Ananke's Weave
It could be said that to truly understand something, one had to see it from all sides. There was the side of the one presenting an argument, the side of the bystander, the side of the 'defender'... In the case of what occurred at the museum that night, there were also three sides, though to define it as an 'argument' would be fairly in accurate. It was more...
Just a mess. A big, knotted mess between an Egyptian, a CEO, and a stand in bodyguard. The side of Ishizu Ishtar was likely best left unsaid for the moment; there were some things in her family that just weren't ready to be dredged up from underground, unlike the tablets she'd shown to 'Seto Kaiba'... And likely wouldn't be for a while.
Katsuya Jonouchi's side on the other hand was simple, if not horribly confused... Which was probably expected, given that he'd literally been locked out of the loop this time around. Between seeing things that weren't there and seeing things that were there ten to twenty minutes or hours later, it was probably for the best as well.
Seto's perspective however... Well, to say the least, when the lights had been switched on she'd been more than shocked... Might not have shown it for a moment but she was definitely 'surprised'.
But that story needed a little more of an introduction... To say the least.
Before the lights had gone on, she'd been at least partially calm really. This 'meeting' was so far proving useless if not annoying to new levels thanks to the mention of Pegasus (not to mention this ridiculous mention of stone tablets... Though she supposed inspiration had to come from somewhere)... But not so much that it was any worse than the less-than productive board meetings she'd occasionally been stuck dealing with. Time was passing, and there was no way she could possibly be stuck there for more than an hour at the most.
Maybe it was the sheer amusement of watching the mutt behind her squirm in an attempt to remain silent and comfortable while in a suit. Knowing him, it was probably the best thing he'd worn since a thread-bare hand-me-down at a Middle school graduation really... Something that actually showed in her opinion; who would have thought that he would manage to look 'alright' in a suit? Not that she'd be telling him of course... Better to leave things as they were than give the moron something to grin about. Even so... Listening to the 'Secretary General' of the SCA going on about stone tablets and duel monsters had one solid thought running through her mind. Make that two. One being 'what the hell was this woman talking about'. (Or possibly 'was this woman sane?'.)
The other was just wishing for this night to be over as soon as possible. Because quite honestly, 'ASAP' was proving to not be soon enough.
"Now then," Ishizu was saying, stepping to the side to turn on a light switch as they walked into the dark room. From the light behind them. "Please," she stated calmly, gesturing to the side, "See the origin of Duel Monster's cards..."
Yessss, because there were actu- The light filled the room, Seto's eyes widening as the tablets before them were illuminated.
Alright, who the hell paid for a prank of this level to be played out damn it! ...And why the hell couldn't she stop staring and really make herself believe those last thoughts..? Seto stepped forward, mouth dropping open somewhat as she stared at the tablet before her. This stone... This enormous carved stone, it had to be fake! The pentacle depicting Exodia sat high at the top, images of monsters such as the Skull demon, the 'Feral Imp' carved about the bottom amid hieroglyphs...
This was impossible... "In ancient Egypt," Ishizu began, apparently taking advantage of the silence from her 'guest', "There was a time when the people believed that disasters in the world were caused by the monsters within people's hearts..." She certainly didn't learn that from her text books... "For this reason," the woman continued calmly, "The pharaohs and priests of that time sculpted tablets of varying sizes, believing that they could seal these monsters away within carvings in their image. This practice lasted for a number of years," Ishizu explained, hands held loosely at her sides as she followed her guest's gaze to the tablet, "Preserving the worlds peace for as long as it did..." Of course. Because any and all ancient wars that took place in that time agreed with that. "The monsters you see on this tablet before you were said to contain dark and evil powers," the woman beside her continued, voice quite clearly that of someone who believed their own words. "Powers beyond that of a human's comprehension... Because of those powers," she explained calmly, "It was not long before those under the Pharaoh's reign discovered the potential to wield the monsters as weapons... They would take the monsters from the tablet," she explained, turning from the tablet to look at Seto with an odd stare, "And they would fight with them."
What..? The woman swallowed, narrowing her eyes under her 'host's gaze. What, so they were fighting with duel monsters in ancient Egypt? Pah! Impossible... This was impossible and she would be glad to get out of here- "There is a second portion of the mural here in this museum," Ishizu stated calmly, moving to the side to gesture to another large tablet on display. Seto blinked, still frowning as she listened "A 'central' piece, the reason why I have asked to meet you here. Please," she continued, looking toward the tablet as her 'guest' frowned. "Look closely..."
Hnnn... ...If it got her out of here faster... The woman gave a curt nod, walking over in silence and silently taking a deep breath. Alright... Monsters on what was apparently the source of Pegasus' inspiration (a pretty terrible source really...) was something she could 'handle'... It wasn't as though it was that important... But- "Gh..." The woman tensed as she turned to the second tablet, eyes widening. "This..." Seto's gaze instantly honed in on the carved duo at the bottom, the grip on her briefcase tightening as she stared. Yugi... Standing at the bottom were two people, on in robes of some kind, the other... This... This was YUGI, there was only one damn person in the world with hair that ridiculous!
"The young pharaoh who fought alongside the Dark Magician..." Of course... Of course the 'tablet' would have his signature monster... "As for the High Priest standing opposite him," Ishizu added, "Controlling the white beast in what is presumably battle..." Blue-Eyes, the woman mentally corrected, staring with wide eyes. That monster wasn't some 'beast', it was... "Well," she said with a small smile, "We know as much about him as the pharaoh himself..." Of COURSE. "This mural," Ishizu continued, staring at the tablet in what appeared to be silent reverence, "...It's been passed down within my family, protected for generations dating back to thousands of years ago... The 'mark of the Duelist War', one of the few objects in existence that now prove its existence... And now," the woman stated with an odd smile, turning to her frozen guest, "The battle continues..."
Bullshit. This was... Complete... "This can't be," Seto muttered under her breath, volume slowly raising as she ignored the words of the woman beside her. No no no no NO! "What is Yugi doing on an ancient relic!" Was it even 'ancient', this... This had to be some kind of trick, there was no way that he had ancient Egyptian ancestors with that much of a resemblance! It was complete...
Ishizu turned as her 'guest' continued to stare at the tablet incredulously, blinking a few times. "Yugi," she asked, eyebrows raised somewhat in genuine confusion. "I don't know about any 'Yugi'... I do know that the battle you see depicted in this tablet, however old," she added with a slight nod, "Still live on today in some form however... As for 'Yugi'," she added with a neutral stare, blinking slowly despite the clearly 'unstable' state of her guest, "The figure you are looking at is that of a nameless pharaoh from the 18th dynasty..."
