Yu-Gi-Oh: A Past and Future Pharaoh

Written By: Lady Lunar Phoenix

Beta By: Lady Lunar Phoenix

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Children were laughing, racing along with this large furry, big eye 'thing'. Brightly colored clothes and outside in a field of such bright green, a vision so entrancing to her she nearly didn't notice the shadows moving. The dragons were circling the walls of the room in a elevated path. Moving with a speed that she was uncomfortable seeing, causing the Village Elder to frown and stand up from where she had been floating.

There was no way to communicate between she and them, perhaps the dragons couldn't see the spirits. Even the most likely of spirits who would 'want' to see an active spirit had been the Pharaoh's cherished magician. Only they were just as invisible to him as he to them. Or perhaps the dragons were just beasts who opted to ignore them as the dragon's loyalty was to the General exclusively. Regardless, the way they flew caused a frown to cross her face. Jounouchi and Anzu had already left the hospital for the evening, the Pharaoh continued sleeping peacefully in his bed.

Skirting around the bed, she drifted over to the window then on through just outside to exam the world. It was very early evening and while it was dark, the sky was frighteningly darker still. The clouds weighed so heavy and low she could still see them, even as they clouded the view of the stars above. If she left the hospital she could float among them again, a rolling field of cloudy gray.

But the weather was of little importance, nothing more than the fascination that would have captivated her when she was alive. Her eyes lowered to the ground and she could see the numerous lights of the city dotting the landscape. Some moved from side to side, white lights or red, cars and buses traveled along roads.

A flash of lightning from the distance stole her focus for a moment, drawing her eyes skyward again. She could hear the winds above the noise of the city, too far to affect the hospital, but a promise of stormy weather was approaching. 'I have a duty,' the weighted stone of a thought she used to reminded herself before turning around to slip back into the hospital room.

But the Pharaoh was no longer alone. Amid the bed and the machines that monitored the pharaoh as he dreamed. There was a man standing at the foot of the bed, in his hand he had taken up the file. From her angle he looked no different than any other man, well save he was tall like the Pharaoh and General. If she stood on the ground he would easily loom over her, concern brewed in the back of her mind. The healers, doctors, had already done their 'rounds'. As had the nurses and the Pharaoh's friends, so why was there someone else here?

The dragons were no longer flying around the walls of the room. They had moved to the Pharaoh, through the fabric on the bed over the machines connected to him. Concern warred with distrust as she floated forward debating if she should go. Now that she could see his uniform from the front she decided it would be necessary. The uniform was that of a male nurse, one she had seen time and again. But his eyes were wrong, vacant, empty of Ka or Ba or anything really!

She quickly turned her focus back to the bedside and the buttons that rested along the bed the Pharaoh rested upon. Ever thankful that the houses of healing implemented more understandable hieroglyphics. She pushed her power into the button, sending a distant shriek into the nurses area while the man jerked slightly in alarm. He extracted a small switch blade from his pocket while in the distance the sound of feet scrambling and voices grew. While he flipped the blade out even as the door to the room was flung open.

It was out of the Village Elders' hands by that point, and while she watched as a standoff began she began inching to the outer wall. 'I must warn Bakura, the living need to know...' if nothing else, it was possible that the General would be able to do something.

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While outside weather reports were being rewritten, a storm unexpected had materialized and was swirling into life. It followed the size of a typhoon, but one without warning to form over land directly? It swelled the moment the sun left the sky, rapidly building and sending sensors screaming in offices. Wind currents and temperature read outs were normal, nothing should have churned out the storm that was amassing over a swath of Japan.

Car radios began to blare out warnings regarding the weather change, people urged home. Buses were making their last pick up and drop offs as the desire to be somewhere safe escalated. The noise enough to pull Bakura away from his stack of school books and monster world figures. His eyes scanned the screen and a frown crossed his face. 'A typhoon without warning?'

He wondered for a moment before his thoughts were pulled on strings back to Colorado. When Set strove to take control of Kaiba's body, a storm had generated over the hotel. Now another one was brewing semi instantaneously over Domino and there was only one reason he could fathom it happening.

'If Set is just the subconscious desire of Kaiba's past bleeding into the present. He wouldn't be doing this for show...' Bakura decided as he power walked to his bedroom. 'Well he was pompous enough to do so. But there's no point at the moment unless he was trying to grab someones' attention. But the group is after Yugi...' Running was too strange and would attract the down stairs neighbors more than his influx of visitors. But if Set was sending out warnings it only meant one thing.

