Chapter Text
Dear Readers...while I enjoy the Yu-Gi-Oh! manga and even own it and the follow-up movie The Dark Side of Dimensions, I find some of the characters within it utterly reprehensible and overall prefer the animé universe more.
Thus, while this fic has taken several plot points and characteristics from said manga and movie (including all of the character designs except for Duke's), this fic is set in the animé-continuity instead.
I had not planned on finishing this week…or any time soon, really; my original works take up most of my free time, and my FFVII works have been taking up what leftover time I use for fanfiction. However, a friend of mine has been under the weather lately. You know who you are…I hope this cheers you up!
Please enjoy!
DISCLAIMER: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! or its characters; I am merely a fan who enjoys writing about them. All rights belong to Kazuki Takahashi. This is a work of fiction written for pleasure only, not for profit.
"Cloud network online?"
"Check."
"All updates complete?"
"Sir."
"Excellent." A smirk appeared on the 18-year-old's face. "Let's begin, then."
A window popped up on the screen.
"Seto...please be careful, okay?"
Weeks and weeks of research, design, and redesign had all culminated in this: his latest enhancement to the world of Dueling, his Neurons VR system. The egg-shaped helmet was his most revolutionary invention to date: designed to read a person's very brainwaves, it would thereby provide a virtual reality experience unlike any other. Once connected to KaibaCorp's Crystal Cloud Network, it would allow Duelists from all over the world to meet up and compete via his other VR endeavor: Duel Links.
Of course, this was just the prototype.
"Neurons VR system online...accessing Crystal Cloud Network..."
If all went well today, they would be up and mass-manufacturing within a matter of weeks...and ready to take preorders for Christmas—
A thousand needles struck him all at once...and then...darkness.
"...Seto!"
.:Y:.:Y:.:Y:.
...What was he doing in Egypt? He'd been to Egypt; not much of interest there. They would spend Christmas with the Ishtars; that was it.
...And where was Cairo, anyway? He was in the middle of the desert! No towering skyscrapers, no roads, no—houses? No, there were houses in the distance...houses made of...mud-bricks? These were ancient houses!
A feeling of pride welled inside him…he hadn't expected his program to be quite this successful! But there was no other possibility: he, Seto Kaiba, had succeeded in transcending not only space, but time itself. He had not only sent his consciousness elsewhere in the world, but elsewhere in history: to Ancient Egypt, in the time of the Nameless Pharaoh!
Determination and eager anticipation filling him, Kaiba walked onward…to the town and straight through it, and then up the stairs to the palace. If he had calculated right, he should be able to just walk in and up to the throne…
And he could.
At last, at last! He had come to accept Yugi as the true King of Games…but that did not mean he did not still desire a rematch! And a rematch he would have, with the rival who had truly been his.
He slowed as he approached, halting in front of Atem's throne. He smirked.
"It's good to see you, Pharaoh."
.:Y:.:Y:.:Y:.
"Seto! SETO!" Mokuba threw down the headset he'd been wearing and ran to the doors of the testing room, hitting the switch to open them. The sight inside made Mokuba's blood run cold: his brother lay flat on his back, unmoving. The scent of burned leather and plastic hung in the air—the leather smell could only be coming from Seto—and the tips of the elder Kaiba's fingers were red and blistered.
'...He's...too still…' The realization hit Mokuba like a blast from one of the Solid Vision holograms; quickly, he ripped off the helmet, then pressed his ear to Seto's chest.
'...No...no, Seto...please…"
"Roland, I can't hear his heartbeat!" Mokuba cried.
"What?! Move." Mokuba stepped back; Roland felt at Seto's wrist, then his neck, then at last listened at his chest as his brother had done.
Nothing.
Roland turned to the converging engineers. "Call an ambulance!"
"Roland—"
"Stand back, Mokuba," Roland said, pulling the boy with him as two of the on-site doctors ran over with a bag. Mokuba looked on in horror as they cut open Seto's tight black shirt and began sticking electrodes all over his chest. He couldn't really be...they had to save him, they just had to!
"Roland..." The assistant shook his head, pulling the boy close.
