Chapter 8: - Seeking Trouble
As if the realisation that Akhenaden wasn't on his side was the trigger, Yami blinked. When he opened his eyes, he found himself half sprawled on a table.
The Pharaoh blinked in confusion as he pushed himself into a sitting position, considering his surroundings. He was sat in a golden chair next to a huge, golden table that had a diorama of a section the ancient lands that he had once ruled over, which included the palace, the city, the cliffs where he had fallen, Kul Elna and on the other side of the river, the Valley of the Kings.
Above the huge golden table, from a hook that was invisible among the Shadows that swirled around the room, hung the Millennium Puzzle, which cast a light over the entire table, as if projecting what was going on onto the table below.
Of course even that didn't hold his attention very long. Across the table from him sat a rather smug looking Bakura. "It's about time, Pharaoh. I was beginning to think you'd never get it."
"What have you done, Bakura?" Yami demanded, trying not to look at the mummy in the sarcophagus that was chained into place so that the mummy appeared to be looking straight at him.
"Haven't you figured it out by now, Pharaoh?" Bakura smirked, "This is the ultimate Shadow Game, our final show down... Though I must admit, I never expected your friends to join in." Bakura snorted and gestured behind Yami, "I mean, just look."
It was only meant to be a glance, but when Yami looked behind him he froze, fear crossing his features. "Yugi... Joey... Hermione... Seto..."
On the floor behind him led four sarcophagi, inside which led the bodies of the friends who had accompanied him to the museum, plus Kaiba. For one horrible moment Yami thought that they were... then he saw that their chests were rising and falling, bringing some relief to the Pharaoh.
"You can get down and check them if you like, Pharaoh." Bakura snorted, "But they won't wake. Their souls are trapped within the game, you've seen that for yourself, but unlike you and me, they're outside the rules. When this game ends, they will die."
"What?" Yami demanded, turning to scowl at the thief.
"The world you were in, that a version of you is still in is made up of both the memories you've lost and those of the mummy behind me. High Priest Akhenaden was the original, and as far as I'm aware only holder of the Millennium Eye before Pegasus." Bakura explained, gesturing to the mummy. Yami blanched slightly at the thought that Bakura had desecrated yet another corpse. "And your friends are trying to find your name. In fact as we speak your 'hikari' is threading your tomb, trying to reach the inner chamber where your name is hidden."
Yami's head turned towards the Valley of the Kings, concern coursing through him as he thought about the sorts of traps that a tomb could hold. His Grandfather had certainly told them enough horror stories to feed his imagination.
'Not that little Yugi is aware I've sent a spy in,' Bakura thought, enjoying seeing the discomfiture and fear cross the Pharaoh's face, 'And that my spy has already reached the Pharaoh's name. I can't destroy the tablet with it on, but I can stop the Pharaoh's other self from getting that far.'
"Of course you can save them." Bakura continued, before Yami could gather his thoughts enough to ask any questions, "Or you could have done, if you'd managed to defeat my pawns before now. Now it's too late. I may have lost my Thief King Bakura, but with the help of my second hourglass and the Akhenaden piece I stole out from under your nose earlier, I'm going to win and you and your friends will vanish into darkness!"
Yami looked across the table, to find that one of the hourglasses that represented Bakura's special abilities had drained completely, its sand all heaped at the bottom, another was sat on its side, though the sand was still travelling through it, while another looked like the sand should have been draining to the bottom but wasn't. He assumed that the one of its side was the one that was currently stopping time.
That was fine. But with the full knowledge of the rules, came the knowledge of a little fact that Bakura had tried to avoid telling him. Bakura wasn't the only one who could do more than react. Yami had his own ability he could use three times, 'Royal Decree', which allowed him to get his pieces to act at any time, and he hadn't used it yet.
"I'm activating Royal Decree." Yami told the Game Master, unconvinced that this was the Bakura who had been causing trouble for him since Yugi had completed the Puzzle any more than the Bakura that Seto had killed was, "Allowing my priests to move to stop Akhenaden."
Bakura just tutted at him. "A nice try, but if you wanted to stop my hourglass, you should have done so when I first activated it. As it is, I doubt Seth would move against him anyway. Akhenaden is, after all his father."
