The Eternal Gem
Chapter 9: The Black Queen's Revenge (part 1)
Inside the palace walls, the occupants were sound asleep. In one room Bakura lay with Ryou holding him almost possessively as he slept. Down the hall, Yami and Yuugi lay curled up together dreaming peacefully. Outside, a plot was being put into action. Guards stood in shifts, watching the doors for their pharaoh but unseen by them, men cloaked with invisibility snuck right around them. All around the village shops and places were being destroyed and threatening notes were placed on all doors reading: The end will come and a new ruler shall shine in Egypt.
Three men unseen by anyone because of an unknown power surrounding their bodies crept along the outside walls of the palace, climbing up toward the windows and making as little noise as possible. Eventually, they reached patio doors leading into the pharaoh's bedroom. Very quietly, they used their lock-picks carefully before slipping inside. Thankfully there were no alarms or anything up high most likely because the pharaoh had trustworthy guards surrounding the palace.
Yami moved in his sleep, tightening his hold around Yuugi's waist. A soft, content sigh was released in response as Yuugi let his hand ghost over the arms around him. Invisible hands caressed Yuugi's back, fooling him even in sleep into believing it was his beloved. In response, his fingers left Yami's arm as he rolled over toward those hands. The hands wrapped firmly around him and not in a loving caress (which he might've noticed had he been awake). His body was wrapped in a warm robe as he was lifted away from the pharaoh's arms. It was difficult to fool the pharaoh, who had been so content with his arms wrapped around the smaller boy's waist and in removing the warmth Yami's eyebrows furrowed even as his eyes remained closed.
One of the men gestured for another to hurry up. Very slowly, Yuugi's body was carried down by one man. Minutes later another figure was helped up inside and handed a small stack of money before the two remaining men disappeared. The figure slipped into the bed, taking the place of the warmth that was there before. Different hands wormed their way around the pharaoh's waist but being fast asleep Yami reacted by pulling the figure closer to his body. Outside, the men with Yuugi slipped behind bushes to hide the bundled up body. One invisible man distracted the guards by upsetting the horses nearby long enough for the others to slip away, escaping with their hostage.
Morning came hours later and Yami sucked in a deep, calming breath having woken up earlier than usual because of a pair of wandering hands caressing his body. He was facing the opposite way of Yuugi, but he could feel the warmth pressed up against his back. Hands were ghosting up and down his legs, slowly peeling away the thin bed robe he was wearing.
"Yuugi," Yami breathed softly as hands slipped inside the robe, touching his skin.
It was a bit different; Yuugi's technique didn't seem to be filled with love and tenderness but rather with lust and want. A gasp escaped his lips as a pair of hands slipped beneath his underwear and grabbed his length.
"Yuugi, it's not like you to be so aggressive," Yami said quietly, trying to enjoy the ministrations but still feeling like there was no care or love there. "Perhaps we should wait until—"
Yami had rotated his body as he spoke and stopped dead when he saw bright red lips coming at him. Immediately, he pushed away hearing a very feminine sound of surprise as the figure was thrown off the bed. Tying up his robe quickly, Yami stumbled back while his eyes settled from the bed to the figure.
"Who are you!" he demanded instantly as a half naked woman arose from her spot, looking quite startled. "Where's Yuugi!"
"Come on now, darling," she said, puckering her lips. "We were just getting started. I promise you that your wife will never know," she licked her lips while letting the robe slide off her shoulders.
Shock turned to anger and Yami felt it boil beneath his skin, but nothing was happening. Normally even with immortality he was able to use a bit of the magic from his Millennium Item. That meant that Isis' concern about the Eternal Gem being a fake was correct. He had no powers, no immortality…he was human. And now he had no idea what had happened or how this strange woman got into his bed. Without thinking, Yami stomped over to her and grabbed her hair roughly which caused her to cry out in pain.
"Stop it!" she screamed out.
"Where is Yuugi!" Yami demanded angrily while throwing her on the ground. "Tell me or you will be arrested by my guards!"
The woman pushed back her messy hair with a frightened expression on her face. At that moment the door burst open and Fidil along with several guards came rushing in.
"Pharaoh, we heard screaming, what's the ma…?" Fidil trailed off as his eyes settled on the unknown woman. "A…prostitute?"
"Yuugi's gone!" Yami exclaimed desperately. "She was in my bed and Yuugi isn't here! Tell me what you did with him!" Yami shouted enraged and the woman covered her face in fear.
Fidil stepped forward and put an arm on Yami's shoulder to try and calm him down. "Pharaoh, what do you mean Yuugi's gone? He went to bed with you last night."
"And I woke up with her in my bed instead of Yuugi! If she doesn't speak soon and tell me what happened to him I want you to kill her!" Yami shouted, overwhelmed with fear and anger.
"No please!" she shouted desperately while covering herself back up. "Please…I don't know who Yuugi is…I don't know anything! Only that they paid me to come in here!"
"Who paid you!" Yami asked, his tone hardened and upset, but not enraged toward her.
