I meant to explain this two chapters ago about why I changed the title, but I forgot, so here's the reason why I changed the title. I have a lot of ideas for this story, but I didn't want to put them all in a long story, so I decided to split it up. I will probably do three stories in all. They will all be called Path to Happiness with a different subtitle. That's why I changed the title.
Enjoy!
Chapter 5- The News
"Are you sure that this is a good idea, brother? It could be dangerous." Aknaudin said.
"I know, Aknaudin. I know of the danger that goes along with this course of action, but it is the way that I must do things." Aknankanon said.
Aknankanon had announced that he planned to go to the Millennial Kingdom to confront Kenshin about the attack against them.
"I still think that it is a bad idea. If Emperor Kenshin did send these men to bring harm to us, then he may try and kill you." Aknaudin said, desperately trying to dissuade his brother from going.
"I understand your concern, brother, but I must do this. Kenshin wouldn't dare try to kill me because it would start a war. The Millennial Kingdom might be able to defeat Egypt alone, but there are many kingdoms that have had trouble with Kenshin as well. Should Kenshin do something like that, he would make enemies of every kingdom on earth." Aknankanon said.
"Perhaps, but that would not help you in the slightest, brother." Aknaudin said.
"You will not change my mind, Aknaudin. I am going." Aknankanon said.
Aknaudin sighed, knowing that his brother could be stubborn as a bull sometimes and this was one of them. "Just do not go alone." Aknaudin said.
"I wouldn't think of it. Mahado, Mana, Karim, and Shada are coming with me." Aknankanon said.
"All right. Just be careful." Aknaudin said.
"I will." Aknankanon assured him.
"I don't like this. I don't think that Uncle should go." Seto said, sitting in the chair with his arms crossed.
"What else is he supposed to do, Seto? You know that Emperor Kenshin isn't going to be leaving to come here under any circumstances. He has no choice if he wants to confront him." Yami said.
"I agree with Seto, though. Dad could be killed." Atemu agreed.
"Something that bugs me is our husbands." Bakura said.
"Why would you think of them now?" Marik asked.
"It's what they did for us. I know that they hesitated, but they did save us. I mean, they could have let us die, but they didn't. Why?" Bakura asked.
"You know, I've been thinking that maybe they are not our enemies." Atemu said.
"You mean our allies? Get serious, Atemu." Seto said.
"I am serious. I mean, they risk everything to save us. If Emperor Kenshin did send those men, that would make them traitors in his eyes. They could have really lost everything." Atemu said.
"He's right. They haven't done anything wrong." Yami said.
"So, are you saying that we should consider them our allies?" Marik scoffed.
"No. I'm just saying that maybe we shouldn't treat them like our enemies. I mean, you have heard that phrase 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend'. If Heba and the others are against him, then maybe they will help us." Atemu said.
"It's too soon to tell, but I do agree that we should watch them. We can make a decision if they are our allies or enemies later." Seto said.
"Right now, we should worry about whether Dad comes back or not." Atemu said.
Heba, Joey, Ryou, and Malik were sitting in Heba's room.
"I think that it's a bad idea for the Pharaoh to go there. Kenshin could decide to kill them." Joey said.
"It's not like they're going to listen to us." Malik remarked, reclining back in his chair.
"Still, I don't think he should go. It's far too dangerous." Joey said.
"Father won't do that. He wants a war with Egypt, not the world. If he kills the Pharaoh, then Father will be forced to fight the entire world because the world would unite to defeat him. He'll just deny sending those men and probably say that the rebellion was behind it." Heba said.
The group sighed.
"It's really a now in situation for us now." Ryou said.
Aknankanon, Mahado, Mana, Karim, and Shada were ready to go.
"Be careful." Amara said.
"We will." Aknankanon assured her.
'I hope we see you again, brother.' Aknaudin thought.
Since a magical portal needed to be opened to get there, Aknankanon turned to Heba and said, "Prince Heba, will you open a portal for us to get there?"
"There is an easier way, Pharaoh." Heba said. He held out his hand and a medallion with a ruby stone in the center of his hand appeared. "All you have to do is say Millennial Kingdom to get there and Egypt to get back." Heba said, handing it to Aknankanon.
