Yu-Gi-Oh: A Past and Future Pharaoh

Written By: Lady Lunar Phoenix

Beta By: Lady Lunar Phoenix

A/N: Getting Closer to catching up! Yay go me!

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"So how is Honda recovering? He was asleep when I went to visit him," Yugi asked, a glass of water in his hand. His focus on Jounouchi since the teen had just arrived from his visit to the hospital. Though he didn't come alone, having brought Bakura with him to the mansion.

"Physically? Ahh I guess he's doing better, he was still in bed when I saw him. Actually, he was in the middle of a nightmare when I arrived." Jounouchi recalled, his eyes always on the move since he never really got to be 'in' Kaibas' ultra elaborate mansion he was busy soaking up the sight. Easier than looking at Yugi and seeing the haunted emotions ghosting behind the lavender color of his eyes. When the group had arrived, Yugi had been sleeping after returning from the States to retrieve Kaiba, even the water was a sign he was going back to bed. As soon as the duos' visit to him was done at least. It wasn't exactly like Yugi had a great deal of sleep what with getting on a jet and flying to Colorado, in the United States and back again in the same day. Not to mention the fact that they hadn't seen Kaiba, only Mokuba at one point since their arrival.

Bakura, himself, was more invested in keeping the usual suspects in his life from lifting anything from the mansion. But his concern was more for show as he was more invested in figuring out travel plans. Jounouchi was making the request while Bakura tried to keep up with the ghosts that were scouting a whole planet. It didn't feel right to have spectral beings at his beck and call all day and night, far too easy to abuse them. The ghosts may have had the ability to pass on and were deciding not to leave the physical plane. However; that didn't give him the right to treat them like unseen thieving servants to send out on his own particular errands.

But they all had a stake in this and they knew it the moment the word had gotten to them. No one enjoyed being part of the Sennen Items as hate filled energy for Zorc. So it was in all their best interests as well to make sure that the events that brought about the Sennen Items were 'not' repeated. So the 99 spirits were searching, scanning the whole wide world looking for a single book that could possibly bring about the end of the world. A book that could cloak its' presence from the ghosts, showing a frightening amount of sentience for what 'should' have been an inanimate object. That thought alone originally, was currently being scoffed by Jounouchi.

"So what's the problem? They can't just kill 99 people off the cuff, and the worlds' armies wouldn't stand around and let a demon end the world either," Jounouchi argued, after they got the call from Isis regarding the Books' theft.

"Actually yes they can, people go missing all the time. Sure the instructions say 'evil people' but there are drug dealers and murderers that would be easy pickings giving the situation. Also only something with pure light could defeat Zorc the first time. When the original casting was done, the whole village was just slaughtered, innocent with guilty. What will happen this time if they pick straight evil people?" Bakura shook his head at the thought, his white hair flowing softly about his shoulders. White, something that once long ago had been a nice, soft, brown... "Without knowing where their base of operations is, they could summon Zorc anywhere and many innocent people could be killed before you got there to stop Zorc. IF you could stop him again," Bakura explained cautiously, unsure if he was free of Zorc.

"Uh what do you mean 'if' and why aren't you including yourself in the group?" Jounouchi asked, twisting his whole upper body to look to the right of him where Bakura was sitting.

"I didn't live through the battle Jounouchi. He has a point, they could do this anywhere in the world and by the time we got there it could be too late to save the locals. Sure Mahaado might have a way to send us there in an instant, but we'd have to be together at all times. Life doesn't work that way." Yugi pointed out gently, his gaze switching from Bakura's steady one to Jounouchi's stubborn determination. "Armies are useless in situations like this, all they do is increase the body count and I'm not even strong enough to summon Mahaado fully, let alone Horakhty. Then there's the morality, Set sealed away those Games in Egypt long ago and with good cause. A battle of those proportions in the modern world? I don't even want to know..."

"And you have more faith in me than I do Jounouchi, its easy to say I can take part in such a battle. But you should remember, my strength lies in darkness, I'd be useless in such a battle," Bakura pointed out resolutely not looking at either teens.

"There's more to combat than fighting you know," Yugi pointed out steadily. "Remember, we're using magics that have been sealed for ages, this is not a world of magic."

