Hey guys, so this is both really late and kind of early since it's not a Wednesday (this is my logic. I'm tired.) Sorry it's been so long, as usual the inadequate excuses will be at the bottom. But seriously? I've been really busy.
Anyway, this chapter took forever to write, mainly because it doesn't end as well as I had hoped or where it should have done. Hopefully you'll like it better than I do.
Anyway, enjoy!
Mana had always loved feasts at the palace. The music, the food and the entertainment was, obviously, the best, and the arrival feast was nothing less than what would be expected of a prince's return. However, it wasn't just in favour of their return- this feast celebrated Atem's birthday (and of course Yugi's as well since they were twins. That was going to take some getting used to) that they had been unable to celebrate before.
She had barely been able to talk to Atem since he had arrived back, unable to grill him about Japan. She had loved his speech from her perch on one of the statues (the guard she had used as a boost hadn't been very happy) and thought it so much better than the dry, boring one some palace scribe had thought up. At times, Mana wondered why Akhnankhamun attempted to get his son to memorise speeches since they were always forgotten by the time he came to deliver them. At least this wasn't as bad as last time (since he actually knew what he was talking about rather than attempting to guess at the process of bread-making). But she was determined that the moment this feast ended, she would be the first to talk to him no matter how much Hotep growled.
The dancers waltzed by, lost in the rhythm of the music and Mana swayed gently, smiling contentedly from her seat with the rest of the apprentices.
"You seem in a good mood," the girl to her left commented. Her name was Ankhe and she was probably one of three people Mana could call a friend from all the other girls who were a part of the Magician's Guild. She was grinning in a way that notified Mana that she was closer to the truth than Mana would have liked. Then again, she was also one of the noble girls who paid attention to her in a way that wasn't to order her about like a servant.
"Of course I'm happy. The prince has returned home and we're not serving the tables again!" she giggled, thinking back to the time when the Masters (excluding Mahad who had been with Atem at the Oasis of Osiris at the time) had thrown a grand banquet in favour of the arrival of Neferi, the current favourite in the lists of Atem's possible brides. They had forced several of the girls to act as servants due to the fact that they wished to keep it a secret that Neferi was closer to the prince than he thought. That hadn't lasted long since Ankhe had quickly found the rooms that Neferi was sleeping within and Mana had mentioned to Atem exactly why he had a new shadow he couldn't get rid of. Suffice to say, after that rant they had never tried to impose a girl upon him again.
"So you're sure it has nothing to do with the fact that now Crown Prince Atem has returned, the pair of you can go back to your secret romance?" Ankhe said slyly, smirking as Mana dropped the piece of bread that had been halfway to her mouth.
"Ankhe! What… you know that is impossible!" Mana spluttered, cheeks burning. Ankhe was giggling herself now and shaking her head.
"But it's so obvious! And he looks at you the same way," she said, glancing towards the royal dais. Atem and Yugi were sitting side by side, just behind the Pharaoh and Atem seemed to be recommending certain delicacies to Yugi. Both of them seemed to be content and neither noticed the glances being sent their way or Mana's deep blushes.
"He… he doesn't!" Mana stammered. "He can't. He has to cement the bonds between Egypt and our allies." Ankhe raised an eyebrow.
"Well you could always elope with his brother then. After all they are twins and so practically the same person." Mana shook her head, thinking about how innocent Yugi was compared to his brother. He had never been subjected to Akhnadin's Shadow Games or conniving courtiers or famines and flooding. Instead he had been raised as a normal child. Besides, she couldn't ever imagine Yugi as anything more than a friend.
"I'm not running away with Yugi. He's completely different to Prince Atem," she said adamantly. Ankhe considered this a moment before smiling again.
