Yu-Gi-Oh: A Past and Future Pharaoh

Written By: Lady Lunar Phoenix

Beta By: Lady Lunar Phoenix

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What should have been the proud General on horseback leading the soldiers of Kemet against a threat was nothing more than a lone, disheveled, man. Where there should have been buildings was only the burning wreckage of the Capital, invaded and devastated by a lone demon. Sets' slight use of khol was being warped by the pain induced tears he had shed. Dragging the lines down from the corners of his eyes and down his cheek bones to his jaw as he ran from the Palace.

Even the Palace felt like a place possessed now to Set, he could hear that traitor's voice as he ran. "You will be Pharaoh! This is your Palace and your land now!"

Freedom from the Palace became a new prison, for how could he return to the Pharaoh for all the shame he had brought upon himself? A short 'conversation' that took place as Set drove the dagger portion of the Sennen Rod into the traitors chest, hissed its way into his awareness.

"With the White Dragon, you will destroy the Pharaoh and ascend to your proper place as Pharaoh! 'My' son shall lead our land to greatness!"

Defilement and shame were not strong enough words to describe how Set felt anymore, the only thing that kept him going was his loyalty to the Pharaoh. Had Ammit, Herself, rose from Her place at Osiris' side before him, Set would have crawled readily into her mouth. Why take only the heart when she could devour the whole shame that was Set's existence?

The weight of his clothes, the fire, the lack of air left Set feeling smothered and helpless, as he ran through the city. His lungs ached as he fought to give it the air it needed, while his joints and body cried for rest. 'I'll rest when I'm dead', was rapidly becoming a mantra that he repeated to himself against the protests of his limbs.

Pure white light began to bloom from someplace ahead of Set, light that came not from her dragon. Instead it manifested hovering in the air, molding itself into the shape of swords pointing downward. The ground shook as the swords plunged their way the earth while two more dragons, in her younger form when Set first encountered her swooped in. The swords formed a ring that stretched towards the demon and cutting off a portion of the city. The three rushed to join the original Blue Eyes White Dragon in the circle only to crash into an unseen wall.

They caught themselves from free fall and began circling the wall that denied them, their rage clear in their protesting roars. In the distance, he could see the back of his ruler, as though he was leaning against a wall.

"Pharaoh! Forgive my absence! Please I beg you, let me fight by your side!"

He was taken by surprise when his Pharaoh actually turned his head, that his ruler could hear such a weak voice amid the roars of dragons and the demon. The three dragons swooped down gliding over him as best they could manage while the original Blue Eyes White Dragon was still caught within the seal.

"Please Cousin, rule our home in my stead. It's what our fathers would have wanted. It's what 'I' want."

Set felt the strength in his legs give out as his hands hit the wall that denied three of her White Dragons. As dry as his hands felt they still slipped down this unseen wall as easily as water slipped through fingers. He felt like he was suffocating, his body was burning up from inside while a sharp cold flowed over his body. The word 'cousin' rang like a horrible chant from an army of the dead, bringing a sense of damnation and defeat into Set's heart. He had thought to hide such shame, deny that dirty blood of a traitor in his veins and continue serving his Pharaoh... So how did the Pharaoh 'know'!?

The Pharaoh turned slowly around using the wall that he rested against to brace himself so he could look at Set properly. He was clearly exhausted fighting alone, as there stood no priests or soldiers to support him. The Pharaoh's condition illuminated why the Gods were not in the air facing this threat, for he clearly had been wounded given the blood that stained his clothes and body. Darker still, he wasn't a fool and would have summoned them far sooner if things were going this bad so quickly.

The Gods had been defeated?

The flames danced around them as it consumed their home, yet their light paled before the light of the Swords that the Pharaoh had used.

Illuminating the Pharaoh and how bruised and bloody his face was. One of his uniquely colored eyes was gone, the flesh of the eyelid hung limp and torn like a wet rug. His royal attire was soaked black and ripped up clinging to his body by the sticky wetness of his blood. The golden band he wore around his throat was bent inwards via finger imprints. The flesh behind the band was now a spreading bruise around his throat.

The injuries stole the words out of Set's mouth, bringing back the haunting fresh memory of Mana's accusations. These were not the injuries of a demon, these were human hands that had performed such terrible actions. Another river of horror and shame that drowned Set as his mind hissed how the Pharaoh 'knew' they were related.

With the clarity of the Gods above wanting to reinforce the very reason why they were silent to this horror. From the corner of his left eye; Mana was running towards them. She ran easily around the circle of Swords her arms free of the Items she had carried earlier. With the light cast by the swords Set could see just how badly she truly looked, her hat and attire was torn and tattered stained in soot from the smoke and sweat. Her hair was a wild mess, tangled and matted while her flesh had bruises and her face had streaks from her tears.