"These men…these men that can become invisible," she said. "I was in Cairo, Egypt, locked in a police station because I was an accomplice to a crime. And yes, I'm a prostitute as well. These men dressed in strange clothing came in and freed me then they told me they had a job for me," she explained, teary-eyed. "I'm poor and I didn't want to stay there in jail! I was scared and desperate so I went along with it! They paid me so much," she hurriedly explained while throwing the stack of money at Yami's feet. "They paid me a lot and told me all I was to do was to sleep in your bed and that if I wanted to I could seduce you."
"And you said these men were invisible?" Fidil asked.
Sniffling the woman nodded. "They could turn invisible. I don't know if it was the special cloaks they wore or if they could do magic, all I know is that one minute they were there then the next I couldn't see them. They told me if I breathed a word of it that their leader would kill me!" she shouted fearfully, gesturing with her arms and kneeling before Yami. "Please don't have me killed! I didn't know they were sending me to you, pharaoh, nor did I know that they were going to take anyone!"
Yami's anger was soothed momentarily and he nodded. "We'll send you to an orphanage to stay temporarily where you can help with the kids. They shouldn't find you there. However, you need to tell me everything you know about these people."
"Of course pharaoh, thank you," she whispered sadly while bowing once more.
Fidil gestured to the guards and they picked her up and took her out of the room. Yami slumped down on the bed and let a couple tears slip out of the corner of his eyes. Gently he felt Fidil sit down beside him and put a comforting hand on his back.
"How could I have let this happen? He was sleeping right beside me…," Yami whispered. "If only I had my powers. I don't understand, Fidil, if that gem is a fake then how did it take our powers?"
"Perhaps it's just temporary to make it seem like it's the real gem," he suggested quietly. "You should talk with Isis about it and also see if she's heard anything from Marik."
"You're right," Yami wiped at his eyes while standing up and taking on a hard expression. "Sitting here isn't going to get Yuugi back. I want you to have the guards question the woman so we know a little bit about what we're dealing with."
"Yes pharaoh," Fidil nodded. "And what will you do?"
"I'm going to go to Isis and have a chat. I want to know if she thinks there is anything dangerous about this fake gem as well. And perhaps someone should check on Ryou and Bakura and make sure they're alright," Yami added.
"I'll send a guard immediately," Fidil answered, giving him a nod.
Yami gave him a grateful but firm expression and headed off to find Isis to tell her the bad news. Fidil went to go send a guard to Ryou and Bakura's room.
Meanwhile, down the hall, inside another room, Ryou was sleeping peacefully with the warmth against his back. They had basically spent the previous day in bed together exploring each other's bodies and it had exhausted him. Thankfully they didn't go to bed too late and Bakura was just content to keep his arms around him. Although Ryou loved his overprotective side and he admitted it felt awfully good to be passionate with the older boy, he did want a break once in a while. Bakura moaned in his sleep and thrust his hips against him. Ryou sighed heavily and shook his head with a subtle smile. The older boy's libido was incredibly active even in his sleep.
The arms around him tightened and he heard Bakura take in a deep breath and lift an arm to stretch. He was waking up now and Ryou hoped that they could at least get out of bed and do something other than having sex. He trusted what Bakura had told him; how he wasn't using him for sex, but there had been obvious sexual tension between them since Bakura had thought about it every moment since Ryou confessed his feelings and allowed the older boy to give him his first pleasurable experience. Behind him, Bakura shifted and then after stretching he moved in closer so his body was pressed tightly against his. Gasping, Ryou arched as he felt a pair of soft lips caress his neck. He felt the older boy smile against his skin.
"So you're awake," Bakura murmured.
Blushing as he rolled over, Ryou locked gazes with him and couldn't help but notice how sexy Bakura looked when he was smirking tiredly. In response, Ryou pushed closer to him and nuzzled his face against Bakura's neck, allowing his fingers to trail across the older boy's bare chest. He felt warm arms wrap around him and soon their legs were intertwined. Bodies pressed up closely together and Ryou pushed his embarrassment aside as he sucked gently on Bakura's neck, earning a pleasurable moan.
"You know, as much as I want to have some more fun in bed," Bakura smirked, pulling away momentarily. "I think today perhaps we should get out of bed for a little."
Ryou pouted, inwardly annoyed. Sure, when he wanted to mess around Bakura wanted to get out of bed, but when Ryou was getting sick of screaming every few hours Bakura wanted to stay in bed. Laughing softly at the pout on his face, Bakura bent down and captured his lips in a heated kiss. They stayed in lip-lock for a while before Ryou broke it, gasping for air.
"Well…maybe just once more," Bakura grinned widely, rolling himself on top of the smaller boy.
He bent down and sucked passionately on Ryou's neck while his hands caressed his body. Pushing the material off of the smaller boy, Bakura moved his kisses down the boy's chest while sweeping away his tank-top until he got to his boxers. Smiling wickedly, Bakura trailed his tongue across the cotton material and played around his crotch area. Ryou arched and gasped at the same time, squirming in the process. Bakura didn't appear to be getting the message for his boxers were still on even a few minutes later when the older boy was running his hands up and down his legs.
