Chapter 14

Bouncing into the game room, Mokuba grins at the sight that greets him. Joey's sprawled out on the floor attacking the controller as if the object insulted him while his big brother rests casually on the couch with his own controller in a steady, firm grip. Rolling his eyes, he watches Joey's character attack yet another zombie. Laughing he enters the room and settles next to his brother. He smirks at the content smile unknowingly playing across Seto's lips that widens a fraction when Joey easily rolls onto his knees and settles in the space between his big brother's legs while still fighting off an enraged mob of zombies. The game finishes and his older brother flicks the channel to the news.

The reporter drones on and on. Suddenly Joey bolts forward until he's practically on the tv. Cameras focus no the house hoping to catch a glimpse inside. Police tape surrounds the place. "Late last night screams were heard from the upstairs of this very home owned by actor Dimitri Young." A camera turns away from the reporter to observe the police walking out of the places with forlorn expressions. Pictures flash of his cell. There's talk of a victim that had been found gagged and tied up by a concerned neighbor. Whimpering Joey watches a blond boy being wheeled out on a stretcher as paramedics tend to him. Dry heaving he stares at Dimitri as he's hauled out in a squad car. "Dimitri Young was caught in the act of trying to strangle the victim. We must wait until the police question this monster for further updates."

Finally, his body succumbs to the sleeping pills Seto coerced him into taking. Concerned yes watch him as Mokuba deftly deals with the constant phone calls. Reporters, family, friends. He doesn't want to deal with any of them. His head is so fuzzy right now, yet buzzing with unformed thoughts. At last his mind slips into hazy dreams until vibrant colors and vivid scents engulf him.

Magnificently the young pharaoh sits upon his throne overseeing the decorators with boredom in his eyes. Cautiously he approaches and sits on the floor next to the man's legs. "Do you believe in soul mates, my Pharaoh?" Startled the crimson eyed male glances down at him.

"Yes, I do, Caleb. Perhaps if I didn't, one of these women would suit me. They say I must marry and produce an heir to the throne."

"Hm. Do you believe we can atone for a sin of which we didn't know we committed?"

"Yes. But what sins do you possess to make you so unhappy at a time like this?"

"i was tricked into fathering a child. Yet this witch of a woman refuses to let me care for my own flesh and blood."

"Are you sure this child is yours?"

"Absolutely. If only you would see him, you'd know."

He recalls the bewitching woman offering him a drink before he continued on his journey. He was to be sold once again. Already the men accompanying him were drunk and gambling away the small fortune they had already. He took her spiced drink glad to be rid of his thirst. Too soon he fell into this disoriented state. She laughed and took what he offered so freely as a service in his slavehood. When he awoke next, she sent him on his way with a coy smile upon her lips.

Two years later he saw her again. Only tis time a toddler waddled beside her. Tussled tresses the color of wheat, eyes dipped in honey, and a jubilant grin. His son, his flesh and blood. The boy saw him, and with a knowledge far older than the child he nodded. His own son recognized him for who he was. The woman came to him, dusky skin and dark eyes, and hissed, "You'll die young and when you go, your memories will be his to possess as will every other ancestor from him on. He'll have your strength and power. He'll surpass you in your magical abilities. While you can only conquer, he'll possess and train."

Of those gifts he knew nothing of. He knelt down to hold his son at least once before the men dragged him away. Out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw a dragon soar above. But he shook the feeling off of being watched. Another slave trade to head off to.

"Have you talked to Seth, perhaps he can retrieve your son for you? I'd give my full support of course."

Nodding he smiles up at the Pharaoh. "He wished to have your blessing. I assured him you'd grant it, but you know how stubborn he gets."

"Yes, my cousin can be a bit of a pain. Now go to your beloved."

He rises to his feet, ready to see his lover, when the Pharaoh adds, "Don't worry about my love life, Caleb. Whether this life or the next grants my soulmate to me, I don't know. I do know that my chosen one is out there."

Years later as he lays in the arms of a thief, he recalls the promises his beloved had made. He can only hope that for once the High Priest doesn't keep his word. His child, a tiny duplicate of himself that by now would be nearing his seventh year, would only provide fuel for the man's anger and hatred. A sweet voice echoes through his mind and he squeezes his eyes shut.

"I love you, for all eternity, and I vow to reunite you with your child. He shall be treated as a child of mine should be. If he's anything like you, the entire palace will adore him." Reassuring azure orbs taunt him as he descends into dreams. Only in his dreams is his family complete. Deep in his heart he knows his child will prosper and father many children to ensure his lineage carries on. For some unfathomable reason he sees a blond boy, a duplicate of his Pharaoh, a miniature version of the thief standing side by side. He sighs in his sleep hoping their future glows brighter than his own.

Bitter tears well up in Joey's orbs, yet he blinks them away. He wonders how many of his ancestors had these dreams. How many were driven mad by them? He heard the stories of a triple great grandfather having hung himself on the eve of his youngest child's birth due to his inability to cope with the heartwrenching sorrow? Another story of a woman so far back in his lineage that he knows not what to call her died due to vicious, unexplainable wounds upon her body. Was he destined to die young also?

"Puppy," Seto inquires trying to shake the blond out of his dazed state. "He can't hurt anyone ever again. They found enough evidence to lock him away. In the cellar, they found skeletal remains." Tentative fingers reach out for him. "I'm here, Joey, I'm not going anywhere."

"Set, what happens if I die?"

"I'm not quite sure I understand."

"In my family, the one that received the dreams always ended up dieting young. Their was one that made it to his thirties but he locked himself in his house and had food delivered. My great grandmother joined a convent but died on her twenty-third year while giving birth. She had been raped. Nothing good comes to my family."

"You wont, I refuse to allow you to die."

Grinning weakly, Joey nuzzles Seto's throat and chuckles, "Leave it to you to think you can control death. So, ya gonna tell Death when it shows up to 'hold on while I finish this project'?"

Generous, warm laughter tumbles from the blond's lips as cobalt orbs eye him skeptically. "You really believe you have all that power. That's rich. Come on, Super Kaiba, I'm hungry and you're treating me to food," Joey jokes rolling onto his feet.