The younger girls' eyes were focused on Set, the anger wasn't even disguised, resting plain on her face as she moved. Though her eyes carried her anguish and sense of betrayal, the very core of what ran through her that helped keep her moving forward was anger. She was all the Pharaoh had left, this poor apprentice was all that remained of the noble circle of the Pharaoh. She was all that was left of their mother land to aid their ruler in his time of need.

Set couldn't endure the shame of holding a gaze with Mana, of her seeing him now that she was here. The shame causing him to close his eyes and rest his head against the wall before him. She had been the Pharaoh's 'baby sister' for so long, followed them. Been their friend, their confidant and source of merriment with her antics. Now she looked at him as though he was not to be trusted, him, the one sworn to serve their Pharaoh. How could he convince them that he could help them? That he could be trusted? How could he, in the middle of this terrible situation prove himself? Redeem himself?

"I need to go..." The Pharaoh spoke, his tired voice broken by pain, yet even then he tried to sound strong, this youth of only ten summers.

Wait... 'leave'?

Set lifted his head up to see the Pharaoh reaching up and cupping the Sennen Pyramid in his hands.

"I'll seal myself with this demon until the end of time. So I need you to look after the kingdom for me," light began to peak through the solid gold, forming lines that broke apart to form other lines.

As Set knelt there he watched as the Pyramid began to fall to the ground in fragments, gold light shining on newly formed edges...

"I can not rule... I have no claim to the throne, I 'want' to serve 'you' not be served by others! My place is as your General! Not Pharaoh!" Set argued, feeling more desperate the further the Pyramid broke. Each new piece that fell broke away took another piece of his heart, taking away everything good and true in his life. She was gone, his fellow priests were gone, the Pharaoh who he had pledged to serve was tearing apart the symbol of his rule. Once more Set was in his village watching as everything burned and he could save no one. Everyone dying because of what Set did.

"There's no time left... the world can't handle this much evil."

Set clawed at the unseen walls that kept him from his ruler, from that cocky little prince that he had looked after. Barely tearing his eyes from the pieces on the ground, he looked up and his stomach fell into his knees that rested on the heated sands of their home. The useless eyelid that hung despairingly over the empty socket was now gone. Light could be seen peeking out of that space while blood from behind the eye of the Pharaohs' crown began to run down like a waterfall down the young rulers' face.

Mana choked on tears, "Prince, no... You said the items would help you! Please!"

"They are Mana..."

She still couldn't address him properly... But she could stay loyal clearly...

His voice was once again steady, unhindered by the mangled choker the Pharaoh wore, yet Set felt like it was a sound that didn't touch his ears; only his heart heard the words spoken.

Set looked at his Pharaoh's remaining eye, then pulled by some deeper force his eyes traveled down to the choker where the bruising was replaced at the center by a hole. "Oh Pharaoh what's going on?"

"We'll go to sleep in darkness... Its not so bad now that I know what's there," the Pharaoh's voice noted in Set's heart.

"Master? Not you too!" Mana clawed at the wall, pulling Set's gaze from their mangled Pharaoh's body to what at first Set assumed was the Illusionary Magician. Until he saw that it was Mahaado in the Magician's attire..

Mahaado merely smile followed by a farewell gesture when a large white dragon wing dipped down behind him. Her beautiful dragon arched her neck over so she could look down at Set with her cool blue eyes. Her scales reflected and enhanced the light of the swords, bathing the Pharaoh in pure white light. The light revealing that those wounds were going straight through the Pharaohs' body,

"We'll have his body hooked up to a machine that will replicate his heart while we work on the damage."

How could the Pharaoh live with those holes driven through his very body?! Already his remaining eye looked distant as though he was looking at something far off. The soul was leaving the body, leaving 'him' here with no way to make up for his shame. He felt his shame burning on him like a brand of the hottest fire, yet for all that heat there was a cold at the core of him that couldn't be reached.

"Don't go, Pharaoh please, give me a chance to aid you. I can do this..." The pieces were still falling, the Eye had tumbled into the sand. "I can do this... Her dragons and I can help!" the pieces spilled onto each other and tumbled into the heated sand.

"Prince! Please! You said you'd be ok! You promised everything would be fine if I brought the items! This isn't ok!" Mana cried beating on the walls with her own two hands. "Master! Please tell Prince to not do this! You can't leave me! I'm sorry! I'll work harder on my magic! I'll do better I swear so please! Don't leave!"

