Chapter 4
" Thanks to Isis's Tauk, I'd expect," Pegasus looked at the blindfolded Seto. " What
did Shadi mention? Leeches?"
" He probably found those in his mind." Yami grimaced. " But he left in quite a
hurry. I don't know why."
Yugi was holding Seto's hand, trying to distract him. Pegasus straightened
and held his head for a moment, staring at Seto.
" Take the blindfold off." He said. Yugi did. Seto blinked at Pegasus for a moment.
They held their breath, waiting for his reaction. Ever since the fortune telling thing,
Seto had been very much unpredictable.
Seto remained silent.
" Alright, let's see what Shadi meant by leeches." Pegasus took a deep breath.
*FLASH!*
" Otou-san!" Seto cried, his short legs pumping quickly. He jumped and his father
caught him in his arms. Seto froze.
" Otou-san," This time he looked like he was going to cry. " Oka-san's going to
die!"
*FLASH!*
" That's a big dragon." Seto blinked. The Pharaoh gaped at the Blue Eyes White
Dragon that had just been summoned.
" Oh Ra..." The ruler felt his forehead, suddenly aware of how powerful the child
beside him was. " How in the world was that possible?"
*FLASH!*
" Come here," Said a voice. All was darkness. The young child blinked his blue eyes at the pretty star. Reaching out, he tried to catch it, but it whirled away like a firefly. He chased after it for a moment, then gave up. But this time, there was another star, blue this time, settling in his hands. He caught it, and beaming, looked up to find a red one.
" Come here, Seto child." The voice said, laughing. All about the child was laughter, and the boy laughed as well. His laughter rang like bells. Then he stopped, and started trembling. There was a black hole, blacker than the rest. He clutched at the stars, and started to back away.
" Don't be afraid." Said the voice. " It will not hurt you. Come on."
The child blinked, still backing away. He dropped the stars. They went floating away. Something warm wrapped around him. The child forgot about the gaping hole and settled into the soft warmth. He didn't know what it was. It seemed to be some gathering of stars, but it was so cozy. The spirit child fell asleep...
*FLASH!*
Pegasus started back. Then he began rubbing his temples.
" Owww," He groaned.
" Oh please, not you too!" Bakura snapped.
" Iie, I'm alright, it's passing." Pegasus sat down. " Good heavens, what was that?"
" What was what?" Ryou asked.
" I think he was in some kind of void." Pegasus answered. " There were all these stars. Big stars, tiny stars, all giving off light, and the strangest voice I've ever heard. Seto fell asleep in there."
There was a silence.
" Uhhh...come again?" Jou began.
Pegasus stared at the yamis and the spirits stared at him.
" We need Shadi." They said at the same time, while knocking their heads back
down on the walls.
Jou and the others looked at each other. They all shrugged.
" What can you find?" Shadi asked. Isis looked through the papyrus.
" Ra, Anubis, Nut...Isis, Osiris, Horus...Rameses II, Hatshepsut, ah, here it is." Isis
lifted the oldest looking scroll. " High Priest Seto. Funny how they don't mention
the Pharaoh."
" Oh." Shadi was puzzled too. " That's odd. What does it say about him?"
" He lived under the last of the sixteen good Pharaohs, doesn't say his name. Came
to the Pharaoh's attention when he was eleven and was accepted under the training
of the High Priest Mamut. When he was thirteen, he surpassed Mamut, but Mamut
died from a mysterious disease before they could do anything. Seto was made into
the next High Priest and he was the Pharaoh's favorite."
Shadi cocked an eyebrow. " Alright? What else?"
" This is strange, Shadi, I thought you were there."
" I don't remember much of it." Shadi answered. " I was only there during the later
years."
Isis nodded. She kept on reading, then stopped.
" This is odd." She blinked. " It says here that...Seto tried to kill the Pharaoh one
day. The Pharaoh tried to execute him...but Seto freed himself and challenged the
Pharaoh into a duel."
Shadi cocked his head. " Why the sudden change?"
" It doesn't say." Isis answered. " Did the guardians explain to you?"
" No. The guardians were very vague. Could it be that Seto loves the Pharaoh?"
" I doubt it, considering he tried to kill him."
" But then...there's no other explanation."
" I thought you were able to enter memories with that key of yours."
" I wasn't with Seto. He had many contradicting rooms. It seems the rooms are
playing decoy themselves." Shadi sighed. " Perhaps that last one lead to memories,
but I did not linger long there. It felt too..." He wanted to say wretched. But he fell
silent.
Isis paused. " What exactly did you see in there?" She asked finally.
Shadi held his head and was silent for a moment.
" Would you ever believe Seto Kaiba being innocent?"
" Innocent? Kaiba?"
" Yes, Kaiba."
" Well, I would find that quite hard, if you ask me. Why?"
" I saw him in one of the hidden rooms." Shadi answered. " He was in the last room
where the guardians took me. I would never have found it. Inside that room it was
black and lighted by candles. Seto was chained to the wall. Chains were covering his
body and so were leeches, Isis. The guardians said when I went out that occasionally
the candles would spew flame and it will burn at him. He never cries out though.
