Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Countdown to Armageddon ❯ Minhotep ( Chapter 2 )

Thanks everyone for reviewing. I hope that you guys like the way that the story is progressing so far. You know, when I started this fic it was nothing like this at all. It was another sappy, crappy fic that I thought up. Then I wrote out a monologue (that I can't tell you about or it would ruin the whole story) and the fic took a whole new turn and after a few more (and watching some story about an abused child on Sixty Minutes) I ended up here.

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"words" - speech

'words' - thought

//words// - I'll explain later

/words/ - ditto (Love that word!)

Large gaps mean a scene or time change.

Disclaimer: Yu-Gi-Oh is the intellectual property of Kazuki Takahashi, and is being used in this fanfiction for fan purposes only. All situations, opinions and characters not belonging to Kazuki Takahashi are the intellectual property of Blue September.

Warnings: This fic contains Yaoi and some amounts of graphic violence. You may also notice some OOCness in some of the characters.

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Chapter 2: Minhotep

The sun bore down mercilessly upon the travelling trio as they approached yet another town. They had been travelling for months. The moon had gone full-cycle seven times now and the seasonal rains would soon arrive.

The queen looked across to her fellow traveller, riding proudly on her ass. Yes they could have probably taken some horses or camels from the royal stables, Ra knows it would have been faster, but the plan was to keep a low profile, asses being as low as one could go without walking.

"We are nearly there My Queen," said the queen's poorly-dressed, middle-aged companion.

"Yes I noticed. We should reach by night-fall. And you must stop referring to me like that. It's dangerous. Call me… Rai here and you will be… Abra." They had to change their names from town to town for fear of being caught. News as big as the disappearance of the queen and crowned prince spread quickly, so they needed to make themselves as inconspicuous as possible. Said monarch had cut her once waist-long black hair to shoulder-length and they had taken special precautions with the prince. With Ouji's unusual hair palate, he would have been especially easy to spot, so his spiky locks were trimmed short and dyed completely black to avoid suspicion. Nothing could really be done about his eye colour, but if he kept his head low or hooded they could just pass for dark brown rather than their natural blood red.

"Yes My- uh madam."

"Well, that's a little better. Ouji?" She looked down at the bundle in her arms. Ouji was riding with her, face buried comfortably in her stomach. "What would you like to be called while we're here?" He didn't answer (or move for that matter), but she hadn't really expected him to. He had become very unresponsive after a while and his mother knew that they couldn't run for much longer. It was having far too great an impact on her child. She glanced worriedly at Senbi who gave her a reassuring look.

She brought one of her hands from the reigns to grasp him firmly. "Not much longer now, I promise."

"You said that, weeks ago," said a small, muffled voice.

"I know-"

"I want to go home… to Father!" he said looking up.

"…I… I know, but we can't."

"Why?" he persisted.

"We just can't." They fell into an uncomfortable silence after the unintentionally harsh remark. Ouji resettled himself in the rough fabric of his mothers dress.

"It's hot," he finally commented.

"I know!"

"And I'm tired."

"Then sleep! We'll be there by the time you wake up."

"Okay," he yawned, drifting off quickly.

The little prince awoke, finding himself, once again, in unfamiliar surroundings. He was in a small room with white-washed brick walls, a door, a small window propped open with a short pole, a set of simple wooden table and sitting cushions and a small uncomfortable bed on which he currently laid. It was obviously night. He rolled over bumping into a warm body, he found to be his mother. She was sleeping peacefully beside him. Senbi… wait Abra now, was probably in another inn or had checked in separately as usual.

He was tired… no sick of constantly being on the move. They never stayed in any one town for more than a day, and more often than not they even camped out in the wild. His mother was surprisingly self-sufficient, not at all like the delicate flower one would expect looking at her. But that wasn't what bothered him. He knew that they had left for good reason, but he found himself actually missing the confines of his old home and most of all… he missed his father. No matter what he did he was still the only one he had and now he didn't even have that. And oh what he wouldn't give for his own bed again. It wouldn't have to be fancy or even big, just his own.

He closed his eyes and allowed himself to dream as he had so many times before, about a loving family, not rich, but well off, a mother and father that didn't fight, siblings… you know; the kind of life that innocence and naivety allow the young to believe can actually exist in this world.

"Papa…"

Unknown to Ouji, his mother was in fact still awake and had heard his final words. 'We'll go tomorrow,' she decided. Then she too drifted to sleep.

