Parallax
(A companion story to Shadows on the Nile
Part of the Eternal Nile series)
By Lucidscreamer
Thanks to Silvershadowfire for beta-reading.
Seto Kaiba had spent the last few days on an emotional rollercoaster. It had all started when he had been awoken from a sound sleep at the ungodly hour of 4:00 a.m. by an urgent phone call from his business partner (and, yes, okay... "friend"), Yugi Mutou, to inform him that Yugi was missing an important meeting to go on a spur of the moment jaunt to Egypt, of all places. All because of a dream he'd had that his grandfather was in trouble.
Unfortunately, Seto was all too familiar with the validity of Yugi's premonitory dreams. He didn't like to think about it, much less admit it, so he still tried to talk Yugi out of going. Of course, Yugi hadn't listened to him. And Seto figured that would be last time they spoke until Yugi had rescued his grandfather from whatever predicament the old man had gotten himself into this time.
He wasn't too worried; after all, Surogoku Muto was an archeologist and, despite what the Indiana Jones movies might have one believe, Seto doubted the senior Mutou could be in any real danger. It wouldn't be the first time the elder Mutou's adventuring spirit had gotten him into hot water. The circumstances were usually embarrassing but not life-threatening; Yugi would go sort it out before Seto had time to really notice he was gone, and things would return to normal.
He wasn't expecting anything to be different this time. So, it came as a distinct shock to Seto when he abruptly found himself literally seeing the world through Yugi's eyes and hearing Yugi's thoughts rushing around inside Seto's own head like some sort of demented home movie.
o0o
Seto had been walking toward his office when the parallax view of a small (and rather fragile looking) airplane sitting on an airstrip in what was obviously Egypt swept over his vision without warning.
He stumbled, shooting out a hand to catch himself against the nearest wall. For all practical purposes, he was blind, able only to see what Yugi (because who else did he know that was both psychic and in Egypt?) was, apparently, sending him. Seto's stomach flipped uncomfortably as the vision shifted, bobbing a bit like a handheld camera in a "found footage" horror movie.
Overcome by shock and vertigo, he sagged against the wall. There was a roaring in his ears, like his pulse was on overload, and then he heard, in what was unmistakably Yugi Mutou's voice, a voice-over track for this strange "movie."
Ugh, another airplane. That's the last thing I wanted to see after all those airports... And, is it just me, or does this one look like it came out of a box of Cracker Jacks? No, no... It's fine. I'm sure it's fine. It looks fine. The mental Yugi-voice got somehow smaller and more disheartened. ...For the prize from a Cracker Jack box.
For some reason, that snapped Seto out of his shock, and he snarked back, Yeah, you just keep telling yourself that. I'm sure it'll be a great comfort to you when they're fishing your toy airplane out of the Nile.
There was a moment of frozen disbelief on the other side of the mental connection, and then Yugi's thoughts growled, Shut up.
Unfortunately, Yugi didn't follow his own directive, so Seto was subjected to several minutes of Yugi being both angry with and attracted to some jerk he met on the plane, as well as his usual discomfort with even the prospect of flying. The jumble of thoughts went something like:
Oh crap another plane, I hate flying, why is Yami here? ...he's so pretty... No! He lied to me. And he probably stole that necklace from the museum! ...but he's so pretty... ARGH PLANE. ohmygodhe'stouchingmyhand! ...dreamysigh.
Because hallucination-Yugi was apparently twelve.
"I've flown on this airline for years without any problems." And that was apparently this 'Yami' person's contribution to the conversation.
That means they're about due for some, Seto thought loudly at Yugi, since Yami's observation had done nothing to soothe Yugi's racing thoughts.
Some distraction was clearly in order, if only to get Yugi to stop thinking about Viridian's hand touching his (Seto did not need this; his skin was crawling just thinking about it). At least if he were focused on potential plane problems, Yugi would probably stop thinking about his interest in his companion.
Shut up, shut up, shut up! Yugi chanted at him, and then went right back to his awkward flirting with some guy who was hella dodgy and in no way good enough for him. (And what kind of stupid name was 'Yami,' anyway?)
