Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Sins Of The Pharaoh ❯ Invaders ( Chapter 8 )

Note: This chappie skips ahead 5 years.

 

Invaders

 

Yami narrowed his eyes at his general. “Those people are hiding something! The scrolls had said that those people are hiding the Millennium Scales! I NEED THOSE SCALES, ANUBIS!”

“Those people are simple farmers. They will be easy to conquer, my lord,” Anubis said bowing to the pharaoh.

Yami stood up and approached his step-brother. “Do not be fooled. Farmers can wield exceptional power. They may be anticipating our attack.”

Anubis grinned, his lips curling. “They won't be able to stop our powerful army, Pharaoh Yami. We'll crush their bones!”

Yami grinned. “See that you do. Bring me what I've asked for, Anubis. No foul-ups.”

Anubis bowed and walked out of the pharaoh's throne room. He stepped out of the courtyard and found Aten and Ravana playing with Aria in the garden. “SOLDIERS, FACE FRONT!”

Ravana and Aten stopped short and stood straight. “Yes, General Anubis!”

“You two little brats come with me. We have an order from Pharaoh Yami.”

Aria looked worried. “Aten, don't go!”

“I have to, Aria. I'll be back as soon as I can.”

Aten hugged Aria tightly.

Anubis narrowed his eyes and pulled Aten's hair violently. “What have I told you about hugging?! The only time you should go near a woman is to ravage her! Now let's go!”

Aten winced as Anubis pulled him by the hair.

Ravana waved to Aria. “We have to go, Aria!”

Ravana followed Aten closely.

The general arrived in the arena and blew on his horn. The soldiers rushed out of the barracks and lined up in rows. The child soldiers stood in front of the adults, shaking at seeing Aten in Anubis' angry grip.

Anubis threw Aten on the ground. “We are to march to Hawara to the south. We are to obtain a golden object, The Millennium Scales, from the people there. We are to destroy the town after we claim our prize. Get your gear! Hurry back here on the double!”

Aten and Ravana ran to get their gear where they lived. Aten ran into the stables and into his room. He grabbed his tiny canteen of water and his dagger. He placed some of his old food into a tiny bag and tied it to his belt.

“At least I won't go hungry.”

Aten ran to the water for the horses and filled his canteen. “At least I won't die of thirst.”

Aten ran to the soldier barracks and found Ravana placing his dagger in its sheath.

Ravana sighed. “I'm ready, Aten. I hope we make it back okay. I don't know if I'm ready to fight yet, though. I mean, we're only eight years old.”

Aten nodded. “If we don't fight, Anubis will beat and starve us worse if we don't.”

“SOLDIERS RETURN!”

The soldiers scurried out of the barracks and to their horses. The child soldiers were forced to march beside the mounted army.

Anubis mounted his horse and lead the army out of the gates.

***************************

Anubis and the army used the Nile to travel south. They loaded their horses and men onto many large boats. They floated downstream until they arrived near Hawara. They arrived and Anubis marched them towards the city.

Ravana rubbed his feet as they arrived. “My feet hurt.”

Anubis growled. “Stop your squawking!”

Anubis drew his sword. “FIND THOSE MILLENNIUM SCALES! THEY HAVE TO BE HERE!”

Ravana and Aten swallowed hard.

Anubis lowered his sword. “CHARGE!”

The child soldiers ran quickly to prevent being trampled by the adult soldiers.

The children drew their swords as they ran quickly into the town.

The citizens of the town screamed and scurried at first. The adults slashed the people they could reach with their swords. The inexperienced children watched in horror as the adults cut of the heads of the citizens as they rode by on their horses.

Ravana screamed as an adult soldier hacked at a mother and child. “I can't do this!”

Ravana looked around for Aten. Aten was no where to be seen.

Aten froze as he looked around him. In the frenzy of the approach and the clash of citizens and soldiers, Aten and Ravana had become separated.

Ravana ran down an alley and gasped as he saw one of the citizens burst out of his house with a sword.

“You little brat!” the man cried as he charged for the child soldier.

Ravana held up his sword and blocked the man's shoulder from splitting his head in two. The man kicked Ravana and the boy fell back.

The little boy held up his hand. “No! I was made to fight!”

Ravana rolled out of the way from the man's sword. Sparks flew as the blade hit the ground.

“You serve the pharaoh, don't you, kid?”

The sword crashed onto the street beside him.

“No! I don't want to kill!”

The man laughed. “A likely story, kid!”

“No, honest! My family was butchered by Yami's guards! I watched my own father die!”

The man growled. “You serve the pharaoh! You are one of his followers! That makes you deserve death, kid!”