"Fine, but that's why we're here, the Book having been stolen, we were wondering if Mahaado can teleport us? If the uh, Spirits, that hang out with Bakura can pinpoint where we need to go, we can all go after them!" Jounouchi rallied, his voice and posture defiant of all the nay saying going on around him, he wanted action.

Yugi frowned at that enthusiasm, fully understanding what was driving Jounouchi and hoping he could rein in the teen on his own without Hondas' help. Truth be told, the moment this conversation started he had wanted badly to go with the three. However; with Kaiba in recovery it left Mokuba alone with no overseers and besides, Mahaado was Kaiba's property.

"Kaiba took Mahaado from me, right now he's serving as Kaibas' Dark Magician and looking after Kaiba to the best of his ability," Yugi began noting the surprised looks. "On the plus side, even in the state he's in, Kaiba is keeping Mahaado in a solid form all on his own. Unlike myself where Mahaado can only move as a ghost and use his spells to interact with the world."

"I don't know if you remember enough to realize this Yugi. But if Kaiba is strong enough to do that, after not using his own abilities for all this time... We may not have time to discuss this further," Bakura noted cautiously. "If they've been watching either of you at 'all' and they figure out that he's waking up his old powers they may target him next."

Jounouchi wanted to ask why anyone would want Moneybags, but maybe that was the point. His Blue Eyes were light based monsters that Zorc was weak against, so he settled back, bracing his head with his hand as he tried not to get angry. "So what? You said Kaiba has Mahaado, so would Mahaado be able to do what we're asking?"

"He could, we just have to ask Kaiba to let him, though I don't see that being the problem, getting Kaiba to realize we're asking him something. That could be a problem," Yugi said with a playful grin on his face. "He's a sleeping dragon at the moment, I'll go ask him to let us borrow Maha, so just wait here. You'll live longer!"

Yugi got out of the soft recliner he had been sitting in and walked off to deal with Kaiba leaving the pair alone. Kaiba's home felt so empty, it almost felt like a crime to touch anything, even the very nice floors. Every pale color in the palette made Yugi's bright hair and dark colors stick out so much that it was a wonder he felt comfortable at all. Or maybe he didn't, maybe he just remembered the old royal training that was against showing discomfort under any circumstance.

But Kaiba waking up his powers was a scary thought, magic unleashed worked in two paths, control or chaos. Rejecting his past life, or restraining what would come naturally to him would have devastating consequences. Blue Eyes White Dragon destroying a would be rival company for the nice example. Reality didn't work that way, people would want to learn how to do the same things as Mahaado or summon Ka. Neither option being easier because of the very nature of fighting using your soul or fighting using other energies. Heaven help them all, there were people who already had a developed enough spirit who 'could' probably now summon Ka and just needed a push. And Kaiba didn't believe in 'nudges' he was the type to shove you down a flight of stairs from the 100th floor just to watch. Want to do either? Here we go!

Bakura gave a rueful glance in the direction Yugi had walked off in as he realized what he was in store for. A possible week, at the least, long adventure in another country that may 'not' have Japanese, English or American English, or modern Egyptian spoken as a common language. Saddled up with two over eager, teens and the reality that Bakura was going to end up being group leader suddenly made him shudder. Did the universe forget that Bakura was the one who did 'not' like being in command of anything?

"So... any luck from the rest of the gang?" Jounouchi cut into Bakuras' thoughts like a hacksaw, than again. Ghosts. WhooooooooOOOOoooooo.

Bakura looked over at said clan and saw them discussing things among themselves before shaking his head and returning his focus on Jounouchi. "Apparently not, though you realize that we're heading into finals and about to do this stunt, correct?"

"How hard can this be?" Jounouchi asked, shrugging with an alarming amount of disinterest in that little fact. "We go, we look around, we come back."

"... Finals..." Why didn't Jounouchi take his education seriously? "You may be willing to accept a trade school. I, however; desire more out of my life."

"Well I bet your grades can survive it, study on the side," was Jounouchis' brilliant retort.

'I'm going to need the extra duty backpack clearly. Carrying all those books is going to be such a pain.' Bakura's poor brain. "Seriously?"

"What? You're the Thief King. You can steal yourself a better life!" Jounouchi pointed out, leaning forward at Bakura like Bakura wasn't seriously contemplating if he could open a portal to the Shadow Realm, throw Jounouchi in, and close it before Yugi got back. Instead he took a deep calming breath, and tried to make a mental list of all the books he would need to study from. After all, he couldn't throw a stupid hissy fit, too much at stake and all.

