Yu-Gi-Oh! Fan Fiction ❯ From the Past ❯ Part II ( Chapter 2 )

Title: From the Past 2/? Author: Telpei Rating: For this chapter, PG-13ish, to be safe. I don't know how the rest is going to turn out. Pairing(s): Various combinations of Seto, Joey, Jouno, and Seth Spoilers: Nope. This is an AU. Disclaimer: Not mine!

Summary: Joey gets accidentally summons High Priest Seth back from the past. The Priest has to get back to his slave Jouno, but he can't get back to his own time until the past has been repeated...

ooooooo

A strange chariot painted all in black came to a screeching halt in front of him, and if he had been any other man, he would have been afraid. However, being who he was, he merely watched calmly as the driver emerged, and he found himself staring into haunting eyes that were so much like his own. "Who are you?" he questioned, holding his staff forward and challenging the other. "Where are you from? Are you a friend of Egypt, or an enemy?"

He frowned as his almost-mirror-image only smirked in response, and he took a threatening step forward. "Answer me, servant of the Pharaoh! Who are you?!"

"Teach me," the chariot driver murmured. "Teach me..."

"Answer me!!" he demanded, but it was no use. Those haunting words echoed in his ears, even as the image faded from his mind.

ooooooooo

Shit indeed.

Joey twitched as a dark hand cupped his cheek, unable to think properly since he was still lost in those captivating blue eyes.

"Jouno..." the owner of said eyes murmured again, and Joey swallowed nervously, scrambling to collect his thoughts.

"Kaiba, you've got some serious problems. What the hell are ya doin'!? Get yer slimy fingers offa me!"

Only after he had said this did Joey realize that he was not talking to Seto Kaiba. No, this was definitely not Seto Kaiba. For one, Seto Kaiba did not wear a skirt. For another, Seto Kaiba did not spend time in the sun and could therefore not possibly have such a dark tan. But most importantly - Seto Kaiba most definitely did not know Egyptian.

The blonde scrambled out from beneath a very confused High Priest as the brunette glanced around for the first time and realized that he was no longer in Egypt. Joey winced as he listened to the rough dialect that the other was murmuring, recognizing it as Yami's ancient tongue.

Joey swore again as an alarm went off from the mansion up the path, and he scrambled to his feet. He motioned for the Kaiba-Look-A-Like to quiet down, and surprisingly enough the brunette did so. Thinking quickly, the blonde planned a way out of the yard even as guard dogs started barking angrily in the distance and search lights roamed over the lawn and through the trees. Without thinking, he grabbed the brunette's arm and high tailed it for the main road.

To his extreme surprise, they managed to make it to safety (without being arrested or mauled) and after some thought Joey decided that it would be best to question the Kaiba-Look-A-Like.

"Alright...so who are ya, exactly?!" he demanded, pulling them both to a stop once they had walked in silence for a while and were far away from Kaiba's sirens and property line.

The Kaiba-Look-A-Like quirked an eyebrow and raised himself to his full height. "Jouno, explain yourself immediately! You disappear, and now I find you in this...alternate realm. What is going on, my beloved?"

Joey shook his head. "Whoa...hold on there, Mr. high and mighty. What're you talkin' about? I'm not this...Jouno...and I'm definitely not yer 'beloved'."

The Kaiba-Look-A-Like frowned and leaned in, peering closely into Joey's face as the blonde scowled back. "Hm...it appears you are right. Though you do resemble my Jouno, you are not quite him. Who are you, then, and where is this place?"

"Well, fer starters my name's Joey Wheeler," the blonde replied, pausing to narrow his eyes at the brunette before demanding, "Now, who the hell are you?"

"I am High Priest Seth, cousin of the Pharaoh and second strongest wielder of the shadow powers in all of Egypt," the foreigner replied. "You, Joey, resemble my slave. I wonder if this isn't the time and place that the Gods have predicted."

Joey sighed. Great, just great. Another Egyptian spirit from the past. One that seemed to be just as stuck up as Kaiba himself. "You don't want to conquer this world, do you?" he wondered apprehensively, eyeing the spirit carefully.

Seth raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about, peasant?"

"Well, ya didn't come here to try to rule the whole planet?" the blonde questioned (ignoring the 'peasant' comment), glaring at the priest. "I dun wanna have ta get Yami ta send ya back to the shadow realm or something crazy like that."

"I do not know why I am here," the brunette replied heatedly. "And no one can send me to the shadow realm! I have stronger powers than a commoner like you could even imagine."

The blonde let out a sigh of relief. "Well, so long as yer not tryin' ta brainwash me, it's all good. Let's head to Yugi's...maybe Yami will know why yer here."

Seth sighed as the Joey-character headed down the street, and decided that he didn't have much of a choice but to follow him. The priest had a feeling that this was the reincarnation of his lover (hot headed as he was)...and he knew that if this boy had brought him to the future from the past, he would also get back to his own time through the blonde.

