Yugioh: A Past and Future Pharaoh

Written By: Lady Lunar Phoenix

Beta By: Lady Lunar Phoenix

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The high rise towers reached towards the sky, flanking the roads on the left and right. Floor after floor, containing business head offices, multilayer-ed malls, top floor restaurants, a whole world of its own, contained within a set limit of space. But tastefully done, where the streets went up just as far as they went straight. The sky above was a sparkling, rich, blue, the sun was sliding along the sky with the smooth ride of a Lincoln Continental.

The buildings were all modern design sharp lines and tinted windows, the very vision of efficient construction. Gray stone mostly, the more modern ones were of a sandstone color, but all were clean cut and kept neat in appearance. Along many of them were bronze plates that stated the date of completion of the building, or it named who the building was commemorated to. The windows were long, tinted and gave a dark reflection of the sky. The ground below was the stereotypical stone sidewalks with dark grates that covered openings leading to the subway systems or sewers.

Only in a metropolitan city could a person be surrounded by people and completely alone at the same time. Yet they weren't alone, all one had to do was reach out and touch another. Ask for directions, the time, anything and suddenly one had someone to talk to. It may have been brief, a chance meeting, but it was a moment when a person didn't have to be alone. Or they could choose to be alone, take in the sights on their own and enjoy the liberation of not having to deal with other people. Sometimes it was necessary to be alone, to collect thoughts or to reassure a person that they could handle things on their own.

But not today. Today was a day of extreme pampering. The kind of pampering that required a big city. The kind that went over the triple digits in payment, took up a serious block of time of more than just one person. It involved the kind of privileges that only the rich and famous could normally afford. Truth be told, this would be a one time trip only. But it would be very much worth it.

The building was a typical business style, cold gray stones with sliding doors that parted upon approach. On the right side there was a receptionist area with a stern looking woman manning the oak wood desk. A champagne colored pants suit with a silk shirt, the dark hair up in a tight bun, no nonsense this one. Signing in on the sheet, awarded her a brief pause while the woman produced a single key card and directions to the spa.

The building in question hosted a number of companies, all big, all important, and at the top was the spa. It had a reputation that went beyond the city, popular, even infamous of making anyone look like a young goddess. They advertised how, after their treatment, looking 'that' good had to be the work of the devil. The elevator moved smoothly up over fifty stories above ground, giving an impressive view of the ground below. As humans moved with almost ant like efficiency in one direction or another, breaking off to go into one building or another. Higher up and they became ants, further up and they became nothing. But beyond there were many other buildings, filled with people working, living their own daily grinds.

Higher still and low level clouds drifted by the windows, lightly blocking the view of the earth below. Banks, law offices, real estate, all manner of businesses were behind her as she rose up to her floor and the elevator finally slowed to a stop. It opened to a paradise in the heart of a very busy city. All the plants were perfect reproductions of originals, in case a client was allergic. In place of those gentle scents were incense of the same plants, filling the air with subtle fragrances that soothed the mind. The floor was inlaid with small smooth pebbles that looked to have been gathered from a river bank. The walls flowed from aqua blue at the floor up to a crystal sky blue at the top, transitioning in the middle to a near ocean to sky view. The ceiling helped the illusion, all of it made of thick sturdy glass, that allowed for a clear view of the sky. Cloudy days or sunny, all was reflected down into the building. A risky building plan, to be certain, but a good one all the same, bringing the outside world into the building. Making one feel almost alone, just them and the clouds if one wished it.

The front desk was of oak, trimmed in marble, and the receptionist was already at her feet with a welcoming hand extended to guide her to her treatment's.

"Ms. Kujaku, what a pleasant surprise to have you arrive today."

That was the way the spa worked. Never an 'appointment' or a 'walk in', the angle of the spa was that the spa existed solely for that one person and no one else. Of course there 'was' an appointment, one that was bought with a pretty coin. But after the appointment was made, along with the selections pre-chosen all that remained was showing up. The receptionist on the ground floor would key in who had just arrived and the rest of the staff moved into position. Moving with such fluid skill that the person was never alone long enough to feel like a customer. Even if the rest of the spa was filled with other clients.

