Chapter 8 Never Forget the Past
Keiko, Kaiba, and Mokuba finally made it down the stairwell into a rather small, dusty room. There were scrolls in a wooden case near a table, one chair, a podium, and a straw bed. Mokuba panted heavily and set his backpack down. "What... is ... this ... place...?"
"Looks like a prison," Keiko commented.
Kaiba swallowed hard. Something about this room made his skin crawl. Somehow he recognized it, and this fact frightened him. He had never been to Egypt! "Keiko can we..." He saw that she was reading some of the scrolls and not paying attention to him at all. He sighed. I guess we can't.
Jonouchi and the others (except Calpurnia, who remained downstairs) came to a large gallery at the top of the stairs that lead almost directly to a large window overlooking the ruins. The floor was rough and rumbling, exposed the the wind and weather for three thousand years, and only held them up due to several feet of stone beneath them. A cloud passed over the moon, so there was very little light to see anything.
"Wow," Anzu whispered. She stood closer to the window to view the height and vintage point of the window. In the distance, she could see the lights of Luxor twinkling in the night. "I'll bet Yami used to stand here to give proclamations and stuff!"
"Doubtful," said Isis. "Anything of such a nature was held in the main entrance or south wing.
"This was a big, fat waste of time," grumbled Honda. "Why is this random room here?"
As if to answer, the cloud moved away, bathing the room in moonlight. Hanif was staring back at the entrance door and looked up slightly. He dropped his lantern. Mai followed his gaze and said something like, "Labu-ya-ha!!" Everyone else turned around.
Above the doorway and on the adjacent walls was a mural, standing over fifteen feet high, depicted a battle between a hydra and what was unmistakably Obelisk the Tormentor. Behind the hydra was a ten foot tall rendition of Minkabh, with many five-foot tall soldiers behind him. Behind Obelisk was a ten-foot Pharaoh Yami, his much smaller priests and soldiers behind him. While the lines had faded over time, the likeness was definite! And sure enough, around Yami's neck was the Millennium Puzzle! Each priest had an Item, except one beside Seto whom they did not recognize at first. Surrounding the mural were hieroglyphics describing the battle.
"Okay," said Honda, "I suddenly don't think this was a big fat waste of time!"
Nazo collapsed. After what happened to Yugi and Yami, she ran away as fast as she could to find help. Now, nearly a half hour later, she felt like she could not move another inch. She ignored the biting pain on her legs and arms. The fire had burned her, but she was more scared than anything else. What exactly had happened to Yugi and Yami? Would they be okay? And now to top it off, Minkabh was around.
'If he destroyed my Yami-san,' she thought sadly, 'if he took him away from me forever...' She began to cry. "Yami-sa..." She lose consciousness.
Yugi opened his eyes slowly. His entire body burned with lingering pain. He tried to look at his surroundings before rising. 'What happened? I remember coming to the ruins, then we got separated from the others, and Ryou...' Yugi's eyes widened. "Ryou-kun! Nazo!" He sat up. "Yami-kun!"
He closed his eyes and entered his soul room. The bed was now over-turned, the posters torn down, books and toys - some broken - scattered everywhere, and his book case toppled over. He hopped over the wreckage to take hold the door handle of his room... and grabbed only air. He lost his balance and fell onto some toy remains. "Yami-kun?!" Yugi lifted himself up too see that there was no handle on the door. The door was now a poster of Duel Monsters, with King of Games Yami in the foreground.
Yugi scanned the other walls. This was the one that had the door leading to Yami's soul room. Where was it? He felt the wall behind the poster. Solid.
Fear shot up his spine. He banged the wall with his fists, screaming in a shrill voice, "Yami-kun! Yami-kun!! YAMI-KUUN!!!" The memory of Yami letting go and falling into the red light repeated itself in his head. He sunk to his knees sobbing. "Mou hitori no boku..." He put his forehead at the feet of Yami's poster. "Gomen-yo! Gomen-yo!! I should have saved you! I wasn't strong enough!" He curled up into a fetal position among his broken toys. "Gomen-yo... Mou hitori no boku..." [1]
Time passed. Something shiny glinted. Yugi opened his real eyes and saw his lantern flickering. "Did I imagine that," he wondered, wiping away his tears. "I thought I saw-" Another glint. Yugi moved his hand to pick up the object.
It was a part of the piece of the Puzzle with the Eye of Horus, only the size of a 100 yen piece. [2] He recalled the bullet hitting the Puzzle, and it shattering into many, many tiny pieces. He squeezed it hard, ready to cry again. 'It's so small now...'
