Ancient Discovery
Chapter One: Hathor's Fan Club
Yugi was bored, sitting at his desk in History class. His friends figured Yugi would love History, being a part of it and all, but studying WWII wasn't his idea of fun. He really couldn't care less who killed who and when. Besides, there were enough battles in his life, and Yami's for that matter, to last 3 World Wars.
The teacher was droning on about the assassination attempt of Hitler when he became completely fed up. He pulled out a magazine from his bag called Ancient Discovery and began reading it under his desk. There was lots of information about a new tomb which had been discovered, holding the story of a never before heard of Pharaoh.
After finishing the serious sections of the magazine, he decided that, for a laugh, he'd read the article Theories that Never Quite Made It. He had to cover his hand to keep from laughing after hearing that one wacko; Dr. D. Jackson had theorized that the Pyramids were actually Alien Landing Pads. It went right along with Dr. C. Miginy's claim that Tutankhamen never died, and is just frozen in stasis. The teacher glared at him for not paying attention and was about to say something when the bell rang, signaling the end of class.
"Saved by the bell," He muttered, jumping out of his seat and shoving his gear in his bag. He raced outside, ready for another dueling match with Joey, the magazine forgotten. For now...
Daniel picked up his copy of Ancient Discovery and began to flick through it. He was slightly angry at the article about him, wishing he could tell them all he was right. Disregarding that, he noticed that a new tomb had been discovered. After reading the article and the hieroglyphs on the pictures, he began to get an idea.
The tablet, given a close-up, mentioned a young Pharaoh never heard of before. No name was mentioned, but he was referred to as "He Who Unlocked the Shadow Realm". He hadn't heard it referred to as the Shadow Realm before, but figured it was the Afterlife. He put on his perk. and his computer, ready for a few nights of further study.
It was dark. Yugi looked around in amazement. Suddenly a bright flash of light blinded him. Looking around he realized he was in a desert. A noise sounded. Yugi quickly turned to find Shadi, appearing from the nothingness.
"Shadi? You scared me. Where am I?"
"You must be careful, young Pharaoh. A force is approaching which wishes to destroy you."
"What? Who? Shadi what's going on?"
"The answers to your questions lie in the secrets of your past. Tread carefully young Pharaoh."
"Shadi!" He was slowly disappearing. "SHADI! Come back!"
Yugi sat up in bed panting. He was shaken, cloaked in sweat
"Yami!" He cried in his head.
"I'm here Yugi." He appeared next to him. "I saw it too. He was trying to warn us."
"I know, but from what?"
"I'm unsure. He said the answers were in our past. Perhaps we should travel back to Egypt."
"Maybe…"
Yugi jumped off the bed and fished around his bag for his copy of Ancient Discovery. After flicking through he found what he was looking for.
"We could use this!" He began to quote the magazine. "Win a trip for two to beautiful Egypt. See the sights and travel the tombs. Be the first to explore this never seen before tomb, of a Pharaoh not recorded in Egyptian History. For this once in a lifetime opportunity just tell us in 500 words or less who your favorite Egyptian god or goddess is and why. We should enter. Maybe it's destiny."
"Hmm, Ok. I'll go along with your plan. I don't know if it has anything to do with destiny though."
"Sorry Yami, I get it from the best. Besides, it's a Pharaoh not recorded in Egyptian history. How many Pharaohs do you know that weren't recorded?"
"Well there was Tutankhamen, Hatshepsut, Akhenaton, Amenhotep IV…" He began counting off on his fingers.
"Ok, ok. I get it. It still wouldn't hurt."
"Very well. Whom shall we write about?"
"Ra. We are in possession of his dragon after all." They both laughed, Yugi settling back on his bed for rest.
Jack listened to Daniel's boring rambling, yet again. He really wished he could just flick his lackey band at him, but restrained after a glare from Carter, damn her.
"This tomb is of a Pharaoh not recorded in Egyptian History. Imagine what we could learn about the past, it might even give us an edge over the fight with the Goa'uld!"
"Why do you believe this tomb to be so important?" General Hammond questioned. Weren't there many tombs in Egypt? Very few which gave reference to the Goa'uld."
"You see these writings here?" He brought them up onto the screen. "They're Ancient, not Egyptian. Although they could easily be mistaken as such. The thing is the picture's too blurry to make out. This word here for instance could be Millennium Puzzle or Power of Scarab."
"Power of Scarab?" O'Neill mouthed to Sam.
Daniel chose to ignore him. "There could be hundreds more inscriptions there. I need to check it out."
"How do we investigate without looking suspicious?" Sam asked.
"That's where this comes in." He pulled out that magazine and flicked through until he found the competition. He let the people on the table read it before continuing. "It won't be too hard to rig the contest so we win. It still needs to be believable though, so I suggest Sam and I write the essays."
Jack was the last to hold the magazine. Instead of reading the contest, he flicked through until he found the page of Theories That Never Quite Made It. "How interesting. It says here that some guy thought the Pyramids were Alien Landing Pads. He was laughed out of Academia… Now why does that sound so familiar?"
