Author's Notes: WOW! I finally did it guys. Its all over. Be kind when you read this, I have such horrible anxiety that I just needed to post this without trying to edit or add anything one more time. I just kinda want it to done with, for my own sanity, but also for yours. Its been fun, I sincerely hope you have all enjoyed reading this and who knows what the end will bring...
*Keep in mind that with the transitions it might feel a little rushed, but I needed to jam everything into this finale...so any questions that you might have will have to wait until you get to the very end.*
Thank you for your support!
Disclaimer: I still do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!
Amunet died in Akefia's arms just as the sun began to peek through the barred windows of the cell they shared. Her body grew stiff and colder, but still he held onto her, unable to face the moment that the guards would tear them apart. He remembered all that she had said, although he recalled it with some puzzlement as he struggled to understand how she could have known everything that she had related to him. He looked down at her face, tearstained, bruised, and bloodied, but angelic in nature. Akefia felt himself coming apart again, his anger coming undone the more he stared down at her.
At least she's not in pain anymore…
"SHUT UP!" he screamed to the voice, shocking himself at the noise and immediately regretting opening his mouth. Hopefully the guards were unable to hear him and they would leave him alone a while longer, he thought to himself.
"Please.." he whispered softly, holding Amunet a little tighter to his body.
The voice remained silent as Akefia cradled her, attempting to calm himself in preparation for their inevitable separation.
Marik held his side, the wound seeping with blood the more he rode on.
"Damn it!" he yelled to no one. His vision was blurred and the heat of the sun was beating him down. The horse had kept its pace but Marik was unable to do much of anything after losing so much blood. The camp had been raided, not by another group of thieves, but by none other than the King's Royal Guard. The only thing he could remember of the past few moments was the screaming of almost every guard,
"Where are the gold pieces?!"
Marik knew that they must have been searching for the pieces that Amunet was in possession of for some time. The same pieces that had first caused her to fall into the hands of the Pharaoh, since she would not have been so incapable otherwise. Ever since that incident, Marik never saw her don them again. The lashes she received were a brutal reminder of what had happened as a result of obsessing herself over having them in the first place. The scars that none of her clothing seemed to completely cover, would peek over her shoulder, her arm, and most blatantly, her lower back. Akefia had been uncharacteristically gone for the past several days, and Marik knew that something must have happened to Amunet for him not to have returned. The Pharaoh must have found them, Marik thought painfully to himself.
"How the hell did they find us?" he smiled just as his eyes shut for the last time.
Dragging him away from the cell, Akefia's will to live was suddenly coursing through his veins once more, daring him to fight off the men now pulling him through the corridor. Remembering Amunet's words just a few hours ago when she was still breathing, he remained as still as he possibly could. Doing his best to appear incapable of any sort of movement, Akefia's soul twisted painfully inside of him with the prospect of living the rest of his life without her by his side. The babies that he would never get a chance to see added to the pain, but losing Amunet was the most unbearable experience of his life. More painful than losing his family along with the rest of their village when they were only children. The guards continued to pull him along and when they finally had reached the outside of the Palace, the sun was blaring and he winced at the brightness. As his eyes adjusted to the light, his shackles suddenly weighed heavier on him as he was hoisted onto his feet.
"Walk!" a voice shouted from behind him.
Bakura would have avoided the shove since he had seen it coming, but was taken back when he heard Amunet's voice whisper softly to him,
"you must not act until you are at least a mile into the desert…"
Taking the push, Akefia fell to his knees in an attempt to look weaker than he actually felt.
"Their guard will be down…"
Akefia looked up, squinting at the figure which stood in front of him, the sun beaming behind the large man.
"The Pharaoh won't have to wait long for us to return, he's barely clinging to this world," the figure spoke to the guards, his voice fairly indifferent to the man suffering before him.
"Let us begin," the man said, turning around, the piece around his neck catching the light and glinted sharply at Akefia.
My old friend…the Millennium Ring…
The walk to the outskirts of the Palace seemed long enough, but now that they were in the desert, Akefia grew increasingly uneasy. Scanning the area as covertly as possible, the act of appearing weak on the other hand, was becoming easier with the ferocity of the heat and the pace he was forced to keep. Sweat glided down Akefia's body and he felt as though he was delirious when he glanced at a vision next to him.
"Amunet…" he breathed, barely audible to himself, much less the guards around him.
Amunet walked beside him, her form somewhat transparent, but radiant as ever. She glowed with the same ethereal appeal that she had during her pregnancy. In death however, her curves were exactly the same before they had conceived.
She shook her head, moving her long black hair out of her face, and she looked at him, love written all over her face as he continued to trudge along.
"I love you," she said, so clearly that Akefia glanced at the guard closest to him to see if he had heard her too.
Taking in his bewildered expression, Amunet smiled slyly, opening her mouth to speak once more.
"They can not hear me, Akefia. I am here only to tell you that in death," she paused, looking needlessly at the ground before her as she walked.
