Chapter 29- The Plan
Aknankanon, Amara, Atemu, Heba, Yami, Yugi, Marik, Bakura, Seth, the others priests, and the council sat in the meeting room.
"Pharaoh, what are we going to do?" Karim asked.
"I honestly don't know, Karim. I cannot just ignore this, but at the same time, I can't risk Yugi's life." Aknankanon said.
"We cannot forget the fact that an innocent child is at risk here. This woman would destroy a child life for her own selfish reasons." Isis said.
"Yugi. Heba. Do either of you know this woman?" Amara asked.
"The name doesn't sound familiar. I mean, it is possible that she may have been someone passing through the village before, but the name doesn't stand out to me." Yugi said.
"Me, either. I don't know a woman by that name, and I have no idea why she would want to kill Yugi." Heba said.
"What about the members of the village? Why would they agree to help this woman?" Mahado asked.
"They hate us both with a passion, so if they learned this Lydia woman wanted to kill one of us, they would jump at the chance." Yugi said.
"I do not understand why they hate you two. What did you do to make them hate you so much?" Sereth asked.
"Well, as far as we know, we didn't do anything. You see, part of the reason no one likes us is because we were not born into the village as everyone else was, so they considered themselves better than us. And that was one of the reasons that they mistreated is so and treated us with such ridicule." Heba said.
"Then everyone there hated us for another reasons, the main reason." Yugi said.
"What was that?" Atemu asked.
Heba and Yugi looked at each other uneasily, knowing that their husbands would not like the answer.
"What is the reason?" Aknankanon asked.
"Well, you know that Yugi and I have no confidence in our looks, but other people consider us beautiful." Heba said.
"Well, you are." Yami said.
"Well, that was our downfall." Yugi said.
"Could you elaborate?" Bakura asked.
"Well, men and women alike in the village lusted after us, and we knew that. All any of them wanted was the chance to bed us and then leave us to hang out to dry. We were constantly fighting off advances. And I'm afraid that there were several attempts to rape us." Heba said.
"What?!" Atemu shouted.
Everyone jumped.
"Calm down. You know how good at fighting we are, and we easily could fight off those weaklings. Not one of those men lasted ten seconds. They wouldn't last in a fight against a single guard in this palace." Yugi said.
"That caused them to hate us even more. The fact that we could beat them like that caused us more problems. Eventually, the only reason they didn't run us out of the village was because there was no healer there, and I had some knowledge of healing." Yugi said.
"That didn't do much. They would come and demand he come and help like he had an obligation to do it. Not to mention the fact that they were also saying degrading things to him when they would come to get him to help someone. The adults even taught the children from a young age to hate us." Heba said.
"Why did you stay?" Shada asked.
"You know, now, I honestly don't know why I put up with it. Those people deserve whatever is coming to them." Yugi said.
"We still have the problem of what to do about this situation." Sereth said.
"What do we do?" Isis asked.
"I don't know. This is a tough situation." Aknankanon said.
"We know that Yugi can't go." Yami said.
"And what about that woman and her daughter? Is it right to condemn them to be raped by who knows how many men and then be murdered?" Yugi asked.
"He makes a good point." Amara said.
"Yugi, with you pregnant, going is a bad idea." Karim said.
"I know, but we have to do something to help the woman and her child." Yugi said.
"Yugi is right. I can't let that happen to them." Aknankanon said.
"What will we do then?" Marik asked.
"That I haven't figured out." Aknankanon said.
"Pharaoh, let Heba and myself talk to our father. He might be able to offer us some suggestions on what to do about this." Yugi said.
"I agree. We will meet when Ra rises tomorrow morning." Aknankanon said.
With that, the meeting ended.
Yami, Atemu, Marik, Bakura, and Seth met in the lounge alone.
"I don't like this. I don't want Yugi leaving the safety of the palace. There's too much of a chance that something could happen to him or the baby." Yami said.
"We know, Yami. There isn't a chance that Father is going to let Yugi leave this palace. Unfortunately, I don't know that Yugi can live with the guilt of knowing it was because he didn't go that that woman and her daughter were raped and murdered." Atemu said.
"He can't go, though. It's too risky. If he wasn't pregnant, I would say let him go. He would be more than powerful enough to kill the bastards who did this, but he's pregnant, so it's too risky." Bakura said.
"Not to mention the fact that Yugi and Heba told us when Heba was kidnapped when he had Hasan that their magic is weaker when they are pregnant. Yugi probably wouldn't be able to defend himself very well." Seth added in.
"We are really in a bind." Marik stated.
"Yeah. Let's just hope that Ra can give Yugi and Heba some sound advice." Atemu said.
