192A/N: The guesses regarding what SG-1 episode Ishizu's "cat" comment from last chapter refers to are amusing. The episode is canon and one of the best introductions in the series, in my humble opinion. This chapter I wrote while at work. Don't tell! The title is both literal and a bit of a pun. I am proud of myself. I hope y'all enjoy~
Chapter summary: In which Seto witnesses a duel and sees a God then Yugi is able to have a interesting conversation about Malik and rare metals.
37: Malik and Rare Earth Metals
Seto stood nearby watching the duel in progress. He had his reasons for wanting to watch this particular duel. The first being that Motou Yugi was one of the participants. The second reason had to do with both Yugi's opponent and something about the way this particular opponent dueled.
Seto was certain this… person, for lack of a more polite word, was involved in the elaborate cheating ring currently causing trouble in his tournament. The cheater's appearance was questionable at best, but it wasn't necessarily out of the norm for certain niche groups and duelists depending on their styles. The cheater had a buzz cut and more chains and piercings than Seto had ever seen on a person. Normally, something like that wouldn't bother him in the least. What was a bunch of piercings compared to a symbiote taking over and controlling a host like a puppet, after all.
No. It was the fact that this particular cheater had a disturbing habit of destroying every one of his opponents with the same card. A God card. At least, it appeared that way according to the KaibaCorp's dueling database from the tournament so far.
Was the card real? Seto didn't know. But he wasn't going to take the chance that it wasn't real. Besides, even if this cheater was using a fake card, all of the fake cards acted the same way as their genuine counterparts. If the same was true of the God cards -had they actually made fake God cards?! How?!- then this duel was a golden opportunity for Seto to observe the so-called God card in action.
And it had definitely been worth every second. The moment the cheater activated the God card, Seto knew. He felt the Dark power rush through his veins, thrum the Shadows woven into his being like plucked guitar strings, and press against him as if he'd just found himself subjected to double Earth's typical atmospheric pressure.
The Sky Dragon Osiris.
It was real. It was real and this cheater had it. Disgusting. Seto sneered and felt for his Deck where the comforting sparkle of Kisara's electricity tingled his senses and the Balancing power of Obelisk centered him. He knew Yugi wasn't stupid. This cheater was nothing by comparison. If the Pharaoh lost to someone as low as this cheater, well then Seto would have no desire to maintain his oaths of loyalty.
And he would take the card from the cheater. By force if necessary. No one but those trusted by the Shadows and by the Gods themselves deserved to hold let alone wield the God cards.
Which again brought back the constant discomfort of the Gods deigning to even consider allowing themselves to be sealed into cards to be used by a duelist or Shadowmancer in the first place. They were Gods. They were better in almost every single way. Why allow themselves to be subjugated in such a way?
At least She was still safe and untouched. Thank the universe for small mercies.
Still, it ground against Seto's nerves and he had to consciously keep his Shadows in check throughout the duel. The Millennium Rod kept his true nature and abilities under a tight seal, preventing his fury and disdain from wreaking havoc on the physical world around him. He would never let himself forget the cracked mug at Stargate Command, the injuries inflicted on Yugi's grandpa, or his life before the Millennium Rod found its way into his hands.
But he'd learned better. His slip of control at Stargate Command had been shameful. Not being in physical contact with the Rod was no excuse for the blunder. The Rod had been in close proximity, unlike when Seto had dueled Yugi's grandpa. He needed to start meditating again to calm his mind and spirit.
No matter how annoyingly long is was taking the Pharaoh to figure out the God card's obvious weakness. Seto figured it out within a minute. So what was taking Yugi and the Pharaoh so long?
"Malik!"
What? How had-?
Jolting all of his senses back to the situation at hand, Seto stared hard at Yugi. How did Yugi know the name 'Malik Ishtar'? He hadn't known who had been controlling Jounouchi. Seto never told them and Seto doubted Jounouchi had been able to remember. So how and why…
Damn it, Seto was too far away to hear the duelists' words clearly. But knowing what he did of Malik…
Seto turned his attention to the cheater. Buzz cut. Piercings. Badly done makeup. Dead eyes… Mind control.
Again? Why so often? Malik was just one person. He couldn't possibly control so many people so often with just his own abilities. That would result in a very serious headache. Especially considering the mental slap Seto had given the Goa'uld possessing Malik. This must be serious.
Why would a Goa'uld want to directly involve themselves in a Duel Monsters tournament of all things? What was the end goal? The Goa'uld possessing Malik, whoever they were, knew Seto was a queen and knew Seto was involved in the tournament. But Seto had dared the Goa'uld to face him directly. Why face off against someone other than Seto? Why would the serpent use his host's innate abilities without an effective way to prevent the side effects? Seto knew from personal experience that even his advanced healing wasn't enough to lessen the side effects of overexerting himself.
