Akikaze (Autumnwind)
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Yu-Gi-Oh › Yaoi - Male/Male
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Adult +
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4
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Category:
Yu-Gi-Oh › Yaoi - Male/Male
Rating:
Adult +
Chapters:
4
Views:
1,616
Reviews:
10
Recommended:
0
Currently Reading:
0
Disclaimer:
I do not own YuGiOh!, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.
Chapter 05 - And so it begins...
CHAPTER: 5/??
DISCLAIMER: Yu-Gi-Oh! and its characters don’t belong to me. The Series would be very different if they were...Only this piece of fiction as far as the plotline and stuff goes, is mine. So don’t sue. You’ll only get an immensely high lawyer bill because I stated that this is only a piece of Fanfiction and I don’t make money with it. It’s just for fun and entertainment. Flames will be used for heating because I think that my heater’s broken yet again...
SPOILERS!!!!: Ancient Egypt Arc, Doom Saga, End of Battle City etc. (Why? I’ve watched the Anime up to Episode 186 and read the Manga up to the Chapter where Pharaoh’s Real Name was revealed and the Destiny Duel between Priest Seth(I call him that...It’s confusing if you call both of them Seto...) and the Pharaoh. So if you really mind...Don’t read. *sigh*
If questions should arise, concerning these spoilers, just drop me a review or an email and I’ll do my best in explaining things to you!
WARNINGS: Very strange grammar ‘cause I’m no native English Speaker(or writer for that fact) and chaos. And a lot of confusion concerning all the Names... Yami, Hikari, Aibou, Mou Hitori no Boku... Because I like them all I’ll just mix everything into this...But if there should be mis mistakes or misunderstandings feel free to say so! I know I’m strange. And I’m damn proud of that!
What else is to say? Oh yeah! Shonen-Ai up to mild Yaoi is to be expected in later chapters as well as mild violence, language (I try to avoid that though) and a lot of strangeness. Perhaps a little bit of HET on the side (funny how the things change over the years. I was so used to write Shonen Ai/Yaoi warnings and now everybody has to warn the people of they’re going to put in het... *g*)
PAIRINGS: Seto x Yami; Bakura x Malik; very mild Joey + Mai (only het one so far) ... We’ll see, ne? Expect lot’s of strange pairings though. On the side... Main pairing wil stay Seto x Yami and Priest Seth x Pharaoh Atemu (I call him that because as a German...I can’t bring myself to write “Atem” because it means ‘Breath’ in German...And that would be just...Odd...)
ARCHIVES: Fanfiction.net ; If you want to put this fic up onto your site please ask me!
Sign Language:
//Hikari to Yami// - e.g. Yuugi
/~ Yami to Hikari ' - e.g. Yami
/Thoughts/
“Speech”
**Ancient Egyptian** - e.g. in letters
“** Spoken Ancient Egyptian **”
Did I forget something? No? Ok...On with the fic! Please enjoy!
~*~*~*~
Chapter 05 – And so it begins...
//This feels like watching Khepri crawl into the sky from the balconies of the Royal Chambers...Or from the steps in front of the Temple...With him...So long ago...//
Everyone left the ship in a hurry and stepped onto the large Island. The port was rather small, only consisting of a few huts and a docking area. A huge crowd of people, duelists, had already gathered in front of the largest hut or house already and they were soon joined by the passengers of the Lady Mizuno who filed out of the ship and down to the dock, where they got their luggage from one of the sailors or a servant depending on their ‘class’.
After that, they walked over to where the large crowd was growing even bigger to hear or see whatever there was to be heard or seen. Most of them hoped, that they’d get more information and instructions on the tournament because the ones given to them on board of the cruise ship had been more than just vague and not enough to prepare them for the real tournament.
Their hopes were fulfilled, partially. A large board had been set up in front of the warehouse and various instructions were written on it. A man, sitting in a booth next to the board, was handing out something to the Duelists which showed him their Invitations and/or Permission Sheets to enter the Tournament. So what was written on that board?
NIDANUKA ISLAND MONSTER BATTLE TOURNAMENT
Welcome you, who have made it this far and come to the Island of Nidanuka to Battle in this Tournament. It will be slightly different than other Tournaments before, like Duelist Kingdom or Battle City. Because you won’t be battling each other in this Tournament at first but go up against a selected number of opponents, each one in his or her respective location. You don’t have to follow the numbers though, the way you choose to battle against these people doesn’t matter. The only things that matters is that you get from those people at the end of your (victorious) Duel.
If you win against the respective Place Holder you’ll get a special keycard and with a letter or a sign on it. The letters and signs are part of a Riddle which you’ll have to answer before you enter the ‘Judgement Tower’ (-> tallest building in the middle of the Island looking kinda like a rock or cliff itself so you’ll have to go look for it for a while).
You need at least 8 keycards to enter the Tower but the more the better. Because you’ll need 8 specific ones which belong together and which solve the riddle to enter. So you’re allowed to duel with other participants for their keycards as well.
Now please proceed to the booth and get the Network Chip for your DD and your map of the Island.
Opponents (if decided) and Locations are listed below (mark them on your map, if you wish):
Dungeon of Illusions – Maximillian Pegasus
Forbidden Forest – Belarien Ljoird
Isle of Myths – Shuzai Tenraku
Black Pyramid – ‘The Dark Pharaoh’
The Memorial Tower – Jay Kyoin
The Graveyard
Deep Sea Palace
...
The list went on but one particular location as well as ‘name’ caught Yami’s eye. /The Black Pyramid and The ‘Dark Pharaoh’...What in the name of Ra does that mean? Am I not the Dark Pharaoh? Has someone purposely chosen that name? No...Can’t be... Stop it, Yami...You’re getting paranoid. It’s just a ‘nickname’ to make someone more frightening and matching to the ‘Black Pyramid’./, he shook his head, clearing it from those unnecessary thoughts. But still... He couldn’t completely banish the thought from his head, that this wasn’t just a strange conscience.
He hadn’t been the only suspicious one though. Others had been startled or confused by that ‘title’ or ‘name’ as well. But like Yami, they’d just proceeded towards the booth where Seto and Yami were now. “Here is your map, Gentlemen. You may travel by car or bike, whichever suites you best. I believe that you, Mr. Kaiba, brought yours and I believe the servants told you that it, as well as both of your luggage, has been placed in the parking area right behind this buildings. Good Luck. Even though I doubt that the two of you will need mof iof it, considering both your reputation and your skill.”, he handed Yami the map and Seto the keycard to exit the parking area.
Seto turned away first and walked away, Yami and Mokuba trailing behind. “Damn ass kisser. Well then, looks like we’ll be continuing this ‘journey’ together, Yami.” He swore rarely and always forbade Mokuba to use foul language but everyone can slip sometimes, ne? Especially someone like Seto Kaiba who has to deal with workers of this kind on a regular basis. “Reminds me of KC...I think I need to replace some people of the staff yet AGAIN.”, he heaved a sigh. He hated it, to fire those people but he had to. Why did all those other firms or corporations want to take over his? Did they think it would be easy? After a dozen or over a dozen of failed tries? Seto couldn’t understand this...
Together, they walked over to the parking area and to the Silver/Blue Viper parked in the far back. It just happened to be right next to a bike Varon was just mounting with Tristan next to him. He spotted the small group immediately and waved for the others to come over. “Hey guys! Kaiba and Yuugi are here!” And no second later, the whole group had gathered around them. Or rather, around Yami since Kaiba was busying himself with checking the car and their luggage.
