Summary:  While assisting his grandfather on an excavation in Egypt for their senior class trip, Yuugi and his friends unleash seven powerful beings from their millennia-long imprisonment.  These strange creatures, who call themselves "darkness", will bring about a series of life-changing events for the close-knit group of teenagers.

2,584 words | 2nd draft - 3,216 words

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Throughout the world there are tales of magic.  Fantastical animals that possessed mystical powers and human-like beings that were capable of wielding unimaginable forces.  The stories claim they once lived among us, but then one day they all seemed to vanish . . .

What became of these amazing creatures?  Was their existence purely flights of fancy, conjured up by wild imaginations?   Were they real living beings that simply died out?  Or was there another reason for their disappearance?

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Memphis, capital city of Khemet, approximately 992 B.C.

Retiring to his chambers for the evening, the young Pharaoh heaved a soft sigh of relief once the doors closed.  It had been an unusually long and very tiring day and the eighteen year-old young man was glad it was at an end.  Nerves frayed, Pharaoh Atem moved to the large balcony over looking the palace grounds and sunk onto a plush lounge chair, being careful not to crush his large wings in the process.

Watching the sun sink below the horizon the teenage royal allowed the beautiful sight, accompanied by the sounds of the everyday palace activities, to lull him into a state of relaxation.  If any were to catch sight of the young man at this moment, they would surely have their breath stolen by the vision he made.  Even in the fading light the sun made his bright, angular crimson eyes, framed by long, thick, black lashes, appear to glow softly.  Rising above his crown, the red-edged tips of his spiky black hair were cast in a fiery glow while causing his spiky, lightening-like gold bangs and dark gold, feathery wings to glisten brightly.  

Suddenly feeling a bit restless, he stretched the black-edged appendages out, but resisted the urge to take a short flight.  His day was not yet over.  His vizier, who rarely asked for anything and never anything the Pharaoh wasn't willing to give, had requested a private audience with him but had not given any hints as to why.

A soft knock at his doors roused him from his musings and he bade his expected guest entry. 

"My Pharaoh."

Standing and folding his wings, Atem turned from the window and smiled warmly at the man who had been a large part of both his and his father's lives.  "Siamun, what is it you wished to speak with me about?" he asked, casting a curious glance at the large covered basket that had been placed on his table.

Clearing his throat, the elderly man began his explanation.  "As you already know, my son died a few months ago leaving his wife alone and heavy with child."  He paused to collect himself, "She gave birth just this morning then followed him into the afterlife . . . but she left us with the most precious of gifts," he continued, moving to lift a small bundle out of what Atem now realized was a bassinet.

Cradling the precious bundle in the crook of one arm, Siamun lifted the cloth away from the baby's face.  Huge amethyst eyes blinked owlishly in the dim light, the infant making soft sounds of discontent at having been disturbed.  Atem chuckled at the cute expression, the warm sound bringing the child's focus straight to him.  Amethyst locked with crimson and something in the Pharaoh's heart sang, could it be . . .

Siamun smiled at the young man he'd help raise, knowing now that he'd been right in his assumptions.  Carefully, he handed the baby to his king, adjusting his hold until both teenager and infant were comfortable.  "Atem meet Heba (1), my grandson and your akhu (2).  Heba meet Atem, your Pharaoh and kkwy (3)."

Atem smiled and stroked a finger down the baby's soft, chubby cheek bringing a giggle from the newborn, "Welcome home, my Heba."

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With the ease of familiarity, a pretty, sky blue-eyed brunette teen fed a six month-old Heba while answering the steady stream of questions coming from her little "helpers".  The boys had come into the nursery some time ago and had been playing with the baby the entire time.

"So this is where you two snuck off to," a voice called out, making the small figures jump guiltily.  A tall, well-built, blond-haired man with honey-brown eyes and tanned skin had just entered the room, a mock-scowl on his face, his slender, red draconic wings (4) folded against his back.

"We're sorry Jono.  We just wanted to play with Heba," Seto replied, the pale-skinned five year-old turning sad, bright blue eyes on the ms-n hwi.

"We weren't being any trouble either, were we Teana?" Rasui (5) insisted, the equally pale eight year-old's dark brown eyes wide and liquid.