There was another glint nearby. Yugi picked up another piece of the piece. He paused momentarily, and then fit the two together. It formed the Eye.
For one minute, Yugi thought of how ridiculous it would be to try to reassemble the Puzzle after it had been shattered, like reassembling a shattered china plate. After all, it had taken him eight years to complete it the first time! But in the flickering light, he saw more glittering around the room. There is a time in the lives of men when even the most sensible person will give the ridiculous a try.
"Hang on, Yami-kun," he said gathering up the small fragments. "I'll get you back! I promise!!"
Yami opened his eyes slowly. His entire body burned with lingering pain. He tried to look at his surroundings before rising. The air around him was thick with dark energy, and the ground was not visibly there. "Fuck," he cursed softly, trying to get to his hands and knees at last. "I'm in the Shadow Realm!"
The first thing he did was call out to Yugi. But when there was no response, he looked around. {Aibou? Aibou, where are you?} Only silence answered back. Yami shuddered. 'I've been cut off,' he thought mournfully. 'I can't sense Yugi's presence anywhere!'
Before he could ponder further, he heard another voice call him. "Oy! Dochirasama?" [3]
Yami recognized the voice as a friend, but couldn't place who. His brain worked only at half speed at the moment. "Depends on the one who asks," he called back.
Two images appeared slowly out of the dark holding up magic torches. Both were boys of about in their teens and had long white hair. Yami squinted hard, but his vision blurred. The one with dark skin spoke again, this time to the other boy. "I knew I sensed someone!"
"Is it Yugi-kun," asked the pale boy.
Yami heard the latter's voice and sneered. "Bakura!! You bast-" But as he swung his fist, he lost his balance and fell. The boys caught him and steadied him. "Calm down, Yami-san! It's me, Ryou!"
Yami's eyes focused and saw Ryou's shining chocolate eyes in the glow of the torch. "R...Ryou...?"
Malik lifted Yami to his feet. "Hello once again, Pharaoh," said the blonde boy politely. "You're probably still suffering the effects from the separation. You'd better rest a little first."
"S-separation? Wha?"
"My yami sent you to the Shadow Realm," said Ryou. "We're stuck here! We can't contact anyone!"
"Its more likely because the Puzzle's been shattered." Yami put a hand on his head. "Shit, my head's still spinning," he moaned.
"I'm sure it'll only last a little longer," said Malik. "Just until Yugi puts it back together." He addressed Ryou. "This is bad! Very bad! He appears to be very weak!"
"Let's take him to the others."
Malik nodded. He scanned the area and motioned for Ryou and Yami to follow. They walked slowly, making sure Yami kept his balance, and made their way to another patch of light. Figures stood or sat around a campfire made of the same eerie light. One stoked the flame, chanting something in an ancient language.
Yami glanced at the flame and stumbled, dizziness taking over. Ryou and Malik caught him and pulled him back up. "Woah," said Ryou. "You're really messed up, huh?"
Rishid stopped his chanting and nodded a greeting to the newcomer. The girl continued staring at the fire, hugging her knees to her chest.
Yami shut his eyes tight. For some reason the firelight made him only dizzier. "What is that fire," he asked softly.
"It is a charmed flame to keep darkness away," said Rishid.
"Makes sense," said Yami, smirking slightly. "I can't stand it!"
"You will. Give it time. Your heart is vulnerable to all senses at the moment. Please sit, Pharaoh."
Not having much other choice, Yami sat down beside Calpurina and Ryou. The girl kept her eyes away from the pharaoh, but he sensed she'd been crying. It took him a couple minutes of blurred thinking to realize who she was. "Calpurnia-san?"
"She's been here longer than the rest of us," said Malik putting a protective arm over her shoulders.
Yami's normally stern demeanor became only more stupefied. Ryou scratched the back of his head, nervous about Yami's state of health. "Maybe we should explain when you feel better, Yami-san."
"No," said Yami softly. "Talk and I will listen. I may not understand until later, but I will listen while we have the calm moment."
"We'll have plenty of those," said Rishid quietly.
Malik sighed. "Calpurnia is my girlfriend. I met her on the way home from Battle City five months ago, and when I saw her dance... well..." He blushed slightly. "It took my breath away. But she's from the Ayaat family, and Isis didn't approve. Nor did Karim-san. That didn't stop us, though. Whenever the cruise ship docked, we had dinner in secret. Plus we talked for hours on the phone."
"I wonder," mused Ryou, "if Romeo and Juliet had cell phones, would things have turned out differently?"
"No names of people I don't know, please," said Yami, whose head began to throb. He sat up straight, trying to maintain some dignity in his weakened condition. "This still does not explain her presence here. We met her on the ship two days ago."