Joey, Varon and Duke bowed in front of the shorter teen. “We’re sorry!”, they said synchronically, which caused Yami to lift an eyebrow. “What for?”, he asked, gesturing for his friends to come up again. The blond spoke for the rest, “Because we made fun of you, yesterday and caused you trouble even though you didn’t feel well. Please forgive us.” This made the Spirit of the Puzzle smile lightly. “It’s okay. You regretted it. That’s all that matters. Isn’t it? I’m okay now.” Mai smiled and patted his head playfully. “That’s a good thing to hear. You had us all worried there, Yuugi. Especially the guys over there...They felt so guilty and worried about you that I hit every single one of them with the ball yesterday, when we were in the pool. All of them just kept zoning out. That’s why their faces look so red, by the way.” The boys blushed while Yami smirked. “Sounds like you had fun yesterday. Sorry I couldn’t be there.” Mai waved at this, “Don’t be, Yuugi! It’s not your fault. You’re fine now, that’s what counts. And we’ll definitely have fun from now on. The Tournament sounds interesting. Oh, I believe there are other people who’d like to greet you.” She stepped aside.
Raphael approached the King of Game’s then and they shook hands. “I hope for another rematch against you. This time without the whole Atlantis and Oricalos ordeal. Just a simple Duel.”, the tall, blond man smiled and Yami nodded in agreement. “Same here. I’d really like to play you again, Raphael. How have you three been? We didn’t meet again after it was all over, did we?” The taller shook his head. “No, we haven’t. Well...Varon and Amelda left together to who knows where. Ask them yourself. As for me, I’ve taken over Dartz Business [1] in the States and have been rather busy. I am spending my vacation time here.”, he told him. The red-haired former Doom Soldier added, “Varon and I traveled a bit. We’re living of small jobs every now and then. Varon being a Mechanic and me helping out in Orphanages or other Charity Institutions. But I think we’ll go back to Raphael after this Tournament to help him out a bit. And we could finally settle down somewhere.”
“Ah. We want to stay close to each other. Working together for such a long time...You kinda get used to it and miss it after a while.”, Varon agreed. He switched the topic then, “How are we going to travel now? Want to stay together or split up?” Mokuba looked over to Seto, as did Yami. The brunette just shrugged. “Do as you wish. As long as I can get some peace and quiet once in a while and can sleep at night.”, he said, slamming the trunk shut again. “The more the merrier, anyway. We’ll stay together then.”, Serenity beamed and climbed into the car, a blue Ferrari, next to Tea. Mai was driving and Joey was sitting in the seat next to her.
Mai waved them out again, though. “Sorry girls, but look over there. The ‘audience’ which was allowed to come with us will have to stay here and watch the Duelst from the large Screen. Otherwise there will be too many people.”, she pointed at a transparency which stated in bold letters: AUDIENCE THIS WAY with a large arrow to emphasize it. “Mokuba is allowed to come with us though...”, she looked at the paper in her hand where the distribution of the vehicles had been printed on.
Seto Kaiba, Yuugi Mutou and Mokuba Kaiba – Silver Viper
Raphael, Amelda, Varon – Grey Jeep
Joey Wheeler, Mai Valentine – Blue Ferrari
Duke Devlin – Black BMW Z4
Duke smiled mysteriously as to why he had a car of his own. “I’ll hullyully pick someone up along the road. The person I am looking for wasn’t among the Duelists who arrived on this side of the Island though. But I’m positive we’ll meet this person. How soon, I don’t know. So I’ll be alone for the time being. If some of you want to keep me company, just go ahead.”, was his explanation. No more questions were asked a tha that. They’d find out eventually so why bother to ask?
The drivers gathered around Mai’s Ferrari then, one of the maps spread on the hood of the car. “So, guys...Where do we go first? I’ve marked where we are already...There, on the left. We have three options from here...”, she pointed at the respective locations. Yami took out his deck and put three cards onto the map, “Let’s draw cards. The one with the lowest Attack Points will be the Forbidden Forest, the one on the middle the Isle of Myth and the one with the highest one the Deep Sea Palace. Now...” He looked at his friends and stopped at the honey blond girl. “Serenity. Pick a card please.” Nodding, the girl picked the card in the middle and Yami flipped it around. “Kuriboh. We’ll go to the Forest then.” He put the cards away again and Mai marked the location on the map, as did the other designated drivers. After this had been decided, they climbed into or onto their respective vehicles and a few seconds later the engines roared to life. “Here we go!! Bye Serenity! Tristan, Tea! Take care of her for me please!”, Joey waved his good bye. “Good Luck, big brother! I’ll be cheering for you!”, the honey blond girl waved back. Tristan nodded and Tea just looked at the departing group with a rather disappointed look. She’d wanted to go with them...[2]
About an hours drive later, they spotted the forest. It was rather large and you couldn’t see the end of it from the small hill they were on. “This Island isn’t as small as it seems. It’s definitely larger than Pegasus’. I mean...We’re not walking around, are we?”, Joey looked around. “And we ain’t the only ones who want to Duel in that Forest thing either. Better be quick. Or we’ll have to wait all day for our turn.” He didn’t know how right he was then.
When they arrived at the Dueling Arena, a large tent, they had to draw numbers to determine when they’d be able to duel. It looked like it wouldn’t be anytime soon, though. But the moment Seto and Yami stepped into the crowd to draw a number, several Duelists who’d already finished dueling approached them, challenging them. Seto smirked, when he accepted the challenge of a man of about 20 years of age. “So...The Deal is, if you win, you get to look at my entire deck and if I win I get the Keycard you already won, is this correct?”, he asked as he activated his Duel Disc. “Yes. These are the terms. Now...It’s time to duel!” Both Duelists’ LP rose to 4000 and the Duel began.
It didn’t take long until the victor was determined. And Seto hadn’t lost a single Lifepoint in the process. He was about to ask Yami to take after his example, when the crimson-eyed youth waved a Keycard at him. “I beat you to it, Seto...You took too long.”, Yami said smugly, which made Seto growl furiously. /How I wish that I could wipe that confident and smug grin from his face!!/
He was about to say something when a searing pain went through his head. /~”** You won’t be able to get more answers to your questions if you don’t duel against the people INSIDE. Not these puny, little amateur Duelists. Only if you two win against the ‘Masters’ of a Location will you get another piece of the Puzzle, which is your past... **”'
Gasping, Seto looked up again and straight at Yami who’d obviously heard the same thing. The spirit pulled himself together again and leant against a tree. “Looks like we’ll be drawing numbers like everybody else from now on.”
The day wey any and one by one, their friends either stepped into the tent or came back from a group of Duelists with a keycard in his or her hand. By the time everyone had emerged from a Duel victoriously the sun had already set and the group decided not to drive very far anymore and put up a camp somewhere. They arrived at a lake a few hours later and put up their tents.
