Yuugi was silent as he went into his house. As the rest of the Resistance, he was used to live mostly underground, in the basement - he hadn’t changed a thing about the house itself, leaving the rooms intact and unused, except for Mahaado occupying one of the bedrooms. That had been an emergency solution - Yuugi didn’t want the two Generals to meet up with each other, not yet. The risks were too great. He felt bile rise up in his throat, which had nothing to do with either of the Generals - he was about to set foot in a part of the building where he rather wanted to stay out of. The Game Shop had been closed for quite a while now, the store going out of business as soon as Kaiba Gozaburo had taken control over this part of the world. Fortunately, his grandfather had died before witnessing the decay; the amount of dust gathered on the display cases and the counter was a silent, yet sad witness. Children used to run around in the store, buying the merchandise, getting excited about card games, board games, any game… but it was eerilie silent, and Yuugi didn’t notice he was holding his breath as he made his way over to the large, solid oak wooden counter. Quickly kneeling down, he buried his fingers in the thick layer of dust, searching over the floor until he hit a small, brass ring. In theory, this maybe wasn’t the best hiding place, but it was the only hiding place he had; keeping these Items in the basement would be too dangerous as well. He was the only one who knew about this place, the only one to even come into the store - that just had to do for now.
Lifting up the tile, his hand went into the small storage space and he pulled out the rectangular package. Carefully, he peeled a few flaps of cloth away, and the golden jewelry was revealed. He touched it reverently with his other hand. Whoever had crafted these Items, he or she had a very distinctive eye for beauty and magnificence in the simplest sense of the word. The Tauk didn’t bear an intricate design, it was rather gaudy, but still…it was mesmerizing, the attention to detail, the craftmanship. Yuugi wrapped it up in the cloth again and placed the tile back into its original position. The hidden storage space held one more Item: the Sennen Eye. He never questioned Isis on how she had gotten it, and she had never bothered to tell him. It wasn’t a secret that one of the Generals had died of old age; somehow Isis had managed to get her hands on the Eye before Gozaburo did… or she had stolen it.
He cut off that train of thoughts and moved his hand over the floor to cover it up with dust again. Yuugi hurried back to the basement, only to find his friends still discussing the matter, though their voices had quieted down. Malik leaned against the wall, arms crossed in front of his chest, and he glared at Yuugi as he passed him. Bakura seemed to be completely engulfed by shadows, the meager light in the hallway only showing his silhouette and strands of his bonewhite hair, his black trench covering his body.
Upon his return to the meeting room, Isis turned around, movements graceful and composed. She was standing next to the table, her hands piling up the dishes that everyone had left because of the sudden panic after ‘Namu’'s broadcast. Yuugi counted on his friends to oversee the evacuation and that everyone would pack accordingly. He didn’t think he or his friends were going to get any sleep tonight.
“Here you are, Isis-san,” he said and handed her the package. The expression on her face was a mixture of disbelief, relief and… fear. What was she afraid of? Did she still not trust him? Yuugi bit his lip. Her fingers touched the cloth, plucking at the hem.
“Thank you,” she said. Removing the cloth, she hesitated for a second before picking up the Item. With steadfast hands, she moved it around her neck and fastened the clasp. She smoothed her long, black hair, fanning the strands over her shoulders, before touching the Tauk again. The moment she touched it, the Item shone brightly and Yuugi closed his eyes in a reflex. When he opened them, Isis had taken her hand away from the Item and smiled at him, albeit wistfully.
“I have seen the future,” she said and her smile turned warm, like how a mother would smile tenderly to a child. He was amazed by the brilliance of her smile, amazed by her beauty. She was practically radiating with warmth and a serene, almost angelic calmness, despite her dark grey, cold environment, the colorless walls of the basement and the general bad light. “Thank you, Mutou Yuugi. Your kindness will be rewarded.”
He looked up at her, and almost gave a yelp when she grabbed his hand, pressing the Tauk against his palm and folding his fingers over it. He hadn’t even seen her taking the Item off, and he stared dumbfoundedly at her, not understanding what she was doing.
“Take good care of it,” she said, admonishingly. “These Items are crucial, as you know already. I have seen them in your hands, Mutou Yuugi. Broken, but in your hands.”
“Isis-san…”
“You will have to excuse me,” she said and bowed to him. Bowed to him. Taken aback, Yuugi’s mouth fell open. “I will retreat to my room, for it is my final hour.”
“F-final hour? Isis-san, would you... could you please tell me what’s going on, without..”
“Sugarcoating it?” She sounded strangely amused as she walked towards the door. “If you truly wish so. I am about to die, and when my moment is there, I would prefer to spend it in the presence of my brother only.”
“What? Isis-san, no!” Yuugi grabbed her arm. She was wearing a sleeveless dress, and normally he wouldn’t touch someone like this without permission. “You shouldn’t take your life…”
She laughed shortly, humorlessly, but she didn’t pull herself away from him.
