Holocaust of Rome, a YuGiOh! story by Tsunami Storm

Chapter 6: A Mysterious Friend

"Okay, here's the plan:" Hana whispered to her friends in the 'Chamber' once she was sure that the guards were asleep. And even if they were awake, they wouldn't be able to discern anything from the language they were using. "Téa's gonna pick Nefertiri's chains with one of her hairpins, then they're gonna sneak out of Josephus' chambers and meet up with us in the main audience chamber. I've taken the liberty of casting an invisibility spell on all of you, and I gave some to Téa to use on Nefertiri. But be careful. Those kind of spells don't last long, and they only make you invisible- they don't block out sound or anything else."

Joey and the other boys nodded grimly, knowing full well the consequences should they be discovered. They had no other choice. This was the only way to free Nefertiri and save their friend and brother from a fate worse than death. And if they didn't hurry, both Kaiba brothers could be permanently erased from existence.

"How're we gonna get out of here though, Hana? We're locked in." Mokuba asked worriedly, and Hana winked at him. As if in answer, the door to the 'Chamber' opened of its own accord and swung open noiselessly on its hinges.

"You were saying?" She grinned slyly, and Mokuba grinned back in answer. Yugi and Joey snickered at their friend's mischievous streak, and Akhen merely smirked and rolled his eyes. Princess Hana hadn't changed one bit. The only thing that had was that she was much more pale than he'd remembered.

Is she so pale because she has returned from death? Akhen wondered. Her friends seem to have strange abilities as well. Could these people have come from the Netherworld and the domain of Osiris? Then he shook his head. There was no way to tell for sure. Whatever the case may be, I am glad for their help, and I am sure the young princess is as well. The dead have returned to us to right the wrongs in the world of the living. The gods' designs are truly unfathomable by mere mortals such as I. I am honored to simply play a part in their plans.

"Let's get out of this pit." Hana gestured, waving for the boys to follow her lead as they made their way up through the dungeons of the palace to the main foyer. To everyone's relief, Nefertiri and Téa approached from the other direction, running down the stairs and clasping hand in hand. Nefertiri reacted in shock and fear upon spotting Joey, but recovered quickly when Hana explained the situation. She bowed to her saviors in the style of her homeland and they nodded back, all with wide grins on their faces. Seth had certainly raised his daughter well.

Just as they were about to leave the palace and Rome behind, a chilling voice rang out from behind the group and all looked up the main staircase in fear. "Leaving so soon?" Josephus smirked, twirling some kind of torture device around one finger of his natural hand. "But we were just starting to have fun." He mock-pouted, grinning devilishly as he grasped the tool in his hand and started down the steps.

"Nefertiri doesn't belong here and you know it!" Mokuba snarled, surprising everyone by whipping out a rather large knife that he'd apparently brought along. "You kidnapped her! You took her from her home and thus put my family in danger! You're gonna pay!" He cried, running at the smirking Emperor, who stood his ground and didn't so much as flinch. Before he could attack Josephus though, Hana and Joey held their young friend back. As much as they hated to admit it, Josephus had to be left alive. Like it or not, he was Joey's ancestor.* Mokuba relented grudgingly, lowering his weapon with a growl.

[No he's not. Jono is.]

"I admire your bravery, boy." Josephus mused. "Most your age would run crying back to their mothers in such a situation. However, bravery is not going to do you much good here." He snapped his fingers, and a dark form snaked its way out of the darkness and a crimson eye glared at them from behind the Emperor's back. "For what is bravery when faced with the almighty power of a dragon?" He laughed.

"You have heard of dragonslayers, right?" Yugi called back, making 'Hellfire' shrink back a bit in sudden fear at the term. "If you know about the Dominion of the Beasts, you must've heard about 'Buster Blader'. He's the most famous dragonslayer in that whole world."

Josephus' triumphant smirk faltered a little, his confidence starting to slip. But there was no way for these aliens to call those creatures to this world. They didn't possess the supreme magic that he did!- Or did they? "You are merely trying to unsettle Me in a futile effort to buy time. I see through your pathetic ruse! There is no way that you possess the same power as the Dark Dragon Emperor!"

Joey grinned at his best friend, and the King of Games smiled back. "Wanna bet?" The shorter smirked, retrieving his deck from his pocket and pulling a card out. "Mahaad! Help us out here!" He cried in his native language, and the card glowed with a bright purple light. Out of that brilliance jumped everyone's favorite Black Magician, his signature teal staff already pointed at their adversary. "You called?" The spellcaster grinned.

