A/N: I created a card to use in this chapter, so I own my own created card! Otherwise, everything else should be the same ol', same ol'.
Steps Forward
Four days passed quietly after that incident as Isis sent troops to several towns and villages to remove the people from them before the destruction came. Finally, it came time for the foreigners to leave, and Lord Orion specifically asked for Prince Atem to see them off. While the Pharaoh tried to explain that the Prince was exhausted after protecting the city, Yuugi slowly joined them, being supported by Mahad, both of whom knew Orion would want to see the boy again. They looked amused by the argument as they approached the Pharaoh and the Lord, but when they were five feet away, Orion caught sight of them—and just stared silently in shock.
While Yuugi had recovered faster due to Atem's energy, he was still pale and shaky, far too weak to do much of anything, and it showed. The silence of Orion's shock made the Pharaoh turn to face them—and ask, "What are you doing out of bed, Atem? You are far from recovered."
"We knew this would happen," the acting Prince replied a bit dryly, leaning on Mahad, who just tightened his grip on the boy.
Stepping forward, the Lord asked, "How did you get into such a state when you seemed to still have so much energy that day, to have used so many skills?"
"I had used half of my energy already on city defenses, and set a defensive spell known to cause death in most casters when activated. I was able to use less than half of my usual degree of power, but in my need, I foolishly used nearly all of that remaining energy before I even realized I had," Yuugi replied with a wan half-smile.
The man was silent for a moment, then said, "I now understand what you meant by your power and the powers of your people. Never had I imagined the truth of your warnings, but now...I believe I literally owe you my life, on more than one occasion. Thank you, Prince Atem. Fare well, and I wish you a speedy recovery."
"Thank you, Lord Orion. Travel safely, you and your companions," the boy agreed with a small smile.
With a nod, the man gave a regal bow, then rejoined the other northern Lords. Soon after, the foreigners had left, so Yuugi heaved a sigh of relief, then turned his head and called, "Okay, they're gone, Atem."
Ahknemkhanen turned to stare as his son by birth crossed the courtyard to Mahad and Yuugi, then crouched and motioned for Yuugi to get on his back. The smaller of the two hesitated, then climbed on the Prince's back to be carried, even as virtually everyone remaining in the courtyard turned to stare at the pair. As though Atem did so every day, he rose with the smaller boy on his back and carried him away, the two talking softly as they went.
Going to where Priest Mahad still stood, the Pharaoh asked, "Do you know why my son is behaving so...plebeian, Priest Mahad?"
To his surprise, the man gave a highly undignified snort and asked, "Have you never before taken the time to observe him when away from the Court and social functions? I have seen him do the same with Mana and some of the children of the Palace servants. This is part of who he is. Perhaps you should consider being a larger part of his life, My Pharaoh, as this is typically the sort of thing any parent should know of their child." The Priest then walked away, leaving the Pharaoh by himself.
"...My son..." Ahknemkhanen sighed softly. "I begin to understand where my own weakness has come from, and where your strength will be found."
PA-HPS-YM-SK
Atem carried Yuugi to Set's room, asking on the way, "Do you have any ideas about what we can do to stop them?"
"Let me think about it for awhile. Now that Isis knows what to look for, she's gotten good at saving the townspeople, right? We have a bit of time," Yuugi answered softly.
"What worries me most is..." the Prince paused for a minute before sighing and continuing in a tense voice. "What they want, by the implications of their symbol, is much more directed and vile than DOMA wanted back then...Er, will want in your future. But even then, how did they get here and how many of them are there? Chances are, if we miss even one, we're—well, screwed."
"I know, Other Me," the smaller boy whispered sadly. "We need to find the means they got here by and destroy it. The Gods and Priestess Isis can't see it, so..."
"We're on our own," Atem agreed.
As they got to the door to Set's room, he opened it and motioned them inside and towards a large cushion he'd placed on the floor of his main room. Atem and Yuugi both blinked, then traded looks before the older of the two carried his smaller lookalike to the cushion and laid him down. He then moved over to the table and sat quietly while Set sorted some scrolls and took two back to the table to read them.
For awhile, they were quiet, then Yuugi called, "Hey, Atem, can you make a list of everything you know about them?"
Set looked up in confusion, and Atem asked in reply, "In Japanese or Egyptian?"
"Egyptian. Just don't use anything too complicated, since I'm not that good at your noble text yet," the boy replied.
