Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Three-In-One Combo ❯ Scale and Ring ( Chapter 3 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: Indigo Tantarian 
The quest for money begins as the Ring is sold to Bakura's father.
Anime/Manga: Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Drama / Comedy | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 02.17.2003 | Pages: 2 | Words: 2.0K | Visits: 281 | Status: Work In Progress
The quest for money begins as the Ring is sold to Bakura's father.
Anime/Manga: Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Drama / Comedy | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 02.17.2003 | Pages: 2 | Words: 2.0K | Visits: 281 | Status: Work In Progress
Author's Notes: You people are wonderful! Since this is my only story-fic right now, it's my favorite, so reviews for it mean the most to me. Please pardon my writer's block... I originally planned for Ankh and Scale to be like those cartoon shoulder-angels and devils, and they evolved from there. Oh, yes. First of all, Tetsiguia, thanks for the info. I would have done more with it if I could have!! Lily22, thanks for the episode script!! It'll be infinitely helpful to me later!! I've got a few ideas for things to come, but any suggestions are always welcome. And please, try to think of more insults for Scale! As you'll see, I'm running low... I thought I'd hopelessly written myself into a hole for the timeframe, but I think I'm okay now. I'm not completely satisfied with this chapter, but see what you think... Beware of incoherence and inconsistencies and bad explanations and big gaping plot holes, shoddily filled! But Scale gets lots of action in this chapter (no, not that kind, you sickos!!).
Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh. Just the characters of Ankh and Scale, really.
Three-In-One Combo!
Ah, the passage of time. It was a phenomenon that Shadi was quite accustomed to, having lived as long as he had.
Malik, the Rod's new owner, was devising intricate plans to kill the Pharaoh.
Isis, wearer of the Tauk, was busy worrying about her increasingly psychopathic brother.
The old man had given the Puzzle to his grandson, Yugi. The boy had begun to put it together, but this was no easy task.
Pegasus, who held the Eye in place of his own, had stayed in Egypt for a while, making hundreds of sketches from the ancient carvings of the Shadow Games. He then returned to America, where he had developed a more modern version of the Shadow Game. It was the newest craze sweeping the globe, and was actually fairly close to the original Shadow Game.
Shadi had little interest in most of these people for the moment. The forces were well balanced, so why bother to pay attention to them? He was rather interested in Pegasus's game, Duel Monsters, however. He had bought a few cards of his own. They were very nicely painted.
There was one thing that annoyed Shadi however, besides Ankh and Scale. Six years had passed since he had given Pegasus the Eye, and the Ring still lay in his possession. Since it wasn't his, and had no host to take over, he didn't have to listen to it unless he used Ankh's powers to enter the Item itself. But he had no intention of doing that. Just its presence was disturbing enough. And he knew that Scale was plotting with it.
The past six years had been very boring. Scale had even run out of insults for a while. It had resorted to calling Shadi "Pillowhead." All had been silent for a moment. Then Ankh burst out laughing, unable to stop. Shadi chuckled a bit and informed Scale that it was an unimaginative twit. For the first, and probably last time, Scale was speechless. About two hours later, Ankh stopped laughing, except for an occasional outburst of giggles.
But aside from that momentous occasion, life had been rather dull. Shadi wasn't much of a mingler, so he mostly just sat in his subterranean home or aimlessly wandered the streets. He did have occasional conversations with Ankh or Scale, although he couldn't tolerate too many talks like that.
Today, Shadi was sorting his expanding collection of Duel Monsters cards. He had acquired quite a few, and more than one of many of them. Pegasus had regained his inspiration after seeing his dead love again. He had even painted a portrait of Shadi and sent a small copy to him. Ankh said it made him look mysterious. Scale said it made him look like a ninny.
Suddenly, something happened that never had before. Shadi heard a knock at his door. Someone had picked up a rock and was banging on the stone wall of his house. Shadi was so shocked that he just sat there staring at the steps for a moment.