...What. ...WHAT. "A pharaoh," the woman repeated, eyes wide as Ishizu nodded. A... A 'King', was she... Was she serious, was she-
"Correct..." BULLSHIT. Damn it this was- "Look, at the bottom of the tablet," she stated, Seto's eyes drifting downward to where a portion of the tablet appeared to be missing. Ah... Those marks... While she hardly believed all of this, those marks... "This cartouche... The nameplate," she clarified, blinking as she gestured to the stone before them. "It indicates that the name of the figure you see here was that of a pharaoh... But the name has been defaced," Ishizu continued, gaze appearing to soften in slight grief. "And for that reason, though we know much about the time he lived in," the woman explained with a slight frown, "He is the only pharaoh whose name is no where to be seen, be it in his tomb, or upon the carved tablets of his time. He has been completely erased from history... A nameless pharaoh..."
Who even had the boy's damn 'puzzle', she noted with a clenched jaw, shaking just slightly as she stared at the tablet. 18th dynasty pharaoh... That was it damn it! "A PHARAOH," she shouted incredulously, turning on the woman beside her with wide and almost rage filled eyes. "You think he was a PHARAOH? That's nonsense! That's YUGI," she continued with a roar, anger increasing as the woman beside her merely stood calmly in place, silently watching her 'guest' point toward the tablet. "And you think he's somehow an ancient 'pharaoh' from thousands of years ago? How do I know that you didn't simply build this slab a few days before calling," Seto spat, gritting her teeth as she pointed accusingly at Ishizu. "Show me the proof that this tablet is as old as you say! And don't point me to the 'carbon date'," she continued, growling darkly as she brought her hand back to her side. "Carbon dating doesn't work perfectly on stone... Prove to me that this is real!"
Ishizu merely sighed, the woman beside her staring in slight shock. What the hell... Completely calm... This woman was completely calm... After all that... "Seto," Ishizu stated calmly, the woman instantly tensing at the use of her first name. "Do not let your heart waver, or your mind blind you from what stands before you... Look at this tablet... It should speak to you in someway, I'm sure..."
'Speak' to her? Tch! Impossible... It wasn't even real, this was impossible..! Even so, she looked at the tablet, swallowing as her eyes drifted over that of the High Priest in an almost guided fashion. It was impossible... It had to be..!
Yet in the back of her mind, the woman noted with a cold shock of realization, she could hear...
'...Pharaoh,' an old and weathered voice muttered in the 'distance', the room's surroundings appearing to fade out as Seto continued to stare at the tablet. 'The man who stands before you has a level of power that the likes of us have never even seen before! His skills surpass many of even our most experienced high priests! With great honor,' the man continued, voice echoing as though it were spoken in an enormous chamber, 'I request that he be a member of your council...'
'...And I accept,' a strong and eerily familiar voice stated, Seto's blood running cold at the sound. Priest,' the voice continued, words clearly in a language that the world no longer spoke, 'What is your name?'
This voice... 'I am called...'
Impossible! "Gh... Hk..." Abruptly her senses returned, the woman tearing her eyes from the tablet and swallowing back a shout. Impossible... Seto shut her eyes, gritting her teeth as she took a shaking breath. This was... IMPOSSIBLE!
"Hn... The young priest who fights with the pharaoh," Ishizu muttered, looking at her 'guest' from the corner of her eye as Seto silently attempted to recover from the 'vision'. Not now damn it... Not... "The beast he's summoned... Is it not like-"
"URUSEI!" The woman beside her merely shut her eyes as her 'guest' shouted, Seto turning on her with wide and denying eyes. Impossible damn it... This was all... "Nonsense..." Nonsense, it was all just... "Nonsense, this is all NONSENSE! A JOKE," she raged, gritting her teeth. "'Duel Monsters' being inspired by actual battles between so-called 'monsters of the heart'... The game was created seven years ago, and whether or not the 'inspiration' came from your country, what happens today has nothing to do with whatever 'happened' then! Nor is what happens 'now' a reflection of the past!"
The Egyptian opened her eyes again, still looking at the tablet as her 'guest' shouted at her. "So you say... But just as the famous magician 'Aleister Crowley' used icons from the Book of Thoth for his Thoth Tarot... Is it so hard to believe that the tablets before you are legitimately the source of Pegasus Crawford's fated creation of the current card game?" No, it was hard to believe that giant demons existed in those same rocks and fought in the same fashion. Seto merely swallowed the thoughts back however, narrowing her eyes as she calmed down somewhat. Pegasus... That bastard...
Hang on... Why did she hear... 'My Pharaoh,' a familiar voice was muttering in her ear, Seto growing pale as she again bit her tongue. 'I have returned.' That voice... That voice..!
"Perhaps fate still has ties in this game," Ishizu stated calmly, turning to look at the teen beside her as she continued. "Leading the souls of the king and the priest depicted here into battle as it did thousands of years ago..."
'I have returned...' Damn it get out of her head! Get out..! "Ishizu," Seto muttered darkly, gritting her teeth as she looked to the woman. "If you, a high ranking government official, have called me here to do nothing but lecture me on the occult," she growled, gritting her teeth and continuing on, "Then I can guarantee that my time will not have been wasted nearly as much as yours... I'm leaving," she added, tightening her already intense grip on the briefcase at her side. "I have a gaming platform to test..."
"I know," Ishizu stated calmly, causing her 'guest' to stop in her tracks. She 'knew'..? "The second version of the 'Duel Disk'... Or to a majority of the world, the 'first'," she continued, Seto growing still paler as she swallowed. How... She turned, narrowing her eyes and heavily masking the shock of the situation. How in the hell did she know that..! "You're a busy man 'Seto'," Ishizu stated, her guest's colour returning with anger as she continued. "I know that there are things you need to do... So with that in mind, allow me to return to the main subject. Did you know Seto," she stated, ignoring the steadily rising level of aggravation from her 'guest' at the continued use of her given name, "That of all the cards that Pegasus created, there are three 'Legendary' ones that never made it past the boundaries of his own home?" Ah?
...Legendary she said? "..What..?" Something other than the ridiculous 'Toon' monsters..? ...Something worth this waste of a night..? Seto continued to stare with narrowed eyes, still frowning as Ishizu nodded and continued.
