A Past and Future Pharaoh
Written By: Lady Lunar Phoenix
Original Beta: WhiteSwan
Current Beta: I'm back! Fixing up all the problems, and making it more sound.
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This was a nightmare.
Somehow all the high stake card games, the souls stuffed into cards and bodies collapsing into coma's, the bombs and bodies, the crippling and kidnappings. All of it paled compared to this moment, and perhaps it was Anzu's own fault. For trying to put the logic of the world into a computer systems. Believing that what could never happen in the real world would somehow apply here.
But it 'had', walls out of nowhere, corpses of people who she knew to be alive which was far too close to what could have been Honda's fate. Meeting Mahaado meant the dragon they had been following was 'sentient' as well. And while Yugi wouldn't have known to call Mahaado 'into' the game and only to his physical body, Kaiba knew to call the Dragon to him in the game.
Yet, even with that knowledge that this was a 'game' Kaiba had beaten Yugi into the ground. Something that was interesting to say the least, as Anzu had no clue that Kaiba even knew hand to hand combat.
"Yugi!" Anzu cried out as she rushed to check on Yugi. "I can't believe…" It was Yugi; it was their Yugi who was kneeling there in agony! Bakura had held her back until Kaiba had confirmed the identity of the supposed Hologram, and now that they knew it was their Yugi, panic and worry settled into Anzu's mind.
Yugi's expression one of disorientation and pain finally slipped into a swoon as Yugi fell into Kaiba's arms, his injuries more than he could endure. Kaiba quietly moved Yugi over so that the teen rested in Anzu's arms, all the while making sure that the girl didn't grab Yugi's dislocated arm accidentally. Bakura drifted about them, even if it was useless given the nature of the game, he felt better knowing if they weren't being spied on. Once he was finished he returned to the pair while Kaiba was fussing about Yugi's shoulder.
"Hold him still; while he's out, I'm going to reset his shoulder," Kaiba informed the pair before he slipped his hand into Yugi's injured hand. Anzu tucked Yugi's head under her chin and braced herself for how he may respond to the pain. With a fierce move he snapped Yugi's dislocated shoulder back into place, and while for some it would be enough pain to wake them up, Yugi stayed out with only a whimper to show he noticed anything.
Anzu rested her hand on Yugi's cheek and her cheek on his head before gathering the strength to report to Kaiba what had happened. Explaining the situation with Noa during the duel against Bakura, as well as their chasing the Blue Eyes, but it was Bakura who surprisingly held surprising insight as to why the monsters may have stopped coming after them.
"Noa wanted Yugi to believe this was the real world and Yugi would know something was wrong if he saw monsters just roaming around here. That must be why the monsters wouldn't come within a certain distance of Yugi's location."
Kaiba stood up, letting Bakura take his place next to Yugi while he moved off to stand next to the Blue Eyes White Dragon. Since the moment he summoned the Dragon he had seen it as just an in game hologram. Given what Bakura and Anzu had described though, it sounded more like his Blue Eyes showed self awareness enough to lead the pair along.
Now it stood over all them, curled about like it was protecting a clutch of eggs while giving off a soft pure white glow. Its majesty was more than just a Virtual Reality game and real? As he gazed upon its majesty he walked over to it, resting his hand on its flank as he came to a decision. "I'm going to go and deal with Noa, the two of you stay here with Yugi. No doubt, Noa's messed with Yugi's mind as much as he could and he'll need the two of you here to ground him." Kaiba ordered as he straightened out his coat, the coat he wore through the whole beating no less.
"Wait! You can't mean you're going to go on your own after Noa! Kaiba, Yugi's going to be distraught enough as it is when he wakes up from his injuries! What do you think will happen when he wakes up and you're not here?" Anzu called out in alarm as she knelt on the ground with Yugi. The sight of Kaiba walking towards the massive hole that Blue Eyes made filling her with dread. Even as the dragon roused itself enough to turn and follow Kaiba without question. How was she and Bakura going to convince Yugi that they were who they were? How could they convince Yugi that Kaiba was ok in a world as unrealistic as this?