\\Well? Go see who it is, oaf.\\
//Who could it be...?//
Shadi got up, laying down his cards, and walked up the stairs. A small, sleazy-looking man stood there.
"Good afternoon sir," the shorter man said. "I'm from the Office of Metropolitan Egyptian Taxation. It has come to our attention that you have not paid your taxes for..." He paused to look at the paper in his hand. "... 1500 years. I'm afraid you owe quite a bit of money."
Shadi blinked. "There must be some mistake. You cannot possibly believe that I have lived here for 1500 years."
"Perhaps not you personally, sir," the man said greasily. "but your... ah... organization... has owned this establishment for twice that amount of time. Here is what you owe." He handed Shadi a small sheet of paper with a large number on it. Looking at it, the size of Shadi's eyes doubled.
"Of course... I will be back in a moment," Shadi said. He quickly went back down the stairs and removed a brick from the back wall. Behind it was an ancient stash of gold, hidden there in case the guardian of the Items needed it. Pity those who put it there hadn't used it to pay their taxes instead... He grabbed a small handful and went back to the door.
\\Don't give that crook all that gold, you clown!\\
//I could have sworn the first guardian had an agreement with the Pharaoh to get all the future guardians out of things like taxes...//
/Really... Interesting... Hmm... I wonder if they would accept a large set of solid gold scales.../
\\Try and you'll regret it.\\
"This should be enough, I believe," Shadi said, holding out the gold.
The man's eyes lit up greedily. He held out his hands quickly. Shadi narrowed his eyes at him.
/...Scale, come here... I need your powers./
\\About damn time you let me do something, blockhead.\\ Scale materialized in Shadi's hand \\Wash your hands once in a while!\\
Shadi drew back his gold-filled hand. Instead, he held up the Scales. "Tell me again, what is this money for?" A white feather appeared on one side of the Scales.
"What's all this?" the small man asked suspiciously.
"Answer the question," Shadi said, narrowing his eyes dangerously.
/Take the next thing he says as his answer./
\\Yes, 'master.' I know. SOME of us aren't as dense as you and the Ankh.\\
"I told you, it's for taxes," the sleazy man said. As he spoke, a thick vapor came out of his mouth. He stared at it in horror as it floated onto the other side of the golden Scales. The side with the gray vapor immediately sank. Shadi looked up.
"Your heart has been judged. It has been found wanting. Now the Dark God Anubis shall punish you."
The man backed up a step. Behind him, the earth rippled. Then Anubis himself rose from the ground. The jackal-headed god of the Underworld grinned with unholy glee. He swiftly grabbed the unfortunate man's head and pushed him down through the ground to receive his punishment. Then he turned to Shadi, who had immediately dropped Scale and the gold and knelt down before the god.
||WELL DONE, MY SERVANT. BUT YOU MUST SEND VICTIMS TO ME MORE OFTEN.|| Anubis's voice was like the grating of a tomb and the crunch of bones in Shadi's mind.
"Yes, oh great one. I will try," Shadi murmured humbly.
Anubis then followed his newest victim down to the Underworld, and the earth became solid again. Shadi breathed a sigh of relief. While he was entirely loyal, the god's presence made him nervous. He gathered up the gold, picked up Scale, and went back inside. He put the gold away again and replaced Scale near the Ring.
//Are you two all right?//
\\Shut up, deformed cross.\\ Scale sounded out of breath.
/Yes. However, it has come to my attention that while I have plenty of gold, my supply of modern money is dwindling. I may have to sell something./
\\Why don't you just sell the Ankh? It can just come right back to you. Or the Ring. Get all their money, then it'll burn them to death!\\
//That wouldn't be right!//
/No, I do not want an angry mob on my hands. Though Anubis might like that. Hmm... I have heard that Duel Monsters cards are in fairly high demand right now. Perhaps I can sell some of mine./
So Shadi rented a stall in the marketplace. He managed to sell quite a few cards at first. But after a few days, business dwindled. The stalls across from his with more variety and flashy stuff were easily more popular.
