Emily Meets Mystery
Emily finally managed to calm down and fall asleep. She didn't position herself on one of the chairs and ended up falling asleep on Yugi's bedside. Around her neck, the Millennium Necklace was glowing, interfering with Emily's dreams.
Emily found herself in the same location as before. It was the same valley in the desert of Egypt. But the surroundings were different. The ground had piles of rubble all over it like some sort of building or temple was left in ruins. "This place again," she whispers to herself. "I know I've been here before and not just in my dreams."
Then she heard a familiar voice. "This is your home, Emily. This is what used to be the Egyptian kingdom."
"Hello," Emily called, looking around. "Who's there?" Then a light shined on top of a pedestal in the center of the area. A figure was coming into view. It was revealed as a woman clad in a white dress. She opened her eyes and Emily saw that they were identical to her own eyes; blue like sapphire and carrying an expression of innocence. This woman also looked like Emily except that she was older and had hair white as the clouds.
"Emily, at last we meet," said the mysterious woman.
"It's you," Emily realized. "You're the woman whose voice I've been hearing from within the Millennium Star. Are you the ancient spirit from which it dwells?"
The mysterious woman couldn't help but laugh. "Oh, Emily, forgive me for my amused expression, but I cannot help but find your curiosity adorable. You're like a little kitten who's just beginning to venture into the world."
This really wasn't helping Emily at all. This woman was speaking to her as if she had met her before. "I'm sorry, but who are you? You look familiar to me, but I'm not sure why."
She recollects herself and clears her throat. "Forgive me for being so mysterious. I suppose I cannot blame you for not remembering me, let alone even knowing who I am. I am your mother: Queen Mystery," she introduced.
Emily's eyes widen. "My mother?" she echoes. Then she remembers the tablet of the family portrait from the museum. The woman she was talking to was the one holding Yami's hand.
"Yes, and just as you first wondered, my spirit lives within the Millennium Star. And from within I remain as I guide you on your journey. Unlike your friend Yugi, you are not a vessel. I cannot exist in your world."
"You know about Yugi?"
"I know a lot about many of your friends," the queen answered. "I know that some of them are blessed with the powers of the Gods as well and that some of them are awakening as Millennia's chosen warriors. These warriors must also unite to save the world just as they did five thousand years ago."
Emily wanted Mystery to elaborate on the matter, but she had other questions. "I don't want to sound like I'm accusing you for anything and please don't take it the wrong way, but were you responsible for the pain I was feeling before?"
"It was not my doing," Mystery answered. "Within the Millennium Star is the Great Goddess herself. She is able to do certain things even in the state she is in. Bluntly speaking, the Millennium Star is able to act of its own will. Just like the time she helped your friend Kaiba to awaken in his duel against Ishizu."
"Is Kaiba one of Millennia's chosen warriors?"
The queen nods. "Royal Egyptian blood flows through Kaiba's veins, just like you and Yugi and the Ishtars. He may stubbornly refuse to accept his ancient past, but he will in time with your help and the rest of your friends'. I know you care a lot about Kaiba. I felt the same way towards a dear friend of mine and he was very similar to Kaiba."
"This friend," Emily was asking, "he wouldn't happen to have been a sorcerer, would he?" She wondered if the queen was referring to the sorcerer from the tablet; the one who shared Kaiba's countenance and betrayed the royal family.
The queen understood her daughter's question. "Yes, he was." She holds out her hand. "I know that you seek many answers about the mysteries of the past. I can help you find those answers. Come with me and I will take you on a journey to the past." Emily takes her mother's hand and their surroundings begin to change.
They find themselves in the palace courtyard. Mystery begins her story by explaining how she and Yami met. She was training to be a magician in the sacred arts and he was next in line to inherit the throne. They were very enchanted with each other for their talents and what they could do. It was love at first sight, but the more time they spent getting to know each other and helping each other to become what they were achieving to be, the more their love for each other grew stronger.
