Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Watch Over Me ❯ Sacrifice ( Chapter 24 )

Stwawbewwy Cotton Candy: I have a sequel planned for this story, don't worry.

Super JM: HI! I was wondering where you went to, babe! I know things are crazy, but they'll calm down sooner or later.

Crazy Kins: Aww…..thank you! I know, I kinda planned for Aria and Seto to have a past. I'm just wondering if Isis told me everything. I have a feeling she didn't.

ssjgoddesschico: *hugs*

Sacrifice

Seto's blue eyes widened in disbelief. He stepped back even further from the wall. "If I cared so much about Aria, why would I do that to her? Why would Yami do that to her?"

Isis turned to Seto. "The wall has been tampered with in the past. Yami was the pharaoh. He could do as he wished. I agree that there is little cause to suspect that you were the one to take Aria's death into your own hands. However, it is difficult to discern."

Seto shook his head and tried to conceal his sense of panic and confusion. He could never take Aria's life! How could he kill the chibi he loved so much? "That was the past, Isis! The past cannot reflect this life! Aria is too young for me and it turns my stomach thinking about that!"

Isis' attention returned to the wall. "The epic battle is destined to repeat itself in our lifetime, Kaiba. Yami will once more have to face Aria and Aten in a duel to protect the world. And maybe we will have the answer as to who was forced to destroy Aria."

"Wait! Are you saying that Aria and Aten are going to have to face me and Yami in a duel to the death?"

"Yes, Kaiba. You and Yami must face Aten and Aria again. The ancients also calculated the duel's date to September 29th, 2021."

"September 29th? That's their birthday!"

"In eighteen years precisely, Aria and Aten will use the Millennium Items they have recovered to bring the world into chaos. They will have obtained all of the Items and shall unleash the dreaded Nightmare Dragon once again on the world."

Seto growled. "I will not help Yami murder Aria and Aten!"

"You must help Yami, Kaiba. Yami will need your help. He cannot fight them both alone. Sadly, your Blue Eyes White Dragon will be more than enough to eliminate Aten for good."

Seto removed his duel deck from his pocket. He sifted through and found his Blue Eyes White Dragon card. "I would rather tear this card apart than have it kill Aten!"

"You tear that card apart and you will not be able to save the world, Kaiba. That Blue Eyes White Dragon card will be the only defense you have against the Nightmare Dragon."

Seto laughed. "Aria would never hurt me!"

Isis frowned. "Are you sure? The wall says that Aria will make an attempt on your life. She will not succeed in destroying you, but will destroy someone close to you. Someone who means a lot to you."

Seto growled. "You better not be talking about Mokuba or Joey!"

"The wall does not get too specific. Someone close to you will perish as a result of Aria."

"Who?"

Isis closed her eyes. "I cannot say. I do not like speaking of the future unless I am certain. But, even I cannot be certain about Aria's victims."

"Victims? She kills more?"

"Aria was a plague on the Earth."

Seto tried to mentally think she was a plague to his wallet, constantly digging into anything and everything to get M&M's. Usually, he couldn't think about humor in a time like this, but, he had to admit that it helped a little.

"Aria was a plague on this earth. Her hands helped blood flow in rivers. She took countless lives, including those who loved her."

"Even her parents?"

"Not her mother. Ryou was not one of her victims and neither was Yugi."

Seto looked confused. "Why not?"

"Ryou and Yugi meet their ends different ways. They survive Aria's reign of terror."

Seto looked up at Isis, closing the gap between them. "Can this be changed? I can't see my little girl being a murderer. I don't want to see her a cruel tyrant. I want her to be my little girl who loves chasing Joey down the hallway…or my little girl who eats bag after bag after bag of my M&M's! I want to see my little girl grow up and have a family of her own! I want to see her a happy kid!"

"You or Yami are destined to destroy them, Kaiba. It is written on these tablets."

Seto kicked the image of the Nightmare Dragon. "These tablets mean nothing to me! This is a lie! It can't come true! I will make sure it doesn't come true! I will see to it personally!"

Isis stood peacefully and blinked. "Are you finished wrecking the Prophecy Wall, Kaiba? These images do not lie. You must follow your destiny. You have little choice. You or Yami will destroy Aria and Aten. You must kill them to save the world just as you did five thousand years ago. Their blood must touch sacred ground."

