Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Seth's Magical Adventure! ❯ Ambush ( Chapter 26 )

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh. Takahashi does, and he thinks Gilden's a good partner for Seth. The two can destroy everything together.

 

They had to stop trying to break the damn wall. They tried pretty much everything, and it was clear that the wall separating Sith and Sceppiro from the combined forces of their own kingdom and Egypt wasn't going to break any time soon. The werewolves were exhausted, the vampires were half-asleep, the lone Incubus was close to dropping dead, and all of Atemu's soldiers and villagers were ready to pass out. Any priest available was currently trying to heal them all. Not that it did much; the priests were just as exhausted as everyone else. Only Bakura's group of thieves were stupid enough to continue the vain struggle, despite both Sith and Bakura's protests to them. Even as they pounded at the stone, Bakura was shouting for them to cease and desist. They just ignored him.

 

“Don't be idiots! You're going to kill yourselves!” Bakura exclaimed, but the thieves wouldn't take no for an answer, “DAMN IT, I SAID KNOCK IT OFF!” Atemu just laughed, shaking his head as he rested a hand on the flustered thief's shoulder. Bakura just sighed. He'd just have to accept that Atemu might be the only one taking him seriously now. Sith had to be laughing on the other side of the wall.

 

“If they're going to insist on this, why not let them kill themselves?” the pharaoh offered calmly. Bakura sighed again, hanging his head as one of his thieves managed to break his hand. Several of the Espers winced as they heard the resounding crack. Mahaado actually looked back in utter disbelief, and Karim just shook his head. Bakura's bunch were absolutely hopeless.

 

“Don't tempt me,” Bakura growled in displeasure. Atemu just chucked comfortingly, and Bakura wasn't surprised when he heard Sith over the wall, either.

 

“If I were there, this wouldn't happen,” she stated, “I'd have killed them all myself. Bakura, what the hell's going on over there?” Bakura just blinked, not knowing if she actually expected him to answer that. He wasn't sure she'd like the news, and if she didn't, heads would roll for it later. In the end, though, he found he didn't care. His head would be fine if he just told her the truth.

 

“Well, most of your forces are ready to die, and most of ours are smart enough to know when to stop killing themselves over a fucking WALL!” Bakura shouted, as another thief finally dropped to the floor, too tired out to even walk away, “Damn it all, why can't you idiots just do what I say!?” The other two thieves finally decided to give it up, having seen their two friends outdone by stone. They stalked toward the guards and sat down. Bakura saw that reluctantly, Mahaado went to help them. He felt bad for the priest; as such, Mahaado was required to heal everyone, including criminals.

 

A loud thump from far behind finally alerted Bakura to the fact that they weren't alone anymore. All of the murmuring ceased, and Bakura felt the tension in the hallway rise dramatically. Every guard went for their weapon, every Esper preparing a spell for the fool who was trying to ambush them. They waited for several minutes, but nothing happened. No one came down toward them, and there weren't any footsteps to show anyone had come down at all. So then…

 

“What was that noise?” Sith asked, her voice muffled from the wall. Atemu bit his lip, looking at Bakura. Neither could even begin to guess what that noise could've been, but both seemed to agree with one thing: Bakura would be the one to check it out. He took two daggers off his belt and saluted to the pharaoh.

 

“I'll go do a reconnaissance mission,” he replied, “If I'm not back in an hour, assume I was killed.” Atemu raised an amused brow, but he didn't protest. Bakura was the best choice. He was a skilled thief as well as a skilled fighter. If any of them could survive an attack, it'd be him. It'd have to be him. Without looking back, the thief ran down the hall, as many of the guards and villagers watched in awe. What had once been their biggest threat was quickly turning into their newest hero. At least, in their eyes.

 

---

 

The priest had practically flown down the stairs after Gilden, running down what seemed like hall after endless hall, going down flight after endless flight of stairs. He couldn't even remember what he'd been thinking as he did all of this running, but he knew they were somehow heading toward the audience chamber, even if he couldn't recognize the route Gilden was leading him through. They were passing doors through a dimly lit hall, and Seth couldn't remember passing any rooms on his way up, save for the audience chamber. And Gilden didn't look like he was going to stop anytime soon, either. Just where the hell were they going?

 

“I don't remember coming this way!” Seth called, as they flew down the corridor, rounding a sharp corner and going down a small slope. Gilden looked back only briefly, looking unconcerned for that fact. He knew where they were headed, and in his mind, that was all that should've mattered.

 

“We're taking a small detour,” the Esper replied easily, almost cockily. Seth found he didn't like that tone. Bakura often used it himself, at least when he was against the kingdom.

 

“Right. And where is this `detour' of yours?” the priest asked suspiciously, “Hell?” Gilden laughed. Leave it to humans to be that cynical.

