Disclaimer: I do not own the characters or concepts of Yugioh! They belong to Takahashi Kazuki, et all. I am borrowing them for the purpose of entertainment only; no money is being made off of this.
Light Over Dark Water
by Skald
Chapter One: The Opening Door
In the court, silence…
The great double doors were closed
The court sat in mourning,
The people bowed down in silence.
J.H. Breasted, Ancient Records of Egypt, Part One
"The formation of the ancient Egyptian state (ancient Egypt as we tend to think of it) took place more than 5000 years ago, in the year 3200 BCE. Lower Egypt and Upper Egypt were united by the enigmatic Menes, who is thought to be either the pharaoh Narmer, or the pharaoh Aha. Little is known about how this came about. Some say that it was a lengthy and difficult process, and that there was war and civil unrest. Others say that it happened relatively bloodlessly as the native peoples of Lower Egypt, the Maadians, fled the delta region for the desert or were gradually assimilated into the Naqada III and early Egyptian culture as it expanded northward out of Upper Egypt. Perhaps it was a combination of these scenarios. We can only speculate."
The enthusiasm in the voice of the student presenting his report was lost on the sleepy and apathetic class of teenagers. "Great. It's that weird-haired pyramid nut again," one of them had muttered when Yugi had stepped to the front of the classroom with nervousness and passion for his topic warring in his face. Jounouchi hadn't bothered to correct the kid (pyramids hadn't been built until the Old Kingdom and the pharaoh Djoser's reign (Hey, he'd been listening to Yugi talk about his research for weeks now, of course Jounouchi had picked up a thing or two!)) but Jounouchi did toss a glare in the idiot's general direction for daring to insult his best friend.
They were seniors in high school now, and near to graduating. Anzu had graduated early and won herself a scholarship to a dance school on the east coast of America. She had sworn to Yugi, Honda and Jounouchi that the distance wouldn't matter to their friendship but, as much as they kept in touch, it just wasn't quite the same. Yugi, especially, had taken Anzu's absence hard. He had pined over the loss of the other Yugi, terribly, and still hadn't been able to get past it and move on, even now, a year later. Jounouchi supposed that it was one thing to know in your head that the person you have befriended is technically dead, and another to know, in your heart, that they aren't ever coming back; that they are gone from this world. After the gates to the netherworld had closed and they had left Egypt, both Yugi and Ryou had been truly alone for the first time since they had received their millennium items. They hadn't known what to do with themselves. It was as if a crippling void had suddenly opened up in their lives and hearts and it had hurt them more than they had ever imagined it could have. They had helped each other through the first few grief-stricken weeks. Jounouchi, Honda, Anzu and Sugoroku had also done their best to help, but, though they too felt the loss of the other Yugi deeply, they could not begin to comprehend what the loss meant to the two who had shared their minds and bodies with the spirits that had possessed them. But just as the bond between Ryou and Yugi had gained depth and substance, Ryou's father had suddenly decided to become a presence in his son's life again, whether the teen wanted it or not. The elder Bakura had announced that he had managed to secure a semi-permanent dig and he would be moving close to the site for the next few years. He was taking Ryou with him. So, despite Ryou's reluctance, the move to Cairo had been made. Yugi and the others had been worried about how Ryou would fare alone and away from the support of those who knew what he had been through. But it seemed that they needn't have worried. Within a few days, Ryou had already run into the Ishtars and they had pretty much adopted him into their home and care. Malik might not be able to empathize with wanting one's darker half back, but he'd liked the spirit of the ring and missed him too, though he had to be coerced to admit it.
"It was pharaoh Narmer who was thought by some to have founded Memphis, the greatest economic and administrative center of the Old Kingdom. For a long time, archeologists thought that the pharaohs of the Early Dynastic Period had been entombed in Memphis-Saqqara, like the pharaohs of the Old Kingdom, but those well-preserved graves were actually those of the highest administrative officials. The pharaohs of the Early Dynastic Period had instead been buried in the fire-damaged tombs of Abydos."
