genessia | 1st Duel [Video]

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1st Duel [Video]

There's a shot of the sky before the view reorients itself. Then, suddenly, there's a tanned face staring at the screen, looking surprised and annoyed all at the same time. What's strange however, is that the hairstyle looks eerily familiar, except for wild and said figure is decked out on an outfit probably more suited for a desert than his current environment. Not to mention... is that gold?

Surprisingly, though, he doesn't seem to be that out of place using the device. Probably from all that exposure to technology thanks to Yugi and the others.]

I'm fairly certain that this is not where I was supposed to be.

[ Because last he remembered, he was in Egypt, Ancient Egypt. Not... here, wherever here is.

Not to mention, if he wasn't trapped in the world of memories any longer, shouldn't- ]

And if anyone could tell me where Yugi Mutou is, it would be greatly appreciated.

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[ the last thing seto wants to do is detail where he is from, though he's sort of already told yuugi. still -- it's going to come out eventually, and by the end of memory world, atem knows that that is the goal. to move on. to destroy the items. to seek peace. all of that nonsense that seto should want, but selfishly doesn't.

regardless -- ]

The Sennen Items are gone.

[ that should be enough, without actually saying it, as he continues to walk ]

I have no idea whether or not Bakura has been told what happens, nor do I care. [ xoxo ] I've told Yuugi, sparingly, what happens in his future. And Kisara has been told all that she needs to know in order to understand who I am. [ with the understanding that kisara does not need to know more than that, thank you ] But there are additional problems with memory, here, along with the problem of resources.

[ seto is poor and he's furious about it thanks ]

THAT causes Atem to start.

Gone? But what- [ And he stops. And stares. And realizes. The Sennen Items being gone could only mean one thing honestly. He's not surprised, since that was what they had been working towards, in the end. That and--

He knew what awaited him after the Memory World - what everything they had been doing since Battle City had been leading up to. He acknowledges it for what Seto is not saying - the duel and final outcome. ]

I see.

[ And honestly, he doesn't expect Seto to tell everyone everything, he'll talk to Bakura himself, when the time is right, figure out how much the boy should know, how much he needs to know. But for now, at this moment in time, not that far removed from his memories, he can see Set in Seto and he's grateful for it, not that he'd ever tell the other that. ]

What additional problems?

[ for half a second, seto seems to almost go into detail -- there's a slight tension in his jaw, and his expression seems to be like he's going to talk more, but he stops, because: ]

I don't have any access to Kaiba Corporation, and I don't have any control over the network here, nor do I have the resources available to properly hack it to make sure no one can actually listen in. Personal questions can wait.

[ he stops again, though. ]

The rest of the story isn't particularly kind, and to tell it over a phone call isn't worthy of my respect. As difficult as our relationship has been, and is, you are owed that much.

[ seto has far too much respect (and honestly, a level of caring) for atem to tell him something so personal over something as impersonal as a communicator. besides, seto doesn't entirely trust that these things can't be hacked by the powers-that-be, and he doesn't want something like that to be spread about, especially since yuugi can be used against atem, and vice versa. ]

I'll be there in two minutes.

[ That lack of control is probably driving Seto nuts too, Atem thinks, because he knows how Seto can be. The only saving grace in the whole situation, as much as he hates to say it, might be the fact that Mokuba is not with him. One less thing for him to worry about, as much as it pains him to think it.

He nods, once, perhaps not completely aware of Seto's line of thought process, but understanding the ideas behind it. ]

I'll be waiting, Kaiba.

[ The fact that he doesn't give a location means he trusts Seto to find him. That and he knows that Seto didn't ask.

Also, you better not show up and just start demanding a duel, Seto. ]

[ it's the lack of control. it's not being in his own bed, in his own room. it's not having his company, or the ability to call isono when he needs something. it's not having mokuba immediately nearby, but also not wanting him nearby, because it would just make matters worse. it's going through literal hell and upending everything he thought he knew about the world and finally making peace with it, only to be shoved into this new world.

to find yuugi, missing memories. to find kisara, who seto doesn't know how to talk to. it's been difficult, and seto has been holding it together only because he needs to make an excellent first impression, in order to get people to trust him, to invest in him, so he can survive here. he has to play the game, much like everyone else.

but he doesn't necessarily have to pretend everything is fine around atem (or yuugi, or kisara, but seto doesn't feel comfortable being snippish to either of them), and so when he arrives and clicks off his communicator, he allows himself to look somewhat tired. he hasn't really slept very well since he's arrived here, and having a relative stranger staying with him doesn't help matters.

still, seto finds the grace to look somewhat amused, as he looks atem up and down, slipping his hands into his pockets. ]

It looks even more ridiculous in person. I'll never understand how anyone took you seriously.

