Destiny and the Dragon
Author's note: At last, some real action! This is going to be a showdown between Seth and Yami, and yes, it is going to be a full-blown duel. Sorry if it bores you, but I don't feel right skimping on it. Also, I may use cards that are made up. To have the freedom to have the duel go as I want, I may be using fictional cards. Don't worry, though, the whole chapter isn't a duel. We also get to see what Mokuba's been up to, and we learn a little more about the ancient past.
Copyright info: I do not own Yu-gi-oh! If I did, though , you can bet we'd see a lot more Seto Kaiba(and, considering he already appears a lot, they'd probably have to rename the show "The Seto Kaiba saga", or some other, less crappy, title.).
Continuity info: First, I'm using all Japanese names, as well as personalities (in short, Jounouchi isn't going to have that heavy New York accent, and Bakura won't be British). Thus, Joey is Jounouchi, the Millennium items are sennen items, and so on. Finally, the actual continuity is kind of a mixture of the manga and anime. This takes place after Battle City, but the Noa saga did not occur. However, in the manga, Yugi immediately uses the God cards to open up the doors to Yami's memory world. In this, like in the anime, he must wait until the appropriate time. Also, this is going to act as an alternative to the Memories arc in the manga so I can add my own little spin on the ancient past. Enjoy.
I want to run away,
I want to know the truth
I want to know the answers,
I want to shut the door and open up my mind.
-"Runaway Reanimation", Linkin' Park
Chapter 5: Rekindled battle
By Blue Eyes Shining Dragon
Mokuba Kaiba was sweating bullets as he slowly maneuvered his big brother's private copter over Domino City. He knew Seto would go ballistic if he knew that Mokuba had not only taken his copter without asking, but that he was piloting it unsupervised. Mokuba had been taking lessons in copter flying for several weeks now, but Seto did not feel he was ready to do it on his own yet. However, when Mokuba had seen the news, confronted with an image of Seto stumbling away from a titanic explosion many reporters theorized to be of the elder Kaiba's own making, Mokuba knew he had to find Seto. "The copter will let me find him the fastest." He reminded himself, holding the control stick steady.
Swooping over the skyscrapers of the city beneath him, Mokuba's eyes darted around, looking for some sign of his older brother. "I know Seto wasn't responsible for those explosions, he couldn't have been!" the raven haired Kaiba thought, trying to control both the helicopter and his own nervousness.
"Everyone thinks Seto's a monster, willing to do anything to win…but he isn't that heartless. There's got to be an explanation for all this!" Mokuba's thoughts were interrupted by a strange but familiar sight.
Emerging from Domino square was a bubble of dark energy, engulfing the entire area around it. Mokuba knew that meant a shadow game was in progress. "I wonder who's playing it, though. Malik was defeated by Yugi, so it couldn't…" Mokuba stopped his train of thought when he realized something. Thinking of Malik had reminded him: Seto had been holding the sennen rod when he had been seen on TV! Mokuba quickly put two and two together, and steered the copter towards the emerging bubble of darkness. "Please be OK, oniichan." He thought desperately.
Yami Yugi looked around at the familiar shadows that surrounded him and his friends. Jounouchi was the first to react, clutching his head in frustration. "ARRGH!!! Not another one of these stupid shadow games!" He growled.
Honda and Anzu both huddled next to Jounouchi. "Make sure he doesn't see Kisara." Honda whispered.
Kisara groaned quietly. She hated it when people treated her like she was a child. She also knew that something was wrong with Seto. Even if it had been for only a few hours, the time she had spent with Seto had taught her volumes about his personality. She wasn't fully sure why, but just being near him allowed her an insight into his soul. Because of that, she knew that Seto wasn't doing this on his own will. Pushing Honda and Anzu aside, she managed to run up to the brown-haired boy. "KISARA, STAY BACK!" Yami Yugi shouted.
Seto turned to face Kisara. His eyes and hair remained edged, a sign to Yami Yugi that another spirit was in control of his body right now. Kisara again noted Seto's eyes held that same blank darkness as Shadi's. However, there was a depth of feeling in them that Shadi's eyes had not held. There was sadness and longing in them. For a moment, Kisara was taken off guard. "Seto…" She started.