"Take a look," she stated, gesturing back to the tablet as her 'guest' walked back from the center of the room, "At the carvings near the top of this tablet... Surrounding the Millennium Puzzle," the woman continued, Seto staring at the carvings with somewhat wide eyes as she took in the 'monsters', "These carvings depict the most powerful of beasts, the forms of three of Egypt's most powerful gods... The 'hidden ones'," Ishizu 'clarified', Seto merely staring upward. "Ones that Pegasus came to create three unique and powerful cards from... Look," she continued, the woman beside her rendered silent for reasons beyond her own knowledge, "From right to left... The God Soldier of the Obelisk, he who has no name... The Saint Dragon 'Osiris', king of the skies... And lastly, balancing the powers from above, the Sun Dragon, Ra. These beasts," Ishizu stated, still looking directly at the tablet's stone, "Representing the polarities of the universe, are said to be infinite in power... Light and Darkness, Good and Evil... Heaven and Earth," the woman finished, Seto still staring in silence. "It is said that the one who carries the card forms of these beasts, the supreme and victorious one, the king of kings, will reign over the realm of monsters... And given the title 'The King of Games'."
The king of games... ...Alright, to hell if she believed the tablet crap but... If there was one thing she did know... "Where are these cards," Seto asked plainly, turning to Ishizu with a swallow, "Who has them now?"
"That... Is why I need you." ...What. ...Damn it. "I need you to find out their location," Ishizu admitted, bowing her head with a sigh as her guest mentally groaned. "You see, Pegasus greatly regretted creating these cards... He himself considered it his greatest mistake," she explained, turning back to Seto with a slight frown. "For if those in possession of the cards were able to wield it's power, it would be as though the Gods themselves walked the earth..." Power..? ...What kind of power..? Ishizu continued on, the woman beside her listening with narrowed eyes. "For this reason, the cards were hidden away from the world... They could be used for any number of things, good or evil... But in the worst hands, they could take even the opponent's life. They are the ultimate weapon, the ultimate power," the Egyptian pressed, apparently ignorant to the sudden jump in interest from her guest, "And all in paper form..."
The ultimate weapon... Seto continued to frown, thinking back to her matches against Yugi. The first battle... During that fight when the cards themselves had come alive... Was that the kind of 'power' that these cards supposedly had? The power that had done... 'That'? ...Hnnn... "Pegasus tried to destroy these cards of course," the woman beside her was continuing, Seto still frowning, "But in the end... It was impossible." What... Seto turned, the frown deepening at those words. He couldn't destroy a set of cards? "So in the end, he was forced to turn to the source." The... The source..? "At his request," Ishizu continued, turning away from the tablet, "The cards were buried in deep in the Valley of the Kings, the lands that their spirits originated from. In three different locations they were placed, hidden away from the world... However," she muttered darkly, bowing her head somewhat. "They were stolen..."
Stolen! How..? If it was a set of cards hidden in the desert then... "Who would know about the existence of cards so secret that even the one who made them was afraid to speak of them," she asked incredulously, frowning as she looked at her 'host'. There was no one, unless it was an inside job who could possibly... "Who-"
"The Ghouls." ...There was that of course. There was... Also that. "You've heard of them, haven't you," Ishizu asked, turning to the side.
Seto frowned, gritting her teeth as she mentally nodded. Ooooh yes. She most certainly did. "The Rare Card Hunters... They stole them?" Of course... Of course it would be the 'Duel Monsters' equivalent of a mafia level gang... Damn it. It was hard enough tracking down cards that were legitimately earned... But to think that rats like them had them? Ugh... "Tch... I've already been dealing with issues of bootleg card from those scum," she muttered, narrowing her eyes. Bad enough that they were taking and re-selling the cards to the highest bidder... Hn! Like their namesake they were rotten to the core... Monsters who dredged up corpses from the ground and devoured their flesh...
Or in this case 'hidden god cards'. Like hell she'd let that happen... "Seto," Ishizu stated calmly, the teen turning from where she had again been staring at the tablet. "I'm asking you, with both the honor of my country, myself at risk... And with Pegasus' own wishes on the line... I ask that you help us get these cards back." Get them back..? The woman's eyes narrowed, watching as Ishizu turned back to the tablet with a frown. "We held this exhibit in Domino for this purpose, revealing the mural of the God Card's origin... You could say that this tablet has it's own power," she continued, her guest merely raising a mental eyebrow at the statement. "Attracting duelists from all over... ...Or perhaps you could do that yourself..."
Hnn? Seto blinked, eyes narrowing further as Ishizu again turned away from the tablet. "You expect me to simply go along with this and hold a duel monster's tournament... Because of a stone tablet?" Ahahaha... Aha... What.
"No," Ishizu stated calmly, smiling somewhat despite her guest's evident annoyance, "I'm asking you to host a city-wide tournament containing Japan's duelists with the purpose of weeding out the Ghouls carrying the God Cards."
Ahuh... Now wasn't that a specific request. "And what makes you so sure that a tournament would do that," the teen responded, eyes narrowed. Tournaments took time... This wasn't exactly something you could simply request and set into motion right off the bat... Although... "Unless you're expecting me to participate myself," she added with a smirk, continuing on as a small plan formed in the back of her mind. "Given that they'll likely want my Blue-Eyes cards as well..."
There was a small bit of silence, Ishizu pulling out a card from her sleeve. "True, that is the case... But the main reason will be because I will be giving you this," she stated calmly, holding the card out for Seto to see. Hn..? What cards besides the obvious were rarer than- "The Great God, Soldier of the Obelisk."
-THUD-
Oh, was she still carrying that briefcase..? She'd forgotten. Ahahaha... Aha... WHAT THE HELL. Seto stared at the card, slowly taking it in her hands and holding it up to the light. A completely blue, one of a kind card bearing the image of a monster almost reminiscent of Exodia... "This is..!" What... What was she doing with this card here, she'd already said enough to prove it was literally priceless! Where did she get this-
"We were able to prevent this card from being stolen," Ishizu said clearly, staring at the teen across from her as Seto slowly looked back up from the card. "Though carrying a great risk in bringing it here... I am entrusting it to you," she stated with a blank expression, "So that you can recover the other two." So bait then...
Hehe... "Hhnhnhnhnhn... And are you sure you can trust me with this 'Ishizu'," she asked, a dark smirk appearing on her face as she held the card. If she was having the nerve to refer to her by name then she was doing the same damn it... Not that it appeared to have any effect mind... "What if I were to retrieve the other two cards... But refuse to let them go..?" Like any other sane person would in her position...
Ishizu merely stared back, expression neutral and unchanging. "I trust you," she said calmly, turning to look at the door. Ahuh... "By the way," she said with the same un-changing tone, closing her eyes. "If you intend to avoid another traffic jam, I suggest you leave now Seto..." She handed over another card, bowing her head. "Should you wish to contact me... This is my number. Though I know for a fact that I will only receive one call from you within this year..."
