Holocaust of Rome, a YuGiOh! fanfic by Tsunami Storm

Chapter 1: A Forbidden Question

-Several months after 'Empire of Shadows'-

"See you tomorrow, Mokuba!" One of the young teenager's classmates called as he left the school building.

"Yeah, see you tomorrow, Takahashi-san!" The boy waved back as he walked along the sidewalk away from the institution known as high school. Walking along the edge of the road, he was looking at his feet and thus didn't notice the man standing right in front of him until he'd almost smacked into him.

"Oops! Sorry, I didn't see-" Mokuba began, but then broke off when he recognized the man. "Seth?!"

"Greetings, Mokuba." Seth answered, rewarding the teen with a warm smile.

"How come you're here? Seto was supposed to pick me up from school today." Mokuba asked, confused.

"Seto instructed me to escort you home this afternoon, as he is mired in unavoidable complications at Kaibacorp.- ones that demand his immediate attention and which just arose this morning. He sends his sincerest apologies. Hopefully, I will serve as a suitable replacement." Seth answered, joking a little bit at the end to brighten his little brother's mood.

"Seth." Mokuba chided- making a face at his oldest brother- and the man in question laughed.

"Plus, this gives me another opportunity to explore the city." Seth continued in interest. "There are things in this world that still fascinate me to no end. For example-" He mused, "-what exactly is an 'autograph'? I have been asked for one of these many times by many groups of people, and am at a loss as to what to do in these situations."

Mokuba laughed. "It's simple really. An 'autograph' is just your signature. It's usually written on a piece of paper by someone famous. All those people that asked for one mistook you for Seto. He's the one that's famous around here."

Seth nodded in comprehension. "And what is done with these pieces of paper?"

"Who knows? Some people put them in picture frames, some people tape them on their wall, put them in a scrapbook- y'know, that kinda thing." Mokuba shrugged. He didn't really know. [Nor do I, Mokie. XD Never really had one.]

"So, basically, it is a form of worship in your culture." Seth surmised, and Mokuba raised his eyebrows. That could be true. He'd never thought about it that way, but it certainly was possible.

"I guess you could look at it that way." Mokuba nodded.

"It was much the same in Egypt. The people would plead to the gods for aid- blessings, health, and so on- and they would give it, if they saw fit. Though their gifts were a little bit more long-lived than scraps of paper with a bit of ink on them." Seth commented, recalling his days in Egypt when he'd reigned as pharaoh- as Horus-incarnate- a living god among his people.

-A bit later-

As they walked back to the Kaiba mansion, they passed through the park, and Mokuba walked to the center of the lawn. "This is where it all began." He muttered, only loud enough for Seth to hear.

"I do not understand." Seth stated, confusion rising in his blue eyes once again.

"This is where Seto was- where he almost died, when Horakhty's prophecy was fulfilled." Mokuba explained and Seth nodded, remembering the events that he had witnessed. This incident had occurred over a year ago in the spring, and it was now nearly the middle of summer. In fact, the Solstice was not too far away according to the calendar back home.

"I can't believe everything that's happened since then." Mokuba breathed in disbelief. "But I guess I should expect the strange and unexpected by now, after hanging out with Yugi and those guys for so long."

"Well, my cousin always did have a- shall we say, 'talent for trouble'." Seth joked as they continued their trek home. "He and Mana would often cause Mahaad a lot of grief, albeit unintentionally. Mostly. I think they just enjoyed seeing him flustered." He laughed, his mind thousands of years and miles away in the ancient past when Atem was still a child.

"I can't imagine Atem being a troublemaker." Mokuba laughed. "He's always so serious and stoic. Always acting like a noble king."

"Yes, but that was after he had grown out of his childish pranks and antics. When he was younger, he was like you after an overdose of sugar." Seth explained, poking his little brother playfully in the arm when he'd said 'you'. Mokuba flushed in bashfulness, and Seth smiled wider. "Only, he did not calm down after a few hours. Let us just say it kept things- interesting around the palace." He laughed.