Why was the Goa'uld doing this?
Worse. Because this was a duel with a Shadowmancer, it was a Shadow Game. Thus, Seto couldn't interfere unless the Goa'uld actively cheated, whether by using a fake card, using a banned card, or outside influences to win the duel. Unless the snake cheated, Seto could not step in.
Seto wasn't a telepath so he couldn't use his mind to search for either Malik's mind or the Goa'uld's mind like Pegasus or the true wielder of the Eye probably could. The Rod's powers were offensive in nature and tailored to dominance. They were not tailored to handle the delicate details of the living mind. Seto's dominance was in battle, weaponry, and using the enemy's strength against them. The Rod's purpose was to be the first line of defense for the Shadow Court, fighting behind enemy lines.
But here, there were no enemy lines. There was nothing Seto could do but watch and wait. He hated waiting. It was maddening.
Yugi sighed in relief. His opponent had finally lost. Malik's influence was gone leaving the human behind disoriented and confused. Yugi had offered to take the person to the nearest urgent care, but they'd just thrown the puzzle card and rare card at him then fled. It was odd.
Tucking the final puzzle card into his pocket, Yugi studied the powerful new rare card in his hand. He could see the Pharaoh appear as a translucent shadow in the corner of his eye.
"The Sky Dragon Osiris," Yugi murmured, reading the name on the card. "I've never even heard of this card before."
:Neither have I,: the Pharaoh said, humming thoughtfully. :But Osiris is an ancient Egyptian god.:
"Do you remember anything about him?" Yugi asked, lifting his gaze to his spectral companion.
The Pharaoh pressed his lips together in a thin line before reluctantly shaking his head. :No, I don't. But that aside,: his ruby gaze hardened, :I can honestly say I would never have imagined a Duel Monsters card this powerful would exist.:
"Neither did I," Yugi admitted. Something above and behind Yami moved, catching Yugi's attention and he grimaced. "But I think I know who might."
With a curious frown, Yami followed his partner's gaze to see none other than Kaiba Seto standing on the berm under a tree. Kaiba was just far enough away to be out of earshot, but close enough to have witnessed the duel. After a moment, Kaiba tilted his head and crossed his arms over his chest, as if waiting for them to approach him and not the other way around.
Yugi really shouldn't have expected anything different, but it was still slightly annoying. He felt Yami nudge him playfully in the side before they walked across the grass to where Kaiba waited. At least the shade was cooler than the direct sunlight, which was nice.
"Took you long enough," Kaiba said without preamble.
Startled, Yugi blinked. "Long enough to what?"
"Figure out the monster's weakness," Kaiba clarified, a smirk tugging at his lips. "I figured it out quickly enough. With two people in your head, I would've thought you'd figure it out sooner."
Yugi grimaced and he could feel the Pharaoh sulking next to him. "Is that all you wanted to say?" Yugi grumbled.
Kaiba's blue eyes sparkled with mirth briefly before hardening and looking down at the new card Yugi still held in his hand. After a moment, Yugi held the card out for Seto to look at. He expected the business mogul to swipe the card and study it, or maybe scoff and turn away, or congratulate him for getting it, or ignore the card entirely.
He did not expect Kaiba to flinch. It was a small flinch and if Yugi hadn't been looking, he wouldn't have noticed it at all. But it had indeed been a flinch, the smallest step backwards.
"Kaiba?" he asked, concerned.
Blue eyes flickered to Yugi before glancing around them to be sure they were alone. "Keep that card close, Yugi," he said, his voice low with the edge of warning. "I doubt more than few people other than you, me, and Malik know those cards even exist. They were never supposed to exist. Do not let that card out of your sight for any reason."
Straightening in surprise, Yugi looked down at the card in his hand. The serpentine red and black dragon coiled in the picture, its wings outspread in flight, and its lower fanged mouth open and threatening.
"You know what this is?" he asked, looking back up at Kaiba. "What is it?"
"A God card," Kaiba replied with a sigh. "As far as I'm aware, there are only three of them. I don't know who holds the third, but I can guess." His eyes flashed gold unexpectedly and Yugi gasped despite himself. That really was kind of cool. "But at least two cards have shown up so far: your Sky Dragon Osiris, the God of the Darkness," Kaiba continued, nodding to Yugi's card, "and my Obelisk the Tormentor, God of the Balance," he pulled out a card from his own deck and held it out.
