“Can
you look into the future?”
“We
know how the timeline needs to be restored, and we have a vague outline
of what’s to happen next,” Mana supplied. She
didn’t take her eyes from Mahaado, a light frown visible on
her face.
Anzu bit her
lower lip. “What is it that will happen next?”
“You
know someone by the name of Kaiba Seto, right?”
“Yes…?”
“He’ll
be all over city soon, announcing his new tournament, called the Battle
City Tournament. It‘ll be very important for you to
participate in it, Pharaoh.”
He shifted
slightly uncomfortably in his chair. “We have recently won
another tournament, called ‘Duelist Kingdom’. If
there are answers to be found while participating in Kaiba’s
tournament, I will do so.”
“The
Eye,” Mana said to Mahaado and he nodded, still obviously
disturbed.
“It’s…it’s
not fair that Yuugi isn’t hearing all of this,”
Anzu suddenly spoke up. “It’s important to him as
well. We all promised to help you to find your memories, mou hitori no
Yuugi, but it doesn’t feel right shutting Yuugi
out.”
“I
am not shutting him out,” he defended himself. “He
is tired, and a little upset from the events. I do not wish for him to
get even more worked up.”
“Yuugi
might be upset, but he’s not too fragile to hear this. If
this really is about the future, he has a right to know.”
“Mazaki
Anzu is right,” Mahaado said. “There is a way we
can solve this.”
“Master,
no,” Mana objected. “It’ll take too much
out of you, and we still have some…things to take care
of.”
“You
will need to go to Khemet by yourself,” Mahaado replied.
“You can make that jump on your own.”
“But
Master…”
“Apprentice.”
The girl
muttered something under her breath, clearly unhappy with the decision.
Shaking her head, she looked at Anzu, giving her a small smile.
“What…?”
Mahaado rose
from his chair again, taking a few steps back. He closed his eyes in
concentration, bowing his head a little, right hand pressed against his
forehead. A purplish glow surrounded him, and Anzu put her hand on
Other Yuugi’s arm, fingers clenching at the fabric of his
sleeve. He kept an eye on Mahaado, his hand cupping the Sennen Puzzle,
as if seeking comfort in holding it. Still, he didn’t feel
any reason to be alarmed - despite the things they were telling him,
despite how they behaved, these two had showed no intention of harming
him. He felt strangely at ease with these people, both calling forth a
familiar feeling in him of safety and security. His train of thought
was roughly interrupted when pain took over his body and he tensed up.
“It
is done soon, Pharaoh…my apologies for the
discomfort,” Mahaado mumbled, barely audible enough to
overhear.
Anzu held on
to Other Yuugi, slightly worried when she saw him clenching his teeth.
“Are
you all right?”
“It…it
feels like something is tugging…forcefully at me,”
he managed to say before the purplish light surrounding Mahaado started
to surround him as well, turning a pale blue. Anzu gasped, tightening
her grip on him. Right in front of her eyes, Yuugi appeared, his body
ethereal, basking in the pale blue light. The outlines of his face
became clearer, and his eyes widened in surprise, his mouth opening
soundlessly. Soon enough, the outline of his whole body was visible,
duplicating his regular clothes - his standard school uniform - and his
hair. With an unceremonious grunt, Yuugi was dumped on the floor, right
on his rear, body as solid as before.
Bewildered, he
looked up at his Other, sitting on the chair and staring at him,
crimson red eyes boring into large violet, both boys in their own body.
“Mou
hitori no boku!” Yuugi exclaimed, beaming at him.
“Aibou,”
Other Yuugi said, baffled. Anzu laughed softly, amused by both their
bewilderment.
“Master!”
Mana cried out, interrupting their little reunion. She raced to Mahaado
as he seemed to faint from the exertion. Other Yuugi and Anzu quickly
stood up, while Yuugi scrambled to get up from the floor, rushing to
the man’s aid.
“I
told you it would take too much out of you!” Mana scolded
furiously as she quickly tucked herself under Mahaado’s arm,
keeping him from falling over. She grunted as he leaned heavily on her.
