Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ Meskhenet ❯ Binemwaset ( Chapter 7 )

Chapter 7

Binemwaset (Evil In Waset)

She was playing in the main garden, admiring all the different exotic flowers, feeding the many brightly colored birds and trying to coax the little monkeys down from the trees when a terrified scream startled her. She spun around to see her young friend, Set, burst into the garden and run towards her as if being chased by the most evil of demons!.

"Neffy! Neffy!," the little boy cried, trembling in fear. "I just saw… I just saw…" his voice stuttered as he tried to speak.

Three year old Nephthys took his hands in hers, trying to calm him. "It's alright, Setty," she comforted him. "What did you see?." Even though Set was almost a year older then her, he was more prone to nightmares, which had only gotten worse since the loss of his mother this week. Poor Lady Sheshen had received the news of her husbands death in the last battle against Khemets enemies and had become absolutely heartbroken, so much she had taken sick and passed away three days later.(118)

Still shaking, Set wiped the tears from his face. "It was… It was a monster!," he explained. "It had a wrinkled face and… and the ugliest eye I ever saw!."

An ugly eye?… The little girl frowned, confused… What did he mean by that?…

"He had one good eye," the little boy continued. "But the other one looked like a fake eye, and it was bleeding!."

Little Nephthys shuddered. That sounded so scary!. Poor Setty!.

"Setekh!." A deep, cool male voice came from nearby.

Nephthys raised her head in surprise to see an stern looking man wearing white linen robes and fine jewelry that marked him as a high ranking member of Per-aa's court entering the garden… As he came closer, she noticed the false eye, which looked to be made of gold, and the blood oozing around it… Was this the monster Set had seen?…

Obviously, yes. Set began to tremble even more violently and the two children clung to eachother in fear…

The white hooded man gazed down at the little boy and girl. "I am Priest Akunadin, Setekh," he declared. "Now that your mother is… I mean now that both your mother and… father… are gone, you must come with me. I am to be your guardian and mentor. It is my responsibility to prepare you for your role in the Millenium Priesthood."

"No!," Set sobbed, fresh tears flowing freely down his tender young face. "I… I don't want to go with you!. I want Mama!."

"She cannot come to you, little one. You are old enough to understand that." The priest shook his head sadly. Then he reached out his hand towards him. "You must come with me now."

But Nephthys quickly came between them and pushed his hand away with a strength Akunadin never knew a three year old child could possess!. "Get away from him, you ugly khaibit!. He doesn't want to go with you!."

"He has no choice," the hooded man replied calmly. He then turned to his two fellow priests who had accompanied him. "Shimun, Mahaado, please take little Nephthys back to her parent's quarters while I begin young Setekh's instruction?."

Though they sympathized with the children's fears, Per-aa's two highest ranked priests knew Set was in no danger from Akunadin, so they obeyed. Putting their hands gently but firmly on her arms, they led the still protesting little girl away out of the gardens…

"Setty! Setty!," she called back over her shoulder, still worried for her friend.

He reached out his hand and took a step to follow her as she was led out of the gardens. "Neffy!."

But a firm hand was placed on his young shoulder… He turned and looked up once again into the face of his new mentor and guardian, Akunadin… He still had not wiped the blood that was dripping from his new eye away…

As her mind cleared, Nephthys brought a hand to her forehead and rubbed it to ease the slight feeling of nausea one usually experienced after being under the control of a Millenium Item… The last thing she remembered was seeing Seto and Mariasha to safety, then encountering Set and him raising that wretched rod over her…

She looked around… Immediately the lady of the house recognized the main temple of the Malqata palace complex where she'd spent the better part of her life before leaving for her family's country home…

"Welcome home, my dear," came the young man's voice from nearby…

Calmly, she turned to face him… "Set, why did you bring me back here?," she demanded.

He crossed his arms with a smile. "Why, to convince you to re-join the Millenium Priesthood, of course. Besides, you know you have always been my darling."

"The power I wielded with the Millenium Torque was your "darling",(119) Nephthys smirked. "But that burden is Esetnefret's now, so the cult has no need for me anymore."

"How many times do I have to tell you, woman?. Esetnefret had only just graduated from being a novice priestess when you left her the torque. She is not as familiar with it's power as you are. Besides, since your mother was the first holder of the torque, despite her Hyksos blood, that makes it your birthright and duty to serve under it again."

