Yu-Gi-Oh: A Past and Future Pharaoh
Written By: Lady Lunar Phoenix
Beta By: Lady Lunar Phoenix
A/N: just keep writing, just keep writing, just realized I forgot to mention the fact that the guys were walking along the whole time... Kill me.
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"They're here aren't they? Just hanging around..." Jounouchi whispered out of the corner of his mouth at Bakura as they walked through the park. His eyes darting about to the left and right for the ghosts he couldn't see hanging around him. His antics still going strong had caused some of the more relaxed ghosts to haunt him particularly. Poking and prodding to see how much pressure they could put to get the guy to notice them. But in doing so meant that Jounouchi kept asking Bakura until he, and by extension the ghosts, started getting thief king stares of annoyance.
The rest of the Ghosts were doing something a bit retroactive for how Bakura had sent them out until now. Instead of seeking out the Book, they were seeking out one of the three former owners of the Blue Eyes White Dragon. But as most of the ghosts were out, the trio continued brainstorming having returned to the park while waiting for Catherine to come home.
"Something bothers me about that letter you told me that she sent to Yugi," Jounouchi finally voiced, after giving the area an useless look around. "That Mahaado had her pass through a passage claiming that his normal way would possibly kill her. The second time using it regardless and all she suffered was passing out. Did he lie to her or is he hiding something?"
The pair looked between each other and then back at Jounouchi while pondering that thought for a moment.
"I thought about that once, Mahaado isn't the type to lie out of hand I feel, but he 'would' if he had to. He 'did' hide his knowledge of how the Sennen Items were made by order of the Pharaoh, despite being a Ka beast, I think he still can." Bakura noted, looking at Malik to see if the Egyptian had anything to add.
Said blond was startled by their observations and his own thoughts and forgotten questions resurfaced. "So why would he do that?"
"He's sworn to not tell anyone about the Sennen Items, perhaps he is still beholden to that vow," Bakura offered, his own thoughts shifting through possibilities. "Or perhaps he intentionally lied about the passage because he 'was' trying to tell us without words."
"Really? I can kinda see that but-" Malik began only to have Bakura cut him off with a shake of the head.
"He never once told anyone that this was 'the' book that was used to create the Sennen Items. Just that it had the ability to control him and Yugi put it together that the book that Pandora and Catherine have both used was 'the' book. But he always falls back on his oath to Yugi's Egyptian father on what he can and can not speak of. He must know more and just not able to tell anyone, so he uses misdirection. Blue Eyes White Dragon sealing away a 'book'? What if the truth is that he AND the dragon were sealing away the book?" Bakura offered and watched as the pair go from stunned to deep thought.
"There 'are' more Dark Magician cards than Blue Eyes, Zorc was weak against light so Blue Eyes would matter more than Mahaado. So I guess if I was to guess, a pair of seals, one would actually do the guarding and the other would serve as a method to protect both." Jounouchi hazarded and with that thin thread, Malik picked up on it and joined in with his knowledge.
"Akin to how Atem was sealed, not just by his lack of memories, but also in how he needed the three God cards, the puzzle and Yugi. Layers upon layers to keep things suppressed and subdued so that Zorc didn't come back into our world. Blue Eyes is a dragon a beast that can't speak, and Mahaado is sworn against speaking about it. So whenever he does 'redirect' must be intentional to some degree or not to let us know." Malik's expression was one of thoughtful consideration. "So... anyone got any ideas how to destroy this book? I mean wipe it from the face of the earth type of destroy."
"Uh isn't that a leap?" Jounouchi asked, his own mind churning over these thoughts.
"No, he's right, we need to destroy this book, simply hiding it has proven to be ineffective. Once and for all," Bakura spoke his own thoughts suddenly given a list of ways to destroy. Fire, the ashes 'could' be recycled back into the earth and in the future become a tree then book. Soaking it in water wasn't going to be enough...
"Well, we could just burn it," Jounouchi suggested casually, watching the slow dip of the sun and how the glow of it set the city to look like it was on fire. Hopefully they could keep this group from making it 'actually' burn to the ground.
"No, the ashes would end up recycled in the natural cycle of life and could be regrown into a new tree. Or worse, not just 'one' tree, but multiple trees giving Zorc multiple chances to come back," Bakura countered his mind still churning away.
The other two shuddered at the thought of someone in the future being brought down by Zorcs' evil, hell a 'group' being taken down. It wasn't like they weren't already dealing with that very issue after all. The group had been silent, but for the first time since this whole thing began they were forced to think back on the letter that Catherine had given. The description of the underground cave and the fact that such a thing could 'not' be just one person.