Gh... What! 'I have re-' Damn it what was that voice doing in her head! ...AGAIN! Seto tensed, gritting her teeth before grabbing the briefcase from the side. Again with the 'assumptions'..! And the 'voice'... She was leaving damn it. "I see," she said with a frown, before turning to leave the room. "But if I were you 'Ishizu'," the woman added darkly, "I wouldn't wait on that call... Now," she continued, passing through the door with grit teeth. Time to go... "We're leaving," she growled, passing both of her 'guards' as she walked briskly toward the front doors. Briefly the woman turned to the older of the two, eyes narrowed as she muttered under her breath. "Get the chauffeur to bring the car to the front..."
"Of course Seto-sama," Odoru answered calmly, the second of the 'guards', hurriedly picking up his pace to keep up with the woman. "Right away."
Jonouchi as well hurriedly jumped into a brisk walk, easily loosing the already paper thin mask of professionalism as he ran. "E-Ehh, wh-what..?" Oh please, spare her the 'questions' for just a single damn moment...
Past the statues, past the tablets, god damn it if she saw another 'Ancient Egyptian Relic'... 'My pharaoh,' the voice was muttering as she walked, briefly squeezing her eyes shut as she attempted to drown it out, 'I hav-' SHUT UP!
"I jus' don' get what all th' shoutin' was about," Jonouchi was saying behind her as the woman pushed past the front doors, eyes narrowed as she turned back. Of course he didn't, if he was doing his job then he wasn't listening...
"Nothing mutt," she growled under her breath, watching as Odoru charged ahead to open the door. Just get her home, where she could think all this through... It was nothing damn it, "Now QUIET."
Of course, she thought bitterly, he never listened, now did he? "But you were loud'r than Mokuba when he was runnin' late f'r school that one day," he was protesting as he came through the car on the other side, apparently oblivious to her continually rising level of agitation.
The woman grit her teeth, grabbing her seatbelt as the doors to the car were shut and the vehicle set off. "I said QUIET Mutt!"
"Hey," Jonouchi said with a cough, still ignoring the woman beside him. "Does this have t' do with those tablets?" Mention anything even related to those giant slabs of rocks and she swore it, she would- "'Cause Yugi's Jii-chan mentioned that a while ago an'-" Again with the voices..! 'I have returned from the ruins in the north.'
THAT. WAS. IT! The woman reeled on the blond as the car drove down the road, eyes wide with rage. Just... STOP! "I SAID SHUT UP, MUTT!"
Now that... That got a reaction. Jonouchi instantly froze, nodding as he muttered 'alright' a few times under his breath. 'Alrigh'... Alrigh'...' Good... Seto turned back to look at the front, crossing her arms as she fingered the card in her hands before slowly rubbing her head with her free one. Ugh... She didn't know whether she was pissed, elated or both any more...
Though at least the drive was silent right..? She took in a deep breath, card-hand under her other arm as she closed her eyes. ...No voices...
...Right? The woman mentally groaned, still rubbing her head as they drove. Alright... She needed to figure this out... Three God cards. The three most powerful cards in the entire game if looking at the description of this one told her right. She hadn't put any strategies to work with it granted but...
Yea. This card was powerful. Very. Powerful. It was a strange feeling that came from the card, a feeling that ordinarily she would scoff at but the fact was... She could definitely beat Yugi with this. And if she had all three...
A wicked grin appeared on her face at the thought, low chuckling coming through the car as she did so. Oh... OHHHHH this was good. With that kind of power... Hhnhnhnhnhn... As for this tournament idea... The 'ticket' to getting the other two...
A 'battle royale', sweeping across the city... If she played her cards right, this could also sell a fair amount of equipment as well... The duel disks would be ready around June wouldn't they? She frowned somewhat, disappearing into thought as the car pulled into the driveway of the mansion. If the duel disks were to be used, the 'playing field' would increase considerably... They would need lots of space... At the same time, the experience alone would be worth it to half of Japan's 'duelists' if she placed the events right. But she'd need something else to entice the players... And especially to gain the attention of the Rare Hunters...
Either way. It looked as though Ishizu was right to 'assume', she thought to herself as she walked into the house, briefly turning to Jonouchi as she headed for the coat room. A 'Battle City'... Hn! "Jonouchi," she stated somewhat coldly, her mood still not quite over-with. The blond looked up from where he was fiddling with his tie, blinking a few times as she continued. "Tell your friend to get his deck ready... We'll be battling soon enough," she told him, before moving off to go to her study.
Very soon... All it would take was a bit of planning... That was all...
Seto pulled the door to her study open, walking in and letting it slam shut behind her. Just a bit of planning... She moved forward, not bothering to turn the light on as she took a seat at her desk. Just a bit of planning, she told herself, looking over the card in her hands once more as she leaned back on her chair. "Hn..." 'The God of the Obelisk'... Requiring three tributes, with four thousand attack and defense points... It would destroy all monsters on the field with additional sacrifices, inflicting 4000 points of damage simultaneously... It was immune to all card effects...
And there were two others of it's level of power. The three god cards... And if simply holding even this one was giving her a rush... "Hnhnhnhn... Hehehehe... HAHAHAHA!"
Well...
She'd better get moving.
Dreams are strange things. For most, they are made up of scattered memories, ripped into very shreds and pieced together in an eclectic, clumped reel of mental film. A series of events and thoughts played over and over, with no known purpose...
It was a personal question from Yugi to his other as to whether or not his darker half could dream for this reason in fact. As someone without memories, was it possible for him to dream? The darker half chose not to admit that for the first few days, he didn't... That for the first few months, his only 'consciousness' was tied completely to the few moments he'd taken over from inside the puzzle. Instead, he answered 'yes', and went back to his usual spiritual vigil outside of the puzzle as his partner slept... A vigil that continued day in and day out, and would likely continue as so for a number of days to come.
For some people however, dreams are hidden terrors, and hidden thoughts from another time and another place. Messages from the past, digging into the skulls of the dreamer whether they wish for it or not. Sometimes... They were stranger than expected though... And despite how very real they could seem, the content itself was the more confusing aspect. And the voice that sounded like Seto's own disguised one rang through her head in a foreign language that she somehow knew and understood, was one such thing... And by the time morning came, she was busy pounding her fist into the pillow in annoyance, likely leaving a permanent dent in the cloth in question. Because if there was one thing she knew that made that 'tablet' 'fake', it was this.
The 'high priest' was male. She was not. End of story, this. Was. Not. Real. The voice in her mind mirrored her own disguised one, to a 't' in fact... But it was not her, despite what 'Ishizu' dared to imply. The vision that came with it, the face, the piercing blue eyes matched her own photos completely save for deeply tanned skin... But it was not her.
And the 'pharaoh', the 'King' that stood to the side, weakly holding a puzzle forward to the Priest in his dying moments was not Yugi damn it!