“When a General touches the Item that is connected to him… or her,” she said softly, “it will kill him. It is all right, Yuugi. The Generals are not of this world. Gozaburo’s reign was never supposed to last forever.” Her voice sounded tired. “My time is over. Others will end it for me.”
“But Isis-san..!”
“Why did you think I had the Tauk wrapped in a cloth when I first met you?”
“I… I don’t know, I didn’t think anything of it…”
“You could not have known, but have you never wondered why I was not wearing the Item that was supposedly tied to or fueling my powers?” She shook her head, her hair shifting with every movement. “It does not matter. Malik might be able to fill you in later… but my time is over, and I want to spend the last hour I have in the company of my brother.”
“Isis-san...” Yuugi’s mouth ran dry, astonishment visible on his face. His fingers slipped from her arm as she stepped closer to the door. She halted, just for a moment, head held high.
“You are a good person. It was an honor to have known you, my Pharaoh.”
She was out the door before he could stop her, and when he rushed out of the meeting room, he saw her walking down the hallway, leaning on Malik. Bakura was on her other side, gently holding her hand.
“What was that all about?” Jounouchi asked, his eyes following the others’ retreating backs. They had overheard bits and pieces of the entire conversation as the door hadn’t been entirely closed; Yuugi whisked them inside, and this time he made sure the door was closed.
“I understand now,” Yuugi said. “The Items will bring peace by taking out their wielders. If we have all the Items, and the Generals touch them, they’ll die. Gozaburo will be without his powerful... companions. Without his Generals, Gozaburo is just one man only; his forces and troops will be crippled without their powerful command.”
“That’s what they’re supposed to do? Kill? Is there nothing in this world that doesn’t kill or maim or destroy? You can’t call that ‘bring peace’!” Anzu didn’t bother to hide her horror, her large blue eyes showing what she was feeling. Honda was quick to comfort his fiancée; he closed the distance between them and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
“Maybe it’s for the best,” Honda said, pensively. “I don’t like people to die either, and the idea that they die from touching the object that belongs to them is just repulsive, but.. what are we going to do with six… ah, five Generals, all powerful, and amongst them one insane Pharaoh? If they really aren’t of this world, death might be the best solution for them.”
“You can’t be serious,” Anzu said, her voice thick. “They are human! The Items are a blob of gold! People shouldn’t be dying for it, no matter who or what they are!”
“People are going to die if we don’t do something,” Jounouchi pointed out, voice uncharacteristically cold. “That ‘Namu’ person told us that the Pharaoh will attack us tomorrow. That means we only have this night to get the women and children out of here, grab and hide all our stuff, and organize something like a defense!”
“We don’t have any way of defending ourselves from powerful Generals, but to crawl into a corner and die,” Honda said. “No offense, Yuugi, the Resistance wouldn’t even exist if it weren’t for you, but all that we’ve done is hiding and waiting until others made a move. Well, that day has finally arrived – the Pharaoh makes a move, and we have nothing to defend ourselves with!”
“We didn’t use violence when we captured Mahaado-san,” Yuugi objected. “A punch or two,” he corrected himself when seeing Jounouchi and Honda grin. “Nobody died, nobody got hurt. We aren’t like Gozaburo or the Generals. We don’t kill or hurt people, not even if they try to kill or hurt us.”
“That won’t make you win the battle, Yuugi. Talking about Mahaado, isn’t it because of him that the Pharaoh targets us? He can have his magician-General back if he leaves us alone.”
“It’s too late for negotiations now,” Yuugi said. “Neither I nor Gozaburo have issued the intention to negotiate, and it’s too late. This situation has to come to an end.”
Anzu sighed and tucked herself away under Honda’s arm. “If we could deal with Mahaado, then we can certainly deal with this Pharaoh. He must have a weakness. Everyone has a weakness.”
“Time,” Yuugi answered. The other three looked at him.
“What?”
“Time. He needs time to summon a God. We must distract him, somehow, something, to keep him from summoning a God. That is our only chance,” Yuugi said. He sat down, propping his elbows on the table. “Or we need to have his Item and make sure he touches it.”
“The Sennen Puzzle,” Jounouchi said, deflated. “No one even knows where it is, man.”
“I don’t think even Gozaburo knows where the Puzzle is. It’s supposed to be the ultimate of the ultimate powers. Wouldn’t he have found a way to have the Pharaoh carry it with him?”
“The risk is too great,” Yuugi said. “If the Items truly kill their wielders, Gozaburo would be without his Pharaoh. That’s not a risk he’s willing to take.”
“We have the Tauk, and the Eye, and Malik and Bakura have the Ring and the Rod. We know to whom the first two belonged… but not the other two.”
“They are not the Pharaoh’s, we know that. The Puzzle is connected to him.”
“I don’t want Mahaado to die,” Anzu said. “He’s a kind man, true to his word, and he doesn’t want to follow Gozaburo at all. Only his loyalty to the Pharaoh kept him there.”
