Yu-Gi-Oh: A Past and Future Pharaoh
Written By: Lady Lunar Phoenix
Beta By: Lady Lunar Phoenix
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"So what do we do now? Their family should be notified, but do we tell the twins and let them handle it? He's their friends after all," Malik quietly asked Jounouchi, wanting the guy to settle back down.
Which Jounouchi needed to settle down. Travis could easily be considered a civilian death, much like Yugi's Grandpa and mom. Something that resonated strongly in Jounouchi, in fact, 'if I didn't know better, and maybe I don't. I think Jounouchi is developing a negative reaction at anything that extends beyond the normal physical world. Or perhaps he is coming face to face with his own mortality and its breaking something down inside of him...'
"How do we even tell them? Show up at the hospital and say 'Hey your friend is dead, his body is in the grave you made for your uncle. By the way, he's not dead either and will be home once whatever the hell happened finishes out.." Jounouchi answered almost sullen in tone as he stood there. 'What sick bastard knocks someone out, drops their body in a coffin and 'then' buries them alive? I don't even want to know what waking up to that would be like,' Jounouchi thought to himself.
"I don't know, I had been thinking to just have Mahaado bring the coffin up, so we could have proof that it was empty. But... well I admit I don't know the proper protocols and... Yeah..." Malik slowed to a stop as his plans had pretty much crashed into a brick wall. He glanced at Mahaado, hoping the Priest had some direction he could go on.
But the Mage had no ability to understand English either, and his expression was smoothly professional.
"We are planning on meeting the twins over at your sisters' hospital room later in the evening," Bakura began. "Would you pre... should we tell them about Travis?"
John looked down at Ryou and sighed as he turned to face his grave thinking, 'how long have I wanted someone to notice? For someone to get Travis out of that grave... give him his own. Tom and Joanna deserve to know what happened to him. But God, how do you tell them about both their sons? One is messed up and the other is dead. They're good people and their sons didn't...'
"Mahaado, is there anything you can tell from being here?" Bakura asked, pulling Mahaado into the conversation by translating as a means to try and ease everyone back onto topic.
"Hmm, I will need to see his sister, but I have my suspicions." Mahaado answered walking over to the group, his hand opening and shutting as though he wanted to be holding something. "There is nothing of substance here that would hold him. For better or worse he appears to be here of his own violation. However; knowing he's not, I'm curious, I suspect that the anchor of his situation was placed unto her."
"But why target her? John wasn't the one who failed really but he was the oldest with the best understanding of what protocol. It should have been the twins so why target her at all?" Bakura asked, capturing both Malik and Jounouchi's attention with their conversation.
"Without seeing her I can't be sure. However; I would imagine that, if the priest was unaware of her, he might not have performed the spellwork correctly. A spell that only temporarily severs a soul from its body isn't easy for spellbook bound magicians. If worded wrong, the spell could have cited the fact that there were two bodies in the womb, and decided to sever everything to whole equal balance." Mahaado explained, as he noticed the growing audience he had. Though John looked politely expectant of him with the Thief serving as translator, understandable.
"So he without his body, and she without hers, only his body is possessed and her body is wasting away in a mental hospital," Malik clarified for himself and Jounouchi while Bakura translated it for John.
"Can you fix it?" Jounouchi asked, and watched Mahaados' expression literally drop into a very close rendition of an eye roll. As though the only reason he 'didn't' just roll his eyes and give a 'how dumb are you' look was his training. Instead he merely shut his eyes and seemingly counted to some number in his head.
"Magic does not exist to 'fix' things that are broken. If it was commoners would still be using it, instead of just the powerful."
"Yeah well... Wait... 'powerful'? So people still use magic?" Jounouchi blurted out and regretted doing so instantly.
Mahaado opened his eyes, looked at Jounouchi while crossing his arms, fingers lightly tapping on a sleeve covered arm. A metaphorical 'are you serious' sign began flashing over the magician's head and despite the fact he looked about 17 years old. Mahaado 'still' gave off the teacher vibes from his time alive.
Jounouchi hung his head shame faced while Malik patted his fellow blond in silent sympathy. Once more reminded that Mahaado was more than 'just' a magician, but also a teacher and a stern one at that.
"But he doesn't count, he's a reincarnation," Jounouchi whimpered.
"People who gain power do not have to share how. But in doing so does not mean they have to share that knowledge even if they use magic," Mahaado explained. Slowly.
"I've passed through the hospital, but only while on the hunt and even on the peripheral of my sight I couldn't see her.. I knew what would happen to me, but it never occurred to me that she would suffer like this." John admitted as he floated closer to the ground for Bakura.