How Mystery got the Millennium Star was another story, but she explained anyway, saying that it had been in the protection of the royal family for years until its guardian would arrive. Mystery was amazed to be discovered as the guardian of the Millennium Star. She knew the dangers she would face, but she was willing to take on all responsibilities.
Time passed and Mystery became a great magician and mastered all of the Millennium Star's spells and secrets. Yami had become a noble leader of the country. They had accepted their feelings for one another, but were not ready to take the next step.
"I was a little afraid of the thought of marrying your father," Mystery confessed to Emily. "I guess I was considering the customs that had to be taken into account. Yami had to be courted to a woman of royal blood."
"Were you?"
"Yes, but something else was holding me back. I started asking myself why I was even in love with this man. He had a unique appearance, which I liked. He was rich and powerful, which is the kind of quality a woman seeks in a man. I didn't want to marry Yami for selfish reasons. I didn't care if I would become rich or powerful as well. Then I realized, I was in love with him for the kind of person he was within; a kind and caring friend. I wondered if Yami felt the same way towards me."
"I'm sure he did," Emily said, assuring her.
"I thought so too. You see, when I was young, some boys wanted me for selfish reasons like my beauty and power. I wanted someone whose love for me was true; someone who would love me for me. And Yami did."
"You must've been really happy when you found that out," said Emily.
"I was, but there was a lot more I had to take into account," the queen was saying, "such as how my love for Yami would affect the people around me; like my friends and his."
Then Emily saw the sorcerer who looked like Kaiba sitting against one of the trees. He was even holding the Millennium Rod in his hand. "Kaiba!"
"His name is Seto," the queen tells her, "just like your friend." Emily walks up to him and tries to talk to him, but she doesn't get a response. He instead stands up and walks right through her. "Don't be so surprised. The people you see here are shadows of the past and cannot interact with you."
"Sorry," Emily apologized. "I guess I was carried away."
Mystery forgives her and decides to continue with the story. "Seto was Yami's friend before he was mine. They were very close; practically like brothers. When Seto was a boy, he lost his family to tragedy and moved into the palace in hopes of having a better life. Helping him every step of the way was your father. And he helped him in return so he would be prepared for when he would take the throne."
"Wow, that's amazing," Emily whispers. To think, in one life, two people she cared about would be bitter rivals, but in another, they would be the best of friends. They were even smiling at each other cheerfully with affection. But when she saw Seto look at Mystery, she sensed a bit of sadness in his eyes.
Following her daughter's gaze, Mystery asks, "Have you been looked at with those eyes before?"
"No, but I have seen Kaiba express them towards someone he loves deeply."
"Yes, Seto was thinking about someone he loved dearly," Mystery tells her. "And every time he saw me, he thought about her." Mystery eventually learned that Seto was in love with another girl who shared her countenance. She loved him too, but their love for each other could never be complete because she sacrificed herself to save his life; leaving behind her power to protect him.
Seeing Mystery made Seto's heart hurt; especially when she was with Yami. But he kept reminding himself that Mystery was not his lost love. But the pain was hard to ignore. He loved Mystery and wanted her. But Seto would not forget Yami and that he loved Mystery too. As Seto said himself, Yami was his best friend; his brother. He loved him very much and didn't want to do anything to hurt him. But the tension was too great for him to endure any longer.
After seeing Mystery and Yami together and sharing their feelings for each other long enough, Seto had an emotional breakdown and fell in tears. He burst out crying from the torture of his emotions. Mystery sensed that Seto was suffering because of her and decided she had to be the one to set things right. So she came to Seto and saw him lying in his bed.
Seto's face was stained from the tears running down his cheeks. Finally, he confessed his feelings and said to Mystery, "I love you, Mystery. Please become my wife."
Mystery was happy to hear Seto confess his feelings for her. She loved him just as she loved the rest of her friends, but she had to be honest and reveal to whom her heart belonged. "I'm sorry, Seto. I'm happy to hear that you love me. I love you as well, as a friend and a member of my family. I have always loved you that way, but King Yami is special to me."