Not that Seto cared or anything. Just like he didn't care who Mokuba brought home to meet him. (It was strictly coincidental that he sat there pointedly cleaning a katana the last time his little brother brought home a date.) He tuned back into what the low-life was saying in his attempt at charming Yugi, who was proving all-too-susceptible to it.
"...I've thought of you as 'Yugi' for years, even though we'd never met."
How nice for you. Seto could feel his lip curling in a sneer, even if he had no way of transmitting the expression to this Yami character. What a sleazeball. Did he really expect anyone to fall for his smarmy, used-car salesman act? And then Seto remembered who they were dealing with and groaned. Tell me you're not falling for the charm act, Mutou. Remember he's the one who stole that necklace from the museum.
Yugi's thoughts conceded the point even as he rejected the source. Go away imaginary-Seto! If you don't get out of my head, I swear I will personally redesign every dragon in every version of every Duel Monsters game you own to look like Kuriboh.
Imaginary?! Who was the one inflicting psychic voyeurism on someone else, here? (Hint: it wasn't Seto.) Putting all his frustration into his mental (and actual) voice, Seto growled, "You wouldn't dare."
PINK Kuriboh, insisted mental-Yugi. With little bows.
The image that accompanied the threat was so horrific that it froze Seto for several heartbeats. By the time he had thought up a suitable rejoinder, the connection had vanished as if it had never been there.
o0o
Leave it to Yugi to accidentally find new levels of weirdness to inflict on Seto. Of course, since the kidnapping incident that had brought them together, first as acquaintances and then business partners, Yugi had made a hobby of yanking Seto out of his comfort zone on a regular basis. Though he did normally have the decency to keep his thoughts outside of Seto's head.
Having regained the use of his eyes, Seto got through the rest of his day as best he could while constantly looking over his mental shoulder.
He made his way into his home office and flung himself into the plush leather chair behind the desk. He glared at its polished surface in a very real attempt to make it burst into flame using only the power of his mind. After all, if he suddenly had some kind of freaky telepathic link going on, why not pyrokinesis as well? (At least that would be useful.)
He was just considering getting back up to pour himself a glass of sanity, er, scotch, when his vision did another weird sideways slip and Yugi was highjacking his brain again.
This time, Yugi was apparently wandering around a crowded market and giving himself a mental pep-talk in between obsessing about that Yami guy. Where did he go? Is he here? Why can't I find him? ...I'm not pouting, I'm a guy. Guys don't pout.
You so do, Seto pointed out. Forget the glass. As soon as his brain was his own again, he was going for the whole damn bottle.
Shut up! Yugi shouted at him, and then pretended to be fascinated by his surroundings.
Seto sighed. Why did Yugi keep bombarding him with this crap, only to ignore him when he tried to respond in kind?
o0o
All of this mental communing was going to make Seto's brain implode. He had rescheduled all his important meetings on the theory that zoning out during contract negotiations was an express train to bankruptcy. Then he had holed himself up in his office and tried to do something productive, even though he spent most of that time Googling archeologists named 'Yami' (turned out he wasn't a con-artist, he just had a stupid nickname) while he waited for the other psychic shoe to drop.
By the end of the day, Seto had snapped at his secretary twelve times (a new office record), made an intern cry, and had come to the conclusion that if he ever met this "Yami" guy in person, Seto was going to punch him in the face. (Possibly with a Duel Disk. The newest prototype still had a fairly sharp edge on it.) There was no way that guy was good enough to carry Yugi's luggage, much less anything even remotely involving (ugh) romance.
It had been the longest day in the history of long days. Seto wanted to go to bed and never speak to another human being again as long as he lived - especially when that human being did not have the decency to speak outside of Seto's head like normal people. His headache, which had sprouted from the seed of that initial contact with Yugi, had blossomed into a poisonous bouquet of pain. Seto had always had a high threshold for pain and had never been prone to migraine, but he was beginning to understand why chronic sufferers would go to such lengths to rid themselves of this kind of pain. He had never felt anything like it, and he would very much like to never feel anything like it again.