"Well, magic can be like that, hence why we're so fortunate to have Mahaado help us. A priest magician of his standing and power makes a great deal of this easier. Though I confess I can not promise that the best scenario is going to be the one he presents us with." Bakura pointed out, after all Mahaado may have been powerful.
But Bakura was no priest or magician, he feared making a promise that he couldn't keep. Especially with the amount of suffering this group had gone through, John was probably in the best situation currently. Simply because he would get his body back, but now they would have to report what happened to Travis, Monte was still missing. With the twins' mother only 'maybe' able to receive help.
"Yes, well... Explain to them that I'm here," John began. "Tell them that I didn't kill myself, my body just isn't under my control and 'that is fine' not to worry about me. But... They need to tell..." John rubbed his face as he tried to muster the strength to say it. 'Tell Tom and Joanna that their son is dead. They don't deserve this happening to them.'
"They need to tell Travis' family about him?" Bakura offered gently. He watched John flinch and nod his lips a tense, straight line after a beat. "I understand, I'm sure your nephews will be back here soon because of this. Do you have any idea of a means that they might use to talk to you?"
"Besides you? Patience. Hell he said he would be back within a year, but that didn't happen. Just be patient and I don't mind them getting Travis out and in a proper grave..." John finished with a sigh.
"I have a question," Jounouchi finally asked, picking his way through his memories of English. Each word spoken slowly and with little confidence, but as Bakura and John both turned to look at him.. "Did you understand anything said when the whole wind thing happened at the camp? Like, did you notice any new people?"
Bakura blinked, taken aback at how Jounouchi thought to ask, and appreciating all the more the fact that he was here. 'I took it for granted that John was out cold once possessed, but Jounouchi has a point. This wasn't an aggressive take over, whoever who possessed him might very well have shared the moment...'
"My... My family was charged to protect this book as punishment for a crime. What that crime was, we were never told. Just simply that we needed to protect and keep shut that book. But you talked to Josie, and I know she saw 'him'. 'He' is not our patron, I don't know who he is, and I don't speak the old tongue. But I 'do' remember how it felt, my ancestor was startled at the arrival, taken aback really, and the longer they talked. Whoever that person in blood was, my ancestor spoke in a tone of an adult to a child. His tone was absolute for a brief time, but whatever they talked about stirred this sense of guilt, even shame in my ancestor."
"When the stranger in the blood soaked robes left, my ancestor put Travis in the car and began some light spell work. That had been special. A book seemed to bloom out of the darkness, opening like the petals of a flower. But from the stem part came chains that bound my body to the book, though I suppose it was more bound to him. I watched as camp righted itself, everyone else was tucked into their sleeping bags. After that I left, he used my memories to learn English, to drive, to basically function in the modern world." John suddenly barked out a laugh a rueful, sad laugh that held no humor any longer. "I read the letter he wrote explaining why 'I' was leaving, and that he would return my body... But I guess that didn't reach anyone."
"Well it 'was' found, just not with the words you recall being written," Bakura amended gently. "Was there anything, anything at all you recall from the conversation between your ancestor and that man? Anything? A word, or sentence?"
"Nothing that would be of help, just the word 'calm', that I remember he repeated. Not in the beginning but as the conversation went on. Something about what they were talking about upset the stranger and there was just something about him you didn't want angry. I assumed he was trying to calm the stranger down, there is this sense of familiarity," John explained.
'Which if this 'is' Set, then it does not bode well for us. Its clear that he's becoming dangerous, but there's little any of us can do. He might even listen to us if we're forced to confront him. But what happened that night? What got his attention?' "John, you've made it sound like this is normal, that being possessed has happened before," Bakura asked, his tone thoughtful. "Could you tell us about any differences that have taken place between what you encountered and the other times?"
"Well..." John grew quiet and thoughtful for a moment, going over his memories of the stories he heard as a child. "The book is not to be opened, but that doesn't mean there haven't been those who have lost the way and began backsliding. During those times, the person who opened the book is possessed. They leave for about a year, traveling the world from what I've been told, then return. This is the only time that I've heard, heh, that the travels took longer," John gave a self depreciating snort as he looked down at himself. Seemingly admiring the irony that 'he' was the living 'change' that happened from the repeated pattern of the past. "Needless to say, once the person comes back the family gets right back onto duty."
'If its not recent, and I can't see it being so, the only thing different between John's time and his other more recent ancestors would be Yugi.' Bakura thought as his mind set up the game field again for his Dungeon Master planning. 'So its possible that this ancestor is off to find Yugi, but that was 10 years ago so where could he be now?'