Her dreams, however, wished to tell her otherwise, and in her personal opinion this was all that damn 'Ishizu' woman's fault. She wasn't sure how, since the woman had all but dropped off the map (and she sure as hell wasn't calling her), but somehow, she was sure she wasn't wrong. And yet here she was. For the fourth night in a row that month, on what was oddly enough the exact same day and the exact same time.
Floating above an ancient Egyptian hallway, or what she assumed as a hallway, hoping and praying that they even had hallways. Not her idea of a 'good night's sleep' to say the least, particularly since she was fairly certain that dreams were supposed to be forgotten when someone woke up. "If someone is trying to tell me something," the woman muttered, crossing her arms with a growl, "They had better realize very soon that it isn't working."
And of course, as usual, there was... No answer. Leaving her floating in the air and rolling her eyes. Ugggh... The woman crossed her legs, somehow taking a comfortable position as she watched the 'imposters' of herself and her rival run through the hall in the dark. Hn... Run faster, maybe they'd actually get somewhere... It wasn't like the end result made any sense after all.
'Quickly Pharaoh,' the 'Priest' shouted, turning to the 'king' as they charged through the largely black-grey hall. 'We must flee! Khemet is lost... And if we are to reclaim it, then survival is key!' Assuming 'Khemet' was the kingdom... That was probably a good idea.
The Pharaoh however, either lacking strength of self-preservation, merely collapsed in the door-way at the end of the hall, moonlight splashing across his tanned face as he took ragged breaths. 'Wait... Wait a moment,' he rasped, holding out his hand. 'I...'
'We cannot wait,' the Priest protested, shaking his head. 'There is no time, if-' Sounds of thundering footsteps came from down the hall, Seto turning her head and narrowing her eyes as what looked to be a crowd of monsters began to develop from the darkness. Oh great.
As if the dream didn't make enough sense as it was. After three nights of 'repetition' did they really have to change things? '...Set,' the Pharaoh muttered, the Priest turning back to face the teen as he did so. 'There is something I must do...'
The Priest merely bit his lip, turning back to the developing monsters before stepping around him. 'In due time my King- But first...' He held out his hands towards the monsters, taking a deep breath and muttering as the room continued to quake under the approaching stampede. 'Great God of the Desert and Storms, Keeper of the Darkness...' Alright what? 'Guide my hands and grant me power... I call forth a monster from the shadows, the Guardian of the Lamp! ARISE,' the Priest roared, gritting his teeth. 'LA JINN!'
Hnnn? Seto raised her eyebrows, adjusting her 'seat' as the 'genie of the lamp' appeared to charge forward. From nothing but thin air it had appeared... From a stream of 'light', originating from who knew where. Huh... One of her old monsters... Strange, last time she had this dream she didn't hear all that nonsense...
...Damn it, that wasn't a good thing! Seeing the things that were attacking and hearing the 'chanting' were not good! Seto continued to watch as the genie barrelled forward, destroying the monsters as its summoner again grabbed the Pharaoh's hand and rushed forward. "Gh-" Seto grabbed her head as a sudden wash of vertigo struck, the room spinning violently. Oh great, motion sickness... The woman shook herself as she was abruptly 'dragged' through the wall, a clear night sky meeting her vision in addition to a cluster of ruins. Now where was this hell hole... Here she'd assumed they were in a palace of sorts not- The woman turned, staring as in the distance a series of fires could be seen. Ah. That would explain it. So the palace was that way... Making this some sort of... ...Ruin? Village..? Great... Another obscure vision cleared up to raise more questions. Last time all she'd seen was darkness here damn it, and she was beginning to miss that...
'Pharaoh... My pharaoh,' the Priest was whispering as they trekked through the sand, 'Are you-'
'Please,' The pharaoh muttered, collapsing somewhat under his own weight before falling to his knees on the ground. 'I am no longer in any position to be called 'king'...'
The priest paled, freezing in place and rushing back to join the king on the ground. 'But I- ...We...'
The pharaoh looked forward, weakly shaking his head as he continued to breath labouredly. '...Set,' he whispered, shaking somewhat in his exhaustion. 'Let me sit for a moment... There is something I must do with this...' The king held up the 'puzzle' around his neck, the Priest before him paling as a muted words passed his lips. Hang on, what was that? The pair's lips continued to move, the air filled with the sort of dead silence one expected from a muted T.V. Great. The one time she wanted to know what the hell they were saying... Seto rubbed her head, scowling. Ugh...
'You can't,' the Priest was suddenly muttering, shaking his head as Seto abruptly looked up with wide eyes. 'You- ...You'll...'
'Mahaad is gone,' the Pharaoh cut in, head bowed as the Priest before him gained a mourning expression. 'As is Isis, Karim, Shada, Shiamun...' A fair number of names... Each of which apparently meant something to the two before her. 'And the darkness is spreading,' the Pharaoh continued, shaking his head and looking back up as Seto narrowed her eyes. 'This is the only way...'
'My Pharaoh, I-' Ahhhhh, who cut him off?
More silence. Seto grit her teeth, holding back a growl. Ugh... The puzzle was placed in the Priest's hands, the Pharaoh placing his own hands on top of them as their mouths continued to move in silence. Damn it, what the hell were they saying? '...Set.' Ah, there... That was better. 'It has been an honor working with you.'
'An honor..?' The priest appeared frozen with shock, more so than before if it was possible. '...Pharaoh... I...' Oh come on, Seto thought somewhat bitterly, spit it ou- ...Their mouths didn't stop moving. Damn it, her dream muted itself again. She crossed her arms, frowning as some sort of exchange came between the two before her. Ugh, it was worse than a bad connection during a phone conference... At least then you could ask them to repeat what they said. More silence, more talking... Seto watched as the 'Priest' pulled off his head dress, placing it on the ground as brown hair fell to his shoulders. Again, she heard nothing... Though she hadn't expected the 'High Priest' to have hair... Clearly whatever he was saying shocked the 'Pharaoh' though, given the look on his face... Even so.
She'd like to actually hear something no- '...I see,' the Pharaoh finally said clearly, the 'invisible' observer merely rolling her eyes. Yes... Of course he did... Now could someone explain to her what the hell was going on? A sudden 'wave' appeared over the area, the woman sighing as her vision was filled with darkness. Ahhh yes... And as usual, this was the end of the...
...Dream? She frowned, watching as the wave passed to reveal the same two she'd been watching, the Priest's head bowed into the Pharaoh's shoulder in what could have been mourning. This was... Almost the exact same scene as before, but why was she still here... Seto frowned, 'floating' close and looking at the two with narrowed eyes. The puzzle was still gripped in their hands... Something appeared to sit heavily on the air around them, a feeling of sorts that the woman couldn't describe...