Obelisk the Tormentor was a behemoth of blue-black stone given form and life. It was a huge, humanoid monster with gnashing teeth and enormous wings. Its eyes glowed a brilliant cobalt, curiously the same shade as Kaiba's. Yugi reached out to touch it, but Kaiba flipped it out of Yugi's reach and tucked it back into his deck.
"Does the Pharaoh remember them?" Kaiba asked abruptly.
Caught by surprise, Yugi straightened and glanced at where Yami stood next to him in his translucent form. Yami was frowning in frustration as he tried hard to delve into his limited memory. Eventually, Yami's brow eased as he sighed and shook his head in surrender.
"No, he doesn't," Yugi said aloud, turning back to Kaiba. "What are they?"
Kaiba hummed. "They're our Gods," he said simply.
"Gods?" Yugi asked, frowning. "Like the goold?" He flushed when he realized he'd butchered the pronunciation. He opened his mouth to apologize when-
"Because you're still learning, I'll forgive that insult," Kaiba said, but his eyes still flashed a dangerous gold. "The Goa'uld are not gods. They aren't now, they never were, and they never will be. They're symbiotes controlling their hosts like puppets and using advanced technology to fool the less technologically advanced and the stupid into worshiping them. Nothing more."
"Right. Sorry," Yugi said, wincing.
"As I said," Kaiba said with a shrug, "I know you're still learning. Just remember the difference when it matters. These Gods," he nodded to the card still in Yugi's hand, "are real. They are the source of Shadowmancy, the power we use to play Shadow Games, to cast Spells, lay Traps, and summon Monsters. They exist in a dimension that is adjacent to but separate from ours, commonly called the Shadow Realm."
Yugi paled. Shadow Games? The Shadow Realm?
"They are generally benevolent towards humans," Kaiba continued. "Unless we break the laws of Shadowmancy or threaten what they protect, we have nothing to fear from them." Fury suddenly gleamed in his eyes. "They were never meant to be sealed like this."
Swallowing back his fear, Yugi considered Kaiba's words. "They were never supposed to be cards, you mean?"
The CEO nodded grimly. "Pegasus fucked up by sealing them in cards," Kaiba hissed. "He realized it too. Almost immediately after he created them, he buried them in the Egyptian desert. Unfortunately for him, he didn't bother to have the burial area guarded so the cards were stolen."
Oh. Oh! "Malik!" Yugi gasped.
Kaiba hesitated, then nodded. "It would make sense. Malik is the brother of a fellow competitor and an old friend of mine," he said slowly. "I won't reveal their identity. That's up to them. But you have nothing to fear from them unless you do something stupid. They asked for my help in tracking down Malik and freeing him from the Goa'uld possessing him."
:So then, if 'Malik' is the name of the host, what is the name of the serpent?: the Pharaoh asked.
Yugi repeated the question out loud and Kaiba shrugged. "Who knows? Who cares? He'll be dead when I'm done with him, so it's hardly important."
:If I may?:
Yugi took a deep breath and let it out as Yami slipped in and took over. When he opened his eyes again, he was now the one hovering by Yami who now wore his body. He noticed Kaiba frown briefly.
"A name is important, Kaiba," Yami said through Yugi's mouth. It always did feel odd when Yugi watched his own mouth move but Yami's deeper, more mature voice emanate from it. Odd and cool.
"Names may be important, Pharaoh," Kaiba agreed, "but not to those who don't deserve them. If I had my way, every single Goa'uld in existence would be buried without any names to remember them by."
"Including yourself?" Yami countered gently.
Kaiba stood still and silent before nodding. "Including myself."
Yami shook his head. "That is not something I would wish," he said. "You are not evil, Seto."
That got a reaction. Kaiba froze, blue eyes wide.
"The evil that once possessed you was destroyed by my Shadow Games. You fought your way through both and won. You are not evil. Perhaps," he added with a sly grin, "you are not good either. But sometimes, good is not what you need. You need someone who is willing to do what must be done to get rid of the evil. Every person has free will, to the benefit or detriment of themselves and others. No one is evil by default."
Kaiba snorted incredulous. "You don't remember, Pharaoh. The Goa'uld are evil."
"You claim to be Goa'uld and you aren't evil," Yami argued easily.
"I had interference at a very young age," Kaiba sneered.
"Yes, so Jounouchi told us," Yami said, his grin never leaving his face. "And yet, you still chose… not good, but not evil either."
Kaiba huffed and deliberately looked away, glaring at a tower on the Denver city horizon that probably didn't deserve it.
:Internalized racism, you think?: Yugi whispered.
