Kingdom Hearts Sonic another part

Sam couldn’t wait to get as far away from the Guardian World as possible.

Sonic had helped her pack everything onto the Blue Typhoon, after she’d explained that what she didn’t take with her would be sold if she wasn’t around to earn the money for rent, and they’d been moving again before she had even finished unpacking the first box.

She smiled slightly, her third one in over two years. Things had been so bad on the Guardian World that had she not had a tie to the worlds she’d visited in the past, reminding her she wasn’t alone and there were people who depended on her, she wasn’t sure she could’ve fought as long as she had.

Even her pendant, which was her tentative link to her friends, she’d been on the path to destruction.

All her dreams crushed, living alone and friendless on a world that hated her, facing endless battles…

Sam shuddered as she unpacked enough to make her feel at home, then wandered up to the bridge, where Tails and Chris were making adjustments to some software, Cream and Cheese were busy passing around tea and cakes, Amy was looking up some data, Sonic and Knuckles were busy playing some sort of game and the strange plant girl was watching them.

“I don’t think I’ve had a proper introduction yet.” Sam said, coming to stand next to Chris’ pod. “I’m Sam.” She said, offering her hand to the plant girl first.

“I’m Cosmo.” She replied, not quite sure what to do with the human’s hand. Sam laughed and took Cosmo’s hand and shook it.

“And what’s your name?” She asked Chris, feigning ignorance.

“I’m Chris.” The human said without taking his eyes from the screen. “Chris Thorndyke.”

“Samantha Walker,” Sam replied, “Sam Vixen to some. I also accept Fox Faker.” She pulled a face in Sonic’s direction, who just grinned.

“You have two surnames?” Chris gave her a passing glance.

Sam laughed, ease flowing from her, “Vixen is a nickname from my…” Sam trailed off, her throat suddenly going dry.

“Sam?” Sonic sounded worried.

“Sorry.” Sam shook her head. “Vixen is a nickname.”

Sonic and Knuckles looked at each other, both realising there was more to Sam’s pause then just forgetting where her nickname had come from, just from her tone.

“So where’re we heading?”

“You don’t get off that lightly.” Amy laughed, “You have to tell us what happened after you left our world!”

Sam looked over at the pink hedgehog who had once hated her, as Amy hated all girls that attracted Sonic’s attention and were old enough to be rivals. “There’s a lot to tell, but don’t you think I should be told exactly what and who we’re fighting?”

“I will explain.” Cosmo said, looking over the human woman who was watching her with a look of interest.

“OK.” Sam said, sitting on the steps leading up to Tails’s captain’s seat. “So?”

“Well, they’re called the Meterax.” Cosmo started, a little nervous under the woman’s unwavering stare. She got a reassuring smile from Sonic and continued, “They’re evil monsters who are collecting Planet Eggs and destroying worlds.”

“What is a Planet Egg?”

“It’s the Heart of a World.”

“What?” Shock and fear reigned in the woman’s posture and eyes, “Stealing the Hearts of Worlds?” Sonic could see the gears working as the Keyblader quickly thought through everything this would mean, her eyes skimming empty space as if seeing things. “But… the Heartless…”

“Unfortunately we’ve run into our fair share.” Sonic nodded.

Sam growled, her look turning angry and harsh for a second, then it cleared and she turned to Tails, “Have you contacted Disney Castle?”

“We don’t have their exact co-ordinates.” Tails shook his head.

“And my communicator isn’t charged… I don’t even know where the charger is…” Sam growled.

“Don’t you know where it is?” Knuckles asked, looking surprised.

“I’m not a pilot. Last time I drove anything that didn’t have wheels, I crashed it.” Sam smiled slightly in remembrance, “So I never had a chance to learn the co ords.” She grinned slightly, “I guess we’ll just have to deal with them on our own.”

Sonic smiled at her enthusiasm. “We’re tracking down the next Emerald now.” Chris told her as everyone went back to doing what they’d been doing.

“So, what have you been up to?” Amy prodded.

“Same old same old, really.” Sam replied, not really happy to go into details yet, “Beating Heartless, earning a living, you know, the usual.”

“What about those hooded creeps?” Sonic asked, emerald catching cobalt for a second before his attention turned back to his game.

“We beat em.” Sam said.

“Like there was ever any doubt.” Sonic grinned at her and she found herself grinning back. Sonic’s confidence and smile was contagious.

“What’re you two playing?” She asked hedgehog and echidna, who were deeply engrossed.

“I think it’s like chess.” Chris said, then frowned, “You’ve probably…”

“No, I’ve heard of chess, my brother’s really good at it.” Sam answered his kind of question. “Who’s winning?”

“I am.” Knuckles smirked at Sonic who frowned and captured the equivalent of Knuckles’ Queen.

“Checkmate.” Sonic grinned.

“What? But! How?” Knuckles stared at the board, then growled and got to his feet as everyone burst into laughter. “Fine.”

He stomped off and Cosmo went to follow him.

“I wouldn’t worry Cosmo.” Cream said, handing Sam a cream cake and a mug, into which she poured some herbal smelling tea, “Knuckles always goes off on his own.”

“What’s in the tea?” Sam asked, wondering slightly about the turnabout of her day, from mundane to Meterax to tea in the Control Room of a Spaceship…

“It’s a herbal mix my Mother makes.” Cream looked a little nervous, “She says it helps people relax.”

Sam took a sip and stared at her cup before taking a much larger gulp and grinning, “It’s great! Thanks Cream!”

The rabbit smiled and moved on to the next person.

“Where are you from, Chris?” Sam asked, trying to work out things in her head.

“I’m from another dimension, my world occupies the same space that Sonic’s does.”

“Which is how we ended up there in the first place.” Sonic grinned.

“Chaos Control?” Sam laughed.

Sonic just laughed in response.

“What about you?” Chris asked, “When did you first meet Sonic?”

Kingdom Hearts Sonic Book 2 first section

If the Keyblader needed anything now she needed a miracle.

Three years since her journey with Sora and the other Keybladers something had crash landed in the City Centre.

Of course, being who and what she was, she couldn’t just go home once whatever it was started blowing up buildings. She could hear the screams of civilians as she bolted towards the explosions, her hood falling to let long black and cobalt blue hair flow behind her, normally warm blue eyes hardening as she turned a corner and finally saw who she was about to fight above the Skyscrapers.

It was huge. Black and silver metal, over fifty times her size and like nothing she’d ever seen before and she’d seen a lot in her twenty one years, from lions and mermen to ancient Pharaohs and pocket monsters with weird powers.

“Oi!” She bellowed, glaring at it. It had to be a robot, it certainly wasn’t a Heartless. “What the hell are you doing?”