Generally the clientele was such that it was easy to strike up conversations, there was always some show or newspaper going on about a celebrities' life. Which made a duelist a bit more difficult since they didn't make the front page of a paper, unless it was a certain CEO of a certain company. But she was in luck it seemed, today she was in the care of one who apparently had a child who was a fan of the game, or perhaps she was herself one. Mai was congratulated for her victory as she was brought into a room with a large bath, filled with only the highest quality of mud.

Mai could almost hear the snorts of amusement about paying top dollar for sitting in a mud puddle. The polite smiles, or the lone voice of excitement as only one person could truly understand the value of quality rest in soothing moisturizing mud. It was rather sad that there was only a pair of girls that Mai knew that she could talk to on a regular basis. Being a traveling duelist meant that she never stuck around in one place long enough to form lasting relationships. Granted she got to see more of the world then most would dream of, save watching television, got to experience more. Like all things there was a cost.

She was directed to a spot where she could undress and store her clothes for this part of the treatment. Few women could undress herself and still walk around with the full confidence as though she was dressed. Then again, Mai was her own person, with no one who would suffer from the 'scandal' of her behavior. If someone did? Well they were part of the reason why she became who she did and they could just deal with it however they wanted.

Mai? She was going to slip into this nice pool of fresh mud, close her eyes and take a much needed rest. The room was styled like an Egyptian bath house, if such things existed. The walls lined with hieroglyphics and images of their gods among other things. Not that Mai was certain, she didn't know the language and for all she knew the 'language' was just random drawings. That aside, the pool was about the length and width of a standard sized swimming pool. She could imagine what the blond would say about her doing this.

She held on to the assistant as she took slow cautious steps into the mud. Only a blind fool would step blindly into a pool, and no matter the reputation of focus on a customer they weren't inclined to do something that would get the customer hurt. The assistant in the room was a young woman, who looked anywhere between 18 to 26. She had a tanned skin tone that didn't look manufactured so she had to be mixed blooded. She didn't speak, as she hadn't been spoken to, but she had a firm grip to help Mai into the pool.

Mai could hear the blond cracking up at how the mud was washed off from a person. She would have snorted if she wasn't busy settling into the cool, soothing mud. How could she explain the need for these moments? Granted humans were social creatures by nature, there was no way of avoiding that simple fact. Not that she tried to avoid it, but her cautious nature was one that didn't lend trust so easily. She spent so much time traveling, there was no time to grow roots to any one location, and therefore there was limited chances to 'branch' out if one were.

Being alone meant that she didn't have the ability to see people regularly. True the girls were always an option to talk to, yet they weren't around physically. She couldn't exactly go bar hopping with them, what with them oceans apart. Along with her solitary path having left her a bit out of touch with how more social girls lived life. It was easy giving advice as a lone wolf, far harder to explain it to a pack orientated pair.

That aside, this was 'her' time, not someone else's and she was going to enjoy it come hell, high water, or a card game induced apocalypse. After she was cleaned off she would go into another room and have a nice mineral bath with scented bath salts, next was a full body massage to work the tension out of her body, then a mani-pedi and then a salon treatment. Granted she would become nothing more then a puddle of relaxed goo, but hey!

Her little tag along would be around soon enough, she had told him what time her appointment ended and she expected him waiting like a good pup. Not that he was 'little', he stood easily over her head, with that spiky head of hair of his. Red? No, black maybe... no that wasn't right... it wasn't that dark. The realization that she didn't even know his 'hair' color caused her to snap her eyes open, sitting up in a rush.

Darkness greeted her.

The only light that she could see came from the mandatory exit sign over the door. Illuminating a small sphere in a deep red, while she sat in a pool of mud alone. When did the girl leave and when did the lights cut out? Did she fall asleep while soaking? But if that was the case she would have been woken up! Flustered and feeling no shallow mix of anger and worry questions flared to life in her mind, was she locked in the building? What had happened while she was sleeping?

While in the back of her mind another worry whispered itself to her.

She climbed out of the pool and made her way near blindly towards where they had placed the towels. Snatching up a nearby towel she began wiping the mud off with swift nervous actions. She tried to fight the gnawing panic growing in her heart. But a greater fear caused her hands to still from her cleaning.

His name.

What was his 'name'? She teased him about not remembering it, but she knew it. She had to! How could she forget his hair color and his name? Well she hadn't forgot his hair color exactly, she knew it was a darker shade, but his name? His hair was in the same grouping as that one girl... that girl she saw in the states...