Seto cringed as he got another brain-full of Yugi's unwarranted - and, in Seto's opinion, unfathomable - fascination with the shifty archaeologist. And, in the short hiatus between contacts, it had apparently gotten worse.
Okay, so maybe Yami was the handsomest man he had ever met. Yugi's thoughts burst into Seto's brain like the opening salvo in a nuclear war, ratcheting up Seto's simmering headache to full boil. And maybe there were moments when Yami seemed to actually care. In between all those other times when he doing stupid shit like sneaking off alone or going on inexplicable Nile cruises. But mostly he was irritating. And untrustworthy. And had a smile that turned Yugi's insides to warm goo. And... Where was he going with this again?
Seto buried his head in his hands and prayed for a swift death. God only knows. But when you get there with it, could you bury it in a deep pit and never speak of it again?
Oh, no. Yugi's mental voice sounded as appalled as Seto felt. Why are you back?!
I wish I knew.
Well, whatever the reason - stop it!
You think this is my idea? The unfairness of that accusation made Seto sit bolt upright and glare into space, as if he could project his righteous ire directly into Yugi's brain. (He probably couldn't - after all, he wasn't the one who started this Psychic Friends Network nonsense - but it seemed worth the try.) I don't even believe in this psychic bullshit.
Wait a minute. Yugi seemed to freeze. This isn't just my imagination? ...Seto?! Is that really you?
No. It's the freaking tooth fairy. Who the hell did you think it was? Or do you routinely barge into people's heads at random? Seto regretted the accusation as soon as he made it. He knew that Yugi didn't do anything of the sort, and that he had no control over his weird abilities. As far as Seto knew, this was a new twist even for Yugi.
Uh, I dunno. You're the first person this has ever happened with, Yugi said, confirming Seto's suspicions.
Not that it really helped much. Imagine my joy.
And then Yugi's psychic presence was gone again, and Seto was left to nurse a throbbing headache and a fifth of single malt on his own.
o0o
Seto was a mass of nausea, throbbing temples, and irritability in a stylish trenchcoat.
And it only got worse from there.
The next time Yugi tuned back in, it was to bestow the dubious gift of a half-naked Viridian upon Seto like one of the ten plagues of biblical lore.
"Fucking hell!" Seto yelped, clapping a hand over his eyes as if that would somehow make it all go away. He tried the mental equivalent of "la-la-la, I can't hear you!" but that worked about as well as a paper fireplace.
And so he was 'treated' to the spectacle of hearing his best... acquaintance... losing his damn mind over a cut-rate Indiana Jones knock-off.
Yami had very nice clavicles. And shoulders. And a great chest, all firm, lean muscles beneath smooth bronze skin...
Seto covered his ears in the vain attempt to muffle the sound of Yugi's overwrought thoughts. Fortunately, Viridian managed to get Yugi to re-engage his higher brain functions and invited Yugi into his room... cabin? Were they on a boat, now? He'd thought Viridian was an archeologist, not a sailor.
"Shut the door," Viridian said. "We don't want the whole ship overhearing our discussion."
Holy crap, it was like something out of a B-movie seduction scene.
Oh, is that what you kids are calling it these days? Maybe if he was obnoxious enough, Yugi would give him the mental boot before Seto was forced to take drastic action and knock himself out.
Oh, god. I can not deal with this right now. Yugi's mental voice was filled with panic.
Welcome to the club, Seto thought uncharitably, but for some reason, that thought didn't seem to transmit.
Seto, if you have ever remotely tolerated me as something even slightly less than a mortal enemy... pleasepleaseplease, GO AWAY.
Like Seto had a choice in the matter. Before he could point out the hypocrisy of Yugi's request, he was unwillingly eavesdropping on Yugi's argument with Viridian. Yugi wanted to keep looking for his grandfather (because, of course he did. He was Yugi.), while Viridian was being an idiot and trying to get Yugi to go back to Cairo, or at least Luxor.