Seto did not allow her to finish, turning away from her. "Leave, before he hurts you." He said.
Kisara was confused. Who was the "he" Seto was referring to? "Pharaoh, it is time to begin our Shadow game!" Seto cried, his voice echoing in the darkness.
Yami Yugi narrowed his eyes at the blue-eyed duelist. "What shall the game be?" He asked.
Seto grinned. "It's a game I'm sure you're familiar with, Pharaoh: The loser must give his soul to the winner!"
Kisara gasped. "WHAT? Seto, are you insane?" She shouted, angry at him.
Something was wrong with him, she knew, but that didn't mean he could just do whatever he pleased. "Stay out of this, Kisara. You'll only endanger yourself by getting involved."
With that, Seto took his dueling deck out of the special pocket on his waist belt where he kept it. Yami Yugi followed suit. "I'll make the first move." Seto announced.
Drawing from the top of his deck, which was now floating next to him, Seto picked a card from his hand and placed it in front of him. Like the deck, it floated in place. "I summon the monster La Jinn to the field!" Seto cried. The green-skinned genie emerged from the card on command, folding its arms in front of its chest in preparation of its next move.
La Jinn
Atk:1800
Def:1000
"Next, I'll equip him with the magic card Negative Energy, which doubles his attack strength. I'll play two cards face down, and end my turn." Seto announced.
Bolts of purple energy floated around La Jinn, and the mystic lamp dweller's size increased with its strength.
La Jinn
Atk: 3600
Yami Yugi drew, stone-faced. "Now it's my turn! I'll play Retained Celtic Guardian in Defense mode!" Yami Yugi cried, summoning the elven warrior to the field.
Retained Celtic Guardian
Atk: 1400
Def: 1200
"Finally, I'll play one card face down and end my turn." Yami Yugi said.
With that, Seto drew again. He chuckled. "I activate the magic card De-Spell, to see your face down card!" Seto said.
Yami Yugi's face down card flipped face-up, revealing the trap card Mirror Force. Yami Yugi grinned. "Sorry, but since Mirror Force is a trap card, your De-spell card doesn't effect it."
Seto laughed. "Maybe De-Spell won't, but my Remove Trap magic card will!"
With that, Seto activated the Remove Trap magic card, destroying Yami Yugi's Mirror Force. Yami Yugi grinned. "Excellent move. With both Remove Trap and De-Spell in your hand, there was no way my face down card would be safe."
Seto nodded. "Now, La Jinn, attack his Retained Celtic Guardian!"
By Seto's orders, the green genie gathered fiery energy into its hands. Molding the flames into a ball, the genie launched it at the waiting Retained Celtic Guardian. The fireball exploded on contact, causing the entire arena to be illuminated by the blast. Seto grinned, expecting the green-armored elf to be completely destroyed. However, to his shock, Retained Celtic Guardian was unscathed as the smoke cleared. "What?" He growled in surprise.
Yami Yugi chuckled. "Retained Guardian's special ability makes it impossible to destroy it with monsters that have 1900 attack points or more. Normally, La Jinn wouldn't fall into that category, but thanks to your own Negative Energy card, he does!"
Seto narrowed his eyes at his opponent. "So your monster was safe all along, even without Mirror Force." He observed.
Yami Yugi nodded. He drew, and then played two cards face down. "Now," he said, "I'll summon Mystical Elf in Defense mode!"
Mystical Elf
Atk: 800
Def: 2000
Seto shook his head, laughing quietly. "Neither of your monsters can defend you, Pharaoh, so I'll attack with La Jinn!" Seto cried.
"Not so fast! I'll activate my trap card, Regulation of Tribe! This trap card allows me to select one type of monster and prevent it from attacking for as long as this card remains on the field!" Yami Yugi cried, revealing one of the two hidden cards on his side of the field.
Chains shot forth from the card towards La Jinn. "I've chosen Fiend as the type of monster to affect, so now, La Jinn will be unable to attack!" Yami Yugi shouted.
However, just as the chains touched La Jinn, they turned back, latching instead onto Yami Yugi's Retained Celtic Guardian! "You activated a trap card of my own, Pharaoh, called Shift!" Seto declared triumphantly.
"This card allows me to redirect magic cards, trap cards, or monster attacks that target one of my monsters back at another monster of my choice, and I picked your Retained Celtic Guardian!" He finished.