At this, the lady of the house shook her head. "I pity you. I pity all of you. You fools in the priesthood think you're the ones controlling those wretched items, but, in reality, it's always been the other way around. No matter what you say or do, Set, I have no intention of leaving my real home, and my family, to be a slave to that bloodstained piece of twisted gold again!. My family and I only want to live in peace. Is that so hard to accept?."

To her surprise, the young priest chuckled and shook his head. "Peace?. That's funny, Nephthys. Right now, even as we speak, foreign powers are multiplying and increasing in strength. The Hittites, the Mitanni, the Babylonians, the Assyrians, even the Canaanites and the Sea Peoples. In just a few years, Khemet could be taken over by one or all of these empires!. That "peaceful world" you speak of only exists in your mind. Khemet needs the full power of the seven Millenium Items, and all the kas it can get, if we are to face these threats!."(120)

"Those accursed items are more of a threat to Khemet then all those foreign nations put together!. If you had any sense left in you at all you would know that!."

Priest Set threw up his hands in frustration. "Uggghhh!!! Why must you and that joke of a reincarnation of mine be so stubborn about this?!. It's not as if you would have such a terrible life if you came back to Malqata to rejoin the court and priesthood. That little orphan boy of yours would receive an enormous amount of prestige if he helped us discover the secrets and mysteries of the future, and of the great white dragon with the blue eyes." He neglected to mention that the priesthood would also need whatever information they could get out of Seto in order to restore the dragon, as Set had already torn the cards to shreds, but surely there was a way. "And as for that little Hittite brat…"

His sentence was cut off by a sharp slap to his face!.

"Don't you dare talk about Mariasha that way!," the lady of the house snapped angrily. "You've no right! Not after what you've done!. And don't think for one minute that I am going to let her be brought to Malqata so you and Akunadin's other dogs can lock her up like a prisoner and torture her ka out of her!."

"Do you really believe that, Nephthys?." The young priest's grip tightened angrily on the handle of the rod with one hand, while rubbing his smarting cheek with the other. "Do you really believe I would be so desperate for a ka that I would let a child be tortured?."

The former priestess was silent for a moment… Finally, she answered "I don't know what to believe about you anymore, Set."

Set sighed… It was just as Akunadin had warned him… Ever since he had become the chosen priest of the Millenium Rod, and she had left Waset and Malqata, things between them had changed…

"This place… So many memories…"(121)

The young priest looked at his former betrothed in surprise…The angry expression that had once been on Nephthys's face had changed to a rather wistful and sad one…

But before he could say anything, a familiar voice called out, "Setekh!." He turned to see Akunadin approaching them…

The priest of the Millenium Eye gave Nephthys a cold look… She shifted her weight uneasily. It had always made her uncomfortable when he looked at her with that eye…

"I see you've brought Lady Nephthys." Akunadin turned to address Set. "But where are the boy and the little girl?."

The young priest of the Millenium Rod crossed his arms easily. "They will come. If the priestess of the Millenium Torque is here then the others will be sure to follow, and they will all have no other choice but to stay."

"No!," the lady of the house snapped. "For the last time, I am not staying in Waset as the priestess of the Torque, and if you lay so much as a finger on Seto or Asha I'll…"

"Silence, woman!," Akunadin cut her off. "Have you any idea how much this country could benefit from your experience with the Torque, the girl's ka, and that boy's knowledge of the future, and of that great white dragon?!." Then the elderly priest gave her a wry smile. "Besides, why are you trying to protect Seto Kaiba?," he asked. "If he is Set's reincarnation, then does that not make him the exact same person? The same one who destroyed your precious little Hittite brat's family and burned her alive?."

"No," Nephthys answered coolly. "No, he isn't. Not that Seto hasn't committed his own share of sins, but at least he is doing what he can to atone for them." Here her gaze rested on Set, who glared back at her…

A dark look crossed Akunadin's face. "Watch your toung!. You never did have any respect, did you?. Not for the priesthood, not for Set and I, not for the court, not even for Per'aa Living Forever himself!."

"And what makes you think that little orphan boy of yours is trying to "atone" for his sins anyway?," the young priest of the Millenium Rod added. "If he truly is my reincarnation, then he should know he has no real sins to atone for."

"How typically arrogant of you." The lady of the house rolled her eyes with a rueful smile. At least that was one thing the priest and the wanderer had in common!.

