Destiny and the Dragon

Author's note: Ugh. This one got pushed back more than I would've liked. My birthday and subsequent vacation really threw me off. Sorry. Anyway, I'd like to give a big THANK YOU to all the positive reviews I've received. I hope I can keep pleasing you guys! Now a little explanation for this chapter's title, "Ka-tet". It's a term I encountered on the internet in relationship to the connection between Yami and Zorc Necrophilius, the Dark God. It means they are bound to each other by Ka, their spirit. This chapter deals with the connections between Seto, Kisara, and Yugi. Just thought I'd let you know. since D&tD is reaching its heart-stopping finale, all chapters will be 8 pages from here on out instead of the usual 4. Furthermore, as it is rather important, these are the characters' ages, if only for this story:

Seto: 18

Mokuba: 14

Yugi and the gang: 16

Ishizu: 16

Malik: 18

Rashid(yes, he'll appear eventually): 20

Also, I'm going to include the list of events that you need to know have occurred in my manga/anime fusion continuity in each A/N now. They'll become important later on in the story, so pay attention:

Death-T

Yugi vs. Kaiba's Dark side(aka Death Imposter)

Legendary Heroes

Remember these events. Now, onwards!

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 10: Ka-tet

By Blue Eyes Shining Dragon

"You…" Seto said, stunned, but refusing to show it in his body or voice.

Gozaburo, Sennen eye gleaming in his right socket, simply grinned. Placing Mokuba's and Kisara's soul cards face down on the table, he folded his hands and rested his chin on them. "Hello to you too, son."

"STEP-son!" Seto added venomously.

Gozaburo simply grinned. Seto's whole body shuddered in rage. He didn't know how Gozaburo had obtained the Sennen eye, nor did he really care. All that mattered was that he was alive somehow, and holding his brother and…friend…captive. Seto noted the Sennen eye glowing gold. He wondered if Gozaburo was going to take his soul away from him as well. Instead, the former-CEO of Kaiba Corp. simply reared back his head and laughed sickeningly. When at last he stopped, Gozaburo said, "No, Seto, I'm afraid I can't take your soul from you without due process. Still, I find it so amusing that you're so willing to sacrifice yourself for these two. Didn't I teach you anything?"

Seto snarled in anger at the arrogant man. "The only lessons I ever learned from you were how to be miserable!" he said, struggling to keep in control of his anger.

Gozaburo chuckled, unfolded his hands, and picked up the two soul cards. Putting them in his pocket, he said, "As I mentioned, I can't take your soul without due process. It is protected by your ancient priest's blood…"

Seto narrowed his eyes. "You mean, because I'm the reincarnation of the Priest Seth."

Gozaburo grinned coldly. "Indeed. A priest of your ranking must be defeated in a Shadow game to have his soul claimed by darkness. Therefore, I'll be waiting for you at the place that it all started. Be there before sunset, or I'll tear these two cards to pieces, and you'll never see your brother OR your lover again!" Gozaburo said. His eye exploded into light, engulfing the room. When it dimmed, Gozaburo, as well as Mokuba's and Kisara's bodies, were gone. Seto balled his hands into fists, and pounded the nearest wall. "DAMN IT!" he screamed with all his fury.

Yugi surveyed the ruins that were once Domino Square. It was fortunate that no one had been there, although Yugi suspected Seto's earlier rampage had the citizens of Domino all so scared they refused to leave their homes. He turned to Shadi, who continued to float around the premises. This was around the seventh circle that the ancient spirit had done, and it was getting on Yugi's nerves. "Shadi, Bakura is long gone, OK?" he asked.

Indeed, shortly after Yugi had seen Seto, Mokuba, and Kisara run off, Bakura had sacrificed his Dark Necrofear to call upon his Dark Sanctuary magic card, and, with its wandering spirit distracting his enemies, had made his escape. Still, twenty minutes later, Shadi continued to search for signs of the elusive thief. Seeing as how Shadi continued to ignore him, Yugi instead turned to Yami for a speaking partner. "So where do you think Kaiba, Mokuba, and Kisara went?" he asked the pharaoh.

"I hope somewhere safe. I noticed that Bakura's ally disappeared at the same time those three left."

Yugi pondered this for a moment. His thoughts were cut short by Jounouchi, who approached the young duelist on the stone he sat on. "Yugi, why don't we just leave already? We'll find Kaiba, Mokuba, and Kisara later, but we don't need to stick around with him!" he said.