 

“You remember that Rath's got security, right?” Gilden asked, and when he saw Seth nod, he continued, “Well, someone's got to destroy it. Why not do some… stress relief while we're freeing her prisoners?” Seth's left brow raised in alarm. Gilden meant absolute destruction. And as much as Seth was willing to mess with people, sabotage wasn't exactly his style. Bakura, again, would've done something similar to this. Seth began to wonder if somewhere, Gilden was related to the thief. Then he shook his head. There was no way that was possible. Bakura was still human, after all.

 

“…okay, assuming she doesn't have the room guarded, just how are you going to destroy her security system?” Seth asked, as the slope leveled out onto a lower hall, “I really don't think magic will work, since she's an Esper, too.” Gilden, however, was completely undisturbed by this. He walked nonchalantly down the hall, and finally turned toward one closed door, looking back at Seth and grinning. Just like an idiot would. No, just like Bakura would.

 

“That, my friend, is what fists and guns are for,” he said darkly, and turned the knob. Seth wanted to cry out, to protest that there could be resistance waiting for them, but as the door slowly opened, he heard a thump. And when light filtered into the room to allow them to see, he saw a corpse drop to the floor. Or what he perceived to be a corpse. It didn't appear to be moving. His eyes widened, and he felt he really should've been screaming. But the fact that Gilden was neither concerned nor surprised threw him into speechlessness. Either Gilden had done something prior to prepare himself for this, or he was just heartless. Seth didn't want to know which was the true reason.

 

“What in the seven levels of hell!?” he demanded angrily, jumping back as Gilden simply walked inside, completely ignoring the corpse on the floor. It was truly disconcerting how disinterested he was to see a dead body on the floor. And when Seth actually walked into the room, he was sure he'd have a heart attack; there were two more corpses in the seats directly in front of the monitors that depicted where several cameras had been set up. Gilden proceeded to just shove them right out of the chairs, too. Seth watched in shocked silence. He couldn't believe what Gilden was doing!

 

“Let's take a look and see where your little buddies are,” Gilden said simply, and switched the monitors around. He saw the one focused on the army behind Atemu, and just laughed as he said, “Damn, it looks like Sinde's going to die soon.” Seth blinked, not knowing who the hell Sinde was, but he did see that Atemu was currently speaking with Karim on something, and neither looked particularly happy. He frowned. If Karim blurted out that he'd run off, he was probably done for. He'd already disobeyed Atemu too many times to technically still be allowed to keep his job. But then again, Karim was loyal to a fault. He could be tortured and he wouldn't give his friends away. But then Seth noticed one more thing; Bakura wasn't among the leading forces like he should've been. Seth's brow rose. That couldn't have been too promising.

 

“Switch to another view. I need to look for someone,” Seth said calmly. Gilden just nodded, and this time the monitor showed Sith and Sceppiro, who were trapped inside a cell. Sith was standing near the wall, looking irritated as usual, and Sceppiro was just sitting on the cot, sulking. Nothing looked wrong, though both of them were probably bored out of their minds. Seth smiled weakly and told Gilden to change the channel again, which the Esper did. Now it just showed an empty corridor. Seth's brow raised suspiciously now. Why would Rath want to watch a corridor?

 

“What the hell is she thinking?” Seth heard Gilden mumble. That was actually a good question. Seth watched on, wondering just what sort of meaning this had when a flicker of movement caught his eye. His pupils dilated, and he leaned closer. He saw a cloak now, and then a veil… he was looking at Bakura! Bakura was running down the hall! But… why? Where was he going?

 

“Bakura!?” Seth cried, and Gilden looked at the figure as it ran across the screen, “What's going on!? Quickly, where does that hall lead!?” Gilden just blinked, trying to figure out why Seth was so worried. Bakura looked fine; at least, he didn't seem to be hurt.

 

“I think it leads upstairs, to the first floor,” Gilden replied, and Seth cursed angrily, slamming his fists on the table. Gilden yelped and slid back a few feet.

 

“Damn it, what the hell is that idiot thinking!?” Seth demanded to no one in particular, “Is he trying to get himself killed!?” He glanced down at Gilden, and immediately quieted his voice. Now the Esper looked mildly afraid. Typing quickly on the keyboard, Gilden switched the monitor to one that overlooked a cross-section view of the stairwell that led out of the basement and onto the first floor. Like he had said, Bakura appeared a moment later. But what actually caught Seth's attention was the man lying on the floor, in a dazed heap. That was the man he'd sent flying down the steps with his Millennium Rod. That was also the man Gilden said was working for Sith. Gilden's fear seemed to vanish now, and he grinned.

 

“I was wondering why your little friend would be running down the hall like that,” he commented smugly, “I guess they found out someone was going to check out what happened.”

