Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Seth's Magical Adventure! ❯ The Not-so-perfect Storm ( Chapter 20 )

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh. Takahashi does, and he thinks it's hysterical I keep putting Sith into every YGO fic I write. I just think I'm doing my job of writing whatever the hell I want.

 

“I can get that we're not going to attack,” Malik imposed again, when another large chunk of time had passed, whereas no one was really doing anything he deemed as helping the palace out, “But do we have to sit on our asses and wait all day!? Lady Sith, I'm getting tired!” He looked directly at the Esper in question, and she glanced back, her steel green eyes growing harder with disapproval at Malik's constant badgering. Isis glared at her brother, but neither woman seemed to be having much effect on his annoyance.

 

“Brother! Show respect to Lady Sith!” Isis exclaimed, as Sith merely said, “I didn't think humans could get tired from sitting and waiting. I will need to remember that.” Atemu snickered at that remark; Sith never really had an overly exaggerated view on humans, but when she got one, it was almost humorous. She'd always become just a tad more pitying towards them. But, as he saw her looking at him, he stopped laughing as she said, “It would make sense in terms of yourself, sir.” His eyes widened as the implication.

 

“What is that supposed to mean!?” he demanded, standing up furiously from his throne. This time, everyone began to laugh, just a little. Atemu's head spun as he looked at each and every person assembled in his courtroom.

 

“With all due respects, great pharaoh, you do spend most of your day sitting in a throne,” Shaddah observed. Atemu's eyes widened even further, especially when Malik added, “I'm surprised you don't get ass cramps, personally.” Isis finally hit Malik over the head, utterly distressed with the lack of respect Malik appeared to have gotten used to showing. Atemu glared at Sith, seeing as how she had started the ruckus, but she merely snorted, covering her mouth with her gloved hand.

 

“Do not get so defensive, sir,” she said calmly, “I am your knight. I observe all of your movements. It isn't unnatural for me to notice the slightest bit of fatigue in you.” Atemu's face flushed with red, and he sat back down. Right then, he didn't know whether he liked Sith or forced himself to tolerate her sharp tongue. In a pouting attempt, he crossed his arms.

 

“If you knew I was so stressed out, why bother leaving my side? You know it'd make me worry about you,” he pointed out flatly. Sith laughed again, smiling serenely at him.

 

“Well, now, you think I enjoy being employed as a mind-reader all day?” she said teasingly, and Atemu's eyes widened in embarrassment again, “Sir, I love and respect you to the highest I can, but even I need a break from your constant changes of mood and decisions.” Again, everyone chuckled at that, but it was clear Sith was pushing Atemu's buttons. Whether it was for fun or not wasn't known, but it did lessen the tension in the room. It also flustered the pharaoh, which only added to the overall amusement.

 

“SITH!!” he whined childishly, “Dearest Ra, are you trying to make me break down in public!? As a knight, you know better!”

 

“As a friend, it's what naturally occurs in times of stress, sir,” Sith reminded him gently, fingering the hilt of her sword almost lovingly, “I mean no disrespect, Atemu. Not once have I pointed out any disadvantages it could give us.” Atemu huffed, and smirked. Sith simply smiled again, and almost laughed when she heard Atemu mumble a `like you even have any to give.' It caused another round of nearly silent chuckles from the priests who were closest to him. Hearing the two of them joke about their pasts was one thing; it was rare to hear them joke of each other and take it in sport, and only proved how vast the alliance between Egypt and the Espers truly were. Even Cyd, who didn't approve of Atemu, had to comment on it.

 

“Okay, you two better stop yer jokin' now,” he said seriously, and when Sith glanced over at the older man, he added, “Yer sounding like an old, brittle, married couple.” Atemu snorted, and this time, Sith became very flustered at such a remark. Her brows furrowed, and she turned sharply to the older Esper, her wings stiffened with dignity.

 

“Uncle!” she hissed, “That was not my intent! Don't say things like that!”