"No you didn't. What you met was her body controlled by Lord Minkabh." He held her closer. "Through her, she got to me and Rishid, then to the Millennium Ring and Ryou." Malik sneered. "He even made Ryou and I think we were sick for months in order to leave suspicion from us."
Calpurnia sniffled. "I am responsible! I lead you directly into this! I have failed you and my queen!"
Rishid poked the flame again. "None of us are solely to blame. Lord Minkabh' powers of deception are great, and we all have only normal human frailty to hold accountable."
Yami closed his eyes in an attempt to shut out the ache from his head to go through his eyes. He had to think. He had to assemble the facts like any good gamer. Minkabh made them think Ryou and Malik were sick because of their yamis. Minkabh controlled Calpurnia to control Malik and Rishid. Controlled Malik and Rishid stole the Items. Shadi was still missing from the equation, though...
{I captured Priest Shadi before attacking the girl.}
The high, scratchy voice made Yami's eyes shoot wide open, and he stood up, ignoring the dizziness. "Who said that? Who's there?"
The others stared at Yami, baffled. "No one said a word, Pharaoh," said Malik.
Yami panted for a moment. "But... I swear I heard..."
{Poor poor little boy pharaoh, fallen into my little game!} Yami whipped around, looking for a source of the voice. {Confused? Disoriented? Not surprising. You bonded your soul to the Puzzle in order to seal away Zorc's powers. You are powerless to save a cat in this state!}
Yami collapsed from wooziness. The stress of standing and trying to understand the words spoken to him was too much. "Am I going mad?"
Ryou said something to comfort him, but instead Yami heard the disembodied voice. {Not yet, but I will gladly push you to that limit, young Pharaoh.}
Yami's brain finally deciphered the owner of the voice. "Minkabh!!"
{Now aren't we the bright boy?}
{What the fuck do you want now?}
{To give you a small reminder, and a hint of what I intend to do. As I said, I captured Shadi before he reached Japan again. He wanted to warn you of my oncoming plan seek my revenge.}
Isis re-read the inscriptions carefully. Jonouchi and Honda played "Hanging Lugies" on the platform, grossing Hanif and Mai to no end, [4] while Anzu stared at the carving of what must have been Prince Naeem. The boy wore a nemes and royal clothing, holding up the Millennium Shen.
He looked so familiar to her somehow...
"I don't understand this," Isis thought aloud.
"You 'don't understand,'" asked Anzu, "as in you can't read it or it doesn't make sense?"
"It certainly does not make sense." She shined the flashlight across the faded pictographs. "From what I can make out, the Puzzle was shattered several months before the Pharaoh's battle against Zorc."
"Are you serious," asked Mokuba, fully interested in the story. "But how did the Puzzle get shattered first?"
Kaiba humphed and looked away, trying to feign apathy. All the while, he kept a ready ear open to what Keiko read from Priest Seto's notes.
"As the Pharaoh lay dying," read Keiko from the scrolls, "Minkabh further explained the true evil of the completed Millennium Puzzle. No one but the old pharaoh and Minkabh knows what was said, but whatever he it was drove Akunamukanon to smash the Puzzle!"
Yami stared at the ground. If the Puzzle possessed so much evil, what did that make him? Could he control that power? What exactly could it do? Why was Minkabh revealing this to him? Hundreds more questions raced through his mind, and he held his head and moaned.
Rishid and the others looked utterly confused by Yami's actions. None of them could hear Minkabh's words, so they thought Yami was mumbling nothing to himself. Ryou said sadly, "Perhaps his is going mad."
"How could Minkabh speak to Pharaoh from another country," asked Honda, finally taking interest.
"He has telekinetic powers," offered Anzu. "When we were in the alley back in Domino, he spoke to me in my mind. He can read minds and stuff. Maybe he can speak to people too."
"Not a bad theory," said Isis.
"But how was the Puzzle put back together," asked Jounouchi.
"According to this," said Keiko carefully, "the younger prince managed to solve the Puzzle in time to defeat Minkabh."
Mokuba thought about it for a minute. "But didn't Yami have the Puzzle against Minkabh? That's what you said before."
"He did. The younger prince gave it to his brother to use, while he kept one of the crucial pieces."
"Wait," said Kaiba, pushing the scroll down. "Did you say the prince solved the Millennium Puzzle?"
"Yeah."
"My brother let me use the Puzzle," asked Yami.
{The little shit could never handle such power alone!}
Yami's head lowered even more. He thought about how Queen Shukura's scrolls mentioned that Naeem often wanted to prove himself.