"Bakura!" Ryou gasped loudly, spreading his legs to signal what he wanted.
"My, my, so impatient," Bakura almost purred. "But I suppose if you want it that badly…," he trailed off as he flung his own underwear off, pulling Ryou's legs around him.
Very gently he began pulling off the boxers and Ryou bit his lip, feeling incredibly aroused. Just as his boxer shorts were pulled down and Bakura leaned his head down to lick his arousal, a loud knock sounded at the door. Ryou jumped, accidentally thrusting himself toward Bakura's mouth, which had begun to open. Accidentally swallowing him, Ryou let out a loud moan and being since it could've been interpreted as a painful moan from the other side of the door, they suddenly found the door being burst open. Ryou squeaked and Bakura just managed to pull his mouth away and throw the covers over the two of them as a couple guards came inside.
"We heard a noise," one of them said.
"That's because it happens to be a bedroom!" Bakura hissed angrily, while glaring at them.
The guards exchanged glances and the other one nodded. "Terribly sorry, we were told to check on you and see if you both were alright."
Ryou kept the covers over himself but sat up in surprise. "Why? Did something happen?"
The guards both nodded and one of them moved his weapon back to his hip. "Yes, Prince Yuugi has been kidnapped it seems."
"Again?" Bakura rose his eyebrows.
Ryou shot him a warning look and then glanced at the guards with fear. "Do they know who kidnapped him?"
"No, but you can talk to the pharaoh directly if you want. He's downstairs in the meeting room with the priestess and a man named Marik."
"WHAT!" Bakura roared, jumping up and forgetting he was naked.
Needless to say the guards were very flustered and immediately began walking out. "Uh…glad to see you're alright. The pharaoh is downstairs…again, yes, we're leaving now."
Both guards hurried away and Ryou sighed heavily, slumping back down on the bed. "Yuugi…Why can't this just end?"
"Apparently Yuugi is too easy to kidnap, even under the pharaoh's protection," Bakura scoffed while throwing on a robe. "I guess we'll have to see what the pharaoh wants. But why is that idiot Marik here!" he seethed.
"Calm down Bakura," Ryou warned. "Look, just forget about your rivalries and focus on helping Yami find Yuugi."
Scowling, Bakura grunted and Ryou took that as a close yes. He hurried threw on a robe too and both of them headed down to the meeting room. As they entered, Bakura glared at Marik who sipped his tea and ignored him.
"Bakura, Ryou," Yami nodded gravely. "Please sit."
Mahado, Isis, Fidil and Hadi and his men were also there. It was a much bigger meeting than they thought.
"Whoever is threatening us obviously has a lot of power," Hadi continued after the two boys had seated themselves. "Invisible men, I mean that's not a very common thing."
"You don't say?" Marik drawled sarcastically while setting his cup down. "My men seem to have spotted some unusually dressed people walking around lately. By the pictures they took I'd say they're from a neighboring state, perhaps Saudi Arabia or some place."
Hadi glanced at him with a confused expression. "So? What does that have to do with anything? We get tourists and people from other nations all the time."
"Perhaps, but the way they sneak around and try to blend in is a little suspicious. I'd say if we contact one of the leaders of another state we might find something useful to go on," Marik spoke firmly. "When was the last time you were in contact with any other nation, pharaoh?"
Yami shook his head. "It's been a while. I mean, we've still done trade, but that's all by mail never face-to-face. I haven't been there since we destroyed Kontar for good. Since then I've noticed that our trading has decreased and that the other nations seem more distant, but they've never contacted me in any way."
"What if they can't?" Isis spoke up, directing the question to everyone. "What if someone is threatening them as well?"
"As well?" Bakura voiced.
Marik rolled his eyes. "If you were here on time, tomb-robber, you would know that many of the villages here in Egypt have been robbed, destroyed or vandalized in some way and on every door was a threatening note saying the end is near and that a new ruler will come."
"Yes and now all the citizens are becoming angry at me," Yami said quietly. "I understand their concern; I made it seem like we would finally be at peace and now this happens."
"There's someone out there who obviously wants to turn the public against you," Hadi said gravely. "Perhaps they want this so that they can take over more easily."
"That sounds plausible," Mahado spoke up having been sitting quietly with a dark expression. "It sounds to me like whoever it is they've been waiting for a chance at you, pharaoh. They could've been sitting patiently and slowly building up a riot."
Yami's eyes narrowed. "Something Yuugi said to me the other day also struck me about how this person could have obtained the Eternal Gem and immortality. If this person or people used the Gem there's no telling what powers they wished for. Invisibility is the only thing that could be given by such a power."
"This person seems to have it in for you, pharaoh," Marik said, while trying to hide his smirk.
"I have to agree, unfortunately," Bakura spoke up, not even glancing at Marik. "What did you do to have them hold such a grudge?"