"I have been deemed a stature akin to a Goddess, but I am, I was unable to accept such a position,"
Akefia blinked heavily, glancing at the guards again quickly before turning his head back to Amunet.
"I have asked for our mortal bodies to return to this world, where we might get the chance to find one another once more,"
"But Akefia, it is time to take what is yours. The rest will unfold in time…" she whispered as her ghostly form evaporated in front of him.
Akefia fell to his knees before slumping forward onto the hot beads of sand, his restraints making the landing that much more uncomfortable he did he best not to move a muscle as he heard the commotion of the guards around him.
"I knew it wouldn't be long," the indifferent voice spoke suddenly, kneeling down to Akefia's side to inspect him. Akefia pushed all of his body weight to one side as the man bearing the Millennium Ring began to turn him over on the other side. He used the weight and the push from the man kneeling next to him in order to propel himself towards the man, using the chain that linked his hands together as an added measure when he threw it behind the man's head. In an instant, Akefia had head-butted him and twisted the chain around so that he was now choking the magician from behind while the other two guards stared in disbelief at the situation that they were witnessing. Unsheathing their swords, Akefia tugged tighter at the chain around the man's neck, daring the guards to make another move.
"Drop the swords," Akefia growled.
The guards looked fearfully to one another before glancing back down at their superior struggling to breathe.
"DROP THEM!" Akefia screamed, his body shook with the rage that he had laid dormant for what seemed like his entire life.
The magician still struggled beneath him, but managed to choke out a grunt and shook his head as much as he could in order to speed the process of them dropping their swords. The guards paused for a moment, but dropped their weapons all the same. Akefia eased the chain and Mahad took in a breath sharply.
"Good," Akefia smirked, his eyes cast upon the object glinting in the sun. He glanced up at the guards and his brows furrowed when he saw them edging closer.
"Now… run," he sneered. He let the words fall from his lips in a manner that disturbed the two guards. Disturbed to the point that they didn't even think to do anything else but to get as far as possible from the man who seemed as if the very essence of evil was protruding out of him.
The man groaned at the sight of his cohorts sprinting away as Akefia pulled the chain back, choking him once more. As the man struggled in a vain attempt to relieve some of the pressure that was cutting through his throat, Akefia lowered his mouth down to the man's ear.
"Mahad, right?" he whispered softly.
The man stopped kicking his legs as fervently when Akefia began to talk,
"Did you hear her screams? Hm?"
Mahad felt warmth beginning to flow down his neck and chest as the ability to breathe stopped becoming something attainable.
"Pl…ple..ase…" Mahad groaned at a barely audible decible.
"Did she beg?" Akefia paused, watching the blood stain his hands as he tightened the chain slowly.
"No, my Amunet would never beg," he grinned as he suddenly pulled the chain back as far as he could, killing the magician in one fast motion.
Relieving his hands of the death grip he had, he reached down, pulling the cord that held the Millennium Ring over its dead owner's head. He hesitated as he held it in his still cuffed hands.
Take what is yours…
Amunet's voice rolled through him the second before dropping the cord over his own head, its spikes glowing and each individual moving on its own accord.
Suddenly the words that he previously heard to be Amunet's came to him again, only this time the voice was demented.
Take what is yours, Akefia.
He stood, the dead body slumping to its side as he did so. Gripping his head, pain rolled through his brain as the words repeated, becoming louder and more deranged to an unbearable level.
She trusted you.
He raped her Akefia.
His father before him killed your entire village.
Your family, slaughtered, like animals.
Just like your babes.
Ripped from her womb and burned into nothing more but ashes.
At least they weren't turned into jewelry.
The voice suddenly began to laugh, cruelly, openly mocking Akefia and provoking his anger.
Akefia let out an unearthly sound, long and painful, the ring glowed brighter as the ground began to shake. He felt immersed in a torrent of wind as a shadow emerged from the Ring and began to form in front of him. The sun that was glaringly bright was suddenly gone, replaced by a mass of clouds that appeared with the monster forming to such great heights before him.
Akefia fell to his knees as he looked up at the enormous creature in front of him.
"Akefia," it growled down at him.
"What are you?" Akefia finally asked, after a few seconds of breathing heavily in awe.
"I am the dark one," it growled.
"My Pharaoh! It appears that some unknown presence is making its way towards the Palace," the wielder of the Millennium Key said, sprinting towards the Pharaoh as he lounged lazily in his throne.
"What do you mean?" the Pharaoh said, standing up in confusion.
Suddenly the woman with the Millennium Necklace appeared through the doors, running towards the Pharaoh with the same urgency.
"What is this presence!?" the Pharaoh bellowed at the woman. She came to a halt before him, and bowed her head slightly, a mixed expression on her face.
"It is the dark one, my lord," she finally muttered.
"No," the Pharaoh said, falling back into his chair in disbelief.
There was several moments of tense silence between the three before the woman cleared her throat and began to speak once more.
"It appears that the girl's death has brought this upon us and-"
"HOLD YOUR TONGUE!" the Pharaoh screamed, his anger seeping through every facet of his being at her statement.