Hearing that, Seto sobbed and smiled with great joy because he was happy to hear that Mystery loved his brother. He even already knew that Yami felt the same way towards her. So he spoke his gratitude to her and began recovering. Finally, Yami came and saw what was going on. He was glad to see his friend and fiancé finally bonding like friends. He was even happy to see that his best friend was feeling better. Seto finally accepted that Yami and Mystery belonged together and would make each other very happy.
The story was bringing tears to Emily's eyes. Seeing Seto express such heart and compassion made her believe that Kaiba was the same person on the inside and would show it one day.
"Seto was feeling better and showed it a lot since that day. He was even happy for us when we said our vows of everlasting love and got married," said Mystery. "But I'm afraid it was not meant to last. The emotional burden was starting to take its toll on Seto's heart once again when Yami and I began expecting you. He started seeing me as his lost love again and thought the child I was carrying should be his instead of Yami's."
"I guess that makes sense," said Emily. "I mean, something like that happens sometimes."
"But although I saw the pain in Seto's heart, I didn't know how or if I could remedy it. But I figured Yami could since he knew Seto better than I did."
The torture in Seto's heart was like the darkness was affecting him like a disease. He felt like the Dark Lord was urging Seto to attack and kill Yami for taking all he deserved. But Seto remembered that Mystery was Yami's wife and not his lost love and that it was his child. But the Dark Lord kept telling Seto that deep down he agreed and wanted to take back all that was taken from him by his brother.
Seto confessed his problems to Yami and made a frightening plea. "Pharaoh, I need you to do something for me."
"Anything, Seto."
"If I should do anything to hurt you or your family," then he gulps and strengthens his voice. "I want you to kill me."
Yami's eyes widen. "Seto! But why?"
"I know not if I can continue to fight this pain in my heart for very long. It comes back stronger and is controlling me inside and out. I am afraid I may end up doing something regretful and cause more pain and suffering. I can't bear to let that happen. That is why I want you to kill me before that can happen."
"I will do no such thing," Yami promised. "You are my friend, Seto; my brother. We made a pact that we would always take care of each other and protect each other. I will not allow the darkness inside to continue to torture you. Even if you do something beyond atonement, I will never kill you because you are my brother. The bond between our family is strong and can overcome anything. My family is your family too; remember that."
Seto reflects on his younger years when he and Yami always had each other's backs and became close like brothers. That made him believe that he would be able to overcome the dark influences and remember the bond he shared with his family. Mystery wasn't Seto's love, but she was still his family; meaning that the child she carried was part of his family as well. Trusting in Yami's words, Seto agrees and hugs his brother.
Mystery continues her story and the scene changes once again. "You finally came along when spring was starting. I remember it so well. It was a cool night and the skies were clear. When you were born, the Millennium Star emerged from my heart and began to reside in yours. I was so happy that you were finally here. You even opened your eyes and looked at me. I told your father we had to give you a name. By looking at you, he decided that your name would be Emily. You opened your eyes once more and smiled at him. Your father and I were so happy that night," she says, crying as she watches the scene.
"Queen Mystery," Emily was asking, "Of all names for girls-,"
"Why Emily?" the queen finishes. Emily nods. "If you listen closely, you will find that your name sounds almost like 'Millennia'. We thought your name would honor the Great Goddess because you were one of her new children."
"I guess that makes sense," says Emily. "How was Seto taking all of this?"
"Seto was very happy when he met you," Mystery answers. "He even helped us to take care of you. You also seemed to be very happy with him." Her smile disappears once more. "Seto seemed like he was forgetting his sadness, but he began to feel tortured once more. He still loved all of us and didn't want to do anything to hurt any of us. He thought he could fight the pain by trying to protect us."