"It's what they have to do," he said. "It's too tight to just pull off and they need to work fast—"
"What's this?" The doctor at Seto's head lifted the egg-shaped helmet, and from where he was standing, Roland could see blood on the inside.
'Oh, Lord…'
"Is that...Seto's?" Mokuba gasped. The doctor pulled his hand away, blood coming with it.
"I think he's hit his head inside the helmet…"
"Bro!" Mokuba tried to run to him, but Roland held him back.
"...They need to work on him unimpeded," he said, voice catching in his throat. Mokuba stared at him, then back at his brother...and crumpled.
"Come here," Roland said gently, pulling the boy back to his side. "Come on...right there."
'Don't die on us now, Kid,' Roland thought. 'Your brother still needs you!'
Three minutes passed, then four, then five and six. Mokuba's sobs grew more pronounced and he shook under Roland's grasp. The assistant held him tighter...he was losing hope.
'C'mon, Kid...you gotta be okay!'
Nearly five more minutes passed, and Roland felt his own heart sinking with each second that Seto didn't wake. They were fast closing in on the fifteen-minute mark…the mark when most doctors gave up, and declared a patient dead.
"If there is a God in Heaven…you will restore this boy to his family…he's got a huge chip on his shoulder, and he's got an ego about the size of Alaska…but he's not a bad kid. These boys have been through enough. Please…let him come back!"
"Please, Seto…" Mokuba shook his head as the doctors continued to pound on his brother's chest. "Please…I've lost Mom and Dad…I can't lose you, too! Please!"
.:Y:.:Y:.:Y:.
CEO versus Pharaoh. The present versus the past. Magic versus machine. Kaiba raised his Duel Disk to Atem's DiaDhank, prepared to bring the full power of his deck to the battlefield.
And suddenly, he was gasping for air. Suddenly, he was falling forward…why couldn't he breathe? And his chest! Something was pounding on his chest! What was…?!
"Kaiba." Atem was kneeling next to him, along with…another him?
"Who're…who're you…" Yes, he remembered this man...and not only for the fact that they looked alike...
"Atem's cousin," Priest-turned-Pharaoh Seto nodded, as he and Atem lifted Kaiba to rest on his ancestor's knee. "Your own great-grandfather…give or take a few generations, of course."
"You're my…" Kaiba gasped, throwing his head back as that awful weight beat on his chest again. Atem gripped Kaiba's free hand in his own as pain spasmed through the 18-year-old. "What's…going on? Why do I…this…this wasn't supposed to happen! Why do I feel so awful…?"
"There's been an accident," Atem said gently, gripping his hand.
"An…accident?!" Mokuba…
Two other shadows fell over them, and two more familiar faces materialized…familiar faces that Seto had not seen in roughly twelve years.
"Mother? Father?" Atem smiled as the two people who had actually brought Seto into the world knelt on his other side. His father nodded at their ancestor, then moved to hold his son as well, while his mother reached to hold Seto's other free hand in hers.
"Am I…?!" No, he couldn't be dead; he couldn't be! Mokuba had only just turned twelve years old, and without mother or father…Mokuba still needed him!
"No, you aren't dead yet," his father said. "But the accident has left your body in a very critical state—"
"There…shouldn't have been an accident!" Kaiba gasped. "We ran tests…covered all our bases…this was…" How critical a state was his body in?! Kaiba grit his teeth as the banging started on his chest again. Mokuba!
"What's…happening?" Kaiba asked.
"The doctors on staff are performing CPR," his mother said gently, squeezing his hand. "Trying to get you breathing again. There was an electric shock to your system, and your body hasn't recovered."
"Hasn't…?!" He had to recover, he had to! "What about…I can't…ohhh!" That last weight on his chest…that one had hurt!
He couldn't give up…Mokuba still needed him…he still…
"It's not your time, Son," his father said. "But you will have a lot of healing to do when you awake."
"Mother…Father…"
"I wish that we had had more time with you and your brother, Seto," his mother said, brushing the hair away from his face and cupping his cheek in her hand. "I weep for the strains you have suffered. But know that we are never far. And you and Mokuba are no longer alone." She smiled. "Even the greatest of buildings need pillars and like things to support them. You have family, if only you'll choose to accept them." Seto's eyes roved around over the familiar, gentle faces: his parents, Atem and that magician girl…Mana?…that priestess who bore the odd resemblance to Ishizu Ishtar, and his own ancient doppelgänger, Priest Seto.
