Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or anything dealing with Yu-Gi-Oh.

Guardians of the Gods

Chapter 8

Just When I Thought…

"Show me how you would defend yourself against a physical attack."

"What do you mean?"

"Priestess, you are proficient at wielding your item and commanding the creatures you summon. But tell me; say you are without your necklace. Say you cannot summon your creatures. A man approaches you with knife in hand," Set walked closer to her and backed her into a corner. His eyes were locked with hers, unblinking and conveying a slightly sinister appearance. "What will you do?"

Isis put her hands up in front of her, "I do not have physical training or combat proficiency."

"That is not an excuse. Criminals will prey on you regardless, here," Set picked up her arm and put it in between them. "When someone tries to corner you, spread your legs slightly." Set slid her legs apart with his own, steadying her stance. Isis could not control her heartbeat nor her quickening breaths. This was so sensual, like everything else Set did with her. He was only a few inches from her, but she could feel the heat coming off his body. He did not seem to notice how these actions fed her desire for him. He continued to teach her, as agreed previously.

"This will help balance you. Now your forearm should go in front of your face each time you think someone will hit you. You are small, so you cannot rely on muscle. You will deflect blows from your enemy better if you can lead the energy somewhere else. Watch," Set half-heartedly raised a hand to lightly spar with Isis. She brought her arm up just as Set taught her and was able to stop his hand.

"Just like that. I trust that you will learn fast. Before I am done with you, you will be able defend yourself. Consider this an equal exchange for your lessons. You are teaching me to be a vessel for a god and I am teaching you to protect the temple of another one."

"I am not sure about this," Isis did not know if she was referring to Set's lesson or how close they had become.

"I have never been surer about anything in my life. Isis, if anything were to happen to you that could have been prevented…just know that these skills will serve you well someday. If I am ever otherwise preoccupied I would sleep well knowing that you have had some preliminary training to protect yourself. I do not trust your monsters with everything. Not your life, it is too precious," he caressed her chin with his thumb and smoothed her hair behind her ear. "They are only creatures. Their very spirit and essence cannot be destroyed. They do not fear death. I would not expect them to care for you in my place."

"I do not have your physical strength," she began to say.

"But you are clever. I would hope that you will use your mind to think your way out of a situation before you have to use your strength. Now, again," Set pushed her up against the wall. "We are going to continue to do this until you get it right and I feel confident that you can successfully block an attacker. I was told that more and more thieves are deciding that Egypt's treasures are their prize. It is everyone's duty to protect it."

"Everyone's duty, I agree," Isis raised her arm once more as she prepared to spar with Set. She hoped it never came down to her mere physical ability to protect anyone or anything.

For a while, Set taught her different ways to best an attacker, hide for a surprise attack, and if she ever had to how to paralyze or kill a thief. Isis shuddered and shook her head. She really hoped it never came down to that.

"Set, I cannot kill another human being. That is beyond my capabilities and against my morals," she held her hands up to stop him.

He looked off into the distance trying his best not to get frustrated. Isis did not understand what people were willing to do to get the things they desperately wanted. Most would not hesitate to kill either one of them if it meant they would reach their goal.

"Isis," he sighed and tried to put his words as delicately as he could. "There is yet passion within you to commit such a deed. You have not experienced much outside these palace walls. When someone you care for deeply is being threatened you will find the strength to do what you must. Even if that means ending another's life," Set pulled her closer and placed his head on top of hers.

"Isis, if I learned that any danger came to you, or that someone has intent to harm you, it would not take me a moment's passing to do what I must ," he kissed the top of her head and let her out of his embrace.

"Set, I am but a High Priestess. I was born to serve the Gods and maintain their temples. Despite your efforts, I cannot become a great fighter. I can however give you something that will ease both our minds. Come, follow me, we haven't much time before we all appear before Pharaoh."

She led him to an empty courtyard that she usually used for contemplation and meditation. No one frequented this part of the palace save the servants who would routinely clean and restore it. It belonged to Isis' family and it was for the presence of priests or priestesses. Still Isis developed the habit of checking everywhere before she decided to settle there with Set.

"I fear that it is not I that needs constant protection or combat skills. You Set are a target and I cannot stomach to see you harmed. It is impossible for me to protect you, but I have someone who can. Here, place yourself beside me," she motioned for him to sit next to her on the cushions made for prayer.

Isis closed her eyes and placed her hands on either side of her sennen tauk. It glowed faintly as wisps of dark smoke spilled from the center and formed a pool in front of her. When the smoke dropped, before her stood Archlord Zerato kneeled before her with his fist resting above his heart.

