Disclaimer: I own nothing but the original characters and the plot, the rest is already owned. Also to answer Alan's question I will not be referring to any of the Yamis by their original names and such because I'm playing with the past lives in Egypt a fair bit and because I'm too lazy to keep looking that info up. Besides a friend of mine told me that Seth and Atem were cousins which would make Seth related to Ri..see where I'm going? Anyway hope you like it regardless of the changes.
What Lies Within
Shadi stared at the monstrous form taking its time getting to him, the creature almost deliberately playing him to build up his fear and tension. Backing up until he could feel the cold stone of the wall at his back Shadi looked around but could see no way out of this dark room dominated by the Blue Eyes. Sending a quick prayer to the Gods of his people Shadi faced down the beast that had for the moment simply stopped to watch his with those sapphire eyes. So busy looking into those slitted eyes Shadi missed the swish of the tail until it was too late as the tail slashed into his side, cutting through clothing as it whipped out at him, to send him smashing into the right wall. Laying on the ground there, every part of his body aching Shadi could taste the coppery blood in his mouth as well as the blood sliding down his head from a large gash on his right cheek. He'd expected the dragon to use its attack but this beast was acting like a real dragon, using its body instead of its more mystical attack. Cursing his own stupidity he forced his eyes to open and with gritted teeth looked over to the beast who'd remained where he was except for its head which was turned to watch Shadi. Looking at his enemy Shadi wondered slightly at its size and strength, a truly magnificent thing. Gritting his teeth more Shadi forced himself to his knees then wobbly to his feet, every bone and muscle in his body despising him for it. Leaning against the wall Shadi wondered what the beast would do next. He didn't have long to wait as the beast turned so that its whole body was facing Shadi who attempted to brace for the fight but could only blink once as the floor under him disappeared and suddenly he was falling and falling, seeing the dragon's eyes watch him fall from above.
Landing with a sickening crush Shadi lay there for what seemed like hours but was only really minutes, too stunned and hurt to do anything else. When he was finally capable of regaining his feet he found himself in another empty room, the ceiling above him normal despite the fact that he could remember falling through it. Rotating his neck slightly Shadi looked over at the door and slowly making his way over to it sent up thanks when he saw that it was unlocked. Pushing it open he stepped into a scene out of Yugi's soul. All around him was levels and doors to be explored, likely many of them full of deadly surprises. Walking into the middle of the fray his eyes were caught naturally by a huge door at the far wall, It looked to be solid gold and there were torches burning in front of the entrance. An entrance that was guarded as well Shadi say right away as he looked at the two identical creatures, one on each side of the door with staffs in their hands. The woman were wearing helmets on their heads that resembled a canine type head, similar to the headdresses high priest wore in death ceremonies to represent the God of Death Anubis. They had had curvy female forms dressed in typical Ancient Egyptian clothing and stood at attention like statues. They likely wouldn't remain statues if he tried to get past them, Shadi thought with a wince as he tried to figure out what to do next. He was in no condition to wage battle but this could be his only chance. Kaiba might hide her from him after this and Shadi would never have a chance to banish the evil force residing in the girl. Forcing his feet, one after the other he made his way so that he was almost half way to the door when the room went a lot dimmer, stopping Shadi in his tracks. In a blink of his eye Shadi saw a throne like chair appear ten feet of so away from him, a shadowy figure lounging in it though too in the shadows for Shadi to get a good look at the person joining him. Whoever it was sent a chill down his spine as the only solid light source were from behind the figure where the golden door glowed against the torch light.
"One would think after your failed attempt to invade the pharaoh's chosen soul you would have learned your lesson, peasant about invading souls without permission." A smooth but cold voice said from the chair, a hint of amusement in the velvety voice but did nothing to alleviated Shadi's caution. "One would have thought you'd leave once you met up with her Blue Eyes, he's extremely protective of her as you found out rather painfully. And yet you're still here, your stupidity astounds me."
"Who are you?" Shadi demanded though he was pretty sure that he already knew who he was dealing with. Here in the young woman's soul dwelled a force of untold power and darkness, the voice he was hearing not the girl's but a male's and a familiar one at that.
