Yu-Gi-Oh!; Kingdom Come

Chapter One - Part One

The end of the old kings reign, and the start of the new kings reign were linked by blood. The old kings last act was to sit down at his banquet table and get stabbed. The new kings first act was to execute all those who'd turned on his uncle.
Personally.
It had been a public execution, and what felt like the whole kingdom turned out to see it. The look on the audiences faces when they saw the tall, brown haired king jump onto the platform was amazed. When they saw the sword he was wielding, the prisoners faces spelt their terror.
The old king had been a miserly monster. What was the new one going to be like? No one knew anything about him - he was only a Kaiba by adoption, and had therefore skipped most of the Gossip Ring. But the Ring was industrious, and worked fast. by the coronation, everyone had heard the rumours.

"Whole clan was wiped out by a fire you know. Only him and brother escaped..."
"One of those dragon tamer things from the east... it's said he has THREE of them around..."
"It's said he's part dragon himself!"
"The clans abilities was with those dragons. When the dragons were killed the whole clan went insane. It's said that the old king walled them up in their own rooms! They're probably still there..."

No one really knew though. Everything that was said contradicted something else. He was the only survivor of a clan disaster; he and his brother had survived. He hadn't inherited his clan's abilities; he was the most powerful in his clan. He was a human; he was a dragon in human form; he was half dragon. He was old Geiza's son; he was his nephew; he was someone who'd shown up on the doorstep of the castle. No one knew.
Of course, Seto Kaiba wasn't going to enlighten them.
Kaiba had to run a kingdom with almost no help whatsoever. Nearly every advisor had been killed by failed assassination attempts or executed afterwards. All that was left was Pegasus - the general of the army - Isis - the leader of the Weapons, the king's personal guard - and old Hawkins, the most senior of advisors. A teenager, a madman, a 'mystical wisewoman,' and an old man, running a kingdom.
Everyone prayed for the kingdom.

