Part 1: The High Priestess (Ishizu Ishtar)
The newspapers run the story about the Egyptian artifacts for a week or more, getting Yugi to frown everytime he sees them. The artifacts came to Japan with one of their curators, and are on a half-year tour before heading back to Egypt. What makes them different, he reads, is that they are a new find, and that it's hinted they were used for a great deal of time after Egypt was pulled into the Roman Empire. If Yugi hadn't met Shadi or heard the tale that Pegasus had told them, before his death, he'd be surprised to learn that some of the artifacts had still been in use until about ten years ago.
If he guesses right, it was probably up to about eight years ago.
Yami can sense his unease, which means that much of the time he would have spent worrying about the growing shadows around Domino are instead spent calming Yugi and exploring the various ways that soul-touching affects him. They've learned that Yami can 'feel' more than Yugi can, and that what would be sensual touches have more of an effect on Yami, unless he cheats and lets Yugi feel what he's feeling. The result of that rather odd dream/experiment/sensation had left Yugi overly tired and over-sensitive to physical and mental issues, so they hadn't tried it again. Considering that Anzu had found out and cornered him the next day, doing her best to not lecture him on his decision, Yugi had agreed quickly with Yami's decision.
Of course, telling Anzu had meant she'd asked to take Yami out on a 'fact-finding date'. Yugi had been stressed and she'd smiled at him, as she normally did when he was worried or upset. "It's not a real date, Yugi. I know you, and I've seen you and he grow closer over the last year. But that doesn't stop me from being worried. I still remember how things were before Death-T, and even what happened at Duelist Kingdom. I just want to make sure you'll be ok, and talk to him about it." She smiled a bit brighter. "I've been your friend the longest, so I think it's within my rights to give him the 'mess things up and I will mess you up' speech."
Yugi had smiled at that, and the gentle and happy feel from Yami had only made him agree quicker. That Yami was fine with speaking to Anzu about their relationship or his feelings only made Yugi more aware of how he'd become part of the group and part of their lives.
Katsuey wasn't so easy to read, and Yugi wondered if it wasn't something that had happened while they were at the hospital. He knew that she'd gone to speak to Shizuka while they were there, but as far as he could see, she hadn't seen her sister since. Not to mention that she'd appeared more and more antagonistic towards Kaiba as well.
Yugi didn't blame her for that - Kaiba could often do things that alienated him from the others - but overall Yugi believed that Kaiba simply did that when he was either overly confident or very afraid. The way he'd dueled during Duelist Kingdom, both against Yami and against Pegasus, seemed to show that he was a good person at heart, but that he often made rash or even bad decisions to keep himself safe. Knowing Kaiba's past, under Gozaburo Kaiba's thumb, left Yugi to wonder if Kaiba would ever really recover or change enough to be good friends with Katsuye and the others. Anzu seemed to treat him neutrally, neither defending him nor ostracizing him, and Bakura and Honda both simply saw him as "Yami's rival" instead of part of the group, as Yugi wished he could be. Yes, Kaiba was difficult to get along with and had his issues, but overall, Yugi counted him as a friend, even if he wasn't a close one.
It also worried him because of how often Kaiba seemed to be drawn into issues that came up around the Millennium Items. With the exhibit in town, or at least getting set up, Yami had noticed a strange gathering of shadows. It gave both him and Yugi a bad feeling, Yugi worrying that this would mean a big change or some new, dark threat. Though Yami admitted the Shadows were passive and not as aggressive as they'd been under Pegasus' control, it still meant that the Shadows were back and weren't attached to Bakura's Ring or his own Puzzle. To Yugi, that only meant a new challenge and danger for Yami, one that he hated for his other half to go through. Yami still considered what happened during the Duel with Pegasus, as well as the events with Shadii, to be partly his own fault. Yugi pointed out that much of the danger to his friends was due to him starting and completing the Puzzle, even if Yami said that Yugi's influence had only helped to keep him from straying the same way that Shadii and Pegasus had.