It didn’t answer and blue eyes flickered to the police who were speaking urgently into walkie-talkies and trying to herd people to safety. “Oi!” She shouted again, this time calling her Keyblade to emphasise her point, “Who are you and what are you doing here?”

The robot turned to her, it’s optics taking in the human female with the strange key shaped weapon that seemed to have flames encircling it without harming the wielder.

“I am M078.” The robot said, “Where is the Planet Egg?”

“Planet Egg? I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Sam snapped, “There is no Planet Egg here!”

“Sensors indicate Planet Egg in this direction.” M078 murmured to itself turning from her and blowing up another building.

“Hey, don’t ignore me when I’m shouting at you!” Sam snapped, uncomfortably aware of the staring of the crowd. By the Goddesses of Hyrule, she was going to have to skip town again after this. “FREEZE!”

Ice magic shot from the end of her Keyblade, hitting the giant robot in the leg. The ice froze over the metal but didn’t do more then annoy the robot who turned as she ran forward, wondering if she was suicidal, ready to fight this thing if she had to.

“Do not interfere in my objective.” The robot lashed out at her.

She back flipped out of the way in a technique she’d learnt fighting Heartless. She was luckily still far enough back to land out of range. She still hadn’t mastered the techniques of the first Keyblader, chosen of the Sol Blade of Light, Sora, who was stronger and faster then the rest of the Keybladers, except Riku, Twilight’s Keyblader.

Her heart ached as she remembered her supposed friends, the ones who’d dumped her here three years ago and hadn’t gotten in contact with her since, no matter how much she needed to talk.

“I won’t let you wreak this city!” She snarled.

No matter how many of my dreams have been wreaked because the people of my world…

She ducked under a flailing limb, getting close enough to bellow, “THUNDER!” and have her Thundara strike the robot and send it crashing to the floor.

Who can’t leave me alone and expect me to accept all the media coverage and the Government’s attempts to capture me…

The Keyblader was knocked flying as a tentacle like thing with a pincer on the end whipped out and smashed into her.

Civilians cleared her flight path and then closed in around her and let her pick herself up. She glared at those who weren’t running and winced against the pain of her ribs. It was nowhere near the worst she’d suffered, but it certainly hurt like hell.

At least they’ve learnt that they can’t fight these things.

She rushed forward, ducking under one whip like tentacle, diving over another and actually cutting through the next one with her flaming weapon, the Rising Phoenix.

Then she was knocked flying again, this time having to cast Curaga before she could get back up, the green energy surrounding her and healing the injuries caused by hitting buildings hard enough to dent the brickwork.

But I don’t know if I can win either.

Heartless were easy to fight, or they once had been. The Keyblade was a weapon specifically designed to fight the creatures of pure darkness. It wasn’t meant to help her against things like this robot, which had to be of alien origin and if it came from Earth, she would eat her Keychain.

“STOP!” She bellowed, casting Stop on her surroundings, freezing time for her enemies and giving her allies time to get away.

She couldn’t help shaking her head at the fact the civilians who had once been immune from her spell, now counted enough in her subconscious as bad guys for them to be hit by it too.

So much had changed in the last couple of months alone.

“Thunder!” She shouted, not quite as loudly this time, inflicting more damage on the robot as the Stop spell wore off.

She’d never been that great at magic, after all, she’d chosen the path of the warrior. She had worked at Curaga until it was perfect and her Elemental Heart, that of the one of Fire, had powered up her Fira to Firaga, and she’d only mastered Blizara and Thundara because of Beau, the Keyblader of Water, and his endless patience.

The robot snarled at her in another language, lashing out with it’s pincers. She slashed through one, dodged another but was slashed by one set of pincers, wreaking her top, and another knocked her flying, sending her crashing into the side of a car.

“Ow.” She muttered.

“My Porsche!” A man’s voice bellowed.

“Thanks for your concern.” She grumbled, getting up. “Thunder!” Lightening struck a third time, causing the robot to freeze temporarily.

She staggered forward, pain filling each step, crashing into metal hurt almost as much crashing into bricks.

A long tentacle slammed into her again, she hit the Porsche and ricocheted off, landing in the middle of the road.

The loud bangs and rumbling ground were the only things stopping her from passing out as she attempted to get to her feet, her arms refusing to work, refusing to aid her in anyway as a shadow passed over her. A foot shaped shadow…

“Die.” The word filled her pain fogged brain and she instinctively tensed up as the foot came down.

Then there was a rush of wind, blue wind…

Pain dimmed cobalt tried to see through the fog that had invaded her mind and the darkness nibbling away at the edges of her vision.

“Are you alright?” The blue shape asked.

“S…Sonic?” She asked. “It is really you, right?”

The hedgehog was startled that a human from another world would know his name, but nodded, “Yes.” He looked at her, concerned, “Are you alright?”

“F…fine.” She choked out.

Sonic launched himself at the robot, knocking it back as Sam called her Keyblade back to her, distracting Sonic slightly, but not enough for the alien robot to hit him. “H…Heal.” She stammered. Green energy rushed around her, healing all her injuries and any the hedgehog was hiding from his friends, along with any other allies in the area.

As her vision cleared properly she took in the scene. Sonic wasn’t her only friend here, the X Tornado was overhead and probably had a Tails in, Knuckles was attacking too, Amy and Cream, along with some girl the Keyblader recognised but had never met before, were looking around for something.

In her backpack, which she’d discarded when the fighting had started, something was glowing in response to the thing in Amy’s hands. The Keyblader rushed over and opened it.

The huge red gem she’d located when it had fallen from the skies a couple of weeks ago, was glowing brightly and she smiled slightly at the warm energy she could sense from it.

Behind her the robot exploded in a flash of bright, white light and she yelped and ducked as the shrapnel went everywhere.

She was helped to her feet by a white gloved hand attached to a hedgehog who looked from her Keyblade, to the Emerald and then finally to her face, his emerald green eyes widening as she smiled softly, her cobalt blue ones dancing.

“Hi Sonic. It’s been a while.” She murmured.

“Fox Faker.” Sonic breathed, then he looked wary. “Sam? It is you, right?”

She nodded excitedly. “I knew you’d recognise me, even in True Form.”

Sonic’s head tilted slightly to the left as he thought about this. “So, you’re a human normally?”

She nodded.

Sonic shrugged with a small grin, “Where did you get the Chaos Emerald?”

“It crash landed in my backyard.” She said with a small, worried smile, “What was that thing?”

“It was a Meterax, one of a bunch of alien robots who are trying to take over the universe.” Sonic answered as the others rushed over. “You all remember Sam don’t you?”

Everyone grinned and started talking at once but Sonic held up his hand, “Before the general chat gets going, we’re going to need that Chaos Emerald.”

“I can give it to you, but I have one condition.”

Sonic frowned, “What’s that?”

“I want to come as well. If the Meterax are that powerful, you’re going to need all the help you can get.”