“He doesn’t need to die,” Yuugi said soothingly. Truth be told, he didn’t want Mahaado to die either. Yuugi had been toying with the idea to introduce the magician-General to the facilities in the basement and to the other members of the Resistance. It suddenly dawned to him that Isis had never asked about the other General, to see him, or…
… the air was pierced with a wailing sound, a cry of pure anguish. Everyone flinched, and Anzu buried herself in Honda’s arms. They all recognized Malik’s voice – Isis was no longer. Jounouchi looked a little pale, his lips turned in to a disapproving grimace. Yuugi knew his friend better than anyone else; Jounouchi was probably thinking of the bad things he had said to Isis and how he had treated her, without reconciling before her death. He shuffled with his feet, obviously uncomfortable.
Anzu disentangled herself from Honda’s grasp and walked out of the room. She clasped her hand over her mouth, as if she wanted to throw up.
“Anzu!” Yuugi stood still, torn between following her and offending Honda, or staying here and not consoling his friend. Honda caught onto his predicament, and nodded tersely.
“It’s all right,” he said. “You’re better at consoling anyway. Just go, Yuugi; I’ll take care of the evacuation with this numbskull over here.”
The fact that Jounouchi didn’t even protest against how Honda called him, told Yuugi enough. With a grateful look at his friend, he quickly left the room. He knew where he would find Anzu, and it took him five minutes to get upstairs. He wrestled himself through the crowd, people up in arms about the evacuation, gathering their belongings, the panic still tangible.
Yuugi passed the children in the hallway and excused himself when he went up the stairs, using the fake exit in the bathroom once again. The Sennen Tauk was tucked in the back pocket of his pants; the Item felt warm for some absurb reason, and he wanted to get rid of it. He had to put it immediately back in its hiding place… immediately after he had spoken to Anzu.
She was on the stairs, sitting mid-way, her knees drawn to her chest, her arms wrapped around her knees, head on her arms. Her shoulders shook, but she cried soundlessly. Yuugi climbed up the stairs and sat down a few steps under her, placing his hand on her leg. Anzu moved her own hand down, grabbing his and entangling their fingers.
“Stay with me,” she said.
“I will,” he answered.
“No,” she said. “Stay with me.”
He brought her hand to his lips and gently kissed her fingers - it wasn’t a real kiss, just a brush of his lips. He longed for her to crawl into his arms as she did with Honda, and to rake his fingers through her chestnut hair, and to smell her flowery scent from up close… but she had chosen Honda, and he would rather stay celibate for the rest of his life than to hurt any of his friends. It didn’t mean that their bond was less strong or meaningful. Yuugi and Anzu had shared much of their lives together, and it was a surprise that they didn’t end up together in an official relationship. Anzu had simply said once that she had chosen for Honda, and Yuugi had left it at that. He didn’t want to have his heart even more broken by knowing exactly why Anzu had not chosen him.
“I don’t know the future,” he whispered. “All that I know is…”
She looked at him, teary-eyes, her cheeks a little wet.
“Isis-san saw me with the Items, broken.”
Her lip quivered, but her voice sounded calm when she asked: “What was broken? The Items, or… you?”
“The Items,” he answered, too quickly. At least, that was what he had interpreted from Isis’ vision. He didn’t want to think about the last option.
“I’m afraid you’re going to die.” Anzu kept her voice low. “Like Isis. I’m afraid that everyone of us is going to die, and that Gozaburo will have his world like he wants it to be, and that there will be no more hope left.”
“No, Anzu, never,” he said, and he tightened his grip on her hand. “That will never happen.”
“What if the Pharaoh-General kills you?”
“He won’t,” Yuugi answered, trying to sound confident. “Have faith, Anzu…”
“I do. I do have faith, Yuugi… I had faith since the beginning of all of this, since we went underground and hid for the Elite Troops, since we tried to infiltrate Gozaburo’s headquarters, since we tried to stop his Generals…”
“There’s never any limit on faith, nor does faith suddenly runs out.” Yuugi shifted his hand a little to look at her fingers. Her nails were short and split; she was known for chewing on her nails when stressed.
“Distorted beauty,” he whispered.
“What?”
“Nothing,” he quickly said and beamed at her. “Anzu, we will win, and everything will be all right. We’ll leave here tonight, and we’ll bring people into safety.”
A very watery smile. “You’ll never lose, won’t you?”
“What do you mean?”
“You’ll never lose hope, or faith…”
“Never,” he said, louder this time. Her smile turned more confident.
“We need you. Don’t you dare lose your life. The Resistance won’t survive without you.”
“I’m not that strong,” Yuugi whispered, suddenly feeling a little embarrassed.
“Yes you are,” Anzu said and leaned a little forward, opening her arms for him. Silently, they hugged. “You just preached to me about keeping up faith, so why don’t you, huh?”
He had to chuckle. “I can always trust on you to bring me right back down to Earth.”
“Our beautiful Earth.”
“Our beautiful Earth,” he repeated. Yuugi looked up for no apparent reason, and his heart almost skipped a beat when he saw Mahaado standing on top of the stairs. The magician-General looked aghast; not to see Yuugi in an embrace, but from what he had overheard. Isis was gone. There was an indescribable pain in his eyes, sadness marring his face, and he turned around to move away as silently as he had come. Yuugi leaned with his head on Anzu’s shoulder, his body tensing up from the awkward position; but he held on to her, as if this was the last time he could be hugging her… and maybe it was.