Yugi sighed. "I don't like it much either, Jounouchi, but I think Shadi can help Yami and I figure out how to use the Egpytian God Cards to reclaim Yami's memory, and until he's ready to talk, I can't leave."

Jounouchi put a hand to his temple in exasperation, but said, "OK, Yugi. I'll wait here with you, then."

Yugi smiled. "Thanks, Jou."

"What are friends for?"

Yugi grinned, yawned slightly, then resumed pondering over what Yami had told him. After several minutes, Shadi finally stopped walking. "The rod." He said.

Yugi looked up at him in confusion. "The Sennen Rod is not with Seto Kaiba, nor is it here." Shadi observed.

Jounouchi ruffled his hair furiously. "IT TOOK YOU ALL THIS TIME TO FIGURE THAT OUT?!?" he shouted.

Shadi looked at him blankly. "I sensed the rod's presence here, even after the three dragons left. However, it is now gone. I fear the thief has it."

Yugi gulped. "That can't be good. It's Bakura's goal to collect all seven Sennen items, and now that he has two, he's even more of a threat."

Shadi ignored Yugi's comment. "We must find him quickly."

The ancient guardian began to leave, but Yugi stopped him. "Wait, Shadi! I need to know something."

The Egyptian man turned to Yugi, awaiting his continuation. "How do I use the three Egyptian God Cards to help Yami restore his memory?" he asked, his eyes pleading and wide, hoping for something, anything, to help his other self.

Shadi's face was neutral as he answered, "The time will come when the Cards will open the way of memory." He said blankly.

Yugi clasped his hands in frustration, struggling to keep calm in the face of Shadi's natural indifference. "I know that part. What I don't know is how to tell if the time is right."

Shadi remained silent for a while. He finally said, "There is a battle in the present that must be settled before the battle in the past can begin. When the three dragons are at last joined in body and soul, the battle of the present will be finished, and the pharaoh may journey to the past."

With that, the spirit walked away in search of his target, while Yugi was left to digest what he had just been told. "The soul of the High Priest and the soul of the Pharaoh are eternally intertwined…Perhaps the soul of the High Priest must be put to rest before I can reclaim my memory…" Yami contemplated.

"That sounds about right to me. Let's go with Shadi; maybe we can help Kaiba out!" Yugi responded.

Yami thought about that for a moment. "Very well."

Yugi grinned. "Just remember, if we meet up with Kaiba, be nice."

Yami laughed slightly. "I make no guarantees."

It hadn't taken Seto long to discern what Gozaburo had meant when he had said to meet him at "the place that it all started".

"The orphanage he adopted me from." He thought bitterly as he mounted his Blue Eyes White Dragon motorcycle.

Driving off from the private garage the motorcycle was kept in, Seto pondered how this was going to work out. He had no doubt Gozaburo intended to duel him in a shadow game, and had brought his duel disk and deck with him. However, he had no idea what kind of deck Gozaburo would use, nor what his strategy would be. The old man had despised games, and if he had even had a deck all those years ago, Seto didn't know of it. Either way, Seto knew he would be flying blind against an opponent against whom defeat was not an option. Speeding along, he began to contemplate his vision of Kisara and Mokuba before he had talked to Gozaburo. His Blue Eyes White Dragons had been glowing, just like they had when he had taken Kisara and Mokuba to the Kaiba Corp. building. He knew there was a connection between the three of them and whatever had happened 3000 years ago in Ancient Egypt, but he still didn't know exactly what. However, he had a feeling he was going to find out when the cards began to glow again, engulfing him in their warm light…

When Seto's eyes could again see, he was confronted with a sight that chilled him to the core. Dressed in the garb of the high priest Seth, he held Kisara, blood dribbling down her face and all over her body, in his arms. He noticed that he while he could see through the priest's eyes, he was not in control. His theory was confirmed when he began speaking against his will. "Kisara…are you…I…what happened here?" his body asked against his will, its voice afraid and uneven.

She placed her reddened hand on his cheek. "I h…heard about…Mokuba…I…I'm so…so sorry…Seth…"she said.

Seto couldn't help but smile bitterly. Even as she died, she could think only of her new family's well-being. "It was the pharaoh, it had to be! First, he killed Mokuba…and now…" Seto said, struggling with all his force to keep from crying and exposing weakness.