 

“Is there a way to tell Bakura that the man's a friend?” Seth inquired, but Gilden shook his head, typing again on the keyboard. The monitor zoomed in on Bakura. He was approaching the body carefully, almost curiously. And he had a dagger out, just in case something happened. Not that much could've caught the thief off-guard. He was skilled. Seth did give him that.

 

“I'm pretty sure Bakura'll figure that out,” Gilden assured him, though in honesty, the Esper didn't actually know how likely that was, “Though there's probably a chance he'll stab before Scias even gets the first word in.” That didn't sound promising, but there wasn't much either of them could do. Besides, Bakura wasn't as hotheaded as Seth had thought. Hell, the guy was the entire reason they'd stayed so focused on finding Sith way back when. He wouldn't make a hasty move without an explanation first. Gilden switched the cameras back to the cell currently holding Sith and Sceppiro. Sceppiro was still on the bed, but this time, Sith was trying to climb up to the small window above the cot. Was she trying to escape? By the looks of it, she was. But Seth doubted she'd get far. The window was barred shut.

 

“Okay, we need to get that wall down before Sith goes insane,” Seth concluded grimly, “Tell me you know how to disable this thing.” Unfortunately, just watching Gilden told the priest that neither had any idea what to do. Gilden mentioned smashing the security system earlier, anyway. That should've tipped Seth off. Flatly, he added, “Other than destroying it. You might set off the alarms.” Gilden's grin simply grew again. Right then, Seth would've rather been anywhere but where he was; he had a feeling Gilden would get them into a lot of trouble and not even care about it. And that would just be Seth's luck.

 

“And who would actually come to stop us?” Gilden asked him, “You already kicked the other lords on their asses, and Rath's going to assume they'd take care of any alarm we set. We're fine. Now stop whining and start smashing.” Seth just growled. This wasn't quite what he planned when he left to try and help Sith out. But he shrugged. Technically, it would still work. He'd just have to roll with it. Taking out his rod, he began smashing it into a keypad with several small, yellow buttons. All he ended up doing was switching cameras, but eventually he caused the monitor to overload with commands. The screen began to smoke, and then it just stopped working. It felt rather anticlimactic to Seth, but Gilden just nodded with approval.

 

“Nice. Now she can't watch them even if she does catch us,” he commented slyly, getting out of the seat. Then, in a display that Seth could only call extreme stupidity, Gilden picked up the chair and threw it right into the monitor Seth just killed. As if overloading it and causing its circuits to break wasn't enough. The chair crashed through the glass screen, and the velocity behind the powerful throw caused the cables supporting the heavy monitor to snap. The monitor fell with a heavy crash, denting the central control panel. Sparks of electricity flared up, and all Seth could do was glare at Gilden. That really wasn't what he had planned at all.

 

“Are you an idiot!? We're supposed to disable this system, not destroy Aeroglyph!” Seth exclaimed in exasperation, “Do you have any idea what Sith and the pharaoh will think if they find this!?”

 

“They'll think we're geniuses,” Gilden reasoned, as though that were the obvious answer. Seth just groaned, remembering just why he hated his job and everything entailed with it. Half the guards acted this way, too. Stepping back, he watched in pure amazement as Gilden began smashing the other two panels on either side. Immediately, the camera in one corner of the room sparked, and then crashed onto the floor. He heard a similar crash down the hall. And silently he wished Gilden would stop fooling around and get to bringing the wall down. The sooner Sith and Sceppiro were free, the sooner Rath's head would fly, and the sooner they could get out of here and return to their normal lives. Right then, normal sounded good to Seth.

 

“Just how many of her cameras are you going to break before you free Sith? Which is why I came here in the first place?” Seth asked after a third crash in the next room got his attention. Gilden merely continued grinning as the monitor, despite its broken state, tried to flicker back on. It barely worked. All Seth could see was an awkward angling of where Sith and Sceppiro were waiting. He guessed that the camera in their room had crashed, but hadn't yet broken. Gilden looked up, and when he saw this, a look of relief spread across his face. He had hoped there'd still be a way to see what was happening with them, just to be sure that he'd be able to get the wall down. Unfortunately, when he broke the monitor, all form of sound had been destroyed. They couldn't catch what it was Sith was currently saying. But she looked really stern.

 

“What could she be saying?” Seth asked, squinting his eyes. He was trying to read her lips, but she was speaking too fast. He frowned. Whatever it was, she wasn't happy. Likewise, Sceppiro frowned as she spoke, too. But Gilden was just laughing. He obviously knew what she was saying. He wiped a tear away, shaking his head. As it turned out, he explained to Seth, she was admonishing Sceppiro for his idea to try burrowing out of the cell. Seth didn't see just how that'd happen, anyway, since the floor was made of stone. Then again, both Sith and Sceppiro could turn into dragons, too. Dragons could probably tear stone up. Dragons could probably tear lots of things up.

