Here's the next chapter.
Enjoy!
Chapter 12- The Millennium Scales
The plane was flying through the air.
"So, where do we go to next?" Seto asked.
There was a sudden beeping sound.
"What is that?" Joey asked.
"I think that that would be the communications system." Seto answered.
Since Ryou was the closest to it, he answered the call, bringing up the image of the caller on the screen.
It was Aknankanon.
"Dad, is everything all right?" Atemu asked as everyone gathered around it except for Heba, who was flying the plane.
"For now, yes. I wanted to see how things were going with all of you." Aknankanon answered.
"They're fine so far. We've managed to find two of the items." Yami answered.
"That's good to know. I've been wondering how you have been coming along in this." Aknankanon said.
"There's been no trouble so far." Atemu said.
"How are things back home?" Bakura asked.
Aknankanon sighed. "They could be better. Emperor Yugi came to aid us in a battle. Lord Dartz, the Knights, and several other Millennial soldiers have remained in the kingdom to help if another attack comes any time soon." Aknankanon said.
"We'll try to find the other items as fast as we can." Atemu told him.
"I know you will. Just be careful." Aknankanon said.
"We will, Dad." Atemu assured him.
The connection was then cut.
"I think that we need to speed this mission up. We may not have a whole lot of time before these Zordanians make their next attack." Bakura said.
"We can only go fast, Bakura. You know that." Ryou said.
"Maybe, but it doesn't sound like home is doing so well at the moment." Bakura said.
"Could I make a suggestion?" Heba asked.
All eyes turned to where Heba was in the cockpit.
"If you really want to get this mission done as fast as possible, then we need to go ahead and figure out where the next time is located so that we can go there and retrieve it." Heba told them.
Joey grabbed the book. "I guess you're right, Yugi." Joey agreed.
"I just hope that this one will be as easy as the first one was." Seto muttered.
"Don't want to go through what we went through with the snake?" Marik asked.
"No." Seto answered.
"Why are you saying that? You didn't do anything in that. We were the ones that were putting our lives on the line to find that item." Joey said.
"And you did so well with that." Bakura said sarcastically.
"Watch it, Bakura! We might just leave this one to you and not lift a finger to help you at all." Malik snapped.
"We could probably do a better job than you guys have!" Bakura shot back.
"I highly doubt that!" Malik retorted as he crossed his arms.
"All right! Enough of this!" Atemu said loudly as he slammed his fist down onto the table.
Everyone jumped.
"This isn't the time for this. Forget who does what. We are a team, and we have to work together to do this." Atemu said.
"He's right. The Zordanians will win if we let ourselves fight against each other. We all may have differencing views, but that doesn't change the fact that we are fighting for a similar reason." Yami said.
"The same reason." Heba put in.
"So knock it off. We have to work together." Atemu said.
"Don't worry about anything that Malik and Bakura say to each other. Half the time, they just do this to aggravate each other." Ryou said.
"Guys." Earthstar said.
All eyes turned to the green tiger.
"Master has found the next one." Earthstar said.
"Well, what does the clue to this one say, Joey?" Heba asked.
Joey looked at the passage. "It says that the area that is made up of coral, reefs, and shoals house this item. One of the largest in the world. It is built into strange and beautiful formations. Between this place and the shore lies a shallow lagoon with hundreds of islands. Colored fish, shells, and giant clam surround this place. A water serpent guards the item." Joey said.
"Okay. What the hell does that mean?" Joey asked.
Yami tapped his chin thoughtfully. "It sounds like it's referring to some kind of coral reef." Yami said.
"That would make sense." Heba agreed.
"Okay. We know what we're looking for, but we need to narrow it down somehow." Bakura said.
"Yeah. There's a bunch of coral reeves in the world." Marik added.
"Well, I'm surprised that you two know that." Seto sand sarcastically.
Bakura glared at him. "We did pay attention from time to time." Bakura said.
Ryou shook his head. "Any idea what it's talking about?" Ryou asked.
"Well, I think that lagoon might be one of the key things in this." Bakura said.