"Thank you, Heba." Aknankanon said.
"Your welcome, Your Majesty." Heba answered.
Aknankanon looked to his companions, who nodded their heads in saying they were ready. Aknankanon looked down at the medallion and said, "Millennial Kingdom."
The ruby in the medallion glowed, and a red portal opened.
Aknankanon, Mahado, Karim, Shada, and Mana walked through the portal.
'Good luck, Pharaoh. I hope you return safely.' Heba though.
"Damn it! The Pharaoh is coming here! No doubt about the attack!" Kenshin cursed.
"What now?" one of the men in the room asked.
"Make everything as right as possible. They shouldn't be here long. I know how to throw his suspicions off of us." Kenshin said.
The men in the room nodded before they went to do what they were told.
"Now, I had better go and greet my guests." Kenshin said before leaving the room.
Aknankanon, Mahado, Karim, Shada, and Mana were all shown into a meeting room by guards before they were left alone.
The group looked around silently, wondering what was going on.
"Ah, Pharaoh! This is a surprise." Kenshin said as he entered the room from another door to the room.
"Emperor Kenshin, I wish that I were here under better circumstances." Aknankanon said.
"What do you mean?" Kenshin asked, acting like he didn't know what was going on.
"We were recently attacked at my palace, and we found out that Millennials were the ones responsible." Aknankanon said.
"Millennials?! I assure you that no one here would do that." Kenshin said.
"We know they were because one used their wings to fly. Had it not been for Prince Heba, Lord Joseph, Lord Ryou, and Lord Malik, we might have been killed." Aknankanon said.
'Those brats! They were the real reason.' Kenshin thought angrily. Aloud, Kenshin said, "I apologize, Pharaoh. I know that is not enough, but I knew nothing of this attack. There are rebels who have been attacking against me in recent days. Perhaps they sent some of their militia to your kingdom, trying to convince you that it was my doing. No one from my regime would do something of this nature." Kenshin said.
"I see. I wanted to make sure, and I felt that this was something that I needed to handle personally." Aknankanon said.
"I understand. I will try and make sure that no more Millennials attack you and your people. We are trying to put down this rebellion as soon as possible." Kenshin said.
"I hope that you can end it soon, then." Aknankanon said.
"Of course. I will do the best that I can." Kenshin assured him.
Aknankanon knew that there was nothing else he could do, though he was certain that Kenshin was behind everything. "Very well then. We will take our leave." Aknankanon said.
The group started to leave.
"Pharaoh, may I ask a favor?" Kenshin asked.
"What is that?" Aknankanon asked.
Mahado, Mana, Shada, and Karim were ready to act of need be.
"Could you give this letter to my son Heba?" Kenshin asked, holding out an envelope.
"Very well." Aknankanon said, taking the envelope.
"Thank you, Pharaoh." Kenshin said before leaving.
"We should go, Pharaoh." Mahado said, not wanting to be there any longer than necessary.
Aknankanon nodded. He took out the medallion that Heba had given him and said, "Egypt."
A portal opened, and the group went through it.
Kenshin was pissed. He grabbed the chair in his office and threw it against the wall with such force that the chair shattered into pieces.
"Those dame bastards! It was because of my damned son and those other three that Ushio and the others failed!" Kenshin shouted.
Kenshin paced the room angrily. "Those four have taken it upon themselves to protect the Egyptians! We would be at war now had it not been for them!" Kenshin growled angrily.
"There is very little that we can do." another person in the room said.
Kenshin glared. "I thought that sending Heba and the others there would make things easier for me, but it has complicated matters. Not only do they protect the Egyptians, but they appear to be stronger than we first thought." Kenshin said.
"Ushio and his men were nowhere near the strongest you have. Others would have better luck." the other man said.
"I sent them because they were expendable. It wouldn't hurt if we lost them. Now, we are in deep trouble. The Pharaoh is suspicious. I know that he doesn't believe that the rebellion was behind that. I'm certain that he will inform other world leaders." Kenshin said.
"I thought that you planed to take over the entire world anyway, Emperor." the other man said.
"I did. Just one country at a time. It would be easier that way. I needed Egypt to start the war for me to fight them without anyone else interfering." Kenshin said.