"How dare you think that this is the time for your pathetic opinion on what happened to that thief's little whore, did I ask for you to speak anymore?"
The woman bowed her head, tears threatening to fall as her hatred towards the man she should know as a most beloved King had grown exponentially.
"Shada, fetch me the creature from the cell. I might be able to find one more use for her yet…" he sneered as he descended the steps from his throne hurriedly.
As the Pharaoh made his way through the doors with the two guardians following him out, a soldier ran up to them clutching a small chest.
"Perfect timing," the Pharaoh smirked.
"AKEFIA! COME OUT AND FACE ME!" the Pharaoh bellowed from the large balcony that overlooked the entire city. He saw a large monster approaching despite the darkness that consumed the formerly bright day. On his shoulder, stood a precariously placed Akefia, bracing himself against the monster's head for support. His eyes seemed to glow as red as the demon's next to him, and the look he gave to the Pharaoh forced him to take a step back.
"You called for me, oh mighty King?" Akefia smirked.
"This ends now, Akefia!" the Pharaoh yelled, suddenly strengthening his resolve.
Akefia laughed quietly at first, gradually becoming louder as lightning cracked around him and the creature.
"What could you possibly have that can stop me!?" Akefia screamed, demonstrating his anger as thunder and more lightning rippled through the darkened sky.
The creature remained silent, practically stoic as Akefia spewed out a portion of his deep rage.
The Pharaoh met Akefia's angry gaze with a small smirk before bending down to the floor and picking something up.
To Akefia's horror, it was Amunet's body. Although some distance away, he could make out the glint of all the golden items that Amunet formerly had in her possession, only with the addition of the necklace.
"No…" he whispered, unable to look at Amunet's limp body without reliving the past few days.
"Pathetic mortal," the creature finally grumbled. "The dead girl wont stop me from killing you, Pharaoh," the monster said as it took a step towards the balcony.
The Pharaoh suddenly held up Amunet over his head, and began mumbling at a fast speed. Just as he began the incantation, the gold embracing Amunet's neck, wrists, and ankles began to glow, infecting the rest of her flesh with the warm light.
"Amunet," Akefia started, but the monster continued to move towards the Pharaoh, raising a heavy arm in order to crash down upon his target.
"No prayer can keep you from my wrath!" the creature bellowed, its arm coming down with slow but great force.
Akefia braced himself as the large arm of the creature he stood upon, made contact with Amunet's body.
He closed his eyes, awaiting the sound of the crumbling of bodies and the structure the Pharaoh stood upon to follow. When no such sound occurred, Akefia slowly opened his eyes and looked at the scene in front of him. The creature's arm remained where it had first made contact with Amunet's glowing form, the warm light now traveling up the arm and infecting the rest of its body.
"What is this!?" Akefia screamed, incapable of stopping the monster's groans.
The Pharaoh smirked, still holding Amunet as a sort of shield he chuckled lightly before responding.
"It seems that your little whore has proven to be useful in more ways than one. I may be unable to destroy the dark one, but I can seal him away using her as a…"
The Pharaoh mused on the right word for a moment before finishing his thought.
"Key of sorts… "
"No," Akefia whispered, watching as the glow consumed the demon he stood upon.
It groaned again, louder this time as it attempted to move its paralyzed body.
"PHARAOH! YOU ARE THE FOOL! YOU MAY BE ABLE TO SEAL ME AWAY BUT THAT SPELL SEALS US ALL TO THE SAME FATE!"
Akefia and the Pharaoh gasped, and just as soon as they had processed all that the creature had said, noticed that the Millennium Items in their possession glowed fiercely around their necks.
Amunet's body glowed brighter and soon began to float out of the Pharaoh's hands, the arm of the creature crumbling to pieces as she did so. Despite everything that was happening, Akefia couldn't help but keep his eyes glued to the golden form of his beloved, in the air above the scene like the Goddess she was meant to be. She glowed to a blindingly bright light before vanishing into thin air. The screams of the Pharaoh and the monster he still stood upon were deafening as he felt himself consumed by the light coming from the Millennium Ring. As the creature crumbled underneath him, Akefia fell for what seemed like an eternity. His body was being consumed by the Ring, that was certain, death had never been of any concern to him. However, in his last few seconds of life, he couldn't help but think of Amunet.
The ring hit the ground, just as the puzzle had fallen to the floor of the stone balcony moments before, each item without its owner.
"Ah!"
A girl shot up in her bed, riddled with sweat and desperately taking in air. The sensation of falling in the midst of a dream gradually wore off and she leaned back against her headboard, putting a hand over her heart as it thumped erratically.
Not speaking to anyone in particular but feeling the strangest compulsion to say the words out loud,
"Its..as if…" she took a breath before burying her face in her hands.
"Its as if we vanished alone…"
Author's Notes: So I think that I left a bunch of opportunities for further explanation...like who is this girl...what's her deal... I guess that means I'll have to do a sequel or something... =)