"Does that mean I can have him? He's cute. We could have a secret relationship like Priest Seto and Kisara!" Mana tried to look disapproving but couldn't hold back the giggle that was threatening to break through. If there was any one person in the palace who didn't know the extent of Seto and Kisara's relationship she would eat her staff. As much they tried to keep it 'secret' there was no denying that gossip spread like wildfire in the palace. The servants knew and the nobles who were friendly with the servants would learn of it and tell their friends until eventually even the Pharaoh would know of it. The only people who didn't find the secrecy amusing was Akhnadin and the Courtiers but there was nothing they could do about it. Seto was not obligated like Atem to continue ties around the world and so any romance with Kisara was allowed, even if some muttered that it was a distraction from his duties. Since Seto managed to run a company, complete his duties as a priest of the Sacred Priesthood, defend the king and protect his family member back home, she doubted one relationship with a poor girl who he had saved from slavers a few years ago was going to affect his work ethic. If anything, she might get him to slow down.
"You could try," Mana giggled, "but I wouldn't want to be in your shoes if the whole thing goes wrong. Prince Atem could have you scrubbing the privies for years if it did!" Ankhe wrinkled her nose in disgust.
"Ugh, I'm a lady. He wouldn't be able to do that. My parents would protest."
"He's the Crown Prince, favoured of the Gods and soon to be Pharaoh. I think your parents wouldn't have much of a choice," Mana pointed out and Ankhe shrugged.
"He's still cute," she said stubbornly, eyes on Yugi who seemed to notice he was being watched. The younger prince looked around, trying to figure out where the gaze was coming from but Atem was already looking their way. Mana gave him a small wave and he grinned back at her, making a gesture which she knew from many years of long distance conversations meant 'meet you outside later'. He then sent a playful glare at Ankhe who blushed and averted her eyes to her dinner, suddenly interested in the salted fish he had been picking at only a moment before.
"I warned you," Mana giggled, ducking as her friend began to flick breadcrumbs at her and sending her own back. But out of the corner of her eye she could see Akhnadin's disapproving glare which only reminded her of that awful conversation before she had left for Cairo.
Atemu had a feeling he knew exactly what conversation was going on in the corner and wondered whether or not he should tell his brother. After all, attention like that was only going to get worse as time went on. However he was unable to go and talk to his greatest friend since courtesy insisted that he at least speak to all the members of the Sacred Priesthood before he could go elsewhere. And Akhnadin was persistent in leaving snide remarks.
"I do hope the Crown Prince has been keeping up with his studies. It would be a shame if he were to find himself unable to protect the people." Atemu wondered whether his uncle had finally decided to end all attempts at discretion and just try to stab him under the table. The issue with that was his uncle now knew he had not one, but two princes to go through before anyone would consider him and Seto as heirs to the throne. And while Yugi may not know much about Egypt or New Thebes, his claim was better than that of Akhnadin who had created disfavour for himself.
"Of course I have been keeping up with my studies, Akhnadin. I hope you have been well during my absence," Atemu stated, knowing that pretty much everyone, bar Yugi, would know what he was insinuating and Akhnadin gritted his teeth in annoyance. Atemu gave him a polite nod and moved away, finally free of the boring pretenders and those whose only wish was to be seen with the royal family to boost their family name. Yugi was deep in conversation with their father who was smiling proudly, presumably being filled in on everything that Yugi had been up to in the last ten years from his own perspective rather than sparse reports from Bakura. Evidently these included hilarious anecdotes as their father laughed quietly every so often.
"Yugi looks happy," Mana said quietly and Atemu hid the fact that she had taken him by surprise. Usually Mana's arrival was marked by either some noise or a cursing servant. He turned and gave her a smile.
"I think he's just happy to have some quality time with Father," he said, turning and walking towards the gardens. Hotep bounded behind them, stopping any nosy guards from following them. None of the palace guards were liked by Hotep and so they kept themselves as far from the leopard's maw as possible.
"You still haven't told me about Japan," Mana said, her eyes alight. Atemu laughed, knowing that it was true. Neither he nor Yugi had even spoken to Mana since two nights ago, her duties as Magician's Apprentice having kept her away. But since Mahad was having a merry time talking to Ishizu about who knew what, Mana was free for the evening.
"It's a little difficult to describe," Atemu said slowly. There were plenty of things he would be unable to describe to her. Why talk about a television when no such thing existed in New Thebes? Cars when they hadn't been thought of? They didn't have the words for any of it and even repeating them in Japanese, a language that Mana was capable of speaking, wouldn't help considering that she wouldn't know what he was talking about anyway. "A lot of things you have to see to believe."