"Your will is my own mistress. What would you have me do?" the creature's voice was ethereal, sounding neither here nor there, nor in one voice or their heads.

"Zera, you have served me beautifully. I would not give you to another unless I deemed it absolutely necessary. And Zera it most certainly is. I entrust to you the life of the High Priest Set. Follow his every command; you are his to do with what he will."

"Isis, he is your most powerful creature. He is your best defense. I will not take him from you."

"You will need him more than I. You can rest well knowing that a part of me resides within you as well. Zera is the only creature I have such a strong bond with. We can communicate through him. That is my best defense, knowing that you will always be a thought away even if danger were to come to my door."

_/_/_/_/_/

Once every seven sunsets the Pharaoh required the presence of his advisors, stewards and guardian court. These groups of people were the most powerful and influential people involved with deciding the state of Egypt. He required that all of his subjects have a meal together to discuss current relations with other countries and ways to keep the nation strong.

The main conversation was taking place between the Pharaoh and one of his advisors. Several other side conversations kept the entire table occupied. All of the attendants sat scattered around the table and continued their polite conversation as the Pharaoh began to signal for the first course.

Priest Mahad accompanied Priestess Isis from her quarters to the dining hall and sat across from her at the table. Priest Set arrived moments later and decided to sit to the right of Mahad as the dinner began. He bowed respectfully to the Pharaoh and to Isis before taking his seat. Isis returned his gesture with a warm smile.

Mahad watched the entire exchange closely. He saw Isis' light and cheerful smile and Set's soft smirk. Her eyes barely left Set's face as he made himself comfortable and stole glances of her.

"Set, what is your business with Priestess Isis?" Mahad struck up conversation with the Priest sitting beside him. His voice held no emotion and instead seemed more like an automation than an actual conversation.

"What concern is it of yours?" Set coolly said.

"She is my future wife. What happens during her day and whom she does it with is my business. Certainly you see the indecency." Mahad explained in monotone.

"Mahad, Isis is yet your wife. Until that time, she is her own person given that power by her position on the guardian court. It is her prerogative if she seeks my company. She is no ordinary woman you can just command or delegate. Besides, she is my mentor. I have more to learn before I can wield the power of the God of Obelisk on my own. In return," Set turned to face Priest Mahad. "I offered her my services."

Priestess Isis sat in her chair across from the two Priests. Her head was down and her eyes seemed preoccupied with her shaking hands. She turned a deep shade of red at Priest Set's last comment.

"I teach her creature defense tactics. I also teach the Priestess how to defend herself if she did not have her creatures at her guard. It is a fair exchange I think. You would not want any bandits to ambush and take advantage of her. Trust me Mahad, our interactions are extremely beneficial. More than I can say for your own."

"Our interactions Priest Set are just. We act according to law and etiquette. I treat Priestess Isis with the utmost respect and would ask that you do the same before your services make a fool and mockery out of us. How can we ask that Egypt follow pharaoh's word as law if the very people he entrusts to protect us all refuse to do so?"

"That seems like a question for the pharaoh's magician to answer himself," Set snapped back.

"Come summer's end you will have your answer Priest Set. You would have mastered being god's servant and the Priestess will become my wife. The soul-binding magic will tie her to me and your services will no longer matter as she will only desire to be a good wife and mother to me and our children. She will no longer need your protection nor answer to the cries of your heart."

"I will see you try and fail before-,"

"What of Kisara, Priest Set? Or has she too fallen prey to your games of cat and mouse? You say you speak from the heart when truly it is from a place much smaller and colder. Trust me Priest Set, I fully intend to protect her from those who would harm her the deepest."

The rest of the table was still engrossed in their conversations not hearing the exchange between the two priests.

Isis slowly stood up, grasping at her chest. She swayed trying to gain her balance and only managed to knock over her chair. Everyone in attendance then turned their attention to her and watched as she succumbed to some invisible force and fell unconscious to the floor.

Everyone rushed to her.

"Be still!" the pharaoh commanded. "Mahad, what magic is this?"

"I do not know my pharaoh," he ran over to her side and held a hand over her head and then swept it down her body to her feet. "I can detect no shadow magic. Yet something unfamiliar clings to her mind. I will try my best to help her however we must transport her to the temple of the Saint Dragon, the God of Osiris. Pray that Heaven's Dragon will heal her and bring her back to us."

_/_/_/_/_/

Isis stirred and carefully opened her eyes.

"Welcome back Priestess."

"Mahad?"

"Try not to speak too much. You fainted at dinner earlier this evening. Dare I say at mention of a name you've never heard before concerning Priest Set?"