"You're both supposed to be doing your studies," the blond admonished, attempting to remain firm.  Amazingly, the boys' eyes went even wider, drawing a defeated groan from the man.  "Argh, I don't know how Bakura and Seth can resist you two!" Jono exclaimed, dropping down and sweeping the two akhu into a hug.

"They've actually been quite helpful," the other ms-n hwi told him while burping her charge, being careful to keep her delicate blue fairy wings out of the infant's reach.  Said tiny infant letting out a burp that rivaled even Jono’s best then cooing in content afterwards.  "Heba gets bored so easily.  I constantly have to come up with new games for him.  They were both a welcome distraction for him."

"A little game master already are ya?" the blond asked the infant, releasing the boys to ruffle the baby's spiky, tri-colored hair.

Laughing, Heba attempted to grasp the fingers Jono was now wiggling in front of him, squealing in delight when he'd catch one then letting it go to try and catch another.

"So Jono, why were you looking for these two?  Other than that they were skipping out on their lessons." the blue-eyed brunette asked, curious as to what had brought him to see Seto without Seth.  During court, Jono normally remained at the High Priest's side guarding over his lover and their Pharaoh.

"Weeellll," the blond said standing and ruffling silver and auburn locks as he did, "I just thought they'd want to know that Bakura's back-"

"Really?!" both boys squealed happily.  Rasui's kkwy had been gone for months on a mission, leaving his young light restless and pining for his return.

"He's in the main receiving room with the Pharaoh and the priests," Jono told them, sighing when they both bolted from the room.

"Don't run!" he called after them.  Hoping to stave off a disaster, or at least skinned knees, he headed for the door pausing to look back at the brunette ms-n hwi.

Teana waved him on, "Go on, we'll catch up."  As the blond ms-n hwi ran off, the young woman looked down to see Heba waving after him in perfect mimicry of her.  "Oh boy, we'd better watch you around Bakura, huh?"

Heba giggled.

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The thundering sound of small feet stampeding towards the room sounded more like a horde of children, instead of the two that raced inside.  Not even slowing their pace, the two boys made a beeline for the tanned, russet-eyed, silver-haired man talking with the Pharaoh.

"Bakura!" Rasui cried out, launching himself into the infiltrator's arms.  "You're back!!" he squealed, snuggling into his kkwy's embrace and giggling softly as the man curled his black bat wings around them.

"Did you get to fight bad guys again?" Seto asked, ducking under the large wings to attach himself to the tall man's leg.  Bakura always had the best stories!

"Why don't you let Bakura rest a while first?" Seth suggested to the two lights, smiling when Seto detached himself from the spy to run to his own darkness.

"Perhaps they'd like to play in the gardens with Chris?" a soft voice asked, drawing the attention of the two little ones to their other guests.  The one who'd spoken, a short, light orange-haired man with dark gray eyes, was smiling warmly at them, white aqua-iridescent, liquid wings folded behind his back, his hands resting on the shoulders of a little girl with gray eyes and brown hair tied in buns high on the sides of her head.  Standing next to them with his arm around the smaller man's waist, was a tall man with golden eyes, long, aqua hair and spiky bangs and wings that were a black reflection of the other's.

"An excellent idea, my love," the aqua-haired man concurred, "We can even have Timeaus, Critias, and Hermos go with and keep them out of trouble."  Dartz suppressed a chuckle at the slightly panicked looks on his knights' faces.  He would never understand how the greatest warriors of Atlantis were so unnerved by spending time alone with children.

With a promise to visit him before bed, Bakura placed Rasui on his feet and gave the boy a gentle push towards the young girl.  One quick hug from Seth later and Seto was off and dragging Rasui and Chris out of the room, followed closely by their reluctant guardians.

"You shouldn't be so mean to them, dear," Tryphon (6) admonished his husband.

The Atlantean king grinned at his light unrepentantly, "If we don't get them used to children now, what are they going to do when we start expanding our family?"

"Barricade themselves in their rooms?" Atem joked, chuckling at the Atlanteans' antics.

"What did I miss?" Teana asked quietly, stepping up behind Jono after she'd finally arrived with a clean and dry, albeit squirmy, Heba.

"King Dartz sentencing his knights to death by babysitting," Jono replied solemnly, making Teana struggle to not burst into laughter.

Catching sight of the female ms-n hwi's shaking wings, the Pharaoh waved the woman over, eager to introduce his light to the others.  Taking the wiggling bundle from the brunette, Atem turned back to Bakura and his guests.