The Throne Room, Midday
Kaiba didn't turn from the window as the man entered. He leaned out the throne room window, giving all his attention to the visitor outside.
His midnight blue cloak flickered around him as the dragon breathed, condensation forming on the gold arm band and gauntlets that were the sign of his position. There was a crown, somewhere, but he was a practical man, and the crown would have gotton in his way. He wore plain black beneath, the only sign that he was supposed to be in mourning.
A rare smile was lightening his normally impassive face. One hand was scratching the head of the purpley-black dragon leaning on the window-sill. It closed its glowing red eyes, almost purring in pleasure. Kaiba laughed. For the first time in what felt like years, he felt like he was a regular human being.
Until the man cleared his throat, jerking Kaiba out of his semi-day dream.
Kaiba turned swiftly, one hand flying to the hilt of his sword. The man held up his hands, eyes widening. "Woah woah woah! If this is how you greet peaceful visits, I'd hate to see how you greet unfriendly ones!"
Kaiba frowned. "Who are you?" His eyes had narrowed, and his left hand never stirred from the sword.
"I'm the fire knight." He pointed at the dragon Kaiba had been petting. "That's mine. I came in on it this morning." He gave an encouraging grin. "You got a message about it when the old guy died."
Kaiba shook his head. "I got a message saying that there would be a messenger. There were no specifics, no dates. Just a warning that there'd be one on the way. Why should I believe that YOU are the messenger."
The mans jaw dropped. "Ya mean, you can stand there, lookin at all this junk - " Here he indicated the armour his was wearing, and the helmet that covered the top of his head. The armour covered him to the jaw bone, leaving his mouth and nose exposed. " - and you don't believe me?"
Kaiba smirked. "Armour's easy to come by. You could have taken from anywhere."
The knight opened his mouth repeatedly, looking more like a goldfish than anything, then jerked off his helmet to stare at him properly. "Coulda... coulda..." He was like a scratched record for a few seconds, before his mind caught up with him.
And when it did, the blonde man was not happy.
"'Coulda got this from anywhere'? I'LL HAVE YOU KNOW THAT I WORKED HARD FOR THIS ARMOUR! I WORKED FOR YEARS TO BE A FIRE KNIGHT AND YOU TURN ROUND AND ACCUSE - "
Kaiba chuckled to himself and turned back to the dragon. "Never mind. I can tell you're obviously a fire knight. I apologise for my disbelief, but we've had more traitors in here than I care to think about."
The knight blinked, brown eyes confused. "What...? How...? What made you change your mind?"
The man gave him an incredulous look with sharp blue eyes. "You've got to be kidding me."
"Whu...?"
He sighed impatiently. "You're on fire."
"Whu - oh, right." He was. Flames licked over his armour and skin. He was so used to it happening that he usually didn't notice it. 'Gotta keep calm while I'm here.' he reminded himself. 'If I lose it here, where they don't know what to do, then there'll really be trouble.'He closed his eyes for a second, and the flames slowly swarmed along his body to the sword at his belt.
While this was happening, Kaiba had left the dragon and slowly walked across the room to his throne. The hangings on the wall threw shadows over it, which twisted into worrying shapes as the dragons breath moved them. When the knight looked up and nodded, Kaiba leaned back and started talking authoritatively.
"You're the ambassador from the south. You're here to assess my capabilities as a king, and to see whether it would be in your interest that I stay on the throne. Am I right?"
The question was rhetorical. They both knew that he was right. But he still nodded.
"And you expect to be treated as an honoured guest while you're here."
There was something in his voice that made the knight look up sharply. But Kaiba was calm and composed... apart from a twinkle of unholy amusement in his dark blue eyes. "Of course I do! Whaddaya think I am?"
"Someone who should watch themselves. While you're in a strange place, it's usually best to go along with what they say and do. Just a little advice. But you're in luck. A few of the best apartments were recently... vacated, and we have plenty of room for you." There was a small dangerous smile on his face, and he decided it was probably better not to ask.
"Thanks, but...Um... My dragon..."
"Of course. We are actually able to accommodate dragons."
"Oh, right." 'HOW? There is nothing near this place even big to hold a dragon. Nothing at all!'
Kaiba must have seen the scepticism on his face. "Trust me. I know what I'm talking about. I have three."
His brown eyes widened. 'Three dragons...?' "Er.. you're not..."
Kaiba smiled. "Yes. I'm that Kaiba." He leaned back almost lazily in his seat. "Now, is there anything you would like to ask of me?"

