Spoiler Alert!
It goes without saying that I don't own rights to either YuGiOh! or the animated series "Gargoyles".
. . . .
Halloween 2021 FanFic Yu-Gi-Oh! X Gargoyles
When a Gargoyle Falls
Chapter 7:
Black Pearl
When they managed to land within the palace courtyard, she hit the ground running, the bag in her clutches forgotten as she sprinted for the hallway. "Atem's in trouble!" Her shout was instantly answered by the appearance of the lavender hued gargoyle appearing from the ceiling, waving a hand when he attempted to calm her. "No, you don't understand! Solomon said it might be because of a spell but that doesn't make any sense! Magic doesn't exist out of fairy tales or storybooks in this time!"
Yugi took a firm hold of her shoulders. "Anzu, breathe, you're going into hysterics." He blinked. "Wait, what?"
"She is referring to myself," the elder wheezed, coming up beside them. "I am getting too old for all of this excitement."
"Focus, both of you!" The impact of her hands coming together earned a slight jump from them as well as the two gargoyles who poked their heads out of the nearby doorway. "Something took over Atem that made him nearly attack me and his eyes changed color! We have to find him!" Her hands grasped Yugi's. "You can smell him, right? Will you take me to him?"
Lilac blinked in shock. Something had caused Atem to attack the very human he had declared to be a friend of the clan? His mind began running through scenarios and possible explanations but all lead to the same result: someone had indeed cast a spell. "It might not be safe for you if I do that, Anzu, it might be best that you stay here for now." He tightened his hold when she made to fight him. "You're still recovering and need rest. Besides, he would never forgive me, or himself, if anything were to happen to you."
"But-"
"Nope. I'm not going to budge on this." He placed her within the elder's hold, offering a smile. "She's all yours, Solomon, make sure she doesn't sneak off while we search for Atem." His hands lashed out to grab onto the tunics of the two gargoyles who leapt in to volunteer that they instead watch over her. "Oh no you don't, you two, you're coming with me." His gaze met her heavily shadowed cerulean, his voice and tone softening. "Return to your room for now, Anzu, leave the rest to us." She must have heard the sincerity when he spoke but it was clear that it did not make her feel any better as the elder gargoyle led her away.
It wasn't until she was out of sight that the trio of gargoyles allowed their smiles to fall into snarls as their eyes darkened several shades. For someone to have the gall to attack or single out their leader was an act against the clan. Whoever dared to rile the normally quiet and peaceful cla was about to learn that gargoyle's were not to be underestimated as they took to the sky.
. . . .
Sapphire narrowed as the door to his office was practically blown off its hinges, rising to stand as three figures stalked into the room like prowling predators. "What is the meaning of this? You all must have gone insane to attack the one who freed you from the curse you were under?"
"You are the only human who knows of our existence, Kaiba, correct?" The smallest, pale purple in coloring asked.
"To my knowledge."
Lilac hued eyes narrowed. "And yet you don't seem the type that would resort to magic, you're much too straight forward and confrontational, but I have been wrong before. Humans are capable of many things, including lying and deception."
The sand colored gargoyle growled as he was the first to approach the desk. "Just admit it, you've been waiting and watching until he was alone so that you could get your slimy paws on him!"
Kaiba lifted his chin. "I would never resort to such actions, they are far below me, and what would I have to gain if I did so?"
Yugi came to a halt in the center of the room as the mahogany gargoyle moved to the left side of the room to cover the other exit. "Are you saying that you haven't acted against us? So you had nothing to do with him attacking one of his own clan members?"
"Domestic disputes between you does not interest nor concern me. The agreement was that neither party would interfere with the other's affairs. Is this a motion that I should consider to be a breach of contract?"
The lavender hued gargoyle's hand lashed out, preventing the two from doing anything else as the air filled with their growls. "If we find that you have spoken lies, we will return." He shushed the pair with pointed stares and a tilt of his head ushered them out of the room.
A clenched fist pounded against the button that would call for his assistant. "Rolan, find me that damn pink harpy! I want her in my office now!"
. . . .
"I want to help too!"
"I understand but you must take Yugi's words into consideration." Solomon skillfully moved to block her door as she made to slip past him. He was internally pleased to see such devotion within the young woman as she attempted time and time again to slip past him, her words of aid and longing to see Atem filling the elder with hope. Perhaps there was hope for the clan yet if fate had brought such a special being into their lives. Yes, she would make a fine gargoyle indeed. "Young lady, I suggest you lay down before you hurt yourself farther."