 

“Why?” the old Esper asked, grinning as he leaned against a pillar, “It's true.” Sith issued a low growl as her eye twitched slightly, but said nothing more. She turned away, staring out of a window, though she wasn't actually focusing on anything; she was simply trying to get Cyd's comment out of her head. But, when Mana ran back into the courtroom with Sceppiro, everyone looked over, wondering what her panic was about. She looked as though she'd been through a marathon to the neighboring country and back, and Sceppiro was no better. When Sith inquired, the answer received was terrifying.

 

“There's a storm outside!” Mana exclaimed, pointing frantically to the windows as everyone began to crowd to see outside, “The sky is red, and the lightning is making craters in the sand! Sceppiro says it's a magical storm, but it's destroying the desert!” Sith rushed over, drawing her sword as she looked out, and gasped at the sight she saw. Lightning danced across the desert as thunder rumbled from far away, and though clouds covered the area completely, the temperature only rose from such a storm. And, as Sceppiro had guessed, magic was swirling in the air, burning Sith's nose.

 

“How did this happen?” she asked, trying to keep her voice firm as she looked at her brother, “Who caused it? Can we disperse it?” Sceppiro blinked, taken aback by her serious tone. Most everyone else save for Cyd was clearly horrified with the scene outside, but she seemed almost unaffected. Or, she was pretending to be. Sceppiro bit his lip, and laid a hand on his own sword.

 

“I wish I knew, Sith,” he replied, “I'd have to say Rath caused it, but there's no way to be sure. Not even she can cause something like this. And I doubt we can do anything to stop it.” Sith cursed angrily. She half-expected that, but to hear the impossibilities was never easy, especially for her. Her grip on her sword tightened.

 

“She's boxing us in,” she said furiously, grinding her teeth, “She knew we wouldn't strike, and now she's trapping us. Damn it, Seth, where are you!?”

 

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It had been only minutes since Bahamut and Tiamat took to the air to carry Seth and Bakura to the palace gates, but they dragged on mercilessly to feel like hours had passed as the sky continued to darken with the red haze of destruction. Lightning flashed across the fields, one bolt coming almost close enough to raze Tiamat's wing. Bakura flinched when he felt the heat of such raw energy so close to him, and Tiamat nearly lost her balance. The trip was becoming too dangerous for flight, but they all knew walking there would lead to death on someone's part, either their own or on the palace. When another roar of lightning threatened them, the dragons dove downward toward the ground.

 

“It's hard to tell if this is natural or if we're being targeted!” Seth yelled over the thunder, as Bahamut looped upwards again, “Are you all right!?”

 

“We'll be fine, boy,” Bahamut growled calmly, eyes glinting as he avoided another crackle of lightning, “We've existed for millennia. I doubt a simple storm will be enough to take us down. Tiamat, steady yourself!” Seth glanced back, and saw that Tiamat was having a slightly harder time evading the whips of energy that were currently streaking the earth, but she eventually managed and flew by Bahamut's side.

 

“I agree, though, that it does seem that we're being aimed at directly,” Tiamat replied, “But I don't see Aeroglyph anywhere. The only thing that would attract lightning to us is metal, which we do not own.” Seth then remembered he still had Sith's key on him, but when he inquired, Tiamat said her key was too small to be a worthwhile conductor. There had to be a different reason. Seth looked around carefully, squinting his eyes to see through the red mist, but he couldn't see anything. There were no outlines to any city, no signs of movement, and no sound other than the swish of dragon wings and the cracks of thunder and lightning as they continued their dangerous waltz throughout the desert.

 

“I wonder if the pharaoh saw what's going on,” Seth commented grimly, eyes narrowed as he continued to scan the area, “This mist worries me.”

 

“I'm pretty sure he knows about it, priest,” Bakura replied flatly, glancing over and shaking his head, “As to the mist… it's magic. It's burning my nose, and only magic does that… that, or allergies, but there's no seaweed here.” Seth blinked as he processed what Bakura just said. The air did feel thick, and smelled heavily of musk, but what did that have to do with seaweed? Either way, the smell caused his nose to itch only slightly, and as he sneezed, he finally realized what Bakura meant.