And given the growl in the distance more monsters were appearing, now wasn't that- Seto frowned as the Priest stood, slowly turning to face the monsters with rage filled eyes. More silence... This time however, the silence was legitimate. No one was speaking... At least until the last few moments, when a rough and violent wind appeared to blow about the Priest in a tornado of sand. A fearsome roar filled the air... And the area became bathed with light, the Pharaoh behind the man shielding his eyes before staring with shock. 'WHITE DRAGON,' a voice shouted, Seto growing pale as the sound met her ears, accompanied by a roar. 'ATTACK!'
The last thing she saw before waking up with wide eyes and a cold sweat was an enormous and eerily realistic Blue-Eyes White Dragon appearing from the clouds to blast white flames over the approaching swarm. A magnificent beast who easily overpowered the monsters before it. But it was what she heard that had her laying back down on the bed with still wide eyes as she stared at the ceiling, breathing haggard and labouring, as though she had run a 1500 kilometer marathon within seconds. The voice... The one that the Priest used in those few seconds...
That was her voice.
Dreams, however strange they could be, were always made up of memories in some way really. Memories from recent times, memories from a past long forgotten... Even memories from another life entirely, however bizarre the notion was. But while there were strange levels of dreams in those categories, dreams that could hardly be considered the 'average' evening, even dreams such as those were something that could be considered normal...
...At least... Compared to the third 'dreamer' that one night after the visit to the museum, when so many 'dreams' occurred. Katsuya had collapsed on his bed with a groan almost immediately after he managed to get out of the suit he'd been stuck in, ready and more than willing for the 'calm' that was sleep. He was tired after all... Exhausted, and more than 'confused' about certain women in his life...
And, well, thanks to that nice little 'flash' he'd had of the hands and 'eyes' staring toward him, possibly a little scared. Not that he would say otherwise of course, despite there normally being 'no secrets among friends'. The fact was, there were somethings that were just too weird to share. Either way... Between the fire at the Black Clown, the 'eyes' reaching out from the Egyptian woman's necklace, and a particularly awkward call he'd gotten from his mother and sister...
Well. Besides predicting the moment he'd get the call, it took all he could to not finish his sister's sentence when he picked it out from the last dream he'd gotten. Which was scary to say the least, and made it incredibly difficult to even focus slightly on the rest of the conversation. Needless to say, he was looking forward to a nice, quiet, peaceful night... One where he actually slept, or maybe one where he dreamed a normal dream, maybe something involving a roller coaster, or a festival...
Not an endless sea of darkness. Not like this one. "Awww hell," the blond muttered, blearily opening his eyes and sitting up as he entered the 'dream'. He certainly recognised this place... "Great... One minute I'm in my bed... Th' next I'm stuck here..." He sighed, shaking himself as he pulled himself to a standing position and looked around. Empty space, empty space...
What, seriously, nothing? He crossed his arms, rolling his eyes before scowling as he came to a stop after walking aimlessly through the darkness. "Aw C'MON," he shouted loudly, throwing his hands in the air with a growl. "I finally get used t' this crap an I get nothin'!" Agggghhh seriously? Seriously! "What th' hell kinda dream is this!"
"Well now..." E-Ehhh? Who..? "This is interesting..." Katsuya froze as a voice came from behind him, coughing awkwardly.
"Er... I..." He shook his head, blood draining from his face. "I wasn' serious," he muttered, coughing awkwardly, "I..."
A rumbling chuckle came from the same direction, the blond slowly turning to face the source only to find more darkness. No... No one was there... What the hell..? "Hello little one," the voice stated, Katsuya swallowing as he looked up toward the source.
AaaahhhAaaahhhAhhhh... Hell. "Oooooooh god," he muttered, falling back and scooting as far away from the creature before him as possible. It was difficult to describe what the being looked like completely, if it could be described at all. For one, the eye that was staring him down was likely about as bright as the sun and possibly as large... Besides eerily similar in appearance. Why he wasn't blind at the moment was likely completely attributed to the fact that he was in a dream really... But that was besides the point, as even counting the 'sun' eye, the 'sky' body was even weirder really. Amid the darkness, a hair-thin neck trailed from the being's 'head', glittering with a fine white powder that resembled stars and fragments of galaxies. It was hard to locate... The body never got 'wider' after all, but if he squinted, it was there, clear enough that opening his eyes wider after locating it made the creature's entire form stand out almost as clearly as a neon sign. The body, despite being hair-thin, did not appear to narrow until it reached the ends of it's strings/ It merely divided, creating a pair of bird-like feet at the end of endlessly long legs, the being who was attached to them standing so tall that it hurt Katsuya's neck to look up from where he lay on his back. The arms on the other hand...
He couldn't see them. Until now, when the location of the shoulders slowly began to 'fade' into appearance. The creature knelt down, eye's gaze appearing more kindly than menacing as a pair of thin and almost flat hands materialized on impossibly long arms. More eyes... Katsuya swallowed as a pair of eyes stared out from the hands palms, before the creature pulled the hands back and allowed them to fade out into the darkness. "Such fear you have," the creature muttered, hands reappearing at its sides with closed eyes. "You need not fear me child," the being stated, closing it's eye over as a 'moon' appeared in the place of its iris while the eye-lid closed. The eye slowly opened again, Katsuya merely staring with wide eyes at the 'shift' in 'night' and 'day' before him. "I will not harm you... Be still... If you like," it continued, holding a hand out, "I can prove myself to you..."
"H-Hah..." Honestly, he'd rather avoid things with eyes on it..! "I... I'll take yer word f'r it," he stuttered, slowly pulling himself to his feet as he attempted to calm himself down. Ok... Ok... Giant 'space-eye' thing standing in front of him... Ahhh... "Who... Who are yah," he managed to ask, staring upward as he appeared to 'float' in the darkness. "Er..." The blond coughed, correcting himself. "What are yah," he added, the being slowly blinking once again.
More chuckling came through the air, the being shaking its 'head' as it looked down. "Hnhnhnhnhn... An interesting question," it commented, the eye appearing to 'smile' down at him. "To some I appear as a lost friend... To others," the creature continued with a disturbingly calm voice, "A hero that they will never know... And to still others, a messenger from the gods..." ...Kay... Why couldn't he get one of those..? "To you however," it continued with a 'bow' of sorts, the 'moon' again meeting Katsuya's face as the blond swallowed, "I appear as I always am... I am that which divines the past, present, and future... I am the Millennium Tauk, the diviner. And for that whom wields me," it continued, the blond's eyes widening as it spoke, "The guide..." ...Awww HELL, not another one of these things! "It is strange," the Tauk muttered, Katsuya momentarily cutting his mental panic short as the being 'frowned' somewhat, "Appearing to a mortal in this form..."