He grabbed his phone and dialed out to Malik's, not even giving the blond the chance to do more than verify that it 'was' him on the phone. "We need to go see Yugi. The storm is abnormal," Bakura began when Malik added.

"Like in Colorado? Yeah, gladly, the seas are making being on the boat not fun."

Malik hung up, and freed Bakura from the phone, wishing he could grab his knives. He settled for the wires before leaving the apartment. Wondering how he would even get to the hospital if the buses were going to stop.

There was a passing thought to give Kaiba a call, to see if the CEO was going to rush to the hospital. After all a calm Set was a calm weather for everyone else.

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"We're leaving."

For all of a moment Anzu balked at the order to go, before her mind caught up and realized Kaiba had said 'we're'. Not 'you're'. Outside the world looked positively terrifying to her, but with the sound of his voice, Mokuba had left Anzu's side on the couch and went to his brother dutifully.

"Have fun!" She replied in an attempt to sound cheerful, but her voice was almost completely drowned out by the roll of thunder that steamrolled the air above their heads. The mansion living room had yet to change, the television where Yugi's 'to do' list for the gang once played was still towering above her.

"You're coming as well," Kaiba informed her and she winced. As much from the storm brewing above as the way his voice came out lifeless. Whether it was from the blood loss, the shock of Yugi taking a bullet for him or because he had used magic for the first time in forever. Maybe it was all three, perhaps between that and running KaibaCorp, the CEO finally was reaching his breaking point.

He wasn't talking to her about it, but he at least listened to her when she spoke.

"In weather like this?" She gestured above her head, the helicopter would be dangerous, as would even the limo.

"An alarm was raised at the hospital. Someone came at Yugi with a knife."

Mokuba's head snapped up to look up at his brother in shock, even as Anzu covered her mouth in horror and dismay. "I was there today... How did they get past," she began when Kaiba turned around to leave. "He was dressed as a nurse, and I'm being locked out of the hospital's systems. Not that hospital computers can do much to start with."

"Locked out?" Mokuba repeated, he grabbed his brothers' hand and tightened his grip in concern. "We'll save big brother right?"

Kaiba looked down at Mokuba, before he gave a faint nod, "of course."

Anzu grabbed her purse and glanced at the phone before shaking her head. Kaiba had various phones, she didn't need to make the call here. "Just the three of us?" She asked as she caught up with his longer legged strides. "Shouldn't we get the rest of the gang?"

"I'm not part of a 'gang'," Kaiba wearily retorted as he headed towards the garage. Mokuba and Anzu left the living room following in his wake.

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The nurses were huddled behind their stations, the lights had flickered off, triggering the emergency lights. Yet computers continued working blissfully unaware that the lights were out, within patient rooms the machines continued, illuminating their numbers for the staff to read from their respective windows. Emergency battery power wasn't being tapped, for all the staff could tell.

Patients continued their peaceful rest unaware of the storm about the break overhead or the dangerous individual among them. The elevator refused to open on their floor, the ding that indicated that the floor had been reached did not result in the doors opening. Instead the elevator would continue on its way once the sound had been made.

Mouto's room had its door open, the sound of the male nurses and security were milling about the room. Making the chaos of the lights just 'cutting off' worse, as no one could get a clear read on what was going on. There was relief when the man was dragged out of the room, appearing only in the spot light glare of the emergency lights. The shadows of the people were flung against the station while the silhouette of arm length dragons flitted after them.

While another figure, floated after all of them, larger than the dragons, sight unseen over the would be attacker. All because of one patient. A patient that had caused another to heal everyone in the hospital. Sure people may have wanted to visit the 'King of Games'. But to come after him with a knife? Or be trapped in the hospital during a sudden storm?

While on the ground floor, still lit up with their normal lighting, he watched the storm circling closer over all their heads on the tv. The staff was abuzz, the police had been called sending a ripple of concern through the patients waiting in the ER. But they stayed because they were injured or ill, or just unwilling to take the risk of going out in weather like this.

Weather that announced the awakening of Set's power rekindled as Kaiba. A warning that on some level Kaiba knew there was a threat and trying to stop them. It was almost amusing as he looked casually into the newspaper. Kaiba wasn't the one the group needed, he knew that. As the stories stated Kaiba was a protector, but also the chaos of storms. No matter how much he may have wanted to protect, he was going to work against his own nature.