Her hand trembling, Kisara slid it down to Seth's shoulder. "At least…I can protect you with the light of my spirit…"

With these words, Seto could feel the life slip away from Kisara. Her hand fell limp to the ground, and within Seto, and Seth as well, an incredible rage emerged, one that Seto had never felt before, not even when he had been defeated for the first time by Yugi. Almost as if in reaction to his anger, the Earth shook, and from Kisar's still body, a light blue mist emerged from her mouth. Soon, it began to take shape: Wings, a tail, and a long, serpentine neck all formed together into the might Blue Eyes White Dragon. Standing in front of it, Kisara in his arms, Seth screamed to the sky, in unison with the dragon's own furious roar, "REVENGE!!!"

The next thing Seto knew, he was walking towards the palace of the pharaoh. To his right, an old man in a tan robe with the sennen eye was talking to him. "My son, are you sure you want to do this? Fighting the pharaoh could be dangerous."

Again, Seto spoke without wanting to. "Don't worry, Akunadin. I hold all three White Dragon Kas. Not even the Pharaoh can stand up to them. I will have my vengeance."

A final jump placed Seto within the collapsing chamber of the pharaoh, the same place he had seen when he and Yugi had dueled at Battle City. There stood the pharaoh, gripping the sennen puzzle, bloody and battered. "Seth…this is the only way…" he said.

Seto, still not in control of what he was doing, spat his own blood at the pharaoh's feet. "This catastrophe is of your making, murderer!" he said, his voice dripping with hatred.

The pharaoh could only look at him with sorrow in his eyes. Speaking a chant in Egyptian, he began to hold on even tighter to the sennen puzzle as it exploded into golden light. As his rod also began to glow, Seto gripped it as he shouted, "PHARAOH! I WILL FOLLOW YOU UNTIL THE END OF TIME TO GET MY VENGEANCE!"

And with that, both their bodies fell limp, the items they had held now containing their spirits.

Seto immediately snapped back to reality. Realizing that he was still driving on his cycle, he sighed in relief when he saw he hadn't crashed, but was still riding towards the orphanage. Still keeping track of the road, he contemplated what he had just seen, combined with what Gozaburo had told him, as well as the memories he had seen while Seth had possessed his body. At last, the full story was there for him to see and think about. All the facts pointed at the pharaoh murdering Kisara, but that didn't add up for Seto. The Pharaoh had no reason to kill Kisara or Mokuba. He imagined that, for Seth, having witnessed the event for himself, such reasoning was not available. However, removed as he was from the actual murder, he could see it differently. Gozaburo had kidnapped the modern-day Mokuba and Kisara, so he figured into this somehow too. However, he hadn't seen an Egyptian version of Gozaburo in any of the memories. The closest person he had was Akunadin, and the fact that Gozaburo had the sennen eye leant credence to the idea that Gozaburo was Akunadin's modern incarnation. Speeding along the road, he began to think of Yami. Was this what he felt when his friends were in danger? Was this weight of the ancient past the same for Yami as it was for him? Suddenly, Seto could see Yami's silent longing, his yearning to know of his past, as he never could before. He too now had the need to know, in full, what he had been 5,000 years ago, for without that knowledge, he was unsure if he could save Mokuba and Kisara. Now, his thoughts turned to the blue-haired girl. It was hard to believe that he had only met her the day before, but that was how it was. When he had been in the memory, her limp body in his arms, he felt a rage within him that burned like an inferno. He could no longer deny that he felt something for her, but years under Gozaburo's tutelage had shown him that trusting such emotions could be dangerous. Though he hated admitting it, Seto had lied back at the Kaiba Corp. building; Gozaburo had taught him never to show weakness to anyone, or they would destroy him. No matter what he did, no matter how hard he tried, he could never forget that painful lesson. As much as he cared for Kisara, he still could not shed the knowledge that he would be exposing himself to a world of hatred and rejection. As all these thoughts buzzed through his head, Seto saw the all-too familiar entrance gate to the orphanage. Stopping the bike, he hopped off and inserted his three Blue Eyes White Dragons into his deck, which he then placed in his duel disk. "This is it, Gozaburo…" he said, stoically, entering the dreary, long-shut down orphanage…

Ishizu, Malik, and Rashid all sat looking at the ruins of the door to their museum. When Seto had taken the sennen rod, he had almost immediately gone mad. The siblings knew this was due to Seth possessing his body, using the rod's destructive powers to destroy the museum door. "Are you sure we did the right thing, sister?" Malik asked, leaning on the wall, his arms folded in calm collection.

Ishizu sighed. "Sometimes, the right path is the hardest to follow. What Kaiba faces now will be his greatest challenge, but it is one he must face or else he will never be complete."

