The desert wind lifted his hair, cool fingers of air tuning along his sweat-dampened scalp. He had trained for this launch on an astronaut's program, and still the soft suck of the sand step after step made his calves burn. The sun was hot on his skin, on his leather-clad legs, but it wasn't oppressive. He felt gilt, heated from the inside out by the kiss of this unnaturally golden light. It was a bracing light, it felt like the touch of his mother's hand between his shoulder blades in that similarly gilt memory from long ago.
A spire peeked up from the horizon and he tightened all over, then forcibly relaxed. It was as close to giddy as he'd ever felt, and he wondered how his body was handling the dimensional shift. It was the prototypical journey of the premier project of his life. The giddy numbness ebbed and he called on his deepest sense of self and felt whole again.
He came upon the wide veranda with its statues and its garden enclaves and for a moment his singular focus was broken by the splendor of it all. He gazed down at his own luminescent body, caught between the familiar scent of palace incense and flowering shrubs and the incongruity of his quantum fiber bodysuit. He felt a liminal melancholy pass over the fire burning up from the base of his spine as he saw through the far entranceway a great hall, and beyond it, cast by the distance in miniature, the throne room.
He passed through one and then another entryway along a splendid carpet until he was in the antechamber where two men in robes appraised him calmly. The one with long hair smiled, said "Seto," the other one simply nodded, and he felt a deep comfort. He was known here.
The men stepped aside as he walked through, through the final door to the throne room. There, sitting back, straight spine and legs splayed and arms calmly resting so that the throne and the crown and his posture draped the young king in a powerful poise, was Atem.
Atem's eyes narrowed slightly as one corner of his lips curled gently up. Something crackled inside Seto and he instinctively brought up his disk-bearing arm.
"Kaiba. At last."
"Nii-sama."
Mokuba's disembodied face hovered above him for a moment before the rest of his vision returned to him. Mokuba looked tired, red-eyed and a little disheveled. He's already outgrowing his suit, Seto thought with a faint smile.
He willed his body up out of the launch pod and swung his long legs around, waiting for a moment for the feeling to return to his feet.
"Obviously, recovery was successful. We found you six miles south of the burial site. No external damage to the launch pod that we can determine yet. Monitoring is functional, we're downloading the mission data for analysis now."
That was good news. He was grateful to be alone with Mokuba in the mobile lab of the research jet, though he was sure the entire recovery team must be waiting outside for Mokuba's word.
"Mission time stamp?" He said with some difficulty.
"Nii-sama, you've been gone for five days."
He checked through his own vitals on the pod's monitor. He was dehydrated and electrolyte deficient but otherwise healthy. He stood but faltered and Mokuba caught him around the waist. Mokuba helped him down on one knee and held him up by the shoulders. When the ringing in his ears subsided he grabbed his little brother in a fierce hug, something that surprised the both of them.
"Nii-sama."
"Call Mutou Yugi. Arrange a meeting for when we return to Domino HQ."
Mokuba smiled into his brother's wide but trembling shoulders. He made a mental note: Test launch successful.
The phone rang at Kame Games.
"Mokuba! What a pleasant surprise."
Sugoroku smiled at the genuine sentiment in his grandson's voice. The growth and success he saw come so easily to his grandson over the past year was colored by grief that Yugi hid well, but not from him. Sugoroku was glad for every genuine smile that came to that face that was looking older and more tempered by the world every day.
"Yes, of course. That's fine by me. Yes thank you, I'll see you then. Please give him my regards."
Sugoroku was glad—it sounded like Kaiba Corp had a new product for Yugi to test. He balanced his unease at anything having to do with Kaiba by imagining what sales he might make six or eight months from now when whatever it was debuted. Plus, testing new games always seemed to cheer Yugi up, at least while he was actively consulting on it.
"New project?"
"I'm not sure. Mokuba is using confidentiality procedures, I can tell. He sounded drained. It could be a recall."
Yugi was still looking down at the phone receiver. He had a far-off look in his eyes, and with his head bowed like that Sugoroku knew he was thinking of more than just his consulting job.
"You had another dream about him, didn't you?"
"Mmm."
The private but grief-filled smile hit Sugoroku in a deep place.
"It's inventory day tomorrow. What do you say we close early and get some dinner? The diner has a burger special. We could go pick up the forms for the next round of drafts on the way back."
Yugi touched him on the shoulder and smiled his opaque closed-eye smile.
"Mokuba has already pre-registered me for the next two quarters of regionals and nationals qualifiers. This silent sponsorship clause is pretty great."
"Hmmmmmm." Sugoroku fluffed his beard.
"Plus, Jounouchi is going to come by after work later, I think we're going to test our auxiliary decks tonight." Sugoroku just looked at him with a slight frown and Yugi added,
"Jii-chan, I'm fine. Really!" And then smiled a genuine smile.
"Okay, okay. Well why don't you go on along either way. I can finish up here."
"Thank you, Jii-chan."
Yugi went upstairs to change. He flopped down on his bed and looked up at the angled ceiling, where he'd tacked his last four tournament ribbons and some pictures of his friends. There was one group photo in the middle of him with all of his closest friends, only it wasn't him, it was him. His hand hovered over his stomach by reflex, an empty space where the puzzle used to be. He sighed, forced a smile to his face and rolled over. He buried his face in his pillow and thought about screaming, just to blow off some steam. He was feeling bluer than usual after last night's dream, and from the sound of Mokuba's voice they would have a lot of work to do coming up.
He liked his job at Kaiba Corp. He made enough money between tournament prizes and working at the shop to get by, but on top of Kaiba's generous salary and the myriad perks of being a KC Sponsored Duelist—their premier sponsored duelist—he really did enjoy testing out all the games and technology they threw at him in R & D. Pro dueling was a condition of his contract, which Kaiba had hand delivered to him not long after the battle with Diva.
Kaiba had stood there, obstinate but quiet, arms folded across his chest, height and breadth of shoulders and ostentatious white coat taking up an inordinate amount of space in Kame Games while Yugi read and then signed the lengthy contract.
He'd given Yugi a modest budget and access to design and fabrication resources to produce his own games. It was the foundation Yugi had been looking for, a chance to make something new to give to the world, to make people happy.
"Yugi, you're the only duelist in the world who can beat me in my current state. I haven't forgotten that. Until the time comes to settle our rivalry, you fight for me now. I expect you to help me change the flow of history."
Yugi had grown to trust his powerful instincts, and his instincts told him to work with Kaiba. The distraction of meeting Kaiba's great expectations had gotten him through the difficulty of separation from—his other self.
He'd also been given lifetime access to the complete library of KC educational resources. This was a perk of his short but apparently pivotal input into the structure and curriculum of the near-completed Duel Academy. He was using his access to learn some computer programming and some foreign languages. He tried out Greek, Aramaic, Coptic and Demotic—the latter two being the only one he seemed to have a real aptitude for, whatever that meant.
He wanted to read ancient religious texts. He never thought of himself as book smart, but languages and ancient poems were puzzles, and puzzles were his specialty.
"Yoooo, Yugi!" Jounouchi called from downstairs.
"Come on up!" He yelled down. He hopped up and grabbed his deck case, then went down to the living room to meet Jounouchi.
They bumped fists and grinned, then plopped down on the couch. Jounouchi pulled a six pack of cans out of his bag.
"Hehe, special delivery." He said, tossing Yugi a can.
"Where did you get these!" Yugi said, looking around sheepishly before he cracked a can, even though he knew no one else was home.
"I figured you could use one. Or two, or three, right?" Jounouchi said, cracking his own.
They clinked cans and took long sips and then sighed in unison, and Jounouchi plopped his socked feet up on the coffee table.
"I'm so beat, I can't believe it's only Wednesday." He said.
"You working doubles the next four days again?"
Jounouchi took a long swig and nodded. "I'm gonna pay my registration fees for this quarter up front this time. I think it'll be easier that way."
"I'm seeing Mokuba tomorrow, I'll talk to him about getting you sponsored if you want."
"Aaaaaabsolutely not. If I'm going to make it to nationals this year, it's not going to have anything to do with Kaiba. No. I'm going to do it by my own hands like I always have."
"Jounouchi."
Jounouchi punched him on the shoulder and grinned. "But thank you, Yugi. So what's up, they have another game for you to run?"
"I'm not sure. I'll find out tomorrow." Yugi said, detached.
They sipped in silence for a moment. Jounouchi looked over to see Yugi with his head leaned back against the couch, eyes unfocused pointing at the ceiling above.
"Hey…you seem out of it. You didn't have the dream again, did you?"
Yugi fidgeted with the tab on his beer can. "Not the same one. But yeah, I saw him in my dream again."
"Well? Did he say anything?"
"No, nothing. Just like last time." Yugi let out a long sigh and sat up. "He was standing on the other side of the river, but he was in the water this time, up to his ankles. He had his crown in his hand, but it was on his head too. And he had his other hand stretched out to me."
"Wild!"
"I tried to walk down to the edge of the water but my feet got stuck in the mud again. I was yelling for him but no sound came out. He was smiling at me, but he was quiet too. I don't know what it means but I felt weird all day afterwards."
"You sure it isn't those nutritional supplements you're taking? Like maybe you're being poisoned like a lab rat by that big crazy—"
"Jounouchi!" Yugi kicked his friend in the calf, but he laughed. "It's just vitamins. It's part of the phase-II Duel Links test procedure, we're trying to roll out a commercially viable option in the next six months."
"Creeps me out. How's it been over there?"
"It's been really good, honestly. Kaiba has some secret project he's working on, it keeps him mostly occupied. The few tests we ran together were fun…for me. It's hard to tell with him but I think he enjoys them too."
"Who cares if he likes it as long as he signs your check," Jounouchi mumbled into his beer can so he wouldn't have to meet Yugi's exasperated half-frown.