As though he'd lived in Set's quarters his whole life, he went over to the shelves where Set kept brushes, ink, and blank papyrus, took what he needed, and returned to the table, then began making a list.
"So, there's the three parts of the symbol—I'll get you to draw it for me later—and their meanings, the colors, the missiles, the base, the dragons digging, the towns destroyed, and their attack on the capital. There's also Isis' successful saves once she knew what to look for," the Prince said, running his finger down the list. "What else?"
"Their numbers for one—the ones who died up on the cliffs totaled probably around three thousand all together," Yuugi said, so Atem added that. "Their leader is a tactician, but I don't think he's a duelist or a summoner, since he hasn't shown any signs of that, not even in a defensive nature—unless that's a ploy to make us think he's got no such power. Either way, he or she obviously has access to top-end technology and weaponry, and isn't afraid to use them. That begs the question of just how extensive their technology might be..."
"Their technology could include nukes, is that it?" the older of the two asked as he added the notes to the sheet with a worried frown.
"Or biological warfare," Yuugi answered quietly.
Atem straightened and spun to face the younger boy with a horrified expression as he asked, "You're not saying what I think you're saying, are you?"
"Well, you would have studied about some of the biological warfare used in the past, so all it takes is some infected blankets to pass on something deadly," Yuugi answered. "And because the systems of the people here wouldn't be used to it, they would be weak against it and wouldn't have any idea how to cure it. Even I could be killed by some of the diseases we know. I'm worried they'll use that tactic now, after..."
"Hold on, are you saying they can actually cause us to suffer from an unknown plague?" Set asked in concern, cutting them off.
"Yes, Set," Atem answered, turning back to the brown haired teen.
Rising, the High Priest said, "Well, there's one quick solution to that. I'm going to speak with Shada and we'll have a chat with Ra and Anubis. Stay here until I return." He was gone a moment later.
Atem stared after him for a moment, then gave a small smile and said quietly, "And I ever wondered why I fell in love with him? Other than myself, he's the only one strong enough to do these things..."
Yuugi chuckled at that and answered impishly, "Then it's a good thing the favor I asked the Pharaoh for was for you, not myself."
"You what?" the Prince asked in surprise, facing Yuugi where the boy lay.
"The Pharaoh said he owed me a favor for agreeing to help them by pretending to be you for awhile," the younger of the pair shrugged.
"And the favor?"
"That would be cheating."
When the taller of the two saw the serene, amused smile on Yuugi's face, he just sighed and turned back to the list. "Fine. Any ideas on the way they got here?"
"A portal."
"But that's magical."
"No, there's science-made ones, too—just ask Kaiba-kun. He never delved too much into that aspect, but had a theory about how it could work. If he had a theory, even an untested one, someone else could have tested one. It could have been a ship, or an object which would transport you elsewhere when holding it...A gateway, even."
"...Point taken. Another concern I have is the number of people. This is no small organization, this is something else..."
"Hmm...Yeah...someone wealthy and with lots of people to sacrifice..." Yuugi was silent for several minutes, thinking, as Atem tapped the wooden brush end on the tabletop. The younger finally said, "I never thought much about it before because I just thought it was some kind of made-up story, a group like that couldn't really exist, but thinking back on DOMA, maybe this one could be, too...No one specifically named it, but it was thought to be composed of the thirteen most powerful and wealthy families in the world, those who had been 'Initiated' to their ways. They wanted to control the world, and have admittedly done a good job, but they can never fully control people who have free will, and people don't take kindly to being obviously enslaved, or so they've found, so I just wonder if..."
"You mean you think that group may be real, and in their bid to enslave the world of the future, they've come back in time to take control of it now," Atem sighed tiredly. "It would make sense, I admit. That would also be why we needed you, and why we needed to unite our powers..."
For a long time, Yuugi was silent, staring up at the ceiling. As the door opened and Set and Shada stepped inside, he asked, "Atem, what exactly is 'power'?"
"What?" Atem asked in shocked confusion, staring at the smaller teen.
Sitting up carefully, Yuugi met his eyes and said, "The necklace you were given which made you completely lose control of yourself...you did some very cruel things to your summons in that duel, and in the end, despite your power, you still lost. You're powerful, but...what makes me capable of beating you when I don't have that 'power'?" Set and Shada traded looks as they gazed between the two, and Yuugi went on quietly, "To beat Zorc, to truly defeat him, what 'power' did you use? Because it wasn't what you usually use in battle. So, what is 'power'?"