"I-," she started to say.

"Try not to speak Priestess, please at least hear what I have to say."

Isis rested and closed her eyes again afraid of what words might cross her ears. Who knew what Mahad had to say? He had more than enough right to call her all kinds of things and accuse her of the most debasing of crimes.

Isis felt the presence of his creature Illusion Magician nearby. It never spoke, nor ever expressed itself. It only followed Mahad's commands swiftly and quietly. Isis was not sure what she had gotten herself into. She recognized the stone altar she was laying on when she came to. She was in the temple of Heaven's Dragon, her god the Saint Dragon of Osiris.

She also no longer felt the weight of her necklace on her collar bone and knew that Mahad or the person who brought her here had removed it. With what intentions? She thought to herself.

"Please try to relax. I mean you no harm. Only to have the privacy to speak with you freely and truthfully." Priest Mahad breathed deeply and continued. "I know that you love Priest Set. This you cannot deny. It is written plainly on your face. And it is not my intention to make your life miserable nor take the thing from you that you most desire. However, I cannot stand by and watch as you are consumed by this man you think you know.

"Priest Set is a prodigy indeed. Having risen through the ranks to become personally recognized by the pharaoh himself is no small feat. He has the ability to discover, amplify and release the hidden powers and abilities in other creatures. Most of the time he can do this and control the power within. Yet, sometimes the power he uncovers is too great for even him to contain.

"The woman I spoke of earlier, Kisara, was the first woman he had ever loved. He saved her. Brought her to the palace. Treated her as he treats you now. Showed her how to live a content life, devoted everything to her, and declared his love for her."

Mahad looked over at Isis' contorted face of pain and stroked the side of her wet cheek with the back of his hand.

"I tell you this not to pain your heart, I tell you this to save you from destruction. This man Set loves you dearly. Yet this love for you is what will undo you both. You channel Heaven's Dragon Isis and he is the vessel for the God of Obelisk. This power that dwells deep within you is to remain inside the vessel until the gods deem it necessary to release and use. Set will unwind you and your ability to control the god that has chosen to reside within you. It will systematically destroy all of Egypt. The awe of this power alone should have been enough for you to stop what you were doing before it was too late.

"Now you have fallen in love with this fool and you both will bring ruin to the very nation you pledged to protect. It is because of that I have asked that the sacrament of marriage be performed to break you of your love for him.

"I cannot love you as passionately as he does, nor do I have the physical ability to fight for you. But I do love you regardless. I love you enough not to see you engulfed in this madness and see you perish as consequence of both your actions. It is those consequences that separate and define our love for you Isis. Set is all passion and fire and sacrifice. I am plain and rudimentary and practical. However I am not willing to take the chance of sacrificing you for a moment's passion nor selfishly for my own feelings.

"The gods become impossible foes when tempted with jealously. Set is the catalyst that will end us all. Please understand all that I am saying and know that I wish for your happiness. But the lives of every person and the happiness of the gods are so much more important.

"Have you the need, inquire of Kisara and demand that Set tell you everything. Once he has I am sure that you will understand what I am doing and why it is necessary. I could not fathom losing you. But I could not live with losing this great land we all call home."

_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/

Domino City, Ishtar Residence 7:30pm

Abasi Funsani warily slid his fingers over the clear plastic cards in his hands. The cards each had a different piece of a map that when put together seemed to make some coherent picture.

But that would be for later. For now, he was going to get some answers.

The trouble started when he received a telephone call late yesterday afternoon. It was a police officer that wanted to confirm that he knew Ishizu Ishtar as he was listed as her emergency contact.

Of course, he told the officer, but he did not understand why that was important or exactly why they were calling. Once he was told what happened at the shipping docks and in her own home, he dropped everything and came running. He was more than willing to let her stay in his house until everything had been straightened out, he would have demanded it that way otherwise.

When he arrived at her apartment home yesterday, there were three very distraught looking males. One, Funsani recognized as the man that had sponsored Ishizu at the museum gala. The other two he did not know and did not much care. He just wanted to make sure that Ishizu was going to be well cared for. She was sitting on her couch, distant and not completely there. She did not move or acknowledge his presence. She seemed to still be in shock.

Funsani introduced himself to the cops at the scene and said that he would care for Ishizu until she was well again. He went to her room and grabbed what he thought she might need. As if Ishizu knew what would happen, there was a large duffle bag that seemed to hold everything she would need if she were going away for a couple of days.

Smart girl, Funsani thought to himself. Whatever mess Ishizu had gotten herself into, it seemed that she had planned for every possibility.