"Is it true thought that they have fields of grass growing wild, that they have clean drinking water and candles which can light without a flame?" Atemu nodded and Mana gasped, leaping onto the ledge of the pool. "I wish I could go and see it for myself."
"You never know, one day you may still see Japan for yourself." She turned to him and he couldn't help noticing the moonlight reflected off of her hair, giving her a silvery halo. Hoping the darkness would hide the faint blush he could feel creeping across his face, he took a slight step back, aware of how close they were suddenly. "So, err… how have things been back here?" he asked, cursing himself for the stupid question. Mana however just took it in stride and shrugged.
"The same. Master Akhnadin attempted a coup using those prisoners of his in his private dungeon. Pharaoh cleared them though and had his priests fight those that resisted. Even us at the Magician's Guild got to help!" Atemu couldn't help but smile at her enthusiasm and secretly wished that if he wasn't the prince, he would be free to hold her, kiss her, perhaps even marry her when they were older. But no, any feelings he had for Mana had to be secret. New Thebes needed allies, help from some of the most powerful people in the surrounding countries and so his title chained him to a marriage of political importance rather than that of love.
"So nothing unusual then?" he said jokingly, turning away slightly. Something caught his gaze out of the corner of his eye and he turned, imagining it was Akhefia. But the face staring back at him was all wrong and his blood ran cold. The figure gave him a small smirk, a dark glint in their eyes before disappearing into the shadows of the wall. Akhefia had warned him that someone had broken into his house, stolen something, that Ryou might be in danger but he hadn't truly believed that something bad would happen to Ryou. After all, Akhefia was stronger, trained, more powerful… but then again, whatever the creature wanted it wasn't power Atemu had a feeling.
"Atemu? Atemu are you alright?" Mana had jumped down from her perch on the edge of the pool and had grabbed his wrist. A part of him wished she had taken his hand but who knew who was watching?
"I… I need to speak with my father," he said quietly, wrenching his arm free of her grip and striding back to the hall. Whatever was happening, it was happening far faster than Atemu had anticipated.
Yugi was lost once again. He was wandering through the desert, a sack slung across his back as he stumbled on past the dunes. He presumed at first that he was somewhere in the Valley of the Kings until the broken shell of a town appeared before him. He breathed a quiet sigh, not of relief exactly but as a kind of acknowledgment that he was near the end of this hellish journey. Thank Ra Seth had agreed on taking the tomb, he would never have been able to lay his brother to rest. His brother… his brave, wonderful other half gone and this was his task now.
The town was exactly how Atem had described it, shuddering in the dark and clinging to him as he recounted the awful events that had led to the Dark One's uprising. It had been one of the last times they had been able to catch more than an hour's sleep as the war waged on. The houses stared at him now, adding to the nightmares Yugi knew he would have that night. But duty came first; it was a prince's responsibility.
The temple had long since been razed to the ground but the entrance he wanted was still there. And so was that presence, the one person who had yet to be forgiven for his sins. Taking a deep breath, Yugi readjusted the sack over his shoulder and continued the descent into hell.
The Thief King was waiting for him at the bottom. He wasn't as scary as Yugi remembered; in fact he looked exhausted as he curled in on himself, clutching his arms as if terrified they were no longer real. But Yugi had never been as good at sneaking around like his brother and the Thief King glanced up, pushing himself away through force of will.
"I'm not here to hurt you," Yugi said quietly. "I know what you've done and I know what was done to you. But it doesn't excuse what you did." The Thief King was shaking his head.
"This is impossible. You… you can't be here. You're dead. I heard them say it as they passed by…" The Thief King carried on shaking his head, denying what was in front of him. The grief rose up once again, and for a moment he was gripping Atem in his arms again watching him die.
"Pharaoh is dead. I am his brother, Prince Heba of Kemet." The Thief King went still, blinking rapidly. Yugi wondered how he had never heard of him. He had been the first searching for Atem when the Thief King had attempted to kill him. Surely he would at least have seen him with the others. But the thief just stared at him in shock, confused. "I suppose the Dark One never told you that."