“But who’s going to be defending your world if you come with us?”

Sam considered the recent threats, “No, my world will be fine, the Heartless come for me, not for my world, and it’s not like my world is defenceless.”

“You’re sure, Sam?”

“Yes.” She nodded. “Please Sonic, don’t leave me behind.”

“Alright, good to have you on the team.”

Harry Tate: Little Harry Bath Time

((sorry it's late, been playing Guild Wars 2, which I got for Christmas))

Chasing a four year old around the house was not the way that Eva particularly wanted to spend her evening, considering she was still a little bruised from the fight she’d been involved in earlier in the day, but if she wanted to get her adopted son to take a bath tonight it was a necessary evil.

“Need a hand?” Nale chuckled as the messy haired child darted underneath his legs and ran down the corridor, wearing only his boxer shorts.

“That would be nice.” Eva growled, pushing past her friend and following the giggling.

Nale smirked and followed, it was always entertaining to watch the immortal bargain with her son.

According to Jin the boy had actually had a bath willingly yesterday, but only because he’d been helping her in the garden and if Eva had managed to teach him anything it was ‘if you’re covered in mud, you have to wash before dinner’.

The day before yesterday it had taken the promise of an ice cream to get him to take a bath, after which the four year old had required another bath, just to get the ice cream out of all the interesting places it had managed to get. Nale had never seen anyone get ice cream in their ears before…

“Now where did he go?” Eva muttered, looking at all the open doors and starting towards the most obvious one, her son’s bedroom.

“I believe this is yours.” Orion stepped out of the study with a rather put out looking four year old in his arms, looking a little exasperated.

“You’d be right.” Eva snorted, amused by both Orion and her son, “Harry, how many times have I told you not to disturb Orion while he’s working?” She tutted at the boy, taking him from Orion and giving the huge man an apologetic look before heading back towards the bathroom.

“He wun’t working!” Harry protested.

“Wasn’t not wun’t, Harry.” Eva gently chided, “He wasn’t using his computer was he?”

“No.” Harry looked scornful for just a second, realised where she was heading and tried to squirm out of her grip.

“For…” Eva bit off what she was going to say, thoroughly sick of arguing with her son every day about the dreaded b word, but not willing to swear at a child, “Harry, remember what I told you about baths?”

“If I didn’t have a bath every day, a monster would come and eat me.” Harry nodded.

“So why won’t you have a bath?”

“Because you and Auntie Jin beat monsters up.” Harry explained patiently, in the exact tone of voice she’d often heard Jin using on her during one of her denser moments.

Ok, so while the fact Harry had seen the pair of them taking down a triad of monstrous creatures this morning, all of whom had been unlike anything Eva had seen before, and likely having originated from the home of the ‘Lord of Darkness’ that Eva had taken down on the behest of her Boss around lunch time (hence the bruising), had effectively ruined that strategy of getting Harry to bathe, it had been rather therapeutic, considering that it had been a while since Eva had been able to pound on anything without having to worry about holding back and motherhood was stressful.

“Fine, if you don’t take baths every day, I’ll stop buying chocolate milkshake.” Eva threatened.

“Uh uh.” Harry shook his head, “Auntie Jin makes the shopping list.”

“I’ll tell Auntie Jin not to put it on.” Eva warned the boy, who watched Nale pretend to sulk, and giggled, only to cause Eva to shut the bathroom door, effectively trapping in the bathroom and stopping Nale from continuing to be a bad influence.

For now at least.

“I don’t wanna bath.” Harry glowered. “I don’t, I don’t, I don’t…” The four year old trailed off at the look on his mother’s face, knowing the look all to well.

“Bath or no milkshake before bed.”

“But…” Harry sulked.

“No buts.”

“Fine.” And now Harry sounded like Nale when Jin dragged him off to help her with the shopping, as he finally got into the bath. “But it had better be a big one.”

Eva chuckled, causing her son to give her an indignant look, “You’ll get the same size milkshake as you always do. Now close your eyes, I’m gonna wash your hair.”

For Those We Love: Chapter 3 Intro

“Well...” Yugi sighed as she zipped up her backpack and looked around her room for any last items she might have missed, “I think that’s everything.”

Her voice echoed around the room and no audible reply answered her, but reassurance bounced down the link and she felt ghostly hands on her shoulders, steadying her and easing the nervousness coursing through her.

“Anesan...” Yugi breathed, wishing that they could talk. She knew her older sister could hear her and she could hear the spirit of the Puzzle’s words whenever she wasn’t in control of the body but they still couldn’t exchange words between them. Emotions and gestures, yes, but no words and with less than twelve hours until they reached Duelist Kingdom they needed to come up with some way of beating Pegasus.

There was still time to come up with a plan, but there wouldn’t be for much longer and Yugi was worried. She couldn’t and wouldn’t retract her offer to Jou. He needed to go and needed the money, but she couldn’t help but worry that if they failed, if they couldn’t beat Pegasus, he would continue his rampage against those she cared about.

It didn’t help that they just didn’t know enough to be able to plan properly. Pegasus knew how to use the Millennium Eye’s full powers and had already proved that he could use it’s abilities to read their mind turns in advance. He would know their plans the moment they did, making the upcoming Duel unwinnable. Unless, of course, they could find a way to block his mind reading.

She felt the ghostly hands leave her shoulders and her elder sister’s emotions retreat from her mind, guilt following her back into the Puzzle. Yugi winced, wishing she had been more careful about what she had been thinking. The spirit of the Puzzle felt horrible about letting her pride cost them the Duel against Pegasus in the first place.

Awesome 'Ennead: For Those We Love' Fanart

This was done by Jack3Dragon for Ennead: For Those We Love

It's awesome and I love it

Ennead: Ancient Bit: Part 16

“You will return to the palace to stand trial, Bakura!” Mahad was snarling, his Magus of Illusion locked in battle with the thief mage’s Diabound.

“Return to the palace?” Bakura demanded, with a bitter laugh which made the messenger that the Pharaoh had sent flinch, “For a trial? What trial? The Pharaoh has already decided I should die, has she not?”

‘She?’ The messenger couldn’t help but wonder as Diabound loosed an attack that tore up the ground and nearly blew Mahad and his mage away. As it was the pair had to pick themselves out of the sand.

“If I had my way, you would die for your crime, right here and now!” Mahad snapped at her, his Magus covering for him as he got up.

“My crime?!” Bakura stared, in furious disbelief, “My only crime was to trust the Pharaoh! That treacherous, backstabbing witch! I should have outted her secret to the rabble years ago and watched them tear her apart! Diabound!”

Another blast flew through the air. This time Mahad and his Ka beast managed to dodge it and it struck one of the nearby buildings.