 

“All right, enough messing around,” Gilden finally said with a hint of seriousness, “I think we'd better help them.” Seth looked around the room, wondering just what they could use to help. Technically, they destroyed pretty much everything.

 

“How?” was all that Seth could ask. Gilden turned from the broken monitor to another panel. Miraculously, a few buttons managed to survive the onslaught Gilden brought upon them, and Seth wondered if he'd aimed his attacks for that reason or not. Gilden just grinned and pressed one that said `open.' Unfortunately, nothing happened. Gilden's wing twitched, and he pressed it again, figuring he hadn't pressed with enough force. Still, nothing occurred. Now he just frowned. Clearly, he wasn't reading the button wrong; it just wasn't working. He must've destroyed it, after all.

 

“Well, that puts a bit of a damper on our plans,” he commented, almost amused with himself. Except that he just screwed himself into a grave of treason and now there was nothing to show for it. Seth just turned to him flatly.

 

“Now what?” he snapped, not nearly as good-natured as the Esper was. Gilden just held up his index finger to show that he wasn't out just yet, and proceeded to smash every single button again, going on the logic that eventually, one of them would be the right button and open the wall. Eventually, a loud whirring noise started up, and Seth jumped back. He'd never been exposed to machines, and he wasn't so sure what might've been happening. But then, he heard Sith's voice from the monitor.

 

`What is that?' he heard her asked, `Atemu, sir, what's going on out there?' Her voice sounded strangely different, almost as though it'd been scrambled up. But it was her. Likewise, she got a response as well.

 

`We're not sure, knight Sith. It just started suddenly,' came Atemu's equally distorted voice. Seth blinked, unable to understand why they could suddenly hear their friends. But Gilden seemed happy, so it couldn't have been anything bad. The green-haired Esper leaned back on the seat again, grinning as though this was what he planned from the very beginning.

 

“Good. Now we can talk to them when we finally break that wall,” he stated, and when he noticed how confused Seth looked, he said, “I must've turned the sound down on the monitor when I went on my little rampage. Which means the radio probably works too. We can tell them where you are and what happened as soon as the wall crumbles.” Seth's eyes widened nervously. He didn't want to tell Gilden that he had left unnoticed and without permission, and he certainly didn't want Atemu to know he was gone, either. He understood just how Atemu got whenever anyone left his court without permission.

 

“But… but the monitor,” Seth stammered, deciding not to dwell on his insubordination for too long, “You massacred it! How did anything survive!?”

 

“I guess our equipment's tougher than I thought,” Gilden replied with a shrug. Seth wished he'd show a little more worry than he was, but that had to mean things were looking up. Then they heard a rumbling noise, and Seth felt the foundations of the castle shake. Terror-stricken at the thought that Rath might've found out what was going on, he dove under a table, holding onto one of the legs as the rumbling grew. He saw, in the monitor, that Sceppiro was affected similarly. Sith simply looked around in alarm, her sword already in her hand. Gilden just watched in bewilderment, but he didn't appear afraid of the tremors. Then, they heard a roar and a lot of gears crunching and screeching against each other. Seth covered his ears, wishing the noise would stop. He felt his head throb from it, and felt bad for the others down there. They were much worse off. But after a moment, it suddenly stopped. And then everyone began to cheer. Seth risked a look at the monitor. The wall had been broken!

 

“You did it!” Seth exclaimed in a whisper to Gilden, who was already searching for a radio, “They're safe!” Gilden just gave him the thumbs-up as he found the device in question. He clicked on a button.

 

“We have the wall broken, Lady Sith. We're coming for you soon,” he said calmly, but rather than promote the cheering, everyone fell silent. Sith looked up toward where the camera should have been. She lost all trace of jubilance with Gilden's voice.

 

“Who are you?” she demanded just as calmly, “Identify yourself to me.”

 

“Relax. It's me, Gilden,” he replied with a grin, “You know, childhood friend? Long-time ally? Possible suitor?” Seth simply glared at him. He was joking, but surely he knew that the pharaoh wouldn't find it the least bit funny. Likewise, Sith seemed just as annoyed now. She sheathed her blade and crossed her arms, striding forward with absolute authority on the situation. Clearly, she knew Gilden quite well.

 

“Possible suitor? Don't make me laugh,” she replied grimly, “What on earth are you doing? Where is Rath?” Gilden just waved her worry away, though.

 

“Not even here. Be thankful for once, Sith. I'm trying to help you,” he stated easily, “Oh, and do you notice that Seth's not with you now?” Seth's mouth dropped open, and Atemu immediately turned to look over his army. Bakura had come back, and Scias was now with him, but he noticed that Gilden was right. Seth was no longer among them. When he looked to the camera questioningly, Gilden just said, “He's with me. Seems he decided to take matters into his own Egyptian hands.” Seth twitched now. Just like that, Gilden dropped a nuclear bomb right on his career. He risked a glance to the monitor, and regretted it. Atemu was furious now.

