Yu-Gi-Oh: A Past of Futures' Pharaoh

Written By: Lady Lunar Phoenix

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Stomachs dropped out of bodies as the enormity consumed the room.

Victims, living, breathing people, were killed.

They stood there trying to absorb the enormity of that comment as it was rolled in Yugi's presence being manifested in a darken room and static. The words pounded in their brain as the thought of an 'alternate universe' was wrecked because of Kaiba. After all, what produced an 'alternate' but the other path taken. But if in both realities Kaiba generated a storm, the only other force could be Yugi... It brought possibilities of what choices Yugi faced, what choices he 'made' in this alternate reality.

"Do you need us to come up and see you?"

"I do. God does not."

The trio exchanged glances in growing concern but as Anzu opened her mouth to argue, Ryou gestured for silence. "He was trying to have a bit of fun with Kaiba and it blew up in his face. He has to deal with the outcome of that and its not something we can help with." He pointed out, shaking his head as Anzu looked ready to argue. "Hear me out Anzu. What can you say to a God who has to bear this. Yugi is trying to stay with us, something that is going to increasingly become difficult as people push for him to be not himself but Himself. We can't afford him to have all His Power brought to bear on us because someone kicked him in a knee."

There was a brief pause, a desperate longing for Yugi to add with a quip, to speak and show he was feeling better...

But God was not answering.

"Times have changed..." Malik mused as he folded his arms and tried to think. "I used to want his powers, now I want them to stay with him."

Slowly Anzu tilted her head as a thought began to nibble at her. "So every card of Dark Magician is a copy of Mahaado. But what about that other reality? Does that get a copy or is that Mahaado real too?"

"I suspect he's real as well, he has a right to be swept along some irrational idea like the rest of us." Malik replied as Bakura went digging out their ring.

"You know, given how Kaiba can be its probably because of Mahaado the storm even happened. I mean he's wearing new armor, there's going to be people salivating for the design." Bakura pointed out as he walked over rings in hand.

"Kind of envious that Mahaado can just go invisible though after the finals... he'll need to 'stay' that way."

"Oh the fan girls..." Anzu agreed and sighed, the poor magician had gone through so much, he didn't honestly need a flood of new fan girls wanting to know about him. Even if he had a harsh violent streak, he was mostly demure and modest he didn't need his clothes being grabbed.

"You know something that occurred to me, I know the tablets are where the Ka beasts came from, but well. Where do you think the others came from? Like Pegasus imagined the others or did he see Ka beasts with the Eye and just made them as monsters without them being put into tablets?" Malik pondered aloud and earned 'huh' expressions from the pair.

"Good question, like what about the fairies, or the goblins..." Ryou thought about the possibility. "Because the Eye did have that ability, though if Pegasus knew I doubt since he would have seen the demon as 'my' Ka beast at the time. Pegasus was..." The words 'crazy fool' was the first thing that came to his mind to say. Shameful really, horrifying as well as it felt like the ugly scar of the demon revealing itself. The demon would see Pegasus as a fool, love crazy and depression induced weak and a tool. "He meant well, he was in love with someone who made his world a better place in his eyes. So much so it could never be replaced by anyone else. So the demon exploited it, showed him the possibility... That was the thing, Malik wouldn't know at all but you might," he turned to look over at Anzu.

"The reason why Pegasus wanted Kaiba's 3D technology, it was the same plan Gozoboro used on his son Noa. The idea was for the demon to put her mind and soul in a machine and Pegasus was going to 'live' forever in that computerized world."

"My God..." Anzu shook her head even Malik looked a little alarmed.

Sure he didn't know Noa, as a person, only as a skeleton sitting eternally alone in an abandoned room. But it was obvious to him that Pegasus was merely creating a fantastical form of suicide. While Ryou's way of describing things made Malik reluctant to ask for details. He knew Pegasus was dead, but never cared to know more as the man never factored into Maliks' own plans. 'Knowing Ryou, it was probably him and Bakura doesn't know 'merciful death' either spelling it or performing it.'