"That's not good! That means that La Jinn is free to attack, while all our warrior-type monsters will be helpless!" Yugi reminded his spiritual partner.
Seto waved his finger at Yami Yugi mockingly. "You and I always were even in our skills, Pharaoh, but while you've lost all that memory of yours, I haven't."
Yami Yugi's eyes immediately widened. He now knew who he was truly dealing with. "So, my suspicions were correct! You aren't really Seto Kaiba; you are the spirit of the High Priest who I dueled 3000 years ago!" Yami Yugi cried in anger.
Kisara smiled. She knew Seto hadn't truly become an evil maniac! Her smile was quickly replaced with a grimace, however. Turning to Seto's body, she shouted, "Get out of Seto right now!"
Seto looked saddened for a moment, but quickly returned his attention to Yami Yugi. "I don't know what lies you've told her, Pharaoh, but I won't let you harm her again!" He cried.
Yami Yugi looked confused. "What do you mean?" He asked.
Seto's eyes narrowed. "Time to refresh your memory, Pharaoh! 3000 years ago, in Ancient Egypt, I was your High Priest, as well as your friend. It was my duty to overlook your empire and insure the safety of its citizens. On one of my daily patrols, I discovered a young girl being attacked by a group of superstitious villagers who feared her Kaa."
Yami Yugi interrupted him. "Kaa? What's a Kaa?" He asked.
Seto grinned. "Ah, that's right, you don't remember. A Kaa is a of monster that exists inside of the hearts of humans. One Kaa was feared above all others, though: The Blue Eyes White Dragons. While most Kaa had countless possible hosts, only three Blue Eyes White Dragons existed. I held the first, my younger brother the second."
"Younger brother?"
"Your intrusions are becoming obnoxious, pharaoh. Yes, I had a younger brother, just as my modern form does. We both possessed two of the three legendary Blue Eyes, but the third eluded me for some time. When I rescued that girl…"
The stone mask upon Seto's face broke momentarily, a look of mourning creeping upon it. He quickly resumed his story. "She became my younger brother's caretaker out of gratitude to my kindness."
Kisara wiped her head. Was she sweating? She looked around and noticed that the others were sweating too, save Seto and Yugi. "It's probably because it's so hot." She noted, confused at the sudden change in temperature.
Suddenly, the shadows around the group dissipated, replaced now by a desert in the middle of a sandstorm. Pyramids were located all over the landscape. "What's going on?" Yami Yugi asked his opponent.
"The shadows…they sense the power of the God cards…my memories have combined with that energy. Your wait to reclaim your memories is over, Pharaoh, because we are now in ancient Egypt." Seto said.
Yami Yugi could only stare in shock. "While you take in the scenery, I'll make my next move!" Seto declared.
Drawing, he played another face down card and also summoned Battle Ox in Attack Mode.
Battle Ox
Atk: 1700
Def: 1000
"Your Retained Celtic Guardian may be invulnerable to my La Jinn, but my Battle Ox's attack strength is low enough to bypass its effect, while still being strong enough to destroy it!" Seto said proudly.
The red-armored minotaur charged towards its target, slashing its glimmering axe and cutting the Retained Celtic Guardian in half. The Battle Ox's attack was quickly followed up by La Jinn's fireball, which destroyed the Mystical Elf. Yami Yugi prepared to draw, when suddenly the landscape around them changed, revealing an Egyptian city. "What's happening?" Yami Yugi asked.
Seto smirked. "You are quite inquisitive. Now that we are in Ancient Egypt, each turn that passes will reveal a piece of the memories I was talking about to you."
With that, Seto turned his attention to watch the scene that was about to play out. "How odd that this one event would cause so much to change." The High priest thought.
"Someone's coming." Kisara said.
Someone did indeed round the corner of one of the nearby buildings, leaning on the wall to rest. Kisara couldn't believe her eyes. Before her very own eyes, wearing a tattered tan robe and covered in cuts and bruises, was herself.
To be continued…
Afterthoughts: Sorry for ending so abruptly, I couldn't think of a better place to do it. I hope the duel doesn't scare away too many readers, or takes too long. Indeed, I hope to resolve it in the next chapter. Here's hoping.