"I have a feeling it's going to be a long day tomorrow though."
"You and me both man." At that they both took good long swigs.
"Aaaaah. Let's get to it, eh, Yugi?" Jounouchi said, and his roguish grin warmed Yugi to the core. Fired up and half full of beer, he jumped up to grab his deck case and plopped down on the other side of the coffee table.
"Let's go!"
And together they said, "Duel!"
Yugi swiped himself into Kaiba Corp HQ's east elevator bay around 8:30. The ding of the elevator as it admitted him sounded particularly loud to him this morning, and why did it feel so early?
"Oh, Yugi!" Mokuba smiled broadly when he entered the elevator half way up the impossibly tall building that was Kaiba Corp HQ. He had three coffees in a tray and a bag of pastries in his hands, and he handed one of the drinks to Yugi.
"Oh god, thank you."
"Haha, long night last night?"
Yugi just smiled over the coffee cup as he sipped.
They exited the elevator together and walked down the long corridor that led to Kaiba's office. Mokuba talked animatedly about the projects he was heading, some new attractions in Kaiba Land Los Angeles, a new expansion set for CapMon. Yugi had grown so fond of Mokuba over the last year, but the echoing click of the younger man's fine Italian shoes against the white marble of the floor made Yugi wonder why the hallway had to be so damn long.
It was lined with tournament cups, prototypes, statues of the Blue Eyes White Dragon in its various forms. Yugi cursed the ample skylight in his mind and nursed his coffee, then ducked ahead to open the door for Mokuba who still had his hands full.
Yugi was always a little impressed, no matter how many times he entered Kaiba's office. It was huge, encased in floor-to-ceiling glass on three sides, offering a view of all of Domino city. Everything was white, the floors, the desk, the couch, Kaiba's chair.
Kaiba's brooding presence was amplified in this bright environment, black turtleneck and black leather pants and boots and dark hair and bright and intense eyes almost backlit in the plush white leather. He was sitting with his legs crossed, his arms folded across his chest. Yugi thought he looked elegantly folded when sitting, long limbs tucked like a spider's legs, curled like a scorpion's tail in a kind of geometric repose. He had a respect for Kaiba that flourished the more both men came into their own. Kaiba grew more regal, less cruel as he unburdened himself from his tumultuous past. His dynasty had unfolded here and around the world, and lately it seemed to Yugi that he had reached a turning point with what Yugi knew he considered his inherited debt of sin.
But today Yugi sensed an unfamiliar cast to Kaiba's posture. Kaiba seemed distracted, eyes not quite focused on the room around him.
"Morning, Nii-sama! I brought donuts!"
Kaiba nodded a greeting at the both of them. He unfolded one of his arms and reached into a side drawer to withdraw a packet of liquid nutritional supplement. "Thank you Mokuba. You and Yugi help yourselves."
"So! What are we working on today?" Yugi said, grabbing a donut.
Kaiba didn't answer him right away. He simply stared at him with an intensity so palpable that Yugi swallowed with difficulty and set the donut back down.
"Mokuba, could I have a moment with Yugi?"
"Sure thing. I'll be in my office!" Mokuba chirped, and left the two men alone. The office door clicked shut heavily behind him.
"Yugi."
Yugi began to feel uncomfortable. He became overly aware of the size of the office, of a piece of lint on his pants, of the way his choker pressed into his adam's apple as he swallowed, unsure of what to say. Was he in trouble? Kaiba was staring at him with a heavy intensity, and the two locked eyes. Yugi's instincts as a duelist had only grown in the time since he was freed of the puzzle, and his spine straightened as he met Kaiba's gaze.
Kaiba didn't seem to know what to say either. He steepled his fingers, touching both index fingers to his forehead, pressed his eyes shut.
"I saw him. I spoke with him."
"Kaiba, I—"
"With Atem."
Yugi felt instantly drained. He fell back against the chair.
"I managed to use the items we recovered from our encounter with Diva to—"
"You saw him? You went to him?" Yugi's head was swimming. Kaiba gave him a moment to process. "How did you…? How do I—"
Kaiba stood, unfurling all six feet of himself in a fluid and beautiful and dangerous motion. Yugi couldn't help but feel that he was different somehow.
"You'll have to work with me. I have no doubts about your ability to dimension, but the physical conditioning to withstand the launch procedures will take some time. Here."
Kaiba slid him a white folder with his personal data profile followed by the outline of a training regimen.
Yugi skimmed through it. "Kaiba, I can't—"
"You will. We start in thirty minutes. There's a facility on the 18th floor, go to the locker with your name on it and get changed. I'll meet you in the training area."
Yugi's brow was furrowed the whole time he removed all his belts and jewelry. He placed his boots at the bottom of the locker, then the belts. He set his bracelets and the one earring he'd gotten with Jounouchi on his last birthday up on the high shelf, then hung his shirt from a hook in the back. His head hurt. He reached for the clothes hanging there for him, a close fitting track suit of a soft synthetic material streaked through with thin wires and a series of electrodes. His name was embroidered on the tags of both articles of clothing. There was a pair of running shoes in his size. How did he know. But then Yugi realized it's pointless to wonder how Kaiba knows anything.
Confusion gave way to excitement, then to apprehension, then to a delirious joy. He thought of his dream, of being able to speak to Atem like Kaiba had, like he had been trying to do for months, ever since they spoke in their wordless way after vanquishing ring for a second time.
He walked into the open training area, which had exercise equipment on one end, monitoring devices and a large digital work station in the middle, and two of what Yugi recognized as the prototype to a Duel Links II pod and headset.
"The first few weeks will be focused on physical conditioning. We will have access to an aeronotics training lab during the second phase. We'll be testing the limits of the Duel Links quantum cloud on our physical and psychological stamina during both phases."
Kaiba's voice came from behind, and Yugi turned around to face him. He held out a kettlebell to Yugi, and Yugi was surprised by the heft of it.
"Don't hurt yourself. I didn't plan time for recovery from injuries." Kaiba smirked and Yugi just shook his head a little and smiled.
"I'll do my best."
"You'll do better than that. Ten swings, ten overhead presses, ten lunges, then the same on the other side."
Yugi began in earnest. He intermittently glanced at Kaiba to see what to do. The exercises were basic but he knew that if his form was off he would be wasting his effort.
"Watch the angle of your hips. Keep your shoulders square. Like this."
Kaiba took up a heavier weight and demonstrated. Yugi tried to absorb the form, but he was distracted by Kaiba's jaw flexing, the thick cords of lean muscle in his neck and forearms twisting as he worked through each movement with a fluid but ultimately practiced grace. Yugi distracted himself from the burning in his legs with some idle speculation at the kinds of storms that raged behind Kaiba's deep blue eyes.
Kaiba stepped aside so Yugi could try again. It was with some satisfaction that he noticed at last the change that had overcome Yugi in the year since their fight with the Plana. A few inches taller, some pounds heavier, Yugi had the hint of a five o'clock shadow now. With Atem, resplendent, fresh in Kaiba's mind, it should have been easy to pick out the differences between the two.
Sweat was beading on Yugi's forehead, but his lip was curled in determination as he breathed quietly through his mouth. Kaiba was pleased with his performance, though he knew it came more from determination than from physical ability, and when he called a break the smaller man flopped onto his back on the floor, panting softly.
With his arms tucked behind his head, one leg bent, eyes focused on an invisible point on the ceiling, Yugi looked cocky. Kaiba imagined him four shades darker and in this pose it would be hard to tell them apart. Yugi's hand came up to hover above his solar plexus before thoughtfully lowering down to his side. Kaiba could see the burgeoning angularity in his limbs, saw the sheen of sweat accentuate the peek of Atem's high cheekbones beneath Yugi's deep flush and the very last remnants of baby fat, and he experienced a painful deja-vu.
He grabbed two electrolyte supplements from the fridge in the wall and tossed one at Yugi. It hit his hand with a loud smack, and Kaiba smirked despite himself at the speed of Yugi's reaction. He was a late bloomer, but he had finally begun to bloom.
"Thank you." Said the ever-friendly voice.
They drank, Kaiba standing with his shoulder against the wall, Yugi sitting half-up on the ground. Kaiba wondered what he would have to do to push Yugi to rage. Could he even, at this point? He reached down to offer Yugi his hand, and pulled the smaller man up with ease.
"The next exercise is one in coordination. We may have to execute some synchronized moves during the launch sequence. These exercises will build a report should we break from the guidance AI." Kaiba handed Yugi a headpiece and slim gauntlet, black with a smooth red crystal in the middle.
"Dimension disk?" Yugi said, turning over the gauntlet before slipping it on.
"This equipment is still a prototype, so I'll be connecting the monitor to your bodysuit."
Yugi was still getting his headpiece to fit comfortably when he felt Kaiba gently slide his fingers between his's left arm and his ribs, pressing a terminal wire to an electrode in the suit. Kaiba's hands were at the back of his neck then, brushing up his hair to plug another wire in at the collar. Yugi's skin sung with the touch and he felt goosebumps rising along the backs of his arms. One long hand touched the side of his thigh lightly and then retracted, and Yugi looked down to see the last wire in place.
By the time he felt the heat in his cheeks dissipate Kaiba was done connecting his own bodysuit to the nearby monitor, and the two stood facing one another.
Kaiba opened a drawer and brought out a deck of Duel Monsters cards.
"But my deck is in the locker!" Yugi said.
Kaiba barked a laugh.
"You're nowhere near ready to duel me through a full neural synch." He swiped a command into the digital holo display that he'd brought up from the desk's edge. "Ready?"
Yugi barely had time to nod before Kaiba swept the command up and away, fingers curled like a Balinese dancer. Flashy, Yugi thought. Incorrigible.
Both men jolted when the synch hit. Yugi was thrown into immediate confusion, sound roaring in his ears. His limbs hummed, his pulse surged in his neck. He could feel his heart beating wildly and he started to feel nauseous.
