A/N: And just when things begin to calm dow a little bit, more stuff happens. Yay~ Also, can I just say, Seth, Kaiba, precious babies.
IMPORTANT: I'm thinking about writing a prequel of sorts to this like my two-shot My Aibou, only longer. If I do this, it'll definitely be another multi-chaptered fic and will deal with Seth, Atem, Kisara, and the gang from Ancient Egypt. What do y'all think? Yay or nay?
The Possessed Shadows
To say Mai Valentine was annoyed would be a vast understatement. She was absolutely livid. One minute she was worrying about her Regent stuck in a psychological Shadow Game, then the Justice League decided to barge right in like they owned the place, and now everyone vanished. She was lucky enough to be a Shadow user so she could sense the Field Spell activate, but for some inexcusable reason, she had not been included in the Spell. But of course, everyone else was. Literally, everyone else. Even Kaiba's bodyguards had been taken leaving her alone in an empty hotel room.
She knew Kaiba had been the one to cast the Spell. He had a very distinct Shadow signature. It was dark and chaotic and smelled of lightning and, strangely Cyprinum. That was a scent she rarely smelled around Kaiba except during Court or on other rare occasions. It was a scent she associated with Kaiba when he was stressed or filled to the brim with Shadows, which incidentally usually happened when he was stressed or unbalanced in some way.
She had smelled it strongly when Ahkenadin made his impromptu appearance during their meeting with Oliver, Walter, and Diggle at the Java Script cafè. It had been so sudden and intense, she had felt herself react instinctively, grabbing Mokuba and pulling him towards her. She still did not know what had compelled her to do that. If she had been fully aware of the situation, she would have done so anyway; but she had not been fully aware. She had not recognized Ahkenadin. She had just known that the man smelled of and unsettling combination of death and must and he had scared Kaiba almost shitless.
She had never seen her Regent look so scared, not even when Mokuba had been taken from him. Plus, the Cyprinum scent had intensified, almost drowning out Kaiba's ozone scent. It had been disconcerting; not frightening, just disconcerting. She could still smell Kaiba's Shadows but it seemed to her that the Cyprinum Shadows were mingling with Kaiba's to the point they were almost one and the same.
Now, she was smelling the Cyprinum Shadows again and this time, they were moving separately from Kaiba's. She stepped into the hotel common area to have more room to move and slipped into a defensive stance just in case. But the more Mai thought about it, the more she did not feel scared. In face, she felt calm, relaxed.
"Hello?" she called to the Cyprinum Shadows.
"Mai."
Mai started. That was Kaiba's voice, or it sounded like it. But there was something about it that sounded...older, more powerful. It was Kaiba, and yet it was not.
"Who are you?" she asked. Then she paused as it suddenly clicked into place and she fell slack in surprise. "Seth?"
The Shadows became visible, coalescing to a form that was vaguely Kaiba's. Mai watched the process in awe. When the Shadows became solid, electric blue eyes she always associated with Kaiba appeared where Seth's eyes would be. The Shadow Seth nodded.
"How..." Mai shook her head. "That's not important. What is important is why you're here. Where's Kaiba? I felt him cast the Field Spell." She crossed her arms and pouted. "But he didn't include me."
Something in Seth's eyes made Mai pause. "No, he did include me," she whispered beginning to understand. "You didn't."
Seth nodded.
"Wha- Why?" Mai demanded angrily. "I'm his Sorceress. I answer to him."
Seth's eyes dropped to Mai's side where she kept her Deck secured in her holster before flicking back up to her eyes. Mai hesitated before unbuckling her holster and taking out her Deck. It was warm and familiar to her Shadow senses, smelling sweetly of roses and wind. Mai's dark blue eyes lifted back to Seth's suspiciously.
Seth nodded silently and Mai took that as a command to shuffle through her Deck. She passed several cards before Seth's hand stopped her, pointing to the Trap card Dramatic Rescue. Mai pulled that card out of her Deck and moved to reholster her Deck when Seth stopped her again, gesturing for her to continue. Intrigued, Mai began shuffling through her Deck again keeping Dramatic Rescue separate from the other cards.
Again, Seth's hand hovered over a card. This time the chosen card was Harpie Lady. Mai obediently withdrew that card and went back to shuffling. This time, Seth stopped her at Harpie's Pet Dragon which she also withdrew. She shuffled one more time and Seth pointed to Rose Whip. When she was finished removing that card, Seth pointed to Dramatic Rescue and Harpie Lady, indicating he wanted her to switch the order of the two cards.