Seto fell to his knees before Isis. His eyes stared blankly at the sand below him. For the first time in his life, he wished he was in the middle of a huge puddle of quicksand. He wanted nothing more than the earth below him to swallow him whole. His hands hung limp at his sides as he looked over to the carvings. Aria and Aten were on their backs. Below that carving, Aten was shown as being buried face-down like his father. Aria was shown beside Anubus….she was mummified. Who had mummified her? Yami wouldn't have mummified her, so the only option was the High Priest Set.

But why kill your servant which you loved only to mummify her? Set must have ordered her body properly disposed of.

Seto covered his face with his hands. "Aria……Aten…….I love them, Isis. I can't shed their blood. Aria is my little girl…..Aten is my little boy…….I cannot kill them, murder them, and ignore them."

"This was not easy for you to hear, Seto, but the Prophecy Wall does not lie. It contains facts…bittersweet facts. I know you do not wish to harm Aria and Aten, but you must destroy them both, if Aten has not already been destroyed by the time the Epic battle begins."

Seto looked up. "What do you mean by that?"

"Aten's health has not changed since Ryou gave birth to him. He is weak and his system is easily corruptible by his condition. If Aten reached the age of eighteen, it will be a both a blessing and a curse."

"The doctors told Ryou they didn't think that Aten would make it! Aten will live even if I have to spend my entire fortune keeping him alive."

"Keep him alive only to destroy him in the end?"

"I can't take the chance with Aten. If this so-called prophecy is correct, then Aten will be an easy target. But if it's wrong, I don't want that boy to die because of what a five thousand year old comic strip told me."

Isis turned up her nose at Kaiba. "This is not a comic strip, Kaiba. This is serious and this has serious repercussions for the future."

Kaiba stood up again. "It may be so, Isis. But still, I am not going to jeopardize Aten's health because of this. It is my hope that Aten continues to grow."

"But, what if he doesn't, Kaiba? What if all the money in the world won't save him?"

Kaiba sighed. "Aten's life doesn't have a price tag, Isis. I would have to find something else that would save him, but I will do anything for those kids, even if it means putting myself into harm's way." Seto paused. "I was always there for Ryou. I paid for his hospitalization, his heart operation, and I even helped pay for the birth of Aria and Aten.

Do you know how expensive it was for Aten's initial hospital bill? The ICU isn't a cheap place. Even so, I will do everything I can to assure that Aten grows up a healthy and happy child, no matter the sacrifice to me. Even if I fail him and he does go unexpectedly, I know I have done my best for him."

Isis turned away from Kaiba. "I see. In eighteen years, these prophecies will come true. You will have to face Aten and Aria in battle. You will have to kill them. If you wish to care for Aten, you will learn to regret your decision."

"What about Malik, Isis? Do you honestly think Malik is going to take Aten's death lightly?"

Isis hung her head. "Fortunately, my brother will be spared that torture. Marik, on the other hand, will be devastated."

"Malik treats Aten like his own son."

"My brother loves Aten very much and considers himself Aten's other mother, but the close bond he has with Aten will not save him."

"On more than one occasion I have seen a Sennen Eye appear on Aria's forehead. Explain that!"

"Aria and Aten are part yami. When Yami Marik became angry with my brother on several occasions, a Sennen Eye appeared on his forehead."

"When Yami became angry at me, I saw the same on Yami's forehead."

The high-pitched familiar squeal came from the outside the door. Aria ran into the room circling Ryou's legs.

"Dat mommy was so cute!"

"It's a mummy, Awia," Aten corrected.

Aria ran up to Seto, her white, spiky hair flying around her shoulders. She wrapped her arms around Seto's legs squealing. "Unkie Seto, when I get aw gwowed up, I wanna wive in a pee-mid!"

Seto looked down at the chibi with large, brown eyes and her wide smile. He couldn't imagine Aria a vicious killer. He'd rather those little hands were stained with M&M's chocolate rather than the blood of those he cared about. "You can't live in a pyramid, Aria, you know that."