That threw Yami. Seth was his cousin? The next in line to the throne? How hadn't he known that?
"As it is, all you and your priests can do is watch as Akhenaden returns the Millennium Items to their place of birth and watch as Zorc rises."
Yami had this really odd sensation of being in two places at once as the piece that represented him, still frozen in place, watched as Akhenaden put the Millennium Items back into the tablet and darkness sprung forth, coalescing into a huge shape that blotted out the sun.
Not only that but, where the bright Egyptian afternoon sun had been just moments ago, the far too recognisable black and dark purples of the Shadow Realm covered the sky. Yami felt the pressure on 'the Pharaoh's' mind and soul the moment it appeared, adding to the strain that he was already under from playing the Game as the 'Player'.
The consequences of being in two places at once.
Yami was just glad, as the darkness turned into a huge, silver horned demon that had a dragon head and neck emerging from just below his stomach that everything that was going on, was within the memory world.
There was no way he wanted his friends in the situation that they were in, just the thought that, once again, Yugi's life depended on him was enough to have him even more intently focused on the situation than before, however, the thought that, in the outside world the Shadows hadn't yet had a chance to take over was reassuring.
Now he just had to find a way around Zorc and save both the memory world and his friends, because if he lost here, the entire world would be in danger.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yami was mistaken.
When Zorc had been summoned within the memory world, the Shadows hadn't just swarmed the sky in the game.
Across the entire globe the Shadows coated the sky, blocking out any sunlight and bathing the world in an eerie glow.
Mai swore. She knew the darkness that now surrounded them far too well. Harry's Gold Winged Wolf let out an angry howl in the same moment.
"What is going on?" Sirius demanded.
"The Shadows." Harry answered, recognising the pain and dizziness that was haunting him far too well and concerned for the health of those around him, sending gratefulness down the link to Wolf as the Duel Monster helped Harry keep his mind clear, even as Harry felt a heavy drain on his magic. "I thought they couldn't come unless they were called by a Millennium Item though..."
'The seal's broken.' Wolf informed the four of them, snapping at a tendril of Shadows that attempted to pass him. 'The Shadows are free.' Wolf looked at Harry, 'I'm sorry, cub.'
Those last three words froze Harry in place. He knew about the seal of course. Isuzu had explained to Yami a long time ago that he had given his own life to seal away the Shadows and that the cost had been his name and his memories. When Yugi had told Harry about the Millennium Items, it had been one of the first things he'd said.
If the seal was broken it could mean one of two things. Either Yami was dead and the world would now fall into darkness, which, Harry assumed, meant that the Shadows would rule the Earth until someone managed to seal them again, or Yami had managed to regain his name and memories, bringing the Shadows back under his control, and was just testing his limits.
Harry very much doubted that even with his name and memories back Yami would even attempt to pull a stunt like this. Never mind that the Shadows felt too wild to be under the command of the Pharaoh, who had always seemed rather tight and controlled except when it came to matters of his hikari.
Which meant that Yami was dead.
And if Yami was dead, so were...
Harry wavered on his feet as the full implications of the situation hit him, only to be surprised when Dudley of all people offered him some support. "Careful, Pot...Harry." Dudley corrected himself, having made a real effort over the last month or so to try and change what he thought of magic and magic users, especially considering that his 'freak cousin' and his weird Godfather were the only ones that had been willing to take him in after his parents had been...
"Protego Totalum!" Sirius snapped, casting the shield spell around them, only for the bubble to fall almost as quickly as it went up, the darkness eroding it. "What?"
"The Shadows can negate wand magic." Harry told him, his voice a complete monotone as he tried to fight past the grief that threatened to overwhelm him, glancing at Mai, who had already known that they had magic, and was looking rather pale, "We've..."
'CUB!' Wolf interrupted, pouncing at his partner, dragging him down as something leapt out of the Shadows at him, causing it to pass over Harry and crash into the ground. The black sludge like creature didn't give Wolf a chance to react a second time, launching at Mai, its claws reaching for the blonde...
Only to be interrupted mid leap by a screech and a set of talons which raked its body and caused it to vanish completely.
And suddenly it was Mai who needed the support as she saw who and what had saved her. "H...Harpie Lady 1?"