Hopeless, just plain, simple, hopeless. Otogi had been scratching at his prison cell door for hours, maybe even for days. He had lost track of time already. Sighing, he straightened himself, immediately wincing from the pain in his back. The dim light in the hall was his only focus point, and the silence was haunting and ghastly. Kaiba Seto had stopped answering him a long time ago. The thought that the other might have died was something Otogi didn’t want to consider. It scared him even more and confirmed his earlier fear that Noa was going to let him rot and die here.
His stomach protested; Gods, he felt like he could eat a whole chicken, not to mention drink a gallon of water. His throat was dry and raspy, and he already had developed a nasty cough; it was cold and damp down here, and he hadn’t slept. He was afraid he might never wake up if he lied down. There was nothing in the cell providing him any comfort to sleep anyway; only a little bit of hay in the northeast corner. Who in his right mind put a wad of hay in a cell? Every Kaiba is fucking insane, he thought. Otogi usually never swore; it was a sign that he was starting to panic. He was going to die here, from malnutrition and dehydration, forgotten and alone in this fucking dirty cell!
Frustrated, he slammed with his fist into the door again, welcoming the pain. He knew he was still alive if he could feel pain. His fingers felt numb, nails broken and torn from the scratching he had done. It was hopeless on the smooth surface, he was never going to make it. Maybe… maybe he could try to call out to Kaiba again, hopefully he’d get an answer this time.
Otogi’s thoughts were at their lowest and most hopeless, when the building shook. The force was so great that he was flung into the back wall, and he gasped out loud. The wind was knocked out of him, his ribs hurting - but not cracking, thank God - and he groaned in pain. The large tower was shaking on its foundation, cracks tearing the walls as if it was paper, large chunks of plaster and rocks of concrete falling down from the ceiling. Otogi huddled in the corner, tryint to protect himself by covering his head and neck with his arms and hands. What was going on? An earthquake? What power could make this whole building shake like it was a leaf in the wind?
It took maybe a little more than ten seconds, but it felt like minutes. Holding his breath, his body hurting all over, Otogi remained huddled in the corner until the last tremor had ebbed away. His hands and hair were covered with plaster and rubble, and there was a huge gap next to him, the piece of concrete having missed him by a few inches. He could look into the other - empty - cell. Careful, he tried to get up, only to skid and fall back on his lower backside again when the air was torn by a thunderous roar, an unnatural sound that hurt his ears. He yelled out in fear, the dark, aggressive low tone of the roar sending shivers down his spine. What could possibly make such a sound? It was so overwhelming that it forced him to stay on his knees, so forceful that it struck fear into him. There was nothing he could compare it with - if it was from a living thing, he didn’t want to know what animal was responsible for it. This wasn’t thunder, lightning or any other force of nature - some kind of beast had roared, and if he wasn’t frightened enough already, Otogi didn’t want to think of the size of the beast capable of this.
Time passed and everything seemed to slowly return to normal. The dim light in the hallway was off, and he took his time to adjust his eyes to the dark. There was a lightsource somewhere, and he tracked the small beam of light to a small gap in the ceiling. The walls showed serious cracks. Rubble and plaster were still falling down; this had been some earthquake. Otogi assumed it was an earthquake, he couldn’t think of anything else. The roar he’d heard...well, he suppressed any thought about that, for now. His eyes were used to the dark now, and his mind was working fast. There was no more light. With a bit of luck, the earthquake had caused the electricity to shortcircuit, which meant that the electronic lock was open. Might be open. He licked his lips, nervously. If this was true, than this was his one and only chance to escape!
He was at the door in just a few steps, and put his hands against it. Gods, please let it be true..! Otogi started to push. The Gods were with him - the heavy door started to give way. Triumphantically, Otogi pushed harder and harder. He wedged his shoulder between the door opening, his chest heaving from the exertion. Who had installed these fucking heavy doors? Was this another Kaiba ‘joke’? The door was so heavy that he had difficulties pushing it further open. Like a cat, he tried to squirm through, praying that the door wasn’t crushing his limbs. An arm went through the opening, and he told himself to remain calm; if he allowed the door to slam shut, he would certainly be crushed by the weight.
Scraping and cutting his skin and tearing his clothes, Otogi managed to get himself through the door opening, panting and cursing under his breath. Finally, he was outside of his cell, and he let go of the door which immediately slammed back into its original position; the only difference was that the electronic lock didn’t close it up. Wheezing, he yelled in victory, not caring if his entire body hurt. He couldn’t care less about the pain - he was free, out of his cell, thanks to a stupid earthquake! What were the odds?