Akunadin brought a hand to his golden eye. "But he is right!. And, my lady," He hissed out the words as though it were a curse, "Is it not true that Seto Kaiba will eventually have to return to his own time someday?."

"That doesn't matter," she answered decisively, clenching her hands in resolve. "Seto is a part of my family, and he always will be, even if he must return to his own time and country!."

Set stared at her for a moment… He might have known… He'd seen it the moment he'd glimpsed the two of them on the roof of her house… "You're in love with him, aren't you?." It was more of a statement then a question.

Nephthys blinked, but said nothing…

The young priest shook his head with an amused chuckle. "Nephthys, Nephthys, Nephthys. Really, what sense does it make to annul our betrothal, then fall in love with my future self?."

"None at all," Akunadin agreed. "But, as long as you, the boy and the child agree to remain at Malqata as part of the cult, your romantic conquests are no concern of ours. Tell him of your feelings, marry him if that is your wish." Then he gave her a cruel smile. "And you can even use this to wrap your firstborn". As he spoke he drew out a torn piece of dark blue cloth from his robe…

The lady of the house bit her lip. She recognized the cloth as part of Seto's coat…

The old priest of the Millenium Eye handed the cloth to her. "It's perfect for the child of a low class foreign orphan, wouldn't you agree, my lady?," he taunted. "It can be their swaddling cloth."

Nephthys took a breath and fought back the tears that threatened to form in her eyes… Then, angrily, she clenched the cloth tightly in her hand and raised her head to glare at Akunadin… "And your shroud," she hissed in a dangerously controlled voice…

Though the elderly priest's expression did not change, he backed away slowly as the angry woman approached him…

"You think I care who's son Seto is?," Nephthys hissed.

"That little girl would care, if she knew," Akunadin answered, though the smile had gone from his face.

That did it!. Enraged, the former priestess flung herself upon the holder of the Millenium Eye!. "You won't live to tell her!," she screamed, throttling his throat with one hand while clawing his face with the other. "I'll tear your eye out first, old man!." (122)

"Nephthys! Nephthys, stop it!," Set cried, trying to pull her off. "Leave him alone!."

Thinking quickly, she saw her chance of escape!. Forgetting Akunadin, she immediately seized Set's arm and twisted it, forcing him to release his hold on the Millenium Rod.

"Set!," Akunadin cried, scrambling to his knees. He made a move towards them, but Nephthys grabbed the rod, pinned both arms behind the young priest's back and drew the rod's handle to his neck…

"Careful, old man," she hissed threateningly. "My hand might slip."

The elderly priest obeyed and stayed where he was…

"Good," Nephthys smiled wryly."

Set clenched his teeth and struggled against her grip. "You witch!. You'll never get away with this!."

She gripped his arm tighter, forcing him to stop struggling. "I already have. Now, be a good boy and come along quietly."

Having no other choice at the moment but to obey, the young priest reluctantly let Nephthys force him out of the main temple room…

She guided him down the dark, torchlit hallways until she was sure they were far enough away… Finally, she released Set, still holding the rod…

"The old vulture actually believed I would have killed you to escape," she smirked.

Annoyed, he shoved her hand away, though she still held the rod. "You have got to be the most sadistic woman I've ever met!," he growled.

Nephthys calmly lowered her hand with the rod clenched in it. "That's interesting, coming from you."

Set glared at her. "I've just about had it with you!," he snapped. "You could have been a high priestess, with all the power of the Millenium Torque at your disposal!."

"As far as I am concerned, Esetnefret can have all that prestige and power for herself!. I don't want it!."

"The boy would be revered as the bearer of what is possibly the most powerful ka on earth and the child's ka would be put to great use in the service of Per-aa and Khemet," he continued.

"I have already told you, Seto is not interested either, and I won't have you treating Asha like some kind of experiment!." It was then she reached out and took his hand with her free hand. "Set, come with me, please!."

"What?!."

"Come back to the village with me!," she persisted. "Leave this place!. Don't waste your life as a slave to some overbearing autocrat and a puppet king!."

He looked at her for a moment… Finally, he shook his head angrily. "How dare you?!. How dare you speak that way of Per'aa and Akunadin?!. Give me back my rod!."

Nephthys sighed, but tossed the Millenium Rod back to him. After all, she didn't want it. "I suppose you plan to control me with that again, so I'll rejoin the priesthood against my will?."