"Right now, we're relying on them because the other alternatives are not very appealing." Seth said.
"I just wish I knew why this woman wants Yugi dead. Yugi has said that he doesn't know her, and we all know that Yugi would have told us if he did know who she was." Yami said.
"There's no telling. It possible that she could be just another jealous woman who is angry about the fact that Yugi is married to one of the Princes of Egypt and decided to kill him." Marik said.
"And if she is, she'll find out what happens when you mess with my family." Yami said angrily.
"Well, I think Father will see to that. He was pretty angry." Atemu said.
"I just hope that this ends soon." Seth said.
"Yeah. It's not good that someone can get into the palace so easily." Bakura said.
Yugi and Heba had returned to the realm of the gods.
"Where do you think Father is?" Heba asked.
"I don't know. There is no way to know where he is." Yugi replied.
"Yugi! Heba! What are you doing here?!"
Yugi and Heba turned to face Hathor.
"It's good to see you, too, Hathor." Yugi said.
"What are you doing here? Are you not supposed to be living in the mortal world?" Hathor asked.
"Yes, but we have some big problems that we need to talk to Father about." Heba said.
"Are they that important?" Hathor asked.
"Hathor, someone wants Yugi dead, and they have made two attempts, and a third could happen. Trust me. It is important." Heba said.
"I see. I do not know where he is, to be honest. I believe I saw him talking to Osiris not long ago." Hathor said.
"Thanks. We'll keep looking." Yugi said.
Yugi and Heba went off to find Ra.
"What are you doing here?" a gruff voice asked.
The two turned to face Seth.
"Seth, do you know where Father is?" Yugi asked.
"He's in the throne room with Osiris and Horus." Seth replied.
"Thanks." Heba said before the two headed that way.
Once at the throne room doors, Yugi and Heba entered the room.
Ra looked up, about to yell at being disturbed when he saw who it was. "Yugi. Heba. What are you two doing in the realm of the gods?" Ra asked.
"Father, something has happened in Egypt, and we need some advice on a situation where it seems that our hands are tied." Heba said.
"Has someone else made an attempt on your life, Yugi?" Ra demanded, his anger growing.
"No, Father. Not yet, but we know of one coming. We really need your advice because it is a tough situation." Yugi said.
"All right." Ra agreed, knowing that they wouldn't have come without good reason.
"We will leave and return later." Horus said.
Osiris and Horus started to get up.
"Wait. You might be able to advise us, too." Yugi said.
Osiris and Horus looked at Ra, who nodded.
Yugi and Heba sat in the chairs that appeared.
"Now, explain this situation to us." Ra said.
"Well, you know about the last attempt on Yugi's life." Heba said.
"Yes." Ra growled.
"Well, we found out some things about the assassin. He was forced into it." Heba said.
"How could he have been forced into killing him?!" Osiris demanded.
"Please. Let us explain." Yugi said.
"Go on." Ra said.
"Well, we found out the assassin was a nobleman named Marx. His wife and daughter were kidnapped by a woman named Lydia. This woman told Marx that he was to go to the palace and kill Yugi, and if he didn't or if he said a word about what she had said, she would have his wife and daughter raped and murdered." Yugi explained.
Ra's eyes narrowed. "How old was the child?" Ra asked.
"Four." Heba answered.
"WHAT?! THIS WOMAN WOULD HAVE AN INNOCENT CHILD RAPED! WHAT KIND OF WOMAN IS THIS?! HAS SHE NO MORALS?!" Ra roared.
Yugi, Heba, Horus, and Osiris all jumped, scared by the volume with which Ra's voice had taken. They had no doubt that every god and goddess had heard Ra's shout and were wondering why he was so angry.
"We don't know this woman, Father, but there's more." Heba said.
Ra's eyes narrowed, and he started to glow gold, showing he was enraged.
Horus and Osiris knew that this wasn't good.
"Well, there was a letter sent to the palace. It's from the village that is headed by Akerian." Heba said.
"The village you two live in?' Osiris asked.
The two nodded.
"Well, basically, this woman has said that Yugi can either go to that village by the end of the next fortnight, or she will have Marx's wife and daughter raped and murdered, and he can't have Royal guard with him, only commoners." Heba said.
"THAT NOT GOOD BITCH! HOW DARE SHE MAKE SUCH DEMANDS! WHEN SHE ARRIVED IN THE AFTERLIFE, SHE WILL RECEIVE NO MERCY! THIS WOMAN DOES NOT DESERVE THE RIGHT TO LIVE FOR WHAT SHE IS DOING!" Ra roared.