Outside the throne room, roughly the same time
"You can't enter."
The woman was dressed in simple black with short black hair, and had appeared out of nowhere as Mai had approached the throne room doors.
Mai was not impressed. "Oh no? Just watch me." She flicked out her arms, giving the woman a proper display of the feathers that swept from her back into graceful white wings. "Do you know what these mean?"
The woman - one of the king's Weapons - licked her lips. "Harpy."
"Exactly. And as an ambassador from the Harpies, I deserve more respect than this. And priority when it comes to meetings" The blonde woman was shorter than the warrior blocking her way, but harpies had a reputation of violence and magic.
"Respect, milady, yes. But you cannot disturb the king now. He is in a meeting with the ambassador from the South."
Violet eyes narrowed. "What?"
"A fire knight arrived this morning. About an hour before you did. On a dragon."
The eyes reversed their motion, widening till the Weapon feared they'd fall out. "A DRAGON!?! Where did that lot of cheapskates get a dragon?"
"I'm sure that if you asked it's handler, he'd be more than happy to explain. I could get someone to take you -"
"Don't even try it. I'm not moving until I get into that throne room."
"Well if you ain't movin, then yer gonna have a hard time gettin int' the throne room, aren't ya? But then, I'm sure you birdies have something to make that possible." drawled a man, as he opened the door. Light coloured armour with flames reaching up it? Yep, it was the fire knight. He had his helmet tucked under one arm, and gave her a slightly mocking bow. "Looks like we beat you here, birdie."
That was enough to make the harpy scowl and reach for the thorn-covered whip coiled at her hip. In return, the man smiled, and indicated for her to go into the throne room. "We're done. You can go in."
Mai blinked. The change of topic and his charming smile was confusing. "Wha - "
"You wan'ed to see the king, right? So get in there!"
"Fine!" Mai straightened up, adjusted the purple armour she was wearing, checked her whip. "And you are going to pay for that 'Birdie' comment once I'm done."
He laughed - laughed! - at that. At her! "I'd like to see that," he admitted. "Maybe sometime when you don't have your shadows to back you up?"
Mai blinked. "My wha..." she tailed off, turning to where he was pointing. Realising they'd been spotted, three harpies melted out of the shadows, wings spreading. The leader, a tall pink-haired monster was brandishing a whip similar to Mai's. She advanced on the knight slowly, walking as though she might trip at any moment.
Mai turned, one hand on her hip. "What did I say?" she demanded. "I told you! I don't need the armed escort. I can walk down a few corridors on my own!"
The man eyes drifted to the claws her "shadows" had. "They'd have a hard time walkin anywhere with those fer feet."
He was right. The harpies claws were meant to grip tree branches and the rocks of their mountain home. Polished marble floor weren't really their thing. Although in a pinch they could use the rail that the intricate tapestries were hanging from.
But possibly the fact that someone from the despised deserts was right made the harpies all the more annoyed. In that way, Harpies were more like the Fire knights than either would like to admit; they were quick to anger over the slightest of things. But while the Northerners could hold a grudge for months for months, years even, Southerners were quick to forgive and forget.
And Southerners didn't regard casual teasing and name-calling as something worth murdering over.
Which was probably why the knight carried on talking. "Aren't you a bit young for this?" he asked the harpies. "I mean, I came because everyone else was busy, but everyone knows that the only thing you lot have to do is kill each other. So why they sending li'l kids here?"
Mai scowled. "I'll have you know that I'm one of the most powerful sorceresses in our tribes! And one of the few who can speak this stupid language!"
He nodded. "One of the weirdest languages ever. I don't know how they can speak it at all," He looked at the Weapon. "No 'fence, really,"
The woman grinned back. "None taken."
He turned back to Mai. "So you're here because you can talk the language? Kinda dumb reason isn't it?"
Mai smiled back at him. "Yeah..."
Joey grinned nervously. "Uh... Can I ask you something? I know this'll probably get me into but trouble, but I really want to know. Are you like, real harpy? I mean, they don't usually look as - as - human as you do. So are you, I dunno... Half-harpy?"
Any idea of not hating the southerner vanished. This was the equivalent of signing his own death-warrant.

Harpies were creators of magic - of ice, air and water, of the mountains that were homes. Fire Knights came from the south, from the deserts and volcanoes, and the magic they wielded reflected that.
Put the two together, and well... The results are impressive.

When Joey had been chosen as ambassador, his teachers had summoned him to their room and told, in no uncertain terms, that he had to stay out of trouble. If he started a war with anyone, then he would be handed over to the enemy for target practice. Joey had nodded, and promised that he would stay out of trouble, be a good boy, keep his big mouth shut. The last one was the one that people knew he wouldn't keep. But no one thought he'd be stupid enough to insult a harpy.

The pink haired harpy had leapt forwards with a screech, taking to the air. Wings spread from her wrists to her back, Joey noted absently. Most of his attention was focused on the whip that had appeared in her hand.
The Weapon was yelling furiously - two of the harpies were calling in that weird language of theirs. But the other one - the one with crinkled blonde hair and the violet eyes - she didn't say anything. She just watched them both with a knowing look in her eyes. He wasn't sure, but he thought she told the others "Don't interfere."
Which was actually the way he wanted
it. Joey fought his own battles. He didn't need anyone else's help.
The sound of chanting filled the air - the flying harpy was chanting a spell. He didn't know what it was she was chanting, but he had the feeling that if he let her finish, he'd be in for it in a big way.
Flames licked up from the floor, twining affectionately around him, covering him entirely. They slipped inside his helmet as he pulled on, but when he tipped them straight onto his head, they didn't even singe his hair. They played across his face, pouring out of the eye holes in flaming tears.
It was a terrifying sight. It was supposed to be.
The harpy paused. Blundering idiots, sure, she could take them on in her sleep. But men in full armour, wrapped in flames - something harpies couldn't really deal with effectively - well, she was reconsidering her strategy.
But that pause was exactly what Joey needed.