Everyone went to sleep rather early after they’d eaten, since their next location was in sight already and they’d decided to rise early to be at the ‘Memorial Tower’ as early as possible to finish that one as soon as they could. Seto, along with Joey and Amelda, had remarked throughout the day, how unprofessionally this Tournament had been organized. “You won’t be able to gain much experience around here and the Tournament will stretch endlessly because too many people crowd in one place. I would’ve preferred one on one.”, the red-headed duelist had complained before they’d split up and gone to sleep. Joey had volunteered to take first watch. You could never know. After the attacks on the ship, something could easily happen. Especially to them since they were a large group and you could think, that nobody ’d notice if something was ‘missing’ or had happened to one of the others.
It was well past midnight when Mokuba snuck out of the tent and walked over to the tree trunk where he’d spotted Yami. “Yami...?”, he whispered but he was sure the spirit had heard him because he was close by. The crimson-eyed teen turned to him, eyes taking on a rather surprised and worried expression, “Mokuba...What are you doing up? You should be resting...” He wanted to rise but the darkhaired boy shook his head and pushed him down again, taking a seat next to him, leaning against a tree. “And you? You didn’t take second watch for nothing, did you?” This brought a small smile to Yami’s lips. /His observation skills are very good.../ And he turned towards the small lake they’d put up their camp at. “Mh...Alright, you caught me...But...There must be something bothering YOU or you wouldn’t have snuck out at this ungodly hour in the middle of the night. And don’t tell me you’re worrying about ME. I don’t deserve your concern...” Bluish-Grey eyes raised to meet dark crimson ones, glittering with a genuine sparkle of curiosity and question. “Please, Yami...Would you...Would you tell me...? About Egypt...And...What happened back then. When you were alive and when...When Nii-sama was somebody else.”, he pleaded. Yami sighed and turned his look downwards. “That’s a very, very long story, Mokuba and-” But he was interrupted. “I don’t care! Please tell me! Because I believe you...Believe what you said...Even though Seto doesn’t. I don’t know why I do. I just feel it. Deep down inside of me...That it’s right...What you told us back then, in the chopper or what Malik, Bakura and Isis always talked about. Please, I want to know...Perhaps then...I can find out what is stopping Seto from believing it.”, he stared into Yami’s eyes, not intending to look away or to surrender until Yami gave up and finally told him.
And Yami did indeed surrender to the young boy and sighed, closing his eyes and ending the staring contest. “Really...? Alright...I’ll tell you. But...I think you shouldn’t tell your brother you know about all of this or that I told you everything.” The ravenhaired boy tilted his head. “Why not?” Yami smiled, ruffling the younger ones hair. “I don’t want you to get into trouble because of me.” Mokuba was surprised to hear this. /He cares? That’s...Nice of him.../, he smiled and nodded. “Ok...I won’t tell him. I promise. So you won’t get into trouble because of this, too.”, Mokuba said, sitting back to adjust his legs into a more comfortable position since Yami had already told him it would be a rather long story. He noticed that Yami had also shifted into a more comfortable position, leaning against the nearest tree.
Settled, the former Pharaoh began with his tale, “Now...Where should I start? My memories are still not complete, many pieces of the Puzzle still missing...But I have already put some of them together at last. I’ll start off at my earliest memory then. My childhood, when I was about 3 years old or so...”
~*~
The day was warm and sunny but not as hot and humid as the other days we’d had that week and I was finally allowed to play outside in the gardens again. My education had not yet started but would soon. I’ll come to that later... Well, on that day, I went out to the gardens to my favorite spot at the Lotus Pond in the far back when the maid wasn’t paying attention. I didn’t like being watched. So I escaped. It was the ideal hiding place. I don’t know why but nobody ever thought about looking there. Almost nobody. Because when I reached the pond, there was already someone sitting there, letting his feet dangle in the cold water. I didn’t know him. But he somehow felt familiar to me.
He had lightly bronzed skin, pale for someone of our blood and for someone of our region and dark brown hair. His clothing was similar to mine, consisting of a kilt and a lot of jewelry to cover the upper part of the chest. Something like a diadem marked him as someone of the Royal Family. Someone like me, since I also wore that golden head band. I greeted him and sat down next to him and when I could look into his eyes, I thought I’d fallen into the pond. They were of the clearest blue I’d ever seen in my life. Deeper than the jewels and waters of the sea. A nice color. Kinda like the endless sky.
“Who are you?”, he asked me, of course and noticed, like I had before, the garments I was wearing. Suddenly, there was recognition in his eyes. “You’re my Cousin...The Heir of the Throne...!”
I think that’s how we met for the first time I can remember. He told me later, that he’d seen me after I’d been born. When he’d visited his aunt, my mother, with his father, my uncle.
Since that meeting, we befriended each other and a few weeks later we were nearly inseparable. We’d run circles around our tutors and teachers and hide in the garden. It was nice to have someone close my age to play with and be with. We even had the same interests, if you could say so. Seth and I became very close. More like brothers than just Cousins. We’d even started to call each other like that in secret. Because our elders wouldn’t let us in public or in the presence of others. I...I found out recently, why that must’ve been. Yuugi’s grandfather was translating an Egyptian document and had asked me for help since the letters had been very faded already. It was the word ‘brother’ but I’d never seen it in such a context before. He explained to me, that Egyptians would use either “brother” or “sister” in a different way if they were talking about their...Lovers. Back then, it wasn’t very unusual to marry someone of your own blood, someone from your own family.
But since we were only kids back then, we didn’t know that of course and we continued to call each other either by name or ‘brother’. Until we got older and...’It’ happened. My parents died suddenly in an incident I can’t recall. I can just recall how...I found myself on the throne, ruling Egypt at the mere age of 12. You, I think, can imagine how hard that must’ve been for me...Since your brother, from what I’ve pieced together up until now, has had to do something similar to that. Taking over Kaiba Corp. and all of that jazz. Ruling over an entire Kingdom is not very different from that.
Well, back to the story. I took over the throne and Seth was about to become a Priest. He stayed close by so that I had someone to lean on and for that, I was glad. The weight which was now resting upon my shoulders became too great sometimes but he always helped me up again, if I stumbled. He passed the Test to become the High Priest of Khemet and so, was by far the closest to me next to Shimon a Minister and Friend of my Father. He was the one who taught me the basics and stayed on as one of my Advisors. We did have some sort of rivalry back then, already. I’ve beaten him in every game we played from the time I learned them. But that friendly rivalry came in handy while ruling sometimes. Seth was there for me if I needed help and sometimes, or most of the time rather, if important decisions had to be made, I asked him for his opinion. We often disagreed on some points but when we talked it over we came to a compromise which turned out to be just perfect for that situation. Because it was balanced and we would complement one another since each of us thought about different facts the other perhaps hadn’t even considered.
~*~
A smile grazed Yami’s lips. “Now that I think of it...It could be compared to us today. Playing Duel Monsters. I mean...I have played more than just one Duel Double with your brother already. And it’s kinda like that. We never seem to have the same goals and strategies but in the end...Our combined forces destroyed our opponents.”, he chuckled lightly. This was kinda ironic wasn’t it?
Someone also shared these thoughts. Somebody who was lying in a tent only a few feet away from the conversation and was supposed to be sound asleep. Mokuba should really know by now, that his brother was far from being a heavy sleeper. Quite the opposite. Seto was a very light sleeper. Bad experiences and as the saying goes...Old habits die hard.