What am I to do? What can I do? I'm just sitting here uselessly while my dearest friend and her companions are risking their lives to save my daughter. Seth agonized as he paced restlessly before his throne. Oh that the sealing of Zorc had not sealed our abilities as well, cousin! If I still had my power, I would send Kisara's light to guide your twin and the others in their quest. I am certain beyond a doubt that she could help them immensely. He thought as he continued to wheel about in a fit of worry.

"My Pharaoh, what is it that ails you?" Imhotep asked humbly, but- though his words and tone seemed concerned- his heart was not behind the question. Seth gave his High Priest one weary look, and the man understood without need for words. "I understand completely, Majesty. You are worried for the princess. But you must not let your worry drive you to illness. Egypt needs her King, and- for the moment- that is you. I shudder to think what would become of this land if we would lose both our princess and our Pharaoh all at once." He cautioned, seemingly worried for his Pharaoh's health.

After a moment, Seth nodded, seeing the wisdom in the man's words. He gave his advisor one half-hearted, somewhat sour glare, then all but flopped down on his throne and put his head in his hands. "You are right as usual, Imhotep. But can you blame Us? Our only daughter is in grave danger and there is nothing We can do about it. We can feel it in Our heart." He added softly to himself, putting a hand over the aforementioned organ.

"You and your daughter certainly share a unique connection." Imhotep observed thoughtfully. "Somehow you are both able to sense when the other is in trouble. That connection confounds me. You appointed me as your High Priest and Head of your Royal Magicians, but I cannot manage to explain that bond between the two of you. In this aspect, I have failed you, my King." He growled, frustrated.

Seth looked up from his hands and gave his Vizier a wry smile. "We think it is more of an instinct. Like how a parent in the animal kingdom somehow knows when their young are in danger. We suppose it works that way for Nefertiri because we are so close. We may be father and daughter, but we are also the closest of friends. Either that or We still have some lingering powers of the Shadows." He joked lightly to ease the tension in the room. He knew that was impossible.

Imhotep chuckled as well, amused by his liege's wit and sense of humor.

Seth smiled at the older man again, this time looking almost guilty, or at least regretting something. "We apologize for snapping at you the other day, friend. When you questioned the wisdom of accompanying Our riders to meet Our guests. We know you were only trying to protect Us. It is just, We were- are- so worried for Nefertiri. We have always had problems with Our pride." He sighed, his small smile turning just a little bit abashed.

Imhotep looked shocked that Pharaoh- Horus-incarnate- would actually apologize to a mere mortal and admit that he'd been wrong. Briefly he doubted his ultimate scheme that he and his love had been plotting for years. Underneath it all, there was no doubt that Seth was a good man- and a great Pharaoh. But then he remembered his reasons. There was one thing for which Imhotep would never forgive him, would never let go unpunished. And that act was enough to drive the Pharaoh's most trusted servant to the ultimate betrayal.

Burying these machinations beneath layers upon layers of lies and false humility, Imhotep bowed low to his liege and answered, "You are truly wise and honorable, O mighty Pharaoh. It was my transgression to doubt your supreme power. Forgive this mortal servant that he forgot your divinity and confused you for a mere man. To dishonor a god deserves the ultimate retribution, and I will accept my punishment without protest, my King." He stated, sounding completely contrite.

Seth, however, merely waved him off. "Like you said, you are only human. It is natural to make mistakes. We are not so proud that We would destroy one of Our closest allies for one small offense. We may be Horus-incarnate, but We are human too. Even We are not above mistakes. It seems that We have to keep both Our pride and Our temper in check." He mused with a chuckle.

Imhotep smiled, having mixed feelings of both relief and biding his time. It was an odd feeling, but Imhotep knew that someday soon, Pharaoh Seth would get what was coming to him. And he would make certain that he would be the one to do it.

As Imhotep plotted his vengeance and Seth worried for his daughter, a strange occurrence was playing out in the marketplace. The people of Thebes had seen quite a few unusual things in their day, but this one was definitely near the top of the list. A young man- possibly in his late teens- walked briskly toward the palace with a kind of purpose. What that purpose was, only he knew, but that didn't stop bazaar-goers and shopkeepers alike from stopping to stare at the young man as he passed by them- nodding in a friendly manner and greeting them with a cordial "Good day." in their language.