"Dartz, Tryphon, Bakura, I'd like to introduce you to Siamun's grandson, my akhu, Heba."

"Congratulations my friend," Dartz spoke warmly, "it has been a long time coming."

Bakura nodded in agreement, watching Tryphon and Heba as the older light cooed over the infant one.  For a long time the priests had worried over the Pharaoh's absent light, but now everyone could rest easy now that the last member of the royal court had found their soul mate.

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In an underground cave cloaked by magic, a dark robed figure approached his master with news of their progress, dropping to his knees and bowing to the ground.

"Have the items been completed yet?" the master asked, motioning for the man to rise.

"Yes, my master," the acolyte reassured him.  "All that remains is the spell needed for the Atlantean king."

"When will it be completed?"

"Tomorrow night at the latest, my master."

"Good," the master replied, dismissing his servant.  'Soon.  Soon you and all your fellow abominations will be gone forever, my Pharaoh,' the man thought, his chilling laughter filling the chamber.

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The soft sound of the door creaking open woke the room's two occupants before the small figure entering could even get the door shut again.

"Seto?  What are you doing in here my light?" Seth asked the teary eyed boy that was climbing up onto his bed.

"I had a bad dream," he sniffled, crawling in between Seth and Jono.  "I dreamed that bad men came and started hurting people, then they hurt you an Jono and were gonna hurt me, but that's when I woke up."

"Aww, it's okay little one," Jono soothed the young akhu, stroking his soft cinnamon-brown hair.  "You're safe here with me an Seth," he reassured the child while Seth stretched out a wide black dragon wing to cover his lover and his light.

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A loud explosion rocked the palace, sending the occupants on high alert.  Mahaado, Mana, and Kisara took off immediately towards the source of the sound, prepared to defend the palace and their pharaoh.  Following the two magicians and dragon woman, Timeaus, Critias, and Hermos rushed to join them determined that none would harm the Atlantean royals as well.  No sooner had they left the room, Jono, Mie' (7), and Hondo (8) went to join Teana with Seto and Heba, while the three remaining Atlantean ms-n hwi were sent to protect their princess and queen.

Unwilling to remain entirely idle, Atem stretched out his powers to contact the two absent kkwy only to be met with silence.  The grim expression that crossed the young Pharaoh's face caught the Atlantean king's attention, "What's wrong, Atem?"

"I am unable to reach Bakura or Marik.  I can not even sense them," he confided in the other.  "I have a bad feeling that something has happened to them."

"Something HAS happened to them, my Pharaoh," a sinister voice rang out mockingly.

"Who are you and how did you get by our ms-n hwi?!" Seth snarled, moving in front of the Pharaoh along with the other priests.

"I am the Sorcerer Amahté (9), but that will be of no concern to you, just like your ms-n hwi were to me," the man sneered haughtily.

"What did you do to them?!!" Dartz roared, knowing his knights would never allow any threat to pass while they were still alive.

"I think you should be more concerned with your own fate rather than that of your guard dogs," the sorcerer sneered, "But if you must know, I've sent them all to another dimension."

"WHAT?!!"

"And as for the your fellow monstrosities . . ." The man paused to wave two golden objects tauntingly in front of the Pharaoh:  a ring with a triangle and eye in the center, and five cones hanging from the outside of the circlet and a set of scales bearing the same eye mark, "My acolytes and I have already sealed both your infiltrator and your tomb builder."  He smiled nastily, "They were easy to defeat with their wretched akhu dead."

"You monster!" Isis gasped in horror, holding back her tears.  The thought that her brother's light, the cheerful and mischievous Malik, and Bakura's shy and sweet Rasui had both been killed was far too painful.  "You murdered children to seal them?!"

"Gladly," Amahté gloated, "You kkwy and your akhu are abominations.  Monsters parading about our world in mockery of true humans, you and your ms-n hwi have no right living amongst humans!"

"What gives you the right to make that decision?!" Atem snarled angrily.

"My humanity," the sorcerer replied as though he thought the answer obvious.  Signaling his men to begin the ritual, he muttered a quick spell to seal the room off.  "Now, which one of you should I seal first?"