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Yugi opened the door to Kaibas' bedroom with a quiet trepidation, peeking in before quickly slipping into the room. Not that he wasn't used to it by this point, sparse with a desk at the farthest right corner of the room, the bed was to the left of the room with the headboard pressed against the wall. A different set up than most rooms in houses like this, but Kaiba was prepared for anything. Even gunmen bursting into the room using a typical bedroom set up in their plans. A terrible thing to think of, a teenager being 'used' to death threats, not even nobility, just a teen.

"Maha?" he called out, the room seemingly empty despite Mahaado's assurances that he would look after Kaiba. Then again, he 'was' both a magician and a spirit. He stepped further into the room, feeling the tingling of power racing up his arms and making the hairs on the back of his head stand up. A quick glance in the mirror revealed that his hair was puffing up like a little lion mane again.

Down girls.

The closer he got to the bed, the stronger the feeling felt until he felt like he wanted to shake what ever it was off.

"Maha? Where are you? I just want to talk to you," Yugi called out, a pout quite evident in his voice. He stood there, crossing his arms and looking suitably pouty since that normally worked for him. The 'I'm only ten don't upset me' even if he wasn't ten look was a rarely used weapon. Can't keep using it otherwise people would get immune to it.

"A thousand pardon's oh Pharaoh, I was preoccupied by Seto, also the pout look doesn't suit one of your station or age." Mahaado appeared at Yugi's feet in a full kneeling posture. Bringing Yugi out of his pout as that annoying little part of his mind whispered that he now 'looked' his true age.

Drat.

But it was as he instructed Maha to rise that he noticed a shocking change that had taken over his beloved magician. What had been amethyst was now blue bordering black, the trim was a vivid yet deep red. Even as Maha himself was different, his hair now blond and his flesh a shade of blue Yugi was unused to seeing on human skin. There were far more similarities with the Magician of Black Chaos or his Dark Paladin than with the Dark Magician he knew.

His shock must have been evident because Mahaado's gaze turned quizzical, causing him to look down at himself. Probably searching for the thing that Yugi found so amazing. "Pharaoh?"

"Ah I'm sorry!" Yugi began, raising his hands and waving them apologetically at Mahaado's clear confusion. "I just got startled with how different you look this time." He felt stupid for drawing attention to it, after all Pandora's Dark Magician looked different from his Mahaado, it wasn't far fetched to think that Kaiba's own interpretation of Mahaado would be different as well.

A slightly amused twist of the corner of his mouth and lift in his eyes showed Mahaado's amusement at the reaction before giving in to a more expectant expression. It was certainly strange to see Mahaado with blond hair and blue skin, and Yugi was a bit curious if it had been a form Maha was comfortable with three thousand years ago or not. But at the moment all Yugi recalled was a great deal of infancy. Mahaado had not yet reappeared in his memories since the night of his rescue, just a repeatable parade of parents and servants. But that wasn't why he was there, to reminisce on things that happened ages ago.

"Maha? Your spell, Mystic Box of Death, can you create a variation of that spell?" Yugi asked, watching Mahaado's eyes turn curious before bowing slightly.

"Yes of course. I can modify that spell or create something brand new if Seto allows it."

Yugi nodded, disliking though accepting that Mahaado was under Kaiba's command, at least Kaiba was allowing Mahaado to talk at all. "Can you tell me what he's up to? Seeing that you have to get permission from him anyways, I don't want to ask while he's in a bad mood."

"Oh nothing serious, he's merely trying to decide on a modern look for me. Both my natural appearance and my robes as a High Priest annoy him for various reasons."

'He's playing dress up with my Dark Magician,' was the first thought that processed in Yugi's mind. For that, he couldn't decide if he wanted to be amused or annoyed at the overstepping of boundaries. It wasn't as though Yugi ever thought of making the Blue Eyes White Dragon a different color after all. Or put it in an outfit. Shaking the thoughts from his mind, he turned his focus back onto why he wanted to see Mahaado in the first place. "I want you to ask him to let you create a spell that will allow for teleportation between countries."