“You betrayed her!” Mahad seemed to be considering something as he stepped back, moving away from the battle slightly, “She trusted you and your men nearly killed her!”

“I have done nothing to her! Not yet!” Bakura retorted, her eyes narrowing, “And she’s the one who ordered my execution! She wasn’t even noble enough to see the sentence through herself!”

Mahad paused, confusion obvious on his features and Bakura took the opportunity it presented. Her Ka beast vanished for a moment before appearing behind Mahad. The High Priest had just enough time to half turn to see what was happening before he was blasted at point blank range.

The messenger watched in horror as Mahad screamed in agony as the beam of light struck, consuming the High Priest, whose cry died as he did. Then he had to shield his eyes from the sand and dust that had been kicked up by the attack.

When he could look again, when everything had died down, he saw the Magus of Illusion warp and shift, taking on a new form, one that looked a lot like the newly deceased Priest, before fading away entirely.

Bakura moved towards the crater where the High Priest had once stood, a look on her face that spoke of an odd mix or shame, victory, delight and disgust. She picked up all the remained of the High Priest, the golden treasure that had been entrusted to him when he had joined the upper echelon of the court and stared at it for a moment before looking around at the few remaining men who had come with Mahad.

As one they turned and ran. She didn’t let them get far before she destroyed them and turned to the messenger’s hiding place.

Having seen what had happened to the High Priest, he didn’t even bother trying to run. Instead he bowed at her feet, hoping that begging would make her spare him.

“Please.” He tried, “Please, I have a wife and child. I’m not a warrior, or a mage, I’m just a messenger.”

“Oh?” Bakura growled at him, “Look at me.” The messenger did just that, willing to follow her orders if she would spare him. “I think your message is for the dead. Should I send you to give it to them?”

“No!” The messenger backed up, “No, it’s for you. Only for you. From the Pharaoh.” And he didn’t care that the Pharaoh was a woman, or that Bakura had been helping her lie to the people, he just wanted to live.

“I don’t want to hear anything from her.” Bakura snarled, pointing the blade she had been wielding against Mahad at him.

“Please…” The messenger begged, terrified now, “Please don’t kill me.”

“Leave.” Bakura growled at him, lowering her weapon, “Now. And you can pass a message onto her majesty for me.”

“S…sure, whatever you want.” He nodded.

“Tell her that for breaking her word and attempting to bury the truth, I pass judgement on her. When next we meet, she dies.”

Author Note: Ancient Bits for Ennead

Today's midday update will quite possibly be one of the last 'Ennead: Ancient Bit' updates. This is because I'm beginning to tread into the territory of what I plan to cover when I reach 'Ennead: To Know One's Past,' the final book of that series, when Oneesan gets her memories back and I don't want to write the huge blow up between Oneesan and Bakura that causes the future events without planning it out carefully.

Where as everything so far has been easy to write, everything past this point doesn't want to come so easily, so I'll post it as I manage to write it well, but it won't be a coherent story, just bits and pieces. I don't want to do that to you guys without knowing how the story's going to play out so I don't confuse you by retconning things.

This doesn't mean I won't continue to update daily. There are plenty of other things in my brain that need to be put to pen and interwebs, but the backstory for Ennead will not be a regular thing any more I'm afraid.Sorry about that.

An Ennead Christmas Poem

Twas the night before Christmas, and through all Domino
There was a great battle of Shadows and snow,
Bakura on one side, and Yugi on the other,
They chased through the streets, pelting each other.

With Jou, Honda and Anzu joining the fun,
They fought and they played till the battle was won.
Then back to the shop they travelled together,
To escape from the worsening weather.

When all were inside and the snacks all given out,
From downstairs there came a great shout.
Down to the shop, Yugi shot like a dart,
Hoping against hope that there were no dark arts.

Down on the ground floor, Ojiisan was pale,
As morons bagged up things that were not for sale.
The Pharaoh took over and drove them away,
But they swore to come back yet another day.

Unwilling to let them ruin the holiday season,
Oneesan gave chase despite rhyme or reason.
She cornered the group while hunting her prey,
Insistent that for their crimes they would pay.

The gang turned on her, each much bigger by far,
One picking up a huge metal bar!
The Pharaoh didn’t flinch, she knew what to do,
And warned the gang that from now they were through.

They laughed and they laughed, doubting she was a threat,
Until she called forth the Shadows and challenged the set.
It took little time to beat them, they were just that thick,
And none of them had expected that trick.

Switching back with her light side, the Pharaoh retreated
Ready to relax now her task was completed.
They headed for home, through the dark and the snow,
Though now with the weather their journey was slow.

Her friends met her halfway home, having been worried,
And out of the storm they hurried and scurried.
Once back at the shop, the festivities did start,
Easing the worry in the Mutous’ hearts.

Gifts were exchanged and snacks were demolished,
The worry from earlier was completely abolished!
And by the time her friends left, Yugi was quite ready,
For tomorrow’s holiday. She wished it was here already!

Once friends were all gone and mess tidied away,
Yugi went to bed to await Christmas Day.
So completely exhausted from the earlier fight,

That before too long she was out like a light.

She wasn’t awake when there were sounds from the roof,
With a thud and a jingle, she missed foot and hoof.
Oneesan however woke in a flash,
And headed to find out what would make such a big crash.

In the living room near the tree, she found a strange man,
He obviously had some evil plan.

Dressed all in red with a white beard and a sack.
She watched as quite quickly he started to unpack.

Confusion flowed through her as he left behind toys,
And vanished away with a great deal of joy.
And as she headed back to check on her light,
She heard him call "Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night!"

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

Ennead: Ancient Bit: Part 15

Mana was nervous as she entered the Pharaoh’s bedchambers. Not because of where she was, or who she was talking to. The Pharaoh had been her friend since childhood and though she had to show the ‘proper’ respect in front of everyone else, when it was them alone, they could be more themselves.

No, the nervousness came from the Pharaoh, who was still recovering from the poison, which had taken three more doses of the antidote to leave her system entirely, asking for her to come alone to discuss recent events.

If the Pharaoh wanted to discuss what had happened with her and only her, Mana couldn’t help but worry that the Pharaoh had somehow learned about the lessons Ba-Khu-Ra had been giving her before she had left for Kul Elna and wanted to confront her before bringing the guards down on her head.

She knew she was being paranoid, but Mahad’s constant ranting about the ‘traitor,’ and how anyone who had associated with her and aided in the attempted assassination would lose their heads if he had his way was making her nervous.

She stepped into the bedchambers to find the Pharaoh was on her balcony, the one that overlooked the courtyard where the fight had taken place. As Mana stepped up cautiously, shutting the door most of the way behind her, the Pharaoh spoke up, her voice a little unsteady.

“Do you believe Ba-Khu-Ra is a traitor too?”