“It...it
was worth it,” he said, voice a soft whisper. Mana looked a
little remorseful, pursing her lips.
“I
know,” she answered. “I know, Master.”
“You
have to tell them,” he said. “What we were talking
about…”
“Later,”
Mana answered firmly. “You’re going to rest now,
Master, and then there’s time to talk. This timeline is
intact, we have some leeway now.”
She looked
over at the others, flashing an apologetic smile.
“It’s all right, it’s
just…I’ll explain later. You better sit down
and…get acquainted, or something.”
“For
as long as I am in this timeline, you will remain separated,”
Mahaado said, smiling tiredly at both Yuugi’s. “It
is an honor to offer some of my energy to keep the spell
intact…”
“Master,
that’s enough for now,” Mana reminded him, her
voice fondly yet respectful. She whisked him away by tugging at his
arm, forcing him to walk out of the living room. They could hear her
talking to her Master admonishingly about ‘working too
hard’ and ‘never taking some time for
himself’.
Amazed yet
happy, Anzu turned around to face the two Yuugi’s.
“You
heard it- you two are going to be separated as long as
Mahaado’s here,” she said, clasping her hands. She
addressed Other Yuugi who looked adorable when he was slightly
confused, overjoyed that she finally got to see him without feeling
guilty. Anzu had considered asking Yuugi one of these days, before all
of this happened, to switch with his Other; and even though she knew he
would do that for her, it would make everything…awkward.
She’d fallen in love with his voice, the first time
she’d ever heard him say “Let’s play a
game”. Yuugi would step aside and still smile, but she
didn’t want to hurt him. She would never forgive herself if
she hurt her best friend. Now that they were both separated, this would
make things so much easier. She blushed furiously at the thought.
“Aibou,”
he repeated, voice calm and confident as always, his hands moving over
his arms as if he wanted to check his body was really solid. Yuugi
himself wore a dazzling smile, feeling a little queasy due to the
separation and the magic involved, but was generally happy to see his
Other standing right in front of him.
“This
is so much better than meeting up in our soul rooms,” he said
joyfully. “Now we finally get to see each other in the
flesh.”
“It
is…amazing,” he said, now looking at his hands.
“I…I forgot how it felt…”
“We
have to give you a real name now,” Anzu suggested.
“We can’t go around referring to you as Other Yuugi
all the time! Wait until Jounouchi and Honda hear about this -
they’d love to meet you like this!”
“Well,
ehm…” Yuugi said, feeling a little weighed down by
Anzu’s suggestion. Finding his Other’s name and
memories was their quest together, something they talked about since
the beginning when they were aware of each other’s presence.
It didn’t feel right giving him just a name for the sake of
being able to refer to one another.
“Maybe
Mahaado-san or Mana-chan know his real name,” it suddenly
dawned on him. “They know him as their Pharaoh,
right?”
“I
do not know them, aibou,” his Other answered. “I do
not even know what they are doing here, or why he took the trouble of
separating us.”
“Yami,”
Anzu said.
“What?”
“Yami,”
the girl repeated, smiling. “Why don’t we call you
Yami for now? Yami means ‘dark’, and your eyes are
dark, like Yuugi’s are light. Light and
Dark…” her voice trailed off.
This idea had
just hit her, but now she felt silly for suggesting it. She was met
with two grateful
smiles however, and she blushed again.
“Yami
is a suitable name for as long as this situation is at hand,”
he said, followed by Yuugi.
“That’s
a great idea, Anzu! It’s a suitable name, indeed!”
Yami sat down
again, looking at both Anzu and Yuugi. “This is something
incredibly extraordinary,” he said. “Never have I
thought from the moment that I awoke that I would walk again in a body
of my own.”
“It
must be so hard for you to not remember a thing,” Anzu said
sympathetically. He nodded, leaning back into his chair. Yuugi sat down
next to him, noticing that the biggest difference between them was that
he wasn’t wearing the Puzzle, and Yami was - their separation
hadn’t split the Item as well.
