The Pharaoh's Champion

She shoved open the door. Her muscles burned with fatigue, but adrenaline and winds at her back carried her through.

 Freedom. The breezes flew around her, and a feeling of liberation and relief washed over her. She laughed in release, it sounded maniacal even to her own ears. Running her fingers through her hair, each strand was matted, but it didn't bother her. The sound of her pounding heart filled her ears, drowning out the angry curses Bakura still called to her from that prison. Her chest heaved at the exhilaration coursing through her veins, she felt like she could do anything.

 She could take on the world. And she will.

 There was one thing she needed to do first.

 As her body relaxed, her eyes began to focus. All around her were stairs leading all ways. Doors were everywhere, even suspended in mid-air.

 This whole place defies gravity.

 Swallowing a lump in her throat, as her eyes travelled the expanse before her, everything looked the same, every corridor, every way she looked. Where would she start?

 Her heart sank.

 Her fists clenched at her sides. Every time she thought she'd made it through, something comes and smacked her in the face. I'm so sick of it. I'm sick of feeling lost, I'm sick of not feeling in control… her head snapped up, chin tilting in defiance at the maze before her. I'm so done with being alone.

Lolling her head back, arms extended in acceptance, she concentrated her awareness on her body. Since her escape she felt different, that was for certain. Perhaps it was the adrenaline of escape, but there was something more in her veins now, she was sure of it. A tingle, an awareness, something she could find and manifest.

Searching deeper, she wiggled the tips of her fingers.

There!

Holding onto the numb tingle, she gently tried to pull it to the surface. The further she pulled, the more she realised she wasn't so much creating this power, as much as she was pulling it from a well. The further she dived, the harder the tingle became.

A low drone rumbled in her ear.

Soon she was able to bundle it in her arms, her eyes became shrouded with the glow of her power. A pure gold that any thief would dedicate their life chasing. Feeling it course through her veins, she knew what she needed to do.

First, she needed to get out of here, then she would stick true to her vow, and save The Pharaoh.

A relaxed smile spread across her face. "I love you," she declared. "Even if the fates have unravelled our destinies, I will find a way. I swear, with all of the magic running through my veins, I will find a way back to you. Each, and every time."

She dug deeper into the well of magic in her core, digging and digging, holding onto as much as she could. Her arms shuddered at the strain until, with a growl of a godly warrior, she released a force that spread in every direction.

"Eastern and Western breezes," she commanded through gritted teeth, "fill every corner of this labyrinth. Find the way out. Find me the way."

It felt like an eternity. The stone beneath her feet began to rupture under the pressure of her power. She could feel her muscles strain to their limits.

"I've found it," the grainy Western breeze called.

Sagging in relief and without a second of hesitation, she ran. A floral tail wind giving her an exhilarating burst of speed.

So this was the feeling of her true power awakening, adrenaline-fuelled speed and muscle pumping force. Like an addiction, she wondered how she had every gone without it. The walls blurred as she dashed past, following the trail of the Western breeze. Leaping up steps and bursting through doors.

The labyrinth, trying to kill her momentum, moved and changed around her. Still, her muscles pumped, her lungs grew with every breath, never faltering.

Ahead the labyrinth stretched into a deep chasm, she waited for the wind to change direction.

"Don't stop," the Eastern breeze behind her called.

"Take the leap," the Western breeze urged.

Part of her wanted to stop, her feet kept up with the momentum, but her mind wanted to hesitate. The ever-changing labyrinth did its best to make a barrier in her mind, make her feel like she couldn't do it.

No, she would trust in her friends, like every other glass ceiling she had encountered she would smash down this barrier. She would lay her life in the hands of her friends and her body, who have never betrayed her.

"If this maze defies gravity, then I shall do the same."

With a new-found determination, she picked up speed and leapt off the edge of the chasm.

The end of the chasm grew closer, and closer. Her eyes widened as she felt her momentum had slightly changed. It was then she realised that the wind was blowing down, urging her to fall into the depths below.

"Fall into the darkness, to find your light." They called.

He was her light, and she would fall into the shadow realm itself to find him.

 ****

Gritting his teeth, he thought about his next move. Bakura was trying to back him into a corner, and it was working. The hourglass tokens knocked him three steps back. It would only be a matter of time before Zorc was resurrected, or he would lose.

I believe I can still win, I just need to have faith…

 Then he pulled a card from his deck.

A mesmerising golden glow came from his DiaDhank. So pure he couldn't see the picture, or the words, but something told him he should play it.

Suddenly, as the card touched the empty slot, on the field before him, the silhouette of a woman stood from the light. As it faded, he noticed the glow soaked into her hair. Her clothes where white robes that hugged tight at her bodice and loose at the legs, freeing them for movement. Her arms and forearms were adorned with golden cuffs.

The cuffs of a warrior.

"The Pharaoh's Champion." Came whispers from an unknown audience.

My champion? His head titled as he considered her. I don't remember a champion. Yet something inside him felt comforted to see her.

She moved her body, loosening her muscles, but stilled as soon as she saw who stood before her, Bakura.

Taking her attack mode stance, she was ready.

Bakura's face was neutral, but he noticed a muscle tick in his jaw. Something about the monster he played set him off guard.

As the battled continued, his champion proved her worth, despite him not remembering her, he seemed to know her skills and utilised them well.

The battle was starting to turn, he allowed himself to release a breath he didn't realise he was holding. Until he noticed a smug look on Bakura's face.

"Something funny?" he demanded to know.

"Oh, it's just that I can tell you have gone rusty over these past thousand years."

 He growled at him from across the table.

 "Now nothing can stop me from resurrecting Zorc!" a menacing laugh resonated.

 No… he glanced at the life he had left in this game, is it all over?

 ****

 The relief of finding the Pharaoh was completed overshadowed by the monster standing before her. Not those he had summoned, but the one who was summoning them.

 Bakura came at them like a relentless storm. Battering, knocking them back and back. They had withstood it for now, but she knew they wouldn't last much longer.

 Now he was ready to summon the most evilest of beasts. One she remembered but had tried to forget. The power unleashed from the summoning would surely deplete the last of the Pharaoh's life points.

The echo of Bakura's victory lowered to a dull roar. The only sound was her beating heart. She watched an ominous glow gather and felt the impending rumble of its release.

Over her shoulder she looked at the Pharaoh, even now, his face was locked, unwilling to show his enemy emotion. She could feel his despair, like a fist crushing her soul.

 As the darkness erupted, she burst into action. Sprinting to the force now whirling its way to him. She hurled herself at the Pharaoh, wrapped her arms and legs around him in a crushing embrace.

The Pharaoh's Champion's special ability – Sacrifice.

When a single attack from a monster can deplete all remaining life points, the Champion will sacrifice themselves automatically, and be sent to the graveyard to negate the attack.

 A force hit her like a ton of bricks.

 This was a game, she knew it was, but it still didn't stop the feeling that all of her bones were breaking at once.

 She felt a pounding against her and realised it was him. He was still alive. Tearing her eyes open, she looked upon his face.

 Shock and confusion raised his brows, his eyes darting around her, trying to figure out what was happening.

 Raising a hand to cup his cheek, a feeling of lightness started to take over her.

 "Even after all this time, I can still surprise you," her face softened as the pain faded. Sparks of golden light flew around her.

No wait, those sparks were coming from her.

Suddenly, she realised it wasn't just the pain that was fading, she was fading too. Each spark taking with it a piece of herself.

"You can do this, you can beat him," as her whole being fluttered away, all that was left was the tips of her fingers, unwilling to leave his face. "My Pharaoh, my love. Atem."

With the sound of shattered glass, she was gone.