She huffed when he remained planted within the doorway, blinking as a possibly genius idea came to mind. "I meant to ask, where's the bathroom?"
His claw waved in the air as he smiled. "Oh, no you don't. I have seen this particular method used plenty of times within the moving picture box. I'm not falling for that one."
"Fine, fine," she huffed, moving to the window. It was much higher than the one she had fallen out that first night of the festivities plus she didn't have her wings so a broken ankle or worse would definitely be a possibility if she were to jump; that idea was dismissed. A question that had been begging to be voiced rose within her mind and refused to go away. It was such a sensitive topic though and had wanted to ask Atem about it but perhaps this was for the best since she did not want old wounds to open for him. "Solomon?"
"Hm?"
Pivoting, she leaned against the window frame so as to face the elder gargoyle. "If you say no, I'll understand and let it go, but would you tell me what happened that made you all turn to stone?"
A sigh slipped between his wrinkled lips. "Ah, that is truly a sad one to tell. Will you promise to rest once I finish though I am sure it will give even you nightmares?" He was not surprised when she plopped herself down upon the bed of pillows, her azure eyes wide and thirsty for the tale he was about to tell. "I supposed it all started when we encountered the young prince of Egypt. He was a strange boy with striking white hair and the most cunning eyes that I have ever seen. The boy was young but incredibly sharp. The younglings took a liking to him, though several were weary at first because of how his temper would make him almost unrecognizable, but his father, the mighty pharaoh, was welcoming to our presence within the palace once he had discovered just who his son had been conversing and meeting with."
"That doesn't explain how you got there though."
"Patience, Anzu, I was getting to that," he chuckled, a knowing glint in his eyes. "Your knowledge of our kind was surprising, even to myself, but can you tell me exactly how gargoyles came into being?" She had a few ideas ranging from the unions of stone golems or giants and vampires or celestial beings with wings but he was quick to dismiss them. "Our folk have our own legend of how the first Egyptian gargoyle was born of the goddess Osiris's tears when they met the golden sand when she wept over the loss of her husband. The sand turned to stone and was given rise by the feelings of the weeping goddess who had wanted to protect and save her beloved. From those tears came our clan's predecessors who settled within the dunes until the humans began building the pyramids and hidden tombs to bury their deceased. The one you named Yugi was the last to be born out of the Rookery within the landmark you now call the Valley of Kings."
Fascination filled her. So all of those stories about ancient burial grounds and new discoveries in the deserts of Egypt could have actually been the homes of gargoyles? "That's incredible! So that stone tablet that I saw downstairs, was that of the pharaoh you were talking about who made ties with your clan?"
"The very same." He nodded, smiling. "We had been stealthy enough to dwell within the palace itself before that young prince found us out but our lan leader at the time, the one before Atem, felt that it was time that we present ourselves to them. The attacks of bandits and rival countries was growing with each passing year and the people of Egypt were suffering from lack of crops." The elderly gargoyle's smile faded. "What we could not hope to predict was that the boy was studying into fearful subjects when left to his own devices. He had a bad habit of sneaking into places where he was not meant to. A rouge merchant was brought to the palace one night, the man more beast than human, and was thrown into the dungeon. The prince had a fascination with the strange being and it wasn't until too late that we discovered he had been visiting the dungeons."
Her heart was pounding a million miles per second as the mental image she pieced together of the young boy in front of large bars with a salivating horror just feet away played out in such a horrifying way that she couldn't help but shiver.
He must have seen it, for he offered her a pitying look. "We feared the same, Anzu, but nothing of the sort ever happened much to our surprise. We had found out about the prince's secret meets several moons after the merchant had been placed within the dungeon and yet nothing had happened during that time. What we did not know was that someone else had been going allowing and leading him to the dungeons below."
"Let me guess: it was either the evil uncle or the grand advisor, closest to the crown?"
"You would have lost both wagers, I am afraid to say."
Anzu's jaw dropped. "No way…"
"The pharaoh himself was allowing his only son to venture down and converse with the barely recognizable human being that had once been a merchant." Solomon hung his head. "Atem was still so young back then, he was the closest of our clan to the prince and his sister, but even now I have no doubt that he remembers what happened the night the moon was dark."
Cerulean wandered from the elderly gargoyle's heather eyes to burn a hole in the ground. So Atem and the royal siblings had been close? It wasn't the fact that he had kept this bit of information from her, and she honestly didn't blame him, but it still didn't answer the question of who had been responsible. Her head bobbed slightly as a clawed hand patted the top of her head.