 

“…you're allergic to seaweed and you became a pirate?” the priest asked in disbelief, and Bakura grinned, nodding as Seth finished with, “Wow, that has to be the dumbest idea you've ever gone through.” Bakura stuck his tongue out at Seth, but both dragons ignored the remark as they continued their flight. The thunder stopped for a moment, something that neither human seemed to have noticed, but the dragons looked up worriedly at that sign. The storm hadn't felt natural, so why would it stop suddenly? Tiamat observed the clouds and saw that slowly, they were beginning to open, letting just a streak of sunlight across the sand below as cool air swirled in. Bakura nearly fell off from the sudden burst of cold wind, and looked upwards as well. His eyes widened when he saw the magnificent streak of blue amidst the blustery red and black of the dark sky.

 

“What the hell!?” he asked, as Tiamat growled angrily. She looked at Bahamut, and both of them nodded, confirming that this was no normal storm at all, and that they indeed walked into a war.

 

“Whoever caused this either stopped or is being dispelled,” Bahamut explained, as the rip in the clouds continued to grow, “A very powerful Esper is dispelling the clouds, but we can't figure out if it would halt the dark magic as well.” Seth hummed as he watched what once was a thin slit of blue turn into what looked like a raging river as the storm clouds thinned further, illuminating the desert again in the daylight. Bakura merely grinned at the mention of a `powerful Esper.'

 

“It's either Lady Sith or her brother!” he exclaimed happily, “They're all right! And… wow, I never thought Espers could cause this. Now I'm just a little afraid.” Tiamat laughed hysterically at the statement, and Bakura had to hang on to avoid being accidentally thrown off from the dragon's jerky movements.

 

“Normally, we cannot. Certain forms aren't strong enough to hold such magic,” Tiamat replied, “If one of them is doing this, they aren't in a human-like form.” Bakura's smile vanished. He remembered what Bahamut said about Sith and Sceppiro being able to turn into dragons, like them. One of them must've turned into one, but there were no other dragons in sight. Finally, the entire storm had dissipated, and all of the tension they had felt seemed to have melted away entirely. Even the Nile seemed calm despite the severity of the storm just moments ago.

 

“Whatever did this, let's thank Ra and move before the storm returns,” Seth suggested, and though it wasn't spoken, such a decision was mutual as the dragons began to soar once again through the air. But, just as they gained considerable speed, something smashed into Bahamut, knocking the large dragon out of the sky and causing a furious eruption of roars from him. Then, Bakura saw it; a smaller silver dragon hissed across the air, and launched itself at something very far to the left. He looked down and saw it was some form of turret down below, aimed directly for him, but the shot was never fired. The new dragon destroyed it, and tore up whoever was controlling it as well. Screams below were heard, but the rush of a fourth dragon's wings blocked most of it out as a golden dragon reared behind Tiamat to help her land without hurting herself. Bakura saw just a flash of a purple lens in the sunlight.

 

“Who the hell are you!?” he demanded, as Tiamat descended carefully, the silver dragon taking out another turret below, creating more screams from whoever was trying to aim. The dragon looked at him, and snorted when they landed. Bahamut was close by, and though he landed on his back, he appeared fine.

 

“You don't recognize me?” came Sceppiro's voice, and Bakura's mouth dropped. He had no idea that Sceppiro would turn into a dragon to deal with this, and frantically, the thief pointed to the silver dragon, which blew out a long stream of angry flame at fleeing soldiers below, roasting some of them alive. Sceppiro nodded his head and said, “That's Sith.”

 

“So she really can turn into a dragon!?” Seth asked, “Both of you!?” Bahamut turned over and shook his head to rid himself of the sand lodged in his ears.

 

“What, you think we lied to you?” he asked, as Tiamat chuckled, “One thing you should know about us, boy: we don't lie unless it's to protect you! We told the truth about some of us turning into dragons, so I'd appreciate it if you believed me about it!” Seth bit his lip at the anger in Bahamut's voice, but Bakura continued to watch Sith take out everything that could prove to be a threat to them. Most everything that was either fled in terror or was killed immediately from her talons. When she circled around and finally landed, having seen nothing else that needed to be stopped at the moment, she landed directly in front of Bakura and looked down at the man with bright, steel green eyes. The thief simply grinned.