Seto snorted. Yeah, good luck with that. You think he flew all the way from Japan just so he could sit around and let someone else do all the work? Unfortunately, neither Viridian nor Yugi seemed to hear him.
And then things got extremely uncomfortable.
Yugi's hand collided with Viridian's chest, Yugi's libido went nuclear, and when Yugi and Viridian began kissing, Seto started praying for a meteor strike to put him out of his misery.
Yugi! Yugi, damn it, I'm going to be ill if you don't stop this nonsense right now, and come back to your damn senses!
From Yugi's side of the connect, came the sensation of being doused in ice water, putting out the-
I cannot believe you just seriously used the phrase 'flames of passion,' Mutou. What the hell are you on?
There was a wordless surge of feeling from Yugi, best summed up as OHMYGOD, and then the connection cut off as abruptly as it had formed.
Too bad it was too late to spare Seto the mental scarring. If he had to get therapy after all this, he was sending Yugi the bill.
o0o
Episode #Whatthehellever of the Yugi Show opened with a close up view of some nutjob with too-long blond hair and the kind of smile usually found on hyenas. Seto's heart sank. This didn't look good.
Wherever Yugi was, he was soon surrounded by gloom and rock - floor, ceiling, and walls. The space was cramped and narrow... a tunnel of some sort? Yugi's thoughts were racing, filled with Grandpa, he's here, is he safe? and worry for Viridian, and physical pain (knees, hands, the old scar on his palm aching from where the cut had been re-opened).
"Careful. I need you in one piece," the nutjob said, prodding at Yugi.
Oh, he's a piece of work, Seto said. Well, piece of something, at any rate. And he'd hurt Yugi, so he was going straight to the top of Seto's List of People Who Need Punched. Where'd you dig him up?
Seto! Oh, god... Yugi's mental voice was almost 'thick,' as if he were holding back physical tears. ...I wish you were here.
For a long moment, Seto couldn't even think. Yugi sounded so tired, so hurt, and so damned happy to hear Seto in his head. No one except Mokuba had ever been that happy for his presence.
...Me, too, Mutou.
He was a mental tag-along through the tunnels and hidden chambers, always with the nutjob chivying Yugi along. With every passing minute, Seto's rage grew. He could feel Yugi's fear - not enough for himself, never enough care for himself, the selfless little idiot - for his grandfather, for his new friends, for Viridian. He could sense the pain lurking in Yugi's abused body, the blood beginning to clot on his injured hand.
He felt Yugi's elation when he was reunited with his grandfather, and his terror when the nutjob threatened Sugoroku and Viridian. Seto felt when Yugi's self-doubt came close to paralyzing him as he stared down at the golden box in his aching hands.
Don't you dare. Seto wasn't going to let Yugi do this to himself. You're better than that, Mutou. You don't give up, remember? If you'd given up two years ago, Mokuba would be dead.
He felt Yugi's resolve harden.
You're right. I can do this. I will do this.
Damn right you will. Don't forget - If you don't get out of this mess and come home safely, Mokuba will be very upset with you. Seto bit back a smile at their old joke, even though there was no one to see it.
Right. I guess I'll have to solve the Puzzle. His mental presence brightening, Yugi responded with his own part of the joke. After all, I wouldn't want to upset... Mokuba.
Seto barely had time to for a choked laugh before the link faded into silence.
o0o
The mental connection stayed silent for what felt like several centuries after that. Seto paced, and cursed, and generally tried not to lose his damn mind while he waited for Yugi to turn up in his head again.
"Come on, Mutou," Seto growled, his hands clenching and unclenching in helpless fury. "Say something. Show me what's happening to you. Do something, anything!"
As if in answer to his pleas, the link swam back into focus, bringing with it the unmistakable impression of lazy, smug satisfaction... and two warm bare bodies pressed together. Seto instinctively flailed away from the sensation, cursing the universe (and Yugi) for reminding him why he should be careful what he wished for.
What, Seto thought despairingly, did I do in a past life to deserve this?