Despite that one point of argument, both of them know that, soon, they will have to go and see what the artifacts are, and if they are connected to the Puzzle.
Kaiba dislikes Ishizu almost immediately, but he supposes it's due to his distrust of anyone that wears a Millennium Item. The necklace she wore carries many of the same markings that the Puzzle and the Eye had, and her talk about Egyptian artifacts only served to bore him. He was there because it was obvious she was part of whatever 'game' was going on with the Items, and Kaiba had already learned a hard lesson about knowing his enemy. Hinagata was with him, recovered enough to walk and listen as Kaiba did, but the man was also an expert in what was known, at least publicly, about the Items. He'd found a few others sources that were not for the public, and none of the stories had been any better.
The Puzzle had a reputation, one that dated back to the turn of the century and right after the discovery of Tutankhamen's tomb. Everything but the Puzzle itself had been taken out of the tomb due to the dangers within, and back in the 1930s, treasure-hunters had finally broken into the long-sealed tomb to take it. Of the group, only one had emerged.
The Eye and Ring were other issues - both appeared and disappeared frequently and mostly around Egypt. Talk of someone 'cursing' those who went into tombs, no matter how they'd treated the objects or not, was also something circulating. The Item around Ishizu's neck, though, was not known at all. It had taken a bad translation for Hinagata to even get a possible name - Millennium Tauk - before the nighttime meeting.
"I'm not interested in these artifacts. My company is a technological one...unless you intend to ask for money so I can create something to better explore sites without damaging them, I'm failing to see the reason for this night 'tour'," he finally said after Ishizu's explanation of her agency's history.
"I explain this so you understand where I come from, as well as understand this," she said, turning to him and Hinagata. "I am the caretaker of these items because my family has been their caretakers for many centuries. Indeed, I am the first of my family to have any sort of title or work outside of where I was born."
He's silent at the admission, frowning as he considered what she said and what the artifacts mean.
"I have set up a specific room, though, to show you why our family has been so secretive. I promise you now, no harm will come to you, if you enter this room. But it is important that you and Hinagata-san both enter and see what I have to show you."
Hinagata frowned, looking uncomfortable. He's not stated his name to her, the paranoia that had come up after his rescue from the old virtual reality game that Gozaburo Kaiba had trapped him in obviously leaving him unwilling to enter. Kaiba knew the feeling - even with her promise, he still remembered the feeling of getting his soul forcibly removed, as well as the older feeling of the two losses to Yami that had resulted in him re-examining his beliefs and what he felt needed to be done.
"I understand your reluctance, but what I mean to tell you in there is not for the public. Please." She waited, and finally Kaiba walked in, forcing Hinagata to follow uncertainly. The other man frowned as the dimmed lights went up as they entered, looking around at some of the items in the area with a frown on his face.
Kaiba could understand his pause. Much of the artwork that dominated the area appeared to be stonework and paintings that were common to see for Ancient Egyptian artwork, but they appeared very different from normal. For one, many of them depicted events that Kaiba knew - his Duel against Yami when Exodia was summoned, Pegasus' Duelist Kingdom, and even the Virtual world that they'd fought in. Hinagata was looking at other, older works, ones that appeared ancient and didn't actually show their own dealings, but instead showed what appeared to be an odd story.
"It is said that long ago, a Pharaoh's advisors learned a dangerous spell from the Millennium book, a tome ancient and filled with dangerous knowledge," Ishizu told them, narrating the story before them. "With ma'at threatened by outsiders, the Pharaoh agreed that one spell be used, so as to save the kingdom. The chief advisor picked a spell that was dangerous, as it had a chance to bring about disorder and chaos into the kingdom if the magic was used improperly. However, the advisor, spurred by fear for his own family's safety, performed the ritual and from that, the Seven Millennium Items. The Items controlled the Shadows, the powers between the duat, the dead, and the living. To hold the Shadows and prove their worth, the Advisor took the first, the Eye, and gained powerful insight into a person. He took the others back to the Pharaoh, and with them, ma'at was restored."
Hinagata looked over and frowned at her. "But not for long."