Blindly she sought out the hose and turned on the water, hosing off the mud as she anxiously groped with her free hand for her clothes. Panic had settled into her shoulders making her tense up. As Mai felt warm water beat against her skin, her mind clawed for a memory of the name of that girl. It was insane and impossible that she could have forgotten their names. Abandoning pride, she began struggling into her clothes as she tried desperately to remember their names, who they were.

Tugging on her mini skirt she opted to work on the guy, after all she had seen him that morning. He should have been the easiest for her to remember. He was taller then her, muscular build, but she couldn't see herself with some half witted muscle man, so what was it about him that allowed her to keep him hanging on? He wasn't well built because he spent his time in a gym, there was something else. He had a talent for something that involved his hands.

Mai fussed with her bodice as she rushed out of the room into a frighteningly dark spa. No voices, nor signs of life anywhere around her. Above her the sky was a soft shade of darkness, as the man made lights of the earth below drowned out the stars. A single search light danced along a series of clouds as she made her way towards the doors. The spa held all the stillness of death itself, the waterfall had been shut off and even the air condition didn't switch on.

She rushed to the elevator and hit the button to get back on the ground floor. There was a fear in the normality of the situation. Logically, though incredibly near impossible to believe such a thing could happen, she 'could' have fallen asleep. There was a serious possibility that she 'had' fallen asleep, that somehow she had been forgotten. The normality of the surroundings made such a possibility all the more frightening. She 'should' have looked at her surroundings and figure that it was the case, she should have calmed down. Cleaned herself better and left with her dignity intact, but that wasn't happening. The fear that had gripped into her shoulders like the talons of some large predator bird about to rip her from the ground hadn't faded away. In fact the reverse was happening, as normality was making her 'more' afraid.

What was his name?

The door to the elevator slid open with a melodious ping and she all but dove into the box. Pressing against the glass outer wall of the elevator she could see the thousands of lights of the city below, as tiny as Christmas lights and of just as many colors. She hit the first floor button, and felt the smooth transitioning feeling that the ground was falling out from under her...

Falling... just disappearing and her tumbling to a ground she would never hit.

Mai grabbed onto the rail bar in the elevator as she tried to catch her breath, there was a chill beginning to embrace her. But instead of shivering or pushing away she let it wrap around her. If she was cold, at least she was feeling 'something' other than dread.

What was 'any' of their names?

There was a gang of kids, she met them on that island, but what was 'their' names? How could she have forgotten them as well? She had seen one of the girls back in the states, when they had parted it was with a tragedy unfolding back home. There had been death, and it had tainted the girl's return home.

"No, I mean, it's just a silly little gift," the brunette argued, even as she pulled out a stuffed toy from her bag.

Faceless only her hair color and a vague recalling of it's shape remained in Mai's memory. But the toy was a stuffed tiger, dressed in an odd sort of purple magician outfit. The outfit struck a cord in Mai, she had seen that outfit on one of the monsters in the game she played. Not a warrior, a magician...

She could still see the toy, a stuffed Bengal tiger with a little wand tied to its' paw and lavender robes. But the tiger wasn't what was important, it was the robes and staff, not a wand. It was supposed to be carrying a staff, a magician that the spiky haired boy used. The little paw waved at her, as though telling her 'remember me? Come on remember me!' and she fought back a sob. She knew her own monsters, her Cyber Bondage Harpy Lady, her sisters, the Amazons in her deck. So why couldn't she recall his name? A strong magician...

The elevator continued descending towards the ground and a spot light that had been highlighting a business suddenly made a pass right across the elevator, filling up the elevator with blinding light. Distracting her from her memory search as she blinked floating orbs from her eyes. Closing her eyes she sought clarity in the darkness behind her eyelids...

Darkness... Magician?

Dark Magician?

"No, I mean, it's just a silly little gift," the brunette argued, even as she pulled out a stuffed toy from her bag.

"A Dark Magician Tiger? Oh that's so cute! Chibi-chan will like it, even if he can't exactly show it off. Boys and their pride and stuff."

It wasn't the tiger rather the clothes she could recall, vaguely as she brought her hand to her mouth, struggling to subdued a sob.

Sharp colored lights shown out into the gloom illuminating the business signs lining the road. As Mai was lowered closer to the ground in the elevator, she could see people still milling around the ground below. Buses rode by, people climbing in and out of them and taxis that stopped on the side of the road. She could see the distant lit ads on bus stops providing more light for her to see by as the elevator pinged before opening.