Seto remembered that as Millennia's followers, the royal family had many enemies who were servants to the Dark Lord. Now that the new princess was the new guardian of the Millennium Star, Lord Cobalt's minions would seek her out and try to kill her. Other than that, many sorcerers would find claiming the Millennium Star would be a lot easier now that it was residing in the heart of a helpless infant. Seto shared his concerns about those matters with the king and queen. Plus, the powers of the Millennium Star would be too dangerous for the princess to handle. Yami didn't want to argue, but he promised Seto that the Great Goddess would not harm his child. But he trusted his brother's concerns and agreed that it would be wise if the queen took back the Millennium Star. Happy to hear that, Seto dismissed himself and returned to his chamber.
But when he was alone in his room, he heard a voice in his head. The Dark Lord was trying to communicate with him. "I know this does not satisfy you," said the Dark Lord. "I know you of your weakness in wanting to obtain power. You don't want to protect the royal family. You want the Millennium Star."
"You're wrong," Seto protested, sitting on his knees and placing his hands against his head.
"There is nothing you can hide from me, mortal. I understand your bitterness towards the royal family."
"I feel no bitterness towards my family," Seto argues. "Do not try to torture me with past feelings. It's all behind me."
"If that's so, then why don't you take matters into your hands? You know the dangers I pose. Prove to me that your past is not your today and that you are not the weak mortal I take you for." Then the Dark Lord disappears.
He's torturing me, Seto wonders to himself. I have to do something that won't cause me to end up endangering my family. Then he got an idea. He decided to get rid of the Millennium Star itself by taking it far away. That way, Cobalt's minions would never attack the royals.
It was the night of the full moon, the perfect time to put his plan into motion. Using his Millennium Rod, Seto knew that the Millennium Star still lived inside the princess' heart. Disguised in a hooded robe, he takes the child and heads out into the desert with his apprentice who turns out to be an ancient version of Joey Wheeler.
This shocked Emily. "Joey? He has a role in this too?"
"Joseph was one of the royal servants who worked for us. Seto took him as his apprentice for when he would one day take his place."
They came to the remains of what used to be a temple and mounted off of their horses. "The Dark Lord thinks you want to steal the Millennium Star so you can use it for yourself?" Joseph asked his master.
"He is trying to convince me that I want to hurt the royal family," he tells his apprentice. "I have to do this. It's the only way to protect the princess."
"I don't like this," Joseph was saying. "We never should have taken her away."
"I know what I'm doing."
Joseph was still against it. "Master, please," he softly pleaded, "I have a sinking feeling that something terrible is going to happen if you do this."
Seto points his Millennium Rod to his apprentice. "Don't speak again," he warns. Joseph gulps and backs away. He didn't want to face the consequences he would for upsetting his master. Besides, Seto was a skilled sorcerer and assumed he could successfully perform the spell without hurting the child. But the truth was this would be a dangerous task. "When the full moon is in the sky, she who holds the Millennium Star must release it from her heart once she bathes in its light. When the Millennium Star is released, I will seize it and have it disappear from us." He gently placed the infant on a pedestal and began praying his wish for the Millennium Star to come forth.
But the pharaoh and queen knew something terrible was afoot. It didn't take long for them to realize that their daughter was missing. When Yami found out that Seto was gone too, he had a bad feeling his brother was behind this. Through his Millennium Puzzle, the Great Goddess helped them to locate their servants and their daughter. When they got to the ruins, they saw Seto performing the spell.
"The Millennium Star," Seto says, lifting his hand.
"Don't touch it!" Mystery yells, but it's too late. As Seto barely brushes his fingers against it, the Star releases a force of magic, pushing him away. The princess was not spared and ended up getting hurt as well.
"Did Seto know what he was doing could have killed us?" Emily asked.
"He did, but he was willing to risk it," Mystery answered.
"But he just wanted to help, right?"
"I wondered that after hearing his reasons for his actions, but his actions only seemed to prove to me and Yami that he was trying to help himself more than he was trying to help us." What the queen didn't realize was that the Dark Lord had been speaking directly to Seto, distorting his mind and altering his wishes; making Seto want what the Dark Lord wanted.