"I don't remember doing anything to anyone, but it was such a long time ago. Perhaps I just don't remember," Yami said softly as his eyebrows furrowed with frustration.
Isis sighed heavily and shook her head. "I'm afraid there's not much more we can do. I just don't understand how they fooled us with a fake Gem. I mean cloning such a rare item is implied to be impossible since it was produced by the three sacred beasts themselves. And now I'm afraid perhaps the sacred beast's souls are not free and are trapped within the wish of the Gem now."
"But then why would they have been freed with your wish?" Hadi asked, confused.
"Because I was combining all the pieces of the Millennium Items together, which happens to be the complete power of the sacred beasts. They were the ones to create such items; the Orb represented how their powers were once. Together their powers were so enormous that this world couldn't handle them. So when they died after producing the Gem they also split their souls into thirteen pieces. If the thirteen pieces were combined back together then none of us would have control over an item any longer; after all it wasn't meant for humans. That way the beasts' souls would be put back together and they could be freed; that would then take away the threat of a huge power that could destroy our world. And now that we don't have our powers, I have a terrible feeling that this person might."
"What do you mean?" Yami asked with widened eyes.
Isis bit her lip and continued: "I mean that if they cloned the Gem that means they were waiting for us. If anyone else had wished upon that Gem it wouldn't have worked because it was a fake, but because we did and we had the power of the Millennium Items, that fake Gem absorbed all of our powers leaving us defenseless. It was obviously a well-thought-out plan. And now it seems all of the Millennium Items have disappeared and there's only one place they could've gone."
"To the Eternal Gem, the last of the sacred beasts' powers," Hadi whispered in awe.
"Yes and if the Eternal Gem had already been wished upon the powers would then go to the wisher," Isis finished, glancing at Yami with fear in her eyes. "Pharaoh, there's no telling what could happen next. We have no powers to defend Egypt with."
"And what will happen to Yuugi?" Ryou spoke up quietly, lowering his eyes to the table.
Yami's eyes too glanced downward and Isis glanced at her brother who just gave her a shrug.
"I don't think they will kill him," Mahado said gently. "I believe he's just being used as bait to get to our pharaoh."
Hadi clenched his fist and pounded it on the table. "Enough is enough! How many demons must we face before our time of peace is allowed to reign over us!"
"It feels never-ending," Jahli, one of Hadi's men, replied with a tone full of regret.
Just as the words rang in the air, the doors exploded open and several guards came rushing in. Yami stood up instantly though the others remained seated with dark expressions, knowing it wasn't good news.
"Pharaoh!" one of them exclaimed breathlessly. "It's the Gem! The Gem you told us to guard exploded in the room; it injured two of your guards and set fire, but we put it out. However, it is gone!"
"Just as I feared!" Isis exclaimed. "It was a fake! It was meant to kill us—to detonate the entire palace!"
"Well why didn't it!" Hadi exclaimed, standing up shakily.
"Because I cast a protection charm around it out of fear," Isis stated firmly. "I have very limited magic but I used an old healing spell with herbs and chants and dipped it in a serum, hoping that it wouldn't do damage. And thankfully it only detonated a small area."
"How are the guards?" Yami demanded in concern.
"They are fine," one of them commented.
"What will happen now that it's completely destroyed?" Hadi voiced, glancing between Yami and Isis.
"Whoever has kidnapped Yuugi, sent the threats and fooled us into giving up our powers will know soon enough that we all weren't killed!" Isis shouted desperately. "There's a possibility whoever it is will send an army to finish us all off."
"Then we must be prepared! Warn the citizens at once! I will make a statement to them all to calm them down and tell them how sorry I am for not paying more close to attention," Yami announced with furrowed eyebrows. "Fidil, I want you to go into town and gather as many willing men to fight by my guards and any women that wish to help. Others can be taken into underground sanctuaries for safety! We mustn't let them get over Egypt's border!"
"Yes pharaoh," Fidil bowed, hurrying out of the room.
Then Yami's eyes directed toward Marik, who was still sipping his tea calmly. "Marik, do you have any men willing to help?"
"Perhaps," he said.
"PERHAPS!" Bakura roared while pounding his fist on the table. "Egypt is about to be destroyed and you just sit there calmly! What, do you think that you won't be affected! You live here too, if you haven't forgotten!" he shouted, outraged.
Marik sneered at him and set his cup down firmly. "I'm aware of that tomb-robber! I am not on the enemy's side, but at the same time I'm not on any of your sides."
"THERE ARE NO SIDES!" Ryou blurted out angrily, surprising the lot of them. Even Marik's eyes gazed at him in shock. "Egypt is one nation and it stands all together! The enemy is after all of Egypt, so they're after all of us! If we don't work together we're doomed and then all our hard work up to this point to achieve peace will be in vain!"
There were tears in his eyes but he masked it with anger. Marik's expression hardened and he sat back in his chair. "I have about seventy-five strong men, but that's all. There's no telling how big the enemy's army is."
