Disclaimer. Yu-Gi-Oh! does not belong to me. It belongs to Kazuki Takahashi and crew. Some characters will be made up by me. Please ask if you want to use them.
Let me know what you think of this chapter if you want. Whichever one is better I'll delete the less favoured chapter. That means the one you liked will stay and the one you didn't like will be deleted.
As Aknadin left the Temple Of Apophis, a whispered voice called him back. Aknadin hesitated on the stairs, before glancing over his shoulder, one eyebrow raised.
It was the man from the temple. He was holding the snake staff, the silver and black snakes untwining from the staff, lifting their heads to look at him. A soft hiss sounded, and the man went rigid, his eyes paling.
Aknadin's attention was now completely focused on the man.
The torches at the foot of the temple flickered, even though there was no wind. A dry rattle seemed to come from the sky itself. Unnerved, Aknadin tried to backed away, but some strange force seemed to hold him in place.
The temple man raised his head towards the sky, before a steady stream of dark smoke poured out of his mouth.
Aknadin narrowed his eye, against the glare of sunlight as he looked upwards to where the smoke was circling.
It was taking shape. Two deep blood red eyes opened, and black slitted pupils widened a bit, before moving to look at Aknadin. A mouth formed. It opened, revealing stained bloody teeth, a deep rouge tongue flickering between the fangs. Huge wings cloaked in fog spread out from its still shapeless back. Two limbs sprouted from it's forefront, the claws a dusky brown.
The snake like being twisted in the air before it's two clawed hands grasped the temple man's shoulders. It's back end remained unformed, drifting and curling through the air.
Aknadin now knew what the creature was.
It was a manifestation of Apophis.
The sky darkened, the sun feebly trying to shine brighter. Aknadin kneeled, feeling like it was necessary. The same voice from his vision came from the manifestation of Apophis's mouth even the the chaotic snake did not move it's jaws.
"Aknadin. A final word of warning."
Aknadin looked up a bit quickly, glancing around at the busy city behind him. It was strange how no one had noticed the sudden events. Smoke billowed off Apophis, the color an annoyed red. "No one can see me but you. Not even this temple man knows what is currently going on."
Aknadin turned his attention back to the fog enshrouded snake, not uttering another word. Moments passed before the dry hissing voice spoke again.
"You must remain silent about this. If anyone found out it'd be troubling. Do you understand? A certain priest has caught wind of your plan because you decided to reveal everything to him thinking he'd agree with it. Well, he didn't.
He'll now be keeping tabs on you. Watch what you speak and know where you step. Eyes will be on you."
Aknadin knew which priest Apophis was talking about. "Seto? I'm not worried. He wouldn't dare mess with my plans without consulting the Pharaoh first. By that point our plan will be well underway."
The snake leaned fowards, snapping at Aknadin. The old priest flinched as bloodied fangs closed inches from his face. "You know very well that Seto is capable of going against the Pharoah's wishes. He might try and tail you."
Now realizing what he had said, Aknadin lowered his head, casting his eye down in shame.
"Yes. Of course."
The back end of Apophis swirled down and started retreating back into the temple man.
"Good. Now. It'll take a few months before Bakura reaches us. Until then do whatever you need to." Apophis fully retreated back into the man.
The sky brightened, and the sun once again shed it's light on the world below.
Aknadin watched as the temple man wobbled. His skin paled and the snake staff fell from his hand onto the stone ground. The twin snakes eyes had closed, and their coloured scales faded into a pale gray. The man fell foward and landed on his face, one arm stretched outwards.
Aknadin stood there, processing everything that had just happened.
Glancing down at the man, Aknadin presumed that he was dead. Stepping up the stairs, he hooked his arms underneath the corpse of the man and dragged him down the stairs. Stopping at the bottom, he quickly scanned the area, seeing if anybody had noticed.
Nothing.
Draping the man's arms over his shoulder, Aknadin walked behind the numerous temples, the space behind barren and dry. A steep clif barred the way.
Laying the man down, Aknadin dug into the ground, his nails splitting and bleeding. Wincing, the old priest dug deeper, the soil beneath dry caked earth soft and damp.