Mana paused to consider the question, wondering if she was expected to actually speak her mind, or just agree with the crowd.

“A simple yes or no would suffice.” The Pharaoh continued as she leaned against the railing, using it to support her weight instead of her still unsteady legs.

“May I speak my mind?” Mana asked her ruler, hoping for a positive answer.

“I would welcome it.” The Pharaoh snorted in reply, half turning to look at her.

“I think,” Mana started as she moved to her Pharaoh’s side, “That if Ba-Khu-Ra wanted you dead, she wouldn’t waste her time hiring mercenaries to kill you.”

“Finally.” The Pharaoh breathed, relief obvious, “Someone that agrees with me.”

“My Pharaoh?” Mana asked, confused.

“Everyone’s so focused on what the mercenary said, despite him admitting he never saw the face of the woman who hired him, that they’re blocking out any other options.” The Pharaoh pointed out, “I don’t believe she hired them for one simple reason.”

“Oh?” Mana asked, wondering if it was the same reason she could think of.

“If Ba-Khu-Ra wanted me dead, she wouldn’t hire someone to take me out with a quick acting poison.” The Pharaoh shrugged, “She’d do the deed herself, make it slow and painful and she would ensure that I knew every excruciating detail of why.”

“You are far too calm about that.” Mana wondered at the older teen.

“Sometimes it’s nice to know where the danger lies.” The Pharaoh explained, “At least with Ba-Khu-Ra I never had to worry about getting a dagger in the back. At least not after the first couple of months.” The Pharaoh sighed, “And if she wanted my demise, she had plenty of opportunities before she and Akhenaden went to Kul Elna. I was even alone with her the morning she left. Why not kill me then?”

“You believe someone’s making Ba-Khu-Ra the scapegoat.” Mana realized.

“Indeed.” The Pharaoh turned to look at her properly, “I’m no fool, Mana. I know what you and Ba-Khu-Ra were up to in your spare time and don’t bother lying about it.”

Mana, who had been about to try and cover her tracks closed her mouth.

“I want you to use those skills to find out who really hired those men and help me bring them to justice.” And clear Ba-Khu-Ra’s name was left unsaid but clear enough.

“My Pharaoh, what if it’s someone within the palace?” Mana asked, “Or one of your High Priests?”

“I highly suspect it is.” The Pharaoh grimaced, “Though once again I have no proof.”

“Akhenaden?” Mana yelped, before glancing around, double checking they couldn’t be overheard before continuing, “He wouldn’t be so foolish, surely? He’s already in disgrace.”

“My uncle stands to gain everything if I die.” The Pharaoh pointed out, “And by getting Ba-Khu-Ra blamed for the attempt, he removed a thorn from his side.”

“How do you want me to proceed?” Mana asked cautiously, well aware that Akhenaden could read minds, which made sneaking around him difficult at best.

“Carefully.” The Pharaoh’s reply made her smile slightly, “In the mean time I’m going to send a runner with a message for Ba-Khu-Ra. She needs to be made aware of the current situation. Preferably before Mahad arrives to arrest her.”

Ennead: Ancient Bit: Part 14

“Lord Mahad!” The High Priest in question looked up from his scroll to see a panicked looking noble, “It’s the Pharaoh! He’s…”

There was a loud explosion from outside, causing Mahad to rush over to a balcony. As the smoke cleared, he saw the Pharaoh, who was protecting Mana and looked like she was nursing an injury. She had summoned an armored knight of some kind and was facing down three men and three huge beasts. The guards who were supposed to be protecting the pair were sprawled all over the courtyard, unconscious or worse.

Mahad called his personal Ka beast forth and sent it down to help the Pharaoh, before racing out of the room and shooting down the stairs, reaching the courtyard in time to see his Magus of Illusion and the Pharaoh’s warrior take down the last of the men, leaving him conscious to answer questions.

“Who sent you?” The Pharaoh was demanding as Mahad joined her, her breathing rough and uneven, causing concern.

The man just spat at her, earning himself a punch from Mahad.

“I would answer his questions.” Mahad recommended, even as he wanted to punch the man’s lights out, “Because if I have to ask the dungeon keepers to get it out of you, you won’t survive it.”

“I’m not afraid of you. Or your torturers.” The failure of an assassin snorted, “And it won’t matter for long anyway.”

“What do you…” Mahad was cut off by a groan from the Pharaoh. Mana caught her as her legs gave out underneath her, her hand falling away from the wound as she passed out to reveal a dark purple vein like pattern spreading out from the still bleeding injury. “Poison!”

“Check him.” Mana snapped as the man chuckled vindictively, “A smart assassin keeps the antidote on them, just in case they get anything on them.”

Later Mahad would wonder how Mana knew that, but he didn’t waste the time now. Instead he moved to counter the man’s struggles as he tried to prevent Mahad searching him. It didn’t take the High Priest long to find a sealed clay jar with a liquid inside. “Is this it?” Mahad demanded as Mana tended to the Pharaoh as best she could.

“Is that what?” The merc smirked at Mahad, only to get a fist to his jaw.

“The antidote!” Mahad snarled, “Is this it?”

“Why would I tell you even if it was?” The mercenary asked, still grinning, “I’m dead any way you slice it and this way I take the target with…” The man stiffened and shut up as Seth, who had taken on the Millennium Rod just that morning stepped into the courtyard and took control of the man’s mind.

“Mahad?” Seth demanded, concerned as he beheld the scene.

“Is this the antidote?” Mahad asked the man again.

“Yes. You have to ingest it.” Seth forced him to answer. That was enough for the holder of the Millennium Ring, who cracked open the jar and tipped some into the Pharaoh’s mouth. He had to help her swallow but the moment she had her breathing evened out a little and the purple veins seemed to start receding.

“Who sent you?” Mana asked the man, knowing that Seth would force him to answer honestly.

“I was paid by a woman named Ba-Khu-Ra.”

Ennead: Ancient Bits: Part 13

Ba-Khu-Ra glowered at the pile of bodies that she had left behind. The guards that had attacked her hadn't stood a chance of actually killing her after she had called forth Diabound and now there was just one guard still breathing.

"Who ordered you to attack me?" Ba-Khu-Ra demanded with a scowl, Diabound squeezing the man in his grip, causing a pained cry to escape the royal guard.

He didn't answer, instead he focused on trying to struggle free of the naga like, stone skinned creature's grip. Ba-Khu-Ra let out a frustrated growl and gestured to Diabound who tightened his crushing grip enough for Ba-Khu-Ra to hear a crack and the guard to screech.

"Now, as I was saying, who's orders were you acting on?"

"The Pharaoh's!" The guard yelped, "It was Pharaoh's orders."