"We will need to be more careful in the future." the man said.
"Yes. I will think of another way." Kenshin said.
"How did it go?" Amara asked when they returned.
"We were not attacked, and we spoke to Emperor Kenshin immediately." Aknankanon said as he sat down on his throne by his wife.
"Did he deny everything?" Marik asked.
"No. There seems to be a rebellion going on in the Millennial Kingdom. He claims that they were the ones that attacked us, trying to make us think that it was him." Aknankanon said.
"Did you believe him, Father?" Atemu asked.
"No. I believe he was behind it, but we have to take him at his word. We can't start a war with what he said. We will need to be wary when dealing with him from now on." Aknankanon said.
"Do you think he will attack again?" Amara asked.
"I almost guarantee it." Aknankanon answered.
"Well, that answers that." Bakura remarked.
"What should we do with the bodies of those Millennials?" Karim asked.
"Burn them. We have no use for them." Aknankanon said.
Shada and Karim nodded and bowed before going to do just that.
"Well, should we tell our husbands about this development?" Seto asked.
"I suppose so. There's no harm in it. Atemu, would you give these to Prince Heba when you see him?" Aknankanon asked, handing Atemu the medallion and the envelope.
"What the envelope?" Atemu asked.
"Emperor Kenshin asked me to give that to Heba. It's a letter that he wrote to him." Aknankanon answered.
"Shouldn't we ready it first? It could be some kind of plot to have them undermine us." Bakura said.
Aknankanon groaned. "Bakura, enough with the conspiracy theories. I have had it up to here with them." Aknankanon said, motioning to his neck. "No more conspiracy theories. Prince Heba and the others have done nothing against us. For now, no more conspiracy theories, and I want Heba to receive that letter unopened." Aknankanon said.
"Yes, Father." Atemu said before he left with Yami, Bakura, Marik, and Seto.
"Brother, are Prince Heba and the others our allies or our enemies?" Aknaudin asked.
"At this time, I don't know. I do not think that they are the enemy, but I will not call them allies yet. We will wait and see." Aknankanon said.
Heba, Joey, Ryou, and Malik were sitting in the lounge.
Atemu, Bakura, Marik, and Seto had been nicer to them, and they would be in the lounge together at times.
"What do you think happened with Kenshin?" Joey asked.
"He told them a pack of lies." Heba answered.
"We know that." Malik said.
"Other than that, I don't know." Heba said.
"Well, I hope that they don't believe him if he says that rebellion was behind it." Ryou said.
"I think that the Pharaoh knows he did it. He just can't do anything about it because of the fact that if father claims that it was the rebellion, that is what the world kings will believe." Heba said.
"That really sucks." Malik said, moving the chess piece.
"I know." Heba said.
"Well, we have to try and protect them from Kenshin's attacks." Ryou said.
"We will do the best we can." Heba agreed.
The door opened, and Atemu, Yami, Seto, Marik, and Bakura walked into the room.
"Is the Pharaoh back yet?" Heba asked.
"Yes. Emperor Kenshin said that it was the rebellion who did it." Atemu said.
"Oh." Heba said, not at all surprised.
"Father said to give you these back." Atemu said, handing Heba the medallion and the letter.
"What's this?" Heba asked, looking at the envelope while causing the medallion to vanish.
"My father said that Emperor Kenshin asked him to give you that." Atemu answered.
"Oh." Heba said.
Ryou moved another chess piece and said, "Checkmate!"
"Damn it! I can't ever win against you!" Malik exclaimed.
Ryou sighed. "Malik, I win because I analyze all possible moves and make the move I think is best. You see a move and make it without looking at other options." Ryou said.
"Smartass." Malik growled.
"You're just a sore loser." Ryou said as he put the chess pieces back in their appropriate places.
Heba shook his head as he opened the envelope and took out the letter, reading it. As Heba read it, his eyes widened. He felt like he couldn't breathe. He had known the contents of the letter, but seeing them made his heart hurt and his eyes burned with unshed tears.
"Heba, are you okay?" Joey asked worriedly.
All eyes turned to Heba and saw the tears.