It left an unpleasant possible scenario, one he didn't want to really voice. But unfortunately the universe had declared him the voice of mature reason. Well Mahaado could also be that, but he didn't speak English and that was that.
"John... I hate to ask this but..." Bakura steeled himself before finally asking. "Would you know if something happened to your body? If it was injured, or say killed...?"
John sighed softly before nodding. "I would be lying if I didn't confess I've wondered about that as the years have dragged on. I'd like to say I know... But if your friend is a priest, wouldn't he have a clue?"
Bakura blinked in surprise before turning to look at Mahaado. Well, the man 'was' also the Captain that oversaw the protection of the graves...
And speaking of graves.
Mahaado was standing among the gravestones, looking down at them in a quiet contemplation.
'Because he's dead and you're the reason why. He should be IN one of those, and moved on, probably even reincarnated with the rest of us...' That sharp jarring voice in the back of his mind, otherwise known as his conscious sharply pointed out. While Bakura watched, he realized that Mahaado was doing more than just studying them. He was apparently cleaning them as well, as small piles of scattered leaves and dead flowers were beginning to pile up next to the grave stones.
"Mahaado? May I ask you a question?" Bakura asked as he watched the magician look up at him before straightening up.
He 'walked', since he could easily teleport or float, over to rejoin the group with an ever calm expression. But that it was left to Bakura to have to ask things of the man... Just made Bakura's skin crawl and hair extra floof. "Mahaado.. would John know if something happened to his body? Would you be able to tell that from here? Or would that necessitate visiting his sister?"
Mahaado looked over at John once more, seeing nothing out of the ordinary as when he first arrived. "I suspect I would need to see his sister, I see nothing that stands out..."
"Buuut... Ok so I don't know what you're exactly talking about..." Jounouchi cut in, with that tone that hinted he was trying to use his brain. "But you should know the various versions that could make this," Jounouchi threw his hand out to gesture at John, "possible. So how many of them involve if John's body dies, he wouldn't know about it?"
Mahaado blinked while giving the question some thought. Then with an almost careless shrug as he maintained eye contact with Bakura. "Well, if they need a spellbook to cast, that implies that their knowledge of magic is as limited as to what is in the book they use. So three. There's 'if the body dies the original owners' soul would know', there's 'if the body dies the original owner wouldn't know', and 'if the original body died, the original soul would be instantly returned to the body'. But realistically the only other option would be that they don't need a spellbook. Without such a restriction, it could easily have more options, for example if the body dies the soul is immediately transplanted into the first available one."
"That's mind boggling," Bakura admitted with raised eyebrows and mental horror. Especially since Mahaado loved specifying 'using a spellbook' versus 'not using a spellbook'. As though the fact that there was a 'Dark Magician's Spell book' was a creation of Industrial Illusions, and the restrictions that he so blandly spoke of did not apply to him. Sure he had a spell book, but he didn't need one.
'Remember when you killed me? You were lucky.'
Yep, that's what it sounded like to Bakura's finely tuned bunny ears of self preservation.
"So let's stay positive and believe that the guy with Johns' body is ok and... whatever else." Jounouchi offered breaking into the conversation so Bakura could bunny hop his way out of his safe hole back into the world.
"It is more likely, I would suspect that if the body died and the soul was left here, he would know on some level. Since his sister is still here and in her state after all, a full severing for him should have released her back into her own body, or she would die as well." Mahaado's tone was quite polite and professional for someone who had to emulate Kaiba for as long as he had.
But they had gotten what they needed... Bakura recited what had been discussed, but for once Malik had no follow up questions.
"In the end everything else we need is with the sister and that means seeing the twins in the hospital," Malik acknowledged. "But at least its something, and at the very least let the twins be able to come back and tell their uncle. Even if they can't see him yet."
"Yeah, I guess we're going to either have to come back and translate or find out where in the world Johns' body is. But that's after we got this group taken out," Jounouchi added, crossing his arms and giving a self agreeing nod.
"We take care of this group, and he may come back on his own," Bakura pointed out simply with a faint shrug. "I wouldn't be surprised if its because Yugi exists that John's body hasn't come back. Though the only question remaining is where the body is if not around Yugi."
"Oooh ok..." Malik nodded finally understanding the context of the question Bakura had asked about bodies, souls and death. "Well should we keep touring the city while we wait?"
"Might help, who knows Mahaado might come across something," Bakura agreed before they turned to face John again. "Thank you for your time, we'll be off then unless there is anything else you need from us?"