"Breathe!" Kaiba said, and the sound his voice was like a fist blow.
Yugi breathed. His eyes met Kaiba's and he saw the uneven rise and fall of the other man's chest in his peripheral vision. Kaiba intentionally slowed his breathing and Yugi followed suit, until both were breathing deeply and evenly. His pulse wound down into a syncopated rhythm, and he saw the blood pulsing in Kaiba's sweat-slick neck on every other beat. The rhythm tripped itself even again and with some wonder he realized their pulses had synched.
He felt strange. He felt thrust into a sapphire abyss, like a star, like a meteor, supremely alone but radiant. He was hit by surges of chaotic emotions, contradictory feelings piling on top of each other and then on him, gone almost as soon as they had arrived. He felt a deep unutterable sadness and he almost sobbed, but Kaiba's intense gaze kept him breathing evenly. He felt a rush of heat from his feet up to his head and he surged inside with a sense of power and clarity. He lifted his chin, his shoulders rolled back. He extended one arm, palm up, in front of him.
Kaiba had mirrored him. There was a rawness to Kaiba's wide-eyed expression, his hand reaching out toward Yugi in a gesture of open need. Kaiba felt strangely swaddled, pressed in on all sides by an unseen gentle hand. He was thrown into the memory of his mother wrapping him in a freshly-dried quilt, the smell of her perfume and food cooking in the distance and the warm press of clean laundry. He hard Mokuba's laughter trickle down a great hall to his ears, reverberations sweeter as they died out. He felt utterly broken open, a vicious vulnerability rocketing him down into his deepest feelings. He felt the sense-memory of a hundred victories' worth of match-winning calls, the sound of Yugi's—no, his—voice close behind. He felt a shame-tinged pleasure at the memory of celebrating with them all, feeling at one with them all when the pharaoh had risen victorious against Zorc. He felt a treacherous heat as he stared at Yugi, standing so confidently before him, a welcome in his open palm, looking so much like him.
Their senses and their memories and their thoughts swirled in wordless flux between them, but after about two minutes each gradually returned to possession of himself.
Kaiba steadied himself and reached between them, drawing a card. He glanced at it, and then at Yugi.
"Vorse raider," Yugi said. Kaiba drew another. "Battle ox," Yugi said almost before Kaiba had finished drawing. He drew again.
Yugi grinned and said with a relish bordering on the carnal "Blue-eyes White Dragon."
Seeing Yugi's eyes flash with pride and desire as the treasured name formed on his lips confused and goaded Kaiba. He pushed the deck toward Yugi, a prickling disgust chasing the flash of tightness in his groin.
Yugi drew a card and smiled, closing his eyes like he was acknowledging a private joke.
"Polymerization," Kaiba said, and the screen next to them flashed a warning. He swiped through two sub screens and the synch cut off, leaving them both panting. "That's enough for today."
He began to detach the wires from his bodysuit.
"Why did you stop it?" Yugi said, sounding disappointed to Kaiba's ringing ears.
"We were entering a feedback loop. Our autonomous nervous system was becoming overexcited. We'll have to train more to control limbic function."
"We're supposed to duel like this?"
Kaiba considered him. "You know that not everything is about dueling right?" He laughed at Yugi's wrinkled brow. "But yes, it's my intention to develop this technology for dueling."
"What's the point of dueling someone when you can read their mind?"
Kaiba scoffed.
"Ridiculous. That wasn't mind reading. It was an amplification of our collective perception of reality. Reality is a composite made up of the perceptions of all conscious beings. I could explain quantum mechanics to you, but we hardly have the time. You merely tasted more of my particular perception of reality than you normally do."
Yugi didn't say anything. He was suddenly shrunken, shoulders rounded, almost folding in on himself. Kaiba was embarrassed at how angry it made him to see Yugi close up like that.
"If I hadn't cut it off, you would have gone into cardiac arrest."
Yugi sighed, then flashed Kaiba an opaque and carefully composed smile.
"It's very impressive technology, Kaiba."
Kaiba recoiled as though Yugi had insulted him. "Impressive?" Frustrated, he said "What's wrong with you?"
Yugi threaded his fingers into his own wild hair. He felt bad. Sometimes he forgot how sensitive Kaiba could be.
"Sensing your feelings…hearing a voice in the back of my mind whisper your thoughts. It felt like being with him again. The other me."
Kaiba seemed to be weighing each word.
"It made me a little sad, is all. I haven't felt that way in a long time." He smiled again, this time for real.
"You'll have another opportunity to get used to it. We meet again tomorrow at 7."
"…and then I told them if that's the way they felt about it, that they should kiss my nationally-ranked ass."
"Jounouchi! You did not!"
Jounouchi looked sheepish, then immediately pleased with himself. "I did."
Yugi giggled. He would never say it in quite the same way, but he was exasperated by people who didn't respect competitive dueling too.
"Well what are you going to do now?"
"Ehhhhh, I don't know. I can cover tomorrow's qualifiers with what's in my pocket, but I'll have to look for something new as soon as possible."
The two took bites of their burgers and munched from the same bag of fries.
"So what are you working on over at Krazy Corp?" Jounouchi said.
"I don't even know if I can tell you," Yugi sighed. "It was intense though. I have a feeling I saw into a side of Kaiba that nobody knows."
"Sorry to hear that," Jounouchi said, and Yugi kicked him under the table.
"I hear Mai is going to be there." Yugi said, watching Jounouchi for a reaction.
Jounouchi grew serious for a second, then ran his hand through his hair. He flashed Yugi a smile.
"Guess I better wear my good shirt then, huh?"
Yugi groaned. "That reminds me. I have to attend the gala after. It's part of my contract."
"Think of all the food that'll be there. It's a KC event so you know there's an open bar."
"I know, I would just rather hang out with you guys."
They joked and talked the whole way back to Yugi's house, then spent a few hours honing their decks. Three test duels later, with Yugi beating Jounouchi 2 to 1, and they were both starting to sense the gravity of the next day's qualifiers. This was the first obstacle between them and World Championships. They were seeded in separate divisions so they wouldn't have to face one another this stage. Jounouchi clapped Yugi on the back and promised to meet him in the next round. Yugi saw him out, then sleepily made his way back to his room.
He flopped down on his bed, trying to quiet his inner thoughts. He always meditated before matches. He held within himself a growing network of rooms he could go to when he needed to focus, the rooms of his heart. He began his practice by relaxing all of his limbs, then drew his focus back to his breathing.
He imagined himself there at the threshold, a long dark hallway. Before him on one side, a series of doors, each of them leading to a place of focus, of somatic memory. Behind him, where he seldom turned any more, the sealed door with its relief carved eye.
He noticed a new door, but it gave him a tugging sense of déjà vu, as though he had seen it before. He put a hand on the doorknob, began to turn—
His breath hitched. Instead of his usual visualizations, he saw Kaiba in his mind's eye, tall and dark above him with blue eyes blazing. He felt the unearthly depth of feeling that had overcome him while they were synched together. His guts cramped with the hit of raw physical need. He felt hot all over, restless, tight like a mouse trap, like a drawn rubber band. He was suddenly achingly hard.
He bolted upright.
"Ughhh."
He cradled his head until he could calm down. He sighed, then cautiously tiptoed out of his room to go get a glass of water. He changed his mind half way and went to go splash water on his face instead.
"Get a hold of yourself," he said to his reflection in the bathroom mirror. He leaned heavily against the sink, willing himself to calm down. He softened the muscles in his face, tried to relax his tired eyes, when the sight of his own bare feet on the white tile threw him into a memory: a hand on his shoulder, a deep and comforting voice and candlelight on carved and painted limestone, the clear recollection of a painting on papyrus.
This was the kind of moment when he longed for his other self most. A single word of reassurance would have poured relief directly into his soul. He had to find that reassurance on his own now. He went back to his bed.
He thought of the possibility of seeing Atem again. From the mission brief, the technique he and Kaiba would use to transcend realities was dangerous, potentially fatal. But Kaiba had survived a test trip. Kaiba had transcended long enough to speak with Atem, and Kaiba theorized (and Yugi hoped) that together they could amplify one another's will so they could extend their time in the dimension beyond.
That thought alone focused him. He would see Atem. He would hear his voice again. He wouldn't be stuck mute on the other side of the river. The thought calmed him and he slipped into a deep sleep.
Kaiba shifted in his sleep, hands clutching at the silver-white silk duvet. He felt a soft breeze, a warm breeze, and smelled musk and sandalwood. Cologne? If it was, it was an expensive one, and it wasn't one he owned. There was a strong animalistic note, too raw to be synthetic. His eyes opened slowly, and he saw the dark of his ceiling, his bedroom. His vision was a little blurred at the periphery. He raised himself up on one elbow and turned to reach for the glass of water on his bedside table.
That's when he heard the long high call of an exotic bird. He bolted upright, began to step out of bed, and when his bare feet reached the floor he felt…sand.
"Kaiba. You're awake. Good."
The familiar voice gave him goosebumps. Kaiba was suddenly hyper-aware of his own nakedness. He tugged out the soft cotton top sheet, folded it over and tied it around his waist. He stood and stepped out from the haze around the bed and into the waiting desert.
"Am I dreaming?" He stepped up to a short wood post, one of about twelve supporting a crude rope enclosure. It was evening—or morning? Atem's deep mauve eyes seemed to glow in the low light. Kaiba could make out his features enough to see him smirk.
"Nice kilt. It suits you."
Atem was in a simple white kilt himself, barefoot in the sand. He had a whip in one hand and a section of rope in the other. He looked so bare without his crown and his mantle—without his DuelDisk or DiaDankh. He was wearing only short gold anklets and cuffs around his biceps, a simple gold collar. His impossible hair swayed in the light breeze. His dark skin looked warmly luminous against the white of the sands in the twilit night, and Kaiba was so rapt by the vision that he almost missed the soft sound of shuffling hooves.