Seto used his laptop and input the information into the same computer program that he had used before. "Well, it narrowed it down, but not enough." Seto said.
"Seto, try putting in everything that it says it is made up of." Heba said.
Seto did just that. "There are still several possibilities." Seto said.
"What's the largest coral reef then? It said that it was one of the largest in the world." Heba pointed out.
Seto added in that bit of information. "Hey! That did it! It's talking about the Great Barrier Reef!" Seto said.
"The Great Barrier Reef? Isn't that in Australia?" Heba asked.
"Yeah. We need to head to Queensland, Australia." Seto said.
"Why there?" Joey asked.
"The Great Barrier Reef is located off of the eastern coast of Queensland." Yami answered.
Heba input the coordinates for Queensland, and the plane started in that direction.
"I just wonder what it meant by the serpent guards the item." Joey said as he looked at the book again.
"Please. It's not like the Loch Ness Monster exists." Seto said.
"Loch Ness Monster?" Ryou asked.
"It's a mysterious, legendary beast that is said to live in Loch Ness, which is a lake in Scotland. There have been some sightings of it by people, but like with the Abominable Snowman, or Kayuk as we know him now, it's mostly believed to be a myth. The belief in it goes back to the Middle Ages." Atemu explained.
"After seeing Kayuk with your own eyes, you doubt the existence of this creature?" Heba asked.
"Sorry, but I'd rather have proof." Seto answered.
"Why did you have such an easy time with a bunch of talking tigers, then?" Lighteningstar asked.
"Because I have heard you talk with my own eyes." Seto answered.
Heba shook his head. "You know, one of these days, you are going to have to stop being so skeptical about everything that is believed to be myth, Seto." Heba said.
"I'll believe it exists when I see that serpent at the Great Barrier Reef." Seto said.
"Well, we've seen the Abominable Snowman-" Marik stopped at Malik's glare. "I mean, Kayuk." Marik said quickly, correcting himself. "We also ran into the anaconda that the book mentioned. "I'd say that the chances are good that we'll end up finding ourselves face-to-face with some kind of serpent." Marik said.
Seto snorted. "I'll believe it when I see it." Seto said.
Aknankanon was in his office with Aknaudin.
"So, they have found two of the items?" Aknaudin asked.
"That's what they told me, and they didn't have any reason to lie about that." Aknankanon answered.
"Did they say if they had any trouble retrieving the items from where they were hidden?" Aknaudin asked.
"They didn't mention anything, but I'm certain that they have had some trouble. I'm sure that they just didn't want me to worry." Aknankanon said.
"Do you think that they will succeed?" Aknaudin asked.
"Given that they have already managed to get two, I have no doubt that they will manage to get the others as well." Aknankanon said.
"Well, it would seem that this legend about these Millennium items is true if they have already found two of them." Aknaudin remarked as he leaned back in his chair.
"True, but the real thing is whether or not they can help us in our plight." Aknankanon said.
"I know what you mean. We are placing a lot of faith in these items." Aknaudin said.
"We have no other choice. We have no other alternative, but to trust that these items will be able to aid us in our battle against these Zordanians." Aknankanon said.
Aknaudin knew what his brother was talking about.
If the Millennium items were not able to help them in defeating their new enemy, then they were truly screwed.
Heba flew the plane over the Great Barrier Reef.
"Wow! Look at that!" Joey said as he looked down at the reef from the plane.
The reef was visible from the plane, and the group could see the reef down below them.
"It's a spectacular sight. Tourists from all over the world come here to see this." Atemu said.
"I've never seen anything like it. There must be all sorts of scientific study going on surrounding this." Ryou remarked.
"There is." Yami answered.
"Well, we have a bit of a problem." Heba said.
"What's that?" Bakura asked.
"There is no where to land that is close by the reef. The only way would be if I landed the plane on the water." Heba said.
"That's not going to work in this kind of a plane." Seto said.
"I know. We're going to have to rent a boat of some sort to get out to the reef." Heba said.
"Well, we'll just have to do that then." Yami said.