 

“Seth…” Atemu began, characteristically slow, and then his voice howled with rage, “HOW DARE YOU DEFY MY ORDERS! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING!?” Seth just shrunk back in fear. He had only heard Atemu get angry on a few occasions, and anyone that made him that mad usually regretted it. Again, that was Sith's fault; as Atemu's knight, she usually handled any problems he had. And her solution always ended up with a sword in someone's back. Seth didn't want to receive a sword in the back. But for once, she seemed to work against the pharaoh, for she placed a hand on his shoulder to calm him down. He looked at his knight quizzically. It was rare for her to stop his rage unless something was duly urgent.

 

“Sir, before you order his dismissal, let's hear what priest Seth has to say,” Sith suggested, and Seth's mouth dropped again. He appreciated the very rare show of loyalty Sith was giving, but that also meant that he'd have to come up with a reason as to why he just ran off like that. And technically, he didn't have one. Sith turned to the camera and calmly asked, “What were you trying to do, priest Seth?”

 

“Um…” Seth's mind seemed to blank out at that point, “I was trying to break the wall down.” Atemu didn't seem to believe that, but Sith looked mildly amused with it. She hid a snicker and turned to Atemu, this time whispering something to him that again, Seth couldn't hear. Gilden's lips thinned; he wasn't able to read her lips this time. After the brief exchange, Atemu nodded gruffly, and crossed his arms. Whatever she had said to him, it hadn't lessened his annoyance. But Seth had confidence that this time, he wouldn't be fired. Yet.

 

“Admirable courage, but you have a poor lack of judgment,” Sith commented, waving a hand, “Especially to team up with Gilden. He's by far the most notorious among us, and he's caused severe havoc, Seth. Tell me you did nothing to attract unneeded attention.” Seth's eyes widened and his mouth froze in an awkward smile. Now he was in serious trouble. Gilden pretty much ensured that Rath would know someone broke into her office and her security room. He didn't even need to speak for Sith to know just what happened. She shook her head and said, “I thought as much.”

 

“Are we screwed!?” Bakura asked, as Atemu glanced at the knight, knowing something was wrong but unsure of how Sith knew. Seth wasn't even with them, but she seemed to be reading his expression regardless.

 

“Not yet, but we will be if we don't move it,” Sith told him, and turned back to the camera, “Gilden, where the hell are you two?”

 

“Third floor, security room,” Gilden replied easily, with a grin. How he could remain so calm, when he knew that one king and a very powerful knight were probably going to throttle him, was beyond Seth. But he didn't even seem remotely worried about Sith's condescending tone. She looked to Bakura, and the two nodded. They'd be the ones to lead the raid upward. But Seth quickly had other plans. His mind hadn't strayed from the captive Espers on the second floor.

 

“Wait!” he called, just as Sith and Bakura were about to leave, “There are Espers locked in the audience chamber. I'm going to free them.”

 

“Then we'll meet you there,” Sith replied, and to her guards, she called, “Move out!” Seth heard a chorus of cheers as she and Bakura rushed to the front, Scias, Sceppiro, and Atemu behind them. Seth had no choice but to agree. Not that it was a bad thing. Being amidst the guards, with both Sith and Bakura's fighting prowess, was a comfort he needed. He looked to the green-haired Esper, who switched off the monitors and stood up. Without speaking, they both knew they had to head down quickly now. Seth headed into the hall as Gilden turned out the meager light in the room. Then he too left, kicking the head of one of the corpses as he left.

 

Because he had no idea where anything within the castle would lie, Seth relieved leadership to Gilden once again. The Esper had no trouble at all, though the corridors seemed to twist and turn endlessly again. Seth had no idea if the castle was naturally constructed as such, but he made a mental note to suggest to Sceppiro to get the place remodeled. They passed numerous doors, but Gilden made no move to enter a single one. He focused on the road before them. And Seth was just as content to follow. They passed another hall, and then down a large flight of stairs. Slowly, things began to look familiar now that they were on the second floor. The walls were painted with gold once again, with that familiar red stripe in the center. Seth allowed himself to relax a little.

 

“Did the other Espers say anything when you spoke with them?” Gilden asked, as their run slowed to a leisurely walk. Seth didn't feel that anything should be done leisurely, but he didn't argue the point. He simply nodded to answer the man's question.

 

“They're all trying to get out to see Sith,” the priest replied cautiously, “But why would Rath abduct them? Were they important?”

 

“My guess is they're stragglers who couldn't get out of the castle in time to help,” Gilden said firmly, his face turning grim, “Things went hectic when Sith came to rally us all, but Rath had time to lock up a few people. The question is whether they're still in the audience chamber.” Seth glanced at him, and frowned. Gilden wasn't grinning now. Whatever calm he did have fled when they left the security room.