Because, as grateful as he was to know that Yugi was alive and apparently more than okay, Seto could really do without the involuntary psychic peep show.
He had no interest in other people's love-lives (especially someone he, however reluctantly, considered family). Hell, he barely had any interest in his own love-life. He certainly didn't want to know what Yugi had been up to with Indiana Bloody Damn Viridian.
The sleepy, contented sense of Yugi woke up enough to send a confused, Huh?
I'm glad you're alive, Mutou. And Seto was. He'd just gotten used to having a second little brother. He would be extremely pissed off if he lost either of them. However, there was only so much a big brother could take without retaliation. Because when you get back to Japan, I'm going to kill you.
All he got in response to the growled threat was a bubbly, joyful burst of affection and a chirpy, ...'kay.
If Seto could have reached through their mental link, he would have given Yugi a good shaking. Are you even listening to me? No, of course not. You're barely even awake. Now. When it's not going to do me any good. Well, don't say I didn't warn you, because I will have my revenge. When you get back to Japan, I'm going to swap every tube of hair gel you own with depilatory and- Mutou? Do you hear me? Mutou!
But the only reply he got was the link fading as Yugi slipped back into sleep. Too emotionally exhausted to fight it, Seto soon followed.
o0o
Seto awoke to heart-pounding terror shooting through him, and Viridian's voice ringing in his ears.
"No! Yugi!"
Seto's heart seized. What? What was going on? He strained at the mental link, but all he could make out for certain was that something was happening to Yugi, something not good if his physical reactions were any clue.
Yugi's heart was slamming against his ribs so hard it felt as if he couldn't breathe and his sight was completely covered in some sort of inky, cloying darkness. Seto would have thought he had his head in a box or something, except for the way that darkness writhed and shifted around his field of vision as it closed in on him.
Suffocating, enveloping...
And then it was gone.
And so was Yugi.
o0o
It had taken the better part of a day for Seto to convince himself he hadn't imagined the whole thing. A day that went by without the slightest hint of Yugi's voice in his head or visions of sights he couldn't possibly be seeing.
Yugi just... wasn't talking to Seto anymore. He hadn't since that final, frightening connection, which had snapped when Yugi vanished into the darkness.
After that, Seto spent another 24 hours using every resource at his disposal to attempt to contact Yugi in a more mundane fashion. But his phone calls went unanswered, Yugi's last hotel reported that he had checked out with the rest of his tour group, the tour group itself was incommunicado after the arrest of the founder of the company (what the hell?!) for illegal antiquities trafficking, and no one had seen or heard from Yugi since he got on a boat called the River Horse for a Nile cruise. Even Sugoroku wasn't returning Seto's calls directly, though he had left a message saying he was extremely busy and would get in touch with Seto as soon as possible.
It was as if Yugi had fallen off the face of the planet. And like hell was Seto taking that without a fight.
Mere days after he first heard Yugi's voice in his head, Seto was on a plane to Egypt - expenses, schedules, and common sense be damned. It had taken him that long because, even as worried as he was, he couldn't simply drop everything and fly off to another country without making sure his company was in good hands during his absence.
Turning things over to Mokuba took little enough time in reality, though it seemed longer to both of them (Seto had explained only that he knew Yugi needed help; that was enough for Mokuba to get on board with Seto's plans). While they were dealing with the swap-over, his personal assistant took care of his travel arrangements, and Seto wracked his brain trying to figure out how he was going to find his missing friend. After all, Seto couldn't help Yugi if he couldn't find him.
Because Seto knew that something bad had happened to Yugi.
So, yes, Seto was going to Egypt. He was going to find whoever had taken his friend, his brother. He was going to get Yugi back.
And he was going to make the son of a bitch who had hurt him pay.
The End
Part of the "Eternal Nile" series. The rest of the series can be found on my profile and on AO3 (Archive of Our Own) under the same username (Lucidscreamer).
On the other archive, I have also posted the prologue for "Reflections in the Nile," the long-delayed sequel to "Shadow on the Nile."