"My name is Airo." The Harpie Lady informed them, nodding to Wolf, who merely nodded back, watching her Duellist with a touch of concern. She didn't get a chance to ask if Mai was alright though as screaming broke out amongst the crowd as more of the shadowy creatures swarmed out of the darkness.
"We need to get somewhere safe." Sirius growled, looking around and trying to think, supporting Mai, who suddenly seemed exhausted, wondering if he could apparate them to safety.
'There is no where safe.' Wolf snapped at him, frustrated, unsure he could protect his Cub and his family, glad for the arrival of Airo, but well aware that they would need much more help if they were going to keep the whole group safe but knowing that neither his Cub or the Harpie Duellist had the mental or magical strength to hold more than one average level monster in the Shadows at any time and even that was a strain.
No, that wasn't fair. He couldn't speak for Airo's partner, but his Cub only lacked the training required to summon multiple monsters, or some of the more powerful creatures in his deck, just as Yugi, the Heir to the Throne of Shadows and the Light Pharaoh, had once done.
Not that it really mattered. The Shadows were free, the humans were doomed...
Wolf shook himself. It had always been a possibility, that the Pharaoh would be killed and the Shadows would break free, leaving the Shadow Demon created by the pain and suffering of the souls of Kul Elna free to destroy the every last human on the planet as revenge, but no one had really thought it would happen, not with the sort of power demonstrated by the Pharaoh and his heir.
However, it had and all they could do was stand against the darkness as long as they could...
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"That was close." Joey panted as he slipped through the door from the first trial.
Yugi couldn't agree more. Though he disliked the fact that it had taken them so long to get through the first task, considering that their options were victory or death, there hadn't been much of a choice but to take it slowly, edging their way forward, left foot in front of them, the side of your body where the heart was facing forward, as one would stand before the Pharaoh, across a narrow stone walkway that had been built like a maze.
And it had to be left foot forward, because if you accidently put your right foot forward first the statues that guarded certain crossroads on the stone maze came to life and attempted to run you through with their sword or knock you off of the stone path and into the incredibly deep pit below that, if Yugi was right (and he really hoped he wasn't because they had to go back that way) had spikes at the bottom that were just waiting to 'catch' someone that fell off.
He wasn't certain that time was travelling the same speed here anyway, it only felt like it had been an hour, maybe half that, but time had moved differently outside the tomb, like it had been moving at a faster pace than they were. But then the Shadows had always messed with people's perception of time, a few minutes in the real world could feel like several hours within an Shadow Game and he had no way of knowing if the way time flowed here was different.
"Come on." Yugi said, wanting to get through this as quickly as possible, concerned that, if he was right and time was flowing differently, that by the time they found Yami's name, it would be too late for it to make a difference.
Joey followed Yugi down the corridor, watching their back as he went, not that he expected anyone to be following them, but still wary considering that the Tomb Robber had proved , over their years at Hogwarts, adept at being able to hide in plain sight and cause trouble.
It turned out that he didn't need to watch their backs. As they entered the next room, they found Bakura, wearing a Duel Disk just waiting for them.
"It's about time you got here, little Yugi." Bakura snorted, amused as Joey pulled Yugi behind him and conjured his own Duel Disk, drawing a card and only not summoning the creature on it because a serpent like creature appeared out of nowhere, sent him crashing into a wall.
Joey collapsed in a heap at the bottom of it, stunned by the impact, as the creature wrapped the end of its tail around Yugi's throat and lifted the hikari off of the ground by his neck.
Yugi choked as he hung in mid air, fear striking him as he attempted to pull the tail away from his neck and get some air into his lungs. It was no use though, the creature's tail was wrapped so tightly around his throat that he couldn't get his fingers underneath it.
When it became obvious that that wasn't going to work, Yugi drew his wand, pointing it at the creature and trying to focus. "Stu... pi..." Yugi's eyes bulged as the tail tightened to the point where he couldn't even croak anything out and a burst of pain so intense that it caused Yugi to see an incredibly bright light and attempt to cry out in agony coursed through him.
Yugi's hands fell limply to his sides, his wand falling and clattering against the stone floor as his body became completely unresponsive, refusing to listen to the weakening pleas of his mind.
"Stupify!"