“I
do not know the reason why I was locked away in the Puzzle, or how it
ever came to pass that I owned the Puzzle in the first place. My
earliest memories are of Yuugi, on the floor and in pain, when that
Ushio kid had beaten him.”
“So
far, we’ve learned that you’re a Pharaoh,
that’s for sure,” Yuugi supplied helpfully.
“We all want to help you with this, mou hitori no boku.
You’ll recover your name and your
memories…” And then what?
He quickly killed that train of thought. He owed his Other - no, Yami,
though it was hard to think of him with that name - so much already,
for saving his grandfather’s soul…
“I’m
sorry.”
All three of
them looked up as Mana spoke. Her robes flowed around her as she went
to the other side of the table.
“How’s
Mahaado-san?” Yuugi asked.
“He’s
resting,” she answered. “The spell, the jump here,
it was all too much. After all, his heka
is…depleting, and not what it used to be. I’m
sorry.”
“What
are you sorry for?” Yami asked.
She shook her
head. “That I can’t tell you everything. I know
that you want to ask me questions, I know
what you want to ask… but anything I say or do,
can disrupt the timeline like we said before, and we’ve come
too far to have our work destroy by ourselves.”
“Mana-chan,”
Yuugi said, “will you please tell us what you’re
allowed to tell? We don’t understand. Timelines, heka,
jumps…”
Mana showed a
small smile. “Mahaado is my Master, and I’m his
Apprentice…in magic, what we call heka.
It’s how we called it in Ancient Egypt, and it’s
what we use to jump between several timelines to correct
them.”
“That
sounds…fantastic,” Anzu said. “Ancient
Egypt…”
“I
don’t ask of you to believe me, though it would be nice if
you would,” Mana said without any humor in her voice. She
slumped a little in her chair, tiredness in her features.
“There’s a constant factor in every universe and
every world, to keep the coherence of life and events as they unfold
together - a timeline. All these timelines are a part of the Great
Timeline that spans more than millennia, indefinite, never ending,
never beginning.”
She looked at
the others to gauge their reaction, heaving a soft sigh.
“This Great Timeline absorbs the smaller timelines and
assimilates them as a giant river that keeps on floating, so to speak.
Not all of these timelines are the same as worlds are different and
some events don’t happen as fate or destiny tend to
meddle,” she continued. “It doesn’t
really matter that much to the Great Timeline in its entirety, unless
it’s an event that’s so important that any change
to it alters the course of the timeline and affects the Great Timeline,
throwing it off.”
“I
don’t understand,” Anzu interjected.
“What kinds of events throw off a timeline, how can that even
be possible?”
“Certain
events are determining a world - think of a certain person in a very
powerful position, ruling his country. Or a war could happen, a force
of nature changing a land, or something from the skies, like a
meteorite. It’s not always something you can
control. In your world, dinosaurs are extinct because of a meteorite,
for example. Sure, people are still discussing about it if
that’s really the case, but fact is: dinosaurs
don’t exist anymore. This is one of those pivotal events that
has to happen in every timeline to be assimilated by the Great
Timeline. If there’s a world wherein the meteorite
didn’t have the same impact and dinosaurs would still exist,
assimilation in the Great Timeline would throw it off.”
“I
think I understand,” Yuugi said. “But how are we
involved? I mean, you said something about the Puzzle and releasing the
Pharaoh’s soul…”
Yami looked at
Mana, his eyes examining the girl as if he wanted to catch her in a
lie. What she was telling him went above his imagination, and he
couldn’t shake her familiarity with the Black Magician Girl,
let alone as if he’d knew her even before that.
“Solving
the Puzzle and releasing his soul is one of those
pivotal events as well,” Mana said. “If it
didn’t happen for some reason…” She
paused here, a brief look of sadness in her eyes before she continued,
“…there would be no one able to stand up against
the darkness that’s about to threaten this world as we know
it.”
“Darkness…!”
Anzu repeated, voice soft..
“I’m
sorry again,” Mana said. “But there’s
still a path filled with trials and tests for the both of you. If you
think you had it hard during Duelist Kingdom, you’ll be put
to the test even more with the Battle City Finals that are about to
come. You will have to fight for the God Cards, as those will unlock a
great part of your memories…but only after you managed to
win them, and I’m not allowed to divulge if you do or
not.”