He’d heard the entire conversation loud and clearly, had sucked in the tiny bits and pieces of information Yami had provided like a sponge. More pieces of the steadily growing Puzzle. The more pieces he got the more were missing because the Puzzle was growing. He couldn’t say how large it was just yet. Only that it was too large for his liking. /Why do I let this get to me like this? I didn’t believe in it before but now that I’ve started...I can’t seem to let it go again. Seto looked outside, where he could see the two silhouettes sitting in front of their tent. /Please...Tell me more.../
Mokuba smiled. “Please continue...Perhaps you’ll come to the answer if you think about it while you talk. Just like you did now.” The crimson eyed teen sighed. “I have to disappoint you at this point. The things I remember next are from a much later time. Seth had changed then. I don’t know why. I think it happened around his 18th and my 16th Birthday. I don’t remember exactly...But it was then that...”
~*~
That one of our court meetings was interrupted. A tomb robber was dragging a mummy into the throne room with him. It was the late Pharaoh, Akunamukanon. My father. He said he sought vengeance from the Royal Family. Me. But I couldn’t remember anything which my father or I had done to enrage someone like that, since he was obviously Egyptian and not from one of the countries we’d had war with in the last years. He just laughed at me and demanded to duel me.
Well, you know, dueling back then was slightly different from dueling today. The ancient form of Duel Monsters were the Shadow Games you played in the Shadow Realm. Whoever lost a Shadow Game would be either banished forever into the eternal darkness or...Die. Die a horrible death.
My Priests, seven in total, wouldn’t allow that of course and protected me, calling their KA, the Duel Monsters resting in their soul, to battle for me. But the Tomb Robber’s KA, Diabound, was too strong for them to handle. I took over to safe their lives and crushed the Monster with the power of one of the three Gods. Obelisk the Tormentor.
After this incident, the priests were unnerved and started to train like mad. Especially Seth. But he lost himself in it and I had to guide him back to the right path again. He seemed to drift off very often and I got worried. Something was going on and I couldn’t tell what. Neither...Neither could he. I could see it in his eyes sometimes when he didn’t notice that I was looking at him. Seth was confused and in what seemed like great pain. But not physical pain. He was suffering mentally. Can you imagine how helpless I was feeling back then? Even though everyone called me the ‘Almighty Pharaoh’ I was not able to help the person I treasured most in my heart. What good were my ‘powers’ if I couldn’t do anything to ease his pain? I asked the Gods...A lot of times. But I didn’t get an answer.
Because the ‘peace’ didn’t last long. The Tomb Robber came back. He...Killed one of the Priests and took one of the Seven Millenium Items. And he wanted the rest. I chased him through the Desert on Horseback and fought him. But I lost my Millenium Puzzle and couldn’t call the Gods for help again and I was injured and weak. My Priests found me and came to aid me...To fight against the Tomb Robber and what he was about to call. Yes...he’d succeeded in getting all Seven Items and had released a power so evil and dark... It destroyed himself in the process. The evil, which had been sealed in the Millenium Items. And which...Gave them their power.
You need an equally strong evil force to gain a ‘good’ one. It’s the Power Balance of our Universe.
~*~
He sighed and hung his head, looking at the Puzzle dangling on the chain around his neck. “That’s about all I remember right now. Everything else seems like blurr to me. Fighting...Blood...Death...And Seth...Seth with his new KA...A Dragon, white and pure as Light and with cold blue eyes. Like his had turned into. They were no longer warm and caring...But icy and almost...Dead. As if he wasn’t really there anymore...His Soul. Only his body remaining.” Yami looked over the lake. “We must’ve fought back then. I saw it up on the Duel Tower when we were fighting yet again. Seto must’ve seen it too back then. Well...And the rest is from what Isis said about that Stone Tablet in the museum. But I still don’t know...Why that had happened. Why we’d fought in the first place. I want to know...I want to know why Seth changed so suddenly and...Why I met your brother here...It’s all connected, I know it.”
A sad sigh escaped his lips and he rubbed his eyelids. He’d become tired. The raven-haired youth nudged him lightly. “Go to sleep, Yami. I’ll go get Raphael to take the next watch.”, he got up and walked over to another tent and the Spirit crawled into the tent, not really paying attention on his environment anymore. Thus, he didn’t notice how Seto had hurriedly closed his eyes.
Sleep had claimed him already, when his head hit the pillow. Why he was so tired all of a sudden was a question which was to be remained unanswered.
When he’d made sure that both, Mokuba and Yami wouldn’t notice, Seto opened his eyes again and looked at the ‘ceiling’ of the tent. His mind was still swirling around what Yami had told his brother and he put the pieces into his puzzle, which slowly took shape in some places. /I’m related to him and we were close...But it changed...The reason is unknown though. Damn...This didn’t get me any further in the places I wanted to./, he heaved a sigh. /Be patient, Seto...Rome wasn’t build on one day either./
Closing his eyes again, he intended to go back to sleep when he heard someone whimper and moan in pain and his eyes flew open again. Mokuba was resting peacefully between him and Yami. But said spirit was thrashing around in his sleep, sweat running down his forehead. The puzzle around his neck was glowing faintly but the light wasn’t warm but rather cold and Seto felt himself shiver.
(Yami’s Dream)
Darkness was surrounding him. But not the warm and comforting darkness he loved to be in but cold and threatening darkness, nagging at his Soul. /Is this the Shadow Realm? But why would I be here all of a sudden?/, he looked around when his ears picked up a sound. “...i...mi...” It was faint but it grew louder. “...ami...Yami...!”, somebody was calling him! But who... “Yami! Help me! Please...Please help me! YAMI!”, a scream. A scream of pain. The voice was louder now and Yami recognized it immediately. “Yuugi! Aibou, where are you? I...I can’t see you...Where are you?”, he looked around desperately in search for his Hikari. /He’s calling me...I swore to protect him...To help him...But how can I if I can’t even see him?/ The darkness around him thickened and drowned the sound out again.
(End of Yami’s Dream)
“NO! No, Yuugi!”, Yami awoke with a start. It was still dark around him. Dark and cold. He lay down again and wrapped his arms around himself, closing his eyes again. /A nightmare.../, he curled into a ball, still feeling cold and helpless. /It was so real.../, he started when he felt someone wrapping his arm around him and wanted to look up when someone pushed him down again, gently. “Sleep, Yami. I will be here...The dream won’t come back again...Don’t worry. Get some rest...My Pharaoh. I’ll be watching over your sleep.”, the husky voice whispered into his ear. It was calming...Reassuring. And he felt sleep tugging at the edge of his mind again and it wasn’t difficult to give in again.
Dawn signalized the start of a new day and the first ones in the makeshift camp started to rise. The first ‘real’ duels would take place for both Seto and Yami today. And another piece would, hopefully, be added to their puzzles. But would they have to do to accomplish that...?
To be continued...
[1] – I’m not sure if this is true. But I believe that Dart had some kind of business or enterprise in the states during the Doom Saga...?
[2] – I’ve got several reasons as to why I’m leaving these three behind...
1.) I don’t like Tea. She annoys me...Have to get her away from Yami/Yugi
2.) Too many people. If I’d let them go with the others there’d be 11 people in total!!
3.) I’ll mention them again later...So don’t worry.
Wow, only two footnotes this time XD
~*~*~
Sorry I took so long! My muses were rather lazy the last week. Hope you like this chapter. ^^ I’ll write a Duel in the next chapter. I kinda lost my way here...Sorry ^^;; But I’m trying to get a structure into this whole thing again soon. Planning a Tournament is more difficult than I thought.