At the other end of the enclosure was what Kaiba recognized as a white Arabian horse, cords of lean muscle twisting under the smooth white coat as it stepped back and forth nervously. The thin, black-muzzled face was raised high. It snorted steam into the chill desert air.
"Do you like horses, Kaiba?" Atem asked, letting the whip drop to the ground. The horse pricked its ears and took two steps along the outside of the enclosure.
"I like them well enough."
Kaiba thought back to the riding lessons he'd had under Gozaburo and struggled to ascribe an identifiable emotion to the experience.
Atem swished the whip in the direction of the horse, and it took off at a gentle trot.
"I love them. I always have, from the time I was a child."
Atem intermittently swished the whip at the horse, keeping it moving at an even pace around the ring. He stood tall, composed, elegantly turning to face the horse as it circled the ring.
Kaiba looked around. Behind him, shrouded in mist, was his bed. Before him, Atem and the horse in the circular enclosure. Beyond that he could see only desert for miles against a blue and purple twilit sky.
"They're powerful creatures. One kick can kill a man instantly." Atem gathered up the whip and raised his arms out wide, stepping toward the horse. It nickered and changed direction, and he uncurled the whip again. "But they seldom attack, and when they do it's almost always in self-defense."
Atem lunged the horse around the ring with gentle swooshes of the whip, never cracking it, and the horse relaxed into Atem's pace. Kaiba watched, drawn by the reciprocal power of Atem like a shadow in the low star light and the kinetic white horse.
"They're cooperative by nature. Social animals. Once you earn their trust, they'll go to great lengths to please you."
"Why are you proselytizing about horses? I'd rather duel you than be lectured."
"You don't have your deck. And neither of us is dressed for it."
Kaiba shifted his makeshift kilt, feeling uncharacteristically vulnerable.
"Horses are well and good, but I don't see how they're relevant enough for you to invade my dreams."
"Oh, is that so?" Atem said with a smile, and Kaiba rippled with equal parts anger and excitement.
Atem cracked the whip, startling Kaiba and the horse, and the horse took off at a swift cantor around the ring. Its ears flattened back, then flicked forward and around as Atem gently clucked at it, regulating the loping gate with gentle low swooshes of the whip.
"When we were teenagers, we used to have horse races. Games. You always bested me with the chariot, but I beat you soundly in the games that called for horse and rider."
Kaiba felt a flash of something that bent his ear toward the ground as he listened to the breathing of the horse: a deep somatic memory, a smell of earth and the musk of animal exertion. He shook the memory off, rose to his full height. "Save your nonsense for another dream. I need my rest tonight."
Atem laughed, head back, an open melodic laugh that stunned Kaiba. Atem flashed him a familiar, goading smirk.
"Who said you were dreaming?" Atem gathered up the whip and clucked and cooed softly until the horse, silver-white coat glistening with sweat, slowed to a trot, and then a high-tailed and elegant walk.
"I suppose if I were really dreaming, I'd hardly be dreaming of you."
Atem met his eyes and gave a knowing smile, but said nothing. He began to walk with the horse as it cooled down, making wider and wider circles until they were walking shoulder-to-shoulder.
"Aibou is like a horse. He only faintly comprehends his own power, and even then only when pressed."
Atem put a slim dark hand on the horse's withers and the two stilled. He gently rubbed the soft muzzle with two knuckles, then ran his hand up the long lean face to brush aside the forelock.
"Good boy, good boy," he spoke softy to the horse, switching rapidly between phrases Kaiba recognized to tripping sibilants that felt wholly unfamiliar in Kaiba's ear, but that he understood nonetheless. Atem looped the rope around the horse's head and tied a quick halter. He loosened one of the ropes from an enclosure post and walked the horse up to Kaiba.
Kaiba felt like Atem was dissecting him with his eyes, and something chaotic in Kaiba flared up—but he squelched it, opting to place a large splayed hand on the warm, pulsing neck of the horse.
"He trusts you." Atem gazed up at Kaiba for a long moment, and something unspoken passed between them. The horse brayed and Atem handed Kaiba the lead.
"Walk with me. I'm going to tell you the story of creation."
Atem started off, and for a moment Kaiba was sure he would disappear. But the moment passed and Kaiba led the horse over Atem's footprints in the sand.
They shouldered their way through the thick crowd of fans and duelists that had gathered in the atrium of KC Coliseum. It was tournament day, the regional qualifier that would lead to Nationals, and World Championship beyond.
Yugi was equal parts giddy and focused, his sense of childlike joy marbling with a gravity and aggression that, though familiar, felt newly native to him. Having Jounouchi beside him added to his excitement, the edges of his senses licked by little flashes of memories of their fighting together against odds far beyond the scope of today's earthly matches.
He considered his friend as they bumped their way through the crowd toward the pre-registration desk. Jounouchi had grown too since Battle City. He was even taller, a little thicker in the arms and legs, more patient. He was more clever, more keen. He was wearing his good shirt. Yugi beamed a little inside with pride and gratitude. It would be a bittersweet challenge if they matched off in the next stage.
Yugi had paid a little extra attention that morning himself. He was in the public eye now as a KC sponsored duelist, and he'd picked up a thing or two from stylists at the various shoots he'd had to endure. He was bare armed in a black patent vest, slim cut distressed white jeans tucked into the studded moto boots he'd become so attached to since he lost the puzzle. One silver earring, a spiked cuff and a bike chain bracelet on his drawing hand, a chain with a padlock around his neck, over the ever-present collar.
On tournament days in particular he needed a little weight around his neck, it made him feel ready. This morning he'd applied a bit of kohl that Malik had prepared by hand and sent to him with some other little gifts he'd gathered in his travels. Yugi felt primed, full of potential energy.
They made it to the front and Yugi held his DuelDisk up to the scanner. It blinked green and chimed.
"Welcome to Kaiba Coliseum, Mutou Yugi," said the white-suited woman behind the counter. "Right this way."
He shifted his weight from one foot to the other and back again. "Well…I know this is pre-admittance only, but my friend here is a registered competitor, could he come back with me now?"
The woman smiled and swept a lock of pastel pink hair behind her ear. "May I scan your disk sir?"
Jounouchi held up his first generation DuelDisk. The woman pulled out a wire, plugged it into the terminal on the underside of Jounouchi's disk. Another green light, another chime. They looked at each other questioningly and shrugged.
"I have a check here for the registration fee—" Jounouchi said, patting at his pockets.
"You've been pre-admitted, Mr. Jounouchi," she said with a polite smile, and lifted a slim hand toward the elevator bay beyond.
They were quiet until they got into the elevator.
"Aaaaaahhhh, this is amazing. Not like Kaiba to make a mistake like that but I'll take it" Jounouchi grinned.
Yugi grinned back and gave him a low-five.
"So did you find out if you're facing Mai in your division?"
"Not this stage. Maybe in the next."
The elevator door opened onto the VIP area and Jounouchi gasped.
The entryway was lined with statues, only they weren't statues, they looked real: monster after monster rendered life sized by Solid Vision's crystal cloud. The memories and imaginations of thousands of people merged, and the composite of their understanding was projected directly into one another's minds. Even Yugi himself was taken aback. There was a long hall lined on one side with monsters he knew and recognized and loved, all looking so impossibly, touchably real. At the end of the hall of monsters was an atrium, where a huge skylight let the sun shine on the Blue Eyes White Dragon, twisting around the figure of the Black Magician with his staff raised, frozen in the moment just before combat.
As they made their way along the hall, he realized that the monsters on the other side were Kaiba's. The whole floor was a grand shrine to their rivalry.
Yugi felt his swelling pride hitch a little on a pang of anxiety. He knew Kaiba was one for spectacle, but this felt deeply personal in a way that he wasn't sure applied to him. They stepped around the grand sculpture—if you could call it a sculpture—and entered the room beyond the atrium.
It was a huge open hall dotted with tables and various display stations and kiosks filled with card dealers, KaibaCorp displays, catering stations. This room too had a centerpiece, and Yugi's heart leapt a little when he saw it.
This was a mobile sculpture, filling the space between the floor and the cathedral-high ceilings. It was the Blue Eyes Alternative White Dragon and Gandora, rallying strike after strike against one another, silent but brilliantly luminescent with all of the fearful detail of SolidVision. Red and blue light streaked the floor with psychedelic patterns as the monsters moved above them. Projected debris rained down from the illusory destruction, dissipating and disappearing not five feet above their heads like melting snow.
"This is out of control. Even for him, this is a lot. I mean, it's just a qualifier!" Jounouchi said, voice pinched, eyes darting around the room.
Yugi's heart swelled. He was among strong and respectable duelists and he drank in a quiet power as he breathed. This was him in his element, and he felt it in his body. He would turn 21 this June, and he had finally integrated the idea of battle violence with his need for peace. PowerVision dueling was violence by proxy, the game that could resolve differences without bodily harm. It was as real and as personal as a street brawl, but it moved the center of power from the fists to the mind and the heart. This was a kind of battle he could stand behind.
Dueling had become second nature to him, and his fighting spirit was as important to him—and as strong—as his compassion. His first nature was and always would be that deep and easy compassion, a wisdom and a kindness about others. It was from that place that he battled, a foil and a mirror for every opponent he faced—and that attitude sustained his popularity well after Battle City. It wasn't just his pristine record, it was the building mythos of the unlikely and benevolent duel king doling out secret and personal insight with every loss, losses he dispensed with grace and that kind little smile.
"I'm so fired up I can't even stand it."