"No," the boy said- because if Yugi was honest he couldn't be any older than himself- "No, he didn't." The Thief King looked defeated in more ways than one. Atem had stressed that he believed the Thief King to be possessed, that the Dark One had recruited him for the revenge he wished for his people. He supposed that that was something he could understand.
"There is something I must do here. If you don't wish to be caught by the Sacred Priests, I would be gone by the morning," Yugi advised, heading towards the Millennium Stone. If he didn't do this now, everything his brother had done would be for naught. And he couldn't let his brother's death be in vain…
"You're helping me?" the Thief King sounded surprised and Yugi could understand that. After all, he had tried to kill them all.
"I'm telling you what you shouldn't be doing if you wish to live," Yugi said, not turning around, dumping the bag on the floor by the Stone. He could hear the quiet footsteps retreating into the background and turned, seeing the Thief King walking tiredly up the stairs. It was the walk of a man who had lost everything. He would know. He'd been walking the same way for the past week ever since… ever since he had held his brother in death. His other half, gone from the world.
"Tell me something," Yugi called to the retreating back. The Thief King turned, tense, ready for an attack. "Tell me your name. You owe me that at the very least." The Thief King cocked his head to the side a moment, considering. Then almost seemed to shrug to himself as if to say 'what else have I to lose?'
"Akhefia. My name is Akhefia," He said and then he was gone. Yugi nodded to the empty room and emptied the sack, numbly placing the Items where they had been forged. All bar one. He could feel the power amassing, gleefully waiting for that one last piece… He smirked grimly at the Stone, placing the Eye back into its place.
"That is the last of them creature," he murmured, picking up the only item left in the bag. The golden box he had had forged for the broken pieces of his brother's soul before he had left Memphis to Seth. "You will never be free while the blood of our family still lives. You will never steal Akhefia's soul again for your vile uses. So let it be written," the angry, agonised screams of the creature howled through the chamber but Yugi closed his ears to it, clutching the box tighter to his chest. "So let it be done." The screaming was abruptly cut off as the door closed to the Shadow World never to be opened again. Or so he hoped.
"Forgive me Atem," he whispered, a single tear leaking from one eye. "Forgive me."
Yugi awoke crying in the early morning light, not sure why he was so upset. Whatever it was, it compelled him to climb out of the huge bed that was his own, wander over to the secret door and open it. Inside the next room, his brother lay fast asleep, breaths soft and almost silent. He sighed a small breath of relief and was about to close the door again when Atemu's sleepy voice drifted over to him.
"Are you alright Yugi?" Yugi paused, torn between admitting to the dream he had just had or saying there was nothing wrong. But he didn't want to be alone right now. Especially if he had another dream like the last few.
"Not really." He slipped inside, shutting the secret door behind him, glad that Atemu had shown it to him the night before. Egypt might be strange and New Thebes even stranger but Yugi was glad that he was finally able to begin to understand his brother more than just 'oh he lives on the other side of the world and is rich'. "I've been having bad dreams."
"Do you want to talk about them?" Atemu had shifted over slightly, but it didn't make much difference since the bed could probably fit the pair of them, Tea, Joey, Seto, Mokuba and Grandpa in at once. Yugi nodded, climbing onto the bed and sitting next to Atemu. It was nice being this close once again and now that the fear of being separated once more was gone, it was also comforting that there was someone he could rely on like before.
"They're always the same. They started after the trip to the museum…" He paused, realising that he and Atemu had never discussed the tablet before. But he didn't want to know, if he was honest with himself. Somehow though, he knew it was linked with whatever these dreams were. "I… I'm prince here, as if I'd lived here all my life. Except father's dead and you're king but there was a war and New Thebes has been nearly destroyed." Atemu blinked at him, crimson eyes wide as he thought something through. Yugi wondered if he had been having similar dreams. He hoped not. He only ever watched Atemu die. To have to dream that you had died every night was worse. "In the first one you… you…" He couldn't say it. Atemu pulled him into a hug as Yugi sobbed into his shoulder. After a while the tears stopped and Yugi forced himself to continue. If he couldn't trust Atemu he couldn't trust anyone.