“So
you do know the Duel Monsters game,” Yuugi piped up,
enthusiastic. “Are you the Black Magician Girl? Your
resemblance…”
“I’m
not allowed to divulge that,” Mana whispered.
“You’ll hear that a lot from me or my Master. If we
tell you, we can alter the events of this timeline, and this is the
most complete we’ve found so far.”
Yami briefly
nodded. “Mahaado mentioned something about Kaiba organizing
this tournament, and as I told him, I will participate to win those God
Cards. If there is Darkness to battle, we will win over it.”
Mana rose from
her chair. “I’ve got some work to take care
of,” she said, her eyes resting on Yami before looking at
Anzu and Yuugi. “Feel free to make yourselves at home
here.”
“We
should really call home and tell that we’re staying
here,” Yuugi said after a look at the large clock on the
wall. “I should’ve been home by now!”
“You
can call home, but don’t invite anyone over, not even your
friends,” Mana warned. “It’s for the best
that as few people as possible know about it. If they are aware of
what’s happening, they could inadvertently change the course
of events, thus damaging the timeline.”
“Oh…”
Anzu was clearly disappointed. Jounouchi would probably be worried, as
both she and Yuugi hadn’t shown up at classes today.
“I’ll
be back soon enough, and we can prepare dinner together,”
Mana said, putting her hand on Anzu’s shoulder and gave her a
friendly pat. “I’ll show you how to prepare real
Egyptian Feteer Bel Asaag, that’s a
pastry with meat! We’ll catch up later.”
“All
right,” the girl smiled at the magician, and showed her a
smile again. It was a pity that she couldn’t call Honda or
Jounouchi; they would’ve loved to talk to Yami in person.
“Do
you mind if I use the kitchen to make tea for us all?”
“You
probably have a lot to talk about,” Mana agreed, joyfully.
“Please, go ahead. There’s plenty of tea and
cookies to your tastes available.”
She left the
living room after that, head lowered while a million thoughts went
through her mind. Had she done the right thing, had she told them
enough to understand or too much to harm the timeline after all?
“Mana-chan!
Mana-chan, wait up, please?”
She stopped
dead in her tracks, hearing Yuugi’s voice behind her. Mana
turned around, waiting for him to catch up with her, giving her an
apologetic smile.
“I’m
sorry, this must be terribly rude, Mana-chan…”
“Of
course not, Prince,” she said. “What can I do for
you?”
Yuugi fidgeted
a little. He wanted to tell her once again to please stop calling him
Prince, but it would probably be futile. She was so used to call him
with that particular title, that any attempt of him to make her stop
would probably create an awkward situation.
“Mana-chan,
I was wondering…can I please know…can you please
tell me mou hitori no boku’s true name?
It’s…”
“Something
you’re dying to know,” she finished her sentence.
“I can’t tell you, Prince, please don’t
ask that of me.”
“I’ll
never tell him,” Yuugi pleaded. “I just want to
know what kind of name he has, how his father used to call
him…I can keep it from him…!”
“No,
you can’t,” she said, and her smile was warm and
brilliant instead of admonishing or scolding. “You
don’t have any secrets from each other, Prince and Pharaoh.
I’m sure you’d try to keep it a secret, just as
I’m sure he can get it out of you with looking into your
direction with those eyes of his that make you go weak in your
knees.” Her cheeks turned a dark red as she finished
speaking, and now it was Mana who started fidgeting, plucking at her
dress.
“May
I ask then, where you’re going to?” Yuugi said, his
cheeks coloring as well. Mana had spoken not loudly, but loud and clear
enough to get the meaning behind her words.
“There
are two timelines left at the moment that need our
attention,” Mana answered, willing her blush to go away.
“Two who are so deviated that they’d affect and
harm the Great Timeline greatly…and that’s why we
have to restore them, somehow.”
“It
must be very difficult work,” Yuugi whispered.