His earlier panic and fear had dissolved, replaced by adrenalin and excitement. He was free again! His face started to hurt - from the big smile on his lips, reaching from ear to ear. He knew most of the layout of the KaibaCorp. Tower, with a bit of luck he could escape unseen. He had to make his way to the Resistance… if there was still a Resistance left. How could he reach his room from this floor, and get his stuff? At least something to eat and to drink? He was going to pass out soon…
He started to move, ignoring the cramped pain in his feet. Kaiba’s cell was on his right - the door was completely out of its hinges, the electronic lock dangling from a few wires. It was dark inside the cell; dark and silent. Otogi bit on his lip. He could make out his silhouette, arms drawn up in the shackles, body lifeless. Poor guy. Gozaburo will pay for this. The earthquake had come too late for him. Slowly, Otogi straightened himself, forcing himself to continue, groaning when he felt more muscles protest. He had work to do, and determinedly, he stepped forward -
“Hey. Hey!”
Otogi froze mid-step. He almost thought that his imagination was running off wild with him, because he wasn’t going to believe that Kaiba was still alive after all of this. It was just a gust of wind, something he thought he’d heared, but that wasn’t necessarily there...
“Get me… out of here.”
“Kaiba,” Otogi said out loud and stepped over the rubble. “You’re still alive?”
He was answered with a cough.
“I take that as a ‘yes’.” Otogi moved carefully, the darkness hindering him, until his foot bumped against something. It rolled over the floor - it was the water bottle he had thrown at Kaiba, just before he was caught himself.
“Can you do something about this?” Kaiba’s voice was just… awful. Otogi picked up the water bottle.
“Do you want to drink first?”
“No, get these shackles off of me!”
Otogi didn’t care that Kaiba all but commanded him. He fumbled around in the dark until he found one of the shackles. The surface was far from smooth, and he snorted.
“Rusty shackles?”
“Courtesy of my dear father,” Kaiba said, his voice filled with loathing. “Do you know what that was?”
Otogi knew what Kaiba was referring to, even though it was hard to understand him; he had barely any saliva left and his tongue was thick, rendering his words incomprehensible.
“I have no idea,” he answered in earnest. “As long as no one’s coming down to check up on us, we’re safe. Hold on... I got it.”
His fingers had found the closures on the shackles; they were rather simple to remove, if you could reach them. He removed the closures and the shackles fell open with a loud, clanging thud on the floor, earning a groan from Kaiba. He dropped his arms and he breathed heavily. It had to hurt, it had to hurt like hell, but Otogi choose not to comment on it, neither on Kaiba’s attempts to hide his pain as he smothered his cries. Otogi didn’t know for how long the other had been in this position, arms cramped upwards against the wall. The pain had to be unbearable and as his blood circulation was running again, the discomfort was something he couldn’t imagine. As not to embarrass Kaiba, Otogi screwed the cap off of the water bottle and held it out for him, only to remind himself that Kaiba couldn’t see him. You got used to everything, apparently - even darkness.
Kaiba uttered a plethora of coarse words under his breath, as if he didn’t want to be overheard. Otogi did his best to ignore it, as well as the stench. His cell hadn’t smelled much better.
“I need my laptop,” Kaiba said out of the blue. “Clothes, water, food, Mokuba… I need to find Mokuba.”
“Your brother, right? I know where he is,”Otogi replied, “he’s in Noa’s quarters. I don’t think that’s the best place where we should be going to right now…”
“I’m not leaving without him!”
“You can’t leave at all,” Otogi shot back and cursed the darkness inside the cell. “Your body is neglected and weak. Here - where’s your hand? I have some water for you. Drink that, and then we get the hell out of here. We have to find the Resistance, I know they have a nurse. She can take care of-”
“To hell with your resistance,” Kaiba answered brusquely. “Wasn’t it because of them you ended up here in the first place?”
“I’m not going to discuss that with you,” Otogi said, “we have better and other things to think about, don’t you think?” He grunted when he was slapped against his stomach – until he realized it was Kaiba putting out his hand, fumbling around in the dark. He pressed the water bottle into his hand and winced when he heard the water slosh, spilling some of the precious liquid.
“Careful!”
“Yeah, yeah…” Kaiba drank, and immediately started to cough violently. His whole body shook, spasming with violent convulsions.
“Take it easy, take is easy!” Otogi found Kaiba’s shoulders and pressed down on them, in an attempt to steady his body. Kaiba snarled at him, immediately drinking more, as if afraid Otogi was going to take the bottle away from him. “You haven’t had food or water in a long time…”
The bottle was dropped, and judging from the sound it made when it hit the floor, it was empty. Otogi was about to cry – he wished Kaiba had left some water for him.
“I have to get out of here. Now.” Kaiba’s voice sounded different, but not less commanding. “Mokuba. My laptop. Those bastards will pay for everything they have done to us.”
“We have to be careful,” Otogi reminded him. “It’s a miracle they haven’t come down yet to check up on us…”
Kaiba barked a laugh. “They probably figure that we’re already dead. Why bother? Help me up.”