The Throne Room
Kaiba had turned his back on the drama in his hallways, choosing instead to focus on the dragon.
He returned to petting it lightly, closing his eyes and slipping into a half trance. Kaiba had done this since he was born. His clan - his old clan, not the one he'd been forced into after they died - had lived dragons. Every child could speak to them, knew what every one was saying. Could impose his consciousness and memories on one.
That was what Kaiba was doing; merging his mind with the dragon so it knew where it would be staying. It was a cave by the river, miles away. Completely inaccessible by foot or boat. As such, it was a haven for the dragons that lived there; three adult whites, a baby white one, and now a red eyed one was to take up residence there until his master felt the urge to leave.
Kaiba's mind drifted, showing the dragon the way in terms it would understand: wind currents, heat pockets that would lift it, and places where there was food.
Once he'd explained, the dragon took off, the back draft nearly blowing him across the room. People in the courtyards below screamed as they were blown about - or just because it was a dragon, a real live dragon. But Kaiba's mind remained out of his body, trailing it, until it found what it was looking for: The white dragons.
He slipped his mind into one, enjoying the simple release from the pressures of being a king. Dragons made so much sense. They didn't care that he was a teenager, trying to do a job he wasn't ready for. They didn't care that he had to keep his emotions and thoughts under control so that he didn't offend important people he might need the help of, or lash out and seriously hurt someone. They didn't just want to suck up to him because of his power or money. They accepted him for who - or what - he was. A dragonish human. Or a humanish dragon. Something like that. Even he wasn't sure about his abilities as the infamous "dragon-clan" -- Then the explosion dragged him back to his own body with a bang.

