Age of Majesty

Chapter 10

Adjo was not happy about being trapped home for a whole week. It was the first time Adjo raised any objections to Bakura's orders. Bakura had to admit, were he in Seto's position, he would have felt the same way. But such precautions were necessary. Bakura was more aware than ever, the tenuous hold he actually had over this precious being, and would do everything in his power to hold on to him. Just because he gave up stealing does not mean he would give up his possessions.

Grumpy, Adjo wrote the letter, complying because he had absolute faith in Bakura. Bakura thanked him with many kisses on the forehead and cheeks, so much so that Adjo, already irritated, got even more annoyed. Still, there was no expressing just how much Bakura loved him. As Adjo went to their bed to mope, Bakura headed out to deliver the letter. Without waiting for the lord's reply, Bakura raced home to spend more time with his companion.

Back at home, Adjo did not spend all his time sitting on the bed sulking. He paced the rooms, feeling wretched, having half the mind to demand explanations from Wati again. The only answers he received from Wati earlier consisted mainly of " Just trust me" and " It's complicated". Incredibly unhappy about this development, and having received no satisfactory answer, Adjo was almost willing to rebel against Wati's orders.

Still, his trust in the older man kept him within the perimeters of the house. He got as far as the open window, breathing in the fresh night air. The idea still bemused him. What exactly happened, before he lost all his memories? Why was he traveling while sick? Wati did not seem to be the type of person to do that.

He turned around, letting the wind blow at his back. When Wati returns, he decided, he would give him a piece of his mind. He should be able to do that, after all he already agreed to Wati's wishes. I have the right to know why. Adjo thought unhappily. Did I do something wrong?

There was a knock on the door. Startled, Adjo glanced at it. Nervous, he peered outside the window to look. There was a man there. Not Bakura. He was looking Adjo's way, his eyes holding an almost feral glint. Terror struck Adjo's chest and he backed away. There was something horrifyingly familiar about this man. He could not remember ever seeing this man before, but some basic instinct warned him to flee.

There was nowhere to go. The home had only one door. Adjo raced to the back as a sickening darkness suddenly pooled on the floor and the man rose from it, inside the room. He flattened his back against the wall in fright.

" Well well," The man grinned at him maliciously, like a predator finding his prey had walked right to him, " So this is where you've been hiding, little priest."

Still for some reason sickened by the black pool of shadow, Adjo could not ask the man what he meant. Nor did he have time—the man lunged at him. Adjo ducked, trying to run around the man for the door, but the man grabbed him by his tunic and pulled him back. He was cackling.

" Never thought, of all places!" The man exclaimed, delighted as he smothered Adjo's cries for help with one hand and captured Adjo's wrists with the other. " The new color suits you, my dear Priest. I wonder if your skin is as tanned underneath!"

But Adjo was stronger than Seto. He crashed back, slamming the man into the wall. The shock loosened the man's hold on him and Adjo broke free, his lithe body crashing painfully onto the table, knocking everything off it as it tilted. Winded by the blow, Adjo was too slow in getting up again, and the man was upon him. Dark shadows circled them, yanking them into a world of black, and Adjo nearly fainted. Whatever the black tendrils were, they were like poison, toxin, draining away his strength and making him feel ill. He let out a whimper of distress.

The man tore at his clothes. Adjo tried to stop him, but something held his wrists down. He did not have a chance to look before an invasive mouth crushed onto his. He bit down, but a cruel hand yanked at his jaw, nearly dislocating it. Adjo gagged.

The man suddenly sat up, cackling. " Oh how I've waited for this day!" He declared. " I like you this way, all powerless. The new outfit suits you as well, but then, everything suits you, doesn't it?"

" Wati!" Adjo screamed, panicking in the darkness. He could not even see the man anymore, and was not certain if it was him going blind or if it was just that dark. " Wati, help me!"

" No one's here to help you now," The man cackled, " You're dead, remember? No one is here to help. You're all mine!"

oO

Egypt, the land blessed by the Gods, fed from the riches of the floods of the Nile. While the waters served them well each year, Seto alone recognized its dangers.

