Yu-Gi-Oh: A Past and Future Pharaoh
Written By: Lady Lunar Phoenix
Beta By: Lady Lunar Phoenix
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"What gave you that idea?" Monte began only to see the raised eyebrow lift from the white haired guy. The irony came creeping back into Monte's head as he took in how the pair were dressed followed by recalling how he was dressed. None of them were dressed for a causal walk in a forest with no nearby campgrounds or nature paths.
"Well, we ran into a pair of twin stage magicians who are in town right now," Bakura began and saw Monte flinch slightly. "We're looking for a book that was in your possession almost a year ago. Which lead us to finding out about you, or perhaps it would be more honest to say 'more about' you."
It was impossible to read Montes' facial expressions as his eyes got wide from that, given the way the burns. His body was another matter though, he stiffened in a shock that stood out even from the largely angular suit he was wearing. Monte was wearing his heart on his sleeve. Even if it was hard to tell with the way his eyelids healed. Tightening of the corners of his mouth, the sagging shoulders, how the hands released from a fist to open palm. "A... book..." He repeated dully for a moment, and he appeared lost on what to say. Seemingly unsure of the type of book Bakura was referring to. But it didn't last long before he processed the white hair, and the fact that they were speaking in Japanese. "You.. You know about them! I need that book!"
Suddenly possessed by some irrational hope, or misplaced rational fear Monte rushed Bakura. His already wide eyed expression taking on a more, if possible, manic light. Tripping over brush and sticks, the former magician came at Bakura with desperation as he reached for the teen. His hands extended outward in a grabby fashion as Jounouchi gave a startled yelp and scrambled forward. Out of the instinct of poor Ryou who could never protect himself.
But Bakura merely shook his head, "no, we don't have the book anymore. The people who gave it to you stole it back and we need it."
With that simple statement Monte stumbled to a stop, his desperate lunge at Bakura losing all momentum. The desperate grasp of a man slipping away into almost a puppet posture. Limbs just hanging from strings. No strength or life, arms dangling forward from his slightly hunched over stance. While his expression switched from hopeless, to manic, to despairing all in the span of a minute.
Montes' head sank into his hands, his eyes screwed shut as he began to cry. A reminder that he had been entrusted with the book and used it for his own ends. Only for... for who? Did Catherine use the book to escape? Or was he being punished once again by the Dark Magician for his treatment in the past?
"I realize they've threatened your brother... But Monte there's things you need to know, both about that book and the group that gave it to you." Bakura softened his voice as he rested one hand on the former magician's shoulder. "I won't lie about how I know about you, or what brought us here. I don't know what the group told you about it, but that book is used to summon a demon. A demon that, has done irreparable damage to you and your friends."
"A 'demon'? You expect me to believe those things exist?" Monte asked dully, sluggishly looking at Bakura.
"You believed a book would allow you to summon a Dark Magician to help you." Bakura pointed out with a raised eyebrow.
With Montes' shoulders sinking down a bit, despite the difficulty in seeing that given the shoulder pads that went with the jacket he wore.
"Its weird," Jounouchi agreed. "Demons aren't supposed to be real. But here we are, a demon that requires human sacrifices. You and your friends have been victims of that bastard for years and sure none of you knew. But you do now and you can't give in to that demon either."
"He's right, that demon was sealed in the book that, for ages, had been under the protection of the Santiago family. That night, and we've been told about it, that demon was released along with another spirit. That demon wants its gate to be fully restored and needs people to act as its cats paws." Bakura explained patiently.
"Its clearly preyed on you for the past decade. But you owe it to your friends and family to fight him." Jounouchi added, lacking the eloquence that Ryou possessed when talking. But that didn't mean he didn't see how shaken up Monte was. 'Of course when Ryou talked to the others they were all emotionally balanced if a little depressed. This is the most extreme case of all...'
"A demon... Its not... I don't remember..." Monte, the twins having been mentioned he tried to remember that night when the book was revealed. He could still recall the laughter, the congratulations, the extra beer he drank. Scoring a full European tour calendar had been a dream, Catherine and he were going to use it just as much to scout possible wedding or home locations.
"I doubt you can, we had to talk to Josie just to hear what happened," Bakura explained causing Monte to look up at him in surprise.
"You saw Josie? How is she? I... I miss her.."
"She's in Europe, she had to move there to get away from the demon's influence and out of the group of you, she's the only one who remembers everything clearly. The demon went extra hard on her, and I think its because she's protected from his effects." Bakura explained earning a small head tilt from Monte. But more importantly, Monte was becoming distracted from his dark thoughts.