"You were never alone," his mother repeated. She placed a kiss to his forehead. "We love you."
.:Y:.:Y:.:Y:.
Seto's eyes shot open as he let out a groan. Mokuba choked back his tears in disbelief.
"We've got a pulse," one doctor confirmed, nodding at the boy and Roland.
"Labored breathing, but he's breathing," the other said, pulling the stethoscope out of his ears. Roland held fast to Mokuba as the doctors and paramedics began moving swiftly: putting an oxygen mask over the semi-conscious CEO's face and moving him to a stretcher. At this, the younger Kaiba broke free, running to his brother and gripping his hand.
"I'm riding in the helicopter with Seto!" he demanded, and Roland smiled.
"I know you are, Mokuba. So am I."
.:Y:.:Y:.:Y:.
"Yeah, my roommate's nice," Téa was saying over FaceTime. "Her name's Minto and she's from Tokyo. I admit I was kinda worried when I heard she was rich, but she misses her friends, too. I think we're going to get along just fine!" Yugi smiled warmly.
"That's great," he said. "Maybe you can-"
'Kuri-kurrrii! Kuri-kurrrii!'
"Is that a Kuriboh ringtone?" she asked in amusement, and Yugi nodded.
"Why not? He did see me through a lot of tight spots, after all…" He lifted the device to see who was calling. "Huh?" Yugi's eyebrows knitted as he stared at the phone. "Mokuba?"
"Is everything okay?" Téa asked. Yugi shook his head.
"I don't know," he said. He looked back to the FaceTime apologetically. "I'm sorry...he doesn't usually call me...do you mind?"
"Of course not!" she answered, already concerned. People usually texted anymore...unless it was an emergency. Yugi hit 'Answer'.
"Hey, Mokuba, what's…" The others watched with growing worry as Yugi's expression changed from one of confusion to one of horror. "He what?! … Yeah-yeah...of course!" His friends watched anxiously as Yugi scrambled to his feet, and the worry only grew when he made for his boots and hurried to put them on.
"Yug," Joey mouthed. He glanced back at them, gesturing wildly that they should do the same.
"We're on our way, okay? You sit tight. We'll be right there!" He hung up, shoving his phone back in his pocket and checking to make sure he had his wallet.
"Joey, you have to drive us over to the hospital — right now!"
"What's going on?!" Téa asked, still on FaceTime. Yugi frowned.
"Kaiba was testing out a new hologram… consciousness thing," Yugi said, shaking his head. "I don't know all the details, but it backfired or something...anyway when they got to him, he wasn't breathing. They were just rolling him into surgery when Mokuba called..."
"You're kidding—" Joey gasped.
"They're already at the hospital, but we have to leave now."
"Oh, my! Yes—go to him! Keep me updated!"
"I will!" He slammed the lid of the laptop shut. Behind him, his friends had also slipped into their shoes. Yugi hurried downstairs, leaving a note for his grandfather.
Kaiba might be a chronic denier of magic, but Mokuba wasn't. He and Yugi had visited more than once over the past weeks, Yugi telling him of everything that had happened in that Shadow Game against the Spirit of the Ring: that their own ancestor Priest Seto had fought bravely by his cousin's side, Kaiba's own role in saving the world and how he had helped defend them against Zorc.
"So wait...if you're Atem's descendant, and we're descended from Priest Seto-"
"That's what Atem said," Yugi nodded.
"And he was really Atem's cousin...doesn't that mean you and Seto and I are cousins, too?" Yugi rested his chin on his hand.
"You know, that's a good point—I've never really thought about it like that," he said. "Really distant cousins, but yeah...I guess we are! We might be related to the Ishtars too, actually...Priest Seto was one of the holders of Marik's Millennium Rod." Mokuba gave him a grin, then chuckled.
"I don't think our Seto will like that," he said. Yugi had to laugh, too.
"No...probably not."
"Mokuba asked me to collect you when you arrived," Roland greeted the three as they entered the hospital. He seemed exhausted; Yugi exchanged a worried look with his friends as they followed the longtime personal assistant through a maze of halls that smelled of sterilization and rubber. Yugi could not remember the last time he hated a scent so much.