"No," she admitted, motioning to the final painting. "A force of evil and chaos appeared, due to the imbalance within the Shadows. The Pharaoh's son was forced into a sacrifice, dooming his soul in order to bring back ma'at to the world. During that time, some of the advisors, angry over their loss of power, attempted to create a way that they could control the Pharaoh and the Shadows when he reawoke." An image, that of a woman with a lion's head and three lion-like monster behind her, showed up again. "Others, lead at first by the Pharaoh's most staunch protector, worked to keep this from happening. In the end, all of the advisors were put to death, and their families given the tasks of caring for the tombs holding the separated Items."
He and Hinagata looked at her as she touched the Tauk on her neck. "I am a descendant of those advisors, tasked with protecting the Tauk. However…" she looked over at the last painting. "The Tauk allows visions of the future, though they are not certain nor are they always true to every degree. My predecessors painted these, before touching the Items became forbidden, and before...many things." Kaiba looked at the painting, focusing on it and not on the woman who clearly needed a moment to compose herself.
"My apologies. I am here to show you both a possible future, and one that can lead us to a balance of power, rather than the mess it is now," she motioned to the final painting, "I hope this explains some of what I will ask of you in a moment."
The final painting showed a tower, similar to the one on Alcatraz Island. Before it, Kaiba and Yami, both dressed in colors often representing royalty, Dueled with the Dark Magician and the Blue Eyes. However, something else seemed to hover over the Duel itself. This was obviously not the final Duel, but one that lead up to the final confrontation. Above them were three monsters, all surrounded by what appeared to be card boundaries.
"This is the 'battle before darkness falls'. It depicts the Living Osiris, trapped in the Puzzle, fighting against his rival for the right to defeat evil. Depending upon which interpretation you read, either one can win, and either will face a dangerous foe at the end, to stop the arrival of another evil."
"What does this have to do with Kaiba-san, or with anything in general?" Hinagata asked, looking annoyed at the drawing and at Ishizu's continued non-answers.
"The three monsters above were shown to Pegasus, along with a commission for three specific cards. Of the paintings here, it is the only one that was lost."
Kaiba and Hinagata look at her as she says, "The old rivalry between the families of the advisors was brought up, and one sought control over the other. During that time, the painting was copied and defaced. A papyrus scroll, a copy of the original, was taken as well. It describes the three monsters shown in this painting - three beings that are to be brought to life and that will lead the Pharaoh to a point where he may chose his fate." She motioned up to the three. "I know their names, and some bits about them, but beyond that I can say little else."
"And you're telling me this why?" Kaiba asked, glancing at the three monsters then back to Ishizu.
"Because the other two are in the hands of a gang known as the Ghouls."
Kaiba had heard of that group. They were dangerous and tended to sell items from archeological sites or digs, as well as paintings or rare artwork. At best, they were banes for the community that Ishizu came from, but they also moved in his own circles, as with so few rare cards appearing from Duel Monsters, as well as with Pegasus' death stalling new cards from being put out at the moment, meaning cards such as his three Blue Eyes, or even ones like Yugi's Magician of Chaos, or Jounouchi's Red Eyes, were valuable and pricey.
"The Ghouls wish to gain wealth, but the ones within the circle you work are lead by someone who knows of this painting, and who believes the Pharaoh represents darkness and chaos, a return of antiquated rule and ignorance. He will do all he can to stop it, and thus far has managed to gain access to two of the God cards that Pegasus created."
Hinagata frowned as Kaiba looked up at the three cards. "So...what, he's just waiting for the right time then?"
"He knows when the right time is, or at least what the signs are," she told Hinagata, getting Kaiba to look back at her. "I want you to host a tournament, in Domino."
"Oh?"
"I have enough pull in Industrial Illusions that I can make it an official Duel Monsters tournament, one that will not have the same secrecy and...bad publicity...that Duelist Kingdom had. All I ask is that, as one rule, you have the Duelists put up a valued card as entry."
Kaiba frowned, looking at her. "Why?"