Mahaados' expression was a little taken aback, then shifted into curiosity as he stood there before a wave of his hand provided Yugi with an elegant lounging couch. "Pharaoh, I know he will want details and I admit that I am curious as to such a strange request."

Yugi sat down on the chair in a rather comfortable manner before beginning the tale given to him by the pair down stairs...

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The office was lined with book cabinets filled with a variety of books, ranging from computer programming to 3D modeling to modern weaponry. The wood finish was with a soft honey colored hue that Mahaado didn't know, wood work was not his thing. The office was an exact replica of Kaiba's home office in fact. Though he had to wonder why Kaiba would want to be in his office, a place of work and schedules when he was supposed to be relaxing. Then again... Relax? Kaiba? Never.

The dream had not changed the moment Mahaado had left it, Kaiba behind his desk in suit and tie, the chair where Mahaado had been sitting was still there. For all intents and purposes time had not changed despite how long Mahaado had departed. And yet...

"What took you so long?"

"Our Pharaoh has a request for an enchanted item he wishes for me to create. However; with our current situation he understands that your permission must be granted first," Mahaado explained, standing beside Kaibas' desk before walking over and getting as close to comfortable as one such as himself could in a chair. The shoulder guards weren't the most comfortable in such a plush chair and he had to strip them off every time he sat down. Indeed he finally settled himself into a more modern appearance to keep Kaiba happy. Which currently left him in dark slacks and a white button on shirt, with socks and slippers. Also the living human skin tone, because he was pretty sure the blue skin and blond hair would get him hurt if he showed up like 'that'. Indeed the Pharaoh seemed rather unsettled with that appearance. "The Book has been stolen, Bakura has been using his ghosts to search for the item in question. So Jounouchi, Malik and Bakura wish for a spell or item that will allow them instant access to whatever country so that they may find it. They'll be using it to return here because of 'finals' are coming? It seems that Bakura is very keen on doing well on these..."

Pharaoh had mentioned 'finals' before, saying they were a series of very difficult 'tests' that one must take in order to 'graduate' from the school. But these words were new to Mahaado, even repeating them came out in the halting uncertain tone as he spoke. Yet here in Kaibas' dream, he could speak his native tongue, or perhaps it was easier to simply to say that their hearts spoke where their tongues were still.

"Isn't that the Ishtars' fault for not protecting it better? Why don't they let them fix their errors in judgment?" Kaiba asked bluntly, leaning back in his high back chair with his hands resting on the armrests in the way he probably sat upon the throne of Egypt back in those long lost days.

"Because we don't know who can read it, there is still a strong possibility that the contents of that book can be read by someone, and if that is the case," Mahaado shook his head, he didn't need to explain. They both knew what the fall out would be.

"Pandora had it before, all he did was scribble orders all over it and got you to do what he wanted. How is that something worth some stupid trinket of teleporting?"

"The book is a medium between the demon and your world, just because it does nothing for one person does not mean it will forever hold its secrets." Mahaado explained calmly, facing Kaiba's scrutiny with a calm grace. His hands folding neatly on his lap as he rested tentatively against the back of his own chair. But for all his calm he felt, something was stirring deep inside of Seto, something dangerous that was being shut out.

Kaiba currently had a list of things he wanted to refer to this 'thing' as: Non existent thing that was born of lack of sleep and blood loss, a spirit that could be removed, or a particular someOne that he didn't want to acknowledge. The first would have been great, but he wasn't that lucky, the second option would be annoying in that it was clearly dangerous and he couldn't just ignore it until it left. Which left the third option, he didn't want the third option. He didn't want what was replacing the walls behind the paint of his office. The books were shifting between states of being and it was all he could do to keep things the way he liked them. Even Mahaado was as much a detriment as an asset as 'He' was latching on to Maha to use his magics to make His point about things. But Maha's presence was someone Kaiba could converse with and interact with. The mage wasn't like the others trying to force him to accept his past life, he was willing to accept Kaiba's current incarnation... And yet...

"So what type of item would you make for this little mistake?" Kaiba asked finally after much deliberation.

"Just a simple touch stone, once they know the general area I can create a pair of touch stones so that they can travel between here and where ever they appear." Mahaado waited patiently for the affirmation he knew would come. He knew Seto after all.

"Fine, then return here when you have completed this fools errand."

"As you wish, Seto."