Unearthing the Past [LadyAthene x Veinexes]

Seto Kaiba had done many amazing things throughout the years of his life. Taking control of his adoptive father's business and shifting it to the polar opposite of the once prolific arm dealing company, games. His rise to the top of the powerful world of business assisted by the visionary of his "solid image" system and the card game Duel Monsters.

Though he had once reigned undisputed in all things he found himself unable to take one thing for himself, the title of "The King of Games", a title he had made specifically for himself stolen by his lifetime rival.

Now that rival was gone, returned to the land of the dead leaving behind his vessel and the knowledge that now Seto would never be able to have his redemption against the ancient spirit. The fact gnawed at him from behind, causing him to obsess over the thought of dueling the pharaoh again and finally settling the score.

Though usually dismissive of the occult and supernatural, Seto could not disavow the mystical nature of his foe and thus was powerless with his technology to return him to this plane. He slammed a clenched fist into the arm of his chair at the thought, it was a fact he knew all to well that his mind would remind him of constantly.

Sighing he leaned back in the his chair as he rubbed his eyes. The door to his office opening as one of his loyal subordinates came in.

"Master Kaiba, the preparations are complete for the experiment. We only await your presence."

Standing, the CEO walked around his desk and collected a locked case sitting by it's side.

"Has our VIP arrived yet?"

"Yes sir, she was brought in earlier, albeit slightly annoyed at the summons we were able to convince her to come and assist as per your orders."

Kaiba nodded as the pair entered an elevator and descended into the basements below the company building, stepping out and proceeding to the lab. Once inside he would see his "guest", Ishizu ishtar, a woman he met during one of his tournaments. She had predicted his fall and been wrong, despite this though he knew she understood two things he did not. The first being the occult, the second ancient Egyptian speech.

Unlocking his case he produced the one thing more important then near everything in his life, his deck. He recalled the time he had hallucinated himself back in the Ancient Egyptian times, though now he was not sure it was a hallucination. There he saw a man looking much like himself and a young girl that had seemingly been the will of his most powerful servant, The Blue-Eyes White Dragon.

Drawing the three powerful cards form his deck he placed them in a triangle formation on the ground before walking out of the chamber. The men worked the console as he observed. Numbers and words flashing along the screens as the ceiling tiles of the chamber opened to lower a familiar item into view, the Millennium Rod. Remembering the priest having used this item he concluded that it might be needed for this ritual to work.

Multiple electrodes focused onto the object as the eye began to glow, the three dragons sharing it's brilliance.

"Now then, lets see what comes out shall we."

Peace. Harmony. Faith. Hope.

Finally, these aspects had coated the world - specifically Domino City - over the past two years. The last bits of chaos seemed to vanish as Atem was able to be put to rest. The moment had been bittersweet for everyone, including the now twenty-two year old priestess herself. Still, as a priestess devoted to the Egyptian gods, she knew the duel between Atem and Yugi had been essential. It just wouldn't have otherwise been right or fair to force Atem to not be given the afterlife he deserved.

Normally, she devoted herself to the goddess her counterpart had been named after, Isis.

But Ishizu could safely know and say that on the day Yugi had competed versus the Pharaoh, she definitely sent up many silent prayers to Anubis in hopes that he would favor Atem.

Suffice to say, she was glad - even to this day - those pleas had appeared to be heard.

Naturally, everyone had gone their own separate ways. Yugi and the others were focusing on their school, at least this was true according to what she'd heard. The biggest surprise had come from both Odion and her brother, as both agreed to go back to Egypt and try to take their positions as the family 'guardians' once more.

After how long he fought against those duties and obligations? Interesting ...

Her eyes closed as a faint smile crossed her face. Alas, her reminiscing was rather abruptly interrupted by a firm hand landing on her shoulder. The blue eyes of the priestess quickly opened as she turned away from the stone tablet that had been in front of her and saw some very nicely dressed men in black suits.

"May I help you?" Ishizu asked calmly, fighting the urge to narrow her eyes. It was no mystery whom these men were; they no doubt belonged to Seto Kaiba, as his employers were infamous for looking like they belonged to the yakuza rather than someone who was in charge of a company linked to a card game.

However, any lingering doubts on whom these men were quickly vanished as they explained the reason for being in the museum.

"Seto-sama has requested your presence, Miss Ishtar," she merely was told.

