After the damages had been paid (apparently, Seto was the owner of a very rich and very powerful company. All the damage had been repaid and rebuilt by the end of the week), someone knocked at Ryou and Malik's door. Malik had managed to start walking today after he had used up almost all of his magic beating Marik, but he still needed Ryou to get around. "Come in!" Malik called from the bed. Where was Ryou? He had left for ice cream nearly twenty minutes ago. If he got lost again...
Ryou opened the door, ice cream-less. "Malik." Ryou's voice was serious. "It's time." Malik gulped. Time already? Very well. He nodded and slowly shifted to his feet. He hated feeling this way, and knew that even once he was strong enough to walk by himself, it could take years for his magic to return.
"So Yuugi finally got in contact with Shadi?" Malik asked. Ryou nodded. "I think Shadi was just waiting until the "time was right", but he told Yuugi where to meet him to retrieve the items." Ryou replied. Together, they shuffled down the hallway.
Malik and Ryou met up with Yuugi, Yami, Anzu, and Mahado in the Mess Hall. "Are we all ready?" Yuugi asked nervously. He carried a small duffel bag no doubt filled with the Millennium Items. Everyone nodded. Then Ryou was struck with a sudden thought. "Wait here!" He said, darting off in the direction of the kitchen. He came out second later, dragging a royally confused Mai.
"Mai's coming with us!" Ryou said adamantly. Everyone looked from Ryou to Mai. "That sounds nice!" Yuugi said. "She should come!" Mai's cheeks flushed slightly. "You're so sweet, Ryou..." She murmured hugging him with one gentle arm.
"You know what else we forgot?" Yami growled. "And what's that?" Anzu asked. "Koe. If he manages to break out, who's gonna stop him? If we take him along to keep an eye on him, it would be safer than if we left him in a cage." Yami replied. Yuugi thought this over for a second. "You have a good point. Yami, Ryou, you retrieve him. And Ryou," Ryou glanced back. "if he tries anything funny, don't hesitate to kill him." Yuugi replied. Ryou nodded.
Down in the dungeon, Ryou shivered. He hadn't realized it when he first came in, but the dungeon was so much colder than the rest of the headquarters. Yami grabbed a ring off the hook and Ryou took some handcuffs. He would have to get Yuugi or Anzu to spell these against melting.. Yami stopped at the jail cell of the mysterious man where Koe also resided.
When Yami and Ryou had brought the bleeding man down to the jail cell, the man nicknamed Touzo moved from his bed for the first time Ryou had ever seen. "Ana uridu wa dhalika rajlan." He gripped the jail's bars and pointed at Koe. "Dhalika rajlan!" Then he had pointed at himself.
"W-want." The man finally spoke English with a thick accent, nearly making his venture into the English language utterly pointless. "Did you understand what he said?" Yami asked Ryou. "Was that Japanese?" He asked again. Ryou shook his head. "I think it was English. I think he wants Koe in his cell." The man pointed at Koe and back to himself again. "Uridu. Want." Yami shrugged. "Not like I care…" Koe was then shoved unceremoniously into the cell.
Yami slid open the cell. Koe looked up, defeated look in his eyes. Touzo didn't even glance up as Yami pointed at Koe. "Come with us. And if you try anything funny…" Yami pointed at Ryou, who hardly looked like the picture of menacing with his boyish features and bandaged arms. It did the trick, however, and Koe got to his feet. Ryou fell into step behind him and kept a wary eye on the man, even once they had rejoined Yuugi and everyone outside in the bright sunlight.
Yuugi had arranged a ride to the airport with Seto, who was apparently funding the group's escapade to Egypt due to his remorse over all of the damage and deaths that occurred during the long wars. Ryou was surprised to find out that the group was heading to Egypt, but Yuugi told him that the only way to get your wish granted to you was to return all of the Items to the place where they were created, which was somewhere in the Valley of the Kings in Egypt.
Ryou, who didn't much care for airplanes and also had a strong pair of wings himself, opted out of the airplane to fly himself. Malik wanted to try riding on Ryou's back, but Ryou decided that it was a bit too dangerous. One false move, and Malik could fall off. Granted, Ryou would most likely be able to catch him, but Ryou's arms were still injured. It was best not to take risks.
Little did anyone know that inside the belly of the plane, a mysterious stranger sat in wait, pensively thinking through the actions he would take. Right when the little angel was about to put the last Item in its place, he would burst through, kill the boy, and gain his own wish.
Twelve hours later, Ryou landed on the ground with a grateful sigh. He hadn't flown that much since he first travelled from England to Japan. He shifted back into his human form and rejoined the group that was filing off the plane. Seto gave him the stink-eye, most likely for rejecting the beauteous marvel of engineering that was his plane for more primitive techniques like wings. Ryou shrugged it off.