"All Duelists on a high level have at least one card that's worth a great deal," Hinagata pointed out, as if getting Ishizu's point, "and you were thinking of what to do with Alcatraz. If you hold a big, final battle there, it will not only overshadow all that Gozaburo was doing, but also show a very final move towards technology and games, instead of weapons. Not to mention, I'm guessing the person who wins will probably end up with all three God cards."
Ishizu nodded. "That person will control the Pharaoh's fate, ultimately, since the person who commissioned their creation poured the power of the Shadows into them." She looked up. "I can tell you their names, and their representations, as well as a bit about the man who holds two. But I can't tell you everything. I don't have all the answers, even with my ability to see into the future."
Kaiba finally nodded, Ishizu saying, "The three are all considered God Cards, and are, in order of power and abilities - the God Obelisk, the God Osiris, and the God Ra. Each represent a duality - light and dark, life and death, heaven and earth. Of the three, Obelisk is powerful and can kill in a single blow, if given sacrifices. Osiris is powerful based on what the wielder controls, and can drain the power of other monsters held by your opponent. Ra is the hardest to summon, and will not give it's power easily to anyone." She looked over at Kaiba. "If you do what I ask, about the tournament, I can give you the one God Card I have. You will have to win the others during the tournament." She reached into a pocket, producing the blue-tinted card. Kaiba could all but feel the Shadows rolling around it, and frowned for a moment before saying, "I do this...and win back the cards, let's say. Then what?"
"Then you will have won," she told him simply, "I cannot see that far into the future. There are too many variants, meaning that it is up to you and the one who holds the Millennium Puzzle to decide."
Hinagata looks upset at the idea, but Kaiba only nods. At least, in this, he knows someone or something isn't attempting to manipulate his fate.
"I will hold the tournament soon. There is some preparation to do before that, and I have to test out the game system I will be using." The final Duel Disk system was almost ready, and Kaiba wanted to test out the God Card's qualities before he went into a series of Duels. Not to mention he had to clear a few things with Domino, but he didn't doubt they would deny him a tournament.
Ishizu nodded her understanding, and seemed pleased with his answer. "Thank you for taking my request, Mr. Kaiba. I wish you well in your journey."
Ishizu waited until Kaiba was gone before letting out a breath. "You can come out now. I know you were watching."
The shadows parted as the woman stepped out of them, her dark hair tied back in a long braid, her eyes golden like a lion's, and her clothing similar to what she'd worn years ago, when Ishizu had first seen her in a vision the Tauk gave her. "You shouldn't sound so upset. I haven't pressured you into anything."
"As you say, but I am tired of being a pawn in the fight between you and the descendants from the other side of the Valley. I have lost enough in your battle."
The woman crossed her arms. "I'm not using you as a pawn, nor am I pressuring you into anything. I told you something, and left you to verify it on your own. And your father chose his end, so you cannot blame me or Shadii for that."
Ishizu glared at the woman, then looked away. "My family has been mistreated. I would think I'm allowed to be angry about it, so long as I don't use the Shadows for my own gain."
The woman was quiet a long moment. "The Shadows understand your loss, but since you are acting as a counter to your brother, then you cannot have access to them easily. I understand the pain of having a family being used in such a way, which is why I protested and fought all those millennia ago. But now, when we are this close, I cannot do anything but see it through. My star is nearly at his zenith, and that only means that he will soon reappear and decide his fate."
Ishizu cannot fault the woman her faith in the one she calls her 'star' - Ishizu is here to save her brother from what dark fate awaits him, and to atone for all that her family might have done. She knows that what she said will convince Kaiba to run the tournament, and also knows that her place there is already foreseen.
I will battle Kaiba, and he will choose between the power I have given him, or the one he created on his own.
The only good thing about accepting the request to host a tournament and work on capturing the Ghouls that would infiltrate the city to gain rare Duel Monsters cards is that Mokuba is speaking to him again. Telling Mokuba about what happened was not something that Kaiba wanted to do, but he knew he had to, since his brother would ultimately attempt to draw him and Jounouchi together again.