"Don't play the fool with me," Set smirked, catching it with one hand. "If you believed that, you wouldn't have given it back."

The lady of the house said nothing, but she knew he was right about that…

"I have no intention of going back with you, but I won't bother to stop you. You aren't worth it anymore!," the young priest growled. "Go! Go back to your filthy farm, your burned whelp and that pathetic little orphan boy!. I have no desire to see any of you again!."

The former priestess sighed and shook her head. "Like I said, I pity you, Set. You, Akunadin, Per'aa, you all spend so much time playing God, and trying to keep the rest of the world under Khemet's boot, you've forgotten what being human is about. That "pathetic little orphan boy", at the very least, has us, a family who will stand by him no matter what. And what do people like you and Akunadin have, great priest? What do you have at the end of the day? Tell me," she challenged. "Tell me!."(123)

For a moment, Set stared at her as though she had slapped him in the face again… Finally, he spun around and headed back towards the way they had come. "I have all that I need!," he growled as he stormed away...

Nephthys watched her former lover and betrothed as he drew farther and farther down the dark, torchlit corridor… She lowered her head sadly… He'd let her leave, and he was obviously no longer interested in pursuing Seto and Asha any further… Perhaps there was still light within that darkened heart… She was only sorry she couldn't be the one to make him realize it…(124)

"Goodbye, my one time love…" she whispered…

**********

Seto rubbed his forehead with a sigh as he surveyed the outside of the temple complex… Yes, this was the favored meeting place of the priests of the Millenium Cult… Memories of Waset and Malqata, of Akunadin and Nephthys, were coming back to him practically each minute now…

He wasn't even surprised when a group of temple guards appeared, seemingly out of nowhere. He, or rather Priest Set, had stationed them here after all…

"Well, if it isn't Seto Kaiba," the lead guard growled.

"The reincarnation of High Priest Set," the second added, placing his hand on the hilt of his sword. "He'd like to have a few words with you."

Kaiba smirked. "Hmm, I'll bet he would. But it'll take more then you three goons to get me." He was here to get Nephthys out, not to have another friendly chat with Set!.

The first guard lunged at him with a spear, and the young CEO was just barely able to get out of the way… He was lucky these jokers were more interested in capturing him then killing…

However, Seto was prepared for the next attack… The first guard came at him with his spear again, but he was able to avoid the sharp edge and seize the long handle, quickly yanking it out of the surprised guard's grasp.

No longer with his spear, the first guard immediately went for his sword. "Get him!," he ordered the other two. "We must bring him to Priest Set!."

The three charged towards him, their weapons drawn, but now Kaiba had his own weapon to fight back with. He brandished the spear like a bokkhan or shinai with a grim smile. He'd always preferred aikido to kendo, but that didn't mean he couldn't take down a few of Set's dogs with this thing!.

With their weapons, and the fact that he hadn't been able to take them by surprise, the young CEO found these three a little harder to put out then Pegasus's goons. He got several cuts and one deep gash on his upper arm before he was able to knock the three of them unconscious to the desert ground.

Seto dropped his spear and winced in pain as he clutched his wounded arm. "This had better be worth it, that's all I can say," he muttered to himself as he headed towards the temple entrance…

Soon… Soon he would get the vixen out of this place and they could go home… Home… Strange that he should think of it that way now… Strange, now that he'd been here in ancient Egypt for almost over a year, modern day Japan, Domino City, Kaiba Corp and everything that came with them seemed to never have exhisted, like some half remembered dream, as if it had happened to someone else and not him… Nephthys's intense gaze upon him, the laughter in her voice when she called him "anu"… Asha's sweet, hopeful smile and the gentleness of her burned hands in his as she asked him to be her big brother… Si-amun and Mutnodjmet's almost parental-like concern and care for him… little Khu and Kiya giggling and squealing as they ran through the hanged drying laundry… even that damned cat, Kuribo sneaking into his room to sleep on his pillow… Somehow all that seemed more like the reality then what he'd know before…

He entered the temple and made his way down the main hallway… All around him he recognized the statues and images of all the different gods and goddesses of Egypt, and the ancient versions of modern day duel monsters…

As he continued down the torch lit corridors, he searched his memory for all the possible places Nephthys might be… Think, Seto!. Think!. If you really are Set's reincarnation, then you should know what's going on in his head…

He was so preoccupied in trying to think of where Priest Set and Nephthys might be, he didn't see the form coming up from behind him…

Seto's eyes widened and he grunted in surprise as a slim hand was clamped over his mouth…

"Shhh," a familiar, feminine voice hissed into his ear. "Come with me, anu."