Ravana cried out as the man sliced his right foot. Blood poured out of the wound as the child began to cry.

“Now you cry?! What kind of a blood-thirsty soldier are you?”

Ravana backed against the wall. “I'm not a blood-thirsty soldier! I was forced into Yami's army!”

The man growled. “That doesn't matter! You're going to die anyway!”

Ravana cried out as he dodged the sword which had cut into his right foot.

The man swung again and hit Ravana's arm, making a long cut.

Aten appeared in the alley and gasped. “Ravana! Here I come!”

Aten charged for the man and clashed his sword against the assailant. The man slammed his sword down, missing the dodging child.

The man lifted his sword and Aten pierced the man's stomach with a scream.

The man collapsed onto the ground, holding his stomach. He fell over on his side dead. Ravana fell over on his side and held his wounded arm.

Aten ran by Ravana's side and opened his canteen. “Drink this.”

Ravana gulped a mouthful and spit it out. “That's disgusting!”

“It's the water for the horses. It's all I could get.”

Ravana winced and panted heavily as his wounds gushed blood. Aten took his sleeve and cut off some of the material to make a bandage for his friend's injury.

Ravana winced as Aten tied the torn cloth around his injured right foot.

“There. I hope that helps.”

Aten and Ravana watched the battle rage. The boys cringed as the alley became splattered and speckled with blood. Aten cringed as he watched soldiers fall. Ravana clung to him, shaking.

Aten heard Anubis' furious cries to his soldiers. “If he finds us here, he'll be more angry than he is! Ravana, can you stand up?”

Ravana struggled to his feet with Aten's help. “It hurts, Aten.”

“I know, Ravana.” Aten said looking around. “Into the man's house. Come on.”

Aten helped his limping friend into the house.

Ravana held his foot and cried when they entered the house. “I didn't want to be part of the army! I just wanted to be with my mommy and daddy!” Ravana sobbed as his injured foot bled. “I didn't want to be a killer! I don't want to cut people's heads off or slaughter babies! I can't kill a baby, Aten! I just can't!”

“Neither can I. I didn't want to be in the army either. But I had no choice.”

Ravana held onto Aten. “I don't want to be a killer! I don't want to be a part of this!”

Aten held Ravana as they heard the cries of the citizens. Both boys cringed as they heard a baby's gargled cry.

Ravana shook his head. “I can't look out there.”

Aten swallowed hard as he heard a man scream above them.

The man's screams were quickly silenced as blood splattered over the floor and the two boys. A moment later the man's severed head fell in front of them.

Both boys clutched onto each other and screamed.

“What's this?!” a familiar voice screamed.

Anubis appeared at the front of the door. “What are you two little bastards doing? You're supposed to be fighting!”

Ravana pointed to his foot. “A man hurt my foot and my arm. I can't walk.”

“That's preposterous! Get out there and find the pharaoh those Scales!”

Aten shuddered. “But, sir, I can't leave him.”

Anubis grabbed the child's ear and pulled him to his feet. “You will follow my orders or I will slaughter you, too! Ravana, get to your feet!”

Ravana lowered his head. “My foot hurts.”

Anubis threw Aten against the wall and pointed the point of the sword to Aten's back. “Do it or I kill him! Get on your feet!”

Ravana struggled to his feet and Anubis released Aten.

“Now get out there! We finally found the leader of this town. He will give us what we want.”

Anubis released Aten. “Follow me.”

Ravana limped beside Aten and winced. Tears ran down his face as he walked on his injured foot.

The boys held onto each other as they left the house. The headless body of the man and the dead baby laid at the window. The alley was littered with the dead citizens.

Under their bodies, their blood created puddles.

Ravana gulped as he saw a severed leg.

Aten whimpered as he saw a boy his age laying on the road, his stomach gushing blood.

“Hello….sorry about this.”

The boy's eyes widened and he shuddered. “M----m---Mommy.”

Aten opened his bottle of water. “Are you thirsty?”

Aten wet the child's lips with the water from the horses.

“Aten, that little bastard is better off dead.”

Aten sniffled. “But he's only a kid….”

“His death doesn't mean anything to me.”

Aten looked down at the child. “I'm sorry.”

Aten watched as the boy breathed out a soft breath and laid still in the road.

Ravana swallowed hard. “Poor little boy.”

“Let's go, brats.”

Anubis lead the boys to the center of town where the town's leader was standing, bound with his arms behind his back.

“Tell us where the Scales are, old man.”

The old man narrowed his eyes. “We don't have it! Even if we did, we would not tell you! The Scales do not belong in the hands of the pharaoh!”

Anubis raised his sword. “Tell me where it is, old man, or I will kill you!”

