stood next to him.


The two stood in front of an army of Shadow Creatures (Duel Monsters). "Prepare yourself, High-Priest!" Atem yelled.


Heishin stood there behind the monsters. He wore black armor and a dark helmet. His eyes were ruby red. He smirked.
The Pharaoh removed the Millennium Puzzle from around his neck and it began to glow. A bright light filled the area...