Mokuba had thrown a tantrum and refused to speak to Kaiba until he apologized to Jounouchi, something Kaiba wasn't about to do when he had been within his rights to question her sanity. Jounouchi was going to throw herself headlong into danger no matter what he said, and more importantly, Kaiba had no reason to be involved with her beyond the help he'd given her sister to repay her helping Mokuba during Battle City, and again during the Virtual World. She was a third rate Duelist at best, and only lucky with that Red Eyes Black Dragon she'd gotten, or the Time Wizard he'd learned she'd used to gain said Red-Eyes. Even if she wasn't a rank-amateur at Dueling, Kaiba wouldn't be bothered with her in the way Mokuba wants him to be. He knows the type of person he must marry and have children with, and that is not Jounouchi. She's far too distracting anyway, if the dreams he'd been having about her (pleasant or otherwise) are anything to go by.
Mokuba is with Hinagata as Kaiba tests out the Duel Disk system, as well as the God Card he'd received from Ishizu Ishtar. A part of him is wary of the woman - she'd only appeared recently, and had risen to a position of power mostly by the fact that she knew where some of the finds she protected were, as well as her helping the Egyptian Government catch many of the Ghouls that attempted to take the treasure as well.
They live up to their chosen name - ravagers of the dead who live in graveyards and steal from those that had died.
Kaiba shifted as the Duel started, the holograms projecting out only a bit from his own system and showing the cards he'd placed, either face down if they were hidden and he hadn't dedicated them to defense, or face up if he had. He'd created it with the same technology he'd hoped to use against Pegasus, but in this case, the holograms and other technology allowed for the field to be between the two, as well as allowed for some of the effects of cards to be seen in a better light than the ones in the Duel Box he and Industrial Illusions had created. With this, the Duel would feel more active, more real.
It will look like that fresco painted centuries ago, that showed us summoning monsters from some old bits of stone. Yami is part of the past, some relic that needs to find it's place. I can win this, because this is my age, not his. I won't be taken down the same path of cruelty and danger that Gozaburo tried to send me down, or that Jounouchi is happy to head blindly along in the name of friendship. I will face the one that I consider my rival, my only rival, and defeat him. Even if that means his fate is in my hands…
The Duel started out simply enough, but also proved why they would probably have to use the new rules that came out during the last tournament - higher level monsters, those with five stars or more, needed a sacrifice, while ones like his Blue Eyes would need at least two. It meant the game was going to be harder, and demand you spend more time figuring out ways to stall to bring out your own monster first, or getting good low-level monsters to stall.
Rebuilding his Deck after his two defeats at Duelist Kingdom had taught Kaiba that monsters with low levels but special abilities could make or break a game, even against his own Deck. The Virus combos he had still were good, but he had a variety of backups to now use, not only for the Blue Eyes, but now for the God card.
The machine summoned his Blue Eyes right away, and then the Lord of D to bolster the Blue-Eyes and make them more immune to any attack he might have.
He was not expecting the sudden arrival of all three, though, and felt himself straighten in fear as he did.
Stop it, he chided himself, relaxing as he did, Yami faced these down without fear. Even that third-rate Duelist faced it down without fear. Getting too fearful is the only monster we have to face...I will not back down from this challenge. I will win, and I will do so by believing in my abilities, in myself.
My deck can beat most, but it can't beat Yami's at this point. By seeing how this one card works against the Blue Eyes, I can figure out a strategy to have them all work together. That is what Yami does, and he is able to not only stand on his own, but work with others if needed. I need that as well. I need to know my own strengths and weaknesses, so that I can overcome them...and so I can defeat the one I call my rival.
He summoned the God of Obelisk, and the moment he did, he could feel it's presence. Most monsters, even the strong ones, he couldn't feel the presence of. But something must have clicked, or finally come to light, and at that moment, he could feel the presence of the gigantic monster behind him, looming like the obelisks of Egypt over the sands and area they were guarding. For a moment, he could feel the malice it had before the thing quieted, instead looking to the Blue Eyes.