Heba then turned the plane and flew toward the shore. He then landed the plane in what appeared to be a rather smooth strip of land.
However, it proved to be a rocky strip of land as the plane bounced as it slowed down to a stop.
"Geez! A smoother landing would have been nice!" Bakura growled as he rubbed the top of his head.
Heba turned back and glared at him. "Sorry, Bakura, but there is no way for anypilot to land smoothly in a situation like this!" Heba said.
"Come on. We have work that we need to do." Atemu said.
Everyone got off of the plane and looked out at where the reef was.
"So, where do we go to get a boat?" Bakura asked.
"I'm not sure that we can." Seto said.
The group looked around and realized that they were the only ones around.
"I'm beginning to get the feeling that something is up." Marik remarked as they realized that they were alone.
"Over there." Atemu said.
Everyone looked to see that Atemu was pointing at a beach.
'We can use the beach access to get to the water and swim out to the reef." Heba said.
"What about us?" Waterstar asked.
Heba reached down and petted Waterstar's head. "Sorry, boy, but I think that you guys are going to have to sit this one out." Heba said.
Lighteningstar groaned. "That's not fun." Lighteningstar whined.
"Well, you're just going to have to deal with it then." Heba said.
The group started to walk forward.
The tigers, however, sensed something and ran out in front of them.
"What are you guys doing?" Marik asked.
"Heba told you that you can't come with us." Joey added in.
"Something is out there." Windstar said.
Seto rolled his eyes. "There are fish and other water life out there. That's probably what you sense." Seto said.
The tigers were tense as they started growling.
"Seto, they can tell the difference between normal water life and something that is dangerous. Whatever is out there is dangerous." Heba said as he reached for the hilt of his sword.
Suddenly, water was flown up into the air before it went down at them.
"AAAAHHHH!" everyone, human and tiger alike, shouted as the water crashed into them.
Despite being on a cliff, the group was thrown backwards and crashed into the ground, completely soaked.
"What the bloody hell was that about?!" Bakura shouted as he pushed his soaking wet hair out of his eyes.
Malik looked up and his eyes widened. "Uh, guys." Malik said.
Everyone looked at Malik.
Malik just pointed up.
Everyone looked and gasped.
Towering over them was a big sea creature. It was green and scaly. It had sharp teeth as it let out a growl. The creature had arms with sharp claws as it starred down at the group menacingly.
"Now do you believe in sea serpents, Seto?" Heba asked.
"No reason to doubt it now." Seto answered.
The sea serpent raised a hand and brought it down at them.
Everyone jumped out of the way at the same time.
However, the recoil from when the sea serpent's hand hit the ground threw everyone off of their feet.
"Okay. This is bad." Marik said.
Joey then jumped up at the sea serpent from behind, hoping to catch it off guard.
However, the tail of the sea serpent rose out of the water and went at Joey.
"Joey! Behind you!" Heba shouted.
Joey didn't have time to react as the sea serpent's tail hit Joey right in the back. Joey crashed into the ground on his chest before he flipped over to his back. He groaned in pain.
"Be careful of its tail!" Atemu warned.
All four tigers jumped up at the sea serpent.
The sea serpent caught Windstar and Earthstar in its hands while it slung its tail and hit Waterstar before the tail went back again and hit Lighteningstar.
The blue and yellow tigers crashed into the ground, hard.
Then, the sea serpent slammed Windstar and Earthstar down into the ground as well.
The green and white tigers also groaned in pain.
"Waterstar!"
"Earthstar!"
"Lighteningstar!"
"Windstar!"All four of the Millennials went at the sea serpent.
Malik brought his sword at the serpent, but the serpent blocked the sword with hid tail and forced Malik backwards.
Joey came at the serpent from the front while Heba went at him from behind, thinking that at least one of them would be able to hit the serpent.
However, the serpent ducked, and the two crashed into each other before the two fell back to the ground.
Ryou went at the serpent, but the serpent hissed as it brought a hand down at Ryou and nearly struck him, but Ryou managed to get out of the way of the strike.