"After what I've done to him, I doubt Yugi will wake up soon. I'll return before that happens," Kaiba retorted as he reached the destroyed wall, when Bakura's voice broke into his thoughts.
"You better finish this Kaiba, Yugi can't take this kind abuse, not after everything that happened to his own family. We saw the bodies at the false tech labs; he's been running around here thinking some of us dead. That's not going to be good on his psyche, so as much as you would wish otherwise, don't waste time posing." Bakura politely reminded Kaiba as his own monsters came to take over Blue Eyes's protective surveillance.
But if Kaiba noticed anything different about Bakura he didn't let on as he walked out of the room, leaving Bakura and Anzu to look after Yugi. "At least Yugi has a nice soft comfortable pillow to rest against." Bakura noted before catching Anzu's eye. "I didn't mean it like that! I didn't mean it like that! I meant your jacket! Really! HONEST!" he squeaked out backing up from Anzu.
"Bakura Ryou! You will NOT BE LEAVING THIS VR WORLD IF YOU MAKE ONE MORE CRACK!"
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A short ways out of the building Kaiba turned to look at his Blue Eyes with something akin to affection, 'That's why I adore you so. You have so much more common sense.' Blue Eyes White Dragon opened its wings and took to the air with a few strong beats of its wings while Kaiba walked along the road below. He looked back only once, to remind himself of who he was leaving behind. He could still feel aftereffects of the fight; the wild beat of his heart, the pulse of the blood in his veins, and the blow that stole his breath when he realized what he had done.
Never once did he even consider the idea that someone could turn the promise he had Yugi make against them. Now, now Noa was going to get a beating that would make him feel blessed that he didn't have his own body. Since Kaiba's temper rose to a whole new level, a level he didn't think he could ascend on his own. In his own way, Kaiba had promised to watch over Yugi as he recovered from his losses, and now thanks to Noa that promise had all but been broken! He was never going to forgive that bastard. Now more then ever, Kaiba could believe that the wrenched man could have spawned Noa.
Above his head his single Blue Eyes split into three, and those three roared a trinity of challenges at the one who had angered their master.
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All good bunnies know the bunny way, which was: stay out of the predators' way. And like all true bunnies, Bakura was staying in the shadows of the wrecked building with his proverbial bunny ears tucked down, since Anzu was… well she could have still been mad about the remark, which was 'not' addressed to her breasts. Or she could have just been very deeply worried about Yugi, which was acceptable, as he was worried too. Silent Magician by default was a light based monster, thus it generated a sizable ball of light easily upon need, and increased the light upon order, turning what had been a predominantly dark room into something rather well lit. Which made it all the easier to see if Anzu reached for a brick with a plan to brain Bakura. But it also provided the light needed by Bakura to read the book that they had found in Yugi's coat.
"So ok tell me Bakura, since you seem to have a better handle on this then I do," Anzu finally spoke up with a disheartened sigh. "Just what 'is' going on?"
Bakura blew at his bangs before getting up and joining Anzu and sitting across from her. A part of him could appreciate the level of cleverness that Noa invested in this trap, but a part of him was appalled by it as well. It was one thing to create such a trap another to actually inflict it upon someone. He fingered the pages of the book, wondering what he should tell Anzu, about how Noa played her. A part of him didn't want to, it would make things more awkward between Anzu and Yugi, but again, it was something she needed to know.
"It's no coincidence that we found you and Mokuba dead in that lab. The book is apparently a version of your own diary, if this is what it looks like or not wouldn't have much bearing. I doubt that Yugi would know the difference, but for this simulation, this is it," he lifted up the book and waved its blue covered, pink scrawled presence before Anzu. "It's relatively new, in the first part it explains you going to the mall to buy a new one. From… You're not going to like how this book sounds, I don't think Noa realized when he created it how much of a tomboy you are. I guess he found some files about you though, since you're not a shrinking violet in this thing. The book says that we went to Honda's surgery, which is correct; it even gives some information about his status that we don't even know." From there Bakura opened the book and began reading the entries one by one, letting the weeks' worth of suffering 'Anzu' had gone through while Yugi 'stayed' trapped in the VR game. The body count was rising, and the picture was horrifyingly clear as to what had happened.