Strange..? The blond frowned, tilting his head. What... "S...Strange," he repeated, looking up as the 'Tauk' nodded. "Whaddya mean, 'strange'..?" How could that possibly be...
The Tauk merely stood at its full height, 'sun' eye appearing against the dark surroundings in an eerie, apocalyptic glow from kilometres above. "As I told you seconds before," it began calmly, "I have been many things... Angels, Animals, Spirits... For to appear in the form you see now would be catastrophic to the beings that I visit... A form that the mind is comfortable with, is therefore required. However," the Tauk continued, Katsuya growing pale with the mentions of 'catastrophic', "For some reason, it would appear that despite all of your mortality, your mind is so comfortable with that of the other realms... That what would be unfathomable is perfectly within your comprehension..."
Uh... W-What..? "W-What th' hell do y' mean, 'would be unfathomable'," he shouted, swallowing back a choke as he stared up with wide eyes. "You sayin' I've got some kind 'f 'low tolerance' f'r weird crap!"
"Hnhnhnhnhn!" Oh great, it was laughing at him. It had something close to that Egyptian woman's voice, and it was laughing at him, that was always great... "Not at all," it 'shouted' with a laugh, shaking its head. "Not at all..! To be frank, you have possibly the highest tolerance of any mortal that my 'guardian' has ever even passed along the sidewalk..." The blond blinked a few times, pulling a face and staring. Er... Ooooookayyyyyy... That was... Good... He guessed. "I am not completely sure why this is," the Tauk continued, shaking it's head' and closing its eye again as it 'calmed' down. "Nor do I think anything will explain it... But for now, I believe it would be best to accept things as they are... I will only be here this one time after all," the being said, opening its eye once more as its hands re-appeared beside it. "For once I have discerned your fate," it explained, the hands moving close, "My task will be done... And I will return from whence I came..."
W-W-Wait... He tensed, stepping back as the hands continued to move in. "...My... My fate..?" W-What..?
The being nodded, coming to its knees and bringing its hands around the blond as he paled. "It will take only a moment," the Tauk stated calmly, Katsuya looking at the two eyes with fear as the hands hovered around him. "You will feel nothing, so this will only..." The Tauk abruptly froze, hands jerking away slightly as its 'eye' opened and stared down. "...Ah..."
Er... "...'Ah'," Katsuya asked, frowning as the Tauk stared at him. "What... What'dya mean... 'Ah'?"
"It's strange," the being muttered, closing its eye somewhat. "This is now two things that have never occurred before... I am a diviner, a seer," the Tauk stated calmly, standing before the blond as it spoke. "A being sent into the minds of others fore only mere moments, that the past and future of the mind be known to my guardian... It is the reason why I am here," it continued, staring down at Katsuya as it continued to speak with its oddly calm tone. The only reason..? "And yet for some reason," it continued with a frown, pulling back to its full height once again. "I can't discern your future... or your past..."
Alright, that was o- ... Wait... "...What."
The Tauk continued to stare, 'expression' as unchanging as it always was while it looked down. "It is strange... And worrying, if I might even say it... But for some reason," it continued sadly, voice wavering just slightly, "Fate itself will not place it's hands on you... It leaves your past unknown," it stated, left hand appearing from the darkness at the Tauk's side, "And your future un-tied," it continued, right hand appearing as well. "You have no fate," the Tauk continued, Katsuya merely staring in shock. "And for that," it continued, staring down sadly as the 'moon' and 'sun' on it's form created a partial eclipse, "I fear for you..."
"But why," Katsuya asked, shaking his head as he stared upward at the creature, "Why would that be a problem..?" If anything... He was kinda happy that the eye thing wouldn't know what was going to happen to him.
There was a long 'breezing' noise, the being appearing to 'sigh'. "I do not know why... But for some reason, I feel a kinship within you. Though I know for a fact that you nor anyone like yourself has ever been my guardian, I recognize your spirit from a distant time... A time that I can no longer recall," it added, the blond before it frowning in confusion and suspicion both. "My time within your mind is ending young one," the Tauk said sadly, shaking its head as it stared down. "And without the knowledge of your fate, I can not properly warn you of the things to come..." ...Oh. That was why. The Tauk continued to 'sigh', staring down as it continued on. "For that reason, I leave you with these words, with the hope that you heed by them before the worst comes upon you. For while the fate-less remain uncharted in the fabrics of time," it explained, voice reverberating around the darkness they stood in, "They attract just as much, if not more attention from the negative forces of the other realms... Heed my words child," the being continued, slowly fading out from the toes as it began to vanish from existence. "And heed them well, for your own safety... While most of my brethren lay dormant, there is one among my numbers who remains strong. Beware the flames with eyes that devour," it called, continuing to fade as it shut its eye and vanished completely. "For even the smallest of sparks can create disaster..."
As the words faded from the room, so did the 'moon' that was looking down at Katsuya from above. Along with the 'stars', the 'galaxies', the 'light' that it gave off... And with the stars and the 'sun' gone, the blond was left in complete darkness again...
Before a raging fire filled his vision, with his next sights being the ceiling of his room as he woke up with a shout.
"HUAH!" The blond clutched the sides of the bed, breathing heavily as he stared at the wall and sat stock still, as the sound of the clock ticking at the side met his ears. Cold sweat clung to his skin as he breathed heavily, eyes wide and mouth hanging open, nothing but the roar of flames sitting in the back of his mind. "HAH... Hah... Hah... ...hah... hah..."
If anyone 'up there' was listening, please...
What the hell did all this mean? Staring at the wall before him, the blond slowly lay back against the pillow, swallowing back another ragged breath and bringing his hand to the dog-tags around his neck. Cold metal was gripped tightly in his hand, acting almost as an anchor to reality as Katsuya continued to breath hoarsely. What was all this... These dreams...
Rolling over on the bed, the blond attempted to fall back to sleep as best he could, still breathing shallowly as he shut his eyes and clutched the tags around his neck. They were just dreams, he told himself, thoughts laden completely with denial. Just dreams... Just dreams...
Just dreams...
AN: Now that's some mind-screw for you! Unfortunately, any questions I've somehow answered have just brought up even more questions... Which will either be answered in Battle City (Thank god) or... Unfortunately, The Millennium World. Ahhhhhh that sucks.
Either way! Slightly shorter than norm chapter thanks to oodles and oodles of dialogue on the part of our friend the Millennium 'Tauk' (Torque), but hey; no problem with that right? (Fact was, this chapter and the last were originally meant to be 'one'... But they were too long.)
Your next chapter will be a breather that spawns from the last line of the last chapter... And it contains much less mind-screw and much more 'awwwwww'. (That and 'lul'. You can't have a breather without the lul.)
Now that the poll is done, I'm feeling empty...