Heba looked up and dropped the letter before he darted out of the room.
"What the hell was that about?!" Bakura exclaimed.
Ryou stood up and walked over to pick up the letter. He read it before eh gasped.
"Ry, what is it?" Malik asked.
"I know why Heba started crying." Ryou said quietly.
"Why?" Joey asked.
"Listen to what this says." Ryou said, not caring that Atemu, Yami, Bakura, Marik, and Seto were in the room. He started to read the letter.
Heba,
I regret to inform you of the recent demise of Yugi. He was killed at the hands of the rebellion. We could do nothing to save him.
Kenshin
"That's all it says?" Bakura asked.
Ryou nodded before handing the letter to Atemu, who read it.
"That bastard! He said it so casually and crudely like it doesn't matter that Yugi's dead!" Joey exclaimed as tears filled his eyes.
"Who is Yugi?" Atemu asked.
"Yugi was-" Ryou stopped. He took a deep breath before saying, "He was Heba's twin brother."
The five grew silent. They now understood Heba's actions.
"Were they-close?" Yami asked hesitantly.
"Very. They were best friends. They had no secrets from each other." Malik answered.
"This has to be killing Heba." Atemu said.
"It probably is, but there's nothing that we can say to make it easier." Ryou said.
"Why did his father write that letter like he didn't even care?" Marik asked.
"Because he didn't care. He never did." Joey said.
The five Egyptians looked at each other, wondering what that meant.
Heba had run down the hall, ignoring the looks that people were giving him before he threw open the door to his room and ran inside. He then threw himself onto the bed, sobbing.
Heba had known that Yugi would die. He knew the moment that he had decided to help Aknankanon and Amara and defeat Ushio and his men that Yugi would die. He had known it, but the letter made it real.
Heba continued to sob as the pain set in once against, and he was forced to face the fact that his brother was dead, and there was nothing that he could do to change that fact.
"I'm sorry, Yugi. I'm so sorry." Heba murmured in his pillow.
Heba didn't hear the door open or the footsteps of someone walking into the room. He did, however, feel the hand on his shoulder.
Thinking that it was Joey, Ryou, or Malik, Heba said, "Please leave me alone."
"No one should be alone when they are grieving." a deep, baritone voice said.
Heba recognized the voice and turned to look up into Atemu's worried-filled crimson eyes.
"A-Atemu, what are you doing here?" Heba asked as he tried to control his quivering voice and wiped the tears from his eyes.
"I was worried. You were crying when you ran out. Ryou read the letter. I'm sorry." Atemu said.
Heba looked away. "It shouldn't matter to you. You didn't even know him." Heba said.
"No, I didn't." Atemu said softly. He looked at Heba and said, "But no one should be forced to face the loss of a loved one alone as you are."
Heba couldn't help it. He didn't know if it was what Atemu said or if it was the kind and sincere way he said it or if it was just because he needed someone to hold on to, but whatever the reason was, Heba collapsed into Atemu's arms as he cried in grief at the loss of his brother.
Atemu, although he didn't trust Heba, felt his heart go out to his crying husband. He hugged Heba tightly and whispered soothing words to him in an attempt to calm him down. Atemu felt sorry for Heba for the loss of his brother, but he felt angry at the callous way his father had told him. 'The man can't have a heart to tell Heba that his brother was dead in such a way!' Atemu thought angrily. He turned his thoughts from his anger at Kenshin to Heba, who he knew needed him at the moment.
"I can't believe this! That bastard did it!" Joey shouted as he slammed his fist into the wall of his bedroom.
"If you keep doing that, you're going to break your hand." Seto said calmly.
Joey whirled around to find Seto leaning against the door with his arms crossed over his chest. "What do you want?!" Joy growled, tears falling down his face.
Seto walked over to stand in front of Joey.
Joey growled. "What?!" Joey snapped.
Seto reached up and wiped the tears from Joey's face. "No one should be alone in mourning. I know we don't like each other, but you don't have to face this alone." Seto said.
"Why do you care?! You don't even know Yugi!" Joey shouted.
"No, I didn't know him, but you're upset, and you shouldn't be forced to be alone deal with it alone. Your friends will be dealing with their own grief." Seto said.