"I've tried not to think about suicide once we found out what Yugi had become," Anzu confessed. "The way everyone made it sound, trying to think of the world as a whole I wanted, forced myself, to think of it as an inherently good place. But when you talk about Pegasus like that... it reminds me that we're not a perfect people. And that Yugi has to live with that in his head all the time."

Ryou's ears pricked at the sound, turning his focus onto Anzu he raised his hand and slashed at his throat when Malik opened his mouth. 'Shut it, don't speak' was a clear message as Ryou took a slow step forward, "Little Anzu?"

"All this time, Yugi would want to help all of them. He wouldn't want them to go away. Yugi wouldn't want them to go. God wouldn't want them to go despite the fact that he's going to see them on the other side very literally."

Malik fell back his head bowing slightly to Ryou's lead the second Ryou addressed Anzu as a child. Her lack of reaction to that, as her voice hitched into that thought.

"But he's respecting our wishes and letting us live our lives..." Anzu continued as the train of thought having left the station was speeding away as any other proud bullet train of Japan. "Even if we give up..."

"Little Anzu," Ryou repeated and didn't need Yugi's pained silence to enforce this. "Come back to the present, you can't save him from what he is. This is what he was long before he was born either as Yugi or the Prince of Kemet." He rested his hands on her shoulders as he spoke, then pulled her into a hug.

"He needs this pain Anzu. It sounds paradoxical maybe, but he needs to feel our suffering. If he gets to emotionally removed then what do we become to him? We need him to believe in us, see our value as people that can rise to the occasion. Thus he needs to see us fail and try again, fear the day we all fail him, or the day he just gives up on us and stops caring. Because we are his creations, we can be tossed in the trash. He can start over as easily as we can throw away a gamepulling another from the shelf." Malik warned as he walked over, he felt dirty resting his hand on her shoulder. On the one hand she needed their company and support.

On the other hand he had controlled her with the Sennen Rod, had her hold a pill of poison between her lips and used her as a host. The two of them were the least deserving to try and comfort her, 'or perhaps that's what makes us the best. Maybe this is how you start to wipe the blood off?'

"Sometimes Malik... Sometimes.." Yugi answered to himself.

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Evening was approaching Florida while the late hours had consumed Japan when the trio finally got themselves together to depart their hotel suite and grab some clothes. Leaving Anzu having to tip toe through her own room. It felt dirty, she shouldn't have had to do such a thing, but it was so late her parents were going to bound to be asleep. Even turning on the lights was a big risk so she anxiously used the screen of her phone. While Ryou just pulled open the curtain to illuminate the room a bit more and quietly observe the ridiculousness of Anzu's nervousness.

'She should just move around like she actually lives here. I realize she doesn't want to wake up her parents who have work in the morning. But its not as though we showed up here with a... with a...' his thoughts struggled for something comparable and some random thought suggested 'mariachi band!' Perhaps light a candle because the former thief couldn't fathom how she was color matching.

Malik had just not even bothered and instead was watching the world outside. The moon wasn't full and the sky was mostly clear of clouds. Not the best for watching the city below but there were the occasional cars and a few lit apartment buildings still. 'I wonder if my siblings want to come? If I let them know that Yugi's father is here, would they feel some obligation to check in on him as well?'

Their father, Yugi's father, Yugi's grandfather even, there were several people who had been reborn, was there others? 'Rashid and Isis had parents back in their past lives. Would those people also be reborn? Would they also have their abilities? After all Isis learned from her mother, so there would have to be another seeress of some skill in the world if she did.'

Yet... yet... 'No that would be a bad idea, if they did get reborn and have powers wouldn't this group have a chance at finding them too?' He thought and though Anzu's bedroom didn't face the way, Malik had an idea and turned his own gaze towards the direction of the Turtle Game Shop. If this group knew about the parents, would they have recruited them as well? Would Isis or Rashid be forced to face their parents in this current situation?

'Of course the group would go after them, it would make a conflict between both the older and newer Sacred Circles.' Malik tried to imagine if this group would try to manipulate Yugi's father by revealing his past life. Tried to make a mock recreation of the past Sacred Circle, and there would be sense to it. Mr. Mouto would be fulfilling the role of a Pharaoh, serving as a type of 'high priest' to his son. 'Oh that would be ugly, Yugi would be receiving prayers from his father for this groups benefit. Declining his fathers wishes would put more conflict between them.' Thus Maliks own words about Yugi becoming more detached from humanity began to play back in his mind. 'He'd retreat to avoid the conflict with his father.'