Aten pulled on Ryou's leg, his little chest wheezing. Ryou picked Aten up and cuddled the little boy in his arms. Aten laid his head on Ryou's shoulder gripping onto him tightly.

"Aten? You ok?"

Aten shook his head as his chest gave a wheeze.

"Seto, we have to go. Aten's breathing isn't too good in here."

Seto turned to Isis as Ryou began to rub the little chibi's back. "Vicious killer, huh?"

The CEO picked up Aria and cuddled her against his chest. "You must come back with us, Isis. I came here to get you to return with us so we can get all this mess cleared up. Aten and Aria belong with their parents."

Ryou's eyes grew wide. "Please, Isis. You have to come back with us!"

Isis nodded. "I will return. However, I do have business to attend to today at the museum."

"I can't say how long you will be gone from the museum," Ryou said.

Isis led the group out of the restricted area and they returned to the car. "I will prepare the museum for my absence."

"The department said that since I am not eighteen, I cannot be left alone without a guardian present."

The car headed back to her apartment. "I will talk to Child Services myself when we get back to Domino."

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

When they arrived at the apartment, Aria had exhausted herself and she fell asleep on the carpet in the middle of the floor. Surrounded by her favorite toys, she curled up. Ryou picked her up from the carpet and put her in the bed with Aten. Aten had fallen asleep in Ryou's arms in the car. Isis had to return to the museum.

Seto watched Aria and Aten sleep and returned to the living room.

"Seto, you look very pale. Are you ok? You've been quiet since we came back from the tomb."

"Isis and I had a discussion while you were gone. She told me about this…Prophecy Wall. Personally, I don't believe in `ancient magic' or `ancient prophecy'."

/Who am I kidding? That's all I can think about!/ "But, this wall was talking about an ancient evil that comes to destroy the world."

"Oh my….that's not good."

/No kidding, Ryou!/ "But this ancient wall talked about a boy and girl who stood against Pharaoh Yami and the High Priest Set."

"Our Yami? Yugi's yami?"

/Duh!/ "Yes, Ryou, Yami Yugi. The boy and girl who stood against Yami and the High Priest Set are Aria and Aten from the past."

Ryou went as pale as Seto. "And?"

"They were both destroyed. And the prophecy says that this will happen again. Aria and Aten will battle me and Yami."

Ryou's hands began to tremble. "No, you can't fight them! You can't hurt them, Seto!"

"Ryou, I wouldn't dream of hurting them! Who knows if this prophecy will actually come true? It may be nothing more than an ancient bedtime story!"

Ryou stood up and walked towards the window. "I don't want to see my children in pain. I don't want to see them hurt."

"I cannot see Aria or Aten being blood-thirsty killers! It can't be true!"

"Then why are you getting upset?" Ryou asked Seto, a bucket of tears in his eyes.

"Because I don't want to believe it is true. It can't be true!"

Ryou covered his face with his hands. "My babies…….die? NO! NO! That can't be! I won't let them die! I can't have them die! Not my little girl I love so dearly! Not my little boy, the jewel of my life! I did everything to keep them alive! I put my life in jeopardy so they could have life! They can't die! They can't!"

Seto walked up to Ryou and wrapped his arms around him again. Seto rubbed his cheek against Ryou weeping and whimpering into the CEO's chest.

"I want Bakura…..I want Bakura…..I want Bakura……I want my husband…..Bakura…."

"If this ancient prophecy is true, Ryou, maybe we can change it. Maybe we can change the future."

Ryou didn't hear him above his weeping. "I don't want to see my daughter die…to see my son die…I'm nothing without them."

"Ryou, listen to me." Seto titled Ryou's face up to look at him. "Maybe we can change the future. We will not talk about this to Aten and Aria. I will call Hiedegger and we will be back in Domino by tonight."

"I can't keep this from their fathers, Seto. We have to tell them."

"We will be back in Domino in no time. We will bring Isis with us and we can discuss this with the fathers," Seto said trying to pull his emotions together. Right now, Ryou needed him. He needed Seto's strength.

Ryou nodded and buried his face in Seto's chest again. "I want Bakura…I want Bakura."

Seto clenched his eyes. /I want my puppy….I want my puppy./

Seto moved Ryou over to the couch and held him until he cried himself to sleep. When Ryou was asleep, Seto called Joey on the phone.