"You are such a curious one. I shall not leave you on what you kids call a 'cliff hanger', so settle down and I shall continue." He waited until her gaze rose to meet his own once more. "Though I do not know of what happened below ground, I remember that by the time the night was through several of our clan members had been slain by order of the pharaoh himself claiming that one of us had been responsible for the death of his daughter, Princess Teanna, and would have evicted us from the palace if not for the prince's intervention. We had all thought he was showing mercy but little did we know of the treachery the child was scheming. Not long after that fateful night did we discover the remains of our clan leader near the dungeon's innermost bowels; he had said he was going to begin investigating the creature himself but it appeared as though even he was no match. My personal opinion, off the record as many have spoken in those dramas," he dropped his voice to a whisper, "the prince may have lured him down into the dungeon then trapped our leader within the clutches of the monster."
Her hands rose to press against her lips as the elder gargoyle revealed that the prince ascended the throne due to the pharaoh's demise that occurred shortly after the incident. "And people wonder why I am hesitant with children," she sighed, rubbing her temples, "they can be terrifying monsters if they really set their minds to it."
"Things were not the same after he was seated upon the throne. Crime was encouraged instead of punished, women and children feared for their lives from the very same people whom they had traded goods or exchanged words with, even the animals were no longer treated with the respect a living thing should receive." His shoulders rose and fell with a heavy sigh. "It was such a shame to see such a promising young boy grow into what we could only describe as a frightful and mad dictator. Atem did his upmost to follow in the steps of his predecessor, merciful and just as much as he could, but even one such as he had floundered at first when thrust into the position of lan leader. The poor youngling tried everything to appease the new pharaoh but nothing seemed to earn the same treatment that the previous had supposedly bestowed." A hardness entered his tone as his gaze rose to the window. "Valentine may be the only one with the knowledge of who truly cast the spell but my suspicion is the beast that had filled the once innocent prince's mind with darkness."
Anzu rose to her feet to walk to the open window, her chest almost so tight that it was hard to breathe. "The empire of Egypt fell into ruin several centuries ago so no one really knows how or why…but that would explain how such a beautiful and strong culture would disappear as if overnight."
He moved to intercept her fall as one of her legs wobbled dangerously, his jaw dropped when she not only slipped around him but was out the door with a quick apology. "Get back here!"
Anzu hoped that he would forgive her but something was warning her to go find the violet gargoyle herself. It wasn't that she doubted the abilities of Yugi or the other gargoyles, quite the opposite, but she knew rest was out of the question until Atem had been found. Solomon's tale rang loudly in her ears as she slid to a halt at one of the hallway junctions when the sounds of wings came from farther down one of the paths; there were three different pitches so he wasn't down there. Down the other came the sounds of the festivities that were still underway and he definitely wouldn't be in that direction. That meant that the third path, one that had much darker stained stone than the rest of the palace, would be the place to start.
. . . .
Tail lashing, Valentine paced about the carpeted space that she had laid claim as hers while waiting for the human woman to finish. "How much longer is this going to take, tailor? I have a book to hunt down!"
"My name is Serenity, Mistress, and please be patient. I am going as fast as my fingers can manage."
Mauve flashed as a knock sounded. "Ugh, it's that wretched assistant again." She marched until she was standing on the other side of the door, a hand resting upon her hip. "Can't a female get any privacy? You human males are like desperate dogs whimpering and whining for the attention!"
"Forgive the interruption, but MrKaiba has requested that you be brought to him."
"Well, here is my response." A yelp could be heard as her tail whacked against the wooden door. Satisfaction filled her as she turned away, fondly smoothing a wrinkle within her clothing. "Ah, the enjoyment of putting a self dignified male in his place will never cease to pleasure me."
The red haired tailor raised her head, sightless eyes slowly drifting to where Valentine was standing on the opposite end of the room. Her client's terminology and use of phrases reminded the young woman of the old dusty books that her great-grandparents used to read to her during visits. Being born with poor eyesight that gradually gave way to complete blindness by the time she was ten had made many changes to her lifestyle but her love of clothing hadn't changed. "So you must be one of those dominatrix. I'm not judging, it's just that I've never met one before. Thank you for being kind and patient with me."
"It's not as if you can help it," the rose hued gargoyle huffed. "It was not your fault for being the way that you are. There must have been a genetic altercation leading up to your breeding is all."
"I'm not so sure."
Valentine blinked. "You hold no grudge against your dame or sire?"