The pain in Seto's heart started to get worse as Yami was beating him and reprimanding him for his actions. But even if Seto had committed a crime worthy of death, Yami had already promised his brother that he would not kill him. But Seto felt like he deserved to be sentenced to death even if he was just doing it to help his family because he still ended up bringing pain upon them. Understanding Seto's reasons helped Yami to settle down a little bit, but he would still not forgive him for nearly killing his daughter. How the child even survived was a miracle that baffled her parents.
Left alone in his room to recover, Seto spent his time thinking. He assumed that he had only ended up proving the Dark Lord right. His actions made it seem like he wanted to hurt the royals, but his reasons were because he wanted to help them. Seto wanted Yami to kill him for doing something like this. Knowing his brother wouldn't, Seto decided to do it himself and went to his personal treasury. He took a dagger that belonged to his previous master.
He was about to pierce it through his chest until something stopped him. The Dark Lord's voice rang through his ears once again. "Why drag out this torment, Seto? All you're doing is avoiding the simplest solution."
"Go away," Seto snaps.
"Can't you see that this isn't fair for you? Your brother has taken from you all that you rightfully deserve. You even feel that his child should have been yours instead."
"No, the queen is not her. She is his wife and the princess is his child."
"Seto, if you truly want to end your suffering, then you must take back all that the pharaoh has taken from you. You know you want to and he deserves it for hurting you. He promised you that he would help you, but he has ignored you even when he has seen you in pain." The Dark Lord grins and shakes his head. "How selfish of him to ignore his brother and pay attention to his own happiness."
Seto begins changing his mind as he hears what Cobalt is saying, agreeing that his brother hadn't been keeping his promise and had instead been leaving him to continue to suffer. The pain started turning into bitterness and jealousy. The darkness was beginning to take over him. He decides to heed Cobalt's word and settle things with Yami once and for all.
As Emily watched what was going on, she knew that they were going to duel. The monsters they summoned to do battle on their behalf were Dark Magician and Blue-Eyes White Dragon. As the two monsters battled ferociously, Seto and Yami fought with their words. Seto was finally getting the chance to tell Yami that he did deserve what the king had; that it should have been his family instead and was taken from him. Yami kept reminding Seto that Mystery was not the same girl.
Then the scene ended and Emily found herself back in the desert. Unfortunately, Mystery had not been able to watch the rest of the match because she was told to take the baby and run away. Mystery did run, but she didn't leave the palace. But she did manage to return once it was over. She didn't know who won, however, but it didn't really matter. Her husband and friend were back together. Mystery eventually realized that they needed to battle because it was the only way to save Seto from the dark influences and end the pain in his heart. Emily realized that the same thing happened to her own friends when Yugi tried to free Joey from Marik's control in their duel.
"Seto realized that he did have what Yami had: a real family," Mystery explained. "Maybe not the family he dreamed of one day having with the one girl he loved, but he was still surrounded by people who loved him," said Mystery.
"Kaiba's the same way," Emily adds. "He wants what Yugi has without realizing he already has it: being known as one of the greatest duelists in the world. Yugi may outrank Kaiba, but they're still kind of equal."
"Seto learned his lesson the hard way and came to appreciate it. In time, Kaiba will too. His jealousy and lust for power may blind him to what's important, but you and Yugi can help him as long as you don't give up on him. Help him, but give him time to open his heart. When that happens, Kaiba will come to appreciate you and the rest of your friends."
Seeing Seto look so happy as he's surrounded by his family, Emily can't help but agree. Seto was able to show heart and understanding. That made her believe that one day, Kaiba would be able to as well. So as long as she and Yugi kept doing what they were doing, then they would be able to help him open his eyes and his heart. The people she knew and loved today were no different from the people Mystery knew.
That was it for this story, but there was still a lot Emily wanted to know like how Millennia's chosen warriors were able to save mankind together and why the Millennium Star was split into two pieces. But Mystery promised to tell her that story someday. For now, the queen would continue to guide and protect her daughter from within the Millennium Star, teaching her magic and valuable lessons from the past.
"Thank you," Emily paused for a minute, then finished by whispering, "Mother."