'Cartouche'

by Makura Kirei

Chapter 3 – Aye and Horemheb.

I'm baaaaaaaa-aaaaaaack!! After nearly a month without the internet, I finally got it set up. Um, I moved, in case you were wondering.

Author's note: this story is A/U as far as the dimensions are concerned. The archaeologist lives in a different dimension than the pilots and the senshi, who both live in the same dimension. WARNING: DUO AND WUFEI ARE EVIL IN THIS FIC!!!! Before you kill me, I want you to read through this chapter, and see how I make them evil. If you disagree with how I do it, by all means, you are welcome to flame me, but just read it before you make a judgment. Both Nanashi no More and Mudpie thought it was good, and they are _obsessed_ with Wufei and Duo.

Also, I will be drawing out the bad qualities of both Wufei and Duo to the extreme. The reason for this is I am sick of people romanticizing the characters, as if they had not one flaw in them (except for the aforementioned cliches). So, in accordance of making Wufei and Duo's past lives evil, I'm making them _slightly_ evil as well (emphasis on slightly) (before they actually realize who they were). For example, Duo will be more childish and vindictive, and Wufei will be more quick to judge and competitive. If you study both Wufei and Duo's characters very carefully, you will see the beginnings of these traits. All I'm doing is airing them out for all the world to see.

So, anyway, on with the fic.

Previously on Cartouche:

"You will meet Tutankhamun in this very place two days from now, at 11:00am. You will meet him in front of this case. When you see anyone who looks like he might be Tutankhamun, walk up to him and say 'Egypt lives again.' If he responds 'As do her enemies.', he is Tutankhamun. You will work from there." Osiris said.

Hotaru closed her eyes, slowly processing all the information she just received. "How does the key work?" She asked, eyes closed.

"That we cannot tell you. You and Tutankhamun must find that out on your own. But if you ever need us, we will help you if possible. Simply say our names, and someone will come to help." Ankhesenamun said.

"And now, Hotaru, we must depart. But remember: the four objects are the key…" Osiris' voice faded as he and Ankhesenamun disappeared in the fog.

With a start, Hotaru found herself back in the real world. She looked at the papyrus roll in front of her. 'So that's the key.' She thought. 'See you in two days.' She thought, and walked out the door.

'She has been awakened.'

1 day later

bang bang

Shots rang out as Duo furtively tried to escape Heero's wrath. "But all I did was type on your laptop!" He called over his shoulder, sprinting along the halls of Quatre's mansion.

"You deleted the file on the new OZ faction! Remember how much trouble we had to go through to get it?" Heero yelled, his anger overtaking him as he tried to shoot Duo's braid off.

Flashback

Shots rang out as Duo, Wufei and Heero ran for their lives, trying to escape the group of soldiers hot on their heels.

"Nataku to Sandrock. Repeat, Nataku to Sandrock. Where the fuck are you Winner?!" Wufei yelled into a walkie-talkie as he sliced through a couple of soldiers with his katana.

The walkie-talkie crackled with static. Wufei could barely make out what was being said.

"…out…detonate…" Through the static, Wufei could hear shots ring out. "…early…danger…"

Wufei turned to Duo mid-sprint, who was lagging behind trying to fend off 14 soldiers. "Haul ass Maxwell!" He snarled.

KABOOOOOM

A huge explosion rocked the base as Wufei, Heero and Duo were flung sideways. Unfortunately for them, the steel wall broke their fall.

End Flashback

'Oh yeah.' Duo remembered as he dived into a nearby room and locked the door. He dived behind a bed as bullets tore through the wooden door. 'All I did was delete a file. No big deal, right? I mean, why does he always pick on me?' Duo thought to himself, his thoughts turning to anger. 'What got stuck up his ass? He always threatens to kill me, he's always shooting at me; he thinks I'm an idiot… What kind of a friend is that?' Duo thought, getting more angry by the second.