/What can I do to make my merchandise more attractive?/
//People like gold...//
\\Heh... Be glad you're not trying to sell yourself! That would be hopeless!\\
//Scale!! Don't say such things!//
Just then, Shadi felt the Ring reach out. It was similar to what the Puzzle had done, so it was probably only a relative of the Ring's chosen who was nearby. It seemed to be pulling towards the marketplace.
/Hmm... perhaps I can kill two birds with one stone.../
Shadi picked up the Ring and the remaining cards he wanted to sell, and went back to the market. He set the Ring on the counter where people could see it, and spread out some cards beside it. A few people bought cards. Even more asked about the Ring, but since it ignored them, he merely told them it was not for sale. They walked off grumbling.
Then a man who looked like foreigner came up and began to carefully examine the Ring. Its energy surged out towards him, though only Shadi and the Ankh around his neck could feel it.
"This is fascinating! What is it?" the man asked.
"It is called the Millennium Ring. It holds a great ancient power," Shadi answered.
"It looks like it came from a Pharaoh's tomb. Where did you get it?" the man sounded suspicious.
"My people have guarded the Millennium Items for thousands of years. I am no tomb robber.
\\As if you could be, weakling.\\ Scale had appeared at Shadi's belt.
//You should probably be resting, Scale. You spent a lot of energy today.//
\\Silence! Obviously, this dunce can't even sell gold. Looks like he needs some... help...\\
//Leave him alone. Hey, stop that!// Ankh and Scale wrestled inside Shadi's head.
"Oh, I see. I apologize. And you're selling quite a strange combination of merchandise here. This beautiful relic, and Duel Monsters cards? They have nothing to do with each other," the man said. Shadi tried to ignore Ankh and Scale.
"Actually, they are very closely related. Much more than you can imagine. They were used in close conjunction with each other," Shadi explained. Then Scale beat back Ankh and took control. "Now... Let's talk prices..."
Scale haggled with the man for a while. After a while, they settled on a price he was satisfied with. So Shadi/Scale handed over the Ring and a few cards, and took a large sum of money in return. The man walked away feeling rather cheated, but still very lucky. Scale retreated back to his soul room, leaving Shadi in control again.
/Happy now?/
Scale didn't answer.
//I told him not to overexert himself...//
/Perhaps this will keep him quiet for a while./
\\Don't... count on it!\\
Having gotten more than enough money, Shadi got his leftover cards together and left for home. He didn't notice the people watching from ahead of him in the crowd...
Endnote: Yes, a cliffhanger! Didn't want to make this too long. So tell me how horribly I screwed this chapter up! And I still need more insults!! Thanks for reviewing!
Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh. Just the characters of Ankh and Scale, really.
Three-In-One Combo!
Ah, the passage of time. It was a phenomenon that Shadi was quite accustomed to, having lived as long as he had.
Malik, the Rod's new owner, was devising intricate plans to kill the Pharaoh.
Isis, wearer of the Tauk, was busy worrying about her increasingly psychopathic brother.
The old man had given the Puzzle to his grandson, Yugi. The boy had begun to put it together, but this was no easy task.
Pegasus, who held the Eye in place of his own, had stayed in Egypt for a while, making hundreds of sketches from the ancient carvings of the Shadow Games. He then returned to America, where he had developed a more modern version of the Shadow Game. It was the newest craze sweeping the globe, and was actually fairly close to the original Shadow Game.
Shadi had little interest in most of these people for the moment. The forces were well balanced, so why bother to pay attention to them? He was rather interested in Pegasus's game, Duel Monsters, however. He had bought a few cards of his own. They were very nicely painted.
There was one thing that annoyed Shadi however, besides Ankh and Scale. Six years had passed since he had given Pegasus the Eye, and the Ring still lay in his possession. Since it wasn't his, and had no host to take over, he didn't have to listen to it unless he used Ankh's powers to enter the Item itself. But he had no intention of doing that. Just its presence was disturbing enough. And he knew that Scale was plotting with it.