When it seemed Seth was no longer interested in her Deck, Mai looked at the four cards she had drawn they were, in the order Seth specified: the winged beast Harpie Lady, the Trap card Dramatic Rescue, the monster Harpie's Pet Dragon, and the Spell card Rose Whip. She was beginning to comprehend what Seth wanted.
"What happened?" Mai demanded of the Shadow Seth sternly.
The Shadow phantasm pointed to Mai's Deck once more and she shuffled through it. He stopped her when she drew Amazoness Queen, pointed to it and the Harpie Lady still in Mai's small, separate pile.
"Wonder Woman and Hawkgirl?" Mai guessed. Seth nodded. "What about them?"
Seth's form shifted and his head lifted, gazing off to the side, distracted by something. He turned back to Mai pointed to the two cards again before forming the Blue Eyes White Dragon card in his hand. His movements were becoming less sure and more rushed as if he was running out of time.
"Kaiba," Mai said. Seth nodded once more. "Kaiba's going to attack Wonder Woman and Hawkgirl?" Mai asked. Seth hesitated before pointing to Harpie Lady and the Amazoness Queen insistently. "Wonder Woman and Hawkgirl attack Kaiba," Mai said, encouraged by Seth's nod. "And Kaiba fights back."
Seth formed another card, this time Lullaby of Obedience, placing it over the Blue Eyes White Dragon. Mai's eyes grew round. "Something takes over Kaiba's mind?"
Seth nodded with what seemed like reluctance. Mai narrowed her eyes. "You take over his mind. Why?"
Seth summoned a third card, this one Ring of Defense. "To defend him from something?" Seth nodded. "What?"
Seth drew a final card just as his eyes dropped back to Harpie Lady and Amazoness Queen. Mai studied the new card with trepidation. "Final Turn." Her thoughts raced to piece together what was going on. She blinked and studied her own cards.
"Wonder Woman and Hawkgirl attack Kaiba in some way," she began slowly, "you defend him by taking over his mind."
She paused when Seth started, turning his unearthly gaze back to the side, watching something only he could see. When he turned back to Mai, his eyes begged her to hurry up and understand.
"You want me to help Kaiba," Mai said firmly. Seth nodded. "And you want me to use these cards," she held up her small, separate Deck minus Amazoness Queen. Seth nodded quickly, banishing his cards. "In this order?" she asked, holding up her hand so Harpie Lady lay face up on top, Dramatic Rescue was in the middle, and Harpie's Pet Dragon next, and Rose Whip at the bottom of the pile. Seth nodded vigorously and quickly vanished.
If Seth was leaving in a hurry, that meant Mai had to hurry. She replaced Amazoness Queen back in her Deck and holstered it, holding her four chosen cards in her other hand. She drew Harpie Lady's card and called her.
"Harpie Lady, assist me," Mai said. The air shimmered and Mai saw Harpie Lady appear before her, the winged beast's long maroon hair tumbling over her feathered shoulders. "Take me to Kaiba and the others," she commanded.
The winged beast bowed then took flight. Mai grasped Harpie Lady's leg talons. She watched the air around her shimmer as her summon brought her into the Field Spell.
Harpie Lady flapped her feathered arms and chirped drawing Mai's attention to a nearby ridge where her friends and the Justice League stood.
She had a moment to comprehend the sight before she smelled Kaiba become surrounded by Cyprinum scented Shadows. Then those Shadows were quickly smothered by darker Shadows that smelled faintly of jasmine and something else... These Shadows had probably started out under the Pharaoh's command but were now acting of their own accord. The only reason the Shadows would break from the original user's control was if the rules of a Shadow Game had been broken and they were enacting a Penalty Game without guidance.
And for some reason, the Shadows were using Kaiba to exact the Penalty Game. But, she remembered, it was not really Kaiba right now, was it? The Cyprinum scented Shadows made it clear it was Seth in control of Kaiba's body. So the Shadows were using Seth to enact the Penalty Game. Judging by the direction Seth was racing, the Penalty Game was against Wonder Woman and Hawkgirl. And Seth had charged her to stop this.
Mai felt her Trap card warm in her hand. Seth had known Wonder Woman was an Amazon and anticipated the Trap would want to activate in her defense. "Let's hope you're right Seth dear. Dramatic Rescue!"
The effect was instant. Seth was stopped mid-stride and tossed back to the other side of the ridge where Shaadi caught him. Mokuba raced to his big brother's side as did Yuugi. But the King, along with almost everyone else looked up to where Mai hung from her Harpie Lady's talons.
May took her chance to activate the second part of her Trap. "Harpie's Pet Dragon!"