Outside, seeing that his bullets were getting him nowhere, Heero stopped shooting through the door and retired to his lair (otherwise known as his bedroom) to do god knows what.

Hearing the noise of Heero's gun stop, Duo stretched from his crouching position behind a bed, and yawned. Suddenly, he felt his body stiffen involuntarily. Then, flash, he was transported to a world of fog, much like Hotaru's. Duo, still frozen in his position, looked around, his eyes darting here and there. He felt a slight breeze wash over his body. It sent chills up and down his spine.

A figure loomed in the shadows. Duo tried frantically to unfreeze his body, but to no avail. The figure drew cever closer, the fog gradually beginning to thin. At last, with Duo looking on, the figure became clear. It was a man, dressed in a leopard skin that barely covered his entire body. His head was shaved, and he looked to be about in his late twenties, early thirties. Finally, Duo felt his body unstiffen. He immediatley crouched into a defensive stance, his hand at his pocket, where his gun was stored. The figure shook his head.

"No need for that, Duo." He said quietly. He raised a finger (no, not THAT finger) and slowly but surely, Duo felt his gun rise out of his pocket. It zoomed away from him, and dropped at the man's feet. "There is no need for violence; I come in peace. I wish you no harm; quite the opposite, as a matter of fact." The man said smoothly, stepping forward.

"I have five words for you: who, what, when, where, why?"

The man cleared his throat. "Who: I am you. I am Ay, high priest of Amun. You are me, reincarnated. I am from ancient egypt; I lived during the rule of king Tutankhamun. Once again: In your past life, you were me, the high priest of Amun during Tutankhamun's reign."

"You mean king Tut? Dead egyptian king who lived centuries ago? How can you possibly expect me to believe that?" Duo asked, arms folded.

"Why not?"

"Well, here's the thing. Somehow, you 'transported' me to another dimension. That alone is incredible. And, without even giving a reason, you expect me to believe not only that I had a past life, but that I had a past life in Egypt, and you are myself, reincarnated. And you also expect me to believe that I was a high priest of some deity that I've never heard of before, and that I lived under king Tutankhamun? Now doesn't that sound a bit, oh, unrealistic to you?" Duo asked sarcastically.

"Haven't you always been the religious type? I am a priest, and if I'm not mistaken, you lived in a church for most of your life. And, you associate yourself with the god of death. My ruling deity, and in fact, my entire religion was involved with the god of death and life after death. I, like you, lived under the protection of the religious leaders most of my life. But then, something changed my entire outlook on life."

"What was it?" Duo asked.

"I'd rather not tell you. Let's  just say that Tutankhamun was at the center of the incident. At any rate, I swore revenge on my so-called leader. We used to be friends, but now…And, I can tell that you're feeling certain emotions toward your appointed leader, Heero. When was the last time he ever showed anything that could even remotely be considered friendship towards you? What has he ever done for you?" Ay narrowed his eyes, seeming to project what Duo was feeling.

Duo shifted from one foot to the other, considering this information. "Okay, so maybe there is a certain degree of similarity between our two lives. Maybe it's even possible that I am you…but why have you chosen to tell me this _now_?" Duo said suspiciously.

"Because, my dear boy, you and Horemheb are positioned to be the rulers of new Egypt." Ay stated, as if it was obvious.

"New Egypt?"

"Oh, I neglected to tell you of the prophecy. Basically, it states that whoever collects the four artifacts will be able to unlock the gates of the underworld and reach the throne of Osiris. There, whoever possesses the four artifacts (which form a key) will be awarded the kingdom of New Egypt to rule over."

"Ooookay…" Duo paused. "Who's Horemheb?"

"Horemheb was the commander of Tutankhamun's vast army. Like me, he hated Tutankhamun too, though for a different reason. He never did tell me why. But at any rate, Horemheb and I underwent a special ritual so that we could be reincarnated at the same time as Tutankhamun, so that he wouldn't get another chance to rule. In this life, I believe Horemheb is the one you call Wufei."