Otogi frowned but didn’t comment again. If he left without Kaiba, the other would certainly die. He could be nicer in general, though… knowing he didn’t have a choice, Otogi heaved a sigh and helped him up. Kaiba uttered a deep moan, hissing as he was finally back on his feet, muscles protesting, body weak and deteriorated. He leaned heavily on Otogi, unable to walk on his own.
“I didn’t think... it was this bad.” Kaiba panted from the exertion of standing upright after being shackled and forced into the same, cramped position for so long. “When I get my hands on Noa and Gozaburo…”
“Later,” Otogi said sternly. “We have to get out of here first, and we have a long way to go.”
Kaiba muttered something under his breath. “Let’s go then,” he said, much louder. “I have a brother who needs my help.”
With an annoyed grunt, he moved the marble bishop closer to the King. His position wasn’t completely endangered, but he had to be careful. Very careful, much to his own surprise. How could Noa of all people have dealt him a blow like this? Noa was supposed to be the whiny, bratty toddler who had no followers and nothing to do but to throw his infamous temper tantrums. It was a smart move of his one and only son by blood to expose Otogi as the double-crosser he was, and Gozaburo still didn’t know to this day how he had found out. It made him feel like a fool, to not have seen through his own assistant’s mask.
He wasn’t going to ask him, of course. His fingers rested on top of the bishop. His son had just proven to be more than just a thorn in his side. Interesting. He hadn’t expect Noa to make a move, any move for that matter. It showed him how dangerous it was to make assumptions; because of his assumption that Noa was satisfied with his life in the tower and was nothing more than an impudent brat, he had allowed the other to become a problem, to grow into a nuisance, far greater than he could ever think of. He was crippled of his magician-General already, he wasn’t going to lose the Pharaoh over it.
Gozaburo refrained from growling. His son wasn’t upsetting him, not at all. He was still the master strategist, and he was always one step ahead. Marik and Bakura had suffered the Pharaoh’s anger, the fools, but they were still the pillars to his sanity. As long as they took the blame and the hits, Gozaburo himself could manipulate the Pharaoh into a position of an avenger: if he encouraged the Pharaoh’s anger about Mahaado’s capture some more, his most powerful General would take out his wrath on the Resistance itself. He could turn the tables around again, and if that pesky Resistance was dealt with, no one could ever hold an upper hand over him. That, and he had more Generals than Mahaado or the Pharaoh to dispose over – and two of them were already standing in front of him.
Karim held his hands on his back as always, puffing himself a little up. He didn’t need that at all as he already was the physically strongest of the Generals, his body buff and muscular. Dressed in rather simple armor, his ebony black hair was held together by a simple golden band. His piercing brown eyes were focused on the chess board as if he tried to figure out the pattern Gozaburo was moving the pieces to. He hadn’t spoken much since he’d arrived a few hours ago; he had just been standing there.
The other General, Shaadah, was completely dwarfed and overshadowed by Karim’s tall physique. He wasn’t wearing any armor, but a turban and wide, comfortable robes instead. He had arrived only half an hour ago, returning from the Middle-East. Gozaburo didn’t know how he did it, but Shaadah had never worn any armor and had never sustained any injuries. The man was a ghost, almost literally, but he got his work done and that was all that mattered. The huge golden rings in his ears were a striking feature; the rest of his body, even his hands, was completely covered by the large, formless robes.
“I will brief you as soon as Set has arrived,” Gozaburo said. It had been a real pain to call that particular General back; Set was doing great work in the United States, one of the last remaining countries resisting his rule. Who knows how much work he was destroying by calling Set back; he probably would have to start all over again. Gozaburo didn’t want to take the risk, nonetheless; not now. The United States could always be conquered later.
“It will take him some time to cross the ocean,” Karim spoke, even at low volume his voice quite booming. “I wish to see my Pharaoh first, then.”
Gozaburo nodded. “I would like to pay him a visit with all of us together, but you are right. I do not know how long it will take for Set to arrive here. After you have freshened up a little, we can go see the Pharaoh.”
“Are we not waiting for Mahaado?” Shaadah asked, and Gozaburo laced his fingers together, his mind racing. He hadn’t informed his Generals about the current situation yet, and he wanted to keep the news about Mahaado to himself until everyone was complete.
“We will be waiting for him, too,” he finally said. He should’ve known that the others would be asking for him. It drove the point home once again that they were stupidly loyal to each other despite working independently, and that their utmost loyalty was with the Pharaoh, not with him. Karim threw Shaadah a quizzical look, even pursing his lips, but didn’t comment.
“I will call for servants to bring you to your-” the building shook. The marble pieces of his chess game tipped over and rolled from the board onto the floor, the paperwork on his desk flying all over, the heavy paperweight bouncing off the desk. Shaadah lost his balance, and only because he held onto his massive desk, Gozaburo prevented himself from falling as well. Karim managed to stay upright, but lifted up his hands in a reflex to protect himself. The walls cracked, and a window splintered into a million fragments. Paintings dropped from the wall, and the chandelier came crashing down, smashing into pieces onto a smaller table.
“What is going on?” He yelled.