Looking back down at the papyrus in front of him, the Prince slowly set the brush in the inkwell, then braced his elbows on the table, linked his fingers, and leaned his chin on them. "...True power is love, Yuugi. True power comes from the ability to freely love and care about others, even those who have hurt you. It isn't battle which grants power, but the ability to end the battle. When you defeated me, it was with your most pure love, the ability you had to carry all of my darkness and still remain so pure, so loving, so...kind. My first instinct is to fight. Yours is to protect. My first instinct is a lack of trust...Yours is to give trust. And even Uncle Akhenaten, who hated you when you first came here, has warmed up to you in a way I never expected, simply because you gave him your trust, but never actually fell for his games or tricks. So, for whatever power we have in battle...It will never change anything. It's your power, your love and kindness, which will change things in the end."
Yuugi closed his eyes for a minute, then opened them again and said, "But those people who are probably behind this, they thrive on killing or turning people like me to darkness. Without you...could I really withstand that darkness, that depth of torment?"
Atem turned to face him again and said simply, "You already have."
The younger boy gaped at him, then asked, "When?"
Looking away, the older answered softly, "I'm not a fool, Yuugi. I know what you suffer whenever your father comes home. Then, what I did to you...The struggle you had with Jonouchi and Honda before they finally realized you were a worthy friend...The trials Shadi and Pegasus and others put you through...Did you think I was carrying that whole burden? Death-T, DOMA, Merik's fall, Bakura, the darkness I absorbed from Atlantis' citizens—those were also your burdens, sometimes more yours than mine. You've come out of all of those pure and untouched, Yuugi. They can't touch you if nothing else you've gone through has."
"...How did you find out about that? About my father, I mean," the smaller of the two asked softly, biting his lip.
Shaking his head, the Prince answered, "Your mother wept over it once while you were sleeping. I overheard her. You did an amazing job keeping it from me, I admit, but that might also be because...It never had any effect on you. Did it? It hurt your mother and grandparents more than it hurt you."
That time, Yuugi looked away. "I wouldn't say it didn't hurt, but...I guess it never felt all that important to me. All those things you call burdens...They hurt in the moment, but it doesn't make sense to keep holding on to them after they're over and done with." His gaze moved up to Seto and Shada. "They're not burdens to me because I let them go. They don't define who I am—I define who I am. For a bunch of people giving their souls tangible forms, it's awfully strange to me that you can't separate who you are in your soul and the experiences you've had while living in this world. You were strongest, Atem, when you stopped letting your past dictate your actions and let your pure soul dictate them, when you cast aside the bonds and ties of this physical world. Wouldn't that mean 'true power' is in letting go of the past, the future, the physical world, and letting our souls guide us?"
"How many people do you suppose are able to do such a thing?" Shada asked curiously, and Atem snorted.
"If you ask Yuugi, everyone," the Prince answered, sounding amused.
"The conditions for doing it aren't easily met, though," Yuugi answered softly. "I don't know why I'm like this. All I know is that, when you cast everything else aside to let the soul out, what's left is good will—love and kindness. A soul which has cast everything but itself aside only wants to help others, to heal the hurts of the world and of the living beings on it. There's nothing in me which wants to harm others, but...If I really need to...I can. I have. And no one can predict what I'll do. That's exactly why Akhenaten can't read me—there's not actually thoughts for him to read in me, only understanding, and that can't be 'read', because it 'just is'."
"And why is this discussion so important?" Set asked as he sat at his table across from Atem.
"If Yuugi's right about our enemies, we'll have to start relying on those moments of pure clarity, that zone we often reach on the battlefield, to defeat them," Atem informed the two Priests. "That's our true power."
"Well, nothing tainted with illness or disease is currently able to enter the city," Shada told them. "It will burn upon reaching the border. That is, even ones carried in the air—will burn and become harmless, destroyed by Ra's and Anubis' flames. It had never occurred to them something of the sort may happen, and they informed us we had cut it close, as one tainted item had nearly entered the city. There is little else they can do for us."
"We still have our work cut out for us," Atem agreed. "We knew that. But if Yuugi's right, stopping them isn't a question...it's an absolute requirement if we expect to have a world left by the time Yuugi would be born. The Gods can't help us find them, so we have to do it ourselves."