Daniel turned a particularly nice shade of red, and snatched the magazine back. "I'll have you know that I was right. For the most part."
"I think Daniel might be onto something. We should look into it. Besides, Janet's been pressuring us about getting down time, we could call it a holiday," Sam said. She was intrigued. After all, this was Egypt! Anything could happen.
"How many other winners will there be?" Hammond asked.
"Um… 3."
"So there'll be six other people there?"
"As well as guides…. maybe sponsors… Sir we may not get another shot at this before it's closed to the public," Daniel pressed.
"Are you saying that because it's the right thing or because you want to go?" O'Neill questioned.
"I really, REALLY want to go. And it's the right thing," Daniel replied.
"Very well. You have a go," Hammond stated. "Although I have to ask. Which Goa'uld do you intend to write about?"
Daniel smiled. "Which goddess is loved by all men at the SGC?"
The group sighed before replying in unison "Hathor."
Yugi raced home as fast as his very short legs could carry him. This was it, the day he found out if he won the contest. He ran to the mailbox and peered through the slot… There was a group of envelopes and some junk mail, but it was too dark to make out if his letter was there. Suddenly, as if out of nowhere, a light appeared in the box, followed by a hand, followed by the disappearance of the mail. Yugi looked up to see his grandfather standing there, casually sifting through mail.
"Hello Yugi. I didn't see you there. Looking for something?"
"Hi Grandpa. Is there a letter there for me?"
"Why so there is!" He flipped it over to read the return address. "Why it's from Ancient Discovery! Isn't that the magazine I subscribed you to for your birthday?" He casually moved the letter out of Yugi's grasp, waving it around. "Why would they write to you I wonder. You didn't enter a competition did you? To win a trip to Egypt?"
"What? How did you know?" He faked left, ducked, and then grabbed the letter from his Grandpa's hands.
"I heard you and Yami talking about who you wanted to take a few nights back."
"Yeah, we decided on Kaiba. He wasn't my first choice, but we figured if the Tomb holds secrets to the past, perhaps he might need to know them too."
"I see Yami has had an influence on you."
"Yeah. Maybe. Anyway, I'm gonna go talk to Kaiba. I'll have to invite him sooner or later, and the plane leaves in 7 days."
"So has it all been set up?" Jack asked.
"Yup, hacked into the system. We're guaranteed winners," Sam replied.
"Of course. Who else would refer to Hathor as the goddess of sex, drugs and rock'n'roll?"
"Thank-you sir. Although I still don't know why I listened to you on that note."
"When do we leave?"
"In only seven days."
"Good. Let's start packing."
Yugi approached the big building that was Kaiba Corp. slowly. He knew he had to do this but wasn't quite sure what to expect. Despite all they had been through Seto still refused to believe in the past life he used to hold, still refused to call Yugi a friend. None the less, the sooner this was over with the better. He pressed the buzzer and waited for a reply.
"Hello?"
"Hi Mokuba. Could I speak with your brother?"
"Hey Yugi. Sure. Seto's been waiting for you."
"Waiting for me," Yugi said to himself. "Maybe Shadi spoke to him too."
The door was opened and Yugi headed up to Seto's main office. When he got there, he found Seto looking over papers and writing note in a small book. When he heard the door open he looked up.
"Well, Yugi. I was wondering when you were going to show up. I take it you won the competition."
"What? How did you know? Did Shadi visit you as well?"
"What? What are you talking about? I haven't seen that fool for months. I was talking about the writings."
"Writings? What writings?"
"Don't play dumb. I know you're a subscriber to Ancient Discovery. I know you saw the new tomb they found. Those writings match the ones on the Winged Dragon of Ra. So tell me, did you come to gloat? To tell me that you were going to be the first to see the writings and unlock the secrets of Ra?"
"No. Actually, I hadn't noticed that the writings were the same as on the card. I came to invite you to go with me."
Seto started laughing. A lot. Up to the point that Yugi was getting uncomfortable. "What's so funny? I know you don't like being called a friend but…"
He tossed something across the table to him. He opened it and read.
"Dear Mr. Kaiba. We are pleased to inform you that you have won the Ancient Discovery Egypt's Secrets competition. Enclosed are your two VIP passes and tickets to the plane traveling Singapore Airlines on the 17th of November. The plane leaves at precisely 12:00 pm, so please arrive at 11:30 to board. Congratulations… You won too? I didn't realize you'd entered."
"As soon as I saw those writings I knew I had to investigate. I entered myself. You don't have to worry; Mokuba and I will be joining you in seven days."
"Ok Kaiba…" He started walking back towards the door.
"I knew you were a fool Yugi, but I didn't realize you were so foolish as not to recognize the significance of those writings."
He turned and looked at him. "What do you mean?"
Seto held up the papers he was studying. "I asked experts, every Egyptologist I know. No one managed to decipher it for me. The only conclusion is that it isn't Egyptian. Yet I can read it. As can you and Marik. I think the secrets of that monster lie in the Tomb."
"In that case, I'll see you in a week."