 

“Nice show,” he commented, patting the dragon on her snout, “But I'd have thought you'd give more fire. You like fire, usually.” Sith gave him a flat stare, and then snorted on top of his head. He blinked as he felt the cool air on his scalp, but couldn't understand what that was about… until he smelled something burning and heard crackling just above him, along with a slight prick of pain as he screamed, “OUCH!!!” It took but a second to realize Sith lit him on fire, and as he ran over toward the Nile to throw himself in, Seth couldn't help but laugh at the display.

 

“That's definitely Lady Sith,” he commented, as Sith began to revert back to her normal self, “So, what have we missed? Word has it we're under attack. Is that true?” He was slightly surprised to find he was actually relieved to see someone like Sith, but he didn't rephrase his statement; after all, they were technically allies anyway. Sith nodded, promptly ignoring Bakura's screams of revenge for his burnt hair as she tugged at her sword.

 

“As much as everyone is afraid to say, we are,” she replied sadly, “That storm was…”

 

“Created from magic. We know,” Seth cut in, and Sith gave him a critical, questioning look, as though she didn't expect him to know that, “We all felt incredible waves of dark magic as we flew over. What caused that storm? Was it an Esper?”

 

“We don't know,” Sith replied carefully, looking down, “As soon as Mana pointed it out, Sceppiro and I took off to stop it. We knew it was a move to scare us. I just hope everyone at the palace is all right. That caused a round of horror, and Atemu isn't the best in a crisis situation.” Seth flinched; he hated when Sith spoke of the pharaoh like that, but she did hold a good point. Atemu would've been hard pressed to successfully stop riots of fear.

 

“We should get back, then,” he concluded, and Sith readily agreed, “Do we need to worry about any more turrets shooting at us?”

 

“I took out what I could, but who knows where more could be?” Sith stated, shaking her head, “For now, we should be all right, but even Atemu realizes we need to act now. Chances are, we'll be dispatching as soon as you give your report.” Seth wasn't entirely surprised by that one. The war was advancing quickly now. Sith eyed him carefully and then asked, “…you do have a report, right?” She made a note that he lacked parchment and scrolls, and he knew her implications. It angered him all the more, especially since he attempted to be somewhat friendly to her upon arrival. Now, he'd abandon that to retort.

 

“I have it all up here!” he yelled furiously, pointing to his forehead, “I'm no idiot, knight. I'll remember!” Unfortunately, such a speech wasn't convincing to the older knight, and she simply rolled her eyes as she watched Sceppiro trying to make sure the elder dragons were relatively safe. Sceppiro looked at his sister and grinned.

 

“If not, then we still have proof the war's moving nonetheless,” he stated brightly, “Should we get moving?” Sith nodded, though her stare and her tone both remained on the flat side, as though she were getting unusually impatient. Which, was obviously, she was.

 

“By all means, let's go,” she replied, and to Bakura, she said, “You realize it's out, don't you? Get moving or you'll walk the rest of the way there.” Bakura understood the threat, and hoisted himself out of the mighty river, running with unreal speed toward Tiamat, who let him on as Sith and Seth climbed onto Sceppiro and Bahamut respectively. They were in the air, and when nothing else shot at them from a distance, they felt it was safe to fly forward. The dragons remained silent so they could focus on their destination, but Sith decided to fill Bakura and Seth in on what had happened in the palace and what was being planned. It was nothing compared to Seth's report, but it did relieve the two in knowing everything was safe.

 

“So you mean you haven't actually planned a damn thing since we left,” Seth stated flatly, when Sith was done with her explanation. She hummed and looked away, but didn't actually state her answer. She didn't need to; Seth knew her hesitation meant nothing had really happened as he said, “Nice to know your time's been wasted.”

 

“And what did you expect me to do!?” Sith retorted sharply, her eyes flashing red for a second as she yelled at the priest, “There was no way we could've attacked Rath, even if you hadn't gone into her fortress! Without your report, we don't even know what she's planning!” Seth simply gave her a smug look, and though she growled furiously at him, she didn't prepare to attack. Bakura seemed just as agitated with Seth's behavior, and in an attempt to calm Sith down, he told her of what he had learned as Rath's captive. Sith listened with utmost attention as he explained the conversations he remembered, but warned her that he might very well be making them up; he also told her he had been drugged quite a few times.