Karim looked up as if he could find the answer written on the ceiling, blinking a few times when dust and plaster rained down on his face. “God,” he said, but his voice was lost in a rumble, a deep roaring sound that split the heavens, and Gozaburo thought his ears were going to burst.
“What?”
It was over. As abrupt as it had started, it ended – the sound was gone, the trembling had stopped, and the building was still standing. Gozaburo straightened himself, a little wobbly, and tried to regain his composure. With brusque movements, he dusted off the grit and rubble from his suit, and he eyed the two Generals suspiciously. Karim was still staring at the ceiling, and Shaadah slowly got back up on his feet, rearranging his robes, checking if his turban was still on his head.
“We are too late,” Karim said and he sounded sad, disappointed. Gozaburo wanted to roar himself. He had a very good idea what Karim was talking about, and he stormed past both his Generals, leaving his quarters. As fast as he could walk, using his cane for support, he called for the elevators, hoping they’d still work. He needed to go to the top floor, right now!
“Yuugi. Wake up, Yuugi.”
He made a noncommittal sound, rolling himself deeper into his blankets. He had barely gotten any sleep – only one, maybe two hours had passed since he lied down.
“Wake up before I dump a bucket of cold water all over you,” the female voice sang into his ear, with nothing in her tone to actually come through with her threat.
“Anzu, stop it,” Yuugi murmured but couldn’t suppress a grin.
She gently shook his shoulder. “I’m sorry to wake you so soon again, but we have to go.”
“Mmnnn… I know…” He buried his face deeper into the pillow. He felt like he could sleep for a few months and forget everything and anything… Yuugi shivered. Despite the blankets, it was still cold down here, and the holes in the fabric weren’t exactly helping. He shivered again and tried to wrestle his arms free.
Together with Anzu, Honda, Jounouchi and Shizuka, he was the only one in the basement left. They had spend the large part of the night evacuating the children and the adults who were staying with the Resistance to other buildings, dispersed all over Domino City. Ironically, one of the sturdiest buildings was another gameshop; the one who’d been in Otogi’s family for generations, suffering the same fate as the Mutou’s Game Shop. Few buildings had survived previous attacks and the ongoing destruction of the Elite Troops. The entire operation had taken place past curfew, and they had to be very careful as there were Troops actively patrolling the perimeters of the suburbs. Some of the children had been crying, and it had taken them ages to soothe the terrified youngsters. Yuugi felt like he had aged considerably during those dark and tense hours.
Malik and Bakura were in Isis’s room. They had closed themselves off from the rest of the Resistance. Yuugi didn’t want to bother Malik so soon after his sister’s death, but he had to talk to him, if only to give the woman a proper burial. His heart weighed heavy with grief for the female General. She had been an enemy, and much of her motives would remain confusing and unclear forever, but she hadn’t deserved to die. The calmness with how she accepted her death was typical for her strong character, and he was going to miss her presence, no matter how uncomfortable he sometimes felt around her.
“Yuugi?”
“Yes, yes,” he answered hurriedly and freed up his other arm. He sat upright, stifling a yawn, almost yelping in surprise when a hot mug was pressed into his hands.
“To get you awake.” Anzu grinned. He returned the grin and smelled – it was coffee. They had a very limited supply of coffee, using it only for very special occasions, and he looked up at her.
“Why..?”
“It was the last bit,” she silenced him, still smiling. “Just drink it, Yuugi. I have breakfast for you, and you’re going to need the energy.”
“Where are the others?”
“Jounouchi and Honda are scouting the area, to see if they can find any signs of the Pharaoh yet. Malik and Bakura… they’re waiting outside.”
She shrugged, but he could see the affection in her eyes. She knew about Isis’ death, and even though she didn’t know her as well as the others did, compassion was still evident from the look on her face.
“All right, I’ll get up,” he said. “Oh, and Shizuka-chan?”
They couldn’t have kept Shizuka separated from her brother no matter how much they tried, and she had refused to listen to her brother’s pleas to get into safety. She had stubbornly latched onto him, literally, and finally he had given up on prying her off of him; he understood the turmoil within her, and how much she was afraid he was going to die.
“She’s in the kitchen, taking care of things.” Anzu made a dismissive gesture with her hands. Shizuka didn’t need anyone’s help in the kitchen, and for quite some people it was a real surprise to learn that she was blind. She moved around with a confidence and ease that was almost uncanny. Yuugi threw the blankets off of him, having slept in his clothes. There was no time left to get some water and get freshed up. Time was running out; even though they had no idea when and where exactly the Pharaoh was going to attack, it would be of no use to sit here and wait until the slaughter would commence.
Slaughter… would the Pharaoh really be that bad? He cared for Mahaado, and anyone capable of caring, wouldn’t kill, right? Yuugi shook his head. Maybe Jounouchi had been right all the time, and had he been too soft, too believing, too naïve.
Still, he couldn’t see anything wrong with believing in the good side, in the good nature of people – if there was the smallest bit of compassion and care in the Pharaoh, he would find it, and draw strength from it. No one would die today if he could help it. He mentally said a quick prayer, and finished drinking his coffee, even though it was too hot and he scorched his tongue.