"So that is his brother," said Anzu pointing at the picture of the boy holding the Millennium Shen.
"Must be," said Honda.
"Did the prince look like his brother," Seto asked Keiko.
Keiko blinked and cocked her head. "Uh... I dunno!"
Yami raised his head like a shot. "Prove himself? Could it be...?"
Anzu stared at the picture of Naeem. "But he looks just like..."
Kaiba said, "Because the only other person who ever solved the Puzzle is..."
"YUGI!!!"
Yugi sneezed. "Ulgh," he thought wearily. "Somebody's talking about me." [5] He sighed and placed the final piece of the Puzzle in carefully. "There! I finished it!" His mind clouded over from exhaustion, and he passed out.
A shadow fell over him, and Bakura gave an evil, feral grinned. "Poor little prince," he cooed. "Poor little lamb!"
"Ra's blood," Yami whispered in shock.
{Yes, Pharaoh. I never knew this either, because I have never seen this 'Yugi' person you used to share bodies with. You kept him from my reach when we met in Japan. And Bakura had never known Prince Naeem, so he couldn't tell the difference. The only one with sufficient memories of your brother is Shadi. But even he did not know the full extent of the bond to-}
Yami was no longer paying much attention to Minkabh. He jumped to his feet. "This whole time! This whole time!"
"Yami-san," exclaimed Ryou.
"Looks like he's feeling better," muttered Malik.
Yami turned to the others wildly. "My brother solved the Puzzle 3,000 years ago! Yugi solved it now! My brother looked a lot like me! So does Yugi! Yugi is my brother!" A crazed smile came over Yami's face, and the others scooted away from him. "This whole time, he's been right there, and I never noticed!"
{He always has been,} said Minkabh mentally.
Yami stood still. {You can't upset me now, Minkabh! I have faith that Yugi will get me and the rest of us out of here!} He smirked. {And once he has, I'm coming after you!}
{Are you? But how much faith does your precious brother have in you? Has he truly forgiven all of your sins?}
Yami's back straightened. {Of course he has!}
{You hesitate! You can never be sure he hasn't abandoned you. And with good cause! I can see from your current memories that he has reason to hate you from both lifetimes. Looks like your faith is not as firm as you brag!}
Minkabh's words struck a nerve that penetrated the core of Yami's being. {Get the fuck out of my head!}
{Are you not curious, Boy Pharaoh? If Yugi was your brother, do you not wish to know what happened to him? He did die before you, after all.}
Yami remembered how Shukura had described that Naeem died saving Kemet. But where was Yami at the time? {I'm not interested now,} he lied. {I'll find out once Yugi solves the complete Puzzle.}
Minkabh's horrible, high pitched laughter rang in Yami's head. {Liar! You are afraid! You know the truth, but will not admit it!}
{Admit what?}
{That you have seen his death. The queen reminded you ages ago.}
{No.}
{You do not wish to accept that you could be the cause of your best friend's suffering.}
{No!}
Minkabh chuckled. {The truth you refuse to admit, Boy Pharaoh, is that you are the cause of all of his suffering!}
The landscape of the Shadow Realm dissolved into light, and Yami saw a double of himself step away. His double's expression was blinded in the light, but he could tell that he wore his royal, Egyptian garb.
"Honored Brother!" Yami turned and saw a younger version of Yugi wearing similar clothing and with darker skin. This Yugi ran up behind the Egyptian Yami and tugged at his cape. "Honored Brother, Shukura invited some of her friends over to play Craps! Will you come now?"
Yami's doppelganger shook his head, not even glancing downward.
Naeem groaned. "You always say no!" His eyes shone with tears. "When are we gonna play together again?"
"Touching scene, is it not?" Yami whirled around and saw Minkabh himself standing at his side. "The little whelp was always in your shadow. Even when he solved the Puzzle, you never gave him so much as a compliment, nor a thank you."
Yami growled. "If you are trying to anger me, Minkabh, you are succeeding!"
Minkabh looked pleasantly shocked. "I thought you wanted your memories back, my old pupil. Is that not why you are here? Or are you trying to block out the simple fact that you cannot care for your brother as he does for you?"
The scene dissolved again, this time to a ship. Yami recognized it instantly as the one from his vision. Only this time, he clearly saw it took place in the past; the three tied to the mast were Seto, Kei, and Naeem. "I know," said Naeem, wiggling downward. "Push up against the ropes. I might be small enough to squeeze through. Then, I'll signal the ships."
"That's suicide," exclaimed Seto.
"You'll get caught," added Kei.