It wasn't much, but Bakura could see Monte digging out of his internal grave to hear this, 'We're reaching him. But can we pull him out enough to be invested in this? We're not storytellers, we can't weave a tale that enchanting...'
"Josie was always the most grounded of us, but she always talked the weirdest things about that night." Monte noted still trying to recall that night. "She kept saying we were 'hearing' her wrong..." Somewhere in his memories, the days that came after the camping trip that were forgotten amid the misty glow of his tour... He could remember an argument, Josie wasn't one to yell, but she did about what she was saying... Fred wasn't interested in hearing it and Monte couldn't... he just... "So what happened? She's told me a thousand times, but every time I repeated it, she said I got it wrong."
Monte slumped his way over to a log resting on the ground and dropped his lanky form onto it. Covering his eyes with his hands, too used to keeping his mask on to remove it for a situation like this.
"It wasn't your fault, and she didn't understand it either," Jounouchi pointed out, despite not having been there. But man, listening to Anzu's version 'then' Ryou's version and realizing just what she must have been going through?
"She's descended from a priestess, her ancestor put a protection on her bloodline to keep them all safe. That's why she could recall everything clearly, and probably why the demon drove her the furthest away from all of you." Bakura explained unsure if mentioning the priestess angle had even a point.
"Don't ever mention Dark Magician Girl to Monte, if Josie comes up, refer to her as just having descended from a priestess. Don't relate her to magic." Malik advised as they gathered up in Bakura's apartment again.
"Huh? Why not? Wouldn't being related to a magician be a better option?" Jounouchi asked, which grabbed Bakura's attention as well.
"Yeah, save Yugi used her to beat Pandora the one time they dueled. It might be for the best not to bring up directly anything related to the Dark Magician cards. Pandora lost because of his lack of awareness about Dark Magician Girl and learning Josie is related to her could cause problems." Malik explained earning a pair of nods.
"Oh I see," Jounouchi answered.
"She got so angry. But I can't say I blame her in context that what she saw and said wasn't being heard right. If what you're saying is true. I mean anyone else getting it wrong would be frustrating but we're friends... We were the best of friends." Monte noted remembering how she started crying out of frustration. 'She never cried until then...'
"So... can you tell me what she told you? What I didn't hear?"
'There won't be much time, if the cops get to Malik before the twins. But he's at least listening. I can only hope that it means he has some shred of life in him willing to fight against the darker thoughts...' Bakura thought to himself.
"You, Catty, Josie and the twins went out camping, your brother Travis had been sick and couldn't make it. The twins showed off the book only to have the spirit bound to it for protection released. While at the same time I fear the demon began reawakening, though no one was able to tell. John showed up at the same time having had Travis show him how to find you." Bakura began watching as Monte grow thoughtful, probably mentally going back to that night. At least to the best of his ability gives everything that happened.
"The next day John killed himself and Abigail went into a coma," Monte began slowly for which there was a slight shrug in answer from Bakura.
"That was the demon, John isn't dead.. apparently the punishment for opening the book went into effect. But the situation all of you are stuck in means that what should have been John returning has been delayed.." Bakura clarified, 'I'm not sure if I want to point out that his soul and body have been severed.
"But they buried John! How can he be alive? They found him hanging?" Monte argued thinking about how he was planning on leaving the living.
"No, they didn't bury him, the demon wanted everyone to think that. But the reality is that all of you have lost ten years of your lives. He's shackled your minds and believe me I know what that's like, he used me as his living host for a large portion of my life. I can tell you that being free of him is a blessing. Which is the reason why I'm here. My friends and I have a duty to stop him, and that means finding that book and keeping his victims from giving him anything he can use."
"The book... I don't have it anymore..." Monte pointed out quietly. "We were all there? I don't remember Catherine being there. I don't..."
"Meanwhile, for her it was two years ago meaning she doesn't even remember that night 'at all' yet her children didn't exist when the camp out happened. A camp out that happened a decade ago. While the twins remember the night, but just from the outset remember being drunk upon arrival. Where as Josie remembers something entirely different. More over, I was listening to her story at the same time as another friend of mine. She heard what you probably heard when Josie told her side of the story. But I heard what Josie confirmed as what actually happened." Bakura noted sympathetically, "which makes finding that book more important. Without the soul bound to keep it locked up, and out in the world it can cause this much trouble and more."
"A... a decade?" Monte repeated floored as he tried to grasp what happened to all that time. "But... how could... Travis. Where's Travis?!" Suddenly he concern for the others energized him to stand up. Anxiously reaching for Bakura again and getting more panicked with each passing moment.