It was a pretty evenly matched fight. What Joey lacked in magic and speed, he made up for with defence and power. She had the magic, the speed, and an ariel advantage.
When Kaiba had been so rudely interrupted, Mai's bodyguard had her whip wrapped round Joey's throat, lightning crackling around it. Joey was hacking at the whip with his sword, his free hand clawing at it. Flames danced around her, catching at the ends of her hair, brushing her feathers, scorching the hand holding the whip. She was reeling, screaming, slashing panicedley at the fire with one clawed hand, preserving enough sense to pull away from him, to tighten the cord.
Kaiba blinked fuzzily. His mind wasn't working. He was seeing two different scenes at once - Joey finally slashing through the whip and rolling away coughing, and then a different scene where all he could see was grass and trees and endless blue sky...
But that didn't matter - all that mattered was that he stopped the fight before anything happened to either ambassador. If one killed the other, his kingdom would be dead centre for a war between two different races, a magical massacre. He'd seen one massacre in his life, participated in another. He wasn't going to permit a third.
"THAT'S ENOUGH!!!" he bellowed, his voice ringing through the vaulted room. But the sound wasn't what made the two combatants freeze. What stopped them in their tracks was the blast of ice and white light that threw them both fifteen feet down a corridor.
The blast that had seemingly come from Kaiba.
Everyone turned to stare at the young king. Mai's violet eyes were nearly falling out again, and the Weapons were trying to go help him without going near him. the two other harpies edged towards their sister, grabbing her arms with their feet to stop her going for the knight again. Joey had moved in front of the hapy, taken the brunt of the blast. He wasn't in any shape to move.
The king had one hand pressed against his ribs, one hand against the wall, holding him up. But he was trying to look like he was shaking like mad, so everyone had the grace to ignore it as well.
"And just what was going on here?" he rasped, his dark blue eyes moving accusingly from one face to the next. He leaned against the wall, the cool stone feeling wonderful on his bare arms. It was a reminder that there was something real in this world. He hadn't been sure for a few minutes there, but here it was. Castle stone, a solid reminder of where he was.
"My fault..." rasped Joey, still flat on his back. He couldn't quite lift his head, but he managed to raise his arm a little. "Put my foot in it... again..."
Kaiba raised an eyebrow. "Well thank you for letting us know where to pin the blame," he said in a voice that dripped with sarcasm. (He ain't feelin well, but he still makes the effort to be nasty. Aww... warms your heart doesn't it?) "But that still doesn't tell me what happened." He glanced at the sharp swords of ice sticking out of the wall. "And what is that?"
The blonde woman turned to him, bowing gracefully. "Your majesty..."
Kaiba frowned. "Mai, isn't it? The message said you'd be arriving. Just not when."
She nodded ruefully. "But one of my bodyguards took offence at something the knight - "
"Joey," came a voice from the corridor.
"What?"
"That's my name. Joey." He gave her a thumbs up, and let him arm flop back across his stomach.
Mai raised an eyebrow. "Ookay... but anyway. My bodyguard took offence at something Joseph said, and attacked him."
Kaiba looked sceptically at the doorwoman.
"It's true," she confirmed. "He did wind up the woman by accident, and she attacked. Then they burst into the throne room, and well..." she waved her arms at the blackened walls. "There was light and ice and... stuff..." She looked at him questioningly. "I assumed it was from you, sir!"
Kaiba blinked at her. "It can't have been..." He shook his head determinedly. "I'll worry about that later. For now, I want the two of them locked in their rooms - "
"Actually sir, I think they both need the attention of a healer,"
"So arrange it then."
A harpy with orange hair let out a screech.
"She says that she and her sister will guard Ruby, if they are given a room. They can heal her as well if need be." Mai translated. "Although they are open to leaving her with a few minor injuries, as a reminder for her to control her temper." Mai walked over to Joey, leaning over him, a puzzled look on her face.
"What ever you're planning," he mumbled. "Don't bother. I don't think I'd be able to put up... enough of a fight for it... to be worth your while."
Mai frowned, shaking her head. "It's not that. I was watching the fight. When you saw the blast coming, you jumped into the way. You shielded someone who was trying to kill you. WHY?"
Joey blinked up at her. "Whaddaya mean why? If I hadn't moved then she woulda been crisped." He rolled his eyes until he could get a vague impression of the other harpies. "I mean, that stuff you're all wearing looks nice, but I doubt that it would keep you safe from a blast like that."
"Something that would have been to your advantage," Mai pointed out. "But you get yourself fried instead."
Joey gave her a lopsided grin. "Well if anything happened to her, you guys were gonna kill me anyway, so why not? At least this way I don't feel guilty."
Mai shook her head. "But why would you feel guilty? What sort of warrior are you?"
Joey did his best to shrug, managing only a twitch of his shoulders. He didn't know the answer, so couldn't give it to Mai. The woman watched him for a few more moments, then turned away. "I'm willing to escort Joseph to the healer," she volunteered.
The man in question groaned. "Stick a sword in me now someone, she's gonna kill me slow when dere's no one to help me..."
Mai laughed. "Don't be ridiculous Joseph. For one thing, I'll need a guide to show me the way to a healer, and we're probably going to be surrounded by guards to prevent a repetition of this incident."
