Yu-Gi-Oh: A Past and Future Pharaoh

Written By: Lady Lunar Phoenix

Beta By: Lady Lunar Phoenix

A/N: Over a year, but I'm finally getting caught up with editing all the chapters!

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Jounouchi could understand some of what Ryou said, realizing that his fellow teenager was explaining about what happened that night. Now closer to the man, while Monte's burns were bad, they weren't the worst case that Jounouchi had heard about. Those safety booklets and brochures that his bosses made him read came back to him about the dangers of chemical burns. The burns were enough to make reading the guy's expressions impossible. But it was also clear that the only reason 'this' part of his face was damaged, while the rest of his head was fine, was due to the demon.

The whole head should have gone up like a match, Monte should have been blinded not just some possible vision problems. Jounouchi even had asked around just to be sure back at the garage, and given the confirmation that he suspected on his own. If it had been the gel in his hair? Monte should have gone up like a match stick. If it had been just the wood for whatever reason? He should have survived with minimal burns at 'best'. No, that the damage was like 'this' had to be because of the demon.

'Sick bastard, but I guess its to be expected of a demon. I wonder if that's what helped lead Malik to Monte? The Items were made to summon him, maybe they lead Malik to Monte because of the book...' Jounouchi sat there trying to piece together what the book could have done with the Items had Yugi lost. With Zorc also being sealed in the Items, along with Yugi's other self, what would Zorc's situation have been?

'So what would Zorc have wanted? Obviously to come into the world and destroy everything, but what use would the book have been? A gateway to others of his kind? Or could the book be used against him? The book was used to create the items, and continued existing even after Zorc made his move. So it wasn't destroyed upon his release, and I guess that would mean he's not bound 'to' the book. I guess it became a type of backup in case the Other Yugi won. Even if it took three thousand years.'

Jounouchi glanced over at Monte and wondered what it must have been like with the demon messing with him. Had it influenced Monte's mind? Or was this just Monte? Did Zorc just bring out a nasty side to the guy that made him obsess over Catherine as he did? Could he have influenced Yugi the same way given enough time? Yugi 'had' been cursed to stay the same physical age after all. Stuck in the size of a ten year old for seven whole years.

Not to mention how positively vicious the Other Yugi was at the beginning once he was released from the Puzzle. In fact, given that the Other Yugi was a 'ruler' and upon being released became a 'sadistic' protector of Yugi. 'It took three thousand years for Zorc to warp the Other Yugi into who we first met when Yugi put the puzzle together. But Yugi was a...'

The thought hung up on the rest of the sentence. Monte was a guy with no magic and Zorc seriously fried not only his mind, but the memories of others. How could the Other Yugi hold out for as long as he had? Saying that the Other Yugi was just 'strong' didn't feel enough. If the Other Yugi was just a kid, and that was the thing. The Other Yugi was a 'ten year old boy' the whole time. How could he survive sharing a space with a demon like Zorc?

How could he, a child, but not a grown man like Monte survive such exposure? A god could. It was this little voice in the back of his head with all the annoyance of a fly. A god could deal with a demon, even if the god in question was a child. But 'Yugi' as a god? If Yugi was a god, why did he need any of them? Or if he wasn't before, was he now? And Moneybags?

'I guess that's what bugs me the most. The guys mentioned what they believe is Kaiba's involvement, that some crazed version of him is trying to do something. So he's aware of Zorc and trying to do something about it. Moneybags ego would be fine with being considered a god.. But he's not. That's scary too, Kaiba got attacked by.. a part of his own personality? His own godhood? Whatever it was, its at violent odds with him, and I can't fathom why. What's stopping him from putting 'God' on his job title?'

Why would a guy, who used power to protect himself from the world, reject the idea of Godhood?

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Light descended from above via one lone shaft high above the ground, tunnels for as long as anyone was able to figure out branched out. An ant farm one person had slurred it out as, drunkenly swaying side to side, curling and digging deeper into the ground. The 'beds' were slabs of stones, that were laid out for seeming miles through these tunnels. In much the same way as the small cots were in homeless shelters. Rows of stone slabs that some took to sleeping on for a time.

Food wasn't delivered as much as it was dropped. With all the haphazard gentleness of being tossed into a trashcan. It fell onto whatever, be it person or ground, there was no wrappers or containers to even keep the food in some semblance of a meal. It was also sparse, what amounted to a slice of bread to be shared with as many as 15 or more people at a time.