The first thing about him that drew attention was the way he was dressed. It was not any clothing that was familiar to this desert country, that was certain. He wore strange, dark-gray leg coverings that stretched all the way from his waist to his ankles and were somehow sewn together in the middle, (pants) and a belt of black leather with a silver buckle securing them. His upper clothing was made of white linen or something very similar, and the collar rose all the way up to the young man's chin, obscuring almost all of his neck. The man also wore a strange cloak of royal blue that flared out dramatically at his calves, seeming to be suspended by nothing but air. (long-sleeved trenchcoat) His sandals were also of a strange make and design. For one thing, they did not look like sandals at all- as they showed not the tiniest bit of skin underneath the dark material. (dress shoes) Strange, small leg coverings that seemed to be woven from wool also shielded his ankles from view. (socks)

[I have a picture and profile of this young man up on my Deviantart page.]

The boy's attire may have initially caught the bystanders' attention, but what held it was his odd hair color. Some of the people of Thebes had seen such hair only twice before: the wild mane of the Thief King Bakura, and the long silken waterfall of the young woman whom their Pharaoh had loved and lost- the White Dragon caller, Kisara. Those who had known Pharaoh Seth during his predecessor's reign couldn't help but compare this boy's appearance to that of the former High Priest. Indeed- but for the skin and hair color- it was as if Pharaoh himself was walking among his people in some elaborate disguise. Yet this boy was not dark with the sun like most residents of Egypt, but bore pale skin just like the young woman that had given her life to save their current Pharaoh from darkness.

[Technically he's just a few shades darker than Kisara, but not as tan as- say, Yugi for instance.]

One man, however, was new to the palace city and had not heard of the Lady Kisara. However, he had heard of the King of Thieves. When the enigmatic young man passed by him, the man whispered to his neighbor, "A demon-child?" looking at the young man the whole time.

The boy must have been very keen of hearing, because he wheeled about suddenly on his heel and made a hurt face at the man. "Now that's just rude." He frowned, but then brightened up immediately. "So my hair's white. Doesn't mean I'm a demon." He remarked with a slight growl, although it didn't sound malicious. In fact, it almost sounded like he was feigning hurt feelings. To corroborate this theory, his azure eyes were bright with the light of laughter and just the barest hint of mischief.

Without warning, he looked up and around at his surroundings, then at the sleeve of his jacket. "Gee. I kinda stick out like a sore thumb with this get-up, don't I? Maybe I should've given a bit more thought to this." He commented to himself, then looked around at the bazaar again. He smiled when he spotted a stall selling linen garments, and bought an outfit suited for a rather tall individual. "Perfect." He smiled, ducking into a dark alleyway and emerging less than five seconds later, already changed.

This earned more than a few raised eyebrows, and a young woman asked him curiously, "Who are you, young man?"

The teenager turned to her and smiled disarmingly, flipping his hair out of his eyes. "You can call me 'Kai'."

"Seriously, who are you people?" Nefertiri gasped in amazement. Joey, Mokuba and Téa had summoned their main Ka, and Horus [Horus' Black Flame Dragon] and Valkyrie were helping Mahaad fend off 'Hellfire'. Hono no Kenshi stood between the heroes and the servants of the Roman Emperor, protecting them from harm. Hana, meanwhile, had cast a 'Absolute Nonaggression Area' trap shield over the group, and was maintaining the shield with all her strength.

After winking mysteriously at Nefertiri, Hana growled to her friends, "We're not getting very far like this, are we?"

"We gotta figure out a way ta break away from dat dragon." Joey growled back, relieving a palace guard of his sword and dispatching its owner with a blow to the stomach with the hilt. "He's da real problem 'ere." He glared up at Hellfire, who was wrestling with Black Magician. From the ground it looked like the dragon was attempting to break the magician's staff, but wasn't having much luck. It must've been made from something akin to diamond to withstand the strength of a dragon.*

[Look up 'Dark Magician and Red Eyes BD' by 'Dark-Sephy' on dA.]

"Well, as long as Josephus is controlling him with that gauntlet, he's not gonna let up." Hana growled to her friend.

"He's controllin' da dragon? How can ya tell?" Joey asked, and he followed his friend's finger as she pointed to his prosthetic hand. "See that yellow-green glow?" A nod. "Classic mind-control spell*. Poor thing still knows what he's doing, but he's powerless to resist." She frowned up at the dragon, and now Joey could see tears forming in the wyvern's crimson eyes.