 

“I don't know the names of those girls of hers, but she has officers with her,” Bakura stated, when he finished explaining the conversations involving his sacrifice, “I pretended to be out, so I guess she felt it was safe to tell them what to do with me. Which was worse than I'd have thought. I never thought women could be so cruel, but…” Bakura didn't finish his sentence, and Sith didn't want him to. She didn't want to know the details of his visit; she could see there were just a few unhealed cuts on his arms, and one slight one on his chest.

 

“I'm just glad you're alive,” Sith replied quietly, “I was sure you'd be dead.”

 

“Dead? Ha! Beaten up a bit, yes, but I wouldn't let her kill me,” Bakura stated proudly, giving Sith a grin, “At any rate, though, I don't know how much of that was drugs or not. I just know my arms and back are still sore from it.” Sith bit her lip and patted the thief on the back.

 

“When we get back, I'll order that you be taken to a room to rest,” she replied, and Bakura nodded approvingly. Seth merely huffed and turned away. He didn't like the thought of Bakura resting up in the palace, for the obvious risk of something being stolen without notice, but he knew he was getting on thin ice with Sith. When a moment of silence passed between the three, Sith turned to Seth and asked, “And what did you find, Priest Seth?” Seth blinked, not understanding why she couldn't wait until the palace, but a quick glare from Bakura told him he'd better simply answer the knight's question. Seeing as how he was no longer an Esper himself, he could understand the threat.

 

“Not too much, but she has some form of weapon in her possession. It's a huge cannon and it works by shooting out magical energy, I think,” Seth told her, trying to remember what it was he actually heard, “They were going to experiment with Bakura to see what it could do with his power.” Sith seemed astonished by this statement, and quickly looked over at the thief, who nodded to show he had known this as well. She looked back at Seth, absolutely shocked to hear that those were Rath's plans. She couldn't see why she'd even bother using Bakura.

 

“Why?” was the only word she could manage to get out at that moment. Bakura cleared his throat, but it was Tiamat who explained the situation involving Bakura to Sith. And, Sith clearly didn't believe it when she responded with, “No… that… that can't be!”

 

“I know it's difficult to hear, Lady Sith, but it's the truth,” Tiamat replied calmly, “Bakura is a guardian in this world, and he's taken the job of watching you.” Sith's eyes widened as she looked from the dragon to the thief, her eyes watering as she realized that one thing she had been told most of her life in that world was a lie.

 

“…but why him?” she whispered, “My father said… that Atemu… that's why we were betrothed… and that… I almost said yes, but…” Bakura's once proud grin immediately vanished now, and Sith turned away.

 

“You were considering marrying him?” he asked monotonously, and even Seth knew how much that actually crushed Bakura. Sith glanced at him, and then slowly nodded. The dragons slowed down, wanting to hear her explanation on that, in their minds, very sudden move. Even Sceppiro seemed shocked to finally hear that she actually thought of marriage.

 

“…yes,” she replied, “Even I need to marry sometime, Bakura.”

 

“But why him!?” Bakura demanded, and his outburst made Sith stare at him in what felt like terror, but he knew it was more of a conflict of her own feelings than being scared of his outburst. Sith looked down again.

 

“…because I honestly… thought it would be what's best for me,” Sith replied, “He's one of my closest friends. And the alliance between our races would be very strong if it happened. I think… if we win this, I should marry him.”

 

“But that's just legal mumbo-jumbo and stuff!” Bakura cried, and Seth snorted, knowing this was driving the thief absolutely bonkers, “Sith, you can't just marry him! Do you even love him!?” Sith looked up at Bakura again, and this time he knew she was probably going to start crying soon. She had to have been considering this for some time, and if not, then it had to have been put on her by someone else. He silently swore to find out which it actually was.

 

“…” Sith looked down yet again, clutching one of Sceppiro's scales, “…no.”