Yugi had seemed to regain his spirit and hope considerably over the past month and a half, Jounouchi observed. Yugi had suddenly begun reading everything about Egypt of 5000 years ago and the Egyptian afterlife that he could find. Whatever he had found must have reassured him somewhat because he had seemed to shed some of his sadness a bit. It was as if Yugi had needed a different perspective on Yami Yugi's departure and by finding out how Yami himself would have viewed his death, he had gained it. The empty place on his chest where the reversed pyramid shape of the millennium puzzle had once hung was now occupied by a gold ankh on a chain, which Yugi had adopted in remembrance of his other self. Soon after, he had added a double-sided cartouche to the chain. When Jounouchi had asked about it, Yugi had explained, "See, on this side it says 'Atemu' and on the other side it says 'Yugi', because Atemu was Yugi too and I hope that, whenever someone says the name Yugi, they'll remember us both."
Yugi finished his presentation to the half-hearted applause of the history class and smiled brightly as Jounouchi flashed him a grin and a thumbs up. As the next unfortunate student was called up by the teacher to give their history report, Jounouchi glanced at the clock; only a little more than an hour and they'd be free for the day. Yugi had to watch the shop for a couple of hours and then he had promised to meet Honda and Jounouchi at Burger World. Jounouchi grinned. He could taste those burgers already!
Jounouchi had never been as glad of Kaiba's presence in the world as he was that afternoon. Yugi had been on the way to the game shop his grandfather owned when he had been struck by a passing car. It had been a hit and run. The bastard hadn't even stuck around to see if the young man was alive before he peeled out, never so much as looking back. It had been pure chance that Kaiba's limousine had turned the corner in time to witness the accident. Jounouchi hated to admit it, but Kaiba was a good person to have around in a crisis. The cold bastard could probably remain in control even in the face of the end of the world, Jounouchi figured.
It certainly felt like the end of the world to Jounouchi. When he had gotten the call from Sugoroku Mouto that Yugi had been taken to the hospital and was undergoing emergency surgery, Jounouchi had been frozen in sheer disbelief. Hadn't he just seen Yugi earlier that afternoon, laughing about how little their classmates realized how relevant his report about Egypt was to the strange events of the previous year, and how some of them had been in the presence of an honest-to-goodness pharaoh and never had the faintest idea of it? Hadn't Yugi laughed and said how much he was looking forward to meeting for burgers with Jounouchi later that afternoon? Hadn't Yugi been smiling, vivid, and so very alive?
But it was true. The chill of the artificially circulated hospital air and the sterile cheer of the waiting room drove that home clearly enough. And as Jounouchi glanced at the clock for what felt like the fiftieth time in the last fifteen minutes, he swore it felt as though the ground was crumbling away beneath his feet. Across the room, Sugoroku looked exhausted with worry for his grandson, Honda looked solemn and Kaiba looked as tense as a bowstring about to snap. Jounouchi eyes were drawn to the rusty brown stain on the sleeve of Kaiba's trench coat. Yugi's blood, from when Kaiba had monitored his pulse at the accident site, Jounouchi's mind supplied. There were also similar stains on the knees of Kaiba's pants; there had been blood on the ground where Kaiba had knelt beside Yugi's body. Jounouchi shivered.
The door to the waiting room opened and, in unison, the heads of the four shot up to focus on the doctor coming through the doorway with alarming intensity. The doctor seemed unfazed by even Kaiba's fierce stare, however. The woman seemed to be coming towards them, Jounouchi realized, his heart leaping into his throat. Had someone finally come to bring them news of Yugi's condition? The woman in the white coat cleared her throat and they gathered around her. She looked alarmingly grave. Jounouchi hoped it was just a doctor mannerism and not related to the news she was about to relate, but he felt the panic beginning to rise again in response to it.
