Fan Fiction / Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ The Fourth God ❯ Chapter 7 ( Chapter 7 )

The Fourth "God"

A Yu-Gi-Oh!/X-Men: Evolution crossover fic.

Written by Rogue Moon

"…He's dual identities; they struggle for control

Two personalities; inhabiting one soul…"

~ 'Your Move', Yu-Gi-Oh!: Music to Duel By

Chapter Seven

When Saturday rolled around, Kitty was out of bed extra early. Anzu and the others were going to take her to the museum for a private tour of the Egyptian exibit. It seemed the group of teens were friends of some very influential people besides Seto Kaiba.

In truth, as much as she wanted to see the exibit, she was a little jealous of the rich boy and Katsuya, who were in New York all weekend. Even though Domino was really nice, Kitty couldn't help but feel homesick. Especially since she had to go back to hiding the fact that she was a mutant. As nice as everyone had been to her, they just wouldn't understand.

Shaking her head to rid it of negative thoughts, she pulled on a pink sweater, one of her favorites because it's sleeves only went to her elbows and it sported a v-neck collar. Below that she pulled on capri jeans and of course socks and comfortable foot wear. A museum tour ensured one thing: lots of on your feet time. By the time she was finished, Mr. Motou was just waking up.

*****

Kitty yelled 'good bye' to Sugoroku and ran out the door of the game shop. Anzu had just shown up and the girls were going to meet Hiroto and Ryu at the museum. The boys were riding Hiroto's motercycle and the girls were taking the bus. It gave the girls time to gossip and the boys time to pretend they were just discussing things. Anzu had told Kitty that Ryu and Hiroto were the two biggest gossips in their class, if not the school. Of course the boys denied it, but if anyone needed some information on someone else, they just had to ask one of the two and both would go off on all the rumors. They mostly just gossiped to each other, though. Only Katsuya and Yugi could ever join them mid-conversation and not get ignored. Even Anzu had trouble cutting in.

According to both Anzu and Katsuya, Hiroto and Ryu weren't very close to start with but something that happened at the Duelist Kingdom tournament had brought them closer together and they were almost like brothers now.

Anzu linked her arm with Kitty's and grinned, "You are going to love the museum. Ishizu will be showing us around. She's the curator of the exibit and me and the others have seen it all, but she said that she didn't mind giving our friend a tour. She's an Egyptian herself, so she really enjoys showing off her heritage."

"Sounds great," Kitty laughed. "I'm just so excited to get to see pieces that aren't in the Metropolitain Muesum in New York. They always have the same thing and there haven't been any new pieces since they toured King Tut's treasures. And I wasn't even born when that happened."

"Oh, what we have is better than King Tut," Anzu said, waving a hand to dismiss the famous pharoah. "We have pieces from the reign of King Yami!"

"King Yami? Isn't that a Japanese name?"

"Yeah. But it's more of a nickname than anything else. The Pharoah connected with Duel Monsters we call 'Yami' or 'Shadow' because he was the King of the Shadow Games. Dark, shadow… same dif. So, he's 'King

Yami'," Anzu quickly made up to cover her slip of the tounge. She had forgotten for a moment that Kitty was just a normal girl who hadn't gone through all the weird stuff that Yugi had been invloved in.

Kitty grinned, "That makes sense. Do any of the pieces have anything on these Shadow Games? I'm kinda into legends of ancient cultures."

Anzu pulled out some money for the bus, which had just arrived, and pulled the exchange student on board, "It sure does. The exibit has a lot of references to the Shadow Games. It's really cool listening to Ishizu tell the stories. World destruction and all that cool stuff." The brunette paid their fare and they were lucky enough to get seats. It was early enough that the vehicle wasn't packed.

*****

The crowd at the convention cheered when Jou won the match. He posed the classic victory pose and grinned at everyone, enjoying the limelight and attention. Yugi cheered him on from backstage, Logan and Jamie a little further behind him. Jamie was cheering because Warren had gotten his butt kicked. As far the as kid was concerned, the rich boy needed to be 'shown what for'.