Kaiba could feel them as well, their presence and their understanding of what the Obelisk was and what it meant. It was odd, a feeling he couldn't place at all, and he ignored it as he commanded Obelisk and ended the Duel. The AI dueling machine he'd created seemed to falter and spark, causing Kaiba to race over and grab his Blue Eyes deck from it right before the thing sparked one final time and fell over, appearing dead. He held his Blue Eyes deck in hand, the Obelisk behind him, and suddenly, he saw that odd monster from before, the eagle-headed lion monster that was laying in the corner, tail moving slowly like a contented cat in the sun, before two dark wings spread up from it and it disappeared.
"Nii-sama!"
"Kaiba-san, are you alright?"
Mokuba and Hinagata's worried voice brought him back as the projection ended, and he slowly nodded, looking down at his deck and then to the one in the Duel Disk.
"How soon can we be ready for the Battle City tournament?" he asked Hinagata, getting the other man to blink in confusion.
"Pretty soon. I have a friend of mine helping out with the coding and like, but everything should be ready to go in a week and some change."
Mokuba looked up at him happily as he announced, "Chief Itonokogiri said he's got the help of the police and that he's hired on some others who know about Dueling and the like to help out with policing the game and making sure we catch the cheaters. I'm helping!" Itonokogiri was their new chief of security, and while at first he hadn't really let Mokuba help out with the security part, he'd finally resigned himself to it after Mokuba had beaten him at Capsule Monsters. Apparently, the Chief was a fan of the game, and the two ended up striking up a friendship due to that and Mokuba's continued enjoyment of the game, as well as his ability to apply it, practically, to various puzzle areas.
"See if we can have everything ready in two weeks, then. That will give us enough time to ensure everything is set up." It also allowed them to produce enough Duel Disks for those who were high up in the Duelist Database that had been created for tournaments and the like. Currently, only he and Yami (or, as he was registered as, Yugi) were the two highest-rated Duelists, with 8 stars. Others fell short of that, with Kujaku falling around six stars due to her wins at Duelist Kingdom, and other participants of the kingdom falling around five or lower. As it was, Insector Haga was down with only three, after his loss to Yugi so early on in Duelist Kingdom, as well as his continued losses since then. Dinosaur Ryuzaki, despite the loss of his Red Eyes to Jounouchi, was still in the running because of his own wins and the changes he at least made to his own deck. Others who hadn't been on Duelist Kingdom were able to make the grade as well.
Jounouchi wasn't. Even with her 'win' at Duelist Kingdom, she hadn't won any official tournaments before or since then, and had been disqualified for fighting in more than a few. It only showed her hot head and her inability to do anything without Yugi or Yami's help, as well as her bad temper and even worse background, if fighting was the only thing she could think of doing.
"Have your friend send out some invitations, in magazines and online. Invite them to the Egyptian Exhibit, but do so in a way that presents a riddle."
Hinagata nodded, considering. "I'll see what I can come up with. The museum's exhibit was talking about old fights and new finds...any specific date?"
"Coordinate with Itonokogiri, and then send me the date and time. Well go there to announce the tournament a few days before it's beginning."
With a nod, Hinagata headed out, and Kaiba considered what he'd seen and felt.
Something was stirring, something that was using his technology, and he had to hope that it wasn't anything that would end up being used against him, as the Duel Boxes were at Duelist Kingdom. He wasn't about to have a tournament like that one, even if part of it was to trap the Ghouls and their Rare Hunters. At least here, the trap would result in things getting better instead of worse.
Layla glanced over as the griffin returned to it's place, letting out a breath. "Shadii didn't know what he was doing, making those things. The Shadows are now going to awaken quite a few things that I don't think anyone is looking for, and my star is going to notice the changes."
A soft growl from the sphinx got Layla to frown. "Considering what Ishizu and her family has seen, I would guess that others will notice as well. Certainly that brother of hers will." She paused and thought. "I suppose I'll have to actually get involved in this one. I don't think that Marik will be able to keep his mind for this one, not when he's been taking such a dark path. And that will certainly end badly for someone."