"But why would he be in here fighting Kaiba?" Anzu asked, frustrated at the situation. Yugi was always so kind and giving, he sacrificed toys and even his own health and safety for those he cared about. How could anyone do this? How could someone trick Yugi to go after 'Kaiba'? The guy took Yugi 'in' after the death of Yugi's family, he wouldn't turn on the CEO under any circumstance!
"Why does it just have to be us? The book implied that Kaiba was still alive, and Mokuba as well, but clearly Mokuba had died at the labs, my estimation is that 'Kaiba' was killed after the last entry." Bakura pointed out, only to have Anzu shake her head 'no'.
"But that doesn't make sense, Bakura how would Yugi not know that this is a VR world? Wouldn't Mahaado's absence have raised suspicions, he attacked 'Kaiba' how could he not realize what was going on? Look at what Kaiba did to Yugi! How…" Anzu trailed off as Bakura shook his head in answer.
"As much as your senses may say this is the real world it's not. We have no proof that Noa is going to do anything fair, so that has to be taken into account as well. Remember Kaiba said he woke up in his office and confronted a hologram of himself, there's no rule saying Noa didn't alter Yugi's perception of time in anyway. Yugi could have arrived at the mansion after Kaiba left, or Noa could have created a dead hologram then brought it to life when Kaiba arrived. We don't know, I'm not sure we'll ever know, so all we can do is sit here and wait. Yugi needs to see us when he wakes up; he was in so much pain when he went under he may not believe that he actually saw Kaiba." Bakura explained quietly his brain trying to piece together the puzzle; it would be one less chore for Yugi.
So they sat, basking in the light of the Silent Magician as they waited for Yugi to wake up from his terrible ordeal. It felt like snails were dragging along the minutes, time itself seemed to stop. Then again, they all knew the 'trick'; Noa had no need to pretend to follow the law of time anymore, here in the land of false existence it was forever 2am. So when the first soft sigh escaped, they first thought the other. But slowly, delicately, Yugi began to reach for his hurt arm; tears from his pain sprang to closed eyelids as he lay there. In joy at the sight of him returning to them, Anzu studied every feature on his face as they heralded his awakening. Bakura knelt beside Yugi, just as intense in his scrutiny, and his hope.
"Come on Yugi, wake up…" Anzu encouraged as she saw the first hint of violet as Yugi opened his eyes. Those quiet eyes took some time to focus, blinking repeatedly before focusing, but once they focused on her face, she began smiling in relief.
"I'm sorry… I died didn't I?" He asked softly as he gazed at her features fondly.
The question startled the pair, but Anzu answered immediately with a firm yet gentle, "No, we're alive. Yugi we need to talk." She saw the questions as they formed in his eyes, so expressive of his own thoughts. "Yugi, you never left the game, Mokuba called Kaiba then us to let us know about the situation, Kaiba got into the game first then we did a little later. Everyone's alive Yugi, we're here, Bakura, Kaiba and I, here in this game, Mokuba, Mahaado and Kuriboh, in the lab, and the rest of the gang in their own locations. Everyone's fine Yugi, everyone." She took his good hand and rubbed her cheek against it to show Yugi that she was there. How had Kaiba done it? Kaiba said something to Yugi to make Yugi pause in his attacks. What had it been?
"The VR world? This… is still the VR world? Maha… didn't abandon me?" Yugi asked in a small helpless voice, his confusion evident in his eyes.
"No, your mage is waiting outside in the real world, worried senseless about how you keep summoning him, but not giving him orders. He doesn't seem to understand computers at all," Bakura explained gently as he knelt there and saw more life flicker into Yugi's eyes.
"He's not mad at me?"
"No one is mad at you Yugi, but what were you doing in here fighting?" Anzu asked as she unconsciously began stroking Yugi's back to comfort him.