"What?" That Ba-Khu-Ra hadn't expected. Akhenaden's probably, Shada's maybe, hell even Mahad was a possibility, but the Pharaoh herself? Why would the Pharaoh, who had been her friend for years, order her death now? It didn't make any sense, especially after the Pharaoh had supported her in court and promised to ensure that she got her revenge on the man who had murdered her people.

"The Pharaoh ordered us to kill you." The guard gasped, his breath short and pained before he paused to cough up blood, causing Ba-Khu-Ra to grimace as she realized she had punctured one of his lungs and he probably wouldn't be able to talk too much longer. "And bury the evidence Kul Elna ever existed."

Ba-Khu-Ra froze. She wouldn't. The Pharaoh couldn't. She had promised! Promised! That the people of Kul Elna would get justice and the afterlife they deserved. There was no way...

‘Except the Pharaoh had lived a lie her entire life. What was this in comparison to pulling the wool over the eyes of all of Egypt?’

No, the Pharaoh wasn't like that. They were friends. The Pharaoh had tried to help her get justice for years. There was no way that she would suddenly turn on her like this. There had to be a good reason for it.

"When did he give you those orders?" Ba-Khu-Ra demanded, glowering at the man, even now keeping her friend's secret from the dying Guard, hoping to get something out of the man that would give lie to his belief.

"Our commander met with the Pharaoh and he ordered your death." The Guard replied, "Along with the destruction of what was left of the village. He didn't want the truth of the Millennium Items getting out."

‘Of course the Pharaoh wouldn't. She lived her entire life under the creed 'what's best for the people.' She was pretending to be her brother in order to prevent chaos and rioting amongst the rabble. Imagine the nightmare that admitting how the Millennium Items were created would cause amongst the commoners.’

Except the Pharaoh had shown no signs of wanting to kill her when they had left the palace to come here.

‘Had she not? She sent you out into the desert with a man who hated her and a group of guards who had been sent to aid him. If it hadn't been for us,’ The voices reminded her, ‘You would have been killed.’

"You lie." The Pharaoh had supported her, upheld her side, argued with her High Priests about what should be done about the problem Akhenaden had caused and now needed to fix.

"No, I don't." The guard replied, "After all, why would a low life piece of scum ever think the Pharaoh would truly turn against his family and High Priests? He was never on your side. He just played you."

Ba-Khu-Ra's anger flared at that and she made a gesture to Diabound that had the creature crush the guard, killing him slowly and painfully as she stalked away, looking for any other targets she could annihilate.

‘The Pharaoh supported you.’ The voices agreed, ‘But that support was in a closed court where the only people who had heard what had happened to Kul Elna were the High Priests, you and Pharaoh herself. She had practically ordered you to keep what had happened to yourself and hasn’t told Seth or Mana, despite the fact that both were High Priests in training.

There was no way someone who lived a lie in order to prevent the country descending into chaos would want this secret free amongst the rabble. It made sense that she would try to get rid of the evidence and the only person who knew the truth outside of her court.’

Ba-Khu-Ra didn’t want to agree, but she could see the truth behind the voices.

’The Pharaoh is just as bad as her uncle. She would take away our only chance of moving on. Would keep the truth a secret and allow us to wander Duat for eternity in order to keep her power.’ The voices continued, weaving around Ba-Khu-Ra as they did so, ‘She betrayed you. Wants you dead. Broke her promise. She will send more men to finish the job when she hears you survived. We could destroy her. We SHOULD destroy her. Alongside everyone else who dares to use the items that we paid with our blood and souls to create. We can give you that power. All you have to do in exchange is gather the Millennium Items so we can be free. Free from our slavery and imprisonment. Free to move on.’

She knew she shouldn’t listen. Mahad had tried to teach her to block them out so she didn’t have to, but they made too much sense and they wanted to help her. Wanted to give her the power to take down the entire rotten court.

And she would do it. She had only stayed her hand this long because she thought that by working within the palace she could help the Pharaoh make things better and get her revenge on the men who had ruined her home and her life.

But the Pharaoh was a liar and a backstabber. She was as bad as the rest of her family and she should pay, just like the others. In fact Ba-Khu-Ra would make her suffer first…

‘Well?’ The voices asked, ‘Will you accept our power?’

“Yes.” Ba-Khu-Ra nodded, “Yes, I will.”

  

Ennead: Past Troubles: Part 2

“You have about as much clue as I do.” Bakura grumbled. “And that is disturbing.” Honda let out a low, rumbling growl, frustration obvious. “You have no leads at all?”

“Nothing now.” Honda grumbled, “The last time we saw her, she was heading for yours to play games. So we assumed...”

“While I appreciate that someone remembers I’m the bad guy, I’m not actually at fault this time.” Bakura snorted, “I would be gloating a lot more if I was.”

“If you hear anything, anything at all...” Honda threatened.

“I’ll let you know.” Bakura promised, crossing her fingers behind her back.

Honda didn’t look like he believed her. She wasn’t surprised but she didn’t really care. She had much bigger things to worry about. Her Ring wasn’t working properly and no one had seen the Pharaoh’s brat since yesterday afternoon.

Despite her reassurance to Honda, she couldn’t be sure if Yugi was alive or not. Without some way of tracking the brat, she had no easy way to find out either. If the blasted Pharaoh had gotten herself killed she was going to get very, very drunk. She was pretty sure that Jonouchi and Honda would join her, possibly Mutou-san too.

If Yugi wasn’t dead however and had just gotten herself into some mess that had distracted her all night, she soon would be. Bakura would quite happily end her for worrying her Landlord and failing to check in with anyone.

Well. School could wait. Her Landlord had high enough grades that skipping a day of class wouldn’t do much damage and it shouldn’t take her long to find her target. She had been a Queen amongst thieves, she had found treasures and riches beyond a normal thief’s wildest dreams, broken into supposedly untouchable tombs, and discovered secret stores and hidden libraries long before she had ever gotten her hands on the Ring.

She didn’t need the Millennium Ring to find her treasure. It was just one of the many ‘cheats’ in her possession that made her life easier.

She would just have to do it the old fashioned way. Through research, footwork and hard graft. It would take her longer but with the Puzzle at the end of the trail it would be worth it.

Ennead: Ancient Bits: Part 12

Returning to Kul Elna was a lot harder than she had thought it would be and she couldn’t decide if it was because she had been away for so long, or whether it was because her mage training was making her sensitive to things she had missed when she had left.

On the plus side the voices were leaving her alone. Instead they had joined forces with the spirits trapped within the village boundaries to torment Akhenaden and his group of men. While she felt slightly sorry for the men who had done nothing wrong, it did give her some much needed respite from the voices.

As she stalked around the remains of the village, haunting it like any other ghost that hadn’t been laid to rest, she came across a building she recognised far too well. She slipped inside the mostly collapsed shell and moved towards the more unstable back of the building. When she had left Kul Elna, she had hidden away what little she had left along with the giant stone tablet they had used to create the Millennium Items, down in the cellar of this building.