Jounouchi was grinning ear to ear and Yugi knew he felt it too, the skin-prickling pre-battle excitement. They stood elbow to elbow (elbow to arm for the height difference, Yugi tucked half under Jounouchi's arm) toward one side of the room, looking out over the bobbing heads of their opponents as they threaded from booth to booth, and the waiters in white tails with their silver platters reflecting the blue and red lights of the fighting dragons floated by them like ghosts.
There was a sharp electronic whine as Gandora self destructed, bringing the display to a brutal halt. The room grew still, and a white egg materialized high in the center of the room. All around them hidden speakers came to life, and a voice said:
"What has the power to shape your reality? Is it your social network, the people you see every day? Is it your country, its laws and its military and its police forces? Is it your family, your tribe, the weight of human history?"
The egg began to crack, and beams of white light streaked out through the cracks.
"You who believe in destiny, in fate, in the linearity of time, in some external force that guides the progression of history, hear me now."
The egg shattered and a white dragon slowly began to unfurl.
"Every day you lay down your power before an imaginary guide—god, country, status. You limit yourself to fit within your chosen system. And for what? Because it's easier, because it feels safer to feel that something or someone above you is in control?"
The wings of the dragon spread wide and it opened its shining blue eyes.
"The desire to connect, the desire to destroy; the power of unity, the power of solitude; the power of illusion, the power of force. These are yours to call upon!"
The dragon charged up into the air, wing beats sending gusts of wind rushing over the crowd below. It turned in mid air and roared before firing a beam of light at the ground. Every wall in the room lit up, floor to ceiling displays showing footage from Kc Coliseum where the same little drama was unfolding. On the screens, the platform carrying Kaiba in his white coat rose up from the smoke. He thrust his fist in the air, the blue light shining from his DuelDisk.
"Reign over your earthly existence like a king, a god of your own soul. Fight, and show the world the reality of your own creation!"
They could hear, no, feel the riotous applause from the stadium stands beyond.
In the waiting area, the walls lit up with a huge tournament bracket. Yugi searched the bracket for Jounouchi's name, then traced his trajectory from first round seed to qualifier finals. There were six matches between Jounouchi and the qualifier seat for his division. Yugi quickly ran through all the matches in his head, making predictions for who would advance from each match. He smiled. If he kept his head together Jounouchi was a sure-shot.
It seemed to take Jounouchi another minute or two before he came to the same conclusion. He cracked his knuckles and shook his limbs out.
"ALL RIGHT. Let's do this, eh?"
"Mhm."
They bumped fists and shared a glance, a little nod, then went their separate ways.
Yugi was seeded further along in bracket. He would play a maximum of three rounds today. In the time between, he'd been invited to an exhibition melee with Kaiba. It was a relaxed rules duel intended to demonstrate the creative potential of PowerVision. True to form, it was to take place at the top of a spire on one side of the coliseum, invite-only but streamed to world media outlets.
Mokuba somehow managed to catch his eye from the other side of the room.
"Yuuuuuugi!" Mokuba called, and the two met in the middle. Mokuba hugged Yugi with one arm, juggling his holo clipboard, a headset and a DuelDisk in the other arm.
"There you are! This is for you, it's got updated hardware and firmware. Nii-sama finished them early this morning."
"Another all-nighter huh?" Yugi parted his hair with some difficulty and settled the headpiece into place. It was deep red with matte black accents. The DuelDisk was similarly colored, with purple and red cabochon stones for buttons. It was an impressive little piece of hardware, full of Kaiba's attention to detail. He removed his deck from the disk he'd been wearing, then handed it to Mokuba.
Mokuba was already walking as he took it, talking over his shoulder. "Mhmm. He's in a good mood though. This is gonna be a big deal. Are you ready? Read the brief and all?"
"Ummm…..yes. Okay, looks like some minor changes." Yugi's eyes flitted between the manual projected in front of him and the crowd as he tried to keep up with Mokuba's sharp and efficient little movements as the younger Kaiba cut effortlessly through. Mokuba seemed completely immune to the whispers as they made their way to the far elevator bay, but Yugi still picked up every one.
"That's the duel king. Mutou…Yugi right?"
"Oh! That must be Kaiba junior, I read an article about him on PostMod Gamer, did you know he's head of development at KC?"
"Is that the duel king? He's shorter than I imagined."
"I hope I don't have to get past him this round."
Yugi was relieved when Mokuba swiped them into a wide elevator. Two towering suits entered behind them and Yugi let out the breath he'd been holding for about 10 paces.
"You're gonna do great." Mokuba patted Yugi's arm.
Yugi smiled at him. They were the same height now. It was only a matter of time before Mokuba passed him by. He was looking more and more like Kaiba every day: a little broader in the shoulder, a little more smug. He'd kept the openness and mischievousness that had drawn them all to him when they first became friends, and the combo of mischief and kindness and a little touch of cockiness made him popular with the teen and tween magazines. Yugi wondered if he wouldn't end up becoming the most famous of their friend group in the end.
Friend. Mokuba was definitely his friend. If they spent too many late days during product testing, Mokuba would inevitably drag out some imported liquor for them to play dangerous game he called ShotCapMon. The younger Kaiba could talk and talk and talk, especially a game or two into ShotCapMon, and he and Yugi had bonded over Mokuba going through boy things: discovering girls, swearing off institutionalized schooling, balancing work life and real life, this or that new obsession that would invariably make its way into a new KC Games Division best seller. Yugi had become a sort of surrogate brother, a trusted friend Mokuba could float his more risqué thoughts by (one overnight debug and test run marathon and three games of ShotCapMon in, he'd flopped over a couch upside down, legs dangling off the back rest, and pinned Yugi with his wife and piercing blue eyes and said "Na, Yugi, have you ever done drugs?").
The elevator doors opened and the suits stepped aside to let them through. Kaiba was bent over a console making last minute system preparations, but he straightened when he heard Mokuba's animated chatter. He turned and caught Yugi's gaze, and neither moved for an intense second. Kaiba smirked, and Yugi felt himself redden but his eyes narrowed and his fists clenched, an instinctive move that made Kaiba draw his brows. Kaiba broke eye contact first, turning around to tap through several menus on the holo display.
"I've put limiters on the feedback system. The data gate will flood if you exceed a certain level of neurological excitement. If that happens, try and maintain focus. I've programmed a scenario that will complete the melee should we need to exit the demonstration, but I'm sure you'd rather beat the test yourself."
Kaiba threw a little smirk over his shoulder, then collected a handful of quarter-sized disks. Mokuba directed Yugi to stand on a small platform next to Kaiba. Kaiba peeled an adhesive film off the back of one of the disks. He lightly touched Yugi's chin with his thumb, and Yugi tilted his head to the side, hoping Kaiba couldn't feel his jackhammer heartbeat. Kaiba stuck the little disk on the side of Yugi's neck, just above the leather collar. He lightly touched Yugi's chin again and Yugi tilted his head back. It was all quick and subtle touches, and Yugi felt strangely compliant, strangely still as Kaiba delicately applied the monitors to his neck and temples.
Mokuba had stepped behind him, tugged up his jeans, stuck two monitors on each side of his ankles. The contrast between Mokuba's rough but efficient motions as he tugged down Yugi's pant leg and the older Kaiba's feather-light touch as he pressed a final monitor onto the back of Yugi's neck made Yugi wonder for the very first time since he'd known them what their parents were like. He was so used to thinking of them as a unit—but the boyish, roguish grin, did Mokuba get that from their father? Did Kaiba, so obsessed as he was with brute force, did he get this uncanny tenderness from their mother?
Not tenderness, skill, Yugi thought to himself. It was imagined sweetness, nothing more than a byproduct of motor control, efficiency, economy of motion.
"I won't be holding back."
Kaiba was so close to him that the measured words ruffled the top of Yugi's hair.
"Neither will I." Yugi glared up at him, and they traded fractional smiles despite themselves.
Kaiba stepped back onto the adjacent platform and armed his duel disk. Yugi did the same, and both platforms began to rise up through the apertures in the ceiling. By the time they docked on the field above, Mokuba had ascended the stairs and was addressing the small but rapt crowd.
"What you are about to see is a PowerLink duel. This technology is an extension of the PowerVision system, which runs on data collected by DuelLinks to the Kaiba Corporation Crystal Cloud Network. By relaying electromagnetic field readings from the cranial orbit, two or more cooperating players can amplify one another's will drives. Once amplified, the drives can be read and interpreted by the PowerVision system, creating scenarios that grow organically from the players' understanding of conventional gameplay rules, and of the physics of everyday life. This technology can be used to enable gameplay in situations where connection to the Crystal Cloud is disrupted or unavailable, broadening the playable market to include places in the world where high speed data transfer isn't yet standard. It broadens the scope of gameplay to include anything imaginable to the human mind. In other words, PowerLink makes dreams a reality."
Yugi assessed the field. He and Kaiba were about ten yards apart on one side, and an AI was opposite them.
"In this demonstration, the players will work in tandem to defeat a simulated enemy. Please remain calm through the match. Any damage to the field and surrounding structures is merely a projection of the PowerVision system."
Mokuba stepped off the field and into a control box nearby. He raised his hand, checked the holo display in front of him, then swung his arm down, shouting:
"Duel!"
The AI activated, digitized voice narrating as it summoning two Thunder Dragons, defaulted to max power. Two set cards appeared on the AI's side of the field, and Kaiba was already drawing, summoning two Blue Eyes Alternative White Dragons by showing the Blue Eyes White Dragon in his hand. As he was channeling their power to maximum Yugi summoned Black Magician, then set two cards.
He heard Kaiba call forth a Master with the Eyes of Blue as the AI sent a Thunder Dragon with an equip card toward Neo Blue Eyes. Yugi countered with Swords of Revealing Light.
The AI was already summoning more monsters, a Thunder Dragonhawk and a Thunder Dragondark, and Yugi heard—felt?—Kaiba call Black Magician as tribute for a synchro summon.