That certainly made her raise an eyebrow. "Oh?" she mused, beginning to turn her head, "You sure he asked for me? He's ... well .... himself. The last time we spoke, he just scoffed at me and ignored ---- hey! What are you doing?!"

No verbal response was given. All Ishizu got for an answer was being yanked out of the museum and into a black limousine which had been parked outside.

"W-Wait! What's this about?!"

Ishizu wasn't quite panicked, per se. But now, her attention had definitely been grabbed as well as herself.

"You'll see .... "

---

Suffice to say, those last words had stayed with her the entire ride there. This abrupt encounter was not sitting well with her. Even without the Millennium Necklace, Ishizu was feeling anything but good about this.

Thankfully, the silence was broken as the car came to a halt, with her door being the first to be opened.

A hand began to reach in before she smacked it away and stepped out of the limousine herself. "I can walk fine," she muttered, "Just focus on leading the way to where exactly he is."

That seemed to be good enough for them, luckily, as they made no attempt to grip her again.

A brief walk later, she found herself in .... what was this exactly? It was hard to say, but if Ishizu had to label it as anything, it would be a slightly half-assed attempt at some sort of ritual chamber.

"Seto-san, do you mind explaining what .... ??"

Her eyes widened as a glint of gold reflected in her eyes. Ishizu felt her heart sink as she turned and found it to be none other than the Millennium Rod.

"You ... you took that back?! Why?! We put the Millennium Items away to help ensure Atem could be put to rest properly!"

It took a lot to get the priestess annoyed, let alone sincerely angry. But right then and there, she definitely was fuming. And for a damn good reason. As a traditionalist, his removal of the rod was a very taboo gesture in itself.

.... And more and more, she was starting to feel as if whatever she had been dragged into would be even worse than mere theft.

"What is going on?" she asked, trying her best to maintain a relatively calm and collected composure, though the sight of the Rod made it much easier said than done to go through with.

Kaiba all but ignored Ishizu as she spoke. He didn't have time for her warnings and portents, nor her curses and accusations. Though they may ring true on certain things he never let that break into his mind to give him any pause.

"You ... you took that back?! Why?! We put the Millennium Items away to help ensure Atem could be put to rest properly!"

"I have a few questions to ask him, and he can rest once I'm done with him. First though I have to sure this works."

The lights flashed as the Ka resting in the staff began to react to it's "master's" wishes and emit it's mystic power into the chamber. Unwittingly, Kaiba's will was being forced onto the rod, the item recognizing the stubborn man as the same one who had wielded it long ago, or at least an ancestor of some sort. A flash of golden light filled the screens and viewing windows of the lab, all present shielding their eyes until it faded. Once it did a single unconscious woman lie in the chamber betwixt the cards.

"Get her to a room, and take Ms Ishtar there too."

"I have a few questions to ask him, and he can rest once I'm done with him. First though I have to sure this works."

Nothing less than pure, bitter disgust entered the priestess.

"You ... aren't trying what I'm thinking .... are you?!"

It wasn't supposed to be. Still, she knew even in the ancient times, people had tried resurrections. Not many, but enough that it had been recorded in the old tomes buried far beneath the sands of Egypt. Naturally, they had all failed.

But then, they had all been attempted centuries ago, when the best bet of this sort of thing working was a combination of luck and magic, some of which wasn't even truly possessed by people. Many individuals in all of the previous civilizations lied, claiming to be gifted with abilities such as Divination and Seeing, yet not actually having such talents.

"You can't," she replied, her voice barely above a whisper as Ishizu instinctively moved forward to yank the Rod out of Seto's hand. "This isn't going to --- !!"

A hiss passed the priestess's lips as the bright light shined right in her eyes and everyone else whom was in the room.

"Get her to a room, and take Ms Ishtar there too."

Her?

As Ishizu turned around, she felt her eyes widen yet again.

.... It can't be ....

---

Silence. Darkness.

These had embraced and surrounded Kisara for ... years. Decades. Very likely much longer now. How long was beyond her; she simply knew time continued to go by even though she had been dead.

Thinking back, she didn't really ----

Wait ....

Slowly, everything began to register. She was able to think?

Why? I .... I shouldn't be able to ....

The very earth itself was keeping her hidden away, contained in the coffin which had her body.

Or ... it had been.

The sensation was difficult to explain but Kisara could understand a few things.

It was unnatural, incredibly foreign even.

But the weirdest part was it didn't quite hurt like she would have immediately assumed.