"When I woke up… I thought Mokuba had gone home because it was so late, so I was going to crash for the night over at Anzu… your place. But I began noticing things were a little odd, like all the lights in the apartment complex were off. But when I was trying to get into the building a bomb went off, I managed to get in when the security features went off line only to find the apartment empty. It just had a few things in it, one of which was the diary, I only read the last page at first because I figured it was private. But it said that you were still here and so were Mokuba and Kaiba so I figured that the helicopter I saw earlier was Kaibas and I rushed back to the labs. While I was running I heard an explosion and when I reached the lab the helicopter had been destroyed with you de… with An…" Yugi stumbled to a stop at any mention of death and after a few false starts attempted to continue on, "I took the body inside… Mokuba was already… already…"
"It's ok Yugi, we're here and we're fine don't worry." Anzu began rocking Yugi as the teen tried to recount his situation since the whole ordeal began. Bakura settled into gently rubbing Yugi's hand trying to ease the pain in the abused limb while at the same time giving Yugi the physical touch of another person.
"I stole Maliks' bike and went to Kaiba's mansion, looking for him to tell… to talk but he was already… I figured someone was still in Domino since there was no other way I could think of that everyone could have died after I woke up. So I went hunting around, tried to find them for the past three days… Or was it three days? I don't know, I just heard someone moving about in the warehouse and thought it was one of them… I didn't know! I didn't know it was Kaiba… oh God Kaiba hates me! I know it! How can he not when I attacked him!?" Yugi panicked as he sat there, only to have Anzu press him against her more tightly in response.
"No, no he doesn't hate you, he came here because he was worried about you. We all were Yugi," she countered as she hugged him while he broke down and sobbed.
"Why? Why do this to me? Why did someone lock me in this world and do this to me?" Yugi asked finally as he flexed his fingers and then clenched them into fists on his lap.
Anzu looked down unwilling, and not completely sure as to the reason herself. Bakura looked away, trying to phrase the answer in a way that wouldn't hurt Yugi.
"His name is apparently Kaiba Noa, and he's Gozoboro's biological son. Some time ago he was in some sort of accident and ended up completely paralyzed, so his father put his mind in a massive computer system. He was only supposed to stay until his body fully recovered via the doctors under Gozoboro's charge, but something happened. I don't know how he got into this system, but his goal is to take over Kaiba's body for himself." Bakura explained softly as he turned his back towards them, bringing up his knees to his chest.
"So I'm what, just collateral damage? How could he do this to someone who he doesn't know? And why take it out on Kaiba? We didn't do anything to deserve this kind of treatment!" Yugi argued pointlessly into the air.
"I'm sorry," it was a reflex of Bakura's and he tried to get up and leave, only to have a pair of arms wrap around his neck and jerk him back down into the pair.
"Don't be sorry Bakura! You didn't do anything wrong!" Yugi countered as he tightened his hold on Bakura, even with the injured arm. "Please don't blame yourself, you didn't do anything wrong!" Yugi plead with Bakura as Bakura mutely struggled to breathe.
"Can't… breathe!" Bakura gasped out as he flailed to try and escape Yugi's death hug, while Anzu was struggling to get the pair off of her; it wasn't comfortable to have two grown teenage guys on top of you! Now if the guys were wearing tight leather pants, matching collars…. Oh no, not again BRAIN GET BACK HERE!
The trio spent some time struggling on the ground to get in more comfortable positions, given the situation. Namely, Yugi's unwillingness to let either go, out of a fear that he would lose them forever if he did so. It took time and repeated touches for Yugi to grow quiet and accept that the world they were in was a fake, and that everyone he cared about was still alive. Save his grandfather and mother, they were a pair that was never coming back, but still.
"I have to find Kaiba, I have to support him since he's in danger," Yugi finally announced as he began pulling himself to his feet.
"We'll go together, Noa is more a spoiled child, and he may try to take from Kaiba what he can not earn if he gets desperate enough." Bakura pointed out as he stood up as well. Both guys extended their hands, helping Anzu to her feet, while mentally preparing themselves for a long walk possibly filled with monsters bent on destroying them. As a group the three turned and walked out of the ruined warehouse into the night with the reassuring glow of the Silent Magician Level 8.