Azure Synchro Summoner appeared between them on the field and she raised her staff, activating her special effect. An Azure Eyes Silver Dragon materialized on the field, and Yugi set one card.
Kaiba played Monster Reborn from Yugi's side of the field, summoning back Black Magician again just as Yugi summoned Buster Blader.
To one another's surprise, they called in unison "Reverse card open!"
Polymerization was activated from Yugi's side of the field, and Black Paladin materialized between the dissipating forms of Black Magician and Buster Blader.
The AI activated Double Spell, and borrowed Polymerization's effect from their graveyard, chaining Thunder Dragon Fusion to summon not one but two Thunder Dragon Titans. Swords of Revealing Light flickered and dissipated.
Yugi ran through different outcomes in his mind. They had Azure Eyes Silver Dragon, Azure Synchro Summoner and Black Paladin. He had no set cards, and nothing in his hand that could help them. He felt the muscles in his thigh twitch as he ran through the cards left in his deck. If he could only draw—
A high whine pierced his consciousness, and for a moment he felt nothing. He glanced over at Kaiba and when their eyes met, he felt the sync hit. His blood was loud and hot in his veins, in his ears. He tried to control his breathing, gaze still locked on Kaiba's battle-wild blue eyes. They panted in unison, feeling feeling feeling, and together saw in their mind's eye a folded blue lotus against a field of black. The leaves of the lotus began to part, and a golden light shone from inside it.
Yugi felt the understanding dawn on him and it filled him with a kinetic warmth. His arms twitched in sympathy as Kaiba flicked through the cards in his display hand. Yugi's lips mouthed the words Kaiba spoke as he said:
"From my hand I activate Spell Reproduction."
The card materialized in Yugi's hand. Kaiba said in unison with him:
"From my hand I activate—"
And Yugi continued alone:
"Polymerization."
Kaiba tributed Azure Eyes and Azure Synchro Summoner and Yugi tributed Black Paladin. Together they called:
"Come forth! Black Blade Paladin, Azure Dragon Knight!"
The monster that materialized before them took Yugi's breath away. The long arched body of a Blue Eyes stood before them, each armored white plate streaked with blue markings, runes and spells and symbols. It looked like war paint. It had a double pair of slim white wings, slightly overlapping like a dragonfly's. It had two heads, both heads wearing elaborately carved gold bridles inlaid with onyx and black diamonds. Between the double wings was a golden saddle, and in the saddle was a blue-eyed woman in a long black cape. She too had war paint on her face, runes glowing in her black and gold armor, and a long white braid trailing out from under a horned battle helmet and down the embroidered cape. In each hand she bore a golden sword with an obsidian-inlaid handle.
The AI's turn came and for a moment nothing happened. Then, both Thunder Dragon Titans charged. The Dragon Knight leaped into the air, twisting to block and deflect each electric beam with its golden swords. Each long neck reared back and the great mouths opened, framing the paladin rider. She crossed her swords, and each head radiated white energy onto the swords until the light was nearly blinding. Both men stood with a hand out, fingers splayed wide as they called:
"Dual hand lightning!"
The heads dropped low and the rider sliced once, twice, sending huge rounds of glowing plasma at each Titan. Struck, the titans fell and dematerialized, and the AI's lifepoints spun down to zero.
There was silence as the PowerVision projections dematerialized, and Yugi, panting and slick with sweat, looked over at Kaiba. Kaiba was still staring straight ahead, but he was smiling, and Yugi felt a shudder of physical pleasure and a wash of warmth before he tapped the red gem on the top of his DuelDisk, cutting off the connection.
The modest crowd erupted in applause, and Mokuba stepped up to answer questions. Kaiba gestured to one of the sidelined suits and their platforms descended, the apertures shutting out the spotlights and camera flashes above.
"What was that?" Yugi said, breathless.
Kaiba stepped down from the platform and grabbed Yugi's disk-bearing arm, lifting it to examine it. He drew the top card from Yugi's deck and handed it to him.
"Impossible! Black Blade Paladin isn't a real card." Yugi said, turning the card over in his hand. It felt real enough.
Kaiba was at a console, rapidly typing and swiping through menus. Yugi gasped: he was searching Industrial Illusion's card database for data pertaining to Black Blade Paladin, and to both of their surprise, there it was, a full dataset, statistics and play rules like any other card.
"We generated it. We willed it into existence in this reality."
Kaiba wasn't looking at him, but Yugi felt pinned by his gaze anyway. Kaiba was staring straight ahead again, his eyes a little distant, a faint smile on his lips. He seemed calmer than Yugi had ever seen him.
"Stranger things have happened."
By the time Mokuba came down, Yugi and Kaiba had taken off their monitors and headsets and duel disks and were sitting in a comfortable but energetic silence on either side of a low white table, the card they had summoned into existence sitting there between them.
"Oh my god. Is that an actual card?" Mokuba leaned over the table to look at it.
Kaiba's long limbs were neatly folded, his oversized form tucked into a low chair.
"I'll need all the data from the computer log, as well as the video footage from every camera. We'll go over it tonight in B lab."
Yugi was leaning slightly over the table, elbows on his knees, fingers steepled in front of his lips. His eyes narrowed as he stared at the card and for a moment Mokuba thought: did they somehow bring him back? But then Yugi turned and smiled and he shook that thought away.
"What a day already, huh? How did it go upstairs?"
"Oh, they were rabid. Lots of questions about keeping the game balanced if the generativity becomes accessible to average players. But they were practically throwing checks at me toward the end. The press is going to be very positive."
"Good work." Kaiba said, and Mokuba preened.
"Oh, the time! Yugi, your first match should be in about 45 minutes. Do you wanna eat beforehand?"
"I think so. Thank you, Mokuba."
"I gotcha. Nii-sama?" Kaiba nodded, and with that, Mokuba quietly left.
Kaiba activated a holo screen and brought up tournament coverage.
"One man's trash is another man's treasure." He tapped a box and split screen footage from Jounouchi's last two matches began to play.
"Why do you hate him?" Yugi said.
Kaiba looked genuinely surprised. Surprise gave way to amusement and he smirked.
"Hate is something I save for the worthy."
"He's playing very well these days." Yugi said.
Kaiba snorted. "Of course he's playing well. Why else would Kaiba Corporation be scouting someone like him for sponsorship?"
"Now that's officially stranger than this," Yugi said, gesturing at the card between them.
The two sat quietly as they watched the footage. Yugi couldn't help but pump his fist when he saw that Jounouchi swept both matches.
Kaiba scanned some more footage. He sped through a match with Mai, checked the bracket and the play logs for a few other matches. He tapped his collar and spoke into his lapel:
"Isono. Proceed with protocol 2-B."
"Yes, sir." crackled his collar in reply.
"Kaiba. What are you doing, building a team like this?" Yugi asked.
Kaiba looked at him cooly.
"Team? Don't be silly."
Yugi was about to protest when Mokuba backed into the room, pulling a tray of food in behind him.
"Medium-rare, right?"
"Mhm!"
Yugi picked up the card on the low table and offered it to Kaiba.
"It was in your deck—it's your card now."
Yugi slipped the card into the case on his hip.
Mokuba set a plate with a hamburger and truffle fries and a delicate mixed green salad in front of Yugi. He unpacked a little spread of Indian food and breads and scooted the tray towards his brother, and the three started eating.
"I passed Isono in the hallway. So we're gonna do the thing, Nii-sama?"
Kaiba hummed an affirmative. Mokuba looked extremely pleased as he brought out his phone, typing rapidly.
Yugi felt his strength returning. The three of them sitting there, eating and chatting, it was a rare moment of relaxation. Yugi felt like he was in the presence of family, like he'd known the Kaiba brothers all his life. He touched the padlock around his neck, wondered what Atem would feel if he were here in their little bubble of temporary intimacy.
"Nii-sama has some work to do. I'll collect you after your matches and take you to the reception okay?" Mokuba said between bites.
"Mhm!"
The three finished their meal, held in a comfortable silence.
"Red-eyes Black Metal Dragon, attack! Dark Mega Flare!"
Jounouchi heard nothing as his opponent's life points spun down to zero. There was a high whine he felt more than heard, and then a rush of sound as his awareness expanded out from the space between him and his opponent to fill the coliseum.
He had won, and he'd done it spectacularly. He felt his eyes well up for a moment as he saw with perfect clarity the image of Atem giving him a thumbs up. This was the moment, a turning point in his life. He was on fire, he'd been in a perfect flow state for the whole match. Field and hand and move after move laid perfectly before him, and making the right calls came easily. His instincts were honed, he'd dictated the pace. The match was his from the start.
So this is what it feels like, he thought. He collected his deck, still drinking in the applause, and turned to flash Honda and and Otogi a roguish grin.
When he descended from the arena they were waiting.
"Jounouchiiii," Honda gave him a painfully enthusiastic high five.
"Nicely done," said Otogi.
"Bakura's over watching Yugi's match, let's go catch the end!"
They didn't have to look hard, because the noise from the crowd around Yugi's playfield was impossible to miss. They could barely see over the press of the spectators, but no sooner had they arrived than the crowd erupted in a roar—Yugi had already won, his lifepoints untouched. Jounouchi stood up on his toes and caught a glimpse of Bakura's hair.
"Bakura! Over here!"
Bakura slipped through the crowd like a fox—like a ghost, Jounouchi thought to himself—and met the three where they stood near a pillar. Bakura said:
"I think theres a hallway between the field and the players-only area, lets try and meet him back there."
The four of them made their way to the hallway and took up spots against the wall.
"How did it go? You won?" Bakura said to Jounouchi.
"He pounded them." Honda said, grinning.
Jounouchi looked at the deck in his DuelDisk. "I can't lie, we did pretty good today."