 

“Why wouldn't they be?” Seth asked, and stopped abruptly. He had a feeling Gilden learned something that was far worse than being caught in the room. Likewise, Gilden stopped alongside him. The man's red eyes gleamed in the darkness.

 

“You never know if they'd broken out or not,” Gilden merely said, and continued on. Seth blinked, trying to figure out what the Esper meant with his words, but no meaning came to the young priest's mind. He shrugged it away. Gilden didn't seem like the type to let anything overly deadly slip his grasp, and Seth certainly didn't want to stay behind to ponder the man's words. He ran to catch up, though Gilden wasn't far away at that point. But something about his gait nagged at Seth, as though a constant alarm was going off in his head that spelled danger. As if Aeroglyph itself didn't cause such an alarm.

 

By the time it'd taken Gilden to lead himself and Seth to the doors of the audience chamber, Atemu and Bakura were already waiting with half of their army. Seth saw that neither Sith nor Sceppiro were with them, and that most of the Espers were missing, too. It made him curious, but he figured they were somewhere else for a specific reason. So, he simply walked over. Karim and Mahaado smiled warmly, and clapped him on the back when he came over. Obviously, they were both glad he made it through safely. Likewise, he was happy to be back, too. The bigger priest just grinned.

 

“Good job, priest Seth,” Karim said proudly, “I didn't think you'd actually succeed, but you saved Sith.” Seth smiled sheepishly, chuckling as he heard Bakura and Atemu speaking with Gilden.

 

“Likewise, I couldn't have done it if you had told the pharaoh I left against orders,” Seth replied, and then remembered that he saw Karim speaking with Atemu about something earlier, “…what were you talking to him about, anyway? He looked really upset.” Karim blinked, wondering when Seth was speaking of. Then it hit him; he was asking about the man's last report. He snapped his fingers.

 

“Oh, that. Seems there was an Esper who fell into the basement corridors,” the big priest replied casually, “Bakura went off to search for him. I had to report that nothing was found yet, but that the evidence of danger was still strong. We didn't want an ambush down here, especially with three of our four leaders cut off.” Seth didn't blame him for that. He wasn't sure of Scias's strength, but he had no doubt that an Esper could probably take Bakura down. He knew an Esper could kill Atemu if need be. And then Sith and Sceppiro would've been easy enough; gas would've killed them, and Rath wasn't above that at all. He looked around the hall again, wondering just where the two Espers had gone to. They still hadn't come up, and he couldn't hear anything below, either.

 

“Where are the Winchesters, anyway?” he asked incredulously. Karim bit his lip, and Seth noted that both priests seemed hesitant to answer him. Something had to have happened on their way up. He pressed the question again, and this time, Atemu turned to answer him. He sounded on the verge of panic, too.

 

“Two opposing Esper lords found us,” the pharaoh replied, “Sith and Sceppiro are fighting them.” Seth silently cursed. He knew exactly who those lords were, too. Especially since he was the one who sent them bouncing down the stairs. How they even regained consciousness was something Sith didn't understand. How Falnika even lived with Martus crushing her was something he would never understand. But he knew they were powerful enough. He asked to go and help, but Bakura intervened by saying, “Sith told us not to handle it.”

 

“Why the hell would she ask that?” Gilden demanded angrily, his brows creasing. Bakura turned back to him, undaunted by the anger in the man's voice. Clearly, Sith had a very good reason. Or perhaps she was just stupid. Seth snorted, not knowing which one was actually true; Sith messed up nearly as much as he had. But she normally got herself out of trouble, too.

 

“She said something about sending a message to Rath,” Bakura explained, “Something along the lines of `don't fuck with me,' and using her minions to relay that message.” Gilden's eyes simply widened. That was a pretty bold message, especially since she was fighting two lords at once. Even Atemu seemed unconvinced of her victory, and if anyone vouched for her, it was him. Seth just shook his head, however. He wasn't too surprised at her reasoning. In her mind, killing two lords with one sword would definitely scare Rath, even if it didn't drive her off. But it was still a stupid move. It'd probably get her killed.

 

“Relay what message!? That she's a moron?” Seth blurted out, and when everyone glared at him, he said, “Look, I trust the good knight, but she's not going to win. We have to go and help her before we lose one of our best. If she dies, who the hell's going to protect us when it counts!?” Atemu's glare went flat, and Bakura just snorted. The irony of Seth's exclamation was humorous. Seth was normally the one who needed her help, not the other way around. The priest moved to storm the stairs to the first floor, but Bakura quickly stopped him, and two guards from Sith's squad crossed their spears in a blocking attempt. Seth just glared angrily at them all and asked, “What on earth!?”