"No kidding." Mokuba laughed too, feeling slightly better about himself every time that he'd had too many sweets. Seto would often refer to him as 'Mokie-zilla'- giving him this nickname as a joke- but Mokuba would prove it to be quite apt and appropriate. As they continued their journey home, both Mokuba and Seth were stopped several times by groups of boys, girls or both begging for more autographs. Mokuba signed a few, but Seth explained that he wasn't the person they thought and weaved his way out of the crowds whenever this happened.

After they had fought their way out of the most recent 'mob', Seth turned to his kid brother, panting, "Is it always like this for you and Seto? I cannot imagine going through this every single day!" He breathed, trying to regain his strength.

"Actually, today was pretty mild. But that's the other reason we usually take the limo. It's faster, and it offers protection from the screaming fangirls. And boys. But, unfortunately, it was our chauffeur's day off, so we're just gonna hafta grin and bear it." Mokuba explained, smiling apologetically at his brother, who looked skeptical at his brother's first statement. If this was mild, he shuddered to think what a bad day would be like.

Avoiding most of the squealing crowds, the two brothers managed to make it back home with only minor scratches. Mokuba armed the front gate and- as an extra precaution- locked the front doors. He smiled at his oldest brother, who smiled back. Then they walked up the staircase to the second floor to their bedrooms, but before Mokuba entered his own, Seth gestured for him to follow him into his study and the room he shared with Kisara. Mokuba cocked his head in confusion- having never been invited into the former pharaoh's chambers- but followed excitedly anyway.

"I think it is time I showed you our room, as I have been invited into yours many times." Seth explained, opening the door wider so that his brother could enter. Mokuba gasped when he'd entered, having not expected the sight before him. The entire room was papered with drawings of hieroglyphics, and Mokuba could tell that Seth had drawn all of them himself. He touched the nearest one and discovered- to his surprise- that it was drawn on papyrus and not paper. Bookshelves and scroll-shelves lined one wall, filled with all manner of books, from fiction stories to magic books to the history of Egypt. Above the large bed hung an enormous picture of the genealogy of the pharaohs, with a few hieroglyphs painted in colors other than black. Mokuba looked at his brother quizzically when he noticed this, and Seth smiled. "The ones that are colored represent my immediate family. My father, my uncle, my cousin, myself of course- and my little sister." He grinned, his thoughts on the princess of Egypt.

"I didn't know you had a sister." Mokuba gasped, looking back at the genealogy.

"Not by blood, but I always thought of Hana as a little sister. Even as Atem saw her as his older sister." Seth explained, and Mokuba nodded. He continued to look around the room in interest, smiling at the various pictures and drawings of dragons and other Duel Monsters. He recognized Blue-Eyes White Dragon, Elf Swordsman, Critias, Curse of Dragon, Duos, Exodia, Fortress-Protecting Winged Dragon, Holy Elf, Kentauros, Minotaurus, Obelisk, Osiris, Ra, Spiria, and Souto no Jackal Senshi among the drawings, and he thought he saw Mahaad and Mana somewhere in there as well, dressed as the Black Magicians. Above the writing desk across from the bed hung a large picture of the Blue-Eyes White Dragon, hovering in the sky above a burning village. Mokuba once again adopted a confused expression and asked, "I thought Blue-Eyes was righteous in her judgment. Why is she destroying that village in this painting?"

"That is not it." Seth answered. "That painting is of my first memory of the White Dragon, when she saved my life." He explained. "This was the village where I was born and raised. I rescued Kisara from a slave-trader's camp, and they retaliated by destroying my home. No one survived that massacre but me, and that was only thanks to the White Dragon, who- as I would later learn- dwelt within the girl I had saved, the only woman I have ever truly loved with all my heart."

"So the bandits set the town on fire, and Blue-Eyes saved you by destroying them?" Mokuba asked, and Seth nodded. "After that, I made my way to the palace city, and soon became a scribe of the court- working my way up to becoming one of the pharaoh's most powerful royal priests and Bearers."

"And after that, you became pharaoh yourself." Mokuba finished, awed that this powerful king was the same man who stood next to him in companionable silence.

"Yes. I discovered that I had not lost all of my family when I was a child, and that I was of royal blood- cousin to the previous pharaoh- and thus worthy of being his successor." Seth summarized, smiling down at his youngest sibling.

Mokuba was quiet for a moment, then walked back over to the large portrait of Egypt's royal genealogy. He traced the lines between the pharaohs that he knew, but then stopped when he came to Seth's. "You had no children?" He asked, and Seth bowed his head.