Nephthys!. Kaiba blinked in astonishment, but allowed himself to be led into a small side-corridor…

Once there, the lady of the house removed her hand from his mouth and the young CEO spun around to face her.

"What are you doing here, Seto?," she demanded before he could speak first.

If he hadn't been so annoyed, he probably would have laughed!. "Me?!. What are you doing here, kitsune?. I thought you'd been captured!."

"I was," she admitted coolly. "Set and that wretched jackal of a mentor of his thought they might try convincing me to rejoin the priesthood. Of course, you know what I said, and… well… that was that."

"I might have guessed." Seto rolled his eyes.

At this, Nephthys gave him a small smile. "You came to rescue me, didn't you, anu?. Well, then, you have my thanks."

"Hmmph!. Don't let it go to your head, vixen. Si-Amun, Mutnodjmet and the kids would never forgive me if I came back without you."

Amused at this rather left handed "you're welcome" from him, she shook her head with a chuckle. Then she noticed the gash on his arm.

"You're hurt," the lady of the house said, gesturing to his arm.

"It's just a scratch," Kaiba replied with a shrug.

"Well, scratch or not, it needs to be treated." Nephthys looked at him seriously. "There are always a few guards outside the temple. You had a run in with them, didn't you?."

He only lifted his chin slightly in stubbornness.

She sighed ruefully. "I'll take that as a yes, knowing you. All right, come on then."

Once they were certain the coast was clear, no sign of Akunadin, Set, or any of the other priests or guards, they left their hiding place and made their way out of the temple…

Once in the front courtyard of the temple, Nephthys led Seto over to one of the main temple wells and drew some water. Once she had a bucket full, she tore a piece off of her green linen shawl, got it wet, and, despite Kaiba's protests, rolled the sleeve of his shirt up further to clean the wound.

"Thank you again… I mean, for coming to help me…" She finally said as she washed the blood off the gash…

"Well," the young CEO muttered. "I hate owing people favors for very long." He winced slightly, as the water stung the gash a little.

"Oh, you mean that time I saved you from that insane creature who held the Ankh and Scales?." Odd, that seemed like such a long time ago now…

"Not just that…" he said quietly…

"Hmm?." The former priestess looked at him in surprise and confusion...

Seto lowered his head slightly… He guessed now was as good a time for his confession as any…

"I… I remember…" he started slowly. "I remember that time on the royal pleasure barge… When we were kids…"

At this, Nephthys stared at him, her eyes widening in astonishment…

"I fell into the river, trying to get that silly toy of mine," Seto continued. "I nearly drowned because I couldn't swim then… But… you… You jumped into the Nile and saved me…"

He raised his head slightly, in order to see her reaction to his final admittance and acceptance of his past life as Set…

She was still staring at him, blue green eyes wide… but a small smile played about her lips…

"I'm glad," she said honestly, as she took another scrap of clean cloth and tied it around his arm as a bandage. There, that should suffice until they got back to the villa. "I'm glad you're no longer living in denial about your past."

Kaiba nodded. He never thought he would admit it, but now he believed everything that had been written on that tablet at the museum might possibly be true…

"But…" came Nephthys's voice again, thoughtfully…

"But what?," the young CEO asked.

"Well, it's good that you're no longer so stubborn about accepting your past. It's a part of you, after all. But, it's like what you're always saying; The past is over. What matters now is the present and future."

He looked at her… Their eyes met for a moment, and held…

At that moment, neither of them had noticed a white robed old priest entering the courtyard and approaching them…

"So there you are!," came Akunadin's deep, angry voice. For a moment, the young man thought it had sounded like Gozaburo!.

Seto and Nephthys both spun around, startled.

"Akunadin!," Kaiba exclaimed.

The lady of the house quickly sprang to her feet. "What is it now, old man?," she demanded. "I told you, I'm not coming back! None of us are coming back here again!."

"You heard the lady!," the young CEO added. "So you may as well go back and tell Set and that snot nosed porcupine headed midget who calls himself a king that we're not subordinate to either the priesthood or the royal court!."