"Mr. Mouto is now out of surgery." The doctor's voice was clear and cool, with just enough sympathy inserted into it not to seem cold, but merely professional. "Normally, in vehicle to pedestrian accidents, injuries to the legs are extensive. Due to Mr. Mouto's height, he took most of the impact to his pelvis and ribs. This spared him a possibly crippling injury, but he has a cracked pelvis that had to be wired together during surgery, and several broken ribs. He suffered some internal injuries, but we have been able to repair them all during the surgery. Mr. Mouto also suffered a head injury and as a result is currently comatose." She paused, and something became rigid in the lines of her face as she looked at them. "The injury was severe enough that we don't believe that he will wake from it."
Jounouchi felt as though someone had punched him in the gut. Distantly, he saw Yugi's grandfather's face crumple and Honda simply stared blankly at the nurse, as if waiting for her to take the words back. Kaiba's reaction was more subtle; a sharp intake of breath, a narrowing of his eyes, a tightening of his jaw that had more to do with denial than determination. Jounouchi thought of Yugi, the young man who had changed the lives of so many people for the better, and could not believe that person could be gone. Wasn't Yugi's story just beginning? How could this have happened? Yugi had helped so many people; why had no one been able to help Yugi when he needed it? Jounouchi felt guilt and anger bubbling up inside his stomach. Yugi had turned Jounouchi's life around; where had Jounouchi been when Yugi had needed him? Hell, even Kaiba had been more of a help to Yugi today than he had! He felt overwhelmed and helpless. Suddenly, Jounouchi thought of all the other times Yugi had been in danger and what had helped him then; the millennium puzzle and the spirit inside it. If Yugi had still had the millennium puzzle, would Yami Yugi have been able to protect his host from this? Jounouchi shook his head at himself. He was being foolish; there was nothing Yami Yugi could have done. It wasn't as if the spirit could challenge a speeding car to a shadow game. But Jounouchi couldn't help but wonder about it; after all, Yami Yugi had saved himself, Yugi, and all of Yugi's friends from some pretty tight spots before.
"Can we… see him?" Mr. Mouto asked shakily. He looked as though he had aged ten years since he had received the news. Jounouchi resolved to keep an eye on the old man; this was harder on him than anyone.
"Of course," the nurse replied in a soothing voice. "Please follow me."
They had gone into the small room one at a time. They each wanted to see Yugi alone and respected one another's emotional privacy given the duress that the situation had caused each of them. The other three had been surprised, and suspicious to varying degrees, of Kaiba's desire to visit the comatose Yugi. Kaiba could not, and would not, explain to them how seeing that car impact Yugi's small form had shaken him to the very foundation of his being, and how helpless he had felt as he had run to the crumpled body and tried to coax it to cling to life long enough for the paramedics to arrive at the scene. It affected him so deeply that he knew he had to see Yugi through this to whatever end, or he would never be able to overcome the way this day had made him feel. Seto Kaiba fought the past every day of his life in order to secure for himself and his brother a future free of its long shadow. He didn't want to have to fight this, too.
Kaiba wasn't even completely sure what 'this' was. He wasn't sure why this was gripping him as much as, if not more than, any of the other terrible things that he'd seen and done, or had done to him, in his life. Nonetheless, he did not have the time to analyze it, so he simply filed it as one more way in which Yugi Mouto somehow got to him to a degree no one else could. Inevitably, since they met, all major changes within Kaiba's sense of self and his life had in some way been instigated by Yugi Mouto. He did not like that anyone could have that degree of influence on him.
The others visited Yugi in degree of their connection to him. Yugi's grandfather Sugoroku Mouto first, Followed by Jounouchi, and then Honda. Kaiba, of course, was relegated to last by the unspoken agreement of the other three. Kaiba didn't bother to fight it; it wasn't worth the effort. The other three each entered the small hospital room one by one, hesitantly, as if half afraid of what they might find inside, and then emerged looking emotionally drained and utterly powerless. Kaiba could feel himself getting tenser and tenser at each grim, half-sad, half-angry visage. He at once wished that they would be quicker, and also that they would take more time. Finally, Honda appeared, closing the door behind him, his face solemn and his brown eyes sad, and it was Kaiba's turn.