 

“Then why bother?” Bakura asked her, and when she looked at him again, he said, “I'm serious. There are other ways to form alliances between our races, Sith. You don't have to just marry someone because your father betrothed you to him. Think about it; do you really want to be stuck with Atemu for the rest of your life?” Sith growled again. As much as she didn't want to admit it, she knew she wouldn't actually be happy, but she had promised her father she'd live out his wishes. One of them would be to marry, though she realized that at the end, he never said it had to be to Atemu. And it seemed Bakura saw that as well, as a grin crawled across his face and he said, “Well?”

 

“…but he said Atemu was going to be my guardian,” Sith said, and Bakura laughed hysterically. Yes, Atemu was technically responsible for her safety, but Bakura already knew Claude lied to his daughter on that note.

 

“Your father's a fucking liar, Sith,” Bakura stated, and this time, both Sith and Sceppiro glared at him furiously, “Look. I'm not saying he's bad. He had his reasons, but trust me, Atemu can't protect you. Damn idiot can barely run his kingdom without you to clean up his messes. Just ask yourself this: If you had your choice, would you marry Atemu? Would you even think it?” Sith blushed heavily, and both Seth and Bakura knew her answer: it was `no.' She sighed.

 

“I just… It felt like this was going to be the very end, Bakura,” she began, sighing, “And if it was, I wanted to do something that would make me happy. And that's to actually get married. The thought… sounds nice.” Bakura smiled warmly and patted her shoulder. He understood her problem; he'd had similar panic attacks before.

 

“I know, but you can't make really sudden decisions like that just because you think it's what's best,” Bakura told her, and then in a slightly less comforting tone, asked, “You didn't… already ask him, did you?” Sith laughed, and shook her head.

 

“No. I was merely considering if I should accept his offer,” she replied, “He has no idea I even still think about it.” Bakura sighed with relief; at least no one knew she was planning on, in his mind, ruining her life by marrying Atemu. Seth looked over at both the thief and the knight, and snorted. He was trying to make it clear that the topic was amusing to him, and when Sith looked at him, he said, “Hey, I find it awfully funny that you're going to try pulling this now when we're already distracted.”

 

“…I had a feeling you would,” Sith replied, managing a strained smile, “But that wasn't my intention. For just a moment, when I saw this storm… I wondered… if this really was it. I didn't know if she'd be here. And I wondered if things would've been different if I really had married him.” She looked down as she spoke, and saw they were already passing the walls surrounding the city, “I suppose they wouldn't be, ultimately, but the thought occurred to me.”

 

“It's natural to wonder,” Bahamut told her, as the palace loomed nearby, its high walls casting a cooling shadow on the group, “But Bakura's right. You can't go making a rash decision, and it's a good thing you shared it with us. If you actually asked Atemu, Rath could use that against you later.” Sith nodded, and when the courtyard came into view, the three dragons began to circle around over it, slowly descending as guards began to shout and yell, running to see just what was gracing their presence. Some held spears, others had catapults; but one thing was very clear: they weren't welcome. Bahamut growled angrily, rearing back to spout a burst of angry fire, but Sith begged him to stop before jumping off of Sceppiro's back, landing on the ground. Her presence severely shocked the guards.

 

“Stop!” she commanded, running toward the sergeant that was there, “Stop and lower your weapons! They're friends!”

 

“Friends?” the sergeant asked, as Sith came to a halt beside him, “Lady Sith, these dragons are friends!? I demand an explanation, my lady.” Sith, however, quickly shook her head.

 

“No time. Go and get the pharaoh. Immediately!” The order barely had to come out of her before it was followed. Many soldiers ran inside to find the entire royal court, and as Sceppiro changed back to his form, Mana came running out. She hugged Sith tightly, absolutely thankful that the older woman managed to live through the storm, and then she practically tackled Sceppiro over as well. Mahaado greeted Seth cordially when he arrived on the scene, and slowly, everyone within the court appeared, with Atemu being the last to show. Sith leapt right to his side, and as Seth came up, alongside Bakura, both of them bowed, though everyone knew Bakura did so grudgingly.