The old man closed his eyes and kneeled in front of the general. “Then you must kill me.”

Aten and Ravana screamed as the general beheaded the old man.

The other child soldiers shivered as the man's head hung off of his body, the sword having failed to slice the head off in one strike.

Anubis wiped his bloody sword clean with the victim's clothes. “We return to Cairo! But first, burn this village to the ground!”

*****************************

Aria stood on Seth's balcony. Her eyes kept trained on the Nile in the distance.

She heaved a heavy sigh as she waited for her friend to return from the battle.

Aria turned her head when she heard Seth's new infant daughter cry.

Seth stepped onto the balcony carrying the baby girl. “Did the troops arrive yet?”

Aria shook her head. “No, Seth.”

“I don't understand Yami's fascination with the Millennium Items. I hope we don't lose many men to Yami's greed.”

Aria sighed. “I don't want to lose Aten and Ravana. They're my friends.”

“I know, Aria.”

Aria smiled and jumped when she saw the boats arrive. “Seth! They're here! Can we go see them?”

Seth looked at the baby in his arms. “I don't know, Aria. The troops may be in bad shape when they get back.”

“I want to see Aten and Ravana,” she pleaded with large chibi eyes.

“You may go, Aria. Just be careful around Yami. Shira's not feeling well and I don't want her in the hot sun.”

Aria squealed and hugged the High Priest. “Thank you, Seth!”

Aria ran out of the door and down the hallway, her feet pitter-pattering against the floors. She ran out happily into the gardens. She waited for the troops to arrive.

When they finally walked through the door, her jaw dropped.

Their clothes were stained with blood. Many of them bore injuries. Aria watched the child soldiers following the adults.

Many of the children had cuts on their foreheads. She gasped when she saw Ravana and Aten walking through the gate.

Ravana limped with an injured right foot. Tears fell down his face as he cried quietly from the pain.

Aten's eyes were cast to the ground in terror.

Aria ran up to Aten and held his shoulders. “Aten? Aten, can you hear me?

Ravana stopped and sniffled. “Sorry, Aria.”

Aten walked past Aria without lifting his head.

“Aten….”

********************************

Ravana staggered to his bed in the barracks as Anubis brought his doctor to look at the injured.

Aten sat by Ravana's bed as the doctor unbandaged Ravana's foot.

“This boy needs some topical ointment to prevent infection. The wound is deep and needs immediate attention.”

Anubis growled. “Fine. I'll get someone in here to look at the brat's foot and put some ointment into the wound.”

“Make sure you do this quickly, Anubis. You don't want infection to get into the boy.”

Anubis growled in irritation. “He should be strong enough to handle it. Give it a few days.”

“General, the boy's wound is open. You can see the bones in his feet! He needs the topical ointment immediately. He also must have the wound sewn shut.”

Ravana sniffled and bit his lip against he pain as Anubis touched his foot bone.

“I need my soldiers up and ready at a moment's notice. I can't afford to wait for them to recover from a wound of this nature!”

“Anubis, this boy needs medical attention right away. You cannot let this fester.”

Anubis narrowed his eyes. “My soldiers are supposed to be strong. If they die from a little cut, they are not worthy to be in my army.”

Aten sniffled as he looked at Ravana. “I don't want Ravana to die.”

Anubis growled. “You shut up, you pathetic little whelp!”

Aten cringed as Anubis raised his voice.

Aria ran into the soldiers' barracks and looked around at the scores of wounded men.

“Ravana? Aten?”

Aten looked up and saw Aria walking through the barracks. “Aria?”

Aria ran to Aten and hugged him tightly. Her eyes shed tears. “I was so worried about you!”

Aten hugged Aria tightly. “I was afraid I wouldn't come back! I was so afraid,” the boy whimpered.

Aria kissed Aten's cheek. “You're back, Aten. That's what matters.”

Anubis narrowed his eyes at the girl. “It's a pity he isn't dead. He's better off to me like than that dead boy in the gutter.”

Anubis and the doctor walked away.

Aria narrowed her eyes as Anubis left. “That's not true, Aten. Don't listen to him.”

Aten sniffled. “No, he's right. I'm better off like that boy I saw die.”

Aria shook her head. “No.”

Ravana laid back in his bed, panting and whimpering from his injuries.

Aria sat beside Ravana. “What happened?”

“This man….sliced my foot and my arm….Ra, does it hurt!”

Aria sighed and leaned over. She hugged Ravana and he let out a scream from her touching his arm. She jumped back. “Sorry, Ravana!”

Ravana held his arm and moaned. “It's okay….I'll live.”

Aten looked at the open wound on his friend's foot and sighed with uncertainty.