"Naturally," agreed a smooth male voice. "Although I'm not quite certain as to what this 'incident' may be..."
Everyone turned to stare at the speaker stood at the other end of the corridor. He was tall, with shoulder-length lilac-white hair. He was wearing the intricate grey and red uniform of the militia, with the gold trimmings of a commander, and a patch over one eye. He bowed elegantly.
"Pegasus," Kaiba greeted. "If you would have one of your men ask Isis for a few extra Weapons to guard out guests, and two more to be guides. I need one to take the three women to the rooms prepared for them, and one to take the knight to a healer."
He would have cheerfully left all the arangements to Pegasus. He was so tired... and his skull was cracking in one hell of a headache.
Pegasus looked surprised, then smiled lightly. "If I may be frank, sire? The Weapons, proficient as they are around the castle, have no chance in the city. they couldn't find their way round there alone. Which is why I suggest that Tristan -" here, he indicated a startled youth with brown hair that stuck up like a sharks fin. He was as tanned as his commander, wearing a similar uniform, but with less decoration. "- Should lead them."
Joey pulled himself into a sitting position. "You mean you don't have a healer in the castle?"
Kaiba sighed, rubbing his eyes. "We did. He - died."
Joey tugged his helmet off, and blinked cluelessly. "I ain't gonna ask." he said finally.
"Good," agreed Tristan. "Cause believe me, you don't want to know how."
Mai turned and gave him a smile. Half the soldiers behind Pegasus smiled back dazedly. Harpies could have that effect on people.
"Tristan," Pegasus said with a false smile. "Didn't I make a suggestion?"
The man saluted. "Sorry sir," he said. He turned to Joey dubiously. "Can you stand up?"
Joey looked up at him ruefully. "Give me a couple'a weeks and sure."
Tristan grinned and started to tug him up. "Maybe we should swing by your room and let you dump this stuff somewhere? Cause it's a long walk to city, and I don't think you're gonna make it dressed like this."
Joey teetered dangerously on his feet, and Tristan quickly wrapped the knights arm around his shoulder. "Sure. I'm down wit' dat."
Mai frowned severely, then said something in the harpies harsh grating tongue. the harpies looked mutinous, but the two others lifted Ruby by her shoulders in their thick yellow claws. One of the five Weapons split from the group and bowed to the women, then trotted down the corridor. He kept glancing nervously over his shoulder, speeding up as he saw them following him. By the time he reached the end of the corridor he was sprinting.
Pegasus chuckled to himself. "It seems that the Weapons aren't as fearless as they seem,"
Kaiba let out a harsh bark of laughter. "You must tell Isis that some time. I'd do it from a distance."
Tristan coughed lightly. "Sir...?"
Pegasus looked puzzled for a moment, then his face cleared. "Yes, yes, carry on..."
Tristan smothered a grin, bobbed his head, then started to drag Joey out the room.
"Aren't you forgetting someone?" Mai called. "Wait up!"
"You'll like this guy," they could hear him announcing as Mai sprinted towards him. "He's really nice.. bit weird, but hey, I've seen weirder."
"So've I," Joey admitted. "They're always the ones in charge... or the ones with the weapons..."
"And the big mouths," Mai put in.
"Hey!"
Pegasus smirked, then turned to his men. "Dismissed," was all he said, then leapt back to avoid the mad scramble to escape. Shaking his head ruefully, he drifted down the corridor, his thumbs caught in his sword belt. Kaiba clutched his head furiously - the noise was almost unbearable... his head hurt.
When the commander reached the throne room, he looked inquisitively at the king, now slumped against the wall. If he tried to move, he'd fall over. "Are you sure you're up to this Kaiba? I'd hate to have you collapse on me."
Kaiba scowled. "I'm fine."
Pegasus was turning slowly in the doorway, inspecting the soot covered wall, and the chunks of ice that were slowly melting. "Of course you are. Come over here and have a look at this,"
Kaiba gave him a death- glare(TM) and tried to move forwards - only to stumble and almost collapse.
Pegasus smirked. "I knew it. It happens every time someone uses their abilities for the first time. You can barely move for the rest of the day!"
Kaiba was leaning on the wall again. "I told you - "
Pegasus looked at him calmly, an affectionate - yet knowingly annoying - grin on his face. "And I'm telling you. This - " here he waved at the walls. "Came from you. As it has obviously drained you, I doubt there'd be much point continuing with the discussion."
He turned to the Weapons. "Take him back to his room. Don't let him leave it."
The bodyguards deliberately ignored Pegasus, peering over the man to look at the king. "Is that what you want, sir?"
Kaiba scowled and tried to move. After nearly falling again, he was forced to agree. "I may as well. Isis's in charge while I'm gone." He glared at Pegasus. "But I doubt this came from me. We'll talk about it later."
There was a flash of jealous anger on Pegasus' face then, an expression that was there and gone in less than a second. But he stepped gracefully out of the way, allowing the Weapons to chair lift the teenager out of the room. Kaiba glared at him all the way out of the room, until he could no longer see him, unasked questions in his face.
'You know something don't you? You understand what just happened. Tell me!'
Once they'd gone, and he couldn't hear their footsteps, Pegasus walked back to the soot-blackened door way. Collecting some on a finger, he inspected it closely. "Dragon flame...? How...?" The man turned to stare after Kaiba, a strange look in his single brown eye. "Well Kaiba-boy. It seems there's more to you than I thought..."