Refusing to accept his true self meant that he couldn't control his powers, causing chaos in this case slowing help from the police. He wouldn't be able to fly, thus Kaiba would be late. 'But its not like he isn't screwing over my ability to get Yugi out of here...' Just as Kaiba couldn't fly, neither could he or his other subordinates.

'So why did the power go out...' Gahiji pondered, it was the only remaining lingering question he had, because that was outside the wheelhouse of Kaiba completely. His brand of chaos was found in nature, storms to be precise. If Kaiba had taken out the power grid of the hospital, it would have been through mundane means, and it would be the 'whole' hospital. Not just one floor. Thus a growing concern that Yugi, himself, was waking up, that he was pulling his magician out of the tablet once more.

A god of chaos and protection was one thing. The hospital itself was serving quite nicely in keeping Kaiba at bay. So many innocent people to 'protect', Kaiba's own powers would turn in on themselves if he tried anything. But Yugi.. He was in the perfect state. He may use games as an intermediary to deal with threats. But the trick was simple enough, don't engage him and he couldn't do anything. With him being in a coma, there was no way for him to challenge anyone or play any games.

Now if Yugi's friends showed up, he could use them as proxy's, have them engage on his behalf. But if they weren't him around they were as flawed as anyone else that would be brazen enough to face Yugi directly...

'If they weren't around, but the floor is proof enough that they 'are' around in some aspect...' he thought in irritation. The Thief was still around Yugi, but Yugi had friended the modern incarnation of the man... because of 'course' Yugi would. But was it possible that this was something of the thiefs' own abilities? They never did focus on the man once they realized he wasn't returning readily to Zorc's side.' And that was going to be an issue...

All the while the Tribes sworn to the Pharaoh were still in hiding, meaning that the Tablets were still safe. Without Pegasus, securing the Tablets location was dragging out longer than he would have liked. But once the Dark Magician tablet was secured they would have options, the shades of the spirit were a problem. But the core soul was a 'threat', and the proof was in the local high school.

'Maybe what I should do is let this serve as a test, tease out Yugi's defenses as they are. Kaiba's the threat, he dropped the seal and he's active. But he's not been active enough to teach Ka summoning... as for the Ishtars...' He flipped the page, before he pulled out his phone.

'We need a cats paw to test the subject.'

He texted out before he put the phone back in his coat pocket and flipped to another page on the magazine. Murmurs of concern from the other patients had finally quieted. A lone police car had rolled, up but once the storm was gone, the media would be at the hospital as well. Yugi's little group would rush in sparsely as none of them had cars, except Kaiba. If Yugi reawakened tonight, they would once more have access to the Dark Magician.

The phone buzzed in his coat pocket, and he pulled it out, as the first shattering of lightning above the hospital lit the sky. Instantly the lightning was answered with the crash of thunder powerful enough to drown the vibrations of the phone. As the rain poured to the ground with the force of the ocean waves.

Patients waiting to be called cried out in alarm, some huddling in their seats in a response to some past event. Others rushed to their feet fixated on the world outside but prepared to run up for higher grounds at a moments notice. Those who had entered with injuries hobbled to their feet while casting alarmed looks at the staff. Pleading for help with their glances, that was answered as the nurses rolled out a wheelchair for the man who had hobbled in with a crutch his leg bandaged up in a makeshift split as one example.

No one was leaving the hospital now, even if he wanted to, and he had a plan. Leaving would be suspicious. Opening the phone he glanced down to see what the answer was before relaxing back to the lifestyle magazine he had been 'reading'.

'We need a test location for our project, your request is accepted.'

Decades of work and Zorc had not done a great deal. Promising power was one thing, but it had claimed that so long as the Puzzle was still around its full power was sealed. Fair enough. But the large chunk of gold and human remains was no longer hanging around Yugi's neck. Instead he was wearing a cartouche of small discrete size. 'Its time to see if Zorc can put up or should be shut up,' he thought with quiet satisfaction.

They had the means to make the Items, but no one wanted to waste their time with defective products. If a 10 year old 'child' could overpower a 'mighty demon' well... Zorc needed the Items to manifest, but there were others it could send to them, smaller it claimed than itself. But if nothing else, it was Yugi that was the fascinating part of the equation. A 10 year old child didn't just become a God by fighting a demon. Something was there.

Something real.

Where exactly 'did' Yugi stand on the pantheon of all the Gods through out history? Was his power borne from the ages sealed with the Demon? Was his soul bound at birth to it unknowingly when the Items crafted? Perhaps...