"You haven't shown yourself to be overly bright but even you should be able to put the pieces together by now. You suspected it enough to invade Rika's soul without so much as a note of caution, unusual for you I would imagine so really why bother asking the question?" The voice said with that hint of humor, as though this were a laughing matter. "But just to confirm your worst fears..." The man said as he let it hang for a moment before the room was bathed in enough light so that he was easy to see. He sat in the chair with a smirk on his face, his brown hair hidden by his large gold head piece, a symbol of his status and rank. His cold blue eyes were matched by the upper chest piece with intricate designs and featuring brilliantly shining blue gems. He wore the typical white cloth piece to cover him from the waist down to his knees, his feet claded in simple sandals. Overall he was more muscular then Seto Kaiba but the resemblance was startling. "I am the High Priest, Dragon Master and the former councillors of the Pharaoh who once nearly destroyed you when you wondered into his path. Do I need to list my other titles or have you clued in?"
"You don't belong here, why have you chosen to invade this girl's soul?" Shadi demanded to know as he faced down the powerful man who watched him with an amused look on his face. Rather then respond to the man's taunts he did his best to hide his fears and face the powerful man head to head. "Why her, why not Kaiba who is your reincarnation?"
"Because Seto is not ready for my presence and I'm needed here for the time being." Seto said with a slight shrug as he watched his new adversary. It was rare for him to get to face anyone face to face, Rika so rarely let him have control and he was looking forward to playing with this new toy. Not that he had any intention of adding to the horrible shape the man was in but there was no need to inform Shadi of that. "When it's time I'll leave this soul and move to his but for now I have no intention of leaving, especially just because you think I should. You're under the impression that you know me but I can assure you that when it comes to me you are ignorant at best. We both know that the pharaoh remembers little of his past and everything the hieroglyphics depict or Isis sees is colored, biased. Though I am as dangerous as you think me to be, more so in fact but I have no intention of causing anyone harm unless they attempt to harm the people I protect."
"So until it suits you you'll use this girl for your pleasure and then move on." Shadi said with a disgusted look, ignoring the rest of the liar's speech. Though it was partly true Shadi wasn't so easily tricked into letting his guard down. "Exactly what I would expect of someone like you, High Priest Seto."
Quiet for a moment as he relaxed the fists Seto stared at Shadi and tried not to think of how easy it would be to kill the intruder. But that wouldn't suit his purposes and he knew that the other occupants of this soul would not be very pleased if he did. Rather then face the wrath of his women he rose from his seat and walked forward till there was only six feet or so in between them. "You would be wise not to mess with me, boy." Seto said in a low voice that only hinted at his displeasure. "Leave this soul and never return or next time you enter I will allow the Blue Eyes to finish you off the way you deserve. I can assure you that there are many dangerous places I could send you to."
"I won't leave until I've removed you from this child's soul and send you to hell where you belong." Shadi said calmly as he faced the priest without fear though in his gut he knew that odds were he could very end up killing himself in the process. "Prepare to be removed."
"Nooooooo, leave my Daddy alone!" A voice screamed and Shadi blinked as a child came running into the room out of nowhere, putting herself between him and Seto as tears streamed down her pale cheeks. She looked perhaps four or five, her hair in pigtails and wearing a pretty green shirt with overalls. With her brownish red hair and large purple eyes Shadi recognized her as a younger version of Rika. "Go away, go away or I'll make you leave." The child threatened with her eyes flashing at him with anger and fear. "I won't let you take Daddy, I won't! I won't! I'll set Renamon and the Sakuyamons and Blue Eyes on you." The girl threatened, stamping her foot in anger looking like she wanted to cry or hit, not being quite sure which.
"Rika, it's all right." Seto said quietly as he rested a hand on Rika's shoulder. Shadi could only blink at the change in the formerly cold and dark high priest who's voice was now gentle and soft as he comforted the child. The great Dragon Master, forgetting about Shadi for the moment concentrated on the second most important person in his life and leaning down picked her up and settled her on his hip, the child wrapping her arms around his neck as she burrowed her tear stained face in his shoulder. "I'm not going anywhere, there's no reason to cry now. It's all right, I'm not going to leave you like he did." Seto repeated as he held her close, his eyes returning to Shadi and there were flames in their blue depths. Rika was afraid of losing him enough as it was without Shadi making the fear seem even more real then before. Shadi had made Rika cry..that was unforgivable. "Leave now or I'll remove you in the most painful way possible."