 

“What is so urgent, Sith?” Atemu asked, as Seth and Bakura stood back up, “That… you…” His eyes widened when he saw Tiamat and Bahamut both in his courtyard, curling up with boredom as they awaited his welcoming. He couldn't believe it. He was witnessing two dragon Espers right there, and he knew who they were. They weren't just the supreme king and queen of all Espers; they were also gods in themselves. He pointed and said, “My… my Ra… Dragons! Actual dragons!”

 

“Nice to meet you, too,” Bahamut grumbled, flicking his tongue, “But we're not here for formalities, Atemu. We must move quickly to stop Rath from destroying this world, and Seth here has the information to do that.” The dragon turned his head and cast one glimmering golden eye on the priest in question, “Go on and tell them.” Seth nodded, and cleared his throat. Everywhere, all of the chatter from the guards ceased to let Seth's voice ring out.

 

“While inside of Rath's fortress, I discovered that she plans to take us down with some form of large cannon that utilizes the life-force of ultra-potent beings and puts that force into a physical ballistic to blow apart a wide area of land,” Seth began, “Her original intent was to use Bakura to see how far she could drain human energy to use as ammunition, and I believe the castle is mobile so she can test this machine out before firing on us.” Atemu glanced as Sith hummed a bit.

 

“It makes sense,” she affirmed, “That she would turn in the middle of battle. Did you figure out what powers the machine?” Seth bit his lip; he hadn't actually seen the machine, but that's when Bakura stepped in, and now Seth was grateful the thief had lived.

 

“An orb,” Bakura said simply, and Sceppiro's eyes widened, “It's made of some form of crystal that's supposed to be nearly unbreakable, and it's supposed to hold a class of magic that's supposedly forbidden to the Espers at large.” Sith blinked. She had no idea such a thing actually existed, but Sceppiro's outburst told her it had been in their family since they had first gained power.

 

“The Mythril Sphere!” the older Esper exclaimed, his whole body going stiff, “She… she has it?” Bakura nodded.

 

“I'm sure that's what she's using to scare the other Espers into helping her,” he offered, and when Sith raised an eyebrow, Seth added, “Many of the Espers are only on her side for fear of their extermination, Sith. The one they wish to truly follow is you.” Sith nodded, and for a moment, seemed to look away at such a statement. Sceppiro, however, looked more and more troubled at the mention of the sphere, and curiously, Atemu inquired about it. Sceppiro seemed to hesitate with an answer, but finally, he did give one.

 

“Remember when you first approached me, and I mentioned a sphere that belonged to my father? That it had been stolen and I wanted it back?” Sceppiro asked, and when Atemu, Bakura, Sith, Seth, and Mahaado all nodded, he continued, “That's the sphere. Rath must've been the one who stole it. And damn it all, she's using it to destroy this world! We have to get it back. If she unleashes Ultima, we're doomed.” Sith glanced warily at her brother, and something told Seth that whatever she was going to say would be a hard hit. And, he was right.

 

“She already used Ultima,” Sith reminded him, and the dragons hissed angrily, “We're already in a lot of trouble, Sceppiro. There is no `if' here. She's already done mortal damage.”

 

“You didn't tell us she has used Ultima!” Bahamut roared furiously, “By gods, are you all insane!? She has ripped Oblivion asunder now! I fear we may not be able to even stop her now, even with Tiamat and myself here! Have you all no sense to explain this beforehand!?” His anger was directed mostly at Bakura and Seth, the former of which hung his head in shame, the latter of which scoffed and turned away indignantly.

 

“We assumed you knew,” Seth stated sarcastically.

 

“Then assume I will set you on fire for your insolence,” Bahamut growled in response, until he saw Sith shaking her head.

 

“That's no answer, my liege,” Sith replied, “But now you know the damage has been catastrophic. But… you seemed to have a plan for stopping her. What was it?” Reluctantly, Bahamut ignored Seth and looked down at the younger Esper until he could comfortably lie back on the ground. Then, he looked at Tiamat, and when she gave the okay, he relayed his plan. It'd involve Sith, Sceppiro, and Cydandilus to pool their power along with the two dragons to try and seal off Oblivion, much like the three `Eldest' Espers had done so long before. And, Bahamut warned, that might have meant leaving this world through an `unusual' means. Not to his surprise, no one liked the idea.