Logan couldn't figure out why it was such a big deal that Katsuya won. The kid was obviously more experienced and a better player and the win wasn't really a test of skill. Warren just wasn't that good. He didn't say anything because at the moment he felt very stupid for even being there. He hardly knew anything about the game other than the blond Japanese boy hadn't really put any effort into the match.

Katsuya left the stage with a final wave. When he got behind the curtains, he headed straight for Yugi and the others who had gone to the snack spread a minute before.

"<Hey, Yug,>" he called, picking up a plate and piling it high with chips, dip, and other various junk food. "<What say we have that duel now?>"

Yugi grinned and headed to a nearby card table half covered with a tool box, "<Sounds good to me, but can we do it the old fashioned way. You know, cards and table only?>"

Jou shrugged, swallowing his mouthful and joined his friend, "<Sure, as long as I can duel you. Any particular reason though?>"

"<Kaiba wants to test out the full capabilities of the Duel Discs in a match against me. If I play against you using them, he'll just get mad and I really don't want to deal with a mad Kaiba.>"

"<Figures he'd do something like that,>" the blond snorted and removed his deck from his disc system. "<You want to go first?>"

"<You can,>" Yugi replied doing a quick shuffle. "<Be warned, I do have Exodia in here.>"

"<I can deal with that as long as you're going to give me your best.>"

"<I alwasys do.>"

Logan came over to the table and cleared his throat, "Jamie and me are going to find the others and wander around for the last hour. Are you going to be here for a while?"

Yugi nodded, "Yes. Jonouchi and I are going to duel."

"Fine. We'll meet you back here in an hour and then we have to head back to the Institute."

Yugi waved as the small man walked off, a hand on Jamie to keep him from running everywhere at once. When they were far enough away, Yugi turned back to Katsuya. A famliar smirk graced his lips as a some of his bangs flew up and Yami/Yugi gave his best friend his undivided attention, "<Let's duel.>"

Jou returned the smirk, "<I play Flame Swordsman!>"

*****

Kitty and Anzu walked up the steps of the museum, waving at Hiroto and Ryu, who were waiting at the top. Anzu linked her arm with Kitty's and whispered in her ear, "Did you know that Ryu is single?"

Kitty giggled and blushed, "Really? Is that a hint?"

"More of a prelude… I think he's been checking you out in class. I think he likes you," Anzu replied and then they were within hearing range of the boys. "Hi guys! How was the ride over?"

Hiroto snorted, "The same as usual when Ryu rides with me. Really bad because he clings to my waist so tight I can't breath."

Ryu gave his friend a mock glare, "I wouldn't hold on so tight if you didn't insist on pushing the sound barrier. You drive that thing far too fast."

"You can always ride the bus…" Hiroto threatened in reply, not meaning it at all.

Ryu rolled his eyes and threatened in return, "…you can always study by yourself." He then turned to the girls, "Speaking of buses, how was your trip?"

Anzu grinned, "Just wonderful. I told Kitty all about the exihbit."

It may have been her imagination, but both Ryu and Hiroto seemed to tense up and the British boy replied, "Everything?"

"Well, not everything," Anzu rolled her eyes, hoping the two caught the double meaning. "I haven't even covered the legends of the Pharoah's tablets." The brunette pulled Kitty inside, the boys following behind, both seemingly relieved.

Kitty looked curiously from one to the other, "What's the Pharoah's tablets?"

"They are the only record of when Pharoah Yami ruled Egypt and saved the world from a gret evil by sealing it away," a new voice answered. Stepping out from behind a nearby pillar, a woman in her twenties dressed in an Egyptian Muslin gown, came and met the group. "I am Ishizu Ishtar, Curator of the Egyptian Exhibit here at the Domino Museum. And I am also one of the most knowlegeable people in the world when it comes to Anchient Egyptian Legends. Especailly where they concern the game of Duel Monsters." The woman held out her hand to Kitty, "Bakura and the others told me about you. It is a pleasure."

"Like, it's nice to meet you, too," Kitty replied, taking the offered hand and giving it a quick pump. "Am I allowed to take pictures? Because my friends back home are doing this project on Egypt and all they have is some stuff from the Metropolitain Museum. If I could send them some pictrues of other artifacts, it would help."