"She's only a child." Shadi said in confusion as he looked at the child cradled so carefully in Seto's arms. None of this made any sense to him and he felt as though everything was not as it seemed to be. Perhaps he'd hit his head harder then he thought, or lost too much blood he thought as he wiped at his cheek, staining the hand red with his blood. "But this girl's soul is much older then that."
"This soul doesn't concern you, I have resided in it since Rika really was a child and have I done anything wrong? Attempted to use her to harm anyone or anything?" Seto pointed out coldly as he glared at Shadi, his patience running thin. Of course there was the D-Reaper but he wasn't about to explain that to the simpleton. "Leave and never return, Shadi, keeper of the Scales. Sakuyamons, if he's still here after I'm through the door see him out and no need to be gentle." Seto ordered then giving Shadi his back walked towards the large golden door, the throne disappearing as Seto walked past it with the child still in his arms. The guards at the door nodded their understanding and the large door automatically opened to reveal a blinding light that hid whatever was beyond the door. Walking through without looking back Seto walked into the light, the door closing behind him.
"I will handle him." A voice said from just behind Shadi and caused the man to nearly jump as he spun around to stare at the speaker. It was a yellow fox that stood up straight in front of him, as tall as he was and watching him with intelligent eyes. The creature wore white gloves with strange designs and Shadi could only blink at this latest development. "I'm Renamon." The creature continued, identifying herself. "It's time for you to leave here."
"Are you another Monster card?" Shadi asked as he stared at her questioningly, struggling to remain on his feet while his body screamed louder and louder in pain that he'd been trying to ignore. "Why is this soul full of you?"
"I'm from a different world and kind of card." Renamon said with a patient look on her face. "Now care to let yourself out or do I need to help you? It's pointless to try to remove him and doing so will only make things worse. He causes no harm here; you have nothing to fear from him so long as he resides within these walls."
"For now I will leave him alone." Shadi said with a wince as he swayed slightly, surprised when the fox creature put its paws on his shoulders to steady him. "I'll go." Shadi said with a nod and when the fox stepped back Shadi called upon the power of his item and sent his soul racing back to his body.
Behind the gold door
"You know trapping him in that room with Blue Eyes wasn't very nice, Seto." Ri said as she sat on her chair cuddling Rika who was slowly calming down as the bad man left. Stroking the little girl's head as the girl curled up in her lap Ri looked up at Seto with a smirk. "You just couldn't resist could you?"
"He deserved it." Seto said with a shrug as he took a seat beside Ri, leaning over slightly to run his hand up and down Rika's back soothingly, glad to see the girl had stopped crying. He'd never been good around crying females and even after thousands of years he still hadn't learned how to handle them well. "And I think it got the point across that he isn't to interfere with our plans again or face uncomfortable consequences."
"Well however annoying it was it brought Seto a new awareness of his growing feelings so you could have been a little nicer to him even though helping us was the last thing he wanted to do I would guess." Ri said with a pleased smile as she looked at her Dragon Master, her eyes loving as she looked at her night in tarnished armor. "When he realized what Shadi intended to do he tried to stop it and so far he's been more then protective and possessive of her then ever before. He's starting to feel and accept those feelings."
"There's no guarantee that the idiot will do anything about it, he's a cold bastard." Seto said with a smirk even though he was essentially calling himself a cold bastard as the boy in question was his reincarnation. "He's had his heart ripped apart again and again since he was a child, before he learned to build shield and build them well. Plus eventually he'll remember how your life and mine ended, that might be enough to scare him off rather then run the risk of more pain."
"Pain is a part of life but I hope he'll have the sense to realize that only through risking it can he ever be happy." Ri said with a sigh as she reached over and took Seto's free hand in his. "And Rika is my reincarnation; she'll be as hard to get rid of as I was."