Starvation had long since settled into the tunnels, attempts at finding a way out had led to dead ends in all directions. The hole in the ceiling was the only means for getting fresh air into the place, and water was as frequent as the food. But as rare as food was, it wasn't wise to just park under the lone hole in the ceiling. People were dropped down there too. The low murmur of conversations that never seemed to die really. Shattered only by the startled scream of some new poor soul being dropped in on them.

Without a sun or moon to see, and with food given at random, the only way left to tell time was the periodic glow that would consume the tunnels. Strange lines would start to pulse from the walls in a language no one could read, most not strong enough to read anything anymore regardless.

The glow was a soft black light with some barely discerning bit of color to mark as words. It gave everything a strange light of its own as the light was absorbed. It flooded the tunnels, showing the slabs of stone with a good number of people sleeping on those tablets. In the light, the state of the people was more recognizable, the dirty and torn clothes, the matted and unkempt hair.

Some for a nap, others eternal sleep.

Poverty in all its levels, signs of addicts needing a fix, others alcoholics who were now dry sober against their wishes. Abandoned children, runaways, abandoned by 'civilized' society, no one would be missed. No longer an eye sore on the streets of the cities they were collected with the gratitude of the indifferent that 'this' could even be a final stop.

Once the lights went out, there would be dead bodies.

Sleep on the tablets or don't. It didn't matter because who died would be random, though the starvation and lack of water certainly helped expedite the extermination.

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Ryuji stood there in muted horror.

Not far enough away a man laid on the sidewalk. Blood leaking out of where his skin split open when he made one last, final contact with the ground. The blood was creeping up the edges of his clothes, slowly, but fast enough for Ryuji's hypersensitive awareness to pick up on. The body rested between himself and the group of men that had been following Ryuji for a while.

The sudden and complete shock of the moment capturing the attention of everyone around them in muted horror as well. A security guard from the building on Ryuji's left came rushing outside, hands busily wiping away some bits of food. With his sudden blur of blue and black appearance enough to unfetter some poor soul's voice. With a horrified high pitch scream coming from some side as a woman shattered the moment.

Ryuji needed to look at something, anything, that wasn't the corpse, sending his eyes darting around in desperation. Someone was standing in traffic. They wore a large dark robe while chains could be seen wrapped around them. Yet cars passed through the image as though it a hologram without reacting to it at all. So if it 'was' a hologram, it was one that only Ryuji could see and that was impossible, so perhaps he was losing his mind?

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'If its Zorc, they don't have much more time they can spend near each other. Its debilitating them too much and could put them in danger while driving. Here's to hoping they can get this stuff resolved today before splitting up. I guess it would be fine if they split up, they know what's going on, can reconnect with Josie and through the phone keep in closer touch.'

It was a hanging thought in Malik's head that persisted as the group had traveled. Occasionally having to help the twins as their compulsion to part showing effects. They veered off course, were short of breath, they were finally saved by Freds' timely awareness. Of what appeared to be, and turned out 'to' be, Bakura's white hair. Out of place for this time of year, it had grabbed the man's attention as they struggled to keep moving through the forest. Struggling against whatever Zorc had done to them, and George was in no better a state.

The noise of their increasingly haphazard rush through the forest caught Jounouchi's ear, causing the teen to stand up. A finish line personified if Malik had ever seen one before. Though the downside was that Bakura was stuck playing councilor and Jounouchi's English wasn't all that great.

But their fellow blonde stepped out towards them to greet them all the same, or maybe just to hang outside of the inner circle so the twins could talk to Monte without him. At least that was what Malik thought until he saw the rope that Jounouchi had looped about his arm. Then he figured that Jounouchi just wanted to uselessly hide the method that Monte was going to use. What he had carried wasn't lost on the twins, as they stumbled into the opening.

Not that it went completely unnoticed, as Monte was already re-affixing his mask over his scarred face. Bakura stayed by Monte's side, but his attention had been arrested by something in the forest. He was looking beyond Monte out into the woods with a distrusting look in his eyes. Something caught the eyes of the Thief King.

But was it spirit or flesh that got his attention?

Free of Monte Bakura had followed Jounouchi's lead, stepping just outside the rough nature made open space that they had been using.

"They're not going to be able to stay together any longer, they're winded way too quickly, struggling too much. Whatever Zorc did to 'keep them apart'? Its starting to become a physical detriment," Malik reported automatically.