However, they didn't get very far before a sleek black car pulled to a stop in front of Joey. The blonde gulped nervously and took a step backwards, accidentally bumping into Seth, who automatically responded by placing a hand on the blonde's shoulder to steady him.

"This isn't good," Joey murmured softly, conscious of the hand on his shoulder but reluctant to move away. Something about the touch seemed almost familiar. "I recognize that car. It belongs to-"

"Wheeler," Kaiba's unmistakable voice called out as the driver's side door opened and the taller teen stepped out. "My security cameras caught you trespassing on my property. Thought you would come visit your master, mutt?"

Joey bristled and stepped away from Seth, moving forward to confront the CEO. "Shut the hell up, you prick. I just got lost, is all. Now get outta here and leave me alone. I think you've messed with me enough today. Not to mention yer twin over here."

Seto frowned as he caught sight of Joey's companion, and he raised an eyebrow. "Who's this?"

"It's a long story," Joey replied hotly, but a plan was already forming in his mind. Perhaps this situation could be used towards his advantage. He did need to wreak his revenge on Kaiba anyhow...

The priest watched the other two, eyeing the newcomer carefully. This was most certainly the chariot that his gift of sight had predicted. He cleared his throat meaningfully and stepped forward, instantly catching the attention of both Joey and Seto. "Listen, peasants. I've had enough of your disrespectful quarrelling. Now, take me in your chariot to the current Pharaoh, who might be able to explain this mess and get me back to my own time."

Joey grinned suddenly, and nodded in agreement. "Yeah, Kaiba, you can take yer twin to Yami 'cause I'm done with this mess. I deal with you daily, so I definitely don't need no second Kaiba hounding me with dog comments. So, gentlemen, I'll be leaving now."

The blonde turned to leave as he had planned, but Seth's hand on his shoulder stopped him in his tracks. "You have to come. I have a feeling I need you to get back to my time."

Kaiba frowned. "And if you think for one second, Wheeler, that you or your little 'friend' can order me around you are sadly mistaken. You were both caught trespassing on my property. There's a five hundred dollar fine. Each."

Joey sighed. "Look, Kaiba, you know I haven't got yer five hundred bucks. So if you won't take ...well, him," he paused to gesture at Seth, "to get this problem fixed, then I'll do it. But if ya think about it, if news got out that there was another Kaiba...a technology challenged Kaiba like him, then don't ya think yer ratings or whatever might drop a little bit?"

Seto scowled, realizing that for once the mutt was right. If his customers and supporters thought that the mutt's friend was actually Seto Kaiba, he could lose a lot of sales and a lot of money. Not to mention that the media would just have a blast and his reputation would be ruined. "Fine, mutt, you've made your point. Get in the car, both of you. But we're not going to the game shop. I can fix this problem by myself. I don't need Yugi's help." Besides, although he wouldn't admit it to Wheeler, he was kind of curious as to why his former self had been brought to this time.

Jou rolled his eyes as he motioned for Seth to join them in the black vehicle, and he and the spirit settled into the back seat. Apparently Kaiba was going to be his egotistical self again. This was going to get interesting.

ooooooooo

Seto sighed as he paced back and forth in his den, attempting in vain to ignore a certain dog's annoying and endless chatter while trying to concoct a blueprint for some sort of time machine. Needless to say, things weren't going that well. But Seto Kaiba was not one to crack under pressure.

No, not at all.

"That's it, mutt, shut the hell up!!" the executive growled, spinning around to face a (finally) silent Joey. Said blonde gulped nervously and ducked behind an un-amused high priest.

Seth rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest. "I can see that you two are never going to get anything finished by yourselves. You're both too dimwitted to see past your own noses. I want to be taken to the Pharaoh."

"Now wait a sec," Joey intervened, suddenly not as timid. "I know I ain't the smartest in a crowd, but Kaiba here gets offended when you insult his intelligence. He's got a big head, and an ego to match," he teased, a smirk on his lips as he cut a sideward glance at the taller teen.

Seto growled, taking a step towards the blonde. "You need to be taught your place, mutt. Keep your big mouth shut or I'll-"

The executive was cut off, however, as Seth's indignant snort cut through his rant. "I see now, why I have been summoned here. I do not know why I did not see it before."

Seto frowned as Joey raised an eyebrow. "What the hell do you mean?" the blonde asked, beating Kaiba to the question.

"I have to teach you," Seth glanced at Kaiba, and with a slender, tanned finger he pointed at Joey, "how to control your slave."

It took Joey a moment to figure out just what Seth was implying. But once he did figure it out, all Seth knew was the fist connecting with his jaw.

oooooo

Seto sighed as he leaned forward from where he was sitting in the black leather chair, staring evenly at his counterpart with a raised eyebrow. "So, now we understand that the mutt does not belong to me, and that this time is not like your own?"

Seth made a show of nearly pouting as he held the ice to his slightly swollen cheek, and Joey growled from where he was standing against the wall on the other side of the room. "You've made your point quite well," the high priest consented, scowling as he set the ice down. "However, the fact still remains that we don't know why I am here, or how I am supposed to get back to my own time."