Kaiba would currently serve as the highest priest to serve Yugi because of his own divine nature and Mahaado second. If Yugi's father was brought into this... Malik had a full body shudder that upset the scars on his back at the possible chaos that Yugi's fathers' involvement could create. Isis' alone with her mother's ability to see the future was bad enough. Isis' ability to see was an ability to see multiple possibilities, but she had described her mothers' ability as being 'sharper'. Out of all the priests she was the only one who had any power outside of the Sennen Items.

Even Mahaado's own teacher was restricted to spellbooks. Deprived of those he was useless to the court... 'Save his soul is on the loose in John's body. Given he got punished by being sealed with the book, I doubt he's with this group. But how is he going to play into any of this?'

The idea that Isis' mother was in a coma or dead because of this group, and who knew what happened to either of Rashid's parents. Those from his past life or his current life... 'oh it couldn't have... Yugi ok just... how did Rashid end up by the well in this life? It wasn't because this group did anything... right?'

'His parents couldn't afford him, they prayed that I would save him, so I guided them to the well that would lead to your tribe. In their minds, a well equated visitors and a kind soul who would want a son. In mine, you needed a man in your life who would be there for you because I knew your father wouldn't.'

Malik shut his eyes to the unsuspecting sting of tears that pricked his eyes.

'Thank you.'

Ryou blinked and turned his gaze to focus more on Malik when he saw the flash of a headlight sharpen into a flicker of light on Malik's eyes. 'He'll share if he wants to,' he decided as the spirits drifted into the room.

"There has been talk about a man seen looking at the game shop, Bakura. We thought to spend some time and see if the supposed person showed up. He did show up today and we've gone to follow him and see where he leads." A farmer reported dutifully while gesturing out into the city. "Bakura, this man is of our lands," he winced and gave a weedling awkward gesture with his shoulders. "Or rather is of our skin color, I realize there are many, many places, that have people of our skin and other types... But I have not seen more than a hand full during my time here."

Bakura nodded as his thoughts went to work on the information despite its limitation. 'A man of our lands so basically tan skin or darker. He's right, there aren't many here and this organization is across the globe.' Visiting the game shop's former location was something lower class criminals would do. 'Only why? If he's part of the organization then he's more than a low rank bored addict to bombs instead of fire.'

It was something to discuss when they reached Malik's boat, especially if the older siblings were awake. Given that Grandfather Mouto was still guarding the place or at least observing who came... 'But unless this man was also the one who delivered it there's no way for Yugi's grandfather to know. Save the resources of the dead...'

A possibility to be certain as Yugi's grandfather was also a high priest...

'Yugi please tell me the women are going to be dressed like rational adults...' Ryou commented as Anzu gave a dress she pulled out of the closet this rather confident nod.

'….' the pause was long and he could almost feel an annoyed sigh from Yugi.

'A mud wrestling, bra and panties match only it ends when the loser is stripped naked and pinned. Various sex toys are allowed to be used to their fullest potential so the fight could be listed as a 'street brawl.'

Anzu whirled around in alarm as she heard something heavy hit the ground, even Malik looked alarmed as he watched Ryou collapse.

Rushing over the pair anxiously pulled Ryou into a sitting position while scrambling for his pulse.

His breathing sounded a little off and she started to get to her feet. Sure she would possibly wake up her parents but if Ryou was hurt! She was half way up when Ryou grabbed her hand and kept her from moving though the 'Yugi you bastard...' was growled out in such a 'Bakura' manner that for a moment old instincts made her fear that the Spirit of the Ring had returned.

'Oh my mistake, I was busy telling Malik what the soft core porn that Jounouchi saw Vivian in was... you just kind of intercepted the message...' Ryou could mentally 'see' Yugi's biting apologetic 'smile'.

'Ok Mr. Rule Book, I get the picture,' Bakura growled in annoyance.