The Priestess Legacy
Chapter 4
Old Faces
Yugi blinked his eyes open and sat up. He was lying on the ground between two stone buildings. He climbed to his feet and brushed his clothes off.
"I guess I made it." He muttered.
"Yes, but the question of why you tried to come in the first place is still unanswered." Yugi gasped and spun around, ready to defend himself. But he wasn't ready for the man standing behind him. He wasn't all that taller than Yugi, only a foot. His skin was tanned bronze, and he wore a light blue cloak with a white tunic and a blue pair of leggings. A tiny silver pendant hung around his neck.
"Hello Yugi. It has been quite a long time, hasn't it?" Yami asked, a smile crossing his lips. Yugi jumped forward and flung his arms around his former alter-ego.
"I can't believe it! You're here!" Yugi cried, his eyes getting watery. "I've missed you." Yami nodded and stepped back, kneeling slightly to face Yugi.
"Yes, and I have missed you as well Yugi. Tell me, why have you come here after so long a time?"
"Well it's really only been a year, so it's not really that long." Yugi said.
"Perhaps not so much for you. But time flows quite differently in this place Yugi, and a year for you may not be so long, or so short, as a year for me. But time aside, I'll ask again, why did you come here?"
"I came here to rescue Téa." Yugi said. Yami's eyes widened.
"Téa? What is she doing here?" He asked.
"It's a really long story." Yugi said.
"We have the time Yugi, if nothing else in this place." Yami reminded him.
"Well, long story short, Téa got split into her good and evil halves, and her good half is trapped in this place."
"How did Téa become fractured like that?" Yami persisted.
"Okay, really long story again. Téa beat Kaiba in a duel, and this whole thing started. Pegasus gave her three Legendary Demon cards that got stolen from her, and Téa came here to get help to seal them. We got help from this girl named Teana, and-."
"Teana?" Yami gasped. "You have actually met Teana?"
"Yeah, do you know her?" Yugi asked. Yami nodded.
"Quite well, actually. When I was on the throne as Pharaoh, she was my Queen." He explained .Yugi thought for a moment, then blushed.
"Oh jeez, that's what she meant…she said Téa and I would make a cute couple someday…" Yugi groaned. Yami chuckled.
"History truly does repeat itself, doesn't it?"
"Yeah…anyway, we got Teana back safely, but something happened to Téa that allowed her dark half to take control of her. I came here to get her back."
"I see." Yami said, standing. "Then I will do what I can to help, Yugi."
"You?" Yugi asked.
"Of course. Téa, Joey, if anyone else were in danger here, I would not forgive myself if I did not help." Yami nodded. "Besides, I believe I may have been sent here for that specific purpose. Not to long ago, I heard your voice, and it called me to this spot, where you were lying on the ground."
"I get it now, that must have been you that brought me here!" Yugi said. "So let's find Téa!"
"Hold on Yugi. I'm afraid we don't even know where to look." Yami reminded. "And the sun is setting. We will not be able to find Téa in the dark."
"Guess you're right." Yugi admitted. "So what do we do then?"
"Come with me." Yami said, turning and walking away. "I know a place where we will be safe."
- - - - - - - - - -
"You seemed distant tonight, Teana." Mana said as she led tea down the palace corridor to her room. Téa didn't respond, she was too deep in thought.
"I know this can't be real, but how could it be a lie, it's all too convincing." She thought. "When I first came to this world, we were all trying to find the Pharaoh once he had been sent to the world of his memory." Téa's eyes widened. "Could I be in Teana's memories then?"
"Teana?" Téa jumped as Mana snapped her fingers in front of her eyes. "Are you okay, you've been weird all day." Mana said.
"Yeah…I'm fine." Téa said. "Just thinking."
"I overheard you talking to Seth at the ceremony today. Are you worried about the new priests and priestesses?" Mana asked.
"Not all of them, just one." Téa said inwardly. "A little, but I'm sure it's nothing. I'm going to go to sleep now." Téa opened the door to her room and smiled at Mana. "Goodnight." She said. Mana nodded, and Téa slid the door shut. She listened to Mana's footsteps grow distant, and frowned.
"What if I really am living Teana's memories?" She mused aloud, walking to the balcony. "If that's true…" Téa gasped as she remembered what Teana had told her about her past. "That means Roslyn's going to use the Legendary Demons against me!" Téa spun around and dashed from the room.
"I have to find her!"
- - - - - - - - - -
"You will all sleep here for the duration of your training." Otogi said, holding open the door to the room where the 12 trainees were to sleep. As the trainees filtered in, Otogi closed the door and began the walk to his own room. He frowned and looked down as the Millennium Key around his neck began to glow. He picked the Item up and peered at it closely.
"Why is the Key glowing?" He asked himself. He looked behind him, but the dark corridor was empty. The glow subsided, and Otogi let the Item drop to his chest, and continued his walk through the darkened palace.
Inside the room he had left, three particular trainees were still awake.
"How were you picked to be a member of the court?" Shizuka asked Mariku.
"I was supposed to be the heir to the position of one of the six guardians." He explained. "My sister was a priestess in the service of Atem, so I was bound to take her place in the court someday. What about you?"
"I was just handpicked." Shizuka replied. "I'm not really sure why."
"Did either of you two see that?" Roslyn asked, standing from the makeshift hay bed provided. Shizuka and Mariku followed her gaze to see her staring out at the balcony.
"See what?" Mariku asked. Roslyn walked out to the balcony and narrowed her eyes.
"I saw someone." She mused. She looked to the sides, and saw nothing. "I guess I-."
"Roslyn!" Mariku cried. Roslyn gasped as an arm wrapped around her throat. She began to struggle, and promptly stopped as she felt a sharp point against her chest. She looked down and paled at the sight of the cured, short dagger held to her breast.
"Sometimes it is better to mind your own business then to meddle in the affairs of those above you." The man holding her growled. Shizuka opened her mouth and screamed.
- - - - - - - - - -
Téa was rushing down a flight of stairs when she heard the scream. She kept running and flung open the doors to the trainee quarters.
Most of the dozen trainees were clustered near the door, with three exceptions: Shizuka and Mariku were standing in the center of the room, in a standoff with a man standing on the balcony, holding a dagger to Roslyn's chest.
"What's going on?" Téa cried, pushing her way through. She stepped up behind Shizuka and Mariku, and gasped.
"So, the High Priestess joins us. I'm quite honored." The man sneered. Téa's eyes were wide. If there was any doubt of her predicament before, she was a believer now.
Standing behind Roslyn was a man of average height. Like the majority was the people Téa had met, he had well tanned skin. But unlike them, his hair was a shock of white, and dirty and matted. His eyes shone violet in the dim light of the moon, the right eye bearing a light-pink scar running over it. He wore a simple white cloth over his stomach and waist, and a blood-red cloak that trailed to the floor. Téa could almost picture the Millennium Ring around his neck. She opened her mouth and whispered the name of the most foul man she had ever met.
"Barakhan."