I’m only going to write the most important duels, though. Expect me to mention the other duels only randomly like in this chapter. ^.~
Read and Review please!
ShadowAndromedar
This Chapter was posted on: Monday, 23rd February 2004
DISCLAIMER: Yu-Gi-Oh! and its characters don’t belong to me. The Series would be very different if they were...Only this piece of fiction as far as the plotline and stuff goes, is mine. So don’t sue. You’ll only get an immensely high lawyer bill because I stated that this is only a piece of Fanfiction and I don’t make money with it. It’s just for fun and entertainment. Flames will be used for heating because I think that my heater’s broken yet again...
SPOILERS!!!!: Ancient Egypt Arc, Doom Saga, End of Battle City etc. (Why? I’ve watched the Anime up to Episode 186 and read the Manga up to the Chapter where Pharaoh’s Real Name was revealed and the Destiny Duel between Priest Seth(I call him that...It’s confusing if you call both of them Seto...) and the Pharaoh. So if you really mind...Don’t read. *sigh*
If questions should arise, concerning these spoilers, just drop me a review or an email and I’ll do my best in explaining things to you!
WARNINGS: Very strange grammar ‘cause I’m no native English Speaker(or writer for that fact) and chaos. And a lot of confusion concerning all the Names... Yami, Hikari, Aibou, Mou Hitori no Boku... Because I like them all I’ll just mix everything into this...But if there should be mis mistakes or misunderstandings feel free to say so! I know I’m strange. And I’m damn proud of that!
What else is to say? Oh yeah! Shonen-Ai up to mild Yaoi is to be expected in later chapters as well as mild violence, language (I try to avoid that though) and a lot of strangeness. Perhaps a little bit of HET on the side (funny how the things change over the years. I was so used to write Shonen Ai/Yaoi warnings and now everybody has to warn the people of they’re going to put in het... *g*)
PAIRINGS: Seto x Yami; Bakura x Malik; very mild Joey + Mai (only het one so far) ... We’ll see, ne? Expect lot’s of strange pairings though. On the side... Main pairing wil stay Seto x Yami and Priest Seth x Pharaoh Atemu (I call him that because as a German...I can’t bring myself to write “Atem” because it means ‘Breath’ in German...And that would be just...Odd...)
ARCHIVES: Fanfiction.net ; If you want to put this fic up onto your site please ask me!
Sign Language:
//Hikari to Yami// - e.g. Yuugi
/~ Yami to Hikari ' - e.g. Yami
/Thoughts/
“Speech”
**Ancient Egyptian** - e.g. in letters
“** Spoken Ancient Egyptian **”
Did I forget something? No? Ok...On with the fic! Please enjoy!
~*~*~*~
Chapter 05 – And so it begins...
//This feels like watching Khepri crawl into the sky from the balconies of the Royal Chambers...Or from the steps in front of the Temple...With him...So long ago...//
Everyone left the ship in a hurry and stepped onto the large Island. The port was rather small, only consisting of a few huts and a docking area. A huge crowd of people, duelists, had already gathered in front of the largest hut or house already and they were soon joined by the passengers of the Lady Mizuno who filed out of the ship and down to the dock, where they got their luggage from one of the sailors or a servant depending on their ‘class’.
After that, they walked over to where the large crowd was growing even bigger to hear or see whatever there was to be heard or seen. Most of them hoped, that they’d get more information and instructions on the tournament because the ones given to them on board of the cruise ship had been more than just vague and not enough to prepare them for the real tournament.
Their hopes were fulfilled, partially. A large board had been set up in front of the warehouse and various instructions were written on it. A man, sitting in a booth next to the board, was handing out something to the Duelists which showed him their Invitations and/or Permission Sheets to enter the Tournament. So what was written on that board?
NIDANUKA ISLAND MONSTER BATTLE TOURNAMENT
Welcome you, who have made it this far and come to the Island of Nidanuka to Battle in this Tournament. It will be slightly different than other Tournaments before, like Duelist Kingdom or Battle City. Because you won’t be battling each other in this Tournament at first but go up against a selected number of opponents, each one in his or her respective location. You don’t have to follow the numbers though, the way you choose to battle against these people doesn’t matter. The only things that matters is that you get from those people at the end of your (victorious) Duel.
If you win against the respective Place Holder you’ll get a special keycard and with a letter or a sign on it. The letters and signs are part of a Riddle which you’ll have to answer before you enter the ‘Judgement Tower’ (-> tallest building in the middle of the Island looking kinda like a rock or cliff itself so you’ll have to go look for it for a while).
You need at least 8 keycards to enter the Tower but the more the better. Because you’ll need 8 specific ones which belong together and which solve the riddle to enter. So you’re allowed to duel with other participants for their keycards as well.
Now please proceed to the booth and get the Network Chip for your DD and your map of the Island.
Opponents (if decided) and Locations are listed below (mark them on your map, if you wish):
Dungeon of Illusions – Maximillian Pegasus
Forbidden Forest – Belarien Ljoird
Isle of Myths – Shuzai Tenraku
Black Pyramid – ‘The Dark Pharaoh’
The Memorial Tower – Jay Kyoin
The Graveyard
Deep Sea Palace
...
The list went on but one particular location as well as ‘name’ caught Yami’s eye. /The Black Pyramid and The ‘Dark Pharaoh’...What in the name of Ra does that mean? Am I not the Dark Pharaoh? Has someone purposely chosen that name? No...Can’t be... Stop it, Yami...You’re getting paranoid. It’s just a ‘nickname’ to make someone more frightening and matching to the ‘Black Pyramid’./, he shook his head, clearing it from those unnecessary thoughts. But still... He couldn’t completely banish the thought from his head, that this wasn’t just a strange conscience.
He hadn’t been the only suspicious one though. Others had been startled or confused by that ‘title’ or ‘name’ as well. But like Yami, they’d just proceeded towards the booth where Seto and Yami were now. “Here is your map, Gentlemen. You may travel by car or bike, whichever suites you best. I believe that you, Mr. Kaiba, brought yours and I believe the servants told you that it, as well as both of your luggage, has been placed in the parking area right behind this buildings. Good Luck. Even though I doubt that the two of you will need mof iof it, considering both your reputation and your skill.”, he handed Yami the map and Seto the keycard to exit the parking area.
Seto turned away first and walked away, Yami and Mokuba trailing behind. “Damn ass kisser. Well then, looks like we’ll be continuing this ‘journey’ together, Yami.” He swore rarely and always forbade Mokuba to use foul language but everyone can slip sometimes, ne? Especially someone like Seto Kaiba who has to deal with workers of this kind on a regular basis. “Reminds me of KC...I think I need to replace some people of the staff yet AGAIN.”, he heaved a sigh. He hated it, to fire those people but he had to. Why did all those other firms or corporations want to take over his? Did they think it would be easy? After a dozen or over a dozen of failed tries? Seto couldn’t understand this...
Together, they walked over to the parking area and to the Silver/Blue Viper parked in the far back. It just happened to be right next to a bike Varon was just mounting with Tristan next to him. He spotted the small group immediately and waved for the others to come over. “Hey guys! Kaiba and Yuugi are here!” And no second later, the whole group had gathered around them. Or rather, around Yami since Kaiba was busying himself with checking the car and their luggage.