"Anyway, after that I'm always wandering. Someone else has taken over and there's something I had to do. I'm not sure but it has something to do with the Millennium Items and something called the Millennium Stone." Atemu froze his arm stiff around his shoulder. "What's happening Atemu?" he whispered. "I'm scared." There was a long drawn out silence as he waited for his brother to reply but instead Atemu turned to look at him.
"Come with me," he said, dragging Yugi with him. He threw a robe around his shoulders and handed one to Yugi, who slipped it on barely thinking. After that they were off, down one corridor, along another until Yugi was lost. They passed through a courtyard and into another building until they reached what was quiet possibly a library. Shelves stacked with numerous scrolls were shoved against the walls and several teenagers were wandering about, rifling through them. A few turned, startled by their presence but most ignored them. "Stay here," Atemu ordered before crossing the room and taking down at least three scrolls and then gestured that he follow him into an alcove. "Is this what you saw?"
The picture on the scroll was exactly as Yugi remembered it. A round stone carved to look like the sarcophagus of a pharaoh, holding or wearing the seven Millennium Items. He nodded.
"Yeah that's it." Atemu groaned and dropped onto a seat, muttering under his breath. "What? What is it? What's wrong?"
"What did Ishizu tell you about the Tablet of the Nameless Pharaoh?" Atemu asked quietly.
"Not much. That it told of some prophecy about the Nameless Pharaoh and that he had died fighting some kind of evil." Yugi felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. He hadn't wanted to think on why his brother was depicted on a five thousand year-old tablet but it seemed as if he would find out whether he liked it or not. "What else does it say?" Atemu sighed, his head in his hands.
"It's hard to explain but… Yugi, you have to believe what I tell you. If you want proof I can show you if you like, but you have to listen first." Yugi nodded, glancing back at the scroll Atemu had laid out. Something weird was going on, that much was clear. After all, why was he dreaming about a place he had never been to before? Atemu took a deep breath to compose himself before carrying on. "Five thousand years ago, the Nameless Pharaoh ruled Egypt in the name of his father with his brother."
"Brother?" Yugi asked, blinking. "I didn't know he had a brother."
"Most people don't. Anyway, it is written that a survivor of Kul Elna released something horrible in revenge for an evil committed to his people. He was possessed by the Dark One and the Shadows began to invade the world. The Pharaoh fought but there was only one solution- a spell that required the sacrifice of a single life. The Pharaoh insisted that since it had been their father's actions which had led to the destruction of Kul Elna it was his responsibility to fix this and so gave up his life to force the Dark One and the Shadows back into the Shadow Realm. The Tablet gives a prophecy that in a time of darkness the Pharaoh will return once again and defeat the Dark One once and for all."
"But Kul Elna couldn't have been destroyed five thousand years ago. You said Akhefia lived there before our uncle destroyed," Yugi said, trying to get round the one thing that didn't sound crazy. Shadow Realm? Dark One? It sounded like an episode of his favourite cartoons but Atemu's face was deadly serious.
"It was. Pharaoh Seth insisted that the Stone needed a people to protect it and had the town rebuilt. Three Tomb Keepers lived within the village and their descendants lived there still until Uncle got rid of them. The rest of the Tomb Keepers went on to guard the Nameless Pharaoh's tomb." Yug thought about that.
"So what's the Shadow Realm?" he asked. Atemu paused, thinking.
"It's… That's what is hard to explain. The Shadow Realm is where the Kas live but there are different layers and places where they live…" Atemu cut off, shaking his head. "I'm sorry, that's confusing isn't it?"
"What are Kas?" Yugi asked. "I know that they are a part of the soul but what does that mean here?"
"Kas are like… like Duel Monsters except you only have once that is tied to your soul. You can summon others from the Shadow Realm, but you must either create an agreement with them or lock them within a tablet. Five thousand years ago the pharaohs locked any creature from the Shadow Realm into tablets but we've since learnt that not all of them wish to fight."
"So you mean this is like living in a game of Duel Monsters?" Yugi asked eyes wide. Atemu smirked.
"Where do you think Seto got the idea about holographic duels?" Yugi felt his jaw hanging loose.