The maroon dragon roared to life, exalting in the power boost from the Field Spell, Harpie Lady, and the perceived Harpie Lady, Hawkgirl. It dove down to land on the ridge line between the Shadow Court and the Justice League, buffeting Oliver, Walter, and Diggle as well as Kaiba's two bodyguards standing within range.
"Mai!" Jounouchi hollared. "But...I thought-"
"What, Jounouchi? Didn't miss me?" Mai half teased. She tensed when Kaiba stood up. No, not Kaiba. The Cypirnum scent indicated Seth was still present but smothered under the Shadow Game's control.
She had never met Seth face to face before today. But seeing him now, even if he was not in full control of himself at the moment, she felt sympathy for him. Knowing the Regent was likely not at the top of his game after fighting an intense psychological Shadow Game in his own mind, Seth had chosen to suffer the control of the Shadows in place of Kaiba. She knew how Kaiba felt about controlling other people or monsters outside of a harmless Duel Monsters game, not to mention being controlled himself, and could only guess how Seth felt. But still, Seth was taking the brunt of the control, protecting Kaiba from the negative affects as best he could.
But the Shadows would not let themselves be cheated of exacting punishment for breaking the rules of their Game. That meant the Game itself had to be called off or affects nulled. Mai could do neither at her power level, but she could put up the good fight while someone else put a stop to it.
"Rose Whip," Mai said, equipping her Harpie Lady with the Spell. Harpie Lady grinned as the thorned whip appeared in her hand. "Now, Harpie Lady, Harpie's Pet Dragon, keep him back."
The dragon roared as both it and the Harpie rushed Seth who was compelled to attack in return. The Shadows possessing Seth were furious an interloper would dare try to stop the, from exacting the required punishment. Mai blinked when Seth did not summon any Spells, Traps, or Monsters to defend him. Instead, he raised his arm allowing Harpie Lady's Rose Whip to wrap around it, using it and his greater weight to slam the winged beast to the ground. He then slung her into Harpie's Pet Dragon knocking it back, clearing a direct path to Wonder Woman and Hawkgirl. He began running for them again. Only to be stopped by Harpie's Pet Dragon's tail slamming into his stomach.
"What's going on?" Walter demanded.
"Seth, what're you doing?!" Oliver cried, leaping into the fray. He did not make it far before he was stopped by Diggle.
"Stay outta this," the ex-arm Ranger said.
"He's my-"
"That," Diggle said, "is not Kaiba."
"I know who that is," Oliver growled. "I also know he's not in control of himself!"
"Seth! Stop this now!" the Pharaoh commanded. "That's an order."
Seth glanced at the Pharaoh, pain and fear reflected in his clouded blue eyes for a moment. Then it was gone and Seth very deliberately looked away and attacked the nearest Harpie.
"Regent!" Shaadi called.
"Spread out," Superman said. "Surround him."
"Wait!" Yuugi screamed. "Stop, please!"
The King's cry went unheard. The balance had tipped too far to the Dark and Yuugi was loosing his hold, drowning in Darkness. He staggered and fell to his knees, hugging himself as he struggled to hold his own against the tide of Dark Shadows.
"Stop," he whispered.
Yami blinked, dazed by the sudden euphoric rush of influence he received from the imbalance of power in the Court. He was vaguely aware of the light in the Field Spell beginning to fade. He could feel Yuugi crying in his mind and tried to reach out to his other half. But it was hard, harder than it should be. It felt like DOMA all over again.
That thought terrified him, shaking him to his core. Yuugi. Yuugi came first. He could not loose him. Not again. Never again.
He turned and ran for the other half of his soul. He could feel Yuugi slipping away and it was killing him, literally. He could not stand living without Yuugi.
"Aibou!" he called, reaching for his other half.
"Mou hitori no...boku," Yuugi whispered.
Their eyes met for a moment. Yuugi smiled.
This was not supposed to happen.
Seth felt Kaiba fight back, adding his strength to Seth's. But there was only so much Kaiba could do without succumbing to the possession like Seth was beginning to. The possession may not be absolute like the Traitor's had been, but with Kaiba's already delicate state of mind, damaged soul room, and exhaustion from the psychological Shadow Game, it was enough.
Seth could only take so much before he fell leaving Kaiba unprotected. And no matter how hard they tried, neither Seth nor Kaiba could speak. Their Shadow magic relied heavily on speech, specifically naming things. Without speech, they could not summon or cast Spells or Traps.