Ishizu raised an eyebrow, "Really? It seems everyone is interested in Egypt these days…" The woman smiled and turned around, "You may take all the pictures you like. I just ask that you do not share them outside of your friends. If you do, I may be forced to sue." The Egyptian glanced over at Ryu, "Malik said he would like to speak with you, Bakura-kun. Something about an e-mail he received that he thought you find hilarious."

Ryu seemed to space out a moment before his eyes darkened and a curious and somewhat evil smirk formed on his lips, "Is that so? You wouldn't know if it had anything to do with a person named Mesmero, would you?" Kitty nearly choked on the gum she had just stuck in her mouth. After a few moments of making a fool of herself by thumping on her chest and coughing, she told the worried faces she was fine. Her thoughts were running wild and she wanted to remember every word spoken. If Mesmero was up to something, she needed to have as much information as possible to tell to the X-Men. The bigger question, though, was why he was contacting Ryu's friend.

Ishizu shook her head slightly and turned back to Ryu, not worried in the least about his sudden attitude change, "He didn't say. He just asked me to tell you to come see him. He's at home with Rashid, right now. So if you wish to see him, now would be a good time as it is easier to find him. That and he metioned something about raising some hell later tonight."

Bakura's evil grin widened, "I'd love to go see the prick. Haven't beaten anyone up lately. We can go out and find a few victims." He turned around and headed down the steps as everyone but Ishizu stared at him. Kitty was the only one whose stare didn't include a trace of fear, just amazemnet.

About three steps down he stopped and glared at nothing. His face scrunched and he seemed to be fighting with himself. "Fine! Stay then," he spat out and a moment later a second Ryu appeared. The first slapped his face and groaned, the second laughed manicly as he jumped the last few steps and headed west on the street.

Kitty's eyes were wide and Anzu and Hiroto were shifting nervously, both trying ot decide what mattered more: Kitty seeing that or the spirit in Ryu's ring obviously being back and in control.

Hiroto was the first to reach a decision and ran over to his friend, "Ryu? You alright buddy?"

The white haired boy nodded and looked over at the exchange student, "I'm fine Honda… He didn't do anything except insult me and separate… I'm more worried about… well…" He didn't need to finish as it was obvious what he was worried about.

Kitty blinked and looked at the other three, then brought her stare back to the Brit and spoke in a far calmer voice than expected, "Well, that was different."

*****

The spirit of the ring kept chuckling long after he had left Ryu. It was fun leaving his host in a lurch. The boy did such a wonderful job of beating himself up over those situations that all the spirit had to do was put the boy in them. Then he could relax and watch the fireworks. He snickered again and tucked his hands in his pockets. The emotions running off of Ryu right now were hilarious.

He half wished he could stay and watch the flustered look that always came over Ryu's face but he could see that another time. And besides, whatever Malik wanted to show him was sure to be good. And after they were done with that buiness, then maybe Malik would be in the mood to go out and have some fun. The spirit really wanted to torture someone today and the blond could always come up with some fun ideas. Ishizu was deluding herself if she thought Yami's banishing the evil spirit within Malik had made him a 'good' person. Malik enjoyed being evil as much as the spirit of the ring did.

It didn't take long for the spirit to get to the high rise Ishizu and Malik shared with Rashid, their protector and self-proclaimed brother. He visited ofeten enough that the guard at the front door didn't even blink when he walked right through the doors and into the lobby. As far as the man was concerned, if the white-haired crazy boy wanted to visit the blond-haired crazy boy, he wasn't going to stand in either of their ways.

The spirit rode the elevator to the pent house and stepped out into a luxurious entrace hall lined with ancient pottery atop pedastels. The Ishtar clan collected more that just Egyptian artifacts. They had a rather noteworthy collection of greek and Aztec art as well. A rather expensive collection, too. Someone could get very rich if he were to take even a single tiny medalion off of one of the masks hanging on the walls. If he just took that medalion and sold it on the black market, said man could get at least 50.000 for it. At least.

Rashid cleared his throat and the spirit of the ring spun around, his hand coming away from the mask, sans medalion. The tall, bald man raised an eyebrow, "I see you got Malik's message, Bakura. You could be more considerate and not attempt to steal from your friend. It's not like you need the money."