Suddenly Yugi hit the floor as Joey's spell knocked the creature out and sent it sprawling onto the stone tablets that made up the bridge that Bakura was stood on. Yugi started coughing as he tried to draw in more breath then his throat, which was incredibly sore, could manage, picking up his wand as he did so and pointing it in the direction of the tomb robber.
"So I assume you're outside the rules too." Joey commented as Yugi tried to gather his wits, still trying coughing badly and slightly stunned that Bakura's creature could injure them considering that they were outside the rules and weren't here in physical form.
However Yugi was well aware that someone's spirit form, such as the ones he and his friends had currently taken, could be injured in much the same way as their body if someone used the right spells and attacks, having suffered from such assaults many times over the last nine years, and the fact that Bakura's creature could cause soul rending wounds that could tear apart someone's spirit if it got its claws into them wasn't lost on the heir.
"I always knew you were an idiot, Wheeler." Bakura snarled at him, furious at Joey's interruption, as he picked himself up, having been knocked over when Diabound had hit the floor, "I'm the Game Master. I'm not outside the rules. I am the rules and if you want to get to the Pharaoh's name, you'll have to get past me."
"You're o..."
"No," Yugi croaked, pushing past Joey and stepping onto the stone walkway, noting the monsters engraved on it, activating his Duel Disk as he did so, noting the lack of projectors coming out of it. This would be a fight of souls and magic then, rather than a holographic duel, and he found himself unsurprised, "I'll fight you."
"You up to it, Yuge?" Joey asked, concerned for his friend as the serpent like creature vanished from the walkway.
"I'm fine." Yugi promised him, smiling slightly at Joey before turning all of his attention back to Bakura. "Alright, Bakura," He forced out, wincing slightly as he did so, silently berating himself for letting his guard down, "I'm ready... when you are."
"I'm feeling nice, so I'll let you go first." Bakura drew his first hand and gestured for Yugi to do the same.
Yugi drew his opening hand, considered the cards in it, then nodded and drew another card.
"I set two cards face down..." Yugi coughed as his voice caught in his throat, "And set one card in defence mode," He continued once he'd stopped coughing, trying to ignore the low throbbing ache in his neck that promised bruising and lots of it, "It's your move Bakura."
Bakura smirked, amused at the way Yugi still attempted to be defiant, even though Bakura could see the fear that still haunted him. Yugi wasn't his dark side. His game face was good, but not impenetrable.
Bakura drew.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Time will start flowing again soon, my Pharaoh."
The words echoed around Seto's aching head as the CEO attempted to pull himself together, opening his eyes and sitting up, only to find flames racing past him, directed away from him and Yami by a huge man in an odd golden mask.
"Seto? You're awake?" Yami asked, relief crossing his features for a moment before his eyes widened, "You can move?"
"Can't you?" Seto looked surprised.
"You'll be able to soon." The golden masked man told the Pharaoh, "But you must be ready."
"How can I defeat him? How do I save my people?" Yami asked. Seto winced at the desperation in his tone. Seto knew how Yami had saved Egypt the last time and that was what Yugi and the others had entered the game to change...
"Don't give up hope. You can win. You just need to hold out until your other self arrives. He will bring you the key to victory."
When the flames stopped, the masked man vanished and with his disappearance everything started moving again. Mahado darted towards Yami's side as Zorc let loose with a fresh blast of flames.
"Mahado!" Yami yelped, scrambling to his feet, not wanting to lose his friend again.
"Negate Attack!" The flames just cut out at Kaiba's bellow.
Yami looked around urgently for his friend, only to find that the Dark Magician was being guarded by his significant other, the Dark Magician Girl.
Yami glanced around as Zorc seemed to lose interest in attacking them, for now at least. Akhenaden was missing, Mahado was conversing with the Dark Magician Girl, and by extension Mana, who gave him a smile when she spotted him looking her way, Isis and Seth were trying to work out where their Millennium Items had gone and Seto looked around for Bakura, only to find he was gone.
"What happened to...?" Seto started to ask.
"He's dead. When Kisara destroyed Diabound, she took Bakura out with him." Yami answered, offering the CEO a hand to his feet before checking if the Millennium Items were still there, scooping out the Necklace and the Rod and handing them to their respective owners before putting the Puzzle on. "Where are Yugi and the others?"