"We need more pairs of eyes, probably ones in the sky, and no way to achieve that," Set sighed, resting his head in his hand.
"There actually may be a way," Yuugi suddenly smiled. "But I can't cast it now, because I'm too weak."
"What's that?" Set asked curiously.
"After...Um, in the future, there's a time when Atem and I part ways, and a few weeks had passed for me between that parting and when I was dropped here. A new set of cards came out," Yuugi said, looking at Atem.
"And there was a new power or monster in the set which you think would help now?" the Prince asked his smaller lookalike.
"Well, considering one of the spells was called 'A Flock of Bennu' and its function was to let you see any set cards your opponent had, yeah, they count as spies, and are likely our best bet to find this enemy," Yuugi agreed. "I tried counting the number of birds on the card, and couldn't, so I asked Kaiba-kun to show me the projection of it, and there were around two hundred birds in it. Are Bennus really a type of crane?"
"They're Egypt's equivalent to the European phoenix, a symbol of reincarnation and rebirth, and yes, they are a type of crane," Atem explained, then looked at Set. "Given the number of them, and the fact that I'm still feeding Yuugi energy, I think you're the best one to summon and maintain them, High Priest of Ra."
"Also because I'm the 'High Priest of Ra'," Set snorted in amusement. He saw Yuugi's puzzled look and clarified, "The Bennu is Ra's bird." When the boy nodded, his gaze went back to Atem and he asked, "So, how will this...card...power...function?"
"The same as any other summon or spell you cast," Atem replied dryly.
After considering that for a few minutes, the High Priest nodded and said, "Since so many will appear, I'll leave the Palace and city tonight to summon them and send them out under cover of darkness. It might be prudent to have a couple Shadow Guards ready and able to follow Yuugi, though, so we always know where he is and that he's protected."
"Hey, come on..." the smaller teen pouted.
"Considering your propensity for getting into trouble when there's trouble to be had, and your current condition, that would actually be logical, yes?" Shada asked in amusement.
"No thanks to you," Set snorted.
"Enough," Yuugi sighed. "I want to go back to Atem's room and rest now, since there's nothing else we can do right away."
"Shada, could you take him back there, please? I'm staying here for now," Atem immediately asked of the Priest of Anubis.
"Very well," Shada agreed as he rose and moved over to pick the smaller boy up. He saw Yuugi indicate to Set to talk to Atem about that, and Set gave a tiny nod, so he left with the boy so the High Priest and Prince could talk.
When the door shut, Atem got up and went to stand at the window, looking out over the city and the desert beyond it. Set faced him and said, "While I don't mind you being here, it worries me that you haven't gone back to your own room since the day of the attack. Why are you staying?"
For a long time, Atem didn't answer, and Set thought he wasn't going to get one. As he rose to go back to his own work, Atem said, "I feel...like I'll lose control again at any moment, and...I can't risk hurting him again..."
"Then, Atem, talk to me. What's going to make you lose control? What do you need to resolve to prevent that outcome?" the taller of the two asked gently, going to Atem and resting his hands on the smaller's shoulders.
"...I know my own death...I know every betrayal...But the Goddess Isis informed me I can't react to that knowledge, I can't change any of it...I have to pretend I don't know, around people my future self has reason to mistrust...to destroy. How can I just...?"
As the Prince's shoulders shook, Set sighed and said, "That's a heavy burden, but pushing it down or trying to ignore it won't work—that's a large part of how you came to lash out at Yuugi as well, isn't it? Have you ever actually tried organizing those memories, then deciding they don't mean anything right in this moment?"
"How is the reason I lashed out at...?"
"Had it ever entered your mind, in all your memories, that you couldn't trust him?"
"...No..."
"Then why did you stop? Simply, because every other betrayal was dropped on you at once, and you lost the ability to distinguish friend from foe, betrayer from non-betrayer. Sorting it could help restore your trust and equilibrium with him. After all, he's your light, and you shouldn't be afraid of spending time with him when you clearly care so much about him."
Suddenly, overwhelmed by the emotions Set was stirring with his words, Atem spun and hugged him tightly, openly weeping in front of someone for the first time since he was about six years old. Set just held him, swaying gently and letting him take the time and comfort the Prince so desperately needed. One thing was sure, the High Priest would never envy Atem his position and the lack of emotional support it required.