But you know..." He lowered his voice to a whisper. " He never looked more like a
child. An abused ragamuffin, only lost and full of despair. He is a child. And good
Ra, he's fifteen years old and has every right to be. But a child chained like that?"
Isis paused again. " Did you free him?"
" I tried." Shadi answered, slight distress showing in his eyes. " But the guardians
told me that I cannot be the one to do it. Someone else, who knows pain, who
knows love."
" But why is he in there?"
" He was naturally loving, Isis." Shadi answered, " Until everyone shunned him.
Then he shattered. That Seto Kaiba you met, that wasn't Seto Kaiba. That was
some other shell that Seto had subconsciously made. The real one is chained in that
room."
" But why can't you free him?"
" Why do you think? Holy Anubis! Seto was too delicate. That's why he's chained
there in the first place. The only time he could come out is when there is someone
ready to protect and love him. I can't be the one to do that."
Isis smiled sadly. " So you took him to Pegasus?"
" Pegasus is the only choice."
Isis looked down at the papyrus, her jaw set. Shadi knew from that look that she was as moved as he was and was going to do whatever it takes to help the poor Child.
" Let's see if there's anything else about the High Priest."
" Was missing for a few days, walked with a limp for a week, saved the Pharaoh
one year before that from the rebellious priests. This scroll is disorganized. He's the
Dragon Tamer, although the dragons aren't too tamed without him around. Got into
brief arguments with the Pharaoh before trying to kill him, caused a drought."
" That was after he went crazy?"
" That was after he went crazy. Before that, there were good harvests, accidentally
made white fluffy stuff fall from the sky-I expect that's snow." Isis looked bored. "
Still no clues as to why Seto went mad."
" Do you have anything with dates? The scribes should record, you know, all the
happenings. Find the scrolls of everything that happened during Seto's time."
" That will be hard. We'd probably want to go look at Yami's tomb, but that's long
gone now. I guess it's worth searching. Here's one when Seto was made High
Priest." She tossed it to Shadi. " Here's one when he was settling minor matters,
several others," She gave them to Shadi.
*FLASH!*
The child woke to utter blackness, but he was still surrounded by stars. The Black Hole was gone.
" Aww," Said the voice. The child blinked his large blue eyes and looked around.
He sneezed.
" Come on." Said the voice, encouraging. " Don't be afraid. Follow the comet."
The child toddled a little, his mind a little woozy. Then he blinked. Comet?
A ray of light passed by him and the child blinked. Is that a comet?
" Follow it." Said the voice gently.
This time, the child retreated a little. He blinked all around him, all of the sudden wondering where the voice came from.
Something warm surrounded his head and the child made a noise like a purr. He closed his eyes, leaning into the warmth. A warm force started to push him in the direction of the comet. Tripping, he twirled vertically, tumbling, then ended up straight, blinking in confusion. There was laughter.
" Come on, precious." The voice said kindly. " You do not have to be afraid."
*FLASH!*
Seto was startled. He knew that was in the past, first of all, but there was no time and no place either.
" Welcome back to our world, Setoboy." Pegasus said tiredly. He knew what was
coming next.
" You!" Seto blinked. " How did I get here? What just happened? Why are you all
here?"
This made the others extremely confused.
" Seto, we told you we were coming here. Shadi brought you here, remember?"
" Forget it." Pegasus snapped at Jou. " He's suffering from memory loss because he
saw too many visions. It's about time it stopped otherwise I think we'll have to bade
him farewell."
Seto blinked at Pegasus. No, no visions are coming.
" Seto, do you want to go upstairs and rest?" Pegasus asked, he himself looking
pretty much exhausted. " I think we can all use a break."
Seto was about to protest " Since when did you call me by my first name?" But he thought the better of it. Something in his mind, someplace, was too tired to bicker with this man. He nodded solemnly. Pegasus, who without another word, gestured to him and led him upstairs, along with the others.
" Here's something interesting." Isis blinked. " Probably not related though. It's a
nameless scroll. No name of the writer, no title, not even a label for its purpose. And
the handwriting is beautiful."
" What does it say?" Shadi asked.
" I am the Child of the Night." Isis read. " Darkness lies my name. For in the night,
beauty dwells in silent wonder, such that no man can read. Death and birth happen
in the quiet. There is little movement, but when there is, as I, it moves quietly and
stealthily, a deadliness that conquers all. Though light may penetrate darkness, it will
only create more darkness in shadows. I am the Shadow. I hold great power over
those unwary. I am Beauty. I beautify death. I am Death. I horrify the living. I am
the Child of the Moon. The Moon, in silver splendor, a quiet magnificence, solemn
and still and wise. I am-...and it stops there. There's something torn off." Isis blinked.
" Then it's probably here." Shadi picked up another part of a scroll, which was torn at the top. " ...the Child. I am Mystery. Beware my wrath, for my death shall not be unavenged. No curse can harm me. No evil sustain. I am the Pure. Pay heed."
" Did it say he is the Child?" Isis asked, taking the scroll.
" It did." Shadi frowned. " But it sounded so...powerful and...proud."
" That's the Seto I know." Isis reminded him. She looked at the scroll.