[Likely 'Brainwashing - Brain Control'.]

"How dare he make Red-Eyes cry!" Joey snarled, but only Hana heard it. She grimaced in answer, feeling pity for the noble dragon. It wasn't his fault at all!

"I'd thought I'd noticed something off about the big guy, and I finally put my finger on it. Usually a Ka has the same 'presence'- or magical force- as its Ba, but I didn't sense the same energy from Josephus that I did from the dragon. He's been lying to us from the start. He's not Red-Eyes' Ba. The dragon belongs to Jono and him alone." Hana growled as she glared daggers at Josephus, who merely smirked and waggled his eyebrows once.

"Figures. I kinda sensed he was a creep ever since I firs' saw 'im. Sometin 'bout da eyes, an' I'm not talkin' 'bout da color either." He growled. "Da eyes are da windows ta da soul, y'know."

"Yup." Hana suddenly grinned mischievously. "And yours are brown 'cause you're sweet as chocolate." She winked, making her blond friend blush. "I walked inta dat one, didn' I?" He asked with a face as red as a cherry.

The other heroes all either grinned or snorted in agreement, not even bothering to hide the fact that they'd been eavesdropping.

"You are only partially right, woman." Josephus purred. "I won this dragon from that traitor in fair and square combat. He may not have been Mine originally, but he obeys Me and only Me, to a fault."

"That's because you're forcing him to!" Hana yelled, growing more incensed by the second. "You're making him do terrible things against his will, and you're keeping him in this world 24/7! I'm sure you've noticed by now that he's weaker than when he started out, right? Ka can't survive very long in the human world. You have to let them return home periodically, and quickly! If you don't, they can die!" She cried, tears in her emerald eyes for the possessed dragon's sake.

Clearly this thought had never crossed the Emperor's mind, because he looked up at his airborne servant with something akin to worry in his eyes. But then his expression morphed back to a smirk, and he shook his head. "You are trying to deceive Me, but your lies will not work! I am the most powerful Emperor that Rome has ever seen, and My dragon shall continue by My side into eternity! There is nothing you can do to stop Me!" He threw back his head and laughed, his gales echoing around the room.

"I think not!" came a muffled, yet nearly identical voice from somewhere behind the heroes. Everyone wheeled about, and there stood Jono- armed with only a double-edged sword in his left hand and a simple wooden shield in his right.

"You?!" Josephus cried in outrage, pointing his own blade at his twin. "I exiled you from My city long ago! You were never to return here, on pain of death!"

"That is exactly why I am here!" Jono shouted back, glaring at his brother with nothing but contempt in his ruby eyes. "Your reign of terror has gone on long enough, and it should not have even begun in the first place! I am the elder of us, brother!" He growled, causing the other heroes to raise their eyebrows.

"Pah! Like forty-five measly seconds make any difference." Josephus scoffed, waving a hand dismissively.

"It does in my book! Jono's da rightful king a' dis country! You usurped his rightful place on da throne!" Joey snarled, and Hono no Kenshi turned away from his now unconscious opponent and stood between his duelist and the new threat, silently vowing to protect him at all costs. "An' den ya locked dat mask on 'im. How could ya do dat? He's yer twin brother!"

"So what if I did?" Josephus smirked. "He was always weak, believing in kindness and compassion instead of complete and total domination! That is the only way to get people to obey you. You have to beat them into the ground and break their spirit!"

"Complete and utter darkness." Jono growled so that only his friends could hear, though the Ka heard as well. "It is as if all of the darkness in the world possessed my brother in the moment of his birth. That is how he got his dark magic. That and his own dragon."

"Wait. You said that he and you shared a Ka." Hana asked, confused. "Now you're saying that he has a dragon too?"

Jono looked down, a somewhat sheepish smile on the little of his face they could see. "What I told you was not a lie, instead a portion of the whole story. We were born with identical Ka, two of the being that you call the Red-Eyes Black Dragon. Unfortunately my brother's darkness corrupted his dragon, causing it to take a completely different shape than mine. That and he tried to keep it in this world for too long." He looked down again in sorrow and pity at the memory. "Now, that being is nothing more than bones, though it is stronger than it had been. I suppose that is because of the darkness that infected its mind. Now it is known in the world of your Ka as 'Berserk Dead Dragon' [3500/0]."