"Guys!" Yugi called from down the hall, trotting over to them and waving. Yugi and Jounouchi bumped fists, Bakura patted Yugi's shoulder affectionately, Honda and Otogi gave him high fives in turn.
"Killer match," Bakura said.
"Mhm!" Yugi beamed at him, then turned to Jounouchi. "I saw your first two matches! You did great."
"Well I won the other ones too," Jounouchi said, flexing.
"Our boy is growing up," Honda said, gripping Otogi's forearm, feigning tears.
They all laughed and clapped Jounouchi on the back again. Otogi opened his mouth to needle Jounouchi again when a voice from behind them piped:
"Yugi! Guys!"
It was Mokuba, hurrying down the hall with a silver briefcase.
"Jounouchi, I'm glad you're here."
"Mokuba! How's it going?"
They bumped elbows in greeting as Mokuba maneuvered the brief case to the ground in front of him.
"I have a message for you from Nii-sama."
"Oh no," Bakura whispered.
Mokuba straightened his vest and lifted his chin, face suddenly serious.
"He says that anyone who plays with such an old and beat up DuelDisk has no place competing in his tournaments."
Jounouchi fumed, balled his fists and sucked in a huge breath, a huge string of expletives primed on his tongue, when Mokuba quickly added "So thats why he sent this," and hefted the briefcase up into Jounouchi's arms.
"What—"
"Okay everybody let's get going. The reception is in an hour and I have to get you all the way across town."
"Everybody?" Yugi said, incredulous.
"Yeah everybody," Mokuba rolled his eyes and counted them all on his hand. "The limo seats eight…six minus eight is two…two seats left. We have two guests, six seats left, six people here…okay?"
There was a pregnant pause, and the boys all looked from one to another: Honda wary, Otogi mischeviously excited, Bakura blissfully neutral, Jounouchi looking as though smoke was about to come out of both ears. But Yugi looked hopeful, and so Jounouchi pulled his own hair and groaned and said, "What the hell, right?"
Yugi grinned and they all followed Mokuba down the hall and out a service entrance, where the limo was waiting.
"This is great," Bakura said, lightly running a finger over the slick white exterior of the car before he ducked inside.
The boys all piled in behind him, Mokuba last of them, and he pulled the door closed behind him.
"Hello, boys."
Jounouchi's eyes went wide and he nearly fumbled the briefcase in his lap. Sitting toward the partition with a champagne glass in her hand was Mai, skin tight patent leather dueling outfit and thigh high boots and expensive French perfume Mai.
"Mai…"
"Jounouchi. Yugi."
Yugi nodded a greeting.
There was a red lip print on her champagne glass, which she had just clinked against the glass of her companion, a pretty red head in an emerald green cocktail gown, the back of whose up-do Jounouchi was fixated on, puzzled, the light red-brown shade of the hair was too familiar—
"SHIZUKA?"
His sister turned and flashed her amber eyes at him and smiled.
"Onii-chan!"
"You…how did you…you're too young to drink!" Jounouchi, flustered, really did drop the briefcase this time as Mokuba ducked past him to squeeze in between Otogi and Shizuka. He pulled a bottle from an ice tray against the wall of the limo and started passing glasses around.
"Everybody's legal in KaibaLand!" he chirped, pouring Bakura a glass.
Yugi sat back in the middle rear seat of the limo, watching everybody pass their glasses and raise little toasts and laugh and chat, soft smile on his lips softened even more by the little pang of absence he felt. He tried to memorize the scene, saving every sweet little detail just in case he ever got the chance again to share memories with his other self again.
"Thank you, Mokuba," Bakura said, raising his glass.
"Yeah thank you! You didn't have to do all this." Otogi said.
"I didn't have to, but what's the fun in that? Work hard play hard," Mokuba said, and Yugi caught a little glint in Shizuka's eye as she watched Mokuba, rapt—more than rapt, almost glowing. Yugi chuckled to himself, wondering how long it would take Jounouchi to notice.
"To family…of choice." Mai said, training her warm blue eyes on each of them in turn.
"Mai…" Yugi said, touched.
"Hey! To family!" said Mokuba.
"I'll drink to that!" Bakura said.
"Not if I drink to it first." Honda said, grinning.
"Cheers, everybody." Shizuka silvered.
Yugi and Bakura sipped from the glasses, but Jounouchi downed his in one gulp. Otogi and Honda shrugged and followed suit, clinking their empty glasses afterwards. Mai shook her head and chuckled, and Shizuka and Mokuba clinked their glasses again and took little sips, trading goofy smiles.
"So what's this all about? Did you gather everyone to witness my murder? Is this gonna explode when I open it?" Jounouchi said, pulling the briefcase up onto his knees.
"Open it and find out," Mokuba said, crossing his legs and arms. Yugi did a double-take—he looked so much like his brother with that coy little smirk on his face.
"If this is the end, it was nice knowing you all," Jounouchi said, crossing himself. He took a deep breath and slid the latches to the side, then cautiously opened the briefcase.
There was a beat of silence as he stared, confused, at the contents.
"Jounouchi, what is it?" Honda said, concerned.
Jounouchi ran his fingers over the hardware inside, still quiet. It was a custom second generation DuelDisk with PowerLink hardware added, done up in red and black like Yugi's, but with all red gems and more angular hardware. There was a matching headset with his name engraved on the side. There was a slim manila envelope with his name in Kaiba's emphatic but neat hand tucked underneath the DuelDisk, and Jounouchi fingered it lightly, but left it sealed.
"Mokuba…thank you. Tell your brother I said thank you. But I can't accept this"
Mokuba shrugged. "Tell him yourself when we get there."
"Suit yourself." Mai said, angling her Fendi bag toward Jounouchi so he could see her DuelDisk peeking out, black and purple with opals and amethyst for buttons. "I accept our host's gracious offering with pleasure." She winked at Mokuba.
"Amazing," Otogi said, peering over. "Nice to be Kaiba's favorites."
Honda snorted. "Jounouchi? Kaiba's favorite?"
"Yeah, there's no way." Jounouchi said. "I don't know what this is for, but I can't accept it. I'll give it back to Kaiba when we get there."
Yugi said nothing. He gazed out the tinted windows, thoughtful. His rival was no doubt deploying some long-sighted strategy. He would have to unravel it to make a counter play.
The limousine pulled to a stop in front of a lavish hotel. The driver said, "Mr. Mokuba, we've arrived."
"Allll right everybody, let's go!" Mokuba said, opening the foremost door. He held it open and gently helped Shizuka and then Mai step out of the limo. The eight of them headed toward the lobby, cloaked in an air of excitement.
"Jounouchi," Mokuba said quietly, stepping up to the other man's side. "Will you humor me and wear the DuelDisk? Just for the opening speech. Then you can do whatever you want with it."
Jounouchi looked ahead of him, where Mai and Yugi were chatting amicably. Yugi was still wearing his DuelDisk, and Mai was in the process of slipping hers on.
"Since it was you that asked…" Jounouchi said, pausing to crouch down and unlatch the briefcase. He looked down at his old DuelDisk for a long moment before slipping it off, exchanging it for the new one in the case. He slipped his deck into the deck slot, and his heart skipped a beat as the DuelDisk beeped its activation.
"Onii-chan, Mokuba!" Shizuka called from down the hall, where the rest had disappeared.
"Coming!" Mokuba said, and off they went.
Yugi was drained. There was a din about the low lit reception room that tugged at his senses, and the wine in his hand was going quickly to his head. He was glad that his friends were here, but a part of him craved some rest, some alone time. It had been a long day in an even longer week, and he was already anticipating all the hand shaking and casual niceties he would have to endure before he could seek the haven of his room.
Bakura was expounding at length about the difference between Sterlet and Sevruga caviar and subsequently why Yugi should definitely be excited that he was tasting it.
"Like this, on the toast, and here take a little of this," Bakura said, dropping a tiny spoonful of crème fraiche on the little toast point, next to the caviar.
"Ok, here goes," Yugi said, taking a bite.
"Isn't it so good? Oh my god, theres smoked swordfish over here, you have to try this…"
Yugi followed Bakura as he practically danced around the catering tables lined with exotic hors d'ouevres, pointing out all the things he used to love. Yugi smiled, accepting little bite after bite. Bakura was obviously living vicariously through him, and he was hungry, after all. There was something tender about Bakura all but feeding him, and he felt his strength start to return.
"Hey, Bakura. Why did you decide to go vegetarian?"
Bakura stilled, absently gripping his upper left arm where the scar was.
"I don't know…it just seems that since that time, every time I eat meat I feel sick."
They both grew serious.
"Hey…its okay. I understand." They held each other's gaze for a long while and something in Bakura shifted. He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could the lights cut out. A single spotlight shone down upon the Kaiba brothers, who were standing on a platform near the bottom of a grand staircase.
"Friends, benefactors, honored guests, we at Kaiba Corporation thank you for your presence here tonight." Mokuba said. "We are honored to celebrate the start of the first international PowerVision tournament—a night that will mark a new era in gaming"
The taller Kaiba continued: "Tonight the sun sets on holograms and avatars and player characters, giving rise to new era of generative reality gaming. In this new age, the very fabric of reality itself will bend to the one crowned king of games."
Kaiba raised his disk-bearing arm, clenched his large hand emphatically.
"Who has the strength to seize the throne? And who has the power to join the court of the game king, to rule our new reality where games of skill replace the sordid games of war?"
There was a murmur through the crowd as lights suddenly shone on Yugi and Jounouchi and Mai and several other unfamiliar faces, all of them wearing PowerVision DuelDisks. Kaiba swept his eyes over the spotlit crowd and settled on Yugi.
"Join us as we search the entire world for those who have the skill to bear the crown!"
The room broke into applause. Kaiba held Yugi's eyes for a long while, through Mokuba's formal announcement about world-wide tournament dates. Bakura chuckled.