'Get a grip Mai, don't go running out there like a terrified school girl.' She told herself while stepping out of the elevator. The ground floor was like the top floor, with all the lights off, and the biting chill that came when no warm bodies occupied an area for a while. But that was wrong, there should have been 'someone', security should have been positioned on the ground floor. Instead of grounding herself she was growing more frightened. Everything looked closed up, like a normal business day had come to a close. Only there were no security guards despite the lack of visible disturbance to the floor. Though she walked towards the front, she couldn't see any yellow police tape blocking the doors.

She couldn't stop frowning as she reached the doors, doors that slid open for her without pause. The chill evening air rushed past her as a breeze shot by, as she stepped out into the busy streets.

The air that wafted up, that floated about carried the chill of slowly dropping temperature as the sun was no longer in the sky to warm the air. Along it carried clashing scents of expensive perfumes and cheap cologne, newly washed and not since the last rain shower. The last of the food scents were drifting away as food vendors had closed shop for the night.

All along the street people in their evening wear wandered about. High fashion, new fashion, or just the bizarre could be found just by doing a visual sweep of the area. One woman with ebony colored hair walked along in a sleek evening gown, something from an Italian line with a fur wrap and black and silver heels before slipping into a Rolls Royce. The driver closed the door behind her before going to the front to drive them off into the night. Yet just further down, a single man was wearing a flashy clash of oranges and yellow. Dressed to stand out as he called out for potential buyers of whatever it was he was selling. Laughing couples, singles on the prowl, there was no way to feel alone in a place such as this.

This was the sea of life, the voices of a city rising up into the cooling air mingling until it became an wordless wave. Everywhere one looked they were surrounded by another living person. There was no way to avoid bumping into a person, as they jostled along looking to make the path towards their goal. Something nagged at her to seriously look around herself, a gut instinct raised and nurtured for her own survival over the years. Causing her to stop on the sidewalk and take a serious look around.

There were no beggars, that was probably the first thing that caught her attention. No one was huddled in the shadows or asking for handouts, it was still early after all. The sun had gone down recently, but that shouldn't have been enough to send them away 'this' fast. There was usually one who was looking for that last bit of coin before turning in. She looked at the people around her but no one seemed to notice her, despite her way of leaving the spa. She couldn't have looked 'that' cleaned up and neat in appearance not to garner a single look of question.

As the moments rolled by the feeling grew stronger as she realized that the streets were starting to thin out. A laughing group of teenagers were strolling into the movie theater, one group among several, as well as an young man into a restaurant across the street. But no one came out, the theater was questionable if all the movie times were in full swing. If that was the case then she expected not to see anyone for a while leaving the establishment. But the restaurant seemed to be making good business as people kept walking into the building. Only no one came out, and no building could hold so many, but perhaps it was larger on the inside then out, multilayer-ed perhaps?

But an older couple stepped into a taxi and rode off into the night, as a bus collected a group of business people only to have no one step off. The road was quickly becoming deserted, even as she turned to look for someone to talk to.

"Hey! Where is everyone going?" she called out, there was no one in mind when she called out, just a panic induced urge to hear someone talk to her. No one paid her any mind, walking along and going away as though she never spoke a word. "Hey! This isn't funny!" She cried out as she threw herself at a tall, dark, brunette in jeans and a button on shirt. She wrapped her arms around his, yet despite that he slipped away from her grasp like pushing through a field of flowers.

She grabbed for a woman wearing an elegant evening gown, but she might as well have grabbed milk as easily as the material slipped through her fingers. The woman stepped into a Rolls Royce, yet Mai's attempt at forcing herself in was rebuffed by an invisible wall. Turning about she saw the man she had thrown herself at walking into a night club. Frantic with worry, she dashed after him. Only to have the door close quietly in her face and refusing to open again despite her pulling. Nor did anyone open it for her for all her banging and crying out.

Behind her there was a massive buzzing sound, and her shadow suddenly disappeared. Swallowing painfully, she turned to find the other side of the street gone, neither empty nor dark, just gone. The buildings, the people, the street itself were all gone, and in that second she turned her head to look the same sound went off in front of her. Mai whipped her head forward only to see nothing as well. She might as well been born blind.

There was nothing, but darkness.

Darkness around her.

Darkness inside her.

"Someone... help me..."