Joey may not have liked to be around Seto, but at the moment, he needed to comfort, so he collapsed against Seto, crying.
Seto wrapped his arms around Joey and let Joey cry out his pain and grief.
Ryou walked into his room and collapsed into a chair. He leaned over and covered his face, starting to cry. He had lost someone that was very close to him, and he didn't know how to handle it.
'This can't be happening. It just can't be happening.' Ryou thought as he continued to cry.
The door opened, and Bakura walked into the room. He saw Ryou crying in the chair and sighed. He walked over and knelt down in front of Ryou before he reached out and put a hand on Ryou's shoulder.
Feeling the hand on his shoulder, Ryou looked up to find Bakura standing in front of him. "What do you want, Bakura?" Ryou asked.
Bakura sighed. "You shouldn't have to be left alone when you're grieving." Bakura said.
"Why do you care? It's not like any of this affects you." Ryou said.
"I've lost loved ones myself, and I know first hand that you shouldn't be alone when you're grieving." Bakura said.
At the moment, Ryou was too upset to care that someone he couldn't stand had offered him comfort. Ryou just wrapped his arms around Bakura and buried his face in Bakura's chest as he cried.
Bakura just held Ryou and rubbed his back soothingly as Ryou kept on crying.
Malik was angrily pacing the floor. "I don't want to believe this! I can't believe this! I don't want it to be true! I don't want Yugi to be dead!" Malik said angrily as tears fell down his face.
Marik walked into the room.
Hearing the door open and close, Malik whirled around to face Marik. "What the hell do you want?!" Malik exploded.
"I'm just here to make sure that you're all right." Marik said.
"All right! I just found out that someone I care about a lot is dead? What do you think?!" Malik shouted.
Marik looked at him. "You're irrational. You need to calm down." Marik said.
"Calm down?! How can I calm down?!" Malik yelled.
Marik walked over to him and grabbed him by the shoulders. "Being angry won't bring your friend back. The best thing for you to do is grieve." Marik said.
Malik's tears started to run down his face. "I don't want it to be true!" Malik said.
Marik wrapped his arms around Malik as he broke down in Marik's arms and started to cry. Marik just held Malik as Malik cried.
"I wonder where Atemu, Marik, Bakura, and Seto are." Aknankanon murmured.
Everyone was sitting at the dinner table, eating dinner.
"I doubt that they'll be down tonight." Yami said.
"Why? What have you been told?" Amara asked.
Yami sighed. "That letter that Emperor asked you to give Heba was a letter telling Heba that his twin brother had been killed by the rebellion." Yami said.
"He what?!" Aknankanon exclaimed.
"Yeah. That's what it was. I think it made Atemu kind of angry because the Emperor said it in a crude and uncaring way. It's almost like he didn't care about what happened to his son." Yami said.
"I see." Aknankanon said.
"Heba was pretty upset. So were Ryou, Bakura, and Malik. Atemu and the others were to make sure that they were all right." Yami said.
"That's so sad." Isis stated.
"Yeah. It is." Yami agreed.
"They will need time to recover." Aknaudin said.
"Are you sure that's what the letter said, though? Not to bring up conspiracy theories, Pharaoh," Karim said, remembering Aknankanon's earlier warning to Bakura, "but it needs to be asked."
"I know. We need to see that letter." Aknankanon agreed.
"I read the letter myself, Father. All it said was that Heba's brother had died." Yami said.
"At least that answers that." Karim said.
Kenshin looked out the window at the sky. 'I need to take down Egypt and the rebellion. I need to end the rebellion first. Or maybe bring down Egypt.' Kenshin thought.
Kenshin went and sat down on his bed. "It really doesn't matter. I will do both in time." Kenshin said.
Kenshin suddenly laughed. "At least I had the smarts to kill that pathetic son of mine. He's gone, and now, I don't have to worry about him. I know he was part of the rebellion, so the rebellion should be weakened by his loss." Kenshin said.
Feeling that there was nothing for him to worry about, Kenshin went to bed.
Hope you liked it. I know I made them kind of sentimental in this one, but they don't trust Heba and the other's yet.
Next: The trip to England.
R&R.