"Exactly! Whoever it is has been planning this for some time!" Hadi exclaimed. "They'll be ruthless!"
"Not to mention they've probably forced unwilling nations who were once allies to us to participate in fighting against us," Mahado's voice spoke coldly. "That's probably why our trade has decreased and why we haven't been in contact with most allying nations. The enemy has rooted all neighboring nations around us against us, I'm certain."
"We'll need proof of that," Yami said, nodding. "I'll try contacting neighboring nations and find out for sure. In the meantime, I must go talk to the people."
"What about Yuugi? How will we find him?" Ryou asked nervously, sitting up rigidly in his seat.
Yami's eyes dimmed drastically and he shook his head. "I'll try my best, but right now I've got to make sure Egypt is prepared for whatever is to come. Then hopefully if I find out more information on what's going on with the neighboring nations, I might be able to track down who took Yuugi. However, we have little to go on about our enemy. Chances are this person will show their face to me sooner or later and I'm certain Yuugi will be with them."
"So we just wait then!" Ryou cried out desperately.
Bakura put a hand on him firmly, trying to calm him down. "That's all we can do, Ryou. There's no way to know who these invisible men, or whatever, are working for. It's a long-shot. Obviously, the enemy has the upper hand," he said, as expressions around the table turned grim. "And they will most likely bring Yuugi along, if they decide to attack openly."
Yami nodded reluctantly. "I agree. The best tactic right now is a defensive maneuver. We will meet up again in exactly five hours to report on all findings. Until then, the best of luck my friends," he added gravely.
Mahado
rose
to walk out with him and Ryou instinctively pushed closer to Bakura,
whose expression was full of anger and hatred. Marik remained passive
in his seat before standing up.
"Where are you going?" Bakura hissed maliciously. "Not going to
betray us are you?"
Marik snorted and glanced over his shoulder. "Honestly, tomb-robber. I'm going to inform my men of the war; if you really want to be helpful, I suggest you fix that attitude of yours."
With that he swished his cloak behind him and stalked out, leaving Bakura red in the face. Isis stood up and gestured toward Hadi and the others.
"Hadi, see if you can find some of your men who used to have contact with others in neighboring nations. There might be something we've overlooked," she said, as Hadi nodded and walked out with his men following. "Bakura, Ryou, you can come help me. I'm going to make some more healing and protection potions. That's all I can really do, but it might help."
Scowling darkly, Bakura pushed his chair away and waited for Ryou to get up before the two of them left with her. Outside, people were being gathered in order to hear what the pharaoh had to say and to pass to other Egyptian cities. Already, Egypt was quickly plunging into chaos.
XXXXX
The news of the chaos quickly reached the ears of the The Black Queen. Seated in her own palace made by the hands of her slaves, she grinned manically as several approached her.
"So my plan is working brilliantly so far," she laughed loudly. "It's a shame my little bomb didn't destroy them all. Ah well, it looks like this way will be more fun. I was hoping for the pharaoh to die, now that he's mortal, and for all of Egypt to fall under chaos and fear that they no longer had their beloved ruler. Still, I suppose it'll be that much more worth it when I destroy him myself!
"Now…," she continued coldly. "Have you brought me the boy?"
"Yes, my queen; our men successfully snuck in with the magical cloaks you bestowed upon them and got the pharaoh's spouse. He has been sedated so he is still asleep, but we have him carefully tied up in a blanket in the dungeon."
"I don't want him in the dungeon!" she snapped heatedly, pointing a finger at them. "I told you to bring him to me, so bring him here! I want to see him for myself!"
"Yes my queen," one of them bowed and hurried away to get him.
"Are my men ready for war?" she asked, glaring down at the others.
"Yes my queen," one of them answered.
Her lips curled spitefully, "Good. Then get my throne ready. I want to be escorted into Egypt even more beautifully than a pharaoh. And I want to bring our little guest with me."
"But…my queen, how will you approach the pharaoh? He might have an army or guards around him," one spoke up.
"Silence!" she hissed furiously. "Don't question me! That foolish pharaoh wouldn't dare have his army attack, if he has one. Not when I'll have his beautiful, beloved spouse sitting with me unwillingly. He'll have to let me through otherwise I'll kill the boy! And I'll tell him that he must invite me inside with only him there, no bodyguards, otherwise his beloved will die! And once I have the pharaoh alone, I'll use my powers to seal the palace and trap his fate. When the pharaoh's body is lying before me, I'll come out and show it to all of Egypt and they'll have no choice but to allow me to rule them! They cannot possibly function without a leader!" she grinned cruelly. "And the pharaoh can't possibly defeat me without his powers."
"Of course my queen," they murmured quietly.
Her smile faded into one of disgust. "Go get my throne ready! Once the boy is in my hands I want to leave immediately and surprise the pharaoh. And get me my war outfit!" she snapped.