The spirit smirked and crossed his arms, "It's the princaple of the matter. I have this need, stealing-and selling stolen-items fulfills it. Besides, its not like you need the artifacts."

Rashid turned around and waved for the spirit to follow him, "It's the principle of the matter. Malik is in his room, doing something that involes lots of cackling that for some reason he won't tell me about. He said you were the only one who had a right to know."

"Jelous?"

"Yes. He is my brother, if only in spirit, and used to share everything with me. Now, you are the one he wants to share with."

The spirit snorted and discretly pocketed a small crystal figurine, "You're not willing to fuck him."

"And you are?"

"Maybe. And besides, I know all the best women in town to get laid with." The spirit like getting on Rashid's nerves. It took some effort, but the results were worth the extra time.

Rashid looked over his shoulder as he stopped outside Malik's room, a glare targeting the spirit, "You are a bad influence on my brother."

The spirit smiled and walked past, "But he's a great influence on me." He knocked once, paused, and knocked three more times on the door. A click sounded and the door opened to reveal the blond, shirtless with bags under his eyes. He almost looked as insane as the evil spirit that once posessed him. Almost.

"Khaibit! Ishizu gave you my message, yes?" the Egyptian said, pulling the spirit inside and shutting the door on his gaurdian. He then locked it and headed back to his bed where several books were laid out along with fresh and crumpled pieces of paper.

The spirit gave Malik one of his best glares, "Yes I got your message and why do you insist on calling me that stupid name?"

Malik grinned plopped down on his bed, "Because you are a shadow, Khaibit. Anyway, I got this weird message from some guy calling himself Mesmero, and his name isn't the only funny thing…"

*****

Ishizu raised an eyebrow at the groups reaction, "I take it you did not know?"

Hiroto leveled a glare at the woman, "Well, I knew, but Kitty here didn't and if you knew, why do you encourage it?"

The Egyptian shrugged, "My brother has no other friends and Rashid acts more like a servant than a brother. It seems right to encourage a friendship."

Kitty shuffled he feet a moment and then crossed her arms, "So is anyone, like, going to clue me in as to what's going on?"

Anzu cringed and grimaced, "Well, see… Ryu… has a split personality. Litterally. One side is the nice, shy Ryu we've all come to know an love. The other is the cruel, sadistic other half that we've all come to know and loathe."

Hiroto gave Kitty a strange look, "You're taking this rather well."

Kitty laughed, "I've seen and done stranger things. You learn to deal with the weird when you're a mutant."

Ryu blinked, "A mutant?"

"Sure, like you. You can split in two, with two halfs."

"You have a darker, evil half?"

Kitry snorted, "No, I have a different power. Most mutants don't share the same abliites. Me, I can walk through stuff."

"Wait a second," Hiroto held up his hand and locked eyes with the X-man, "You mean to tell us you have powers like Sunfire?"

"Well, yeah," Kitty replied, shrugging. "what's so strange about that? You don't think twice about Ryu being a mutant."

Ryu's eyes widened with understanding. The boy smiled as he realized that they wouldn't have to tell Kitty anything else about the Shadow Games or the Mellinium items other than the vague legends they were already planning on telling her during the tour. He would still get quite a talking to by Mazaki and Honda, but the exachange student would accept him and his troubling other half without any problems.

And speaking of Honda, the idiot was bout to spill the beans. Ryu elbowed his friend, forcing the boy to shut his mouth before he could say anything, "They're used to me, is all. What's your ability? You can walk through things?"

Kitty nodded her head and winked, "Yep. Want to see?"

"Of course! It's nice not being the only weirdo."

The exchange student laughed and turned around, walking straight for the coloum Ishizu had been hiding behind moments before. When she was about a foot away, she stopped and stuck out her arm. It went right through the stone, to the amazement of everyone else, including Ishizu, who was very used to strange things happening.

Ryu looked down at his feet, "I wish I could do something like that… You know, instead of having the evil twin."