"Is now really the time?" Seto asked, glowering up at the Demon, his headache not helping his mood.
"Akhenaden might be going after them." Yami growled, nodding to Mahado and glowering up at Zorc who was starting to move away, not considering them a threat for some reason. Yami figured there was something else out there that was more important than them, at least for the time being. "Seto, Seth, Isis, go back and evacuate the city." He ordered the group as they scrambled out of the rubble, heading for the horses that Mana was guarding, calling the girl, who had sent away her Ka beast again, "I'll deal with Zorc."
"My Pharaoh... I must protest." Seth shook his head.
"Someone has to go and get the people to safety. I can buy you that time." Yami told them, "If I call the God monsters..."
"Don't even think about it, Yami." Seto snapped at him, beating everyone else to it, grabbing Yami's arm and showing him the Ba meter on his diadum, "You don't have the Ba to run the risk."
"Let him go." Seth snarled, pulling Seto's hand off of the Pharaoh's arm, confused as to why the Pharaoh was letting himself be manhandled like this.
"It's alright, Seth." Yami put a reassuring hand on Seth's shoulder, "He's just concerned for my safety."
"My Pharaoh..." Seth didn't trust the foreigner who had control over a white dragon like the one that rested in the soul of the girl that Sera was looking after, a white dragon with the same name as the girl...
"If I might intervene," Isis spoke up, "My Pharaoh, I have something to offer."
"What is it, Isis?" Yami asked, frustrated with the fighting, they didn't have time for this.
"I agree with you that someone should go back to the city and warn them and since you are the only one that can summon the Gods, it has to be you that holds off Zorc, however I would like to do something before I go and take Mana back with me."
With that, she took a leaf out of Seto's book and grasped the Pharaoh's hand, blushing at the impertinence for a moment before nearly collapsing as her Ba meter dropped by half and Yami forced her to let go as his rose to around three quarters full.
"Forgive me, my Pharaoh." Isis said as Seth supported her. It took her a moment to get steady again.
"Thank you Isis." Yami nodded at his priestess, unsure whether he'd see her again. "Travel safely."
"I wish you luck, my Pharaoh." Isis nodded as she and Mana mounted.
"Seth, please go with them." Yami turned to his High Priest.
"My Pharaoh?" Seth demanded, well aware that would leave the Pharaoh with only the foreigner for company.
"I'm concerned about Isis's safety. She just transferred a large portion of her Ba to me and if Zorc's minion is in the palace as I fear..."
"I understand but..."
"I need you to trust me, Seth. Once you've been to the palace and made sure people have evacuated safely, feel free to join me in the field, but I need you to do this for me. Consider it an order."
Seth glowered at Seto then joined the two on horseback. The three of them rode off, heading for town, hopefully fast enough to beat Zorc to the city.
"You're insane, you know that right?" Seto asked Yami, who was mounting up himself.
"How did you get here? And where are Yugi and the others?" Yami asked, not replying to his question, fully aware that what he was about to attempt was likely to get him killed unless Yugi reached him in time but he couldn't see any other way.
"Yugi and Joey went to find your name," Seto informed the Pharaoh, "And Hermione was looking after..." Kaiba snarled and wheeled around to look at Yami. "We need to go back to the palace."
"Why?"
"Because Hermione is helping her ancient counterpart look after a woman called Kisara."
"Hermione has a..." Yami trailed off, "A woman named Kisara?"
"Yes, a white haired woman named Kisara who your High Priest Seth seemed rather attached to."
Suddenly Yami knew what Akhenaden had gone to do. He wasn't after Yugi and his friends, after all Akhenaden was a piece inside the game. He may have been the GM's piece now, but he was still a piece in a story and Yugi and his friends weren't inside the story.
Kisara was though and Akhenaden had just seen how powerful a white dragon of her breed could be, not knowing that it was the same dragon (and how that worked, Yami had no idea).
If Akhenaden wanted more power to go with what Zorc had given him, he would have gone after a source he knew was readily available, which meant that Kisara and anyone guarding her was in danger.
Zorc was heading in that direction anyway and Hermione needed to be warned.
"We're going back to the palace."