"Yugi!" Mokuba caught their eyes with a terrified look as they entered the observation room. Yugi's heart sank: through the window of the O.R. he could see a mound of doctors surrounding a bed.
"What happened?!" Joey asked, horrified. Mokuba shook his head, tears trickling down his face. Yugi drew him into an embrace, and the boy sobbed in his arms.
"Mr. Kaiba was testing some new virtual reality technology," Roland explained in a hushed voice. "Something went wrong and it sent out shockwaves instead. But...we were in the last stages of development! Every precaution had been taken and Mr. Kaiba had actually added extra security measures and safeguards …there should barely have been minor risks, let alone a life-threatening one. When we pulled the helmet off him, he didn't have a pulse."
"Something happened and he got...electrocuted or something," Mokuba explained, wiping at his eyes. Yugi held him close again, exchanging more looks with his friends. "Parts of his clothes were burned and he had blisters on some of his face. We think he hit his head in it when he fell down...there was blood on his face and the back of his head when we…"
Mokuba trailed off, turning back around and gripping the edge of the Operating Room window.
"Please, Bro...please...you just have to be okay!"
"He fell unconscious again on the way here," Roland whispered. "They're going to have to cut him out of some of the burned parts of his clothes. It looks like he experienced an acute electric shock, and there's some bleeding on his brain. They're working to drain the fluid now."
"No way," Tristan gasped, turning back toward the window. Beside him, Roland shut his eyes as if to block out the memory. Joey regarded him in sympathy; there wasn't much love lost between himself and Kaiba, but Roland had worked for their company for years. Aside from Mokuba, he was quite possibly the most loyal associate Kaiba had. And Kaiba…wasn't the worst person in the world. He had saved them in Ancient Egypt. Joey had not forgotten that.
"We know you did all you could, man," Joey said. Roland nodded, drawing another breath, then turned back to where Mokuba had pressed himself up against the glass again. He was not the one who was hurting the most.
"Do they know what's gonna happen if he pulls through?" Tristan asked. "I mean...you guys did get him going again, right?"
"Yes. He was steady when they put him through to surgery," Roland answered. "But as to the extent of his injuries, we won't know until they pull him out. The burns were…"—he swallowed—"the burns he did have were very bad."
"I begged them to let me go in with him...but they said it would be better if I stayed here so they didn't have to work around me," Mokuba said. "I could've pushed it...we own the hospital...but if it's better for Seto…" He shook his head, the horrible images and events of the day going through his head for the millionth time. "What if he dies on the table?! And I'm not there for him?!" Yugi frowned as the boy sobbed into his side again; it was killing him to leave his brother all alone. A shuffle of white coats caught Yugi's attention, and he peered past his reflection in the window, trying to see what was going on.
And froze.
...That wasn't his reflection at all.
"Mokuba." He squeezed the kid's shoulder. Mokuba looked up at him, confused. Yugi...was smiling?
"Kaiba's not alone in there," Yugi said, feeling a lump in his throat. "Look closely." He pointed, and Mokuba peered where he indicated. Then gasped. Yugi's hair did not have a lightning-like streak of blond up the tallest spike...and he most certainly did not go around in a tunic and a cape.
"But...who are those other people?" One he recognized: a tan 'Seto Kaiba', standing next to Atem. But the others...a woman resembling Yugi's mother, and a man who rather resembled Mokuba...those, Yugi did not know. His mother had texted him shortly before they'd left.
Mokuba gasped.
"What?! What's wrong?!" Joey gasped. Mokuba wiped his eyes again.
"That's our mom and dad."
.:Y:.:Y:.:Y:.
The group did not know how long they waited. It seemed like hours, but likely that was not quite the case. Mokuba's worry for his brother had not lessened, but he felt calmer knowing Seto had other people who loved him standing closer by.
At last, the doctors pulled away, and Mokuba's parents looked up, smiling at their second son through the surgery window. He raised a hand and pressed it up against the glass, managing to return his parents' smile despite fresh tears trailing down his cheeks. Atem and the ancient Seto also looked up—Atem's gaze resting more on Yugi than anyone else; his own great-grandson-by-several-generations—and nodded. In perfect tandem, the cousins raised their hands in a thumbs-up. Yugi let out a laugh, wiping his own eyes. Seto would be all right.