Joey, Varon and Duke bowed in front of the shorter teen. “We’re sorry!”, they said synchronically, which caused Yami to lift an eyebrow. “What for?”, he asked, gesturing for his friends to come up again. The blond spoke for the rest, “Because we made fun of you, yesterday and caused you trouble even though you didn’t feel well. Please forgive us.” This made the Spirit of the Puzzle smile lightly. “It’s okay. You regretted it. That’s all that matters. Isn’t it? I’m okay now.” Mai smiled and patted his head playfully. “That’s a good thing to hear. You had us all worried there, Yuugi. Especially the guys over there...They felt so guilty and worried about you that I hit every single one of them with the ball yesterday, when we were in the pool. All of them just kept zoning out. That’s why their faces look so red, by the way.” The boys blushed while Yami smirked. “Sounds like you had fun yesterday. Sorry I couldn’t be there.” Mai waved at this, “Don’t be, Yuugi! It’s not your fault. You’re fine now, that’s what counts. And we’ll definitely have fun from now on. The Tournament sounds interesting. Oh, I believe there are other people who’d like to greet you.” She stepped aside.
Raphael approached the King of Game’s then and they shook hands. “I hope for another rematch against you. This time without the whole Atlantis and Oricalos ordeal. Just a simple Duel.”, the tall, blond man smiled and Yami nodded in agreement. “Same here. I’d really like to play you again, Raphael. How have you three been? We didn’t meet again after it was all over, did we?” The taller shook his head. “No, we haven’t. Well...Varon and Amelda left together to who knows where. Ask them yourself. As for me, I’ve taken over Dartz Business [1] in the States and have been rather busy. I am spending my vacation time here.”, he told him. The red-haired former Doom Soldier added, “Varon and I traveled a bit. We’re living of small jobs every now and then. Varon being a Mechanic and me helping out in Orphanages or other Charity Institutions. But I think we’ll go back to Raphael after this Tournament to help him out a bit. And we could finally settle down somewhere.”
“Ah. We want to stay close to each other. Working together for such a long time...You kinda get used to it and miss it after a while.”, Varon agreed. He switched the topic then, “How are we going to travel now? Want to stay together or split up?” Mokuba looked over to Seto, as did Yami. The brunette just shrugged. “Do as you wish. As long as I can get some peace and quiet once in a while and can sleep at night.”, he said, slamming the trunk shut again. “The more the merrier, anyway. We’ll stay together then.”, Serenity beamed and climbed into the car, a blue Ferrari, next to Tea. Mai was driving and Joey was sitting in the seat next to her.
Mai waved them out again, though. “Sorry girls, but look over there. The ‘audience’ which was allowed to come with us will have to stay here and watch the Duelst from the large Screen. Otherwise there will be too many people.”, she pointed at a transparency which stated in bold letters: AUDIENCE THIS WAY with a large arrow to emphasize it. “Mokuba is allowed to come with us though...”, she looked at the paper in her hand where the distribution of the vehicles had been printed on.
Seto Kaiba, Yuugi Mutou and Mokuba Kaiba – Silver Viper
Raphael, Amelda, Varon – Grey Jeep
Joey Wheeler, Mai Valentine – Blue Ferrari
Duke Devlin – Black BMW Z4
Duke smiled mysteriously as to why he had a car of his own. “I’ll hullyully pick someone up along the road. The person I am looking for wasn’t among the Duelists who arrived on this side of the Island though. But I’m positive we’ll meet this person. How soon, I don’t know. So I’ll be alone for the time being. If some of you want to keep me company, just go ahead.”, was his explanation. No more questions were asked a tha that. They’d find out eventually so why bother to ask?
The drivers gathered around Mai’s Ferrari then, one of the maps spread on the hood of the car. “So, guys...Where do we go first? I’ve marked where we are already...There, on the left. We have three options from here...”, she pointed at the respective locations. Yami took out his deck and put three cards onto the map, “Let’s draw cards. The one with the lowest Attack Points will be the Forbidden Forest, the one on the middle the Isle of Myth and the one with the highest one the Deep Sea Palace. Now...” He looked at his friends and stopped at the honey blond girl. “Serenity. Pick a card please.” Nodding, the girl picked the card in the middle and Yami flipped it around. “Kuriboh. We’ll go to the Forest then.” He put the cards away again and Mai marked the location on the map, as did the other designated drivers. After this had been decided, they climbed into or onto their respective vehicles and a few seconds later the engines roared to life. “Here we go!! Bye Serenity! Tristan, Tea! Take care of her for me please!”, Joey waved his good bye. “Good Luck, big brother! I’ll be cheering for you!”, the honey blond girl waved back. Tristan nodded and Tea just looked at the departing group with a rather disappointed look. She’d wanted to go with them...[2]
About an hours drive later, they spotted the forest. It was rather large and you couldn’t see the end of it from the small hill they were on. “This Island isn’t as small as it seems. It’s definitely larger than Pegasus’. I mean...We’re not walking around, are we?”, Joey looked around. “And we ain’t the only ones who want to Duel in that Forest thing either. Better be quick. Or we’ll have to wait all day for our turn.” He didn’t know how right he was then.
When they arrived at the Dueling Arena, a large tent, they had to draw numbers to determine when they’d be able to duel. It looked like it wouldn’t be anytime soon, though. But the moment Seto and Yami stepped into the crowd to draw a number, several Duelists who’d already finished dueling approached them, challenging them. Seto smirked, when he accepted the challenge of a man of about 20 years of age. “So...The Deal is, if you win, you get to look at my entire deck and if I win I get the Keycard you already won, is this correct?”, he asked as he activated his Duel Disc. “Yes. These are the terms. Now...It’s time to duel!” Both Duelists’ LP rose to 4000 and the Duel began.
It didn’t take long until the victor was determined. And Seto hadn’t lost a single Lifepoint in the process. He was about to ask Yami to take after his example, when the crimson-eyed youth waved a Keycard at him. “I beat you to it, Seto...You took too long.”, Yami said smugly, which made Seto growl furiously. /How I wish that I could wipe that confident and smug grin from his face!!/
He was about to say something when a searing pain went through his head. /~”** You won’t be able to get more answers to your questions if you don’t duel against the people INSIDE. Not these puny, little amateur Duelists. Only if you two win against the ‘Masters’ of a Location will you get another piece of the Puzzle, which is your past... **”'
Gasping, Seto looked up again and straight at Yami who’d obviously heard the same thing. The spirit pulled himself together again and leant against a tree. “Looks like we’ll be drawing numbers like everybody else from now on.”
The day wey any and one by one, their friends either stepped into the tent or came back from a group of Duelists with a keycard in his or her hand. By the time everyone had emerged from a Duel victoriously the sun had already set and the group decided not to drive very far anymore and put up a camp somewhere. They arrived at a lake a few hours later and put up their tents.
Everyone went to sleep rather early after they’d eaten, since their next location was in sight already and they’d decided to rise early to be at the ‘Memorial Tower’ as early as possible to finish that one as soon as they could. Seto, along with Joey and Amelda, had remarked throughout the day, how unprofessionally this Tournament had been organized. “You won’t be able to gain much experience around here and the Tournament will stretch endlessly because too many people crowd in one place. I would’ve preferred one on one.”, the red-headed duelist had complained before they’d split up and gone to sleep. Joey had volunteered to take first watch. You could never know. After the attacks on the ship, something could easily happen. Especially to them since they were a large group and you could think, that nobody ’d notice if something was ‘missing’ or had happened to one of the others.