The room was plain; there was nothing to divert Seto Kaiba's eyes away from the bed and its occupant. Yugi had always seemed unusually small for his age, but Kaiba was certain that he had never seen him quite so… diminished… as he appeared now. Yugi's torso was taped up and immobilized, and his head was bandaged. Seto noticed that the black and red hair where he had been injured was cropped short in order to allow a gash to be sewn up. Kaiba wondered if Yugi would be upset at that when he woke up. Then Kaiba reminded himself that it was unlikely that Yugi would wake up at all. The other boy certainly didn't look as if he were capable of fighting his way to consciousness at the moment. He was unhealthily pale and there were several tubes stuck into him disconcertingly. Despite the fact that he was not awake, he did not seem restful either. Yugi's face was gaunt, and his eyes looked sunken in his face. Seto wondered if he had looked that way when he was in the coma after Death-T. I must have frightened Mokuba, he thought. It was as if the boy on the bed was nothing but a body, and Yugi was already gone.
"It appears so, Seto Kaiba, because that is exactly the case."
Seto paled, and spun to face the owner of the voice who had somehow managed to get behind him without making a sound. The hinges on the door to the room had creaked whenever someone had opened it; how had he not heard this man enter the room? It was uncanny, and that made Kaiba's hackles rise immediately.
The person he faced was a very unusual person indeed. He looked out of place in space and time, dressed in white robes and a turban, his youthful features at odds with the ancient and fathomless gold eyes in the bronze face that were closed utterly to any of Kaiba's attempts to read them.
Kaiba felt icy dread creep up his spine, and it was the chill of recognition. He knew this man, if mostly by reputation only, and what he knew of this intruder was enough to put him on guard immediately. And more than the man, Kaiba knew and feared what this enigmatic figure carried with him. They gleamed at him, beautiful and dangerous, freezing his breath in his lungs, the ancient gold radiating a powerful aura that he knew well even if a year had passed since he had last encountered it. Millennium Items. "You are…"
"Shadi," the other finished for Kaiba. Shadi remained supremely unruffled even faced with Kaiba's less than cordial reception of his sudden and unasked for presence.
"Why are you here? And what did you mean?" Seto asked carefully. This man was known to pop up like a weed if it served his specific purpose and then disappear off the face of the earth entirely when the events leading to the fulfillment of his goal had been set into motion. Since that was the case, Kaiba assumed that his best chance of getting rid of Shadi was to find out what it was that the strange Egyptian wanted. He doubted it would be that easy, though. It never was when Yugi and the Millennium Items were involved. The repetitive but reassuring tone of the heart monitor gave Kaiba focus, and he maneuvered himself subtly so that he was standing between Yugi's deathly still form and Shadi, who was a perpetual unknown factor. Kaiba was deeply disconcerted by this sudden reappearance of the Millennium Items, but kept his face clear of any sign of unease. He was playing his cards close to his chest in this confrontation. He did not know whether this Shadi meant Yugi any harm, but people carrying Millennium Items often did, so Seto was not about to let Shadi get close to Yugi while the other young man was helpless.
"Why I am here and what I meant by my words are questions which can be answered with the same explanation," Shadi replied, faint traces of amusement becoming detectable in his voice as he noted Kaiba's attempt to shield Yugi Mouto from him. He turned his penetrating golden eyes to the pale and broken figure on the starchy, white sheets of the hospital bed. "Yugi Mouto no longer occupies that body."
Seto Kaiba tried to find it in himself to be surprised by this pronouncement, but couldn't. Perhaps it was that he had worn out his capacity for shock already today, or perhaps it was that Shadi had only stated something that Seto already knew, on some level, to be true. Nonetheless, Kaiba still had it in him to get angry, and get angry he did. He did not want to deal with any more millennium messes, even on a good day. Today, when the world seemed to be coming apart at the seams, this was just the icing on the hellish cake. All Seto wanted was to try and make his peace with Yugi's current state, but Shadi clearly wasn't going to allow him that. "Where the hell is he, then?" Kaiba bit out.
"He is in the afterworld," Shadi replied, "though he is not yet dead. But if he is not recovered safely and soon, this body that remains will die." He indicated the silent husk on the bed. "I am a disciple of Anubis; I can see that his soul has departed this body, though it has done so too early."