"I did, but they were taken from Our world before their time- that is, before they were old enough to assume the throne." He whispered. Even after all these years, the subject was still too painful to discuss. He continued solemnly, speaking so quietly that Mokuba could barely hear him, "Of course, after Kisara gave her life for me, I knew that I could never truly love anyone as much as I had loved her, ever again. I did love my queen, and we loved our child- but it was not the same."

Mokuba fell silent again, saddened at the fate of his older 'brother'. Hang on a minute! "If you're our distant ancestor, then how does that work if none of your children survived?" He asked, confusion taking hold once again.

"I said they were taken from Our world, not that they died." Seth explained. "I guess that part was not clear. I apologize for misleading you."

"Oh. Never mind. That makes sense then." Mokuba nodded, but then he frowned. "When you say 'taken from your world', what do you mean?" He asked, but Seth didn't answer. "They weren't kidnapped, were they?" He gasped in horror.

Seth remained silent, but something in his expression told Mokuba that he'd hit the mark. Mokuba put a gentle hand on his brother's back and both of them sat down on the bed in silence, the younger comforting the elder.

-Meanwhile-

"It's not really fair, when ya tink about it." Joey commented suddenly as he, Atem, Yugi and Téa enjoyed their lunches at Burger World. The first time they had met there, Téa had been a waitress and had been held at gunpoint in a madman's twisted game. Atem- then known as the 'other Yugi'- had saved his friend by defeating the criminal in a Shadow Game [S0 E2]. Ironically, Burger World had since become the gang's favorite restaurant to get together and hang out.

"What's not really fair, Joey?" Atem asked, confused and intrigued by his friend's statement.

"Well, listen fer a minute." Joey stated, and his three friends leaned forward intently. "I mean, Yugi's got you, an' Kaiba's got Seth. My point is, how come I didn' get a double/look-alike from da ancient past like you two did? I got Hermos, but you guys each have two 'brothers in time'."

"Ah. I see what the problem is." Yugi nodded in understanding and grinned.

"You're just jealous." Téa teased, elbowing him playfully in the arm.

"Am not!" Joey argued, glaring at her, but she knew that he didn't really mean the glare.

"I believe that Seth asked this question of Sirs Timaeus and Hermos when he and Seto traveled to the Dominion to return Seto to his human form. [See 'Brothers in Time', ch. 7.] You may indeed have had a double from my time, Joey, but they would not necessarily have lived in Egypt." Atem answered, giving Joey something to think about. Suddenly the blond bent down and retrieved something from his book bag, setting it on the table and plugging a cord into the wall socket next to him under the table.

"I got my family's entire genealogy recorded on my laptop." Joey explained to his friends, who were now looking impressed. "I got everybody from Hermos' older identical brother- whose name wasn' recorded- all da way ta right now. It took a long time ta track down all da info, but I finally got it." He stated proudly.

"Funny, Joey. I've never seen you even set foot in a library before. Isn't that going against the 'tough-guy' code?" Téa teased again. Joey made a face at her, but then shook his head and turned his computer so that they all could see.

"Here's Hermos." He pointed to the very top of the genealogy. "An' here's da line dat extends from his brother's family all da way down ta me." He explained. There were thousands of names listed, but Joey had apparently painstakingly pieced together his connections to the bloodline of the Legendary Knight.

"Now Egypt was united aroun' 3000 B.C., an' dat was roughly five-thousand years ago- if we're talkin' about da twenty-first century." Joey summed up, once again surprising his friends with his knowledge of ancient history. "I had ta look up a bunch of stuff ta fill in dis genealogy. Ya tend ta pick up a few tings." Everyone nodded, and he continued. "I asked a bunch a' historians an' professionals in da field if dere were any people dat were a descendant of Hermos' brother and bore a strong resemblance to 'im- dat lived around dat time period. No one I asked could find anytin', so I about gave up hope. But den dere was dis one guy dat found sometin' promising. He lives on practically da other side a' da world, but we talked via e-mail an' Spacebook." He explained under his breath, as if he didn't want anyone else to hear. Unnecessary- as they were the only customers present at the time- but Joey had always been a little paranoid.