"Next idea?" Marik asked the group as everyone got together, looking at the serpent.
"There has to be something that we can do." Atemu said.
"if only there was a way to blind that serpent, we might stand a chance at stopping this thing." Yami stated, having noticed that the serpent seemed to follow every movement with his eyes.
Everyone scattered once again as the serpent brought its tail down at them.
"This is ridiculous! Something has to be done to stop this thing!" Bakura growled.
The Millennium Ring started to glow and a blast of gold magic shot out from it.
The force of the release of magic knocked Bakura off of his feet and shocked him as well.
The magic attack hit the serpent right in the chest and sent the serpent crashing backwards into the water.
The water then splashed onto the ground.
"Enough with getting wet!" Malik exclaimed.
Seeing a chance, Ryou then threw his sword at the serpent, hitting the serpent between the eyes.
The serpent then fell forward, crashing onto the area in front of them.
Everyone looked.
"Think its dead?" Seto asked.
Suddenly, white light surrounded the serpent and it vanished.
"What happened?" Marik asked.
"The serpent. It must have been magical. The only way to get to the Millennium item was to manage to defeat the serpent." Heba said.
"Well, that makes a load of sense." Bakura said.
"My question is where the item is." Yami said.
Heba then looked out across the water. "I think I know the answer to that." Heba said.
"Oh no! There is no way that I am going to get in the water!" Bakura said.
"You have t do your part and help get that item!" Malik shot back.
"Not a chance! Besides, I did my part since I defeated that thing!" Bakura said.
"You didn't defeat it! Ryou did!" Malik retorted.
"He couldn't have done it without my help!" Bakura growled.
Heba rolled his eyes. 'I'm getting tired of their arguing.' Heba thought. He put his sword back in the sheath before he unhooked the belt that the sword was on. He then took off his cloak and jacket. "Atemu" Heba said
"What?" Atemu asked turning to his husband only to have to catch the three things that Heba had take off.
"Hold these." Heba said. He then walked to the edge and jumped over the edge, flipping so that he dove headfirst into the water.
"Well, at least one person isn't scared." Yami said.
Heba swam under the water as he searched for the item. He noticed the fish that were swimming around.
'It is beautiful down here. I wish that could study them more.' Heba thought.
Heba shook his head. 'I have to stay focused. I have to find that item.' Heba thought.
Heba swam a little deeper underwater. 'Where is it?' Heba asked himself.
A sparkle of gold caught his eye.
Heba swam down and found a gold box in a crevice in the reef. He smiled. 'Found it.' Heba thought as he reached into the crevice for the box.
Atemu was pacing worriedly, concerned about his husband being under the water alone.
"Calm down, Atemu. He's fine." Bakura said.
"I can't help it! I don't like the idea of him being under there alone." Atemu said.
A few moments later, Heba jumped up out of the water and flipped so that he landed on his feet in front of them.
"Hey! You did it!" Marik said when he saw the gold box.
"Yes, I did it." Heba answered.
"You okay?" Atemu asked.
"I'm fine. Just wet." Heba sawed.
"Well, we can go now." Bakura said.
"Can't you show at least a little concern?" Malik asked.
"Malik, that doesn't bother me. Come on. Let's get back on the plane." Heba said.
The group then headed for the plane.
There was a knock on Yugi's door.
"Come in!" Yugi called.
The door opened, and Solomon walked in. "Yugi, I thought that you would like to know that I just received word from the Pharaoh." Solomon said.
"Is everything all right?" Yugi asked, worried that there might have been an attack.
Solomon waved him off. "Nothing to be concerned about. He was letting us know that he has spoken to Heba and the others. They are fine, and they had two of the items." Solomon said.
"That's good. They are going to need those items." Yugi said.
"I just hope that they work." Solomon said.
"They will." Yugi said confidently.
"How do you know that?" Solomon asked, surprised at his grandson's confidence in his words.
"Because I have to believe that. The alternative is too gruesome to think about." Yugi said.
"I understand." Solomon said.
"But also because for some reason, I know in my heart that they will work." Yugi said.