Kitty pulled her arm back and walked over to her new friend, happy not to have to hide anymore, "My teacher once told me that we're all given our gifts for a reason and that it's not what gift you have that matters. It's how you use it. I'm sure your 'evil twin' as you call him, is just a s good as you deep down inside. After all, he is you, right? Do you have any control over him? My friend Jamie has a power like that, only he can make dozens of himself and usually can't control when it happens. But he can control all his separate selves."

Ryu shook his head, "No. He does what he wants. The only control I have is the fact that he has to come back to me. I think that if he could, he would never choose to do so. He hates me, or so he says."

Kitty was confused and let the boy know it, "But if he's just a part of you, that means you would have to hate yourself."

Ryu went back to looking at his shoes, "You're very perceptive, Kitty. Now if you'll all excuse me, I don't much feel like seeing the exhibit anymore. Enjoy yourselves." With that, the white-haired boy walked down the steps in the direction his other half had gone. The rest of the group was left speechless and unsure of what to do.

*****

Back in New York, Jamie was having the time of his life while Logan was praying to whoever would listen for the earth to open up and swallow him whole. Everywhere the man turned it was 'Duel Maonster' this and 'Duel Monster' that. How could so many people be obbsessed with the freaky game? And he was about ready to knock the next kid who stepped on his toes across the room. It was a very safe bet that the man would be out drinking later that night.

Jamie grabbed his hand and pulled him over to some large capsules that looked like they came from a sci-fi movie. Or Hank's lab. Whichever. Jamie grinned and went up to the man gaurding the machines, "What are these?"

The man snorted and pointed to a sign, "Can't you read kid? These are the modules for the Duel Monsters Virtual World. They'll be coming to the U.S. sometime next year."

Jamie's eyes widened, "These are working models?"

"Yeah. Why? You want to try them out?"

"Can I? That would be great!"

A girl with blond hair done up in pig-tails came up behind Jamie, "You can't use them. You don't even have a deck!"

Jamie glared, "So? I can get a deck. What do you know, anyway? You're just a stupid girl."

The girl put her hands on her hips, "Shows what you know, idiot. I happen to be the United States Duel Monsters Champion. And sixth place in the World League. Only five people have ever beat me in a duel. And on top of that, I happen to be a genius. My I.Q. is way above yours. Isn't that right Teddy?" She placed the bear she was holding in front of her face and moved it around while speaking in a deeper voice, "That's right Rebecca! He's just a stupid boy. Grr!"

Logan almost burst out laughing. That little scene had to be the funniest thing he'd seen all day. Jamie rolled his eyes, "Oh yeah? And who beat you? Your mommy?"

"No! Only five people have beat me and you're probably too stupid to know who they are, but I'll tell you anyways that way, when you do find out who they are, you'll know you were in the precence of a great duelist. Jonouchi Katsuya, Pegasus Crawford, Mai Valentine, Kaibi Seto, and Motou Yugi. I've only been beaten by the very best! Although Kaysuta's win was just a fluke."

Jamie snorted and crossed his arms, "I don't doubt you've been beaten into the ground, but by only them? Ha! I bet Yugi Motou would tell a different story, if he's even heard of you. He happens to be a friend of mine." Jamie held up his all access pass, "He even got me into this convention with all the perks."

Rebecca's eyes widened, "Yugi's here? Really? Oh, I have to say hi to him!" She ran over to the nearest security guard and started talking to him franticlly. After a moment, he spoke into his walkie-talkie and then nodded his head at the girl.

She skipped back over to Jamie, "I got the guard to tell Yugi I'm here and to come see me at the Virtual Pods! Now we'll see who's lying."

Jamie, now very unsure of himself, stood with the girl and waited for their mutal friend. Though, it did elude his mind as to how Yugi could be friends with such an obnoxious girl.

About ten minutes passed before Yugi and Jonouchi were led through a nearby Security entrance. Jamie caught sight of him first and waved, "Yugi! Over here!"

Rebecca spun around, "YUGI! It's so good to see you again!"

The Japanese boy trotted up to the two, "Hey Rebecca! How have you been? I see you've met my friend Jamie."

The girl giggled and hugged her teddy, "I'm fine. My deck is nearly unbeatable now. I bet I could even give you a run for your money with it. It's still very close to what my grandfather taught me, but I've worked it so the card you gave me ties in with all the others. Oh, yeah, I met the dumb kid, too."