Hana gasped in horror and quite a few of the others did too, all except for Mokuba and Akhen- who had never before witnessed that terrible creature. That thing had been almost impossible to defeat in Noah's VR world. The only thing that would be powerful enough to defeat it would be a LIGHT-attribute Ka like Blue-Eyes, only 500 points stronger. Unfortunately, they didn't have an ally like that.

Or so Hana thought. Just when all hope seemed lost, a miracle appeared before the heroes. The silhouette of Blue-Eyes appeared before them and roared angrily at Josephus, causing him to step backward in sudden fear. The translucent dragon flew into the Emperor's face, and- with a single crunch of its mighty jaws- snapped off the wicked ruler's false hand and destroyed it, subsequently freeing the Red-Eyes Black Dragon from its mind control.

That's when all chaos broke loose. Josephus was howling in rage that he'd once again lost his right arm, and with it control of Red-Eyes- the dragon was roaring its jubilation at its freedom and spewing molten fireballs everywhere in the palace, setting fire to everything flammable- and the spirit of Blue-Eyes cried out one final time before vanishing into thin air. It was strange, but that didn't look like the usual Blue-Eyes White Dragon. Instead it had a more futuristic look to it. Hana smiled. Blue-Eyes Shining Dragon somehow came to aid us in our hour of need. Thank you, my friend.

"AARGH! That- is- IT!" Josephus bellowed in denial that he'd lost this battle. "You have crossed Me for the last time, you hellspawn! You have destroyed My glorious empire, so now I shall destroy you! I may not be able to summon My own dragon, but that matters not. For I shall curse you, you and all of your friends, with a terrible curse! You will never see your families again, you who belong to Egypt! I curse you to reside in Rome until the day you die and return to your dark master in Tartaros!" He roared with laughter, confident that his curse would devastate them. Then without warning, he charged up a tongue of black fire and shot it at an unsuspecting Joey, who was preoccupied with watching for attacks from the palace guards. The cursed fire caught him in the chest and he gasped in shock and pain, collapsing to the ground and spasming as if he were experiencing a massive seizure. With that, the Dark Emperor threw back his head and laughed like a man possessed, crimson eyes literally glowing with the depth of his hatred. "This will show you to defy Me!" He laughed uproariously, grinning like a madman as he pointed to them with all that remained of his gauntleted right arm.

As one, everyone gasped in horror as a wave of dark energy slowly seeped from Josephus' hand-less right arm, frozen with shock as it crept steadily nearer to doom them all.

But then something unexpected happened. Hana folded her arms across her chest and crouched down to the ground, gathering her magical energy for a massive spell. With a piercing cry, she suddenly straightened up and threw her arms out from her center- pushing a titanic wave of light from her being that quickly overtook Josephus' curse and enveloped her friends from the modern world and Nefertiri- sending them all from the Roman palace to another realm entirely- knowing they would be safe there. Somehow Jono was also swept up in the wave of magical energy, and he gasped in surprise as he blinked out of sight just like the rest of the heroes. With a roar of surprise, the same fate befell Red-Eyes and the other Ka, and they too disappeared from the human world in a burst of light.

"WHAT?! NO!" Josephus cried as he glared at the magician princess, who now seemed to be reciting another mental spell. Be safe, my friends. She prayed, then thought: And to you, Akhen, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't act fast enough, and now I've doomed you to my fate.

Somehow Akhen must have heard Hana's mental apology, because he smiled at her and nodded in calm acceptance. Hana suddenly remembered that he hadn't had any family in Egypt to go home to, that the only person he'd ever wanted to be with was the princess who'd touched his heart.

"This cannot be happening! What did you do, you witch?!" Josephus screamed, and Hana fell to her knees, utterly drained of power. She didn't even bother looking up to meet his eyes as she spoke in a voice barely above a whisper. "I sent them far away from your reach. You won't be able to harm any more of my friends." She vowed.

Josephus, instead of exploding with rage, suddenly and inexplicably grinned at Hana. "Big mistake, woman. I will teach you just how stupid you were to defy Me and leave yourself behind. When you reach your twenty-first year, you will return to Me- whether you like it or not. Then I shall teach you the true meaning of suffering."

Hana frowned, but then closed her eyes and bowed her head, and she and Akhen disappeared from the burning palace- one bound for home, the other to the modern era.

End of Chapter 6

Next chapter teaser: Dragonborn

Well! That escalated quickly! I promise, everything will be made clear in the coming chapter.

With that, I bid you adieu.

God Bless!

Tsunami Storm