Breakfast was a hard-boiled egg, a dry roll and something resembling a biscuit. Yuugi wished he had waited with finishing his coffee to wash the bread away. There was nothing he could do about it now and he searched for his shoes. Anzu rolled up his blankets into a compact, small bundle, tying a string of rope around it.
“Ready?”
“Ready,” Yuugi answered and took the bundle from her. She didn’t protest but smiled sadly. There was nothing in this room left, the whole basement was cleared out of provisions and supplies – they would need it more than anything. “Let’s go, then.”
In the hallway, Malik and Bakura were leaning against the wall, clearly engaged in conversation. Yuugi could hear them whisper, but was unable to determine the language; it wasn’t Japanese, that was for sure. Malik was turned away from him, and the Sennen Rod was tucked in a belt loop, the nasty sharp winged blades brushing his back. One would have to be more than blind to miss the chunk of gold that seemed very uncomfortable to Yuugi to carry around.
Bakura removed himself from the wall. His Item was also visible; a large pendant with a triangle in the middle, and four, no five prongs dangling from it. They didn’t make a sound and rested against the striped t-shirt he was wearing, this time the black trench coat unbuttoned.
“Malik, I…” Yuugi started, and stopped talking when the other put up his hand.
“Don’t.”
“But…”
“If it’s about my sister, save it,” Malik said, avoiding direct eye contact with Yuugi. “I’m dealing with it, all right? We better go upstairs. I don’t like spending much time in underground basements.”
Bakura tugged at Malik’s shirt, but didn’t speak a word. He looked a little apologetically at Yuugi, then his expression shifted into something… expecting when he looked up at Malik, only to turn into disappointment when Malik pursed his lips and remained silent. Yuugi didn’t understand what was going on, and decided to leave the both of them alone for now. Isis had predicted they were to be confronted with their ‘dark halves’ as she had called it, something he didn’t like the sound of.
Anzu and Shizuka joined the group, Shizuka wearing her usual coat and cradling a gift basket in her arms. No one said that the basket would hinder her movements in case they needed to duck or to run and hide. Anzu had a sympathetic look on her face when she saw how the girl was clutching to the object. Shizuka would never let go of something her brother had gifted upon her.
“Let’s go,” Yuugi said and noticed that Malik and Bakura weren’t carrying anything – they had arrived with nothing and they left with nothing. It made him even sadder, but then he steeled himself. Today was an important day, and he had to remain focused. He even suppressed his feelings about leaving the building his parents and grandparents had build, risking their own lives. He had to focus now. No one was going to die. Not today.
After reaching the surface and going through the small bathroom, Anzu was about to open the front door when Yuugi tapped her on the shoulder.
“You go ahead,” he said. She looked disturbed, not understanding, until he nodded towards the stairs.
“I’ll see you soon,” the girl whispered and opened the door, not making any sound since Honda had adjusted and oiled the rail. Yuugi went up the stairs, taking two steps at once. He didn’t look into the rooms with the covered furniture. It was hurting too much, especially now.
Mahaado was, as usual, sitting on the edge of his bed. In the few days he had spend in captivity, he had already developed his own routine. He was always sitting on the edge of his bed when someone arrived. Yuugi entered the room without knocking.
“You probably expected breakfast by now,” he said.
“I did,” the magician-General answered, “but honestly..? After seeing you all leave in the middle of the night…”
“You’re free to go,” Yuugi said.
“I have always been free to go,” Mahaado quipped. A small smile tugged at the corner of his lips. “I just never used the opportunity, that is all.”
“I have to ask you to use it now, or…” Yuugi returned the small smile. “…wait until the Pharaoh finds you. We received a transmission from someone named Namu, warning us for an oncoming attack.”
Mahaado’s smile widened, though it didn’t reach his eyes. “I am happy to see my Pharaoh again, should he come for me,” he said and he rose, smoothing out the wrinkles in his robes. “I will stay by your side to welcome him, Mutou Yuugi.”
“Whu.. what?”
“You heard me the first time.” Mahaado walked to the corner and wrapped his fingers around his magician’s staff, lifting it up gently. He didn’t look at his armor, simply piled up on the floor.
“He will try to destroy us,” Yuugi said. “For keeping you here. If…”
“My Pharaoh will listen to reason,” Mahaado said sternly. “If you can deal with his bodyguards, and I can manage to talk to him alone, there will be no trouble at all, and no destruction at all. I will go with you and we will set this straight.”
“If you really think-” Yuugi covered his ears the next second as deep, dark rumbling sound drowned his voice out, a terrifying… roar that send shivers down his spine. Fear clenched at his stomach, and his knees almost gave out on him. Mahaado was eerily calm, and never took his eyes off of Yuugi, but his knuckles turned white from the intense grip on his staff.
“The Dragon of Heavens,” he said. “Osiris has been called forth. It is worse than I thought. We have to leave here now, hurry!”
Chapter 5 | Chapter 7 |