Spirit of the Dead
ElveNDestiNy
Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! No copyright infringement intended.
Note: Somewhat AU since I haven't seen all of YGO and none of the Egyptian arc. Also, although Ryou has the Millennium ring, everyone believes that Yami Bakura is still in the Shadow Realm.
Key:
-Yugi to Yami-
--Yami to Yugi--
Chapter 2: Past and FutureNone of them knew what to do. Yugi's words had shocked them and the emotion Yami had not been able to conceal further disconcerted them. With Yugi, they would have hugged him and comforted him, but this was Yami, after all. Not only was he intangible, he was aloof, and they didn't know him that well, beyond what Yugi had told them. The situation they found themselves in was so entirely unexpected and fantastical. They stood there, unsure of what to say and how to act, wavering between the wish to comfort Yami and yet also a little in awe of him.
Ryou had always been a little distant with the group sometimes, and Tristan, Joey, and Tea still regarded Seto Kaiba with less than friendly outlooks. Their presence made everything even more awkward, added to the fact that Bakura's father was one of the leading archaeologists who had discovered Yami's tomb.
After the first few tears, seen and felt only by Yugi, Yami had withdrawn again, concealing his emotions behind an impenetrable façade, holding everyone, even Yugi, an arms distance away both emotionally and physically. He turned so that his back was to them.
"Yami…" Yugi said, voice trailing away. There was nothing he could say. What do you say do someone who's a spirit and who knows their mummified body is being dug up somewhere? He could only imagine the horror that Yami must be feeling.
Yami's lithe frame visibly flinched at Yugi's questioning tone and his shoulders hunched a little, as if he was expecting a blow. Surprisingly, it was Seto Kaiba who went up to him from behind, laid gentle hands on the shoulders of his rival, and turned him around to face him, looking steadily at the spirit with clear, compassionate eyes. Joey almost freaked out at Kaiba's actions and Yami pulled away savagely, unwilling to deal with his rival in this, of all times. Yugi hurried up to Yami, expecting some sort of confrontation.
"Yami, is it true? Then what about the curse?" Kaiba said, looking down at the shorter boy. His voice held none of its usual scathing sarcasm or coldness. He had felt the tenseness in his rival's shoulders, and despite his cold outward expression, inside he ached a little when he thought of what Yami must be suffering. Yugi hurried up to Yami and slid his arms around his waist, embracing his dark half tightly, as if trying to protect him from Kaiba.
"It is true," Yami replied in a soft voice. "I don't know about the rest." Suddenly, he twisted away from both of them, sat down on a chair, and buried his face in his hands. "I don't know about the curse," he said, his voice rising and breaking. Then, so softly they could barely hear him, he whispered, "I'm not sure."
He looked at each of them. Unexpectedly, he laughed, yet the sound held all the bitterness and pain and grief he never showed, and nearly broke Yugi's heart. "I barely remember anything from my past. I'm not sure how I came to be in the Millennium Puzzle, or why I'm here," he said, "or even my true name."
"What'dya mean? Your name's Yami!" Joey blurted out.
Yami gave him a level stare and smiled sarcastically. "'Yami' isn't my real name, just as I wasn't always a spirit. I don't remember."
"Idiot…Yami simply means dark, it's not a name. Besides, the word's Japanese…Yami's an Egyptian pharaoh." Tristan replied almost at the same time.
"It's like when Shadi and I explored your soul room. Yami, why did you block us out? I know you have secrets, and I respect that, but…someone might have been hurt!" Yugi exclaimed.
"I…" Yami started. He looked down. "I don't know. I didn't intentionally try to keep you out. It just…happened."
"Who's Shadi?" Joey asked, but everyone ignored him.
"Yami, you were Pharaoh," Tea said, gesturing to the still muted TV. "You know that much."
"Yes." Yami hesitated, but continued anyway with the question that had been haunting in for so long. "But what kind of pharaoh was I? Why was my spirit sealed away in the Millennium Puzzle?" The others looked at him helplessly, at a loss for a comforting answer to those questions. They could only imagine what he felt knowing that people had discovered his tomb. Even Yugi, who knew him best, was troubled.
"But the tomb…what are we going to—" Yugi started to say. He stopped as he flung an arm up to cover his eyes from the burning bright light that had suddenly began to shine in the middle of the room. Cries of surprise came from the others as well as the light expanded and pulsed. Finally, something stepped out and all the light vanished, to everyone's relief.