 

“We're not doing this!” Sceppiro stated firmly, “I don't care how insane Rath is. I'm not going to even try this.”

 

“You have to be outta yer god-damned mind to think I'm gonna kill myself `cause of a brat like Rath!” Cyd exclaimed as well, “Sealin' ourselves up to close Oblivion!? I don't think so.”

 

“Isn't there another way?” Sith asked, her ears drooping sadly, “Why must we leave?” Bahamut and Tiamat looked away, feeling they should've known better than to ask anyone to do such a task; after all, the three Espers in question did have lives in this world to attend to. Asking them to give it up on one slim chance was foolish.

 

“…the only other way is to kill Rath,” Tiamat said solemnly, looking down at the ground between her talons, “That will stop her madness.”

 

“And will destroy our kingdom anyway,” Sith finished grimly, “But the alternative is worse. We'll aim to kill her. How do we do so?” Bahamut and Tiamat looked at each other carefully. They hadn't anticipated anyone, especially Sith, to consider actually murdering another Esper, but then they realized it might not be helped, either. There was too high a risk of a sealing not working to not try for an alternative route.

 

“It shouldn't be hard with us on your side,” Bahamut told her, “As much as we hate to kill an Esper, we may have no choice now. The first thing to do is separate her from Aeroglyph.”

 

“If she's coming here, that might not be too hard to achieve,” Atemu stated, looking around the courtyard carefully. He silently took note of the damage of the outer walls, wondering if they could actually survive from a blast of Rath's new weapon. A quick glance at Sith told him she was worried for the same thing, and that she had her answer: they wouldn't. He sighed, wishing they had more of a chance.

 

“We'd do better trying to use successive casts of Ultima instead of facing her head on,” Sceppiro grumbled, and Bahamut merely snorted, “Egypt's not built for a magical battlefield.” Atemu's lips thinned. That was true enough; Egypt had never actually faced a battle against Espers before now, and the damage done was already more than his men could repair. He looked on at everyone, and saw that the general mood was one of anxious exhaustion. Everyone was tired, and he knew the only reason anyone had stayed so long instead of fleeing was due to loyalty and to a fear of being caught in Rath's weapon. If they were to plan an actual assault accordingly, it would have to be in better spirits than this. He clapped his hands as everyone turned to him.

 

“Let's retire to the dining hall and figure out what to do there,” he said, “I'm sure a full stomach will help us concentrate a bit better.” He looked at Sith, who nodded in agreement, and then his eyes fell on the two dragons, who seemed absolutely content with staying in dragon form. He sighed and said, “Bring a roast to each of our guests to…”

 

“No need,” Bahamut said airily, “We'll poke our heads through the windows and listen that way. Trust us, neither of us are particularly hungry.” Atemu blinked, but didn't question. He trusted the dragons and their judgment. With Sith and Mana at his sides again, Atemu turned and walked back into the palace, everyone in the courtyard slowly beginning to follow him. The initial reporting completed, now they could finally get on with the last leg of the war; the actual battle. Everyone knew it was coming close now. That storm was simply a warning of Rath's return, and the presence of two Esper gods merely proved it. Now, the help of the Espers would be a key factor to winning what Atemu knew would be a bloody battle with too many casualties for his comfort.

 

“…and I have no intention of losing my kingdom. Not to her,” he muttered, and when Sith glanced at him, he clapped her on the back and gave a smile. Together, they walked into the dining hall and waited for everyone else to join them. Only then could they get a battle plan ready.

 

-----------------------------(End Chapter)

 

And so, with Bakura and Seth finally returning to Egypt, everyone finally assembles at the courtyard to hear the two give their astonishing report. But, when the storm hit them, prompting Sith and Sceppiro to join the fray again, that was just an omen to what might happen. Can Atemu's kingdom survive a battle against Rath, even with the Gods of the Espers on their side? Will Sith and Sceppiro take Aeroglyph back and stop Rath before she does too much damage? Or, will the sealing of Oblivion be inevitable? Find out next chapter, so click that Review button!