The past six years had been very boring. Scale had even run out of insults for a while. It had resorted to calling Shadi "Pillowhead." All had been silent for a moment. Then Ankh burst out laughing, unable to stop. Shadi chuckled a bit and informed Scale that it was an unimaginative twit. For the first, and probably last time, Scale was speechless. About two hours later, Ankh stopped laughing, except for an occasional outburst of giggles.
But aside from that momentous occasion, life had been rather dull. Shadi wasn't much of a mingler, so he mostly just sat in his subterranean home or aimlessly wandered the streets. He did have occasional conversations with Ankh or Scale, although he couldn't tolerate too many talks like that.
Today, Shadi was sorting his expanding collection of Duel Monsters cards. He had acquired quite a few, and more than one of many of them. Pegasus had regained his inspiration after seeing his dead love again. He had even painted a portrait of Shadi and sent a small copy to him. Ankh said it made him look mysterious. Scale said it made him look like a ninny.
Suddenly, something happened that never had before. Shadi heard a knock at his door. Someone had picked up a rock and was banging on the stone wall of his house. Shadi was so shocked that he just sat there staring at the steps for a moment.
\\Well? Go see who it is, oaf.\\
//Who could it be...?//
Shadi got up, laying down his cards, and walked up the stairs. A small, sleazy-looking man stood there.
"Good afternoon sir," the shorter man said. "I'm from the Office of Metropolitan Egyptian Taxation. It has come to our attention that you have not paid your taxes for..." He paused to look at the paper in his hand. "... 1500 years. I'm afraid you owe quite a bit of money."
Shadi blinked. "There must be some mistake. You cannot possibly believe that I have lived here for 1500 years."
"Perhaps not you personally, sir," the man said greasily. "but your... ah... organization... has owned this establishment for twice that amount of time. Here is what you owe." He handed Shadi a small sheet of paper with a large number on it. Looking at it, the size of Shadi's eyes doubled.
"Of course... I will be back in a moment," Shadi said. He quickly went back down the stairs and removed a brick from the back wall. Behind it was an ancient stash of gold, hidden there in case the guardian of the Items needed it. Pity those who put it there hadn't used it to pay their taxes instead... He grabbed a small handful and went back to the door.
\\Don't give that crook all that gold, you clown!\\
//I could have sworn the first guardian had an agreement with the Pharaoh to get all the future guardians out of things like taxes...//
/Really... Interesting... Hmm... I wonder if they would accept a large set of solid gold scales.../
\\Try and you'll regret it.\\
"This should be enough, I believe," Shadi said, holding out the gold.
The man's eyes lit up greedily. He held out his hands quickly. Shadi narrowed his eyes at him.
/...Scale, come here... I need your powers./
\\About damn time you let me do something, blockhead.\\ Scale materialized in Shadi's hand \\Wash your hands once in a while!\\
Shadi drew back his gold-filled hand. Instead, he held up the Scales. "Tell me again, what is this money for?" A white feather appeared on one side of the Scales.
"What's all this?" the small man asked suspiciously.
"Answer the question," Shadi said, narrowing his eyes dangerously.
/Take the next thing he says as his answer./
\\Yes, 'master.' I know. SOME of us aren't as dense as you and the Ankh.\\
"I told you, it's for taxes," the sleazy man said. As he spoke, a thick vapor came out of his mouth. He stared at it in horror as it floated onto the other side of the golden Scales. The side with the gray vapor immediately sank. Shadi looked up.
"Your heart has been judged. It has been found wanting. Now the Dark God Anubis shall punish you."
The man backed up a step. Behind him, the earth rippled. Then Anubis himself rose from the ground. The jackal-headed god of the Underworld grinned with unholy glee. He swiftly grabbed the unfortunate man's head and pushed him down through the ground to receive his punishment. Then he turned to Shadi, who had immediately dropped Scale and the gold and knelt down before the god.
||WELL DONE, MY SERVANT. BUT YOU MUST SEND VICTIMS TO ME MORE OFTEN.|| Anubis's voice was like the grating of a tomb and the crunch of bones in Shadi's mind.