“It
is,” she immediately admitted. “There’s
one in Ancient Egypt and one alternate universe… those are
the last two.”
“I’d
love to see Egypt,” Yuugi said. “My grandfather has
been there…he brought back the golden box with the Sennen
Puzzle.”
She nodded.
“Yes, and that was exactly according to the Great
Timeline,” she said. “You finished it in time and
released the Pharaoh’s soul as you were supposed to do. The
timeline in Ancient Egypt…” Her voice became
thick. “Our Pharaoh there…is hard and evil. Things
went wrong in that timeline, and he…he lived through it to
become as hard and malicious as he is now.”
“I…that’s
extremely hard to believe…mou hitori no boku?”
“I
already said too much,” Mana muttered. “Forgive me,
Prince. I have to go now…please join the Pharaoh and Anzu in
the living room. As soon as my Master has rested, he’ll fill
you in on the rest, if he chooses to…”
He knew the
conversation had ended, and he was never the one to pry.
“I’m sorry,” he softly said, but Mana
didn’t hear it as she walked down the hallway, entering
another room and closing the door a little too loud.
Timeline
I, Khemet
Atemu paced
back and forth in his study. The Puzzle dangled, bumping against his
chest angrily with every movement. How could his cousin be so stupid? A
High Priest falling for a pale and white-haired…freak of
nature? It was a conspiracy, he was sure of it. They would go after his
most trusted advisors first, narrowing him down, forcing him into a
corner. With all his Priests charmed, he would be all alone, vulnerable
and defenseless.
That
white-haired demon was just the beginning. Set didn’t feel
anything for her, he was just under her spell. He gritted his teeth.
Though he commanded the Gods, the Pharaoh, the exalted ruler of Khemet,
didn’t have the slightest bit of heka in
his body. Not many knew that, assuming that their monarch was nothing
short of a god himself, disposing over more than enough magic powers to
rival the nation’s greatest spirit sorcerer.
Mahaado.
A faint, queasy feeling welled up inside of him and he put a
hand against his chest, over his heart region. It hurt the most when he
thought of his missing Priest, no, his Priest who ran away from him
soon after the alleged King of Thieves barged into the Palace. It had
taken a God to drive Bakura away, but not after he uttered the threat
that he would go after each and every Priest to get their Sennen Item.
Atemu sat down on one of the many chairs in his room, panting as if he
had ran at least ten miles. Why did it hurt, physically and mentally,
to think of Mahaado? Because he had cared so much for him, because he
wanted to have him, to hold him in his arms, being held by him?
“Great
Pharaoh, are you all right?”
He growled,
having forgotten that Shaadah was with him. Even though Atemu could
demand all the privacy he wanted, in general it happened to be that
there was someone with him almost the entire day, be it one of his
Priests or advisors, or a guard.
“I
am fine,” he snarled, not apologizing for his rude tone. He
would wonder why he was thinking about Mahaado in the first place
later. It had taken another calling of the Gods, Ra Himself in this
case, to kill the thief. By then, Mahaado had left the
Palace…and Atemu had thought, tried to convince himself that
he had gone out to defeat the King of Thieves, to keep his Sennen Ring
out of the man’s clutches…but Mahaado had never
returned, with or without Ring, and the search expeditions Atemu had
send out to find him had always returned empty-handed.
“Great
Pharaoh, about the Syrian delegates…”
“What
is it, did they leave?”
“No,
they didn’t,” Shaadah shook his head.
“They have caught wind of the rumors, and are discussing how
much they can use it to their advantage.”
“I
will not answer to any kind of blackmail,” Atemu huffed.
“Besides, the affairs of my High Priest is none of their
business.”
“They
will more than probably question his credibility in their next
negotiations with you, Great Pharaoh.”
“Just
as I expected, and Set still does not see the problem. A white demon, I
tell you!”
“Great
Pharaoh, Kisara isn’t at fault in this…”
“Is
this your way of telling me that
I am at fault, Priest Shaadah?”