Kaiba grimaced. As he had thought, nothing involving Yugi Mouto was ever simple. He decided it would be wisest to humor Shadi for the moment, and press him to see if he could discover what the Egyptian man's motives were. "Why exactly are you telling me this?" Kaiba asked warily, though he had a sinking feeling that he already knew the answer to that question. "I don't have a millennium item, nor do I want one. I don't have the faintest idea about anything to do with souls or the afterlife. I'm not even friends with Yugi in the first place!" Kaiba's voice was growing louder with each protest against Shadi and what Kaiba was certain was a situation he didn't want any part of, now or ever. "Why don't you go find the mutt? I'm sure he'd gladly follow his master into death, like the idiot he is! I've told Yugi over and over I don't want any part of this business!"
"I'm afraid, Seto Kaiba, that you no longer have a choice." Shadi's voice had gone as cold as a granite tomb, and the steely determination in his gold eyes made his face take on a sinister cast. His hands were already upon the millennium ankh and scales.
Kaiba made a sharp, aborted movement and Shadi wondered whether Kaiba was trying to reach the door to flee, or whether he intended to attack Shadi. It was a futile gesture either way, Shadi reflected, watching coolly as shadows materialized to wrap themselves around Kaiba and consume the sterile pastels of the hospital room. Kaiba attempted to shout something (more likely a challenge or an insulting reprimand than a cry for help, Shadi suspected) but the shadows swallowed and muffled the sound. Still, some sounds of disturbance were escaping the room; Shadi would need to proceed with haste in order to avoid interruption. He raised the ankh in one hand, balancing the scales on the open palm of the other and pressed the key to the sennen eye, where it was graven on the scales.
"The west opens to all who will attain it, by the scales and before the lord of eternity, those who come this way each must reckon his deeds on earth, and whether his heart has been exact in upholding that which is right. In the west, the door is open!" Shadi spoke, and Kaiba knew that the man spoke in no tongue he had ever heard spoken, yet he understood each word precisely. As Shadi's voice spoke the last word and the key met the scales, Kaiba felt himself die. The last thing he saw before darkness and brilliant light merged together into one essence around him, were the penetrating gold eyes of Shadi.
"Seek out Yugi Mouto, Seto Kaiba. You face now the most dangerous game you will ever play, and you do not know yet who your opponent is."
Kaiba was certainly taking his time, Jounouchi thought, his irritation warring with suspicion. Jounouchi didn't really think that even Kaiba would try to hurt Yugi while he was in a coma but, then again, he wouldn't put much past that bastard. He shifted impatiently, turning his head to stare down the hallway at the door to the room they'd put Yugi in. The door remained impassively shut.
Then Jounouchi paused, irritation fading completely, in favor of suspicion and a bit of confusion. Was that shouting that was coming from Yugi's room? Okay, that does it! Jounouchi thought. He strode down the hall and paused before the door, listening. Why would Kaiba be yelling? If Yugi was conscious, this situation might make sense, but Yugi wasn't, and Jounouchi couldn't quite picture Kaiba yelling at a comatose body. Unless he's finally snapped, Jounouchi thought with vindictive amusement. Jounouchi could only distinguish a few words through the closed door. "…don't…item…souls or the afterlife…Yugi… mutt… into death… idiot…"
Jounouchi pressed himself further against the door, listening, and then froze. Kaiba wasn't just talking to himself, or even ranting at an unconscious Yugi. Jounouchi had heard another voice in the room, replying to Kaiba. He couldn't make out just what was said, but something about the tone made him wary. Suddenly an abrupt silence descended. Jounouchi shivered; there was something unnatural about this complete absence of any audible sound. Jounouchi's skin crawled with cold where his hand was touching the doorframe. Jounouchi jerked backwards from the source of the sensation, and then threw himself against the door handle, rattling it wildly in his desperation to get into that room and stop whatever bad thing was about to happen. It wouldn't budge. Jounouchi slammed his shoulder against the door repeatedly, until, finally, it gave under the application of force, bursting open.