Worse, they could feel the person behind them, guiding their movements, controlling them like a puppet. It was different than with the Traitor. Then, their awareness had been almost completely subverted leaving them lost and confused. This left them with their awareness entirely intact but with no command over their body. Just the need to attack, the lust for battle, the desire to exact a punishment for rules broken.
Kaib screamed inside his prison as the Shadows began to devour him from the inside. This was not supposed to happen. That person was not a Shadow user. They should not be able to do this. The very idea of someone with no connection to the Shadows doing this was unthinkable. The Shadows themselves were feeding off the person's taste for blood, egging them on.
Why was this?
The Shadows were tricky and sneaky and strictly enforced their rules, but they were never bloodthirsty unless dealing with a cheater or driven to a frenzy by an insanely powerful...Shadow user...or a god...
It was not Obelisk. He would never threaten the balance like this. Ra would not. He was Yuugi's deity and while a powerful ally, was not prone to warfare as the immediate solution to a problem. Osiris was dark and, like Ra and Obelisk, could be violent. But he tended to keep to himself and rule in silence.
There were no other gods capable of...
But there were.
Kaiba knew and suddenly Seth knew as well. They had to act fast if they wanted to stop this Before too much damage was done. Already they could feel Yuugi fading. If they lost Yuugi, Yami, no longer bound to any object but to Yuugi, would give up and follow the other half of his soul into oblivion and leave Kaiba alone. But the Regent could not maintain the Shadows alone. They would devour him, drive him insane, and eventually kill him if he were left to maintain the balance of all the powers alone. And if he fell, the Shadows would be left unchecked until the three of them were lucky enough to be reborn.
Both Seth and Kaiba combined their efforts, working as closely as they could. Mai had done well keeping them in check, something Kaiba was both glad for but also frustrated by because he had failed to notice her missing. Seth felt guilt for hiding it from his reincarnation, but it had been necessary. He had felt something that had not belonged since he had been freed of the psychological Shadow Game and had done the only thing he could to keep Kaiba safe.
Superman flew at them. They dodged to the right, ducking a batarang and tripping Flash as he went. Hawkgirl came at them with her mace and he yanked the Rose Whip still wrapped around his arm, thorns digging through his clothes and drawing blood, slinging Harpie Lady into the other avian woman. They saw Wonder Woman's lasso loop towards them and it took all of their concentration to slow down their movements, fighting the control as hard as they could.
It worked. The blessed rope looped around their neck, pulling taunt when Wonder Woman yanked. Their coughed and stumbled but did not fall. Harpie's Pet Dragon used their distraction to plant a heavy claw on their chest, push them to the ground, and pin them down. It was working. They were succeeding. Now if only...
The telepath appeared in their vision and they knew they would succeed. The Martian leaned down and placed a hand on their forehead.
:Telepath!: they called, lashing out with their Shadows.
Golden eyes filling their vision widened. :There are two of you?: Then the full force of their Shadows touched him and he cried out as they burned.
They had to hurry. :It's not us! It's the Amazon's gods! It's-:
They jolted in shock as the bonds holding them mute and commanding their body without their permission suddenly snapped. They were free. But how...?
"Well."
They turned electric blue eyes to the voice.
"I think I can safely say, I've never wounded a god from another pantheon before," Bakura said, eyeing the being on the other end of a long sword with a blocky handle and hand guard. "Or sealed one for that matter." Red eyes turned to the Kaiba and Seth still pinned beneath Harpie's Pet Dragon. "But then, I'm not a fan of possession either. Bad memories, you understand."
The being run through by the sword fell back to the ground with the sword still embedded in his gut. Bakura watched in morbid curiosity. After a moment, Ryou joined him. "Will he be alright?" Ryou asked.
"He's a god, Yadonoushi," Bakura said, studying the being like a scientist studies a new specimen. "He'll be fine."
Ryou sighed. "I admit, for a minute there I wasn't sure the Spell would work."
"Yes," Bakura murmured. "I had my doubts as well. Bu then," he glanced at Seth and Kaiba, then turned around to where Yami lay draped over Yuugi's still body sprawled on the ground. "We couldn't afford for it not to."
"What...just happened?" Diggle asked, slowly easing his grip on Oliver's arm.
"Ask the Amazon," Bakura said. "He's," he kicked the impaled being at his feet, "one of her gods, after all." Blood red eyes met Wonder Woman's blue. "And the explanation had better be good."
"Very good," Shaadi said, joining Bakura and Ryou.
"I'll say," Jounouchi said, popping his knuckles. "If Yuugi doesn't recover from dis... No, scratch that, even if he does recover from dis, I'll make you pay."
"I second that," Mai said, kneeling by J'onn and her Regent.