When their eyes had adjusted again, they saw a tall, dark-skinned man with a turban in front of them, with curious white linen robes and gold jewelry.
"Shadi!" Yugi gasped at once.
"So that's who Yugi was talking about." Joey muttered to himself. The others simply stared at the Egyptian with undisguised curiosity.
"Yugi, Yami—" his dark eyes swept around the room briefly, "and all of you, I suppose—it is time." He looked at each of them, but his gazed lingered on Seto as if he were measuring his worth, and on Ryou and his Millennium Ring.
"Time for what?" Joey asked.
"Who do you think you are?" Seto challenged.
"Silence," he hissed.
Instantly, the room fell quiet. Shadi pointed the golden Millennium Key at Yami, who gazed at it with widened eyes. The Key began to glow; softly at first and then becoming brighter. "I shall unlock the past and bring it forth!" Shadi commanded.
Yugi felt sick. The room seemed to swirl around him and his body fell, but when he tried to get up, he realized that he was looking at his own body from above. Looking around, he saw the fallen bodies of his friends as well—and their almost ghostly figures, also standing. They had left the physical dimension behind.
"W-what is this?" He glanced around for Yami, but while Yami's spirit was there, he had no physical body lying on the ground like Yugi's own. The next instant, Yugi gasped and instinctively grabbed for something as the room spiraled a second time, this time slowly going black, like it was fading. The walls, ceiling, and even the floor disappeared to be replaced by a black void. It was eerily like Yugi's experiences of the Shadow Realm, but somehow different. He closed his eyes and tried to calm himself as he felt the nonexistent 'floor' below him tilt and sink.
When Yugi next opened his eyes, he realized he was squeezing someone's hand very hard.
"Let go, aibou." Yami growled. Yugi hastily let go, and Yami flexed his rather sore fingers cautiously.
Yugi was relieved to see everyone still with them, even Shadi. However, their surroundings looked nothing like the room they were in. All he could see was what looked like a gigantic stone wall in front of him, and light golden sand all around.
"Where are we?" he asked Shadi. The Egyptian motioned for them to gather close and be silent. After a while, Yugi shifted restlessly on the sand.
"Are we waiting for anything in particular? Or are you going to tell us were we are?" Yami was obviously apprehensive, although Yugi and the rest had no idea what was going on.
"Be quiet!" Shadi hissed at him.
Just as Tristan, Seto, and Joey all opened their mouths to retort, they became quiet. Ears strained to pick up the distant sound. It was a rhythmic chant in some foreign language, oddly soothing to hear but somehow mournful and glorious at the same time.
Out of the corner of his eye, Yugi saw Shadi frowning, then watched as the Egyptian briefly touched his hand to the Key. Suddenly, they could understand what was being said, although the language sounded no different, nor less strange.
"Mighty Ra, guide this soul to the river of darkness, protect him, nourish him on his path. Great Amun, accept this sacrifice and shield those who remain from harm."
In the distance, the small figures of the chanting people appeared. They gradually got larger as they advanced to the pyramid in front of them. As soon as they were close enough to be seen clearly, the waiting group, with the exception of Shadi, gasped. The middle person, wearing cloth of gold robes and bedecked with golden armbands and jewelry, looked exactly like Yami. They watched silently as the people walked into the tomb. Shadi led them so that they, too, were in the chamber. It contained a throne, torches, and a large space, as if for a dueling arena.
"On this day I willing sacrifice all the power I possess, to save this world from harm. Great gods and goddesses, watch and guide these children of Egypt. Take my offering so that the Shadow Powers shall be sealed forever. I give myself into your hands, and accept my destiny."
As the group watched silently, the pharaoh knelt in the sand, and began to glow. The crimson color surrounded him and melted the sand around him, but the pharaoh simply closed his eyes, face serene and composed, although it seemed like it was painful. Suddenly, however, another young man appeared—this time out of nowhere. Again the group gasped; it was Kaiba, an Egyptian Kaiba wearing the white and gold robes of a High Priest dedicated to Amun-Re. He, too, was wearing jewelry, and his eyes were outlined with kohl, with heavy black lines nearly reaching his temples.
Apparently the appearance of Kaiba had stopped the magic from completely working, because the crimson glow around the pharaoh suddenly vanished.