Solomon smiled. "Well, your instincts have never been wrong before, so there is no reason for me to doubt them now." Solomon said.
Yugi smiled at him. "Thanks, Grandpa." Yugi said.
Solomon nodded. "I'll leave you alone now." Solomon said before he left.
Yugi leaned back in his chair and sighed.
Firestar watched his master worriedly. "Are you all right?" Firestar asked.
"I'm fine." Yugi said.
Firestar saw the sadness, though. "You miss him." It was a statement, not a question.
"Miss who?" Yugi asked although he knew good and well who Firestar was talking about.
"Prince Yami. You miss Prince Yami." Firestar said.
Yugi sighed. "Yes, Firestar. I miss him. I love Yami with all my heart, and not being with him is killing me. I'm also worried about him given the possible danger that he could be in." Yugi said.
"You do know that you two could be together." Firestar said.
"No, we can't." Yugi replied.
"Master, Yami isn't the Crown Prince. He may have some duty to Egypt, but he could leave." Firestar said.
"Firestar, Yami has a duty to Egypt as I have a duty to the Millennial Kingdom. I know this, and there is nothing that I can do about it." Yugi said.
Firestar sighed, knowing that there was no way to change his master's mind. 'I may need some help to get these two together.' Firestar thought.
Once back on the plane, Heba had gone to the small bathroom in the back of the plane to dry off and change into some dry clothes.
"So, which one do you think this is?" Marik asked as he looked at the closed box.
"Open it, and find out." Heba said.
All eyes turned to Heba, who had gotten out of the bathroom.
"The easier way to satisfy your curiosity." Heba explained.
Malik went forward and undid the lock before he opened the box to reveal the Millennium Scales lying in the box.
"What's this one?" Marik asked.
"It looks like a set of scales." Seto remarked.
"Good guess. They're called the Millennium Scales." Heba said as he looked at the book.
"What do they do exactly?" Yami asked.
"It says here that the Millennium Scales can weigh the good and evil in a person's heart to determine if they are good or evil." Heba said.
"Sounds like it could be used to judge if someone was innocent or guilty of a crime." Atemu said.
"Probably could be used to do that." Heba admitted.
"Who does it belong to?" Marik asked.
Everyone picked it up, but it didn't react to anyone.
"Another one we have to wait and see about." Atemu remarked.
"Okay. We got this one. Can we go now?" Bakura asked.
"You don't believe in rest, do you?" Malik asked.
"I don't want to be flying around the world looking for these things for forever and a day!" Bakura retorted sharply.
"All right. We can go." Heba said.
Everyone sat down, and Heba started the plane.
"So, have you changed your minds about sea serpents existing, Seto?" Joey asked.
"Not in the least." Seto answered.
"Why not? We saw one back there." Atemu said as they lifted off.
"It wasn't a real one. It was made of magic. Therefore, I don't think that it was an actual sea serpent." Seto said.
"You do know that it could have been a real one." Heba said.
"Until I see one with my own eyes, there is no way that I will ever believe that. As far as I'm concerned, it's nothing but a fairytale." Seto said.
Heba shook his head. "When this entire ordeal is over, I am going to make sure that you start believing in some of these mythical things that you seem to be so skeptical of, Seto." Heba said.
"You can try all that you want, but there is no way that you are going to succeed." Seto said as he crossed his arms defiantly.
"Seto, I think that you have just made a big mistake." Ryou said while Malik started laughing.
"Why's that?" Atemu asked.
'Because Heba's stubborn, and he won't give up on changing Seto's mind about all this until the day that he dies or Seto's does, whichever comes first unless Seto happens to change his mind." Joey answered.
"Well, he's going to have a long wait then." Seto said.
"We'll see." Heba answered.
The challenge between Heba and Seto had been heard by them all, and they were interested to see which one would win this little game.
But first, they had to find the remaining five Millennium items and stop the Zordanians.
Hope you liked. All the information on the Great Barrier Reef came from the Grolier encyclopedias that I have.
Next: The Millennium Rod.
R&R.