It was well past midnight when Mokuba snuck out of the tent and walked over to the tree trunk where he’d spotted Yami. “Yami...?”, he whispered but he was sure the spirit had heard him because he was close by. The crimson-eyed teen turned to him, eyes taking on a rather surprised and worried expression, “Mokuba...What are you doing up? You should be resting...” He wanted to rise but the darkhaired boy shook his head and pushed him down again, taking a seat next to him, leaning against a tree. “And you? You didn’t take second watch for nothing, did you?” This brought a small smile to Yami’s lips. /His observation skills are very good.../ And he turned towards the small lake they’d put up their camp at. “Mh...Alright, you caught me...But...There must be something bothering YOU or you wouldn’t have snuck out at this ungodly hour in the middle of the night. And don’t tell me you’re worrying about ME. I don’t deserve your concern...” Bluish-Grey eyes raised to meet dark crimson ones, glittering with a genuine sparkle of curiosity and question. “Please, Yami...Would you...Would you tell me...? About Egypt...And...What happened back then. When you were alive and when...When Nii-sama was somebody else.”, he pleaded. Yami sighed and turned his look downwards. “That’s a very, very long story, Mokuba and-” But he was interrupted. “I don’t care! Please tell me! Because I believe you...Believe what you said...Even though Seto doesn’t. I don’t know why I do. I just feel it. Deep down inside of me...That it’s right...What you told us back then, in the chopper or what Malik, Bakura and Isis always talked about. Please, I want to know...Perhaps then...I can find out what is stopping Seto from believing it.”, he stared into Yami’s eyes, not intending to look away or to surrender until Yami gave up and finally told him.
And Yami did indeed surrender to the young boy and sighed, closing his eyes and ending the staring contest. “Really...? Alright...I’ll tell you. But...I think you shouldn’t tell your brother you know about all of this or that I told you everything.” The ravenhaired boy tilted his head. “Why not?” Yami smiled, ruffling the younger ones hair. “I don’t want you to get into trouble because of me.” Mokuba was surprised to hear this. /He cares? That’s...Nice of him.../, he smiled and nodded. “Ok...I won’t tell him. I promise. So you won’t get into trouble because of this, too.”, Mokuba said, sitting back to adjust his legs into a more comfortable position since Yami had already told him it would be a rather long story. He noticed that Yami had also shifted into a more comfortable position, leaning against the nearest tree.
Settled, the former Pharaoh began with his tale, “Now...Where should I start? My memories are still not complete, many pieces of the Puzzle still missing...But I have already put some of them together at last. I’ll start off at my earliest memory then. My childhood, when I was about 3 years old or so...”
~*~
The day was warm and sunny but not as hot and humid as the other days we’d had that week and I was finally allowed to play outside in the gardens again. My education had not yet started but would soon. I’ll come to that later... Well, on that day, I went out to the gardens to my favorite spot at the Lotus Pond in the far back when the maid wasn’t paying attention. I didn’t like being watched. So I escaped. It was the ideal hiding place. I don’t know why but nobody ever thought about looking there. Almost nobody. Because when I reached the pond, there was already someone sitting there, letting his feet dangle in the cold water. I didn’t know him. But he somehow felt familiar to me.
He had lightly bronzed skin, pale for someone of our blood and for someone of our region and dark brown hair. His clothing was similar to mine, consisting of a kilt and a lot of jewelry to cover the upper part of the chest. Something like a diadem marked him as someone of the Royal Family. Someone like me, since I also wore that golden head band. I greeted him and sat down next to him and when I could look into his eyes, I thought I’d fallen into the pond. They were of the clearest blue I’d ever seen in my life. Deeper than the jewels and waters of the sea. A nice color. Kinda like the endless sky.
“Who are you?”, he asked me, of course and noticed, like I had before, the garments I was wearing. Suddenly, there was recognition in his eyes. “You’re my Cousin...The Heir of the Throne...!”
I think that’s how we met for the first time I can remember. He told me later, that he’d seen me after I’d been born. When he’d visited his aunt, my mother, with his father, my uncle.
Since that meeting, we befriended each other and a few weeks later we were nearly inseparable. We’d run circles around our tutors and teachers and hide in the garden. It was nice to have someone close my age to play with and be with. We even had the same interests, if you could say so. Seth and I became very close. More like brothers than just Cousins. We’d even started to call each other like that in secret. Because our elders wouldn’t let us in public or in the presence of others. I...I found out recently, why that must’ve been. Yuugi’s grandfather was translating an Egyptian document and had asked me for help since the letters had been very faded already. It was the word ‘brother’ but I’d never seen it in such a context before. He explained to me, that Egyptians would use either “brother” or “sister” in a different way if they were talking about their...Lovers. Back then, it wasn’t very unusual to marry someone of your own blood, someone from your own family.
But since we were only kids back then, we didn’t know that of course and we continued to call each other either by name or ‘brother’. Until we got older and...’It’ happened. My parents died suddenly in an incident I can’t recall. I can just recall how...I found myself on the throne, ruling Egypt at the mere age of 12. You, I think, can imagine how hard that must’ve been for me...Since your brother, from what I’ve pieced together up until now, has had to do something similar to that. Taking over Kaiba Corp. and all of that jazz. Ruling over an entire Kingdom is not very different from that.
Well, back to the story. I took over the throne and Seth was about to become a Priest. He stayed close by so that I had someone to lean on and for that, I was glad. The weight which was now resting upon my shoulders became too great sometimes but he always helped me up again, if I stumbled. He passed the Test to become the High Priest of Khemet and so, was by far the closest to me next to Shimon a Minister and Friend of my Father. He was the one who taught me the basics and stayed on as one of my Advisors. We did have some sort of rivalry back then, already. I’ve beaten him in every game we played from the time I learned them. But that friendly rivalry came in handy while ruling sometimes. Seth was there for me if I needed help and sometimes, or most of the time rather, if important decisions had to be made, I asked him for his opinion. We often disagreed on some points but when we talked it over we came to a compromise which turned out to be just perfect for that situation. Because it was balanced and we would complement one another since each of us thought about different facts the other perhaps hadn’t even considered.
~*~
A smile grazed Yami’s lips. “Now that I think of it...It could be compared to us today. Playing Duel Monsters. I mean...I have played more than just one Duel Double with your brother already. And it’s kinda like that. We never seem to have the same goals and strategies but in the end...Our combined forces destroyed our opponents.”, he chuckled lightly. This was kinda ironic wasn’t it?
Someone also shared these thoughts. Somebody who was lying in a tent only a few feet away from the conversation and was supposed to be sound asleep. Mokuba should really know by now, that his brother was far from being a heavy sleeper. Quite the opposite. Seto was a very light sleeper. Bad experiences and as the saying goes...Old habits die hard.
He’d heard the entire conversation loud and clearly, had sucked in the tiny bits and pieces of information Yami had provided like a sponge. More pieces of the steadily growing Puzzle. The more pieces he got the more were missing because the Puzzle was growing. He couldn’t say how large it was just yet. Only that it was too large for his liking. /Why do I let this get to me like this? I didn’t believe in it before but now that I’ve started...I can’t seem to let it go again. Seto looked outside, where he could see the two silhouettes sitting in front of their tent. /Please...Tell me more.../
Mokuba smiled. “Please continue...Perhaps you’ll come to the answer if you think about it while you talk. Just like you did now.” The crimson eyed teen sighed. “I have to disappoint you at this point. The things I remember next are from a much later time. Seth had changed then. I don’t know why. I think it happened around his 18th and my 16th Birthday. I don’t remember exactly...But it was then that...”