A blink, and the spirits were gone.
The doors of the surgery opened then, and Mokuba rushed over as the doctor came out.
"How is he?! How's Seto?!…Can I see him…?!" Yugi very gently placed a hand on Mokuba's shoulder, and Roland did the same on the boy's other side.
"Let's hear what she has to say first, okay?" the assistant said softly. Mokuba wiped his eyes on his sleeve again, but nodded at the surgeon.
"I'm sorry," he said. She shook her head.
"It's okay," she replied. "I understand how worried you must be. But your brother pulled through, and he's doing as good as he can be given the circumstances."
"What kind of injuries are we looking at?" Roland asked.
"Some that will require significant recovery, I'm afraid," she said. "There was some bleeding on the brain, and several bad burns over his body. One of his ribs is broken from the CPR, and the electric shock may have caused some other nerve damage that we're not yet aware of…he's probably going to need physical therapy. But his vitals are good, and we have confidence that he will make a strong recovery."
Mokuba picked up on what the doctor hadn't said.
"Not…full recovery?" he asked, eyes wide. At this, the doctor's smile saddened.
"He suffered an electric shock," she said. "Unfortunately, we won't know the full extent of the damage or what he can overcome until the healing process is further along. The damage and burns to his left side were far worse than those on his right. We were able to mend a lot of those, but…as to everything, there's just no real way to tell at present. But 'strong' recovery, yes…I think your brother is to stubborn to settle for anything else."
Mokuba laughed a little as he wiped his eyes again. Yes, Seto was too stubborn to settle for anything else.
"You can see him if you're quiet. Follow me."
The doctor's description of Seto's injuries did not prepare the group for what they saw: a multitude of bandages and wires and electrodes covered their old classmate, and an oxygen mask obscured half his face. Seto was awake, watching as Mokuba slowly approached the bed and gingerly rested a hand on his arm.
"Does that hurt?" he asked. Very slowly, the elder Kaiba shook his head from side-to-side. Mokuba choked into sobs again; he wrapped his arms around Seto's upper body as carefully as he could, burying his face in his shoulder.
"I really thought…I really thought you were gone," Mokuba cried. "They were gonna stop trying soon…and I thought…" He shook his head. Slowly—painfully—Seto moved to squeeze his younger brother's arm. Everything hurt!
But he was alive. He was alive, and still here. Mokuba was not alone…Seto's grip on Mokuba's arm tightened, as if to reassure both of them the reality that he'd survived.
"I'm glad you're all right, Kaiba," Yugi said, and Seto was sure he heard a slight tremor in the young man's voice.
"Me too," Joey added softly. "I mean dat."
"Me three," Tristan said, nodding.
"Me four, Boss," Roland added, a rare smile gracing his face.
Seto shut his eyes. He was furious and embarrassed that they should see him in such a vulnerable state.
But he was also irrevocably grateful for their presence. Whatever happened—whatever had happened, for he felt certain that there was no accident—these people would have their backs. They would not betray him.
He and Mokuba were no longer alone.
AUTHOR'S NOTES:
•The original Neurons VR system as depicted in Transcend Game is in fact an egg-shaped helmet...and you can find a picture of them on the Yu-Gi-Oh! wiki XD And yes, the manga does directly tie to the mobile game.
•Yugi's mother really does resemble Seto imo XD Whether or not Takahashi planned Atem and Priest Seto to be cousins from the beginning, or whether it's just a happy coincidence that some family resemblance has lasted through 3000 years...Imma take it and run ;P
•As I said, FFVII fics have been taking up most of what I work on with fanfiction…and it shows. Kaiba's greeting to Pharaoh Atem was very accidentally and subconsciously inspired by Sephiroth's greeting to Cloud in Advent Children XD (And immediately had to turn on other music to drown out his theme song XD)
•"Minto" is indeed Minto Aizawa (Corina Bucksworth in the English dub) from Tokyo Mew Mew.
Please leave a review if you liked it :) Reviews encourage me to keep going (and update quicker ;) Thank you!
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