"Pharaoh, I challenge you to a duel!" the Egyptian Kaiba shouted out.
The pharaoh Yami accepted. Above, Yami, Yugi, Seto, and the others gasped as they realized what was happening. At first, Yami and Seto dueled, using the Shadow Powers. The duel seemed to last for an eternity as the forces fighting within slowly destroyed the stone chamber. The images shimmered as if time had changed again, and they saw both opponents, now clearly exhausted, nearing the end of their strength. When the monsters proved too dangerous, Yami summoned forth some magic.
"Swords of Revealing Light," Yugi whispered, recognizing them immediately. Nearby, Kaiba jerked his head at the name of the card but his eyes remained focused intently on the duel below.
Whatever the Pharaoh shouted to his High Priest was lost to the watchers as the three Blue-Eyes White Dragons roared with furty. But they knew what was happening before them, anyway, and watched as the Pharaoh sacrificed his life and sealed his own soul within the Millennium Puzzle.
The Millennium items glowed as the pharaoh fell to the ground, and his followers in stark white robes took them. The scene wavered in front of the watchers, reappearing in some period of later time, and they saw seven Egyptians leaving, each bearing an item to hide throughout Egypt.
Later, the Millennium items were reunited again, but the House of Ishtar guarded them in a secret temple near the Valley of Kings. Shadi bore some of the Millennium items, but the others had been either lost, or given away to fulfill their destiny.
Shadi turned to them as they saw all this happen. "And so destiny repeats itself—with Seto Kaiba as the living reincarnation. Once again, his quest for power and dominance may bring the world to ruin, and this time, the spirit of the Puzzle, the soul of the pharaoh, stands in his way, yet again."
Their surroundings where spiraling again, turning into a weird kaleidoscope of colors. Slowly, the Game Shop appeared again, and Yugi, Yami, Bakura and the others' souls returned to their physical bodies.
When they had all gotten up again, Shadi was still standing there.
"Do you understand now?" he asked. "It is essential that Yami rediscover and face his fears of his past, and that Seto Kaiba learns who he truly is, so that they may help each other as they face the greatest of trials now. "'For the Past shall meet the Future.' So states the Book of the Dead. Events in the future will follow history's course unless prevented, unless we learn from the past and stop this madness."
"But what, first we have to learn to work together like good little children?" Kaiba snapped out, having regained his composure—and cynicism, and sarcasm, and…well, suffice to say Kaiba was completely back to his normal self—more quickly than the others.
Shadi gave him a long look and Yami opened his mouth to ask some questions, or perhaps to retort. But whatever Shadi found in Kaiba's expression had satisfied him, because he disappeared before Yami could so much as get a word out.
"Now, what was all that about?" Tristan asked to no one in particular.
"Does that mean Yami will die again? But he can't!" Tea exclaimed. They all turned to look at her, and she blushed a little. "I mean, he's already a spirit, and he's already dead, right?"
Yami glared at her. "I am not 'just' a spirit."
Yugi would have smiled at his yami's tone if he hadn't been so worried.
"Aren't we all kind of missing the point here?" Bakura asked softly from behind. They all jumped a little. The room was still dark, and the glow from the T.V. turned his hair into a fiery platinum, creating the effect that some sort otherworldly light shined on him from above.
"What point? What's the guy talking about, anyway?"
"Well, Joey, obviously Shadi wanted to show us exactly how Yami died, and how everything that happened in ancient Egypt will happen all over again with Yami and Yugi against Kaiba."
"So Yami's gonna fight with Kaiba?" Joey smirked. "You better get used to having your butt kicked, Kaiba-boy," he drawled, trying to imitate Pegasus's tone of voice.
"I don't intend to lose to anyone; unlike you, puppy-dog."
"You'll probably have to kill Yami before you win."
"Rest assured, I'm not some psycho who goes around killing everyone."
"But Seto, you just do it sooo well," Joey drawled. He finally shut up when Seto turned to him with ice in his blue eyes.
"Then maybe I'll start with you."
"You guys, I'm sure your exchange of insults is just fascinating, but we really have to figure out what Shadi meant!" Tea said.
"I don't see what his bunch of mumbo-jumbo has to do with any of us," Joey said.
"For goodness' sake, he just took us to Yami's past, showed how Yami died to save the world while fighting with the Egyptian version of Kaiba, and basically said that the whole thing is going to happen all over again! The least we can do is follow his advice and figure out how to prevent this!"