Several servants rushed to do her bidding and she sat down patiently. Very shortly, men came in bringing a bundle and she gestured for them to take away the blanket. Her heels made noise against the marble floor as she approached the unconscious figure. Smiling victoriously, she laid eyes on the small form, seemingly innocent and clad in a thin, silk bed-robe.
"Wake him up," she ordered coolly.
A man bowed and came forward, uncorking a small vial that he placed beneath the boy's nose. He made a sound in the back of his throat as his head jerked away from the terrible smell. Seconds later, tired violet eyes opened and in shock of seeing a man hovering over him that he didn't recognize, Yuugi jumped away finally taking in his surroundings.
Nearby, a cold laugh caused his head to turn toward the sound. A woman standing before him with long black hair and deep maroon eyes was sneering in a most wicked manner. Yuugi's eyes widened in surprise, not understanding how he got to the strange place. One minute he had gone to bed with Yami like always and now he was sprawled in front of what appeared to be a mad-woman and many unfamiliar guards and servants surrounding him.
"Welcome to my palace," the woman smiled, gesturing with her arms wide open. "I can see you're a bit confused, my dear boy. You are the spouse of the pharaoh Yami, are you not?"
Instinctively, Yuugi's innocent eyes narrowed in anger. At once, he began putting pieces together. He knew that they suspected someone out there might've been against them or stirring up trouble. There was no doubt now that this woman obviously wanted Yami for nefarious purposes. Was it she that perhaps got a hold of the Gem?
"Come now, there's no need to be rude," she stated in an almost sarcastic manner. "I have welcomed you into my home so the least you could do is introduce yourself."
Yuugi licked his dry lips, almost afraid to speak. There was just something about her that was off and it was more than just her cold demeanor.
"It seems like you already know who I am," he said quietly.
Smiling in amusement, the woman stepped forward, leaning a hand on her hip. "You're absolutely right, dear boy, or shall I just call you Yuugi. That is your name, isn't it? My name is Queen Kanika, soon to be the new ruler of Egypt."
"Yami's the ruler of Egypt!" Yuugi exclaimed with clenched fists.
Guards moved toward him to keep him quiet but Kanika stopped them with a gesture of her hand. Yuugi's eyes flickered toward the guards in fear and she sneered, stepping even closer.
"Quite a temper you have. I must warn you to be nice or you could be punished," her eyes glistened darkly. "And as for your dear pharaoh, he will no longer be ruler of Egypt. And once I destroy him, not only will Egypt fall into my hands but all of Africa. You see, I have steadily taken over nation by nation; can you imagine how outnumbered your dear pharaoh is being since Egypt is the only place not in my control?" her grinned widened as Yuugi's expression turned to shock and fear. "Your pharaoh is no longer a pharaoh, boy. He has no powers; he is mortal like you so even if his army stood a chance against mine, it wouldn't matter in the end. And thanks to you, I'll be able to approach him the easy way so that I may kill that much quicker. I've been waiting too long to just sit back and wait years for war to end. No, I plan on making this a quick fight!" she exclaimed triumphantly.
Yuugi was now trembling slightly, trying hard not to panic. It couldn't be…if Yami didn't have his powers or immortality, he was vulnerable. And knowing how much Yami cared for him, there was no doubt he'd let Kanika do whatever she pleased with him. This couldn't be happening; how did everything turn so wrong in such a short amount of time? How had she gotten to the Gem, if she had? There really was no other way to explain her power and control over all the nations except Egypt.
"Are you afraid my dear boy?" she grinned in amusement.
"Did you…," Yuugi trailed off suddenly. "Are you the one who found the real Eternal Gem?"
Laughing loudly, Kanika raised her hands in the air. "Why yes, as a matter of fact I did. You see, I stole Yami's father's records of what he knew about the Gem and spent much time finding it for myself. And now I have the ultimate power. And thanks to that fake Gem I created, which has sucked the powers from all those in Egypt, I now possess even more: the power of the Millennium Items! Once I combine the powers the Gem gave me with the power of the Millennium Items I will have the full power of the sacred beasts! I can control them and anything! I will be unstoppable!" she shouted gleefully.
"There's not way you could control such a power!" Yuugi exclaimed. "That's why it was broken into pieces, because it's much too powerful combined!"
"Silence, boy!" she hissed angrily, while closing the distance between them and hovering over him. "Look at the power I have achieved so far. With more power I will never die and no one will ever be able to defeat me. You and your pharaoh always think that such power shouldn't be obtained, but that doesn't mean it can't."
Yuugi wanted to scream at her and tell her she couldn't do it, but he knew that would only get him into worse trouble. "What are you going to do with me?"
Sneering once more, she put her other hand on her hip. "You will be my ticket into the palace where I will be able to get the pharaoh alone. Once I destroy you beloved husband, you will have two options: your first is to rule by my side as my husband or die with the rest of them."
Gulping, Yuugi felt his throat constrict. "Your…husband?"