 

“If you go down there, she's going to kill you,” Bakura growled, his eyes gaining a fury Seth knew he shouldn't cross, “She'll be fine. She wants us to release these hostages and then we're probably going to pull most of our forces out.” Seth's eyes just widened again. That order really made no sense. Why bother bringing everyone if they were going to be sent away? Seth asked that heatedly, and Bakura calmly answered with, “This way Rath won't have as many targets. We brought them with the thought that most of the lords were against us. Now, that's just not so.”

 

“With so much inner support, we don't need to risk the lives of the villagers or the novices,” Atemu continued, crossing his arms, “Rath has little to no support left, and Sith's battling that support now. When she wins, Rath won't have a place to even run to. She's out of options, and we can breathe easier.” Seth just looked back at the pharaoh. He couldn't disagree with those statements, but the fact that Atemu already knew Sith would win scared the priest a little. If he was wrong, they'd suffer badly, and they'd have three lords to battle instead of one. And they wouldn't have Sith or Sceppiro. Those were heavy risks that Sith was taking.

 

“You have that much confidence in her,” Seth stated, and Atemu said nothing, “Then I agree. Let's get these innocents out and then send the weaker forces back to Cyd and Saimun.” He gestured to Gilden, who was the one who actually had the key. The Esper nodded, and strode to the double-doors, putting the key into the lock. They heard a faint click, and then the door swung open. Light spilled from the audience chamber as the last few rays of sunlight sunk low, bathing the room in an orange haze. But when Gilden walked inside, what he was greeted with was… nothing. There was no one within the room; all that stood in there were two thrones. Seth noticed that Gilden had stopped, and looked around in sheer confusion. Something was wrong here.

 

“There's no one in here!” Gilden cried, as Bakura, Atemu, and several armed soldiers ran inside, “Seth, are you sure you heard someone!?” Seth glanced at both Karim and Mahaado, but both priests were just as dumbfounded as he was. They ran into the chamber next, and were greeted with the same scene.

 

“My mind's clear as the crystals in this castle!” Seth declared in frustration, “Did they break out!?” Unfortunately, the windows were completely sealed, and there were no cracks in the wall that signified there was a break-out. Two guards examined the back wall, where two doors sat to either side. But they soon came back, shaking their heads and murmuring until they reached Atemu. One bowed low.

 

“No one has been in here, sir. The windows and doors were all locked,” the guard stated. Seth's skin paled. That just couldn't be right. He knew he heard other people here. But clearly, the room was empty. He looked around frantically, trying to find something to prove his story. His eyes fell on Gilden again. The man had gone stiff, and Seth followed his gaze. It was right toward another camera, but this one had been shut off. Seth frowned. That meant they hadn't even been able to look in this room when they were in the security room. That would've proved there were prisoners… or weren't. Seth's eyes widened as he began to realize just what actually happened. It was awfully strange to turn the camera off when you had prisoners. And that was because there were none.

 

“We've been tricked!” Seth called in alarm, and everyone turned to him as he exclaimed, “The camera! It's been turned off! Why would she turn off a camera that recorded her prisoners?” Bakura blinked, and then rushed over to the camera himself. One throw of a knife took it off its cables, and he examined it carefully. Seth was right. It had been shut off. And Bakura knew why that was, too. Rath didn't want them to see this room. She planned on them breaking into the security room. She probably even planned to have Sith and Sceppiro into the castle at all!

 

“Everyone, out!” the thief shouted, pointing to the door as he smashed the camera, “Quickly!” No one understood just what the cause for alarm was, but no one questioned. They all turned to leave, but the army was so large for such a small room, it took some time to get them all moving. And right as the first few hit the door, a huge ball of flames smashed into the wall, sending shards of the stone frame everywhere. People screamed at the assault, and then the ranks of the army were scattered as everyone pushed to try and get out faster. Guards pushed toward the front to find the attacker, but by this point, the hall was in chaos. Espers who had come up to aid their human friends were sent flying into the army by magic, and humans were pushing to get away from the enchanted castle. Vampires were already leaping over the banister to get to the front door, but the comets of fire kept raining on the walls. It didn't take anyone long to understand what was going on. They had been ambushed.

 

“Damn it, we're screwed!” Gilden exclaimed, as the audience chamber slowly thinned, “Do we stay or do we run?”

 

“As if we have a damned choice,” Bakura spat, readying two daggers, “We fight. Let's hope we're strong enough for this.” Seth stared at the thief. There was no way in hell any of them could hope to fend Rath off, and they couldn't ask Bahamut or Tiamat for help, either. The two dragons would have to get everyone else back. And who even knew if Sith and Sceppiro were still alive. With the army as it was, they were nearly defenseless, and only a few of the remaining could actually fight. Rath really did plan this part perfectly. It was almost funny how little it took to cause disarray to the army.

 

“What about Knight Sith!?” one of the soldiers behind them asked, “Could she not fight!?”