"Monte... There's no easy way to say this.." Bakura began slowly resting both his hands on Monte's shoulders. "The group that gave you the book? Let's just say there 'is' a body in Johns' grave. Its just not Johns' body..."
Monte collapsed to his knees as the weight of the news. It squeezed him down until tears poured out of him, switching from using Japanese to blending American English with French. But he didn't need to speak Japanese for Jounouchi to grasp the context, leaving the blond averting his own gaze and gnawing on a knuckle in sympathy. Even Bakura, who had been braced for this moment, strained to retain some semblance of calm adult maturity.
Even if he was physically a high school student.
'Catherine thought this happened two years go, who knows? Maybe Monte was threatened back then and this is just how the demon messes with his memories? If only I could talk to Mahaado more. Yugi said that Kaiba actually sent Mahaado 'back' into his tablet for a stint because of the trip to the hospital. I was just too busy being grateful that Mahaado bothered to wake up again so soon. I had no idea that he needed to be summoned for his teleportation rings to work.' Though there was a passive thought in Bakura's mind that pondered on that last thought. Was it necessary for Mahaado to be summoned for magic items to work by default? Turning maybe a healing potion into just water? Or did Mahaado intentionally make it work only when he was summoned because he didn't trust Bakura? A means to know where the thief was at all times so Bakura couldn't regress. Realistically Bakura could see how it was the second option, but also the first.
"When they gave me the book. They said it belonged to the twins, but that they discovered it was magical. That it could bring forth a servant if I wrote key words into it..." Monte began as he pulled off his mask so he could wipe at the tears in his eyes. "They asked if I knew anyone who knew about this book as well. I was so excited at the prospect of getting Catherine back, I didn't pay much attention. I faintly recall them commenting that they 'had trouble reaching the twins'. But Catherine..."
'So he told them about Travis, but that sounds like he could have also told them about Catherine and Josie. But I suspect that Dark Magician Girl was able to protect Josie in her own way. If nothing else Set might have viewed Josie as his responsibility. Catherine was already Montes' target so there would have been no reason to pay attention. I guess the twins weren't as important other than as an 'in' to getting Monte to trust them.' But whatever they told Travis, well unless they found the exact men who had been there that night. Bakura had to resign himself to never really 'knowing' why they killed Travis.
"The twins have reached Malik and have begun to travel into the forest," a spirit announced, her voice soft and respectful.
"You realize you can't leave right?" Jounouchi began, kneeling down next to Monte. "As bad as things are, they're not your fault. That demon did this to all of you and as bad as things are, you can't let that demon win."
Monte didn't bother to look at Jounouchi, he just sat there staring at the space between Bakura's feet. Internally he clawed at his memories, but try as he might he couldn't recall the most recent time he spoke to Travis. A demon. These two said it was a 'demon' that did this to them. He couldn't remember the camping trip clearly, or know what Josie actually said about what happened. Could he trust these guys?
It seemed, too strange, to on the nose that they would suddenly appear just as he was thinking of hanging himself. Finding him in the middle of nowhere California when clearly they were both Japanese. 'But I've seen magic haven't I? The real stuff, not the props and misdirection I've always used.' He thought bitterly as he thought of the gang and his parents. 'I wanted to just get out of the way. Stop being a burden. But... Oh God Travis.'
'I can't push any more. If we're going to find out about the book, its going to have to come from the twins I think. There's no delicate way to bring the conversation back onto finding out about the book now.' Bakura thought as he stood there, one hand on Monte's shoulder in a compassionate gesture, while he kept his eyes on the look out for Malik.
Which was about the same for Malik, despite not being able to see the spirits, he was confident that he could see Bakura. Hair 'that' white out in a vivid green forest? Of course he was going to see the guy! More over they weren't on a leisurely stroll. The twins had parked their car put a note on the windshield and were barely restraining running through out the forest. They moved more like leashed dogs ready to charge through. But they didn't know exactly 'where' to go, Malik only had a general direction and the twins were, probably, helping Malik look for Bakura.
'Hope the guys don't mind me falling back when I see Bakura, Monte doesn't need to see me.' Malik thought, 'At the same time I hope Bakura and Jounouchi are ok. I'm sure the spirits would have told them if they were too late. But I don't know 'how' Monte opted to do this. I'd hate to think that he pulled it off. Bakura's seen enough death he already acts enough like an old man at times. I don't want him to feel responsible, so just stay emotional detached Malik. If you can't speak to anyone, the least you can do is not get emotionally involved. Keep things in perspective for their sakes as well as for the world.' Malik moved through the forest, his eyes peeled for a white mop of hair. While the twins stayed on either side of him, their eyes scanning the forest just as his was.