"Can you show me?" Atemu hesitated for a moment, caught between one argument and another. "You promised you would show me. And to explain everything," Yugi reminded him and Atemu sighed.
"I know," he said softly. "But I can't do it here."
"Why?"
"You can only summon the monster linked into your soul without a diadhank." Seeing Yugi's confused look, Atemu gave a small smile. "Our version of a duel disk." Yugi scowled.
"And here I was thinking that Duel Monsters was an entirely new concept to you," he said, mock-pouting. Atemu laughed, getting up to return the scrolls to their original place.
"Mostly a new concept. I didn't know the rules at first." Scrolls back in place, they left the library and headed back towards the palace as the sun came up slowly. There seemed to be more people about now, far more than there had been in Japan for this hour of the morning. The again, it got much hotter in the middle of the day here than it ever had in Domino city, so people probably preferred to do their work in the cooler hours of the day rather than the hotter ones.
They finally reached Atemu's room once again, earning a scowl from the guard who had suddenly appeared but Atemu gave him a look that sent the guard practically running back down the corridor. Yugi wondered how he did that. No one had ever been afraid of him, but then again he supposed that he had never tried to be a scary person. Atemu had never had the chance to try to be a friendly person.
He waited as his brother rifled through a chest in the corner before pulling out some kind of golden armband. The design on the wristband was of a golden eye and attached to the side was a golden retractable wing.
"This is a diadhank," Atemu said, slipping it onto his arm. Almost as if it had a mind of its own, the wing opened up and in one of the blank eyes designs on the wing, the thing glowed. And almost as if to defy everything Yugi had ever known in his life, the air before him glowed as well. When the glow faded, floating in the room was a small, very familiar fluffy ball of brown fur. "I think you know Kuriboh."
In all honesty, this is longer than I anticipated. On a random note, the stars that weren't explained (and apparently no one noticed anyway) were actually me going to point out that yes, it was possible for Joey to have been in that cell for a while because he was taken before Yugi and Atem travelled across the desert. Just in case anyone was thinking what...?
So my inadequate excuses. Results day for England for A-Levels was on the 14th August and let's just say my results were not what I wanted. I almost got kicked out of my school (although why I stayed after the appeal is anyone's guess. I hate my school so much.) Anyway, so I was really depressed about that since it meant that my predicted grades would not be what I needed to get into the university I really want to go to next year. After that, I was struggling to write this ridiculous essay my Geography teacher set over the holidays (which was still handed in three days late) and then I went on holiday to Cornwall (and if anyone has ever been there, where i was staying had really bad internet reception). Finally, I started my last year at school and I'e been really busy trying to get all my homework done, stay on top of it all and for once hand stuff in on time that I've had next to no time to write this and then I got stuck trying to write it because I couldn't remember where on earth this chapter was going. That happens sometimes.
I'm sure none of you care about anything I just said, I'm just laying out what happened and why this hasn't been updated for a month. But I do appreciate the support and so, review answers!
vaselover: Wow, that was a lot of reviews. And a lot of fangirling. I'm glad your enjoying my story and I hope that at least half of this chapter has helped with you (or fed the flames. Whichever is cool). Bakura should be in the next chapter. Why he never made it into this one I don't know. Thanks for the reviews though, they cheered me right up and inspired me to write again! :)
Princess Aziza: Joey's in the dungeon in New Thebes now. In Akhnadin's private dungeons to be exact. That's going to be important in the next chapter. And Ryou and Akhefia are going to be in the next chapter, and they might even meet... Maybe.
angiembabe: Thank you for your comment on Joey. If I told you what test awaited him, that would kinda spoil the plot for the next chapter and right now there's at least three different and important things going on next chapter (and some actual Duel Monsters that I can be bothered to write out!) so it will also probably be a long one (if I have time to write... darn school!). And thank you for your lovely comment on Lily. I appreciated it a lot :)
Juliet28: Here's your chapter. Hope you won't kill me for how it ended.
Aqua girl 007: I'm glad they were able to pull off the speech too. Thank you for your review and your comment on Lily. They just made my day in what has been a horrible few weeks.
(By the way did anyone else notice that last chapter was the only one so far the FanFiction didn't eat any lines in? I didn't even know that was possible)