" The Nile grew far past the borders." He told Atemu, " It starts far away, past the regions of Egypt. It extends into the territory of other Kingdoms and serves them as well. Control the Nile, and you control the world. The Nile begins east of the rising sun."

It was a race against time. They had to travel against the flow of the Nile, but going by foot would be much more conspicuous. Atemu can use the power blessed by the Gods to speed them on their journey, but the Nile was the ultimate weapon.

Control the Nile, and you control the world. Once Seto had actually tried to persuade Atemu to attack the farther regions. In the interest of diplomacy, Atemu did not take his advice. He regretted it somewhat now. Had he controlled the origins of the Nile, he would have less to fear from enemies of Egypt.

Control the Nile, and you control the world. Seto's great vision for his cousin. That Atemu unite all the lands under one rule and bring peace throughout. It all starts with the Nile.

And defense depends on the Nile. Atemu thought. You showed great foresight, cousin.

Control the Nile…

They depart tomorrow. Atemu will not go with them. They will find the origins of the Nile, or at least as close to it as they can get. They were to construct a military base there, and defeat any opposition. Whoever controls the Nile wins. It may be a long journey, but a necessary one.

Use the Nile.

oO

" We were fortunate." Isis said unhappily. " That was too close."

" Come." Shada told her. " Kalim can wait. We must hurry before the Pharaoh realizes what we are doing."

" He is too distracted with his crazy endeavor with the Nile." Isis replied. " We should have time."

Pulling the reins, the two high priests kicked at the flanks of the horses and galloped through the gate. A line of soldiers followed them. They were the guards that normally guard the priests' temples and homes, so it was no loss to the military.

They galloped a good distance away from the palace before pulling the horses to a halt. Isis lifted Mahaado's Millennium Ring, summoning its power. The dangling gold lifted with magic, but Isis sighed.

" It is pointing at the other Millennium Items." She said. " I doubt distance is the issue."

" Perhaps we can sense him through the Shadow Realm." Shada suggested. " If, for some reason, he is hiding there."

Isis glanced at Shada. " Alright. Will you come with me?"

Shada glanced behind him at the guards. " If he is in danger at all, you may need my help."

" Let us go then." Isis dismounted. Shada dismounted with her. They walked ahead from the soldiers before Isis summoned the gateway to the Shadow Realm.

To their surprise, the Shadow Realm was in disquiet. Before either could react, a huge glowing figure swept over them. Looking after it, they saw it was the Blue Eyes White Dragon. It was roaring angrily and flying as fast as lightning.

" Seto!" Isis cried. " He must be in trouble!"

Adjo was fighting as hard as his failing strength would allow. Panic kept him going, but the very air felt nauseous. He felt like he was suffocating. There was roaring in his ears, and his head felt dizzy and heavy. In the back of his mind something woke, the memory of a woman looking sadly upon him, sunlight that grew until it scorched, until the faintest breeze brought relief to his distressed mind. Gold, and power more sickening than this, but praises and motherly kisses, satin and blankets and cool water. It made no sense to him, and he moaned in discomfort. His attacker laughed. Sudden pain bloomed at his groin and he screamed, but someone else was screaming as well. Something.

Gahiji looked up to stare right at a furious Blue Eyes White Dragon. He pulled back, surprised that the monster would come to the priest without it actually being summoned. Either the priest was more powerful than he thought, or he had merely chosen a lousy place. But a quick glance down as he backed away showed the priest was in no shape to guide his dragon.

High Priest Seto was well-known for his magical abilities, which were second only to his intelligence. He never won a game to Atemu though there were enough close matches. Though it was improper for a king to lose to his inferior, Seto did not lose for lack of trying. His endurance was simply not enough to sustain him through battle. To Atemu, he often had to forfeit. Usually, Seto's general strategy was to demolish his opponent as quickly as possible, before his strength gives out. It was not always a good limitation, but it was one Seto had to live with. Therefore, he developed a lot of very skillful ways to take his opponent by surprise, and take over the direction of the battle. It was said that though his monsters were powerful,
without Seto's strategy they would not nearly be as unstoppable as they seemed.

Taking this into consideration, since he really had no choice, Gahiji called forth the Red Eyes Black Dragon. " Guard us from that Blue Eyes!" He commanded.