[ seto, himself, is rather dressed down, though still as impeccable as always. ]

Fortunately for you, Yuugi is here. You can just take his clothes.

[ because seto obviously can just

dictate that

he's still working on the friendship thing ]

[ It's probably fortunate for Seto then, that Atem understands to a point. He might never have had a multi-million dollar company to run and until a little while ago, didn't eve remember having an entire country to run, but he understands the need for control. He's been there and done that and left the Mind Crushed denizens of Domino behind to prove it.

It's that understanding which allows Atem to not call him on it, but to give the the other the once over, see the tiredness and file it away for later. Atem might not verbally call Seto his friend, but the CEO is a close comrade and rival and has earned Atem's respect.

It's sort of amusing to him, in retrospect, how much their relationship hasn't changed over the years of missing memories and reincarnations. But he would never point that out.

The banter is familiar and it's something that relaxes Atem to a degree. ]

I could say the same for you, Kaiba. I really do hope Mokuba didn't inherit your flare for the dramatics.

[ He looks down at his clothes again, part of him missing the leather and the boots. Both outfits feel oddly right on him though, and it's going to take a while to get accustomed to this weird juxtaposition of his former life and his new one. ]

I suppose these would look a little strange to people around here.

The only thing Mokuba inherited from me is the ability to push people out of his way who aren't worth his time.

[ and a great many other things, but reflecting on mokuba just makes seto realize (again) that his younger brother isn't here, and so he surveys atem for a moment before shrugging a shoulder. ]

There are plenty of people here who aren't from the modern era. Some of them had never seen a hologram before arriving here. [ seto learned that the hard way, after showing off his own technology in order to garner interest, only to find out a lot more people than he previously thought had never seen that type of tech before ] Kisara would probably recognize you more dressed like that, than the other way around.

[ though whether or not kisara would find atem to be a comfort, rather than a terrifying person, remains to be seen. no one from egypt had really treated her well until set had found her. which is probably why the woman is glued to his side. -- but that's a story for another day. seto is just delaying the inevitable, and he inclines his head toward the road.

seto always feels better when he walks and talks, to work out nervous energy. perhaps atem will feel the same way. ]

Come on. It's best to just get this over with.

Hmm.

[ There's a smirk on the corner of his lips - of Seto glanced at him at all, it would be obvious that Atem is wondering how that applied to Yugi and his friends. ]

I'm sure that you corrected that.

[ Their seeing of a hologram, he means. From the way Seto talks, he made sure to introduce them to it.

He's quiet at the mention of Kisara. He wasn't privy to everything that the girl had gone through, but... she was still someone from his time, his old time, when he was still Pharaoh, and... ]

I would imagine. How is she faring, considering that I would imagine all she knows is Egypt.

[ An eyebrow raises at the order, but he follows along. After all, from what he can tell, Seto has been here for a while, and Atem.... honestly has no clue what he's doing. ]

She's not dead, or a slave.

[ so, in seto's opinion, much better than she was in egypt. but that's a bit too abrupt and curt even for him, and he hesitates before continuing. ]

She is adjusting. I doubt my presence helps the process. [ given that seto is not set, and he's not... well. warm, or inviting, or heroic, or any of that nonsense. he's standoffish and somewhat curt and while he's done his best to be as kind as possible to kisara, he's also... himself. ] But as she knows no one else here, she is currently in a spare bedroom in my apartment, until she figures out where she would rather be.

[ an ounce of kindness won't kill seto, surely. ]

Meeting Yuugi here was far more jarring than her. I wasn't expecting Yuugi to have the Puzzle, or to not know that you completed your path. He also is missing certain memories of the past year or two -- specifically, memories of you.

[ he pauses ]

I didn't react how I should have.