Everyone stared at Tea after her outburst, but she was so mad she didn't even care.
"And in the meantime, Yami's body is being dug up or whatever, and you guys are just going to sit around and—"
"Tea, be quiet! The news report—it's six thirty right now and they're opening the tomb, I mean, Yami's tomb!" Bakura exclaimed. He pushed the mute button again. Everyone sat down and leaned forward toward the television screen attentively.
"Breaking news…and now, Terry again, with exclusive coverage of the opening of the pharaoh's tomb in El Minya, Egypt. Back to you, Terry," said the pretty, blond reporter, Alice.
"Yes, here in the city of El Minya, Egypt, excitement and tension is high as James Bakura and Jonathan Stevens prepare to unlock the tomb. Those present include several highly influential personages from around the world, as well as the president and other officials of Egypt. And now…"
Bakura's father, the man with dark blue-black hair, smiled at the camera as with the already slightly opened stone doors gave with one massive heave, and opened. Nothing was distinguishable at first, but as light was show into the dark doorway, something bright and glittery caught the eye. Gold—massive amounts of gold in every form possible, from delicate necklaces to solid gold statues of various gods and goddesses. In one corner of the room, a wooden chariot decorated with electrum—a costly mixture of gold and silver—stood, piled high with sealed jars of food, clothing, and wine.
Everything in the room caught the eye, with the items of precious metal, and the beautiful artwork and designs. It was obvious from the first that the tomb was untouched—it contained the wealth of kings, the gold of a prosperous kingdom paying homage to a great, if young, pharaoh. And this was just the outermost sanctum. Beyond, they could see another set of double doors, gilded in gold and covered with two fantastic winged goddesses and filled with hieroglyphs.
Even the cameramen were quiet as they followed Jonathan Stevens and James Bakura into the chamber, the moment overcoming even their instinctive fighting for the best ratings for their respective TV companies. James led the way, walking to an opening in the far wall. Two life-sized figures guarded the second doorway; guardians that the Egyptians believed would steal the souls of any who dared enter the room. Their painted, gigantic, dark blue eyes glared accusingly out at the intruders.
As Yugi and his friends watched, the second set of doors were opened, revealing more treasures, and a third door. And then they lost count as they passed through the glittering rooms and sets of doors and slowly, advanced into the heart of the pharaoh's sanctuary.
No one spoke as the last doors were opened, as if they sensed that this was it. Lights were passed into the dark area and shone on treasures beyond the eye's comprehension. Only a handful of people were allowed into this room: the discoverers, their own cameraman, and two reporters. The people filed into the room, where they surrounded the sarcophagus, a beautiful rendering of the pharaoh's body, in full royal regalia. On his brow was the royal cobra and vulture. The funerary mask was uncannily similar to Tutankhamun's.
Once in the room, everyone was respectfully quiet, and no one made a move to touch or open the sarcophagus at all. After a few moments, the reporters were shooed out of the burial chambers again. There was nothing words could add to the images they had just captured, so the news program switched to commercial.
"Yami, do you suppose anything will happen to you if they start messing around with your body?" Yugi asked. It felt strange to look at Yami and also be talking about his mummified 3,000 year old corpse. Inwardly, he asked -Are you all right, Yami?-
--I will be.-- Yami replied brusquely. It didn't sound very promising. Out loud, he answered, "I don't know."
"Must feel weird knowing they're gonna dissect you and probably display you in some museum," Joey blurted out, voicing what was on everyone's mind. Yami looked away and everyone glared at Joey. "Hey, no offense," Joey said hastily, holding his hands up to ward off the others. "It just doesn't seem right to stand around and watch Yami's grave practically dug up on T.V."
"Just shut up, Joey," Tea said angrily, overlapping Tristan's retort.
"Well, what do you suggest we do, Joey?" Tristan asked pointedly. "We're half a world away from Egypt, and it's not as if we can erase everyone's memories and seal up Yami's tomb again. It's bound to be found again sooner or later." Then he glanced uneasily at Yami. "You can't, can you? Erase everyone's memories, I mean?"
"No," Yami said absently. The commercials ended, and everyone quieted again.