"If you mean my parents, then no, of course not. They were just two people who fell in love and had me shortly after." Her head tilted as from within the client's voice came a ring of displeasure when they scoffed and called her a fool. "I may not be able to see but I like to think that I am a good judge of character. You may put of that you are upset or, lack for a better word 'coy', but I can hear a bit of loneliness and maybe a wish for you to be accepted somewhere."
The gargoyle's eye twitched. How dare this human make presumptions about her! "I suggest you get back to work before I choose to unleash my anger upon you next!" She stumbled as a force came from behind, the door she had turned her back to now open and revealing several of his assistants. They made motions to follow her as they revealed strange weapons from within their coat. "You remain here for now, Serenity, I shall return shortly."
"Is everything alright, Mistress?"
"Name's Valentine, and don't you worry." Cracking sounded as the rose hued gargoyle rolled her shoulders. "This won't take long."
. . . .
"What do you mean she got past you?!"
Solomon crossed his arms. "I would like to see you attempt in halting that young lady when she is determined. I have faced many of warriors and assassins but even I was unable to predict her course of action. That Anzu sure is something else, that wily-"
"No!" All three of the young gargoyles facepalmed.
"What? It was only meant as a compliment-"
"We don't have time for this!" Yugi slipped past the elder, his lilac eyes narrowing in concentration as he searched for her scent. What he had thought to be peaches had morphed into something else as she regained her health. It was almost like the strange fruits that a merchant from modern day China had brought with him….what were they called again? Apricots? He shook his head. It didn't matter what she smelled like what did was the fact that she was wandering around the palace and might run into a certain pink hued gargoyle. "Each of you take a wing, we have to find her before-"
A high pitched scream pierced the air, causing the rest of his sentence to be forgotten as they hurried to follow it to its source in hopes that it was the girl in question.
. . . .
Anzu waved a hand around, squinting as the heavy clouds of near suffocating scents threatened to blind her. "Oh, gosh, what is all this? It's like someone unloaded a whole store of aerosols in here!" A cough caused her to stumble, her vision growing hazy as exhaustion threatened to rise. Atem could be somewhere in this palace-mansion-skyscraper hybrid and she was not going to stop until he was safely back with his clan. Whatever this stuff was, it made her feel the need to find the closest bathroom in case her stomach decided to heave. Her eyes were burning by the time she found a door that opened and nearly fell to her knees in shock as someone called out for her to be careful. There, within the strange smog, sat someone that she definitely did not expect to see in a place like this. "Serenity?! What are you doing here?!"
"H-hey, is that my good friend I hear?" The red haired girl's head rose, arms readily wrapping themselves around the figure who had nearly glomped her off the chair, the scent of apricots just barely legible from over the perfume clouds. "I could ask you the same thing, Anzu! I heard what happened at your flat and was so worried!"
Anzu held still as the blind tailor pulled back and smiled as feather-like fingers traced the patterns of her face. "I'm so sorry, I meant to call you but things got a bit out of hand." What she didn't voice was the question as to why her friend looked as though she was looking a bit loopy. The room did smell strongly of a laced perfume or incense so maybe that was causing her friend's lack of focus. "Let's go somewhere so you can get a breath of fresh air." She blinked in surprise when the girl before refused to rise from the chair.
"My client will be coming back soon so I have to stay here."
The dancer's gut gave a clench. As far as she knew, the gargoyles had only shown themselves to her and the man who owned this entire building. Why would someone like Serenity be here in the first place? "I'm sure Seto- I mean, MrKaiba, will understand if you decide to take a break."
"Anzu, is everything okay? You sound distressed and your shaking."
Cerulean glanced downward at the hand she had placed upon Serenity's arm so as to lead her from the room. "You're just imagining things, of course everything is okay."
"You've got bandages across your body and your range of motion is limited." The woman's brows furrowed. "You're worried about something…no, you're worried about someone."
Those simple little words nearly caused the geysers that were her tears to spill down her cheeks but she managed to gain a quick enough hold of herself so that only a few salty droplets were spilled. "Yeah, I am, I'm worried as to why you are here."
The red haired woman's head tilted when she heard the partial lie in her friend's words but chose not to address it. "Don't worry, I don't expect this appointment to last much longer. I think I hear them coming back so you should go." She patted her friend's hand while gently removing herself from it. Her friend was a protective girl so it wasn't too surprising that Anzu remained until she had assured her that since she had been invited here no harm should come to her. Just as the young dancer was about to depart, Serenity offered her a small smile. "I have faith that you'll be successful, Anzu, sometimes it's better to let the heart lead than the mind."