The view was too beautiful to watch without someone who deeply cared for such simple beauties. The pyramids that stuck up soared into the air with ancient majesty. "Which one are we going to?" Malik asked, leaning his weight on Ryou, who was pretty much as weak as Malik right now. Yuugi took out the Millennium Ring. It's tassels were glowing slightly, tugging Yuugi's hand gently to the right.
"I'd suppose we follow the magical Item." Yuugi said with a grin. The Ring led them to a small pyramid, much shaded by the larger, more grand ones that soared into the atmosphere. A single guard looked them over, and then saw the Item in Yuugi's hand. He snapped to attention and motioned them through. They barely heard him mutter, "So the One has finally come…"
Just past the entrance, the passageway split in four directions. The Ring pointed down the farthest one on the right. The group followed the Ring's directions, through completely random twists and turns, and even a few passageways that were completely sealed and only a bit of lucky handiwork allowed them to open and continue.
Finally, they came to a large, cavernous room. In the middle of the room sat a giant sarcophagus, which had indentations in the shape of each of the Items. Ryou supposed that that was where the Items were to be put to rest. The sarcophagus was laid on a raised platform surrounded by carved pillars. A single torch burned on the right corner closest to the entrance of the room. Behind the sarcophagus was an altar of some kind, two incense holders on either side of a giant carving that depicted Re and Apophis-Apep in human form. Between them was a carving of the sun. An altar against the end of days. Interesting.
"So you have come." A thick voice said. From behind a pillar emerged a shadowy figure: Shadi. In his hands, he held two magical Items. "As per my promise, here is the Key and the Scale." Shadi handed the two Items to Yuugi, who accepted them with a grave bow.
"Are you ready?" Yami asked. This was the moment they had all been fighting for, but now that it was here, it was almost as if it was too soon. Yuugi turned to Yami. They had been together ever since Yuugi had been born nearly twelve years ago, and now they would never be able to see each other's face. Ryou sighed, easing himself and Malik to the ground.
"I guess it all ends here. Does that mean we win?" Ryou asked Malik. Malik thought for a second and nodded. "I suppose so." He replied.
Touzokuou, as he was called by the people at the Yuugitachi headquarters, was impatient. He had peered through the opening to the sarcophagus room. The angel halfling and the Guardian of the Tomb, Shadi, were still talking in lowered voices. Touzo sighed. This could be a while.
Back in the tomb, Yuugi finished his words with Shadi. He turned to his friends to say goodbye, but something froze in his throat. He couldn't speak. It wasn't magic, just a dredge of human emotions that didn't belong to a half-angel. Sadness, regret, fear, pain. Yuugi turned away, but that was even harder. His eyes burst into tears, and he threw himself at his older brother.
Regrets, past wrongs barely forgotten, apologies, and happy memories came up at once as Yuugi poured his heart out to his human friends. While they would never be able to see him, he would be able to see them. He could do small things for them: leave a flower bud or penny in their path, have a cooling wind ruffle the back of their necks when they needed it most, or provide warmth and comfort in a time of loneliness. This was for the better.
Yuugi straightened without a word and zipped open the duffel bag. He dumped the contents unceremoniously onto the platform and shifted them into some sort of order. First, Yuugi clicked the Eye into place. (Ryou heard the previous owner of the Eye, a rich man named Maximilian who had patroned their gang, had put the Millennium Eye in the socket of the one he had lost while travelling in Egypt. He didn't believe it.)
Next, Yuugi shoved the Rod, Necklace, Scales, Key, and Ring into place. Finally, Yuugi pulled out an object Ryou hadn't seen before. A sturdy-looking upside-down pyramid of gold shimmered from the end of a length of rope. On it glittered the Eye of Horus, a symbol of protection and power.
"Goodbye, everyone." Yuugi whispered.
Touzo leapt into action. The last Item was the key to fulfilling one's wishes. He drew the throwing knife that no one bothered to take out of Koe's leg. One good toss and that boy would be dead, and off to heaven. No need to waste a wish on that. Wishing for his family to return from the dead. Now there was a good wish.
Yuugi held the pendant up and screwed his eyes shut. This was the last he was going to see of the human world from this point of view. He slammed the pendant down, hoping it would reach the spot it was supposed to.
Touzo leapt into the doorway and threw his knife. He knew it would hit his family up in the afterlife wouldn't let him miss.
Everything went in slow motion.
Yuugi's pendant was about to fit in its slot
Touzo's knife was about to stab Yuugi in the heart through his back.
It was a matter of which one reached first.
Right when the deciding blow was to be dealt, lightning flashed, and everything went black.
A/N: Next up: the thrilling conclusion!
P.s. Ana uridu wa dhalika rajlan means (very roughly with NO knowledge if the grammar is correct) "I want that man" in Arabic, which is the native tongue of Egypt.. It wounds wrong, I know, but I figured "I want that man in my cage" is worse...