A tall man stood on one of the many balconies of the large palace, his short, messy, darkly-coloured hair blowing slightly in his face. His deep, violet eyes were narrowed in thought, anger or possibly both. He stayed there silently looking out over the great city beneath him, his city. Yes, he could call it his own, as well as, much of what laid beyond, for he was Akunamukanon, pharaoh of all Egypt. His eyes closed loosely as the wind suddenly picked up, his cape and robes fluttering heavily. A heavy rumbling penetrated the silence and he looked up, cursing slightly as he did so. The skies were grey and overcast. The rains were here. It would make things more difficult. He had no doubt that his men would loose track of their quarry in the storm. They'd barely had a path to follow in the first place. All hope was lost now.

//No. All is not lost. We will find them and when we do they will be taught a lesson.//

/Yes, a lesson./

He smiled sinisterly as his thumb lightly stroked a point of the strange golden object hanging at his chest. "I'm coming for you."

Of all the years, the floods would have to pick that one to come early. The three travelers were currently riding out the particularly violent shower that had suddenly picked up. They had set out a few days ago and were now trying to keep warm by the heat of the fire in a cave they had managed to find. In a sense the queen supposed that it could be considered a blessing. There was no way that they could be tracked after this, and they would be free to head straight to their destination when the storm let up. All they had to do was wait.

"Master! Master!" A heavy set man burst through the thick wooden door. Behind a small desk sat a young, orange-haired, Egyptian man. He looked up from his 'work' on the table top and set his olive-coloured eyes on the person before him.

"Yes?" he said resting his chin in his hand. An irritated smile played across his lips.

"We've caught some trespassers on the grounds. They're being held out front."

"Trespassers? Do they look familiar, perhaps someone who isn't particularly fond of me?"

"Not really sir. Two of them are women and they have a child with them."

"Women? And a child…"

"Yes, and uh…" He inched a little closer and spoke in a whisper. "One of them isn't exactly hard on the eyes, if you get what I'm saying. Heh heh heh!"

The carrot-haired man sighed, rolling his eyes. "Is that all you think about? Honestly, you're a grown man."

The taller man huffed indignantly. "You're one to talk. You look like you've been working hard this evening," he said sarcastically, pointing to the golden pieces spread across the table.

"Ah, yes but it's healthy to have a hobby," he responded. At the same time he rose and swept the gold pieces into a similarly golden box and put the lid on top. He placed the object on a shelf behind him and turned to face his caller. "Come on. Let's go see these trespassers of yours." He led the other out of the room closing the door behind them. The two made their way through the many halls and corridors of the spacious home, greeting servants and workers along the way. As they exited the building, they were greeted by the cool night air of their lush oasis home.

Looking down the short flight of stairs at the entrance of his dwelling the young man assessed the sight before him. There was a large, angry mob of people, all of whom he knew well, encircling a smaller bunch in the centre. The one that was facing him was a short older woman. Her head was mostly covered. The other one appeared to be holding a small child who looked terribly frightened by the angry villagers. He decided to put a stop to it.

"Enough!" he shouted. The crowd quieted immediately, and parted as he made his way over to them. "You may all return to your homes now. We will handle this," he said gesturing to the man that had summoned him. They offered no protest. They obviously held a great deal of respect for the man, who appeared to be somewhere in his twenties or so, despite his age. "Good evening," he told the travellers when the group had departed. "Forgive me for your less than hospitable welcome."

The younger woman set the child down, though he clung to her still, and stood again finally allowing the gentleman to get a proper view of her face. When he did his jaw all but hit the floor. The queen laughed lightly. "It's nice to see you too, Minhotep."

"K…Kiya?"

To Be Continued…

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Authoress' Notes:

Well, what did you think? Were the time changes confusing at all? This story, like my other, has once again taken on a life of it's own. This is nothing like how I originally planned it, but I like how it's going. Thanks to you all for the suggestions. They really helped to shape the story.

Rant: Well, it's official. If I had somehow managed to convince myself otherwise, it's clear now that 4Kids has RUINED Yu-gi-oh! What was that half-assed name that they gave Rishid? And they totally butchered that conversation between Yugi and Malik. They made it into another 'destiny/Pharaoh's powers' rant! Half of that stuff wasn't even what they actually discussed. Thank God for decent fan sites that have given me the right info that I might know that that crap isn't really the true version! That's it.

P.S. Anzu is annoying and the whole series would be better if she disappeared.

VIH: Excuse her. She's just really pissed. Please drop us a review.