"Always with the monologues, you'd think he was a thespian. What a way to make sales."
But something in Yugi knew the showmanship and the speeches and the spectacle weren't just marketing. He felt eyes on him from all over the room. People knew him as the Duel King—the ultimate barrier to Kaiba's promised throne. He prickled, goosebumps running up his arms. He clenched his fists, feeling an instinctive duty to defend his title. After all, he was the vessel of the pharaoh, the king of kings of a thousand years.
Jounouchi found his way over to Yugi and Bakura.
"Typical Kaiba. Seems like he put a target on your head, huh, Yugi?"
"Don't be a moron. Anyone who wants to get to Yugi has to get through me first," Kaiba said, looming behind Jounouchi.
"Jesus, you're quiet for a big guy," Jounouchi said, holding his heart. "What's this about? Is this a bribe?" Jounouchi held up his disk arm.
Kaiba looked surprised, then serious. He snapped is fingers and a white-tailed waiter appeared with a tray of champagne glasses.
"What could I possibly want from you so badly that I would need to bribe you?" Kaiba passed them each a glass. "This is simply an acknowledgement of your ascension out of the realm of obscurity."
"Well I can't accept it."
Kaiba laughed, tipped his glass. "You won't accept a simple gift from your future brother-in-law?"
Yugi and Bakura giggled. Jounouchi looked completely bewildered.
"What the hell are you talking about?" Jounouchi said, the confusion pinching his face.
"Jounouchi," Yugi said, placing a hand up on his shoulder. "Your sister. Look over there."
Jounouchi turned toward Yugi's pointed finger, scanning the crowd to see what it was he meant.
"Oh my god. You gotta be fucking kidding me."
Leaning against a far wall was Mokuba, hand on Shizuka's hip. She was playing with his tie, all but pressed against him as they chatted intimately, trading mischievous little grins.
"No. Absolutely not. They're too young. She's too young, he's definitely too young. No. Even if they were older. No."
Yugi and Bakura laughed openly, and Kaiba chuckled.
"So, what…this thing is happening, and now we have to get along, so you're gonna throw me a bone every now and then, and I'm supposed to forget every arrogant thing you ever said to me?"
"Bones are for dogs, Jounouchi Katsuya," Kaiba said forcefully, stepping up to loom directly over him. They were close enough in height that Jounouchi was too afraid to move, lest they bump foreheads. He was frozen, taken aback. It may have been the first time he'd ever heard Kaiba say his full name.
"And you…are a duelist."
Jounouchi stared, uncharacteristically quiet. He nodded.
"Thank you, Kaiba." Jounouchi touched the gauntlet on his arm. "I won't waste it."
"To your future nieces and nephews!" Bakura said, lifting his glass. Yugi clinked it loudly.
"I hate you guys," Jounouchi said, clinking Kaiba's glass.
"To the king and his court…long live the king," Kaiba said, smirking at Yugi.
"Cheers!"
"Oh, Yuuugi, how did the tournament go…" came grandfather's voice from the couch as Yugi trudged up to his room. His head was spinning, he barely remembered the limo ride home, but he felt loose and happy.
"Jii-chan, I'm home. I'm gonna go to bed—" Yugi said, sending a wave behind him, bleary violet eyes unseeing as he made his way automatically to his room.
He flopped down onto his bed, barely registering the soft sensation of someone removing his shoes as he began to drift off.
"Jii-chan?"
He blinked but saw nothing but the ceiling above him. There was a cool touch around his neck as the collar fell away, and his body finally relaxed into a deep dreamless sleep. Something brushed his bangs from his eyes and then he felt no more.
He awoke to the smell of fire smoke and brackish air and a soft exotic floral, all born on a welcome warm wind. He felt a chill beneath it—he was sitting on bare stone, bare-armed, bare-foot, legs exposed.
"Where am I…" he said, blinking into clarity a hexagonal room inscribed on all sides with hieroglyphs, marked with steles and small but elaborately carved and painted obelisks.
"Master, welcome," said a dark velvet voice from the far side of the room.
Yugi pushed himself upright, a soft woven blanket falling off his shoulders to bunch in his lap.
"You're in a liminal place. A waiting room of sorts."
A long-haired figure in a plain off-white tunic brought him a gold plate of fruit, figs and grapes and slices of orange.
Yugi blinked the sleep from his eyes, tried to make sense of the room around him as the man with the plate sat down near him on the stone slab. He recognized the face, the tattoos at the corners of the eyes—
"Black ma—I mean, your name is Mahado, right?"
The man smiled, offering Yugi a segment of orange.
"Eat. You must be exhausted from your journey."
Yugi cautiously took a bite, and the taste exploded on his tongue. He was almost dizzy from the intensity, the sweet tartness of the juice quenching him as it slid down his throat. His body thrummed with latent energy, and everything slid into total focus.
"Why did you bring me here?"
Mahad folded his hands in his lap. "You came of your own accord. There must be a powerful impetus driving you here so soon."
"I…I'm dreaming, aren't I?"
Mahad stood, offering Yugi his large open hand.
"I don't have the time to explain everything to you now. Allow me to show you what I can before you return to your world."
Yugi took the magician's hand, let himself be led to a large podium where the magician unrolled a long papyrus bearing pictures and writing, both heiroglyphs and heiratic.
"There is a time to all things, a purpose and a place. There is a time for planting, a time for reaping. A time for might, a time for mercy. There is a time and a place for every soul to emerge from our world into your own, and a time for every soul to return."
Mahad pulled the papyrus along until a depiction of the sun barque was centered before them.
"Every living thing moves in cycles in accordance with divine order. This is true even of the sun and stars. Darkness rises at night when the sun descends to the underworld, and is vanquished again at the sun's return."
The magician carefully pulled a little scroll from a golden box on a shelf inside the podium and unrolled it before them.
"What is this?" Yugi said, recognizing the form of the elaborate serekh encapsulating four heiroglyphs.
"This is your Horace name, given to you at your appointed time. I dare not speak it aloud—but in your tongue it means Beloved-of-Aten-who-seeks-Ma'at. You see, this mark on your head," the magician touched Yugi's forehead at the hairline, where the hair grew golden. "is a kiss from the sun god. A mark of divine favor, or maybe of gratitude, given to you by the sun god the night you were to enter into the realm of the living. You were were conceived three thousand years ago, the same night that Akenadin forged the Millenium Items."
Yugi looked down at his own bare feet, white on the white limestone.
"Don't you mean the other me?"
Mahad shook his head. "When the door to the underworld was opened that night, true evil and true righteousness leaked out in equal measure. In order that the world would maintain balance, Atem came to you, to your soul, and asked for your blessing to enter the realm of the living through you so that he could seal away the evil. And you gave him passage."
"I don't understand…you mean I'm from ancient Egypt too?"
"You would have been, if the solar child hadn't come in your stead."
"The solar child…" Yugi recognized the name from his cursory studies of Egyptian mythology. "So the other me…Atem is the solar child? The sun god?"
The magician squinted, testing the words in his mouth before saying, "In a matter of speaking, we're all the sun god. But just as you are the living embodiment of Horace-in-the-palace, Osiris-Ani, he who on earth holds the spirit of a god within him, Atem, too, is a living embodiment of the sun god, the great Aten, Amun-Re."
"'A living embodiment'…but Atem isn't alive," Yugi said thoughtfully. "He crossed over at the ceremonial duel."
Mahad smiled. "That's a rather post-Christian view on the next world, my young master."
Yugi absently touched his bangs, trying to comprehend. A cool blue light was peeking through a slit window at the top of the room. Mahad shook his head.
"We haven't much time. You were destined to be a great king, one who ruled in compassion and returned peace to his war-torn land."
"I'm not the kind of person who would want to be king of anything." Yugi said, touching his stomach where the puzzle would have sat.
"Oh, is that so?" Mahad said fondly. He clasped the smaller man's shoulder. "You would have been a legendary king. You, as Horus son of Isis, son of immortal Osiris in the underworld, were destined to rule side-by-side with your brother-king and companion. Set, the master of chaos, guardian of the Sun in the devouring night. It's an old prophecy, told and retold by our people for more than two thousand years before the time of calamity."
"Set…do you mean Kaiba? My brother-king?"
Mahad unrolled a papyrus depicting in series the rivalry and reconciliation of Set and Horus as Osiris looked on from the underworld.
"It's no accident you were reborn together in the same time, in the same country, in the same city. The thread of fate that binds you is enduring," he said, pointing once again to the depiction of the solar barque, where Set and Horace guarded Ra from the serpent that swam in the waters of primordial chaos.
"You were fated to come together to rule the upper and lower kingdoms three thousand years ago. Your wisdom and compassion and his strength and determination were to unite to form a great power that would bring lasting peace to your kingdom. You were to restore Ma'at, order and justice. In absence Ma'at on earth, the forces of entropy will continue to push existence toward a state of formless chaos once more," the magician said gravely.
"If order can't be restored to mankind, the creator god will slip into a sleep that spells the death of reality as we know it. The sun will rise no longer, until a billion years of slumber restore the force of life, of ankh, to existence."
Yugi nodded, feeling pressed by the enormity of it all. His eyes flashed. "What can I do?"
The magician smiled. "You were fated to bring Ma'at to mankind three thousand years ago. You were to set the world on a course toward global brotherhood and cooperation. Because of the hubris of desperate men who opened the doors to the underworld, that future was put aside."
Yugi's head was swimming. The room seemed to be closing in on him
"Until now," the magician said, holding Yugi's gaze reverently.
"And…Atem? Is he here? Can I see him?"
Mahad shook his head. "We're out of time. Remember your visit, young master. The more you can remember, the more likely you'll be able to return. Remember." Mahado prayed, clutching Yugi's cool, pale hands in his own large, dark ones. He pressed a small object into Yugi's palm. "Remember…"