" ...dedede, bulls of silver, dedede, Prophet? Dedede, in the name of Ra, I place a
curse among those who defy me. Who but tries and succeeds in destroying me, I,
the Child of all that is Hidden, will be hidden themselves."
" Undoubtedly that's what happened to Yami." Shadi pointed out. " We got it. This
is the Child's call to the world. Unfortunately I don't think Seto remembers any of
this."
Isis looked at the scrolls and sighed. " This is going to take a long while."
Seto woke to a dim lamplight.
" Seto! Are you alright?"
Pegasus was in his nightclothes and outside it was dark.
" What happened?" Seto asked. It was more of a ' Why are you here?'
" You were screaming." Pegasus replied quietly. " Are you alright now?"
It was then that Seto realized he was trembling. He gave a quick nod, wishing
that Pegasus would leave him alone. Pegasus remained for a moment though.
" If you need me, just call, alright?" He patted Seto's arm before turning off the
light. Seto relaxed as the door closed softly. He wondered if Pegasus really meant it.
By now it was nighttime in Egypt and the air had gotten cold. Shadi kept the
torches and the candles going and the flames somehow preserved the warmth in the
cavern. Isis looked through half of the scrolls and Shadi the other half, discarding
the ones they already read.
" This one recorded the number of grains," Isis muttered to herself, " The pork,
water, rain. This one recorded the money spent from the budget..."
" This one recorded one of the sacrifices to the god Horus," Shadi tossed it aside, "
This one...an execution of a murderer."
" Seto?"
" It's another one. Someone named...Kai."
" Oh."
Isis put the scroll down and rubbed her eyes.
" This is getting tiresome." She sighed.
" We don't have much time." Shadi warned.
" You know," Isis began, " Now I know where that whole nonsense about the God
Seth killing his twin brother Osiris came about. Quite frankly, Seto was the reason
Yami's in the puzzle and the puzzle was torn to pieces."
" Just like Osiris in that myth." Shadi nodded. " The airplane is going to leave in the
morning. We'll have to gather these scrolls up and take them with us on the plane.
And perhaps we'll do more research at Pegasus's castle."
Isis nodded. They started gathering.
" Otou-san."
Pegasus blinked. He had definetely heard correctly. Inside that room, Seto called again.
" Otou-san."
Pegasus did a strange thing then. Strange, even for a mind like his.
He pretended that Seto was calling him.
Well, not pretended. In fact, he almost thought Seto was actually calling him for real. But it was strange. Why would Seto call him?
Slowly and carefully he opened the door. Seto was asleep.
Well, of course he's asleep. His father is dead. Both fathers. Pegasus shuddered. Should I wake him?
He advanced towards the bed and stood there for a moment. Seto moaned,
opening his eyes, squinting in the light. He stopped when he saw Pegasus.
" What are you doing here?" He asked.
Pegasus smiled. " Thought you might want to know what time it is."
Seto looked at the clock.
" Time for lunch." Pegasus smirked.
Seto jumped and landed on the bed again. He stared at Pegasus.
" Don't worry. I didn't do anything to make you oversleep. It's your visions. They
make everyone tired." To make his point, Pegasus yawned. " Come along, get
dressed. Your old clothes are in the laundry, and Shadi left some interesting robes
for you in the helicopter. Might as well put on those-you probably wouldn't want
mine."
Seto widened his eyes in astonishment and Pegasus left the room, laughing to himself. He had totally forgotten about how Seto had called his father.
Seto came downstairs feeling pathetic.
" Hey hey! Seto the Priest, eh?!" Jou teased. Seto just growled at him, feeling rather defensive. Indeed, the light gray-blue robes did make him look like a priest, which would explain why Pegasus was laughing when he first woke up. The others were already starting their lunch.
" Do you always sleep this late, Seto?" Honda teased. Seto rolled his eyes and
glared at him. He felt so...
" Ah, teenagers, always narcissistic." Pegasus shook his head. Seto gaped and
proceeded to stick his tongue at Pegasus before busying himself with the food. It
was the first time Pegasus saw Seto do anything so childish and he started to laugh
at him. This didn't help Seto that much though.
" Shadi has bad taste in fashion." Seto muttered.
" The earrings prove it." Pegasus agreed. " But these clothes actually fit you. If you
ever want people to think you're a god, wear these clothes to the mall."
Seto blinked in surprise. Pegasus laughed. " And besides," The older man
pointed out, " Your clothes aren't too satisfactory either."
" Why, do you want me to dress like you?" Seto looked at Pegasus, who stared at
him, surprised at the comeback. " Have that suit and have my hair grow long, and
perhaps add that kerchief around my neck. No sir."
Pegasus laughed. " Very good. Very good! I've never seen this side of you before, Seto-boy. You might want to encourage more visions."
Seto blinked, then glared at Pegasus. " I don't even know why Shadi brought
me here."
" Apparently it has something to do with you." Pegasus chewed thoughtfully and
swallowed. " I think he was mostly thinking about leeches when he first came here."
" Jolly." Seto answered dully, then proceeded to tackle his food the best his low
appetite might.