The former tavern’s spacious basement had been specifically dug to be difficult to access from the surface and its entrance had been deliberately hidden even before she had gotten Diabound to put a giant stone in front of it.

She was much stronger now, mentally, magically and physically and still she required a hand from her Ka beast to move the massive boulder. The pair of them rolled it aside and Ba-Khu-Ra slipped inside, carefully making her way down the sand coated stone stairwell.

The dark atmosphere was thicker at the bottom of the stairs, the power within the air almost thick enough to cut with a knife. The spirits guarding the stuff she had left behind, swarmed forward only to part before her, bowing slightly as she passed.

She was almost a queen amongst the ghosts of Kul Elna. They looked to her to get revenge for them and help them move on. She was just pleased that she could finally fulfil part of the oath she had taken to do just that.

“Don’t break the Guards too badly.” She spoke to the spirits that seemed to ‘lead’ the ghosts of her people, “Feel free to torment Akhenaden as much as you like, as long as he can still function. He’s been sent here to ensure you lot get to move on.” She could feel the shock in the air as the spirits nodded and the small pack of ghosts in the basement faded away, the power in the air mostly fading away with them.

She set up her sleeping gear near the tablet, certain that no one else would bother venturing down here unless they were suicidal. Unlike the guards and Akhenaden, she knew what the bandits were like in the local area.

She would be much safer underground than she would in their camps. They were more than welcome to join her down here if they found it and could survive the spirits, but for now she would stay safe and they could deal with the local trouble makers.

Ennead: Past Troubles: Part 1

The Pharaoh’s brat was an obnoxious, rude, selfish person and Bakura was looking forward to laying into her. When you made plans to play a game with someone and they went out of their way to set up the board and prepare for a evening of gaming, including providing food, it was rude to not turn up and it was even ruder to not answer your phone when someone rang it ten or eleven times.

Not that Bakura had been worried, but her Landlord had been freaking out when Yugi hadn’t shown up for their pre-planned gaming session and then had been unreachable and she hated when her Landlord was unhappy. It made her life difficult.

As such she was looking forward to catching the brat before school and biting her head off. She would deserve it.

Of course she wasn’t quite prepared for Honda to stalk over to her, grab her by the collar and shove her against the lockers, fist raised as if ready to strike.

“What did you do to Yugi?”

“Okay.” Bakura twisted out of his grip and glowered at him, “For me to have done anything to Yugi she would actually have had to have shown up, so do you mind explaining what the hell you mean?”

“Wait, Yugi didn’t go to yours last night?” Honda suddenly looked a lot more worried.

“If I had beaten the Pharaoh, do you think I’d still be here?” Bakura pointed out.

Honda grimaced, having to concede she had a point. “Yugi didn’t make it home last night.”

“And no one thought to ring me?” Bakura growled at him, “I do have a phone. And you know where I live.”

“Jonouchi was out all night looking for her and didn’t think to let anyone else know until Anzu showed up at the shop and found Ojiisan panicking like mad.”

Bakura snatched up her Ring, holding it level as she growled, “Find Mutou Yugi.” The item glowed for a few seconds, the triangles surrounding it wavering for a moment before the glow died and the shapes fell limp without giving a clear direction. “Find the Millennium Puzzle.” Same reaction, “Find the Pharaoh’s host.” Once again nothing, “Find that bloody brat who keeps getting in my way and won’t let me take her item.” Nothing again.

“I thought you could find anyone with that thing.” Honda scowled.

“I can.” Bakura admitted, “Unless they’re...” She paused for a second, took a deep breath and then, “Find Mutou Yugi’s corpse.” She was almost relieved when she got the same reaction as trying to find a living Yugi. “Well she ain’t dead.”

“So where is she?” Honda demanded.

“You have about as much clue as I do.” Bakura grumbled. “And that is disturbing.”

Ennead: Ancient Bit: Part 11

“You will be careful, won’t you?” Mana asked, worried as she watched Ba-Khu-Ra gather her things, ready for the journey to her old home. “I mean you’re going out into the middle of nowhere, with only Akhenaden for company and...”

“I know.” Ba-Khu-Ra nodded, tying her pack tightly, “But you’re forgetting something.”

“Oh?” Mana asked, an odd expression on her features as she wracked her brain to try work out what she had forgotten.

“He’s an old man who hasn’t left the palace since the Great War. He’s gotten rusty.” Ba-Khu-Ra smirked, “Whereas I’ve kept my old skills just as sharp as my new ones. I could take him in my sleep, no matter how many morons he’s bringing with us to help him ‘fix’ things. Besides he wouldn’t dare try anything, not with the Pharaoh on my side.” She looked over at Mana, “What about you? You have been keeping an eye on those losers?”

Mana frowned and nodded, fully aware of who Ba-Khu-Ra meant. Neither Mahad or the Pharaoh were aware that the pair of them had been keeping on top of any assassination plots with the help of a few of the guards and servants. In fact there was such a plot in the works right now, one that Mana and Ba-Khu-Ra had been watching carefully to see if it was just talk or whether they meant action.

“I assume you want to be kept up to date on what happens?” Mana asked.

“By now you should be able to handle it.” Ba-Khu-Ra shrugged. She had been teaching Mana quite a few things that she knew neither the Pharaoh or Mahad would have approved of. If anyone could deal with anything like this, she was sure that the thief trained Mage student could. “And you could always bring it to Seth’s attention. You do remember what he did to the last person who tried to kill the Pharaoh?”

Mana did. They had caught three of the plotters, but the fourth had would have succeeded if it hadn’t been for Seth. His version of ‘justice’ hadn’t been pretty. She did have one question though.

“Why not Mahad?”

“Because Mahad still thinks like a posh, palace raised snob.” The ex-thief chuckled, even as she double checked her stuff, “Seth is much more creative, and he’s more tolerable.”

It helped that Seth hadn’t received a Millennium Item yet. He was due to any day, but for now Ba-Khu-Ra didn’t have to deal with the voices whispering in her ears whenever she was around him. Nowadays she even had that trouble around the Pharaoh. She was looking forward to getting away from the palace just to get away from the constant buzzing in her brain.

Not that Mana or Seth were aware of the Truth. The Pharaoh hadn’t seen fit to tell them, not yet and had asked Ba-Khu-Ra to keep quiet about it until she could work out the best way to reveal it. As such everyone knew Akhenaden was in disgrace and was being sent away to atone for something he had done, but no one outside of the closed court was aware of why and Ba-Khu-Ra supposed she could see the logic behind it, even if it grated on her nerves.

“I suppose.” Mana sighed, “He is trying though, Mahad I mean.”