[ read: he totally flipped and told yuugi what the fuck are you doing with that thing and then immediately backpedaled and then yuugi told him that he didn't really know who atem was and seto didn't react well to that either and made it worse ]

[ Well that's good. He'd be rather displeased to find out she was. ]

I'm sure your presence helps more then you realize, Kaiba. But, if you wish and she doesn't mind, I would be more then happy to see her as well, if only to attempt to help put her at ease.

[ No, Seto might not be Set, at least personality wise, but Atem believed that a person's core didn't change. Set's personality was set by the way he had grown up and then by the court, just as Seto's had been. They were fundamentally different, but Atem had considered Set to be one of his closest comrades and he considered Seto the same, even if he would never admit it out loud. ]

... memories of me?

[ Atem is just going to stare at him in confusion. ]

How can that-- you said he was from all the fall of Dartz! Nothing should have happened other then that tournament.

[ it's never something he really thought about, the comparisons between him and ... well, other him. when isis had told him about his past, seto had laughed it off. that's ridiculous -- there's absolutely no way kaiba seto, the reigning ceo of the most powerful company in the world, was born from something so ridiculous. he is his own person. he has fought for every single thing he has. there is nothing more to him than what you see, because seto has carefully crafted him to be that.

but then he started remembering kisara, and he saw memory world. the high priest had been a powerful figure indeed, someone very crucially important to both atem and kisara. and it's difficult not to consider that -- really, which version would they rather have, to deal with now? with atem, it's a little easier. atem grew to know seto, without knowing that other person, but kisara is far more difficult. either way, the previous version had been a lot more likeable, and a lot less damaged. if seto were either of them, the decision wouldn't be that difficult to make.

but all of that is just self-destructive nonsense, and seto has little patience for feeling sorry for himself. at atem's offer to talk to kisara, though, he's mollified -- and while he doesn't comment on atem's reassurance, he does appreciate it. ]

I'll tell her you're here, then.

[ kisara can make that decision for herself. ]

[ but all of this is just delaying the inevitable, and seto purses his lips as atem questions him. ]

You can lose memories in this world, as prices to be paid. I haven't had the time to research it properly yet, but from what Yuugi tells me, memories can be paid as the result of death.

[ he pauses ]

If you die in this world, you come back. I don't know how, or who does it, or what technology or -- magic makes it happen. But Yuugi endured it, and would not tell me specific details. Probably because I'm far less forgiving than he is. [ and, honestly, a lot less mentally stable, and yuugi is far smarter than seto is in regards to tossing out information to his friends ] But when I asked if you were here, when I saw the Puzzle, he didn't know what I was talking about. When I explained, he seemed to know that there was a spirit in the Puzzle, but not that it was you. Your personality or likeness is gone.

[ he pauses again, though, and seto stops walking to turn to atem, his expression slightly less severe than usual, because he can sympathize. it's hard, having someone that important to you suddenly not know who you are. noa had taken mokuba's mind on a field trip -- and that had nearly broken seto, even if he knew it was temporary. this is far different. ]

That doesn't change your bond, or your experiences. He has amnesia; that can be reversed.

[ or so seto tells himself. it had been with atem, after all. ]

I doubt there is some sort of Memory World RPG here for us to play in order for us to regain Yuugi's memories, Kaiba.

[ He has to snark about this, because it's all he can do at this point. It's either that or start second guessing everything that has landed them to this point and wonder if perhaps this was the price they had to pay for almost achieving their goal.

Figures, though, that Yugi should lose his memories of the spirit around the same time the spirit regains his memories of his past. Someone, somewhere, was probably laughing at him. ]

No matter, though. I will just have to see Yuugi myself and see what I can do to bring back his memories.

Accepting defeat isn't an option, either. You either do it, or you don't.

[ somewhat curtly, because seto knows that atem knows that seto hadn't been suggesting such a ludicrous solution to the problem, but he also knows that atem needs to respond to something. it may as well be a snippish response.

still -- ]

But you have the advantage of knowing it is possible. The largest disadvantage we [ we, because even seto isn't stubborn enough to pretend that atem and the others are alone in this ] have is not knowing the enemy, or what it is that causes this. Something that can be remedied with research, and befriending the correct people in this place.