"Is there any type of combination element? Something that mixes two or more of the basic elements?" Malik asked, his eyes focused more inward than on the grass before his feet. "Like how gas makes metal machines work or something?"
"Its not the fluid that makes machines work," Jounouchi pointed out with a shrug before stretching to get the kinks out of his nerve wracked shoulders. "The fumes from the gas creates force when put in a tight area and even more when lit up. That's why gas catches fire when exposed to a spark, its not the fluid, its the fumes the fluid emits. Oversimplified but yeah."
Bakura sat there blinking like an owl for a moment as he tried to process that Jounouchi... actually.. LEARNED... in school...
But the conversation between the two of them began to form an idea in Bakura's mind, the notion of clashing concepts. Fire consumed wood only to merge with air, but was unable to exist on its own without the two. "Something that can burn like fire..."
"Huh?" Jounouchi turned to look at Bakura, his eyes questioning the odd comment out of Bakura.
"Burn like fire? You mean like ice?" Malik asked, as invested in what the former master thief was thinking.
"Ice?" Bakura parroted. Like a duelist contemplating how a new card would work with his current hand he started to re acknowledge the pair with him. "Yes, but no. Fire burns solid matter and needs air to breath, ice needs water and really cold air to sustain itself. What I'm thinking is something that isn't that doesn't have- a direct link, if you will, to the next link in the elemental chain."
"Well you're going farther than either of us, that's something we can think on while we hunt down this book," Malik noted as his eyes glanced over the growing shadows. Funny how in his mind he could see fingers reaching towards them, greedy long fingers.
"Only Yugi's grandpa had a Blue Eyes here in Japan, two were in America, one in Hong Kong."
Mokuba had told them back when they were at the mansion, and that was the most positive piece of information that they received. It was also they're only bit of information, the trio finding out that this was part of the darker times of the Kaiba brothers lives. Mokuba didn't care about anything other than that his brother got the all important trio. While Kaiba wouldn't have cared about what he had to do to get the cards in the first place. Considering what he was willing to do to Yugi's grandpa it was pretty clear that he had, at the time, no scruples about doing serious damage to someone.
Who knew what they would find when they found the person who previously had the book. For that matter, who knew what to expect of the state of the persons' mind. Pandora was abusing the book for his own end, but why did the book not aspire to greater acts of destruction with the performer? That was the weight hanging over their heads by then, that Zorc 'could' have taken over or corrupted Pandora in his own way.
Only he hadn't, instead he had allowed Pandora to go his own way in madness, while the game shop was blown up. A cave full of victims, bombs, theft, there was only one game that Zorc played, but he wasn't concentrated in Egypt anymore. The book was once in one of two countries and amid three possible bearers, and they had to find them. Follow the end of the rope and find your way through the knot until everything was unraveled.
Bakura reached down to his pants and pulled out his cellphone as it began to ring, the others straightening up as he took the call. "Hello, this is Bakura, Ryou to whom do I have the pleasure of speaking to?"
"Hello? This is Catherine, Kairi said you and your friends came to see me?" A curious and cautious voice that Bakura only heard once before came over the invisible line to his ear.
"Yes, I'm sorry to trouble you but we need to talk," he 'really' hated this phone call, the fact that they were reminding a poor woman of a horrible kidnapping and threat to her own life and her family. "Its urgent I'm afraid."
"I understand, and I'm afraid that I probably need to talk to you as well. Can you come back over?" She asked, she sounded harried as any one probably would given the situation. An innocent bystander who had no way to protect herself or her family and had to rely on strangers?
What a way to put a weight on another person as well, hard to face your friends when you failed them, to face that sympathy. Harder to face a stranger and fail them since they had no idea who the person was. Perhaps she would think they didn't try hard enough? How did cops deal with this type of pressure? Bakura was left to wonder, and regret that he could take comfort in the thief side of himself.
"Is it safe? Pandora hasn't been around?" Bakura voiced his concern which had been the reason why the trio had opted out of hanging out at her place until she got home.
"I don't think Pandora is going to be a problem for a while, but its the reason 'why' that is why I need to talk to you."
That was a rather, ambiguous, way for answering a question which raised a series of questions. But at least he could check in with the ghost that was looking after her to make sure there wasn't a trap involved.
"Would your family be ok with us coming over? Or should we meet somewhere in between? I realize that you probably would like a break after working all day-" Bakura offered while wondering if any of her stuff would get lifted if he didn't keep an eye on any of the shifty ghosts.