Sooooo I'm doing this instead. Recently, I've been trying to find out if 'Kul Elna' means anything... I know that 'Kul' is Sanskrit for 'family' (Which makes sense, the entire village was probably 'family' really), and is used with the same definition in the English language now, but I can't find a 'decent' definition in any language for 'Elna', 'Erna' or 'Eruna' (The last two come from Japan not having 'L' and from not having single consanants.)... At least not one that makes sense, as 'Erna' is evidentally old English for Eagle. (...But eagles are not only considered beasts of honor, but... Well, in Ancient Egypt, they represented freedom and power. Not the name you'd give to a village of thieves.)
So here's my request; can you figure out what it means? Or is 'Erna' as in 'Eagle' actually a good choice? (When I think about it, the village probably named the village...)
Anonymous Review Responses
Normally with a double post there wouldn't be any, but I got a really quick response!
Haha! It is isn't it Iona… Though it really is mostly 'temp', as we see a different guard later on…
Crossdressing won, that is correct! As for how it turns out, I think you'll be sufficiently amused when we get to that point… Mehehe…
Actually, Kaiba's visit isn't at all non-canonical; in season zero, Kaiba ran into Yugi in a hospital, as earlier that day, Yugi had narrowly avoided getting run over by a car… Being driven by one of Kaiba's employees… In any case, somehow the later ended up there, and apparently Kaiba went to visit.
Whooo! Though she is probably if not very slowly warming up to Jou.
And haha! Well, it wouldn't be Kaiba if we didn't get those comments…
Hey, no problem! Truth be told, being snowed in means little for me to do soooooo…
Merry Christmas!~
Usagi's Manga & Japan Guide/Corner
The guide that's feeling empty today... This is what happens when the chapter is mostly dreams that make no sense.
'Ananke' is the Greek personification of Destiny, Necessity, and Fate. She was depicted as holding a spindle, a device used to create thread from various forms of fibres. Hence the 'weave'; this entire chapter is pretty much centred around fate and destiny, or at least around the device that revolves around it... (Hooray for the Millennium Tauk! Er... Torque. Whatever.)
Originally, Ishizu said 'sorcerers'. But that would just make her case so much worse in trying to… 'Convince' Kaiba, to say the least. Though that could just be dub!Ishizu, as they pretty much re-wrote anything concerning the visions in the tablet. Which really screwed things up later on by the way... Take a look below.
I said 'presumably' because in the end, did we ever get a scene that said the High Priest had anything but loyalty for the Pharaoh? Most likely the 'battle' on the tablet was going to be for the intended plot of the Millennium World; Takahashi's original plan was for the High Priest to defect and go after Zorc to avenge Kisara, after the Pharaoh (apparently) does something stupid/doesn't offer to help.
Perhaps that really happened… (It certainly explains why both of them are fighting with monsters that only appeared to them in the dying moments of that 'time'…)
In any case, those visions we see in the anime happen very differently depending on the translation! In the dub, the Priest is depicted as some kind of... Constant enemy to the pharaoh. But in the original, he's defending the Pharaoh! In addition, there's no banter or 'challenging'; the Priest is merely praying to the gods, asking them to defend him and defeat the wicked. Hahhhhh...)
Moreover, whereas the dub's version of Ishizu says that 'the winner of the match' had his name recorded on the tablet, it's quite different in reality; Ishizu says, as in the manga, that of all the pharaohs of and around that time, 'this one' is the only one whose name has been eradicated from history. Hahhh... What's wrong with the dub...
No really! The original name of 'Obelisk the Tormentor' is 'The Giant God Soldier of the Obelisk'. So Obelisk isn't his name! Which… Makes sense, because while the other two Gods are actual 'gods' in Egypt, Obelisks are giant pillars. YEAAAAAAA. Given that we have Osiris (Slifer in the Dub) and Ra, and Osiris is considered 'equal' to Obelisk, I like to assume Obelisk was made with the God Set in mind. Set being the god of the desert, storm, and chaos... And also the guy who is more well known about his rivalry with Osiris than anything.
Good lord, you do not know how damn amusing it was to type that scene. Now, in the anime, Ishizu did some sort of weird 'vision' thing, showing Kaiba a vision of the past. Three in fact. But I decided to do something a little more creepy (Namely the dream and constant use of 'this will happen') and a little less 'OH SHIT OUR BOSS COLLAPSED' (Because in the anime, the guards were watching that.). Also, I needed to get Kaiba rightfully scared/pissed out of her mind enough to keep her from cackling madly in the drive back home…
Because she did that in the original, regardless of visions. Yeeeeeess, Kaiba does like her power, doesn't she.
I have to admit though, having Jonouchi around definitely helped to curb the insane laughter. Seriously though… Some of Kaiba's expressions in that chapter… Those faces will be enough to keep me smiling for weeks.
Something interesting about 'Obelisk'. The site I use for an added hand in comparisons seems to think that 'Obelisk no Kyoshinhei' means 'Obelisk the Great War God/Great God Soldier'. Everything but the 'The' is correct really. But 'No' is a possessive particle. Which means it'll either translate to 'of' or the 's at the end of a name. For example…
'Uma no hone' (One of Kaiba's favourite sayings) means either 'bones of the horse' or 'the horse's bones'. Obviously, if translation doesn't realize that this is an insult that means 'nobody', we get the latter.
For that reason, 'Obelisk no Kyoshinhei' means 'Great God Soldier of the Obelisk'… Or 'The Obelisk's Great God Soldier', if that makes more sense to you.
By the way, here's a breakdown of 'Kyoshinhei'. 'Kyo' means 'great', or 'giant', while 'Shin' is an alternate reading of 'Kami', or 'God'. Lastly, 'Hei' means anything from soldier to troops to army… But not 'war' in general.
Hey dreams! What, you expected that sort of thing in the Millennium World? The fact is, we never find out how things happened when Atem lost so to speak... When he had to seal himself in a puzzle to mostly destroy Zorc.
And that's where I have lots of fun. Depending on how I can or can't reveal this sort of thing, that dream will be stretched out into a 'side story' to go along with this. Yay~
So. The Tauk. Not much to say on that besides 'WHAAAAAAAAAAT?', so until then...
Art time!
FanArt and My Art Section
Remove the space for your picture; normally this wouldn't be here in a double post, but there was one image that had to wait until now...
Namely this.
The Spirit of the Tauk – http : / / i5. photobucket. com/ albums/ y153/ natasha_unos_1/ YGO% 20Fanfic% 20-% 20Skin/ TheTauk. jpg – And you thought the last one was weird... Just think about this thing's warning, and then you'll have weird. Keep in mind, this thing was supposed to have a form that was 'incomprehensible' sooooo... Yea.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! For New Years you have THAT THING.