When the hole was deep enough, Aknadin dragged the man over and lowered him into the makeshift grave. Then he pushed the dug up soil overtop of the man, covering him. Standing up, Aknadin trampled over the grave, packing down the soil.
When he was satisfied, Aknadin walked back out to the front of the temples, glancing back towards the one he had buried the man behind. The snake staff still lay at the top of the stairs. Without hesitation he walked up the stairs, picking it up. Expecting some sort of hiss or movement, he was surprised when nothing happened.
'Hmm. Apophis must've taken it's powers away when he left.'
A tremble ran throughout the temple. Cracks split the stairs, and Aknadin hurried down them, before turning back to face the temple. With an echoing crack, the whole temple collapsed, smoke and dust filling the air. Aknadin covered his nose, trying not to breath in the dust. Someone shouted at him.
"What have you done?"
Gasping, the old priest faced where the sound came from.
A guard strode towards him.
And not just any guard. This one had a scabbard tied to his waist. A flowing red caped pinned to his back flapped with every movement. Steel gray eyes frowned down at Aknadin. He was a higher ranking guard. And if you made guards like him angry then you would fear being put in prison.
Nothing escapes them.
Luckily, in this case, magic had been involved so Aknadin was sure he could lie his way out of this particular situation.
"I uh...well I heard some strange noises coming from this particular temple, so I went to investigate. I found the man for this temple dead, and decided to bury him. The snake staff he always held was just lying about, so I took it, thinking it would be of use later. Then, the temple suddenly collapsed! I can't imagine why."
The guard didn't blink the entire time, but his hand had moved and rested itself upon the hilt of his scabbard.
Aknadin felt minuscule under the unwavering steel gaze.
Avoiding the man's eyes, Aknadin fiddled with the staff, which was hard to do as the staff was quite heavy. A flicker of movement caught his eye. Looking up, he yelped as the guard leaped fowards and snatched the staff away, returning to his original position.
Studying the staff, the guard suddenly spoke, his voice deep with sternness. "And you expect me to believe all of this. I highly doubt all which you have told me is true. And what were you planning to do with this staff?"
Aknadin sweated nervously.
"Um. Well I haven't decided a use for it yet."
A disbelieving scoff. "Hm. I will pry into this further. For the meantime, High Priest Aknadin, return to the palace. I'm sure you have places to be. Move along now."
Ruffled at being talked to like a child, Aknadin strutted away. Gritting his teeth, Aknadin pushed some people rudely aside, ignoring their protests.
'Hmph. Just you wait. I'm going to get that staff back. Sooner or later.'
Isis sighed, as her Millennium Tauk showed her nothing but inky blackness. She was in a round room, with a blazing stone fireplace located in the centre of the room.
Large stone columns stood in each corner of the room. Transparent white silk was draped across each column, connecting to the column beside and across it.
Two other priests stood in the room.
One was a man named Shada. He wore simple white robes and held the Millennium Key. Strange elegant tattoos adorned his bald head.
The other was a strong muscled man. But his temperament was quiet. His black hair was short and bobbed. One piece of fabric was pinned from his shoulder to his opposite hip. His lower half consisted of plain white robes. In his hands he held the Millennium Scales. His name was Kalim.
Two lower ranking guards were positioned by the door, not needing to interfere much.
(Hence why I said they were lower ranked.)
Shaking her head, Isis lowered her outstretched hands into her lap in defeat. Shada walked up to her, looking into the fireplace as he spoke.
"Still nothing?"
Isis stood up, brushing off her lap. She wore a white dress with no sleeves. Her headset consisted of fabric draped over her long black hair, held away from her eyes by two intricately gold pieces.
"No. It worries me. This is the first time I have been unable to see the future. Much darkness lays before us."
Kalim shifted, catching Isis's attention. "You know, we all very much appreciate you doing your best to inform us of the future...but it won't do any good to overwork yourself to death."
Shada inclined his head in agreement.
"That is true."
Isis smiled warmly. "Thank you. I appreciate that you all care for me so much, but this is my task.
My mother was the previous owner of this Millennium Tauk. When she was still alive, she would do anything to make sure that the future was foretold. She wished for everyone to be safe. When the Millennium Tauk got passed down to me I swore I'd have the same determination as my mother. So continue I shall."
