Maybe I’ll end it this chapter. I’m not good with long epics…

Does anyone even bother to *read* this fanfic? Because if not, I shouldn’t bother posting it! Really.

Disclaimer: YGO belongs to Kazuki Takahashi. This non-profit, non-copyright infringing fanfiction belongs to me.

Pairing: Yami x Mahado, Loyaltyshipping

Chapter 5

Akunumkanon was nervous. It had been exactly three months since he had sent Atemu off as a sacrifice for the good of Egypt, and now his son was returning. It seemed that the King’s brother-in-law had assassinated him and thus, did not want the prince anymore.

Who would want a sullied noble?

And Akunumkanon was worried about his son… rumor was that Asen treated his ‘wives’ harshly. He had no desire to see… and yet as the procession neared, he felt strangely afraid of what he would find…

The curtains to protect the prince from the sun had been drawn open as the bearers laid the sedan down. Akunumkanon’s breath caught as Atemu stepped out. His first thought was that the boy had finally grown a few inches taller. The second…

What had he done?

His’ son’s eyes were completely glazed over, glassy and dull, devoid of anything that might resemble life.

Oh Ra…

Mahaado watched from his vantage point, curled about Atemu’s shoulders. A lovely cobra, black as night…

< Your father seems disturbed. >

< Excellent… >

< I know, isn’t it? > Yami asked as he brushed fingers along smooth scales. Mahaado hissed softly, but said nothing else.

Perhaps now Akunumkanon would realize what might have been, and what had been….

Seto watched Yami with a smirk. The Prince was tainted, Crown Price or no. Would they really allow such an impure being to rule Egypt?

Speaking of which… there was something had struck him as being a bit odd. No one had seen Priest Mahaado for almost four months…

True, his duties often took him away from the Palace and into the Valley of Kings, but even so…

Something felt wrong… and not only with Mahaado, but also with his apprentice… a brush of wrongness…

Perhaps they had spent too much time in the Shadow Realm. That was all… the man had looked rather drawn and ill…

There was nothing to fret over, nothing at all.

The Prince was quietly escorted to his chambers, the Pharaoh in no mood for festivities. He stared dully into his wine as the musicians played and the girls danced, tossing their shimmering veils over their shoulders with bold winks.

His Queen, his Great Royal Wife, Isis bless her soul, had died long years ago, and perhaps it was wrong of him to not have taken other, lesser wives…

And his poor son, what would become of him now?

Akunumkanon was not an old man, but over twenty years of ruling had sapped his spirit greatly. He was too kind to wield shadow…

< Father is weak. > Yami said, as he watched Mahaado shift back into human form. < Was it tiring? >

The older teen shrugged, brushing his long purple bangs out of his face. < Not as I would have feared. >

< Wonderful… > Yami smirked as the air around them darkened. < Father knows not the true power of the Shadow Realm. Shall we? >

Mahaado brushed his lips against the offered hand with a half-smile.

“What do you mean you do not know where my son is?” Akunumkanon raged in impatience. Forgive the Pharaoh he was having a horrid day… the guards trembled and did not say another word.

It was not as if Yami would have jumped off a balcony, but…

He was still quite worried about his only heir!

However, considering Yami’s condition, it might be some time before… the coronation could take place…

At least now they had the treaty, but had the price been worth it?

What was Yami now, but a soulless doll?

“It will only take a bit more to push him over the edge.” Yami whispered against Mahaado’s chest, lips tinged red with blood. His sharp canines glittered slightly.

“Yes…” Mahaado whispered breathlessly, although whether he was referring to Akunumkanon or another situation was unclear.

The Prince studied his friend and decided that perhaps a touch of mercy would help. “Lovely.”

Mahaado bit down on his lip to stifle the scream, but Yami shook his head. “Scream for me. Please?”

He could never deny his Prince anything….

Akunumkanon’s head snapped up at the sound of a thump. Hurriedly, he ran down the hall…

Only to find Yami there, obviously alive and well, with High Priest Mahaado holding the Millennium Ring before them as a protective barrier. In front was a horrible slimy tentacle monster… oozing black slime?

Still, whatever it was, it wasn’t friendly!

Mahaado’s eyes blazed golden with power – strange, Akunumkanon had never noticed it before, but the mage must have gotten stronger…

Of course the Priest would have, now that he had the Millennium Ring…

He’d instructed Mahaado to keep an eye on his son in enemy lands, but it seemed that the priest had failed.

How unfortunate. He would have to be punished. Perhaps he would lose his title and the Ring…

Still, that was for later. For now, the health of his son was at stake!

The monster lashed out against the shield, but it seemed to hold. Mahaado smiled as he drew a shimmering shape in the air with his hands, it solidified…

Illusion, probably, Akunumkanon decided. With a flash, an interlaced circle of dark magic sprang up, binding the beast tightly. It tried to move, the more it struggled, however, the harder it shivered and finally it withered into itself, growing smaller and smaller… Mahaado shouted another word in arcane language and there was a bright flash of red light.

Dust glittered on the ground. The Monster gave one horrible last squeal and died.

Dust to dust….

The Prince seemed more alive now, although his eyes glittered with pain. “Mahaado…”

“Are you injured in any way, my Prince?”

Yami shook his head, but as his eyes lit upon his father, he gave a cry of pain and hid behind the Priest again, shaking miserably. Mahaado carefully took off his white cape and wrapped Yami in it, and although he was silent, Akunumkanon could feel a pulse of strong anger directed at him…

What had happened? More importantly, what had he done?

End Chapter

Completed 10/7/05

Yes…

Okay. Dark! Yami? Er, Yami is dark. And remember, there’s no Yugi here. *Cackles* and really, I don’t think Mahaado would ever go against Yami… so…