"Welcome back. That was a remarkable glimpse of the past, of ancient Egypt. Carbon-14 dating has revealed that this tomb is likely have been made around 3,000 years ago, perhaps in the time around King Tut's 9-year reign. The remarkable similarities between the famous boy-king and this young pharaoh are astonishing to both renowned Egyptologists as well as the general public." Terry, the reporter, grinned.
"And with that, we leave you—" Alice began again, the screen showing the tomb minimizing to a small square near her head. Moments later, however, the screen maximized again to show a frenzied crowd, reporters confusedly milling about, and Terry.
"Oh my God—goodness!" Terry began, just catching himself before he offended any non-religious viewers. "Professor Actwin—" he began. The screen showed the Egyptologist gasping for breath, hands to his throat, as his eyes were widened in surprise. The previously dignified people were now frantically trying to get hold of medical help.
"The—" Professor Actwin gasped, staggering closer to the screen, and the now panicking Terry.
"It's the—the curse…" he breathed out. "Curse of the…Pharaoh..." Then the professor's eyes rolled up in his head, and his body fell.
At this point, several people were screaming, and the reporters were doing everything but reporting. However, the cameras were still on, despite the fact that some of less strongly willed cameramen had deserted. Someone leaned over the professor's prone form, and felt for breath or pulse.
"Oh my god—he's dead! The professor's DEAD!" the woman shrieked when she couldn't find a pulse or heartbeat. With this new proclamation, the people went wild. Several were running away from the evacuation site, although there was no place to run to, except the desert. Someone screamed for somebody to do CPR on the professor, and someone shouted back that the professor wasn't drowning, he was dead.
What had merely begun as a few superstitious, uneasy feeling in the group of people now grew to full-fledged panic. Sure, they had exchanged some jokes when the inscriptions where found, but every mind that was attending knew all about the Carter case so long ago and the mysterious deaths.
"It's the Curse! May the gods forgive us!" One of the natives screamed, and those around him seemed inclined to agree. Modern science and logic dismissed it for superstition, but now that someone had died, everyone automatically thought of the curse again, no doubt what was on Professor Actwin's mind when he died.
"Everyone, please remain calm and stay where you are! I repeat, remain calm, and stay where you are!"
Suddenly, the screen switched back to Alice, who seemed unfazed by the very unprofessional and disturbing live news. "Viewers, clearly we have witnessed a medical emergency. Professor Actwin is a distinguished Egyptologist but he has reportedly had heart problems and no doubt the excitement was too much for him. Egyptian culture was mired in superstition and of course, we have just seen that the pharaohs' legacy has not left our modern society. We'll return to the site of the excavation right after these commercials."
To the disbelief of Yugi, Tea, Seto, and the rest of the watchers, a commercial really did come on. A spoonful of soup replaced the grisly image of the professor's corpse.
"What the heck was that?" Joey yelled in frustration. "Someone just died and they go on a commercial break? I can't believe this!" The others more or less echoed his sentiment. He grabbed the remote from Bakura and started frantically switching channels. All of them were on commercial; the reporters probably couldn't deal with the accidental news broadcast of the death. Muttering in disgust, Joey turned back to the original channel.
Yami's crimson eyes were wide with shock. His hands were trembling and clasped tightly in front of him. "…the curse…"
-What curse!- Yugi asked.
"What about the curse?" Bakura asked out loud, unknowingly echoing Yugi. "Didn't you say it was fake?" He was obviously worried about his father.
"The Curse of the Pharaohs. I remember now, I learned it when I was young, from my teacher." Yami's eyes widened in realization. "Each pharaoh has a slight variation of the curse, but all of them basically strike down those entering the tomb. Mine was written when I was very young…'Death shall slay on wings of light those who dare disturb the peace of the pharaoh.' I never believed it until I was twelve, and someone broke into my grandfather's tomb. My father caught him, but he died from the curse before they could do anything."
"Does that mean my father…!" Bakura exclaimed.
"Yes. All those present at my tomb today will die or be struck down—blinded, or such, I think—and all those who disturb the tomb later on will, too." Yami said soberly. He spread his hands in a gesture of supplication, and his whole bearing seemed filled with helpless anger.
"I am sorry. But I have always been taught that nothing can escape the Curse, and it cannot be removed," Yami said in a frustrated tone. "Your father will die, Bakura, unless I can save him. And so will everyone else."
o -
Please see my author's notes at the beginning of the first chapter, they contain some very important information. I'll be updating soon, probably next Saturday.
Please Review! Thanks!