"Puppy…."

[Seto?]

"We're coming home tonight. We will be home rather late, but I need Bakura and Marik there to take care of the kids."

[Ok. I'll get our driver to bring them back from the summer home.]

"How is Malik? Is he any better?"

[Marik said Malik's keeping down solids now. So, he's getting better.]

"That's good news. I needed to hear good news."

[Seto, you're really upset.]

"I need to come home, Joey. I want to come home to you."

[I'll make sure I have everything ready for when you come home.]

"Thank you. Goodbye. Love you, Joseph."

/Oh god! I just called him Joseph!/

[Love you, too, Seto.]

Seto closed the cell phone and called the driver to pick them up from the apartment and drive them to the airport after Isis' return. Seto walked into the room where the chibis slept.

The "vicious killers" were once again cuddled up to each other, their faces buried in each other's hair, smiles on their faces. Aten coughed and Aria gripped onto him tightly. When he relaxed, Aria relaxed, too.

/How could they be ruthless killers? Look at them….all curled up to each other./

Seto watched them until Isis came home. Seto woke Ryou and grabbed Aria. Ryou grabbed Aten and they carried the chibis out of the apartment.

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

The plane arrived late at night. Seto's plane was equipped with a dining area and also had its own kitchen. The chibis colored pictures for Seto on the plane. Aria drew Seto a picture of the pyramid and Seto standing in front of it smiling with ten fingers on one hand and three on the other. Aten drew Seto a picture of Yami's crypt. It was very detailed.

For a two year old, almost three, Aten had advanced drawing skills. He could not move as fast as his sister, he was slower to develop than his little sister, but the chibi had an artistic talent that went way beyond his age.

The plane finally arrived back in Domino City late at night. The chibis fell asleep on the teens' shoulders. Seto's limo was waiting for them and returned them to KaibaCorp.

Bakura and Marik waited outside for Ryou and the chibis. The yamis were standing under a spotlight with their arms around each other's waists. When the limo arrived, they walked down to the sidewalk. Ryou left the car and handed the sleeping girl to her father. Bakura wrapped his arm around Ryou and gave him a kiss on the lips. Ryou gave Aten to Marik who kissed the sleeping boy on the forehead.

Bakura and Marik took the kids inside as Ryou turned to Seto.

"Thank you, Seto, for bringing Isis back." Ryou kissed Seto on the cheek and followed Bakura up the stairs.

"I'll get you a room for the night, Isis. You must be tired." Seto lead Isis up the stairs to the spare room. "Thank you, Isis."

"You're welcome, Kaiba," Isis said disappearing into the room.

Seto passed Marik and Malik's door. Aten was curled up between Marik and Malik asleep. Malik was caressing the chibi's hair while the yami was nuzzling into his baby's white and blond hair.

The next door revealed Ryou and Bakura, Aria sleeping between them. Ryou and Bakura were sharing a passionate kiss above Aria's head.

/What I have to tell them can wait until the morning./

Seto opened the door to his room. Joey's easel and his paints were in the corner. His lover sketched the picture of Seto surrounded by a ring of roses. The white linen covered Seto's manhood, but the cloth was given a more sheer look.

The moonlight shone through the window right on the sleeping Joey. Seto removed his shirt and climbed into the bed beside Joey. The sleeping boy woke up and turned around to see his lover with tears in his eyes.

"Joey….please hold me."

Joey turned around and brought Seto close to his chest. Seto buried his head in Joey's chest and let out a long, hard sob.

"Seto…tell me what's wrong."

"I just need to hold you, puppy…..Please, just hold me."

Joey caressed the back of Seto's brown hair as he wept bitterly into his chest. "I've missed you, master."

"Love you, Joey…..please don't let go of me."

Joey held onto Seto rocking him until the CEO cried himself to sleep. "It's ok, Seto. I'm here," Joey whispered rocking Seto until he himself fell asleep.

Updates: Will update on Friday.

Sequel: I have a sequel planned, guys, for this story! TIPPIE! I have to work out all the bugs yet, but an old baddie is coming back and the kids go to a preschool. Awwwwwwwww………….chibis in preschool.