"Yes, oh great one. I will try," Shadi murmured humbly.
Anubis then followed his newest victim down to the Underworld, and the earth became solid again. Shadi breathed a sigh of relief. While he was entirely loyal, the god's presence made him nervous. He gathered up the gold, picked up Scale, and went back inside. He put the gold away again and replaced Scale near the Ring.
//Are you two all right?//
\\Shut up, deformed cross.\\ Scale sounded out of breath.
/Yes. However, it has come to my attention that while I have plenty of gold, my supply of modern money is dwindling. I may have to sell something./
\\Why don't you just sell the Ankh? It can just come right back to you. Or the Ring. Get all their money, then it'll burn them to death!\\
//That wouldn't be right!//
/No, I do not want an angry mob on my hands. Though Anubis might like that. Hmm... I have heard that Duel Monsters cards are in fairly high demand right now. Perhaps I can sell some of mine./
So Shadi rented a stall in the marketplace. He managed to sell quite a few cards at first. But after a few days, business dwindled. The stalls across from his with more variety and flashy stuff were easily more popular.
/What can I do to make my merchandise more attractive?/
//People like gold...//
\\Heh... Be glad you're not trying to sell yourself! That would be hopeless!\\
//Scale!! Don't say such things!//
Just then, Shadi felt the Ring reach out. It was similar to what the Puzzle had done, so it was probably only a relative of the Ring's chosen who was nearby. It seemed to be pulling towards the marketplace.
/Hmm... perhaps I can kill two birds with one stone.../
Shadi picked up the Ring and the remaining cards he wanted to sell, and went back to the market. He set the Ring on the counter where people could see it, and spread out some cards beside it. A few people bought cards. Even more asked about the Ring, but since it ignored them, he merely told them it was not for sale. They walked off grumbling.
Then a man who looked like foreigner came up and began to carefully examine the Ring. Its energy surged out towards him, though only Shadi and the Ankh around his neck could feel it.
"This is fascinating! What is it?" the man asked.
"It is called the Millennium Ring. It holds a great ancient power," Shadi answered.
"It looks like it came from a Pharaoh's tomb. Where did you get it?" the man sounded suspicious.
"My people have guarded the Millennium Items for thousands of years. I am no tomb robber.
\\As if you could be, weakling.\\ Scale had appeared at Shadi's belt.
//You should probably be resting, Scale. You spent a lot of energy today.//
\\Silence! Obviously, this dunce can't even sell gold. Looks like he needs some... help...\\
//Leave him alone. Hey, stop that!// Ankh and Scale wrestled inside Shadi's head.
"Oh, I see. I apologize. And you're selling quite a strange combination of merchandise here. This beautiful relic, and Duel Monsters cards? They have nothing to do with each other," the man said. Shadi tried to ignore Ankh and Scale.
"Actually, they are very closely related. Much more than you can imagine. They were used in close conjunction with each other," Shadi explained. Then Scale beat back Ankh and took control. "Now... Let's talk prices..."
Scale haggled with the man for a while. After a while, they settled on a price he was satisfied with. So Shadi/Scale handed over the Ring and a few cards, and took a large sum of money in return. The man walked away feeling rather cheated, but still very lucky. Scale retreated back to his soul room, leaving Shadi in control again.
/Happy now?/
Scale didn't answer.
//I told him not to overexert himself...//
/Perhaps this will keep him quiet for a while./
\\Don't... count on it!\\
Having gotten more than enough money, Shadi got his leftover cards together and left for home. He didn't notice the people watching from ahead of him in the crowd...
Endnote: Yes, a cliffhanger! Didn't want to make this too long. So tell me how horribly I screwed this chapter up! And I still need more insults!! Thanks for reviewing!