The tableau before him froze Jounouchi in his tracks. The hospital room was crawling with shadows that writhed and rippled like living creatures. Kaiba was pinned by masses of shadow before a familiar man in a turban who held aloft two golden items. Suddenly, the shadow around Kaiba distorted and shuddered, ripples of light forming within it. The shadow and light massed together and then settled into a discernable shape. A pair of double doors; black stone outlined in white light. Shadi's mouth was open in speech, but Jounouchi could hear nothing but the wail and shriek of the ancient forces that had been turned loose within the room. The black doors opened and Kaiba's body convulsed as light swept out from behind them to engulf and consume his body. Jounouchi was forced to turn his head away or go blind from the intensity of the light. When it had faded and he was able to look again, Jounouchi, Shadi and Yugi's unconscious body were the only ones in the room. The shadow doors had shut. A single, shining cord of light remained looped around the handles, binding them shut, and the golden sennen eye stared down from where it was branded across the doors. Then the doors faded, dematerializing in wisps of shadow, until the shadows fled as well, and Jounouchi was left to face the man who had instigated all of this.
"Shadi!" Jounouchi challenged. "What the hell did you just do?" Unconsciously Jounouchi's eyes sought out Yugi for reassurance and he was relieved to note that his best friend's body remained untouched by whatever stunt it was that Shadi had just pulled. Jounouchi badly wished his friend was awake and by his side; even without Yami's experience to guide him, Yugi was far better at handling this sort of stuff than he was. Jounouchi tried to regain his cool. "Not that I mind you getting rid of Kaiba or nothing, but where'd you send him?"
"I have sent Seto Kaiba to locate the absent soul of Yugi Mouto. He was rather uncooperative," Shadi replied levelly, as if this situation was all perfectly ordinary.
Then again, Jounouchi reflected, maybe, for Shadi, it was. Who knew, with that guy. "That's why Yugi's in a coma, then? 'Cause his soul decided to skip out on him?" Jounouchi felt some part of his heart loosen in sheer relief, despite the tense situation. Yugi was going to be okay; they knew what was wrong, so now they just had to find a way to fix it.
"Yugi initially slipped into the coma due to his injuries but, yes, the fact that his soul has vacated his body prematurely is the only thing keeping him from regaining consciousness."
"So you sent Kaiba to bring Yugi's soul back then?" Jounouchi pressed, still wanting reassurance of the reality of the sudden ray of hope that had appeared.
Shadi said nothing. Instead he glanced down pensively at the scales he still held in his hand. His form began to blur and fade, but after his body was gone, his reply still lingered in Jounouchi's ears. "Perhaps."
Jounouchi stared at the space he had stood, trying to figure out just what was being stirred up in the world now. Again, he wished Yugi were here so that they could work through this together. Well, Jounouchi figured he would just have to hope Kaiba got Yugi's soul back soon...
"Wait a minute!" Jounouchi suddenly yelled furiously after the departed Shadi, "You sent Kaiba to get Yugi's soul back! That's nuts! Kaiba wouldn't know a soul if it stole his pocket change! Yugi's doomed!"
---
I want to thank everyone who's taken the time to read my story, so far. I'd especially like to thank Lady Adyra for her thoughtful and inspiring review. I hope you'll keep reading!
Hopefully, the hospital scene came out okay. I'm a bit nervous about it. I didn't want it to get maudlin, but I didn't want it to be unemotional, either.
When writing this chapter I used The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt, edited by Ian Shaw, as a reference. I'll probably use it again in future chapters. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for an academic reference with its conclusions supported by lots of detailed descriptions of archeological sites.
The phrase Shadi uses to send Kaiba into the Duat is not a quote. I did, however, try to keep with the form of some of the bits of funerary texts that I liked.
The quote at the beginning was obtained at nefertiti dot iwebland dot com slash texts slash herodotus underscore burial dot htm.
Comments and criticism are welcome (eagerly anticipated, more like). See you next chapter.
--Skald