[ seto stops, there, sliding his hands into his pockets, his jaw set, eyes bright ]

Living here is just another game. We have conquered every one that has been given to us. This one will be no different. And I have no intentions of being someone's puppet.

[ the moment seto figures out how to get out of here, with yuugi, kisara, and atem (and bakura, he supposes), he is going to do it. memories included. ]

[ Because at the moment he doesn't know how to respond to the very idea that Yuugi 'died'. Anger at himself that he wasn't here to keep it from happening, anger at this place for taking that from him and he's not entirely sure what he feels regarding Yuugi who suffered. It's all very confusing for him and has knocked him out of his element - it's not something he can fight against, after all. He can't challenge the city to a card game to get them back.

At least he doesn't think so. Perhaps that's something to consider for later. ]

And figuring out the rules.

[ Because he's pretty sure that there rules, such as the losing memory for dying, and he's going to find out every single one of them. ]

Neither do I, not anymore.

[ Because that was what he had become, wasn't it? He had paid the price by being three thousand years removed from all that he had known and and hadn't known and he refused to allow it to happen to his friends as well. ]

[ discovering the rules, figuring out the game to be played -- all important, but ultimately: ]

When have the rules ever favored us?

[ with no small amount of frustration. pegasus invented his own rules. dartz invented his own rules. every single damn enemy they have ever faced took the rules provided to them -- be it through duel monsters, or basic human decency -- and thrown them out the window. they have overcome their difficulties, their battles, by elevating themselves to a new standard, while sacrificing none of their ideals.

villains never play by the rules. and so -- ]

I didn't face down a damn embodiment of darkness to be told that I have to play nicely. We discover what rules have been put into place, disregard them, and create our own damn rules.

[ seto can play the game, and pretend to be the sweetest individual in the world if it means someone will invest in his projects, but something like this? over his dead body. ]

Did I say we follow them?

[ Atem raises an eyebrow at the other. ]

Even if we did so, it would only be until we could twist them to work in our favor, Kaiba. Besides, when have either one of us followed what we were supposed to do?

[ They always turned the tide in their favor, usually by exploiting a weakness most wouldn't consider - look at how he had beaten one of Malik's mind slaves and received Osiris. ]

Never.

{ admittedly, but it still feels better to say so out loud. that seto refuses to accept his place here, and fall into line, and accept this place as just another step in his path. he can accept his place in his universe. he can accept that he was once a priest, if only because he saw it with his own eyes. and he can accept his role in yuugi's life, and atem's life, and kisara's life. he can do all of that, even if he's having difficulty doing so now.

but to accept that he is in a world where everything is outside of his control, where he is expected to just accept that memories can be taken from you, and that people are in power over him, and he is expected to accept the status quo... he can't do that.

what seto can do, however, is throw his weight behind what atem needs, and what yuugi needs. he can do that. and while he still can't accept help on his own terms, or deal with what he's been through, he can certainly play support when needed. and so: ]

I told Yuugi who you were. What you meant to him, and vice versa. [ seto pauses, and with a much more resigned tone (almost as if this is going to come out eventually, and seto is just ripping the band-aid off now): ] I also told him what you meant to me, and how you have changed my perspective. For better, or worse, is up to history to decide. Regardless --

[ he draws in a breath, and his tone is sharp -- determined, confident. as it should be. ]

You and your collective band of idiots are constantly preaching about working together and pooling resources in order to defeat the next great evil of our time. Missing memories will hardly change that. And surely it won't be so difficult to destroy bureaucrats and hidden magic with the two of us, Yuugi, and Bakura, so long as he remains free of psychosis.

[ in short: everything will be fine. an inspirational pep talk by kaiba seto. ]

Edited 2016-04-05 02:47 (UTC)

[ Well.

That had certainly not been something Atem expected Seto to admit to, although he is pleased to finally hear it. After all that time, there had been a part of him that wondered if Seto truly did see them as the pests he proclaimed they were, or if he truly cared. Of course, Atem wouldn't dare make him say it, considering everything that they had learned in the Noa's computer world. He wasn't one to poke at people's pasts or their wounds - actions spoke louder then words.

To show respect for Seto's words, Atem doesn't dare comment on what he just admitted, instead focusing on other things instead. ]

And anyone else that we manage to recruit because I can't imagine we're the only ones who are displeased at what this world does.

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