"That's rough, good thing they're still here for this though," Jounouchi replied as he swung the rope slightly. Comforted by its weight in his hand and that it wasn't flung over a tree or bound to a rock or something.

"Kura?" Malik spoke softly, trying to see what had grabbed Bakura's attention.

"I can't see it obviously, but I feel like we're being watched..." Bakura explained earning a surprised expression from the spirits around him. Then wordlessly and without instruction they set off into the distance where Bakura was looking to scour the land.

"Living or dead watching us?" Malik asked as he began studying the same field of endless mottled greens and browns as Bakura.

"Can't tell," Bakura answered with a disgruntled sigh, "it's fleeting, but is it fleeting in the sense that there's a magician helping them? Or is it fleeting cuz its a ghost?"

"Huh... oh oh wait..." Jounouchi began only to cut himself off, the group had the book after all. The book allowed for Mahaado to wake up and interact with the world originally, true. But it had been suggested that it could do that for more than just the tablets. It could be a Dark Magician card that was suddenly made sentient. Which sucked, giving that they knew Mahaado and the sudden thought of another Mahaado existing. How would that even 'work' realistically speaking, Mahaado was so low key he probably wouldn't say anything, but it would be as though having an unnatural twin. Or perhaps another type of duel spirit.

Yugi would probably know, but now that they had a tangible target to focus on that wasn't the darker tones of suicide... Well Jounouchi was all for it, waiting patiently for Ryou to give them a direction and target. "Think there's enough of them to be a threat?"

"I would rather not discuss it out loud until we have confirmation on what I'm sensing. No telling how they would even know we're here." Bakura replied, feeling unpleasantly calm about the feeling. There was this slant of discontentment that he was found, but that was more from the thief's perspective about being found. But he felt calm about the very thought of danger, that whoever this person was, was no more a threat than the school girls. Some, but not enough to get help from.

It left the subtext in the air, a silent executioners' ax waiting to drop on Monte's neck. Was this person, real or imagined? There because they realized that Bakura was on the hunt? Or because they were hoping to see a suicide? It could very well have been a casual onlooker who took note of Monte's earlier behavior. A concerned citizen and all that stuff. But if that had been the case, Malik would have arrived with cops or an emergency crew member, not the twins.

'Should I bother explaining to the twins that we might have to disappear?' Bakura weighted the options in his mind. It wasn't as though they needed to stay. If this turned out to be one of the members of Zorcs' forces then Monte might not have be necessary. They could leave the man with his friends and pursue the other. If it was anything less they could afford to wait this out with the twins and see what happened. Leaving their next course of action in the hands of the traveling Spirits...

Spirits who gathered in numbers relatively quickly as various Spirits came together. A threat of a demon like Zorc was enough to make allies of a great deal of people. They searched the forest, both the ground and the tree tops. Fanning out the further they went over the rolling landscape as they approached rises from the various hills that formed from the mountain behind them. Small streams, woodland creatures that were startled and fled from the wild hunt going through the forest.

Found on the side of the road, the emergency lights blinking, was a car a rather generic green. It was old, and no one knew cars on any level to know what type it was. Just old faded paint, lights blinking for help, empty of passengers. But there were people close enough to the vehicle that it seemed most logical that they went with the car. Several people, four to be exact, all stood further inland, closer to a slope that facing where Bakura and the others were.

The spirits began to swarm that location, noting the strange tools the people were using.

"Bird watchers..." One warrior announced with a shake of his head. "I've seen this stuff, they pile into the forest then watch birds."

The Ancient Egyptians, hindered by the language barrier could only understand the hand gestures that this wasn't a target. Which was vexing given that they weren't sure what the 'target' would look like in this case. But the People of this land would know best right? So it would be smarter to trust them and keep looking...

"We'll stay here. Keep searching," the warrior gestured broadly towards the rest of the forest, earning a few nods from the others.

A truck, with large tires great for grabbing traction from the ground was found, higher on the pass. Fire red, shiny silver trim, also empty, no lights flashing, instead there was a small set of orange triangles located on either side of the truck. There Egyptians looked for guidance from their fellow Spirits. The warriors moved forward, leaving the Egyptian confused, this group was another bird watcher group right?

One warrior, broad shoulder and with his bow slung behind his back he gestured with a strong hand, "get the living. These are not bird watchers... They are the ones spying."

The Egyptians blinked in surprise, as the warrior pointed to Bakura's location telling them that they had found the target.

"Hurry, he needs to know about this."