Sitting down, Isis reached her hands out, the Tauk around her neck giving off a slight hum as it glowed.
Kalim and Shada glanced at each other, shrugging before resuming their original spots, waiting for a sign from Isis.
Atem stood by the window in his room, staring out into the vast city below him.
People milled about, talking, buying things. Children played in the streets, and a few stray dogs begged for food here and there.
Leaning out the window, Atem glanced upwards, seeing the crisp blue sky above him. Thin white clouds drifted by. Two beautiful red and brown hawks soared in the sky together, their sharp turns and tilting of wings looking like an intricate dance.
Turning his head to look below him, he saw a few people waving at him, smiling. With a tight smile, he stuck his arm out the window and waved back.
They cheered.
Something grabbed his cloak, and pulled him into his room. Atem lay in an unceremonious heap on ground.
Mana's face hovered above him.
"Geez Prince! You'll fall out the window if you keep doing that!"
Atem sighed, slightly annoyed and slightly amused. "Mana. You scared me half to death. You could've just told me that you were there and I would've came back in." He got up, brushing himself off.
Mana didn't seem perturbed by Atem's annoyance. "Ok. If you say so Prince...ahh. I mean...Pharaoh."
Atem shrugged. "Don't worry about it. Prince. Pharaoh. You can call me either."
Just then, a thin man with a goatee walked in, holding a book in one hand.
"Sir. I believe it's about time we learn some more arithmetics."
Mana paled. "Uh...I'll be leaving now." She scurried out of the room.
The Pharoah smiled knowingly. 'I don't blame you Mana. But I am a bit jealous that you don't have to learn it. You get to do fun magic spells with Mahado all day...'
Something tapped his shoulder. Atem glared up at the mathematics teacher.
(He is a bit shorter. I mean, at this point in my story Atem is only sixteen.)
"Yes yes, I'm coming."
He brushed past the man, smirking at the quiet huff the teacher made.
Mana watched from the corner of a door she was hiding behind.
'What a stuffy teacher...'
As if the man had heard her he stopped by her hiding place, tilting his head like a cat. "Hmm. What luck. I just found a mouse."
Mana scrambled away from the door, knocking over a few things before hiding behind a huge armchair. The door flew open. But the one who walked in was Atem. He closed the door, whispering over his shoulder.
"Quick Mana! I'll help you escape!"
The young magician giggled. Atem put a finger on his lips.
"Shhhh! He'll hear you!"
Mana quieted down, crawling out of her hiding spot, brushing off her knees that had made contact with the rough stone floor. She quickly walked up behind Atem, still slightly amused that the mighty Pharaoh was helping her escape from a grumpy arithmetics teacher.
The Pharaoh opened the door slightly, peering out. The teacher wasn't there. Opening the door wider, he took a step out, looking down the hallway.
The man was near the end of the left hallway, tapping his foot. Atem ushered Mana towards the right hallway, while causally walking towards the teacher.
"Sorry. I had to deal with something for a second."
Huffing, the teacher shook his head. "And what pray, might that be?"
Atem shrugged.
Staring down his sharp eagle nose, the man squinted at Atem. Worried that the teacher might find Mana sneaking the other way, Atem grabbed the man's sleeve, pulling him along with him.
"Well, Let's get going..."
The teacher spluttered.
"H-Hey! Not so hard!"
The young Pharaoh turned his head, winking at Mana before walking off, tugging the grumpy old man behind behind him.
End Of Chapter Four Rewritten.
Note: On this site chapter four is actually chapter five. So this rewritten chapter is related to chapter five, even though it's chapter four rewritten. Does that make sense?
Author's Note: I don't have any ideas for what to write for the rewritten chapter for chapter five, (That's six on this site) As Aknadin's plan hasn't been revealed yet (In the rewritten chapters) ...he won't be in the next chapter much. I thought about writing Bakura's trek through the Desert but I can't just write the whole chapter like that can I? The rewritten chapter for chapter five will be dedicated to Bakura. Evil Bakura hasn't arisen yet. If you have any ideas please let me know. I'm willing to hear what ideas you have. They just have to be a subject on Bakura. That's all the rules. Looking fowards to any of your answers. See you then.