"What did he find, Joey?" Yugi asked in interest and excitement.

"Dat's da ting." Joey answered. "He found dis guy named Josephus. He looked exactly like Hermos, 'cept he had black hair an' red eyes. I know, I thought it sounded creepy too. Da problem is, he lived in ancient Rome, not Egypt. An' Rome was founded barely two thousand years ago. Not five."

"So, in the case of your family tree, the traits laid dormant in your bloodline for three thousand years longer than they should have. I wonder why." Atem mused, deep in thought about this conundrum.

"It's an atavism." Téa realized. Everyone looked at her, and she elaborated. "Tanaka-sensei taught us about that when we were studying genetics in Biology. Remember?" She asked her friends, but they all shook their heads.

"I tink I might'a been asleep durin' dat one." Joey answered with a sheepish smile, remembering his bad habit of sleeping through boring classes.

"I think I might've zoned out too." Yugi confessed, turning a little red in the cheeks. "That was in freshman year, wasn't it? [Likely right after 'Duelist Kingdom' and 'Adventure Land'] I was a little preoccupied with the fact that another personality existed within me. Alongside my own soul." He glanced at Atem, who had the good grace to look slightly abashed.

"I think I remember hearing about that." Atem answered, surprising the group. The 'other Yugi' rarely ever took over in the early days, unless something either caught his fancy or one of his friends was in danger. But most of the time it was both.

"An atavism is 'a reversion to something ancient or ancestral'." Atem explained, and everyone listened intently. "It is possible that a certain gene or multiple genes of an ancestor can change themselves when they are passed on to descendants. A trait can lie dormant for thousands of years, never surfacing in a child until one strong enough comes along in the line. Then the trait or traits become active in that person, changing their appearance or genetic makeup during development or even later. Most times it's harmless, but I have heard of a rare case where the personality of an ancestor was passed down to a descendant as well, and this individual acted just the same way as his distant ancestor had." [Yu Yu Hakusho reference! W00t!]

"Really?" Joey breathed, and Yugi laughed nervously. "It's a good thing that both my 'chosen' ancestors were noble at heart, then. A valiant knight- and a wise king." He grinned at Atem- who made a face at him- but then smiled back.

"Wat happened ta Kaiba, den?" Joey joked. "I mean, Critias is about as noble as ya could get, an' Seth is one a' da nicest people I know. How come Kaiba ended up bein' such a- y'know?"

"Another word for 'donkey'?" Téa asked between giggles. "Exactly." Joey laughed, feeling that the word described the gaming mogul perfectly- at least whenever they saw their friend in public.

"That would be due to his foster father, Gozaburo Kaiba." Atem growled, and Joey remembered the tycoon from their little run-in with him in the VR world. They had only been 'under his thumb' for a few hours. Joey couldn't imagine being raised by such a monster.

"From what Mokuba has told me over the years, Gozaburo took everything that was good and pure in young Seto's life and twisted it, shaping him into the man that he was when we'd first known him: [Aka Season 0.] Cold and heartless. However, because of what I did for him after our duel, [the 'Mind Crush'] and the love that Mokuba has for him, Seto has finally begun to regain his true spirit- his compassionate heart- as he has always had from when he was a small boy. You have seen it for yourselves when we are out of the public eye." Atem explained.

"Well said, Ouji." Mana nodded, walking over with a small notebook in hand and a pen in the other. "Can I interest any of you in a dessert, or are you too full from lunch?" She asked, and Atem's jaw dropped in surprise.

Téa gasped, "Mana! I didn't know you were working here!" and the teenage spellcaster rolled her eyes. "Apparently, Onii-san thinks I need a few lessons in responsibility, so he is testing me for a week to see if I can manage to hold a job." She made a face at nothing in particular, then restated her question. "So, does anything on the menu catch your eye?"

"Now dat ya mention it, I tink I'll have a banana split- extra hot fudge an' whipped cream on top." Joey requested, and Mana grinned as she scratched it down on her notepad. "And what about you guys? Anything look good?" [Y'know, as I was writing this paragraph, I just realized that I (the author) have never had a banana split before. I'll have to go remedy that ASAP!]