Though the redhead was a bit odd at times, Anzu had always cherished the girl's bubbly personality and unwavering faith that things would always turn out for the better. That's how she's been ever since they had met in preparing a costume for the theatre's production a few years ago. The masterpiece the blind tailor had put together not only left the audience breathless but the actors awestruck as well. "Never change, Serenity!"
"I don't plan on it!" Her smile widened into a full on grin.
With one last glance, the brunette haired dancer slipped back out into the hallway as footsteps approached. A soft eep slipped between her lips as she collided with what she thought was solid stone but found herself being stared down at four clearly unamused gargoyles. Looks like she'd been caught.
. . . .
"Yami…Yami!"
He turned, offering a nod of greeting to the young prince as he approached, behind him his younger sister trailing like a shadow. "Greetings, Prince and Princess."
The royal siblings, offspring of the current Pharaoh of Egypt, truly knew no woes. Both were well fed, clothed in the finest of cloths, they wore even finer jewelry than many of the visiting nobles; the brother wore a palette of reds and golds while the sister cool hues of blue that matched her eyes. "I was calling for you and yet you did not heed!" The prince placed his hands upon his hips, a pout causing his lower lip to stick out. "What were you thinking about so intently that you did not hear the summons of your future pharaoh?"
"Do not be rude, brother, perhaps he had not heard you. However," cold ice hued eyes glared at the gargoyle from over her older brother's shoulder. "the disrespect cannot be undone."
As if by magic, the clan leader appeared beside the violet gargoyle, his immense muscular build and deep rich navy color a startling contrast to the opal white of his hair as he rested a hand upon Yami's shoulder. No harm was meant, honorable siblings, please forgive this young one. There is still much for him to learn."
Her chin rose. "That is no excuse! Disrespect to us is disrespect towards the pharaoh himself!"
"Now, now, Teanna, my dear sister, a princess such as yourself should not dirty her dainty feet by kicking up sand when the wind does a good enough job alone." The prince smiled up the two gargoyles. "Forgive her, dear friends, I am sure she herself will voice an apology once we go for a flight this evening."
The leader chuckled. "I am afraid there will be no flight tonight," his grip upon Yami tightened slightly, as if giving the young gargoyle a sign that it was time to go. "The clan is celebrating a rare and fine union pairing indeed."
The prince instantly perked. "Oh, has that rose hued female been paired? Perhaps now she will cease parading around like a peacock?" His onyx eyes slowly drifted to meet amethyst, steadily growing black with each word that passed between his lips.. "Interesting how her mate choice happens to be the most regal, noble looking gargoyle of your clan. I say, a power coupling if I have ever saw one, and congratulate you. The offspring you shall give heir to will be fine warriors indeed worthy of protecting the next pharaoh."
"Wake up, you fool."
Consciousness slammed into him like a solid stone wall, a warning hiss slipping up his throat as he found himself chained to the surface behind him. His nose was assaulted by the scents of water and wood as he blinked in attempts to bring his surroundings into focus. A growl rumbled within his throat when the chains prevented him from moving more than a few inches in any direction. It looked as though he was inside some sort of well or enclosed water source. How did he get here though?
"Long time no see, my old friend," a shadowed figure stepped forward enough that the moon high above their heads that spilled through the caged opening. Amethyst widened as the platinum white haired man stalked forward until he took hold of the gargoyle's chin. "It's been much too long. I hear you're going by a new name these days. Tell me, how is that mate of yours?"
Time froze. Atem knew that voice, it was unmistakable, but it didn't make any sense. It's been over a millennium so how was he still alive?!
Lips raised into a sneer. "Oh, but it is! Go on and tell me that I look good for my age!"
Atem's skin was crawling the longer the one he once called prince and friend held a tight hold upon his chin. ""How is it that you have lived this long? No human has lived-" The rest of his sentence was lost in a gasp as a cloud in the sky shifted enough to reveal the entirety of his captor's appearance. "What have you done to yourself, Bakura? Why do you look so much like the leader before me?!"
The air filled with maniacal laughter as it was revealed that instead of the dark tan a human would have the man was covered in dark navy hued leather-like skin that was closer in matching to the gargoyle clan. "You don't recognize your own clan master, the one who raised you in preparation to take over after he relinquished his reign?!" Once prince, then pharaoh, now unrecognizable altered human, Bakura's eyes glittered maliciously as he released the gargoyle's chin with a flick. "We have so much catching up to do, old friend, where do I even start?"
See you next time!