"And how the hell do you suggest, oh high and mighty priest, that we come up wit' an answer?" the blonde demanded, crossing his arms over his chest and glaring defiantly at the Egyptian. Obviously he was still a little pissed about the whole 'slave' ordeal.

"Well," Kaiba cut in with a soft sigh, cutting his own glare at Joey out of the corner of his eye. "Perhaps if we can find anything that happened out of the ordinary, we can figure this mess out. You two must have done something to open a portal of some sort between our two worlds."

Joey snorted as he glanced at Seto. "Whoa, Kaiba, you mean to say that you believe in portals? I thought you were against magic and shit."

"You are not helping, mutt," the brunette replied easily, before he turned to Seth. "Where were you, or what were you doing in Egypt before you were brought here? Was anything out of place? Did anything happen out of the ordinary?"

Seth sighed and shook his head. "I had just finished meditating in the temple of Set, and I was on my way to report to Pharaoh when I was wrenched out of my time and landed on him," he explained with a dark glare in Joey's direction.

The blonde scowled and flipped a choice finger at the priest (who obviously did not catch the meaning of said finger), "Hey, I didn't ask to get landed on, you know. I just figured my dream was repeating itself. Besides, it's all that damn magic rock's fault. And then you were going on about someone who I looked like that had gone missing."

"Ah, and you failed to mention all of this before hand for what reason?" Kaiba deadpanned with a roll of his eyes. "What's this about someone who'd gone missing?"

Seth nodded slowly, steepling his fingers as he rested his elbows on his knees. "Yes. My slave, Jouno, who looks very much like your Joey."

The aforementioned blonde narrowed his eyes and cleared his throat meaningfully.

"Very much like...Joey..." the priest corrected after a slight hesitation.

Joey smirked triumphantly, before he frowned in concentration. "So...do you think that your...Jouno...and his being lost and all...think that has anything to do with why you're here? I mean, in movies and stuff that's always the way it goes."

"Don't be stupid, mutt. Real life isn't a movie," Seto replied with another roll of his eyes.

The blonde pouted and moved forward to lean on the arm of Seto's chair, his arms still firmly crossed over his chest. "So what, then? How do we get him outta here?" he asked with a questioning nod at the priest.

Seto sighed as both Joey and Seth turned to look at him expectantly. "I don't have an answer right now," he muttered somewhat angrily. "It's getting too late for this, and I still have some work to clear up. You two can stay in guest rooms."

"No way, man, I've gotta get home or my dad's gonna flip," Joey argued, glancing down at the brunette. "I ain't stayin' here."

"Yes, you are," Seto replied evenly as he got to his feet and ran a hand through his bangs. "Because I don't want you to badger off to where I can't find you. If you'd like, mutt, I can call your father and tell him where you are."

"Isn't this illegal? Like, kidnapping or something?!" Joey demanded, standing up as well and dropping his arms to his sides. "I'm going home, Kaiba."

Seto stopped heading for the door and turned to face the blonde, his deep azure eyes boring into Joey's. "You're staying, mutt."

The blonde would have argued back if he hadn't been so lost in that all-consuming blue. With a short nod, he consented. "I'll call my dad myself. You got a phone?"

Seto nodded and headed back towards the door. "There's a private line in my office. Follow me. You," he paused to glare at Seth. "You come too. I probably have some more...suitable clothes you could be wearing."

Joey snickered softly, and Seth got to his feet with a dark glare at the two modern teens. He said nothing, however, knowing that his Egyptian robes would not be accepted in these modern times.

oooooooo

Seto sighed as he left Seth in his room and headed back for his own, (unfortunately) running into Joey on his way. He offered the blonde a short nod on his way past, but Wheeler's hand on his arm stopped him dead in his tracks and he narrowed his eyes, glaring down at his classmate. "What do you want now? Does the doggy want a treat?"

Joey maintained eye contact for a moment before he pushed Kaiba away with a scowl. "Goodnight," he murmured, his voice surprisingly soft, before he disappeared into the guest room that Seto had offered him.

The CEO blinked in surprise, stunned at the look he'd witnessed in the blonde's eyes. There was something there that hadn't been hostility, anger, frustration, or any of the other emotions he usually was able to detect in the mutt.

He shook off his surprise, however, dismissing it as a trick of his tired mind as he turned towards his own bedroom. He was too tired to think about this now...not to mention that he still had a report to type up before he could hope to get any sleep.

ooo TBC ooo

Line from PotC: "Joey's fortunes hadn't improved much" - when Jack Sparrow is in the cell at the beginning and the other pirates come down and say something like: "Last time we saw you, you were stranded on an island all alone" and the the other guy says "his fortunes haven't improved much" and I just loved the wording...but yeah, that's just me.

My beta reader is currently out of town. I read over this as best I could...but there might still be a few mistakes. Forgive me!

Thanks for all the wonderful reviews!! I love you guys!! ^_^