The young girl turned to her tall brother, Rashid. "Rashid, I wish the pharaoh to know that Kaiba is at the Domino orphanage. Find him and give him this information."

Rashid nodded. "Do you wish to ride with me, Malik-sama?" he asked his younger brother.

Malik grinned. "Why not? Let's go."

Yami Bakura could not have been happier. Everything he had set up was going perfectly, and soon he would have the ultimate power. Leaping along from roof to roof, the white-haired boy finally arrived at his destination, the Domino museum. Standing there, waiting for him, was Gozaburo Kaiba. Yami Bakura landed next to the gray-haired businessman. Handing him a Duel Disk and the Sennen rod, he asked, "Do you have the other two dragons?"

Gozaburo nodded. "Seto will be here soon, and I don't doubt Yugi will eventually follow him. I suggest you prepare for the young pharaoh." He said.

"Sounds good." Yami Bakura said.

Suddenly, a voice cried out, "GOZABURO!"

"He's here! Go!" Gozaburo said.

Yami Bakura nodded, and leapt away just as quickly as he had come. Gozaburo slapped on the Duel Disk and inserted his deck into it. "You won't know what hit you, son." He thought dryly.

Looking up from his wrist, he found himself looking directly at an approaching Seto. His white duster fluttering behind him, the brown-haired CEO looked every bit as regal and menacing as a king coming to execute a traitor. Seto at last stood in front of his former step-father, staring at him with eyes full of burning hatred. "I'm going to assume that you know how to play this game, old man?" he asked, his voice scathing.

Gozaburo didn't respond, instead switching his duel disk into its playing mode. Seto followed suit. Both handed their decks to each other, and began shuffling. As they did, Seto asked, "Tell me something, Gozaburo; your goal is to control my three Blue Eyes, isn't it? Why not just take them?"

Gozaburo laughed coldly. "Holding the cards isn't enough; they obey the human to whose soul they are bound. To control them, the soul they are bound to must be destroyed. You remember when Yugi dueled your dark half? You called out to your Blue Eyes when your evil half ordered it to attack, and it stopped when it heard the call of its true master. You could've done the same thing with Pegasus if you had known."

Seto did not answer, and he and Gozaburo returned their respective decks to each other. Seto drew his cards, and waited for what he knew to be inevitable. As Seto knew it would, darkness began to pour forth from Gozaburo's sennen eye, incasing them in a shadow bubble. "A shadow game. How predictable." Seto sneered.

"This shadow game is called a deck-master duel. It's like a normal duel, save for one new rule: You must select a monster from your deck and make it your deck-master. It is kept out of play unless you order it to come to the field, and it is granted a special ability. Can you handle all this, son?" Gozaburo responded.

Seto nodded. "I choose Lord of Dragons to be my deck-master!" Seto cried.

Lord of Dragons

Atk: 1200

Def: 1100

Deck-master Ability: Pay half of your life-points. Draw 3 cards. Special summon any dragon-type monster you draw. All other types of cards are discarded. This effect can only be used once per turn.

From Seto's deck emerged the spell-caster, dressed in the skeleton of a dragon, black cape flowing behind him. The dark-skinned sorcerer took its place at Seto's side. "Now I choose MY deck-master: Possessed Dark Soul!" Gozaburo called.

Possessed Dark Soul

Atk: 1200

Def: 800

Deck-master Ability: Take control of one monster on your opponent's side of the field until it is destroyed or removed from play. Pay 1000 lifepoints for each level star the monster has. This effect can only be used when your opponent has two or more monsters on the field. This effect can only be used once per turn.

As its name was called, the burning demon appeared alongside its master. "A fitting deck-master for you, Gozaburo." Seto spat.

Gozaburo merely laughed. Seto looked at his opening hand. "Nothing too special…" he noted.

Seto was uncomfortable to note the similarity of this situation to the one with Pegasus: His opponent had the sennen eye, which made Seto's strategies an open book, and if Seto lost, Mokuba and Kisara would be gone forever. The only difference was there was no Yugi to bail him out this time. "I won't need him to bail me out this time!" he reminded himself harshly.

Gozaburo, however, could only laugh. "Oh, I disagree. You CAN'T win this duel! You're destined to lose!" he said.

Seto began to laugh. "What's so funny?" he demanded.

Seto looked up at his step-father, his face determined and ready. "Haven't you heard, Gozaburo? I don't BELIEVE in destiny!"

To be Continued…