“Mahad is always trying.” Ba-Khu-Ra snorted, “Right.” She picked up her packs and looked around her room. There was surprisingly little to pack. Everything else in the room, which the Pharaoh had promised would still be hers when she came back, no matter how long it took, belonged to the palace or wasn’t important enough to her to take along on the trip. “I think that’s everything.”

“Any idea when you’ll be back?” Mana asked, following her teacher in the less arcane arts out of the room.

“I’ll be back before you know it.” The fully trained Mage chuckled at her, “Things would be too quiet round here if I wasn’t.”

“Good.” Mana looked reassured. “By the way, the Pharaoh wanted to talk to you before you go.”

“She probably just wants to make me promise not to kill her uncle or something ridiculous like that.” Ba-Khu-Ra let out a huff, “Still the sooner I get this over with, the sooner I can leave, so let’s go.”

Ennead: Ancient Bit: Part 10

If there was one good thing to have come out of the former Pharaoh’s demise, it was that Akhenaden had been the last person to see him alive before he had suddenly sickened and died. This meant that the Pharaoh could openly have him investigated and finally confront him about the truth of the items directly.

“My Pharaoh,” Akhenaden sounded panicked more than anything as he was confronted in a closed court that involved just the High Priests, Ba-Khu-Ra, representing the wronged parties, and the Pharaoh herself, “I have only ever done what is best for Egypt!”

“Then explain yourself.” The Pharaoh demanded coldly from her throne, “Explain what it was you did without holding anything back. The Scales will tell us if you’re lying.”

He didn’t. Not one word he uttered was a falsehood. He didn’t keep back how he had picked Kul Elna, the village of thieves, to be the tribute needed to save the country. Nor did he lie about how he had to brainwash some, but not all, of the men he had taken with him to make them follow his directions.

Ba-Khu-Ra listened, trembling with rage, as he spoke about slaughtering her people, using their blood to power the ritual to create the Millennium Items that had saved Egypt during the last great war. She even just about managed to keep herself in check as he described sending his men to wipe out every last man, woman and child.

It wasn’t until he admitted to burning down the entire village to destroy every last piece of evidence, including the bodies of her entire village, dooming them to an eternity in Duat, that she snapped, Diabound appearing and only not killing the man because the Pharaoh’s own summoned monster got between Diabound and its target.

“Ba-Khu-Ra!” The Pharaoh’s tone was sharp, echoing the pain the former thief’s Ka beast had inflicted on her summoned creature, “Stay your hand.”

“You heard him. He deserves death!” The girl snarled, her naga like creature snarling at the Pharaoh’s warrior on horseback.

“Death may well still be the sentence.” The Pharaoh informed her, glowering at her uncle who trembled under her gaze, “But I have a task for him first.”

“But I have waited years for retribution!” Ba-Khu-Ra protested, causing the Priests to murmur angrily about her disrespect.

“And you will have it.” The Pharaoh swore, causing her uncle to pale, “But not until he’s ensured that your people will get their chance at journeying through the afterlife.”

“My Pharaoh?” Ba-Khu-Ra asked, startled. Was she seriously promising to ensure that the people of Kul Elna weren’t left as wandering spirits for the rest of eternity? Was that even possible when the bodies were no longer available for burial?

“I swear, Ba-Khu-Ra, that the people of your village will get justice.” The Pharaoh promised, “And their eternal rest, as is their due. However,” Ba-Khu-Ra grimaced as the Pharaoh turned to her uncle, the God King’s tone softening slightly, “He was doing what he thought was best for Egypt and it is true the country would have fallen without the Millennium Items. It is because of this that I must allow him this chance to atone for his crimes, by making him set the wrongs right with his own hands.” She looked at the former thief, something in her gaze asking the other girl to understand, “Under your supervision, of course.”

The thief turned mage smirked at that announcement. The Pharaoh was trusting her to judge when Akhenaden had atoned? Then he would be working for the rest of his natural life for there was nothing he could possibly do that would make up for his crimes. It wasn’t as satisfying as killing him but she would enjoy watching him try even if the voices that had haunted her since the destruction of her village screamed for his blood.

“Th...Thank you, my Pharaoh.” Akhenaden stammered, bowing low to Egypt’s ruler. “Thank you for this chance.”

“Just don’t make me regret it.”

Ennead: Ancient Bit: Part 9

“Go away!”

Mahad let out a sigh. As a first order went, that was pretty clear, however... “I’m sorry, my Pharaoh, but I can’t follow that order.”

“Don’t...” A half sob emerged from the room he was trying to enter, a stifled, half hidden sound that spoke of someone attempting to deny grief, attempting to stand strong when all that was wanted was time and solitude so that their collapse into misery went unnoticed. “Just go away, Mahad.”

Despite her words he couldn’t let his friend bare this alone. Though Mahad could not have known that her father would sicken and die within a day of learning the truth of the Millennium Items and confronting his brother, he could not help but feel responsible for the former Pharaoh’s death.   

The priest took a deep breath, well aware that, should she desire, the newly crowned Pharaoh could have him killed without a moment’s notice. Then he pushed open the door and stepped into the darkened chamber within. The sun had long set, but none of the torches within had been lit. The inhabitant of the room, who had fled there the moment her duties had been done, didn’t want the light.

It took Mahad’s eyes a few moments to adjust and he left the door ajar to allow some of the light from the hallway into the room.

Once he could make out outlines in the darkness, he moved towards the lump on the bed, avoiding the discarded regalia as he did so. He sat next to the lump, which was facing away from the door.

“My Pharaoh.” Mahad put his hand on her shoulder gently, aware that he had already crossed the line and that this was sacrilege. Touching the Pharaoh without their permission was punishable by death but he had already refused to follow orders and entered the Pharaoh’s bedchambers without permission. At this point he was already risking death. “I’m sorry...”

A loud sob escaped the girl on the bed. That was the only warning he got before she wheeled around and latched onto him, sobbing into his chest. Mahad hesitated for just a moment before wrapping his arms around her, letting the distraught ruler cry herself out.

“It’ll be okay.” He murmured, rubbing her back, “It’ll all be okay.”

He stayed there, holding the sobbing Pharaoh until she cried herself to sleep, and then laid her down gently and moved away from the bed, pausing by the shadows near the door, where a figure was hiding.

“I’ll look after her.” Ba-Khu-Ra promised from her hiding place, “Go settle the morons. I won’t let anyone disturb her until she’s ready to deal with them.”

“Thank you.” Mahad was surprised by her willingness to do this for the Pharaoh.

“I’m not doing this for you, I’m doing this for her.” Ba-Khu-Ra snapped. “Now go.”

For once Mahad didn’t object to the former thief trying to order him around. Instead he went to deal with the fallout and left the slumbering Pharaoh in the care of the one person in the entire palace that he could actually trust not to bend to the other High Priests.