"Why yes, what better way to spite the pharaoh than take what is rightfully his: both his beloved Egypt and his beautiful bride," she laughed loudly, causing Yuugi to bite back his fear. "Of course I can have any number of husbands I want," she said casually while walking around him. "However, you will be my top priority, for the people of Egypt already trust you as much as they trust Yami. And since I see no threat in you like I do in Yami, and my revenge is solely for Yami, then I can be merciful to you. As my husband, you can make it easier for the people to get accustomed to my ways of ruling. And I trust you know how to be intimate with another?" she smiled cruelly as Yuugi flinched from her gaze. "It might be a tiny bit different with me though instead of your precious pharaoh, but it'll be well worth it. Life is always worth it, isn't it?"
"Not if it isn't with Yami," Yuugi responded softly as his gaze dropped to the floor.
"How touching," she sneered sarcastically. "But if you want to live you'll choose to love me! Otherwise you'll die with your precious love and then without you all of Egypt won't even have an inkling of hope."
Yuugi felt tears beginning to appear in his eyes, but he quickly bit his lip hard to keep from crying. Now wasn't the time to give up; he had to believe in Yami. Never had their love for one another proved useless even though it was looking quite hopeless. Without any powers, Yami would be defenseless just like he was with Kontar only his powers weren't going to be inside of Yuugi, they would be inside of the enemy. In fact, her eyes seemed almost exactly like Kontar's…a deep, cold maroon that glistened so cruelly it was hard to not wince every time. Kontar…could she have meant she was getting revenge against Yami for Kontar's death? Glancing up into her cruel face, he noticed that their eyes did seem a lot alike. Was she…related to Kontar? Unless Kontar had a long lost sister, he didn't know who she could be.
"My queen," a man announced bowing low to the ground.
Yuugi blinked in remembrance. It was one of the men who had taken his picture.
"Your throne has arrived and your army is ready to invade whenever you command."
Sneering, she nodded and then glanced down at Yuugi, who was still sprawled on the floor. "Time to go my young boy; the pharaoh is probably waiting for us. And Egypt is waiting for me."
Yuugi was suddenly hoisted up and forced out the door, following behind her long robe, lined with gold. As she was lifted up into a throne that was placed on top of a fancy board carried by several of her servants, he saw her put on a veil to hide most of her face and then a crown was placed upon her head. Yuugi's hands and legs were tied up in rough rope and he was hauled up with her, forced to sit down by the throne. Her cold eyes gazed down at him pleasurably as she gestured for the men to start moving.
"Now comes the time for Egypt to see their new ruler. And if you're smart you'll bow down to me like everyone else."
Being careful not to say anything offensive, even though he was quite tempted to, Yuugi stared up at her with determination. "Who are you really?"
She turned her head toward him and leaned back in her throne, tapping an item in her hand that Yuugi hadn't noticed before; it was almost like a staff. There was a crystal atop of it made from an emerald, he guessed, and its entire body was completely golden, giving off a familiar hue. And there was something about the item that affected him by causing a slight throb. It was obvious this item had magical powers—perhaps it was even the source of her power. He wondered where the Millennium Items were being kept and why she didn't appear to be bringing them with her. As she leaned down toward him, causing a cold shiver to run up his spine, her cold, maroon eyes hardened.
"I am an old friend of the pharaoh's, Yuugi. I can call you that, can't I, now that we're friends too," her eyes narrowed mockingly. "I've known him since he was seven years old; I used to work in the palace thousands of years ago."
Yuugi blinked in surprise; so his theory about her achieving immortality with the Gem had been correct. If she had lived in the same time as Yami then she obviously had powers allowing her not to age for that long, just like Yami and the others who had obtained Millennium Items. He wondered why she had waited so long to attack. Why hadn't she attacked at the same time Kontar had, or even before? Had it taken her this long to find the Eternal Gem? No, that couldn't be…she had to have found it during Yami's time in order to have obtained immortality, living all that time until Yami came back again. So what had she waited for?
"Why didn't you attack before if you had already found the Gem?" Yuugi found himself asking.
A cold, amused laugh escaped her red-coated lips. "Patience is a virtue, dear boy. It took me a couple years to find the Gem and once I wished for ultimate power—the power to be able to control any magic—I had to slowly build up an army to face the pharaoh. For you see, I was afraid that his Millennium Items would still be a greater power than mine, if combined together. It wasn't until recently, when I lost something very precious to me, that I decided to set a trap for him. I sent in spies to tell me what was going on with the pharaoh and I'm so sorry I didn't buy you both a wedding gift," she sneered, "but I did manage to find out something interesting: that he had married a mortal boy; a boy with no powers. I knew at some point it probably wouldn't work out; it never does that way. So I thought that perhaps some day he would search for the Eternal Gem, since no one had known I had found it. It was only a matter of time before he discovered his father's journal, which I conveniently left there by the way. I already had enough notes to find that Gem so his journal was useless to me. And I thought that perhaps Yami would run across it and want to find this Eternal Gem; who wouldn't want it. Even if the brave pharaoh wanted it to keep it away from those like myself. Either way, I made a false image of the Gem for him to find and set a little time-bomb on it. It would temporarily appear to grant them whatever they wished for, but then it would suck all their power away from them so that I could obtain it. Then I decided to stick that little bomb in there for when their time was up."