The man
flinched. “Of course not, Great Pharaoh! We’ll find
a solution to this, just as your father always found a
solution…”
“My
father is not here,” Atemu barked. “I rule this
country now, and I will see to it that no demon, white-haired or not,
will tear my Court and my country apart! I have dealt with thieves,
kings, delegates, and this woman will not be the end of my
reign!”
“I’m
sure it won’t come to that,” Shaadah said.
“Please, Great Pharaoh. We have to remain calm in all of
this. If we don’t solve this rightfully, our neighbor
countries…”
“Will
mock us,” Atemu finished his sentence. “It is not
my High Priest’s credibility at stake here, but mine and our
nation’s as well. Women with blue eyes will bring disaster to
this land. I am in charge of this nation - it will not fall at
someone’s hands but mine!”
“Great
Pharaoh,” Shaadah spoke, “we can’t let
ourselves be guided by superstition. The girl is unusual in appearance,
yes, but I’m sure that…”
“Enough
about this woman,” Atemu cut him off. “How is my
vizier?”
The Priest was
taken aback by the question, startled why his Pharaoh would ask about
the elderly vizier right now. Since the man had fallen ill, Atemu had
barely asked about him.
“Shimon’s
health is stable, fortunately. He’s enjoying his time without
any obligations and duties, finally some time for himself.”
Atemu barely
nodded. “He deserves it. He’s been in service of my
family for several generations. I could use his advice on this,
though… but I cannot depend on everyone all the time. I have
to make a decision in this matter.”
“Great
Pharaoh?”
“Keep
an eye on the Syrian delegates,” Atemu said. “I do
not wish for them to send out messengers with news and gossip
about…the recent events. I will talk to Set again and maybe
go visit this Kisara woman myself.”
Shaadah paled,
but quickly bowed his head.
“Do
you think that is wise, Great Pharaoh?”
He snorted.
“After all, I have to see for myself the woman who can make
my esteemed cousin go nuts in love. If he is just as diligent to her as
to his duties, she will probably praise herself lucky that she has
caught herself such a big fish. I will personally see to it that it
will not be the case.”
The Priest
pursed his lips, briefly motioning at the guards, who curtly nodded
with their head before guarding their Pharaoh, accompanying him out of
his room.
“I
will watch him? Watch him die?” The
Priestess’ voice was shrill. She couldn’t believe
her ears. There was someone standing next to her bed, claiming to be
her, showing impressive heka, telling her that she
would watch her Pharaoh die? Both Mana’s cringed, from the
sound of her voice as well as from the idea.
“There’s
no other way,” Mana said. She dropped the sheets and moved
away from the bed. “His darkness…no, the darkness
inside of him will only grow stronger with each passing day, each
passing moment. He has fought so hard…I have to be thankful
it hasn’t gotten that much out of hand
yet…”
“It
hasn’t?” the Priestess barely refrained from
shrieking again. “He’s nowhere near the friend I
grew up with, the boy I knew my whole life! He’s cold,
he’s distant, he uses…”
“Your
body,” Mana said. The Priestess abruptly shut her mouth,
averting her eyes.
“My
body,” she whispered.
“How…what
does it feel like?”
She looked up.
“What? What do you mean?”
Mana was the
one to look away now, her hand fumbling with her cloak. Her hand
trembled slightly. Her heka was depleting fast; she
had had to uphold a masking spell to keep herself disguised from
everyone but the Priestess, and she had made the jump between
timelines.
“I…”
The Priestess
spoke after a minute. “I’ll tell
you…after you tell me first what you’re doing
here, and how and why…he has to die.”
“I
don’t have much time.” Mana looked up again, at the
Priestess, at her spitting image. She had always wondered what would
become of her when she was just a little child, but after seeing so
many worlds, so many realities, Mana knew more than enough. She was
here to restore the Great Timeline, to save worlds from utter
destruction, to bring alternate realities back from beyond control.
“I’m
Mana, I’m you, in each and every way. Undoubtedly
you’ll have many questions…but I can’t
answer them all. Some of the answers go above your belief, beyond your
grasp and imagination.”
“You’re
telling me that, and still you have the nerve to bluntly watch him
die?”
Chapter 6 | Chapter 8