Yami saw himself, beaten and bloody, whisper as best he could to his brother, "Don- ... don't do ... anything .... foolish ...."
"You're not going to last much longer at this rate." To Kei and Seto, Naeem said, "Hurry, before the guards come."
Yami watched with clarity as Naeem hurried across the ship to set off the flares. He heard the younger Minkabh order the attack to shoot him down, then the arrows penetrate Naeem's body. He watched painfully as Naeem, Yugi, his aibou, fell to the deck in a bloody mess, then his past self crawl over to share a final good-bye.
"So beautiful," sighed Minkabh. "Almost poetic! Don't you agree?" Minkabh's smile faded when he heard Yami give a small chuckle. "What?"
Yami lifted his head proudly, his eyes shining with unshed tears, but a triumphant smirk across his face. "I made a promise not to let my actions of the past dictate how I continue on in the present. These images you've showed me have only strengthened my faith in Yugi." He added with a hard look, "And to make you suffer for everything you have put my family through!"
"Naive boy," Minkabh said softly. "One learns to correct mistakes by looking to the past. The past, as I said, is now doomed to repeat itself thanks to you, only I learn from my mistakes. This is why you are trapped here and I am now free to return to Egypt."
"What?!"
"You are no longer a part of the living world, Pharaoh. The curse you placed upon me is broken." He stroked his chin thoughtfully. "As I recall, your brother was the first to die for his loyalty to you." He added when Yami's eyes widened, "Oh, I shall not kill him myself, but my foolish pawn has a certain lust for blood I admire. Then I can go after the queen and drive her mad with grief... just as I did before..."
Visions of Yugi's torn body and Nazo's body in flames swirled around Yami's head. He thought he had saved them, but instead had fallen head first into Minkabh's plot! Bakura's plan the entire time was to trap Yami here! He purposely weakened them, then pulled Yami into the Shadow Realm on purpose! Now Yugi and Nazo were defenseless, and there was not a thing Yami could do about it!!
Minkabh leaned closely to Yami as he stared at the images, and whispered, "I promise you, Pharaoh, I will get my revenge on you. Before this night if over, you shall fall to your knees in anguish!"
Anzu touched the cheek of the figure of Prince Naeem. "I can't believe it," she whispered. "Yugi..."
Jonouchi stared at the prince's face. He could have sworn he'd seen this before! None of the events thus far had really shocked him. Its as if he had known, deep down, that Yugi was Naeem the whole time. But how? What was his, Jonouchi's, role in this intricate story? All he had done was befriend Yugi, protect him whenever possible, invite the others along for the ride, and lead them all here.
Then something happened that made Jonouchi gasp. The figure of Prince Naeem glanced at him. No way! That had to be a trick of the light! It was looking at the Shen in his...
'That's it!!'
Jonouchi pulled a switch-blade from his pocket, pushed past Anzu, and started to push the knife into the stone.
"WHAT THE HELL IS HE DOING," exclaimed Karim angrily. He tried to grab Jonouchi, but Honda pushed him back. "Back off, man! He knows what he's doing!" Honda looked at Jonouchi. "You do, right?"
"Ain't it weird to you guys," asked Jonouchi, "that everyone in this picture is starin' at Yami while Naeem's starin' at the Shen?"
"Kind of," said Mai. "Now that you mention it, you're right."
"And how about this picture being in such good shape with the sun beatin' down on it for thousands of years?"
"True," said Isis.
"Or the fact that the Shen here is gold in color, when everything else is faded?"
"What's your point," everyone demanded.
Jonouchi used his knife to pry off the metal Shen. It landed in Jonouchi's hand, perfectly clean and unscathed. Instantly the mural cracked and smoothed out, as it would have been without the Shen's restorative powers.
He held it up. "'One is kept in its owner's sight, guarded by none'" Jonouchi recited for the stunned crowd. "This thing is the Millennium Shen! It has been in Naeems's 'sight' for 3,000 years!!"
1
"Gomen-yo!" = "I'm so sorry!"2 100 yen coin - Only less than in inch in diameter.
3 "Doichirasama?" - Honorific way of saying "Who goes there?"
4 Hanging Lugies - Um, if you don't know what this game is, you are a much saner person than I. My brother and his friend play this in the mall.
5 Sneeze - Japanese superstition. When you sneeze for no reason, someone is talking about you.
Yami: Yugi's still unconscious, so I'll give the preview. Minkabh and Bakura have a direct plan that is fully revealed in the next chapter! Well, Bakura's version is, but I can sense that Minkabh has an alterior motive. But I still can't contact the others! And what about Nazo and Aibou!?