"You helped me stop the demon, Mana. So now I'll take the demon and go away, as for your studies, you can keep studying. You can be Set's High Magician, you're certainly strong enough now," Pharaoh's not voice answered. Causing a fresh set of tears to spill out of Set's eyes at that damning comment.

"I don't want to be Pharaoh! This land is yours!" Set wept as the pyramid only had its remaining tip that connected it to the chain around the Pharaoh's neck. Even as he watched through the tears he saw it break off and tumble to the ground. Mana's inner strength was incredible, as he heard her scream in dismay and beat on the walls harder.

Of course, Mana had stayed pure and true to the Pharaoh's Will unlike Set, what reason did she have to feel the weight of the world?

So when the Pharaoh's body fell lifeless before his eyes. Set couldn't find the strength to scream, though the tears fell harder.

"No, no no..." Mana's voice wailed at his side.

The light that had been filling Set's tear soaked gaze finally began to darken. As much as the sight of his Pharaoh, beaten and dying was agony. Before him, fallen like a discarded toy, his Pharaoh continued bleeding out. His fallen body covered the pieces of the Pyramid under his bloody, battered corpse. From under the body sun light began to peek out from where it could find space, though was it from the body or was it from the broken Item? This golden light began to take shape, weaving itself into chains that wove with other chains becoming thicker and stronger. They began to shoot through the Pharaoh's body, piercing the Pharaoh where he was wounded. As swift as lightning it began wrapping itself around the demon. Such a roar of displeasure finally reminded Set that the demon 'was' there, indeed it felt as though this demon wasn't the 'only' one. Perhaps the darkness that it rose from wasn't 'just' darkness of its own power rather it was stuck between worlds? Could this demon be holding open a door between their world and a demonic one?

The chains didn't just latch on to bind the demon however; there were chains that were binding themselves to the Pharaoh. Driving themselves into the Pharaoh's body, where the holes had formed, the chains molding themselves into hideous sharp hooks. Hooking into the Pharaoh's flesh wherever a corresponding hole existed. Through the Pharaoh's brow, another hooked its way through the missing eye, another down the throat, another yet through the center of His chest. It hoisted up his young ruler into the air taunting Set by letting him see his ruler, mangled while hanging like meat on display.

And aware.

That was what killed him, seeing his Pharaoh, who he had known since childhood when only a prince, hanging like that. This innocent ruler was hanging like hung meat by some hunter with his only remaining eye open and observant. Leaving a 'new' ruler, one who was of the tainted blood on his knees and free of any punishment. The lone remaining eye, rich in amethyst swept the ground, found Set then seeking out Mana.

The formerly mighty demon roared out its rage as the chains began pulling on it, unlike the Pharaoh it was only bound by the chains, no horrible hooks held it in place. It struggled to release its arms, thrashing about with its body, a desperate demonic fish caught in a net it could not escape. Save that for every thrash it ripped at the chains on the Pharaoh, tearing into the Pharaoh's body. Forcing the audience of two to watch as the hooks rush back into place. Flesh that was torn asunder quickly mending back.

But for all this activity the Pharaoh and the Demon began fading away, as though merely a nightmare being dispelled by a mourning light of her dragon. What light the dragon produced faded away as well, leaving all of them in darkness, Her, Mahaado, their cherished Pharaoh all gone...

Oh... that had been the Pharaoh's soul... Set realized distantly as his gaze dropped to the ground in guilt only to be greeted by the mangled corpse of their Ruler. So taken by the light and vision of his ruler that he had allowed himself to forget that his ruler had died already. Face down on the ground, blood soaked into the sand turning it black in the growing darkness as Ra finished sinking down into the west. Just as their Ruler had sank into the lands of the dead, so to did Ra.

He knelt there as the blood seeped out further into the sands of Kemet, spreading out in the deepening dusk until it stretched from horizon to horizon. No moon or stars revealed themselves before him, only a lone door of quartz that rose up before him. The world was frozen, Mana had disappeared along with the rest of Kemet leaving these memories unfettered from the past. Before him through the door he could hear his voice, speaking words that weren't his native tongue. He could see... flashes of his Pharaoh, his skin paler than death, older, and dying.

No... this time...

Not this time...

He would not stand by any longer, or be distracted from his duty. He would save the Pharaoh this time. This time he would succeed! The accursed Rod was gone, it couldn't numb away his emotions and seal him in its slender frame. The walls he constructed that kept these memories away would no longer exist.

Set would remember everything!

He would call forth the storms and cleanse the land of the demon!

He would set the battle in motion once more and this time... This time.

HE would save the Pharaoh!