Funsani walked back into the living room where the men were still standing. The police officers had stepped out, giving them privacy to extract Ishizu from her home. Funsani demanded to know the story from the mouths of the males present. The man with the shorter statue had told him about the things Ishizu mentioned moments before the drama began.

Funsani was not surprised. But when he caught a glance in her bag, Funsani was more distraught than when he had arrived.

Seto Kaiba looked like he tried his hardest not to seem involved or interested, but Funsani noticed the concerned look on his face when he began to move Ishizu to his car. He led the slightly distracted, quiet woman but she did not seem to notice he was there.

Leaving the confused men behind, Funsani drove slowly considering if he should take Ishizu by the hospital. If she was suffering from shock, there was not much that could be done for her. But he could only hope that shock was all that she suffered from.

His thoughts brought him back to focus. He had never known Ishizu to resort to violence to solve her problems. He had never known her to lift a finger to harm a being. Even when disciplining her brothers, she used her reason and compelling words to sway them.

She point blank shot a man in the head. Funsani did not know where she got the gun, the gumption or the skill.

Maybe he did not want to know.

But now, coming back to the present, staring at the six locator cards in his hands, he knew that her plans incorporated more than just rousing gangs at a shipping yard. The duel disk and deck confirmed his suspicions. He did not have a right to tell her what to do, but Funsani felt compelled to offer her his advice.

"My dear, you must eat something," Funsani said lightly touching Ishizu's shoulder.

She looked up at him briefly and smiled. "I am not hungry, father," she said lovingly.

He sat at the table with her and returned the smile. Funsani wanted to be pleasant but he was going to get answers.

"Ishizu, it seems that you have an admirer," he said smiling, trying to retain the lightness in his voice.

"Hmm? I have no idea what you mean," her voice was flat.

He dropped the smile when he realized there was no use beating around the bush. "I'm not going to delve into your personal life. Tell me what you were doing at that shipping yard."

Ishizu was silent until Funsani laid the locator cards out on the table before them.

Ishizu relented and told Funsani of what she must do. She tried her best to hold back her tears, but she had already seen the future. At all cost, she had to stop her brother. She blamed herself for everything that had happened. If not directly, she blamed herself for not stopping what she should have seen coming.

Funsani was disappointed with what Ishizu was explaining to him. "You know that I promised your mother that I would look after you and your brothers. That is why I sought you out when you followed your brother to Japan. You cannot do this, it is extremely dangerous. You are risking your life, this is not the way things should be handled."

"How is it that I am not being questioned by the authorities?" Ishizu asked, uncharacteristically diverting his words.

"It seems that your admirer took care of things. He apparently told them that your actions were out of self-defense and if they wish to question it, they would have to go through him. I guess either you killed someone who did not matter or Seto Kaiba has that kind of influence with Domino's police department."

"Exactly. If Seto Kaiba can sway the police with just his words, what do you think Marik is capable of?"

"Either way, you are very lucky my dear. You could have been in big trouble. Do not continue going down this path. It is only going to bring you pain."

"It is necessary. I know the things my brother is capable of. Underestimating him will give him the advantage."

"These are locator cards. Are you going to this tournament finale? What is it that you plan to do? You want to stop your brother, I understand my dear. But you cannot reason with him. You cannot turn him back into the innocent little child he used to be."

"It is who I am. I must try. I am beyond reasoning with Marik. I have to be present to stop him at any cost. That is my responsibility. That is the least I can do for failing him as a sister."

"You have not failed him my dear. He has been led astray by some force you have no control over. You can still be a beacon of light to him. You must be there for him as a role model and show him that you can do what you intend to without violence and force. Show him that and I know he will come to his senses. He is a lost young man and from time to time people lose their way. It is those around them that continue to walk the right path that eventually come to their rescue and show them the light. You have to continue to be your brother's light and not let him influence you otherwise, lest he win."

"What am I to do father for he will surely use me for his intended purpose."

"Then my dear you must give him reason not to. Go to this tournament and show you brother the right way of things. Not with violence, nor with a gun. But with love and forgiveness. With faith in his ability to find his own way and the constitution to show him he can be better than this. Show him who the Ishtars are and what they mean to the pharaoh and to the world."

It's been forever and a day or two or a thousand! I kindly ask that you all bare with me and review! I picked this story back up this summer and I need to finish it once and for all! Thank you for reading. I will try to keep to a schedule since I had a lot of time this summer. We'll see. Thank you so much for sticking to it! Thanks to everyone who comments constructively and positively! Hopefully you all will see the end of this story before long. ~archlyte'faerie :3