"Everything looks good, Mana, but the rest of us are too full." Atem laughed. "Joey's famous for being a 'bottomless pit' when it comes to food. Or should I say 'infamous'." He grinned at his friend, who scowled at the ribbing.

"Ha ha." He answered sarcastically, and Mana skipped away back to the counter to make the dessert. Bringing the subject back to their blue-eyed friend, Joey conceded, "I guess yer right 'bout Kaiba. He sure was a hero in dat craziness wid Keith an' dat 'Empire of Shadows'. Maybe I'm bein' a little too hard on 'im."

Just then Joey's laptop beeped, reminding him of what he had been doing with it. "Oh yeah! I fergot about da genealogy!" He turned back to his laptop and pressed a button to wake it up, as it had gone into 'Sleep' mode. "Like I said, I dunno why my look-alike came three thousand years after you an' Seth, but I'd be really interested in findin' out more about dis guy. I checked everywhere, but I can't find another mention of 'im. It's like all other records of 'im were destroyed fer some reason."

Atem cocked his head at this, feeling an odd sense of déjà vu. The exact same thing had happened to him. What could this 'Josephus' possibly have done that his name would be almost erased from history?

"Hey Seth?" Mokuba asked what seemed like an eternity later, but in reality was only a couple hours. Seto had come home from Kaibacorp. and was currently holed up in his study across the hall. The older man looked over at him with a kind smile, and the boy knew that Seth was no longer upset by the topic of their discussion earlier. "Can I ask you a personal question?"

Seth cocked his head for a moment, but then nodded. "Of course. What do you wish to know?" He asked, inviting the boy to speak any time that he was ready.

"I know this is gonna sound weird, but I'm curious." Mokuba began, and Seth waited. "How did you die?"

The former pharaoh raised both his eyebrows, having not expected that question. He opened his mouth, but no sound came out. He sighed and shut it again, giving his words careful thought. Finally he decided to avoid the question entirely. "Mokuba, have you ever heard the expression, 'Curiosity killed the cat'?" He smiled, but his eyes conveyed a silent warning.

"Yeah, but I'm not a cat." The boy retaliated with a grin, for a moment confusing Seth with his other brother. Seto would use that expression on him all the time, and he would always respond with the same answer.

Seth sighed again. "Remember when you and the other new Bearers returned us to this world?" He asked, trying to dodge the subject again. Mokuba nodded, confused but interested. "Hana said that we were not to speak of anything that happened on the other side. This is a commandment given to us by Lady Horakhty herself. I cannot disobey."

"I know that, but that's not what I was asking." Mokuba pressed. "I don't want to know what happened to you afterwards-" Then it dawned on him. "Oh. This question is too personal. I shouldn't have asked. Forget I said anything." He looked down at his lap in embarrassment and twiddled his thumbs.

Seth sighed a third time, a sad smile on his face. "No. You should know. Perhaps it will help you in the future." He mused thoughtfully. "The whole point of history is so that people can learn from the mistakes of the past, so they can make the future a better place."

Mokuba waited patiently and silently, knowing that this was hard for his brother. Why did I ask such a stupid question? It won't help anything, it'll only cause him more pain. Stupid, stupid, STUPID!

"I- I was-" Seth began, not able to find the right words. Finally he nodded, and Mokuba tensed. "I was murdered. By a man I called my friend, and by the woman I thought could replace my queen."

Just then a cry of pain echoed from the room across the hall, and Seth and Mokuba sprang from the bed and rushed to their brother and hikari's study. Bursting into the room, they found Seto lying on his back on the floor- his face distorted in agony, breathing wildly erratic- and his hand gripping his chest so tightly that it looked like he was trying to tear out his own heart.

End of chapter 1

Next chapter teaser: A Stitch in Time

What do people do with autographs, anyway? I've never had one, so I don't know what to write. Little help, please?

I know I say this a lot, but- Poor Seth! He's endured tragedy after tragedy in his life. At least his second chance is a little better. Oh and don't worry. The plot-line with his child will be explained.

I refer to Season 0 a lot here in Joey's section of the chapter. It's pretty good. You should watch it if you haven't already.Hint hint.

I'm not going to apologize for indirectly calling Kaiba names. He can be such an a$$ sometimes! (In the show) There. I said it.

Until next time!

God Bless!

Tsunami Storm