"It'll be fine, if the kids get it in their heads that you're friends with that 'model for the Dark Magician' they'll just mob you. But that's all," she replied sounding amused at the thoughtful concern for her little brood.
Bakura thought about it for a moment before deciding for the group, "very well, we'll be there as soon as we can."
"Alright, see you soon," Catherine replied, hanging up the phone as did Bakura leaving the white haired teen with his two friends staring at him.
"So Pandora hasn't been up to anything?" Malik asked, his own brows furrowed at Bakura's side of the conversation.
Jounouchi looked just as invested in what Bakura had to report as Bakura stood up from the table before following suit. Even with the encroaching night, the phone call was a first step, a draw of the card as one would.
"She said she needed to speak with us, but said that she didn't expect Pandora to be a threat for a while," Bakura answered, not bothering to hide his concern over that bit of information.
"Huh? That's kinda scary," Jounouchi noted as the other two nodded.
"How does she know she's safe from a lunatic?" Malik pondered aloud, providing a voice to the question on all three minds.
"I would know if she was in danger at the moment, so unless it was something that she's keeping undercover..." Bakura agreed.
"You know, for the 'King of Thieves' you're 'way' too nice 'Kura." Malik noted as he gave up the front to follow behind, his eyes on the sky. Causing Bakura to stall in his step and turn to face the blond Egyptian. "Seriously, the way you answer the phone, don't you think you're trying 'too' hard to sound like a mousing bunny?"
Bakura was still formulating a reply when Jounouchi burst out laughing, doubling over in amusement. Malik looked annoyed at his fellow blond while Bakura sighed, before turning and resuming his walk.
It was Jounouchi, after his laughing fit, who took pity on the Egyptian, "actually Bakura 'was' pretty rude. The greeting is pretty normal here, but normally we don't just cut to the chase."
He was going to force the Spirits to be nice to Yugi and he was tossing Jounouchi AND Malik into the Shadow Realm. Yep, Bakura had decided on his future friends list at that moment.
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They reached Catherine's home to find a mildly embarrassed Catherine standing before her front door. Approaching the woman allowed them to see her periodically turn towards the door and speak. She 'was' a working mother with small children so perhaps she was speaking to them? She 'was' turning her head downwards and looking at the door at childs' height each time. The closer they got the more the voices of small kids calling out 'are they here yet' started to drift on the wind.
Which brought back when they had arrived earlier and the kids disinterest in them until they put two and two together. Figuring out that the trio knew the Dark Magician, then it was all that their baby sitter could do to rope them in. It hadn't helped when Jounouchi had good naturedly told them that Mahaado was hanging out at the Kaiba mansion with Yugi.
The model for the Dark Magician was hanging out with the King of Games and the CEO of the coolest gaming company in the world. Sugar pumped straight to the system wouldn't have made them as hyper as knowing that. But this wasn't the time for simple innocent games, rather it was a time for the four of them to talk about a very serious set of matters.
"Mrs. Harvey? Would it be easier if we spoke away from your home?" Bakura asked, his voice softened to avoid the kids getting revved up. The group stood just on the edge of a neighbors door while she tried to think.
"Hey, she's not looking at the door, I think they're here! Mom! Mom!"
Catherine gave the door a futile look before turning towards the group, "we can go get a cup of tea at a local cafe if you would like?" she offered, before adding, "It'll be ok, I've still got my babysitter here." Only to have her expression drop into a small rueful, "but she wants an autograph or five in exchange for the overtime... From Yugi of some sort or another."
"I would think the less people the better, simply for safety reasons," Bakura suggested before looking over the railing of the apartment complex that Catherine lived at. Across the street there 'was' a few small cafes that looked open, but also too busy to be a good place.
"Monte won't be a threat.. Something has happened to Travis, his brother," she answered, guessing that it was Pandora that was the problem. Noticing the three pairs of confused eyes on her she began to giggle. "What? Did you think his real name was 'Pandora'? No one in their right, even wrong, mind is going to name their son 'Pandora' in France."
Well that was a twist, the trio never even bothered to concern themselves with Pandora beyond his mental state and stage name. The man beneath the mask never entered their mind, than again he spoke with no real accent.. "He's French?"
"Oh yes, they're French, but they traveled extensively between France and the US, the brothers just opted to settle in the States. Thus 'Monte' because 'Montgomery' isn't really American enough for some people. But also not flashy enough for a magician hence 'Pandora'." There was an undisguised guilt that crossed her face as she stood there, haloed by the light over her left shoulder.
"How do you know that his brother is in danger?" Malik asked, his voice soft compared to the thumps at the door.
"He called, apologized and told me 'I screwed up, so they're going to kill Travis."