She laughed at the horrified expression on Yuugi's face. "Unfortunately, your pharaoh was lucky. My bomb hardly did any damage, for some reason, so now I'm forced to kill him myself. I'm not complaining though; it'll be much sweeter to see him crumble by my own hands! Trust me, this is for more than my dear son Kontar, this is for all those times that I should've taken over!"
"You're Kontar's mother!" Yuugi exclaimed, wide-eyed. "But…she killed herself!"
Kanika snorted loudly. "That foolish woman! No, that was the woman I left my boy with when he was just a baby. He grew up thinking that she was his mother, but his real mother was on a journey in search of the Eternal Gem. I was to get my dear boy back when I gained the power I needed and together we would take over the Egyptian throne, as my dream had always been! My husband was incredibly jealous of the pharaoh—Yami's father," she laughed. "Behind his back I had a secret life as a prostitute and pretended to be the devoted slave to Yami's father. Yes…I lucked out and was able to sneak aboard the ship that brought me to Egypt and I got in line with all the other prostitutes. I had to seduce a few men along the way to figure out how to get to the place where the pharaoh's personal whores were picked out, but eventually I made it. And I made sure he took me! And once I was inside the palace, I bided my time, got him to trust me enough so that he would listen to what I had to say. And soon I told him about some rumors that I heard about my husband in the allying nation wanting to kill him. So of course the pharaoh planned an attack and I told him I would be his personal spy.
"Then I snuck back home, told my husband the pharaoh was planning to attack our nation and so he readied an army as well. I set them up against each other to kill one another and my plan worked brilliantly! Unfortunately, I couldn't take care of poor Kontar when I had such big goals in mind, so I gave him to that woman and made her swear not to tell Kontar the truth. I was to tell him the truth when I came back for him, but when I returned that seven year old boy who had taken up the throne in his father's place was now seventeen! And he had apparently sacrificed himself for all of Egypt with his heroic powers and killed my poor baby!" she snarled, as her eyes rounded on Yuugi, who was unable to move paralyzed with shock and fear. "And that stupid woman had killed herself years before so my poor baby had to grow up in an orphanage for a while, but he never forgot what I made that woman tell him: that he deserved the Egyptian throne! And we were supposed to have it together!" she pounded her fist on the edge of the throne chair.
"Egypt was protected by the magic of the Millennium Items and the pharaoh after sacrificing himself was put into a deep sleep that not even I could wake him from. For I didn't have power over the prophecy, just over the item the Gem gave me so I had to wait but I didn't sit idly around; oh no. I slowly began building a massive army by conquering each of Egypt's allying nations so that when the pharaoh finally awoke I would get my chance at revenge! And now here's my chance! And thanks to him having a spouse, it's made it much easier to put him where I want, especially now that I've had years to practice using my new power! I figured out how to manipulate it to provide that false Gem so that I could acquire the pharaoh's powers as well! He's going to find that out the hard way! When I finally confront him face-to-face and he remembers me as his father's whore and Kontar's mother—the one who killed both his father and my husband to achieve this greatness—I will call upon those Millennium Items and combine it with the power I have!" she laughed sadistically while thrusting her arms in the air.
Yuugi's face contorted into fury and desperate concern for his love. He couldn't believe she went to such lengths to achieve this, but now that she had there seemed to be no way to stop her. And since Yami didn't know who his enemy was or how much power she had, he was in the dark. And by the time he realized the truth, it would be too late. Somehow, Yuugi had to find a way to stop her. For the time being, he obviously had no choice but to go along with her as her army marched toward Egypt, but there was no way he was going to let her kill Yami; she would have to go through him first.
TO BE CONTINUED…
To Reviewers:
Kari-Sama: I know, poor, poor Yuugi! I feel bad for him too, even though I'm the one torturing him. :-) Oh yes, about people forgetting things, you'll find that out soon. I promise to update asap!
Yana5: Nope, so far it seems like they've lost immortality completely. Ah well, you'll just have to wait until the twist ending. :-)
Yamiyugifanadic: I know, I love this pairing too! That's why this is the third installment, lol! But yes, I promised you suspense and now it's definitely picking up. Oh yes, trust me when I say it'll be a very worth-it ending and I promise to tie everything up being since this is the last of the installment….so sad.
AtemuYugilover34: Lol! I know what you mean; Kontar's mother is creepy all around no matter what she does. Poor, poor Yuugi; I really do feel sorry for him, but he's just going to have to suffer a little longer. :-)
Kingleby: Aww, thanks! I'm so glad you like the action! That's great because the next chapter is definitely full of it, plus a little angst/suspense. Yeah, I know! A lot of times, Yami is ALWAYS protecting Yuugi and it's not always that way in the series. Yuugi does have a strong side and I thought I'd just bring it out with this "series" of installments. This will be the last one…so sad, but I promise a very good ending!