 

“We don't even know if she's alive,” Seth replied grimly, eyes narrowing as he continued to look toward the doors. By now, most of the army was making its way downstairs, and hopefully to safety. In the throng of chaos, Martus and Falnika had to be distracted, and perhaps it'd give the villagers a chance to escape. But it might also have been what caused Sith and Sceppiro's demise, too. The problem was that no one knew where they were.

 

“We should look for her,” Mahaado suggested, but Seth just snorted. The entire castle was being bombarded in flames. Just how could they search for Sith in those conditions!? Unfortunately, many of the remaining soldiers and Espers agreed. And neither Bakura nor Atemu could dissuade them. Sith was their commander, after all. Her men were loyal to a fault, even in the face of death. In the end, Atemu was forced to allow it. Even if it amounted to Sith being found dead, at least then they'd know they had little chance to stop Rath. Espers escorted Sith's men down out of the hall once the decision was made. And that was precisely when the biggest explosion hit them.

 

The last explosion of magic was by far the worst. The stone structure of the double doors shattered on impact, and Seth heard glass from all over break and crash into the walls. The targets, the brave men who went to find their beloved leader, didn't survive. Even beyond the smell of their cooking flesh, Seth knew this. And he also knew many of the people downstairs were probably killed in the blast as well. He didn't even want to consider that Sith was no longer alive now. And now, as the rumbles died, they saw the full effect of the massive flames. Tapestries had gone up in smoke, and they could hear the fountain crackling downstairs, as though it were one large, fiery pit. The smell was a mixture of burning hair, skin, and furniture. And a red haze seemed to fall all around the castle. Embers flew in all direction, adding a level of terror to the devastation, as though walking just one step ensured the person's death. Bakura was the first to make a move.

 

“RATH!” he called. Seth put a hand on his back, and felt the man tremble. He wasn't just angry; the man was terrified. In just a few minutes, their army had been reduced to nothing. As if to answer him, Rath appeared through the doorway. The brightness of the fire silhouetted her form, but her eyes remained golden, the only feature of hers they could see.

 

“Welcome to my inferno,” she said calmly, crossing her arms, “Not how I wanted to end this, but this ensures my victory.”

 

“How the hell can this be winning if the castle's in flames!?” Karim demanded hotly, his hand closing on the Millennium Scales. Not that he could actually hurt her with them, but they gave the big man some comfort. Then Rath's next words stole that comfort away.

 

“When did I ever say I wanted Aeroglyph?” she asked, and Bakura could tell from her tone that the woman was grinning. Karim's anger faded, and quickly turned to absolute horror. She didn't want Aeroglyph. This was never about the kingdom at all. It was no wonder now why she hadn't completely obliterated Egypt when she had the chance. She saw Karim's look and said, “That's right. You know, don't you?”

 

“You just wanted to kill Sith,” he stated, and she nodded, “And you succeeded, didn't you!?” Rath didn't answer. She merely stood there, watching them. She didn't need to attack now. The castle was burning, and they couldn't escape. All she had to do was wait there. Bakura's arm twitched, but Atemu kept a hold on his cloak. Attacking her would do no good. They all waited for someone else to speak now, but it was clear Rath wasn't going to give them answers. Bakura couldn't take it. He threw a knife, missing her entirely. But he had caused Atemu to release him. He stepped forward, aiming his second knife.

 

“ANSWER US!” he screamed, “Is Sith dead!?”

 

“What does it matter?” she retorted, never losing her calm, “Even if she's alive, all I must do is stand here and she will be dead soon enough. Then Nesce will be no more, and you will be defenseless before me.”

 

“You'll die, too!” Atemu pointed out angrily. But Seth noticed that such a fact didn't scare Rath. Her smile nearly grew. She didn't fear her death, no matter how apparent it was. Why the hell was she so calm about it!?

 

“You are wrong, pharaoh,” she said, and her voice began to turn venomous, “I will live, but you all are a different story. For these flames won't hurt all who have embraced the power of Oblivion! Now bow down, in your last moments of life, bow down to me! Bow and let me hear you sc…” The ground underneath Rath suddenly gave way, and she screamed psychotically, her wings fluttering as she saw the tip of a purple sword making its way to her neck. Bakura, Atemu, and Seth ran back, dragging Mahaado, Karim, and Gilden with them as the ground crumbled away, until the entrance hall below was exposed. Rath was forced into the air before she dropped. And that was just the opening Sith needed for her next, and last strike.

 

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

 

And so, after disabling the security system, Seth realizes too late that their ambush has already been planned and that Rath fully expected them to go to their lengths to find her. Thinking they were trapped, she advanced upon them, bringing a wrath of fiery hatred with her. But will her assumption of Sith's demise cause her own downfall? Are there any survivors to Atemu's force? Find out next chapter, so click that Review button!