The elderly priest glared at them hatefully. "Foolish, blasphemous harlot!," he snarled at Nephthys, making his aged face look all the more wretched. "Not only do you poison his mind into insulting Per-aa living forever and the entire royal court and priesthood, but in going against Maat itself!. For this you shall pay dearly!."

As he spoke, he withdrew the part of his white priest's hood that covered his left eye…

Seto gasped, and his eyes widened in horror as he recognized that golden eye… The same thing Pegasus had used to murder his little brother before his very eyes… Just looking at it again, he could still hear Mokuba's terrified scream of pain…

"Now, die, accursed wench!," Akunadin cried. "And may your remains never be seen to so your doomed soul will know nothing but eternal agony!." The Millenium Eye began to shine brighter and brighter…

At that moment another vision flashed before Kaiba's eyes… The royal palace collapsing around him… An enraged Akunadin… A blinding flash of light striking the pure white form of a delicate young woman… She collapsed, lifeless to the floor… He took a breath and blinked back impending tears… How many times must he see this happen in front of him?…

The fatal blast came so fast that there was no time for Nephthys to get out of it's way… She shut her eyes and clenched her teeth and hands, determined not to give the old man the satisfaction of seeing her fear…

There was a loud, sickening crash as the blast made impact… The sound of someone gasping and crying out in pain… But, yet, she had not been struck…

The lady of the house's eyes flew open, and she found herself face to face with Seto… For a moment their eyes met again…

"K… Kitsune…" he whispered…Then his eyes closed, his legs gave way beneath him and he collapsed…

"Nooo!!!," the lady of the house cried. She caught him as he fell forwards into her arms. "Seto!."

To her surprise, Akunadin just stood there, frozen, staring at them in grief stricken horror…

"Set…" he whispered, eyes filling with tears. "Seto…" He suddenly fell to his knees, wringing his hands, his body shaking with sobbing. "No!. What have I done?!. Forgive me!. Please forgive me, my son!."

Son?!. Nephthys stared at him. Surely he couldn't have meant that!.

But the old priest gave no explanation. He was already on his feet and running out of the courtyard, still wringing his hands and wailing heartbrokenly… His grief stricken cries could be heard as they echoed through the hallways beyond…

The young former priestess gently laid Seto down… She carefully felt his wrist, then his neck… Nothing…

His eyes were closed… His lips were parted slightly, but no breath escaped them… His face was pale and his body still and cold to the touch…

"Seto… Anu…" Nephthys whispered. "No… No, please, don't die… Just open your eyes… Please…" But she had enough sense to know that no amount of pleading would bring him back…

Her tears landed on his face as memories of Seto filled her mind… That first time they'd met, and she'd gone after him with her staph… Teasing him about crocodiles in the river to trick him into running out while bathing… Seto complaining about Kuribo and the other cats… Seto playing with the children, making paper cranes for them, teaching them Japanese songs and saving Mariasha from drowning… Seto by her side, his hands in her's over the reins, as she taught him how to drive the chariot… Seto showing them how to make a Japanese fish dish… Seto learning quickly the basics of doctoring and assisting her with her many patients… Seto discussing the many different stars with her… Seto's arms around her as they rode through the desert, and his summoning of the great white beast with the blue eyes to help save them from the Winged Dragon Of Ra… Seto, head back and chin up, stubbornly insisting he had only come to help her for the children's sakes, when she knew he was lying through his teeth… Seto finally remembering and acknowledging his past life as Set… Seto calling her "Vixen" or "Kitsune"… Seto, always with that almost amusingly arrogant façade, trying to prove he feared nothing and noone, while the lost look in his eyes, and the vulnerability in his face whenever he wouldn't meet her gaze, said otherwise…

"I'm sorry… I'm so very sorry, Anu…" Still crying, she gently brushed his soft brown bangs away from his smooth forehead and closed eyes, and wiped her fallen tears from his face…

"May… May your soul…" she began, but she had to take a deep breath and start over. "May your soul pass every test in the next world and be welcomed into eternity…"

She stifled a sob. At least Seto would have a chance of being with Mokuba and the rest of his lost family now… But… during the time he'd been here, it was like he'd become a part of her family too…

"Umayma?…"

At the sound of the familiar voice, Nephthys raised her tear stained face… Her eyes widened as she beheld Mariasha standing before her, a soft smile on her scarred face…

"Asha! What are you doing here, Miw Sher?." And how had she gotten here in the first place?. She shouldn't have to be involved in this!.