"Rebecca, he's not dumb," Yugi admonished his friend, "He's my friend and he happens to be very smart for a twelve year old. Just because you're ten and have already graduated college, it doesn't give you the right to call other people stupid."

Jamie started, "You're TEN?! And you still carry around a stupid bear?"

Yugi sighed as Rebecca gave Jamie another glare, "Yes, I'm ten. And Mr. Bear isn't stupid. He's ten times as smart as you."

"Rebecca, please!" Yugi groaned, "Can't you and Jamie get along? You're both my friends and neither of you are stupid, okay?"

The two children gave each other a once over and replied at the same time, "We'll see."

Trying to get as much tension out of the air as possible, Yugi tried a different approach, "So Rebecca, where's Professor Hawkins? I'd love to say hello to him. And I'm sure Ji-chan would like to hear how he's doing."

Rebecca grinned, "Grandpa's not here. He's in Egypt. A new tomb was uncovered last week and grandpa says it has some connection to Duel Monsters. It might even be the tomb of the Pharoah of the Shadows. You know, the one that supposedly had the power of the Shadow Games? Grandpa thinks it might be his tomb because the entrance hall has all sorts of Duel Monster carvings on it's walls. And the first main chaber, which they haven't been able to get past yet, has this really weird ceiling. Aparently it has an inverted triangle with the Eye of Ra in the middle carved into it. At least I think it's the eye of Ra. It might be the Eye of Set… You know, the eye without the curly tails on the bottom?" Rebecca pointed at the Mellinium puzzle, "Like the eye on your puzzle but without the lines hanging off of it."

Yugi's eyebrows raised, "Really? He thinks it might be the Pharoah's tomb?" Within the boy's mind, Yami was strangely silent. They both knew it couldn't be the Pharoah's tomb, since Shadi and the Ishtars kept watch over that and only certain people were let in.

The girl nodded, "Uh-huh. Apparently there's what looks like an upright sarcoughagus against the very far wall of the first main chamber that has indentions obviously made to hold something. There are seven spots. Grandpa thinks they're for the fabled Mellinium Items that hold the power of the Shadow Games, like in the legends. All legends have a basis in truth, you know. So it's very possible that the people of that time built a tomb for the Pharoah and had figures of the items made to honor him. Grandpa says the strangest thing about the tomb is it looks like it's been visited before, only nothing seems to have been disturbed. In fact, it looks to be very well kept."

Yugi thought for a moment, leaving Yami to digest the information undisturbed, "Wow… so no statues or anything have been defiled?"

"There are no statues. It's only the entrance hall and first main chamber. Granted a lot of the later burial partys have statues and items in those places, but the earliest ones, from about the time this was made, had all the statues and treasures in an ante-chamber off to one-side of the main burial chamber. So the only things of intrest in this tomb are the wall decorations. You should know that. You're studing to be an acreologist."

Katsuya cleared his throat and entered the conversation, slightly tired of the English he couldn't understand, "<Hey, Yuug… I know we've been in the virtual world and all, but what say we go again with Rebecca and and your other friend? It'd be cool trying to win with a genius on our side and I'm sure Rebecca won't be bad company either.>"

The girl glared at Jou, who just smiled down at the girl. Yugi sighed and shook his head, "<I guess we still have fifteen minutes or so before I have to leave. We can go for a quick run.>" The boy switched back to English, "Hey Jamie, want to take a go at the Virtual world with me, Jou and Rebecca here?"

Jamie blushed, "I'd like to, but I don't have a deck or anything…"

"That's alright, you don't need a deck if you have the three of us with you. We're all good enough to keep you alive. And Jou and I have already been in there. So we know something of what will happen."

Jamie grinned, "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

In the back of Yugi's mind, yami paced, trying to remember why the tomb Rebecca had told them about was so important. And why it made the spirit so uneasy to have people attempting to explore it.

*****

End Chapter Seven

Sunfire, for those of you who don't know, is a Japanese mutant featured few a far between in the X-Men comics. I just upped his fame a little in this story. ^.^ And woo-hoo! I seem to be getting more plot into this thing!