The Red Eyes responded by attacking the Blue Eyes while still in the air. The dragon dodged, spinning gracefully in the air, but did not attack back. The little priest took care of his dragons well, Gahiji mused, surprised at how faithful the dragon was. It probably sensed he was in danger in the first place.

Unable to attack for fear of harming its master, the Blue Eyes White Dragon settled for jaws and claws instead. It did not give the Red Eyes time to prepare another attack. Snapping its teeth, it forced the Red Eyes to oblige as well. The two dragons circled each other, snapping, biting, clawing, shrieking and growling, one obeying a master, the other fearing for one.

Adjo's eyes felt heavy. Something was pouring out of his nose. He felt like his brain had imploded.

The Blue Eyes had managed to trick the Red Eyes into standing in the other direction with respect to it, and unleashed its powerful attack. Fueled by anger and desperation, its attack instantly killed the black dragon. Gahiji backed away as it turned swiftly around, gave it a hideous glare, and began to unleash another attack. This one was small, aiming to kill just him. He turned and fled, scrambling to his feet and running as fast as he could. A white light missed him.

The Blue Eyes leaned its head down and nudged Seto's still figure. It purred, trying to encourage its master to move. It sniffed at the blood pouring out of his nose, then nudged him again. Adjo was so out of it by this point that he did not even feel the Blue Eyes nose him. The creature looked up, releasing a loud cry, then nudged him again. It raised its head again and looked around, unsure what to do.

Shada and Isis caught up to the Blue Eyes White Dragon easily once it stopped moving. Sure enough, it was standing next to a body.

" It's Seto." Isis rushed forward. Shada followed close behind.

" Someone was hurting him. The dragon drove it off."

" Look, he's bleeding." Isis reached down to take Seto's upper body onto her lap. " We have to get him out of here."

The dragon, recognizing the two priests, did not do anything except move back a little to give them room. Isis looked up at the dragon for a moment.

" Come on, let's get him out of the Shadow Realm." Shada looked around.

The blackness fell away from them. Seto shuddered and gasped as they reemerged in a room.

" Where are we?" Isis looked around, taking in the overturned table. " Is this where Seto was living?"

oO

Bakura dodged to the side as Gahiji raced past him. For a moment the ex-Tomb Robber stared after him, not sure what he just saw. Then, when he realized where Gahiji was coming from, the significance dawned on him.

Fear taking hold of him, he raced back to their home through the narrow alleys. Traces of shadow magic lingered in the air. He opened the door with shaking hands, but as he did a candle flared to life. Bakura froze.

It was the High Priest Shada and High Priestess Isis. On the priestess's lap Seto was cradled. He was unconscious. The two clerics looked up at him. Shada was standing, holding a candle.

For a long moment both sides were silent.

" Bakura." Isis acknowledged, taking in his white hair and red eyes.

Bakura was speechless with dread. For a long moment it seemed the priests would attack him, but Seto suddenly woke. Groaning, Adjo turned his head, his eyes foggy and glazed.

" Wati," He choked, trying to blink his vision to focus, " Wati,"

Bakura did not answer him. His attention was taken by the two priests.

" Wati," Seto sobbed in discomfort.

Hearing his distress at last, Bakura answered quietly, without moving, " Adjo, it's okay."

Frightened, Seto tried to move away from Isis. " Wati?" He called out again, pitifully. " Wati, where?"

" I'm here." Bakura assured quietly. " You're alright."

" No," Seto writhed, " Wati,"

Bakura reached out for a moment. When the priests did not move, he took a step toward Seto.

Shada jerked a little, but did nothing else. Bakura crouched down beside Seto, who reached out to the ex-robber and clutched at his tunic. Bakura noted the blood trickling out of his nose.

" What happened?" Bakura asked.

" He," Seto began trembling. " He was outside. I didn't open the door—he came from this black puddle," His breath hitched, " I tried to run…"

" Hush." Bakura stroked his hair. Why is Adjo so frail and sickly all of the sudden? The boy clutched at the ex-thief's tunic, but passed out instantly. Blood continued to trickle out of his nose. Hands limp, they fell awkwardly to his side.

Bakura leaned back, taking Seto's hands in his, now all alone with those who may curse him for eternity.