"You couldn't defeat Marik or Bakura while their lights were alive, what makes you think you stand a chance against all of us?" Otogi growled, shadows already curling about his hands.  With a shout he released the energy in a blast that headed straight for the sorcerer . . . and rebounded!  Green eyes widened in shock as blood red bat wings snapped around his body in defense, barely blocking the attack in time.  The resulting concussion knocking the young priest flat on his back and as he started to sit up the sorcerer began to laugh.

"Did I forget to mention that my acolytes and I can draw power from the very items you are sealed in?" Amahté laughed again, reveling in the angry and astonished faces of the abominations.  They knew their time was at an end.

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In their chambers, the Atlantean queen had not been idle.  He would protect his child.  "Hold still little one, I'm going to send you someplace safe," Tryphon told his daughter, weaving his hands in the beginnings of a spell.

"You and daddy are coming too, right?" Chris asked, biting her lip nervously as she hugged her doll tightly.

"Of course sweetheart," he replied, being quick to reassure his daughter, "I'm going to send the other lights to you first, then I'll come and we'll all wait for your father together okay?"

"Promise?"  Tryphon nodded, pausing to hug his only child before continuing the spell.  The light began to chant the final part of the spell, putting all his concentration into protecting his daughter.  Bands of light rose around the girl, surrounding her in a glowing bubble that suddenly vanished with a silent pop.  Now Chris would sleep between this world and the next, safe from all harm until he retrieved her.  Heart heavy, he quickly ran from his room in the direction of where the other lights were being guarded, knowing he had to reach them before the enemy did.  But after they were safe, he would not be joining them, not while he was capable of fighting.  Tryphon might not have been a warrior, but he was no weakling and he could not stand idle while his beloved husband fought for their lives.

Reaching the great hall he was caught up short by what he found:  the remaining Atlantean knights:  Polemistis, Sotiris, and Athene, all dead.  Covering his mouth with one hand, he started backing up in horror, stopping when his back came up against another person.

"Looks like we won't have to look for the Atlantean queen after all," a sinister voice, laced with dark amusement, commented.

Tryphon's head whipped around just in time to spot the strange man's dagger coming down . . .

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With a cry of agony, the blond warrior finally fell to the ground.  He had failed.  Teana, Hondo, and Mie' were already dead and he would soon follow.  He didn't know what had happened to Tryphon and the other Atlanteans.  Seth and the other darks were gone, he could feel it, and now no one was left to protect his lover's light and the Pharaoh's infant akhu that had been left in his care.

"Jono!" Seto's terrified voice cried out.  Running to the fallen ms-n hwi, he dove onto the blond, a frightened Heba wailing loudly in his little arms.

"Wake up Jono!  Please wake up!" the boy pleaded against the dying blond's chest even his consciousness began to fade.  Seto and Heba's screams as they were pulled away the last sounds in his ears.

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Katsuya Jonouchi gasped sharply as he shot up in bed.  Panting heavily, he scanned the room confusedly, with eyes wide in shock, and his heart thundering loudly in his chest.  Warm arms suddenly wrapped around him from behind, causing him to jump in fright before he recognized the owner of those arms.  Relaxing into the comforting embrace of his lover Seto Kaiba, he tried to calm himself.

"What's wrong, pup?  Did you have that dream again?" Seto asked, brushing sweat-matted bangs out of the blond's honey-brown eyes.

"Y-yeah," the blond stuttered, cuddling into Seto's arms.  "I know it's just a dream . . . but it feels so real."   Burying his face in the crook of the auburn-haired teen's neck, Jou sighed contentedly, his heart rate beginning to calm.

"My invitation is still open . . ." the slightly taller teen offered, hoping his boyfriend would open up.  He'd been trying to get the blond to talk about his re-occurring dream for over a week now, but with no success.

"I know, Seto.  Maybe . . . maybe I'll be ready to talk about it in the morning."

November 10, 2008
-edited February 23, 2009

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1 - game (ancient Egyptian)

2 - light (ancient Egyptian)

3 - darkness (ancient Egyptian)

4 - think Red-Eyes Black Dragon, but in red.

5 - dream (ancient Egyptian)

6 -  softness, delicacy (ancient Greek)  I swear he's not an OC, this past-life name is something I made up, but he is a legitimate character from the series.

7 -  name of a cat god (ancient Egyptian), pronounced mai-ay

8 - war (ancient Egyptian)

9 - to have power over (ancient Egyptian)