"Well, the Pharaoh doesn't know what to do. He doesn't want to condemn Marx's wife and daughter to being raped and murdered, but at the same time, he can't risk me going and getting hurt and killed, which would also endanger the baby." Yugi said.
"That woman has some nerve! I can't believe that she is doing this!" Osiris growled.
Ra sighed. "This is a tough situation, and I don't know what to tell you." Ra said.
"Neither option leaves anything to be desired. I'm afraid that there is very little we can tell you to do. We cannot directly stop this woman." Horus said.
"If only there was a way for Yugi not to go. If only we could send in a duplicate or something." Osiris said.
Then it hit Yugi.
"Osiris! You're a genius!" Yugi suddenly exclaimed.
Osiris blinked. "I am?" Osiris asked.
"Yes. I think I have an idea that just might work, but we need your permission to use our magic at a higher level." Yugi said.
"Tell me your plan first." Ra said.
Yugi outlaid his idea for them.
"Hmm. That could work, but I have one stipulation." Ra said.
"What is that?" Heba asked.
The meeting was being held in the meeting room again.
"Well, what did your father say?" Aknankanon asked.
"Well, in short, I'm going." Yugi said.
"What?!" everyone in the room shouted.
"Yugi, you can't go!" Yami growled.
"I don't have a choice. I cannot allow that woman and her child to die." Yugi said.
"Yugi, there are too many risks involved. I cannot allow this." Aknankanon said.
"Pharaoh, there is no choice. I have to go." Yugi said.
Yami getting irritated with way Yugi was acting. He stood up and grabbed Yugi by the shoulders. "Yugi, you are not going!" Yami growled.
"I cannot live with knowing it was because of me that that woman was raped and murdered." Yugi said.
"Yugi, there is no way in hell that you are going." Yami growled.
"Calm down, Yami. He's going." a voice from the doorway said.
All eyes turned to see Yugi in the doorway.
Everyone looked back and forth between the Yugi beside Yami and the Yugi at the doorway.
"What kind of trick is this?!" Aknankanon demanded.
The Yugi by Yami pushed him away. "It's simple." Yugi said. He snapped his fingers and he was surrounded by a glow and then Heba stood there. "Simple with some magic, that is." Heba finished.
"What the hell is going on?!" Atemu demanded.
"Calm down, Atemu. This is how we are going to pull this off." Yugi said, walking over.
"Explain this one." Aknankanon said.
"When we were telling Father about this, Horus and Osiris were there. Osiris mentioned that if we could send in a double of me, we could possible save Marx's wife and daughter." Heba said.
"That made me realize that we could magically disguise Heba to look like me. I mean, if our own husbands couldn't tell the difference between us, what are the chances that a woman who probably hasn't really seen us up close or at least not that often tell the difference?" Yugi asked.
"You know, that might actually work." Karim said.
"Not to mention the fact that since Heba is not pregnant, his magic won't be weakened. He'll be going in full force." Yugi said.
"I don't like the idea of him going without trained soldiers, though." Atemu said.
Yugi smiled. "Could you three come in." Yugi called.
Three commoners walked in.
"Who are they, and what are they doing here?" Amara asked.
"We're just proving a point." Yugi said.
Heba snapped his fingers, and the three commoners were surrounded by light before Ryou, Malik, and Jou were standing there.
"What are you three doing?" Seth asked.
"Yugi and Heba asked us to help them, so we did." Jou explained.
"I get it. You can use your magic to disguise palace soldiers as commoners, so you would have followed the terms of the letter." Atemu said.
"Exactly. We can do this." Heba said.
"Would Yugi remain here disguised as Heba?" Bakura asked.
"No. The magic can make Heba look pregnant, but it can't make me look not pregnant. There are limits to even magic of the gods. I'll remain here under guard until you return. And no one will know that I am still here." Yugi said.
"I get it. You know, this may actually work." Yami said.
"Well, I doubt that any of them will see that it's me instead of Yugi." Heba said.
"And they won't know that its palace guards instead of commoners." Aknankanon added.
"Well, Father did make one stipulation on this." Heba said.
"What's that?" Sereth asked.
"Well, he's said that Osiris, Anubis, and Seth will be coming with us disguised as commoners to ensure everyone's safety. While you're gone, Horus will be guarding me." Yugi said.
"Making sure nothing goes wrong?" Atemu asked.
"Yes. Do you agree with this plan, Pharaoh?" Heba asked.
"With three gods going, I don't have anything to worry about." Aknankanon said.
"Then I think that we not only have a plan, but a way to win as well." Atemu said.
The plan was laid out. All that was left was to put it into action.
Hope that you liked it.
Next:The plan is put into action.
R&R.