The child gave no answer, instead she turned her head in the direction of the lifeless form of Seto…

"Niisama…" she whispered softly. "I… I can't hear your breath, or your heartbeat, anymore…"

Fresh tears ran down the lady of the house's face. "Oh, Miw Sher, I'm so sorry… He… He's gone…"

"Gone?." The little girl's head tilted slightly.

"Yes… He… He tried to save me… I couldn't… I couldn't protect him…" She turned her gaze away from Asha in shame…

"Fear not, Umayma."

Nephthys lifted her head up in surprise to see Asha smiling warmly again…

"Your loss is to great for anyone to have to bear, no matter how strong they are."(125) As the little girl spoke she seemed to glow with a mysterious light… She spread out her arms and, to Nephthys's shock, rose up into the air with sweet, childlike laughter…

The next moment, it was not a little girl that the lady of the house was looking at, but a graceful, elegant figure with flowing green robes and a white headdress… It wasn't Mariasha, she realized, it was her ka, the Mystical Elf!. Somehow, Asha must have somehow sent her ka to Malqata to help them!.

The beautiful elf then brought her hands together, and in that same ethereal, otherworldly voice, chanted a spell over Seto…

Almost instantly, the young man began to breath again, and, though still unconscious, he stirred slightly in Nephthys's ams…

The lady of the house trembled slightly with relief and joy, smiling through her tears… "Thank you… Thank you so much for doing this for him…"

"No more then what you and the others have done for the little girl who houses me," the elf smiled sweetly as she began to fade away. "Fare thee well, and take care!."

Almost as soon as she was gone, Seto moaned and his eyes flickered open…

"Kitsune?…" he asked weakly, trying to sit himself up. "What… What happened?…" He'd thought surely he would not survive that blast from the old goat with the eye!.

Nephthys laughed in relief as she helped him to his feet. "Are you alright, Anu?."

He rubbed his forehead. "I think so… What happened to that old creep in the hood, the one with the eye?."

"Akunadin?. He ran off after you were hit. For some reason, he really snapped when he saw that."

The young man shook his head in confusion. "But how did I survive?. I'm positive the old fool was aiming to kill…"

In response, she cut him off by placing a finger to his lips. "Asha and I will talk to you about that later. Right now I owe you a thanks for saving my life."

"Well, it's like I said," he turned his head away with a shrug, "I owed you, too…"

Even though his head was turned away, she could still see the faintest hint of a smile on his face…

"Come on," he said, gesturing to the exit of the temple courtyard, "Let's get out of here."

To Be continued…

(118) This deviates from the anime a bit, as we learn from Episodes 205 and 206 that Akunadin instructed his wife to move from the palace, forget about him and to tell their son that his father was a soldier killed in battle, and that Set lost his mother as a teenager, when their village was burned by bandits. However, I wanted to keep it more in step with the manga, and I thought it would be better for the story if Akunadin's wife also believed him to be dead.

(119) Heh! Recognize that?. Nephthys is behaving the exact same way while captured by Set as Megumi did while recaptured by Kanryou. Don't worry though, she won't try to kill herself!.

(120) Little rendition of Shishio's speech there!.

(121) A hint of a nod to that scene in "The Prince Of Egypt"!.

(122) That whole sequence was inspired by "The Ten Commandments"!. In fact, a small part of Nephthys was inspired slightly by the character of Nefertari in that movie!.

(123) Couldn't resist putting in this little rendition of Tea's speech. I got so furious at her when I heard her say this to insult Seto that I wanted badly to hear someone use these words to defend him, even if it's against his past self!.

(124) Just to clarify, this is meant to be a foreshadowing of sorts for Kisara's character. It isn't that Nephthys no longer cares for Set (even though feelings of romantic love, I think, were long gone by the time of the attack on the Hittite camp) or views Seto as a substitute for him, but Set has already rejected her offer of help and a possible reconcilement, thus she knows she isn't the one for him anymore (and vice versa) and that the right one may hopefully come along someday. So, in a nutshell, as far as couplings go, it's Seto/Nephthys and Set/Kisara!.

(125) Those of you who've seen the virtual realty mini-arc will know where I got this!. I figured if the Mystical Elf could bring Joey, Mai and Mokuba back to life in that VR game world, then she could bring Seto back in the ancient Egypt world!.