Yami's reply was a slight nod. :I believe so, aibou. This won't be something easily fixed. It may never be.:
:But we can at least make sure he doesn't get too lost in that state of mind,: Yugi said, leaning against his possessed body. :We can be supportive.:
:That we can.:
"Do you think the Millennium Rod would have chosen you if you were truly evil and wished to embrace the ways of the Goa'uld?" Yami asked aloud. "You said yourself the Items are not nice. I can confirm that to be true. The Puzzle itself has been less than merciful to those who would do harm to my aibou and others I care for, yourself included. As I said before, perhaps what we need to fight the Goa'uld is not good in the strictest sense, but a careful balance of both good and evil."
For a brief moment, Kaiba looked small. When he glanced at the Pharaoh's eyes, there was a vulnerability hidden their depths that made Yugi want to hug his friend. But despite what Jounouchi and Mazaki thought, he did have a survival instinct. He would leave the hugging to Mokuba.
"We have earned the last puzzle card for the tournament," Yami said, placing his new God card into his and Yugi's shared deck. "And we would both be surprised if you haven't managed the same by now. We have time to talk."
The vulnerability shifted to wariness, but Yami acted as if he didn't see it and continued speaking.
"These Goa'uld System Lords," Yami said, a hungry grin that Yugi remembered from his vague memories of their first year or so with the Puzzle, "tell me about them. Their names, personas, strengths, weaknesses. Jounouchi told me about the Stargate Command and this SG-1 team. If you are to be involved with helping them fight the System Lords and both of our pasts are intertwined with the System Lords, then it would benefit us both to share information."
The wariness shifted to contemplation and calculation. At least Kaiba wasn't immediately resisting the idea. He actually looked to be giving the suggestion some serious consideration.
"That hand device you wore at Setesh's complex," Yami said, "is that a typical Goa'uld weapon?"
"It is," Kaiba said slowly. "It's called a kara kesh, although the people at the SGC have taken to calling them 'ribbon devices' or 'hand devices.'"
"Ribbon devices?" Yami asked, drawing Kaiba's gaze.
Kaiba shrugged. "Kara keshes typically have a metal band similar to a ribbon in appearance that spirals around the arm up to the elbow. I broke mine off years ago because the ribbon was too difficult to hide."
"Ah, I see. Wise decision."
"It was mostly a matter of survival and convenience than anything else," Kaiba countered. "Although that does bring up a good point. The type of metal the kara kesh is made of will help you identify whether a Goa'uld is a System Lord or an underlord. A System Lord's kara kesh will appear to be gold while an underlord's will appear silver."
"You were an underlord then?" Yami asked.
"Of Setesh, yes," Kaiba growled. "My loyalty at the time was to the System Lord Isis-"
"Ah yes, your spawning queen," Yami said nodding. "So this Isis would've had a gold kara kesh?" Kaiba nodded. "Interesting. I assume the metal is not actually gold."
"Gold plated or maybe mixed with gold, I believe. But the core metal is call naquadah and is not native to Earth," Kaiba said. "It's also highly explosive. A pinch of naquadah can increase the usual explosive output of TNT by a hundred times at least."
"Would it indeed?" Yami's eyes flickered red in his excitement and Yugi had to nudge him to break him from those darker ideas. "Are the Millennium Items also made of naquadah and gold?"
"Hardly," Kaiba said, his shoulders relaxing as he was pulled into the conversation.
Yugi smiled as he watched the lines of wariness ease from Kaiba's face, the tension in his shoulders droop, and Kaiba's general stance relax. Kaiba's protective shell was often ridiculously difficult to break into. Who would've thought talking aliens and sci-fi would be the chink in his armor.
"The Millennium Items were made using a different rare metal," Kaiba said, leaning back against the tree and crossing his ankles. "It can be made on Earth, but I'm not sure if it can still be mined here or not. The Goa'uld are likely unaware of this metal and, even if they were aware of it, they wouldn't be able to recreate the Items. The process of their creation was a one-time thing using the metal, the aid of the Gods, and information from a small alien laboratory in the town of Kul Elna that's long since been destroyed."
"So the Items are alien in origin?" Yami asked as both he and Yugi listened carefully to the response.
"Debatably," Kaiba admitted. "The Taur'i- Humans created the Items using the metal and instructions from the notes and samples they found in the lab. That combined with the power of the Gods willingly given at a certain astrological time gave them the power and innate sentience that they have."
"Fascinating," Yami purred.
Yugi readily agreed. Who would've thought technology and magic could be woven together so effectively? He'd always thought that technology and magic were too different and would naturally repel each other. Learning the opposite was actually true was certainly something. It also meant he had ideas!
:Ask him if that's where he came up with the Duel Disks!: Yugi begging, nudging Yami insistently.