~*~
That one of our court meetings was interrupted. A tomb robber was dragging a mummy into the throne room with him. It was the late Pharaoh, Akunamukanon. My father. He said he sought vengeance from the Royal Family. Me. But I couldn’t remember anything which my father or I had done to enrage someone like that, since he was obviously Egyptian and not from one of the countries we’d had war with in the last years. He just laughed at me and demanded to duel me.
Well, you know, dueling back then was slightly different from dueling today. The ancient form of Duel Monsters were the Shadow Games you played in the Shadow Realm. Whoever lost a Shadow Game would be either banished forever into the eternal darkness or...Die. Die a horrible death.
My Priests, seven in total, wouldn’t allow that of course and protected me, calling their KA, the Duel Monsters resting in their soul, to battle for me. But the Tomb Robber’s KA, Diabound, was too strong for them to handle. I took over to safe their lives and crushed the Monster with the power of one of the three Gods. Obelisk the Tormentor.
After this incident, the priests were unnerved and started to train like mad. Especially Seth. But he lost himself in it and I had to guide him back to the right path again. He seemed to drift off very often and I got worried. Something was going on and I couldn’t tell what. Neither...Neither could he. I could see it in his eyes sometimes when he didn’t notice that I was looking at him. Seth was confused and in what seemed like great pain. But not physical pain. He was suffering mentally. Can you imagine how helpless I was feeling back then? Even though everyone called me the ‘Almighty Pharaoh’ I was not able to help the person I treasured most in my heart. What good were my ‘powers’ if I couldn’t do anything to ease his pain? I asked the Gods...A lot of times. But I didn’t get an answer.
Because the ‘peace’ didn’t last long. The Tomb Robber came back. He...Killed one of the Priests and took one of the Seven Millenium Items. And he wanted the rest. I chased him through the Desert on Horseback and fought him. But I lost my Millenium Puzzle and couldn’t call the Gods for help again and I was injured and weak. My Priests found me and came to aid me...To fight against the Tomb Robber and what he was about to call. Yes...he’d succeeded in getting all Seven Items and had released a power so evil and dark... It destroyed himself in the process. The evil, which had been sealed in the Millenium Items. And which...Gave them their power.
You need an equally strong evil force to gain a ‘good’ one. It’s the Power Balance of our Universe.
~*~
He sighed and hung his head, looking at the Puzzle dangling on the chain around his neck. “That’s about all I remember right now. Everything else seems like blurr to me. Fighting...Blood...Death...And Seth...Seth with his new KA...A Dragon, white and pure as Light and with cold blue eyes. Like his had turned into. They were no longer warm and caring...But icy and almost...Dead. As if he wasn’t really there anymore...His Soul. Only his body remaining.” Yami looked over the lake. “We must’ve fought back then. I saw it up on the Duel Tower when we were fighting yet again. Seto must’ve seen it too back then. Well...And the rest is from what Isis said about that Stone Tablet in the museum. But I still don’t know...Why that had happened. Why we’d fought in the first place. I want to know...I want to know why Seth changed so suddenly and...Why I met your brother here...It’s all connected, I know it.”
A sad sigh escaped his lips and he rubbed his eyelids. He’d become tired. The raven-haired youth nudged him lightly. “Go to sleep, Yami. I’ll go get Raphael to take the next watch.”, he got up and walked over to another tent and the Spirit crawled into the tent, not really paying attention on his environment anymore. Thus, he didn’t notice how Seto had hurriedly closed his eyes.
Sleep had claimed him already, when his head hit the pillow. Why he was so tired all of a sudden was a question which was to be remained unanswered.
When he’d made sure that both, Mokuba and Yami wouldn’t notice, Seto opened his eyes again and looked at the ‘ceiling’ of the tent. His mind was still swirling around what Yami had told his brother and he put the pieces into his puzzle, which slowly took shape in some places. /I’m related to him and we were close...But it changed...The reason is unknown though. Damn...This didn’t get me any further in the places I wanted to./, he heaved a sigh. /Be patient, Seto...Rome wasn’t build on one day either./
Closing his eyes again, he intended to go back to sleep when he heard someone whimper and moan in pain and his eyes flew open again. Mokuba was resting peacefully between him and Yami. But said spirit was thrashing around in his sleep, sweat running down his forehead. The puzzle around his neck was glowing faintly but the light wasn’t warm but rather cold and Seto felt himself shiver.
(Yami’s Dream)
Darkness was surrounding him. But not the warm and comforting darkness he loved to be in but cold and threatening darkness, nagging at his Soul. /Is this the Shadow Realm? But why would I be here all of a sudden?/, he looked around when his ears picked up a sound. “...i...mi...” It was faint but it grew louder. “...ami...Yami...!”, somebody was calling him! But who... “Yami! Help me! Please...Please help me! YAMI!”, a scream. A scream of pain. The voice was louder now and Yami recognized it immediately. “Yuugi! Aibou, where are you? I...I can’t see you...Where are you?”, he looked around desperately in search for his Hikari. /He’s calling me...I swore to protect him...To help him...But how can I if I can’t even see him?/ The darkness around him thickened and drowned the sound out again.
(End of Yami’s Dream)
“NO! No, Yuugi!”, Yami awoke with a start. It was still dark around him. Dark and cold. He lay down again and wrapped his arms around himself, closing his eyes again. /A nightmare.../, he curled into a ball, still feeling cold and helpless. /It was so real.../, he started when he felt someone wrapping his arm around him and wanted to look up when someone pushed him down again, gently. “Sleep, Yami. I will be here...The dream won’t come back again...Don’t worry. Get some rest...My Pharaoh. I’ll be watching over your sleep.”, the husky voice whispered into his ear. It was calming...Reassuring. And he felt sleep tugging at the edge of his mind again and it wasn’t difficult to give in again.
Dawn signalized the start of a new day and the first ones in the makeshift camp started to rise. The first ‘real’ duels would take place for both Seto and Yami today. And another piece would, hopefully, be added to their puzzles. But would they have to do to accomplish that...?
To be continued...
[1] – I’m not sure if this is true. But I believe that Dart had some kind of business or enterprise in the states during the Doom Saga...?
[2] – I’ve got several reasons as to why I’m leaving these three behind...
1.) I don’t like Tea. She annoys me...Have to get her away from Yami/Yugi
2.) Too many people. If I’d let them go with the others there’d be 11 people in total!!
3.) I’ll mention them again later...So don’t worry.
Wow, only two footnotes this time XD
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Sorry I took so long! My muses were rather lazy the last week. Hope you like this chapter. ^^ I’ll write a Duel in the next chapter. I kinda lost my way here...Sorry ^^;; But I’m trying to get a structure into this whole thing again soon. Planning a Tournament is more difficult than I thought.
I’m only going to write the most important duels, though. Expect me to mention the other duels only randomly like in this chapter. ^.~
Read and Review please!
ShadowAndromedar
This Chapter was posted on: Monday, 23rd February 2004