"Was this combination of science and magic what inspired you to create the Duel Disks?" Yami asked, just as excited as Yugi.
Kaiba grinned and snickered. "Partially. The original design was my own, but this latest version," he held out his arm to display his own Duel Disk clasped to his left forearm nearly identical to Yugi's, "was based on a device we used in ancient times called a DiaDhank. The DiaDhank were made from the same metal as the Millennium Items, but they aren't sentient. They're essentially the first generation of Duel Disks, circa 3,000 BC."
:That's awesome!: Yugi cried, bouncing in excitement.
"Do any of these DiaDhanks still exist?" Yami asked earnestly, a hint of red glistening in his borrowed wide eyes.
"They do," Kaiba said with a sly smirk. "I still have mine and I know of a few others that still exist. But I'm not sure how many there are. We wouldn't be able to create more unless we can find the metal and the original instructions for creating them. I just use them. I didn't create them."
"Ah. And you said the metal was rare," Yami said, holding up the Puzzle and running his fingers over the Eye of Ra. "Is it something we've heard of? You said it was once mined on Earth."
Kaiba nodded. "It was at one time. If it does still exist, it would likely be considered a Rare Earth metal much like silicon. Orichalcum was in high demand by the alien race responsible for the laboratory where the majority of the metal was found," Kaiba explained. "It could also enhance their natural abilities. I think some of the ancient Greeks managed to find some of it, but I honestly doubt it still exists to be mined on Earth. Congratulations, Pharaoh," he said, with a smirk. "You and I have two of the seven largest pieces of orichalcum on this planet. Don't let it go to your head."
Both Yugi and Yami laughed.
:I've never heard of orichalcum before,: Yugi said, smiling enthusiastically. :But if it existed in ancient Greece, maybe we can find some myth about it or something. Maybe Ishizu from the museum might know. We're meeting her later on anyway.:
:Possibly. It's worth a try anyway,: Yami agreed. "If the Items are made of orichalcum, then I can only imagine other uses for a metal such as that," he said aloud. "I have yet to find something capable of breaking the Items."
"That's partially due to the binding magic used in their creation," Kaiba explained. "Again, I wasn't there for that so I only know what I read and heard. However, the Furlings used it in most, if not all, of their technology." Kaiba shifting to a more comfortable position against the tree, tucking his hands into his pants pockets. "They wore it as armor, made it into weapons, and could absorb it readily into their bodies. It wasn't harmful to them much like how naquadah isn't harmful to Goa'uld and their hosts."
Yami blinked. "You have naquadah in you? You said it was explosive. Wouldn't something like that be harmful to you?"
"Technically, if it was introduced as an injection or something similar, yes it probably would be," Kaiba said, tilting his head slightly in agreement. "But we're born with naquadah in our systems. It enters the host's system almost at the same time the symbiote does. Ultimately, it isn't fatal to either the symbiotes or to the hosts. But," he shrugged, "theoretically, I supposed the naquadah in our bodies could be weaponized."
"Do you think the relationship between these Furlings and orichalcum was similar to the Goa'uld and naquadah?" Yami asked at Yugi's urging.
"It would make sense," Kaiba agreed. "The similarities are certainly noteworthy. The Goa'uld use the naquadah in our bodies to power our own technology like kara keshes, healing devices, open locked doors, fly certain ships, you get the idea. From what I researched, the Furlings utilized orichalcum in a very similar way. It's possible that only Furlings could use certain technologies much like only Goa'uld and their hosts can use some of our technologies. For instance, you wouldn't be able to use a kara kesh like mine unless you had naquadah in your system to fuel it. It would just be a gold-looking hand decoration."
:Perfect for a formal dance,: Yugi joked earning himself a snicker from Yami.
"That is a rather effective way to prevent certain dangerous and powerful technologies from being used by your enemies," Yami said.
"Except when your enemies are also Goa'uld," Kaiba said, a dark smirk appearing on his face.
:The Tok'ra,: Yugi murmured. :That could be useful.:
:It certainly would be. But then,: Yami hummed thoughtfully and studied Kaiba, :considering Kaiba might very well be a Tok'ra, at least according to Jounouchi, I'd say it's more that useful.:
Yugi glanced at Yami. :Even though he rejected the Tok'ra who visited?:
:It would seem talking about the past will get us nowhere,: Yami thought back to his partner. :But talking about current events and weapons-:
:Ooo! This is so cool! Aliens and technology and weapons…: Yugi was practically ready to throw up his hands and cheer. ":just wait till we tell the gang about all this. They'll never believe us.:
:Believe what?: Yami teased. :What Kaiba says? Or the fact we're having a decent, almost friendly conversation at all?:
"Both."