In fact, everything worked ... quickly.

---

Not to the point where she would awaken immediately after appearing in the room. However, she did stir slightly in the uniformed mens' arms, fully waking up after she was placed on the nearest surface, be it a bed or couch. A shocked gasp passed her lips as she looked frantically around from side to side before resting her gaze on Ishizu.

"A-Aih?! Fin?"

The questions were fair and, as Ishizu thought from the moment she saw Kisara, in their native tongue. Her teeth gripped her lower lip slightly as she knelt before the maiden, managing to smile gently at her. She'd answer but first thing was first.

"Betetekelem aneguelizi?"

It was no surprise to see Kisara move her head from side to side, but it couldn't hurt to ask. Ishizu sighed softly and nodded. "Domino City," she replied softly.

Kisara tilted her head. If the unorthodox wake up call hadn't been weird enough, the name was. "Do ... mino City?" she repeated hesitantly, her tone having a hesitant and broken accent which implied she truly wasn't used to saying any English at all, just as she'd revealed. "Is .. mik ey?"

Ishizu smiled as she pointed to herself before introducing herself, "Ishizu Ishtar. Ismik ey?"

" ... Kisara ... "

... So it is ... Ishizu mused, turning towards the door and attempting to glare through it. "Aasifa ... " she muttered, exhaling softly.

This was going to be one of those long days, it seemed. Definitely one of the more unique ones Ishizu had experienced in quite some time, yes. But still one where she felt ... torn. The last thing she should be doing is speaking with a formerly deceased person.

But ... did Kisara even remember that part?

If she didn't and Ishizu reminded her, she wouldn't be much better than Seto, whom had forced her out of the realm of the dead.

It suddenly dawned on the priestess she would have to go about this talk very carefully.

Kaiba gripped the rod in his hand, he felt nothing from it now, the power it once had seemed to possessed no longer respond to him. Thinking back he concluded that the person summoned by the power of the item must be someone related to it's holder. He had seen his past self with the girl so maybe that was the factor. He walked as he thought on this, entering a secured room by pass-code and depositing the rod into a safe storage container.

The other items sat similarly besides it, all but one. The puzzle was lost somewhere, only few trace pieces where around the original site. If his hunch was correct he would need the puzzle in tact to summon the spirit he wished to find.

He knocked before entering as he looked to the annoyed priestess and the frightened slave girl, at least that is what he got out of her outfit. He stayed far enough away to hopefully not incite either of them before speaking, "Introduce me, assure her she's safe." came the more like orders then requests that Seto had given.

As curious as Ishizu was to figure out how much Kisara may or may not remember about herself, she opted in the end to remain silent. The entire situation was already weird enough for her as it was; the expression on the poor girl's face revealed that much.

"Do .. mi ... no City?" Kisara repeated again, " ... Maser?"

Ishizu moved her head no, helping her realize this was not definitely located in Egypt.

Kisara swallowed upon seeing that answer as her mouth opened to ask another question. Even without voicing it, Ishizu could tell it would have been one of the ones that she hadn't been looking for.

Somewhat fortunately, Seto walked in before Kisara could let her inquiry be heard. To make up for it though, she hid behind Ishizu, very clearly afraid of everything. Even without either people asking, it was fair to guess the unknown factors definitely played their parts on why Kisara was as scared as she was.

"Introduce me, assure her she's safe."

Ishizu narrowed her eyes, "After what you just did to her? That's the last thing I should do ... but ... I'm not one to hold grudges, luckily for you."

But oh that would not stop her from being pissed at him.

Holding a hand out for Kisara, she gently pulled her so the other female was beside the priestess rather than behind her. Keeping her left hand intertwined with Kisara's, Ishizu briefly pointed with her right before speaking softly, "Da Seto Kaiba."

" .... Se ... to?"

The name clearly did seem familiar. That much was ringing a faint bell with Kisara. Her head lifted as she moved a few silver strands of hair away, getting somewhat of a better look. The eyes and hair did match the priest she used to know but ...

Wouldn't he be dead also? That was so long ago. It ... no. It can't be ...

Kisara moved her head from side to side, silently trying to convince herself it couldn't be the same person. Of course, she would have known much sooner if she'd managed to see the Rod that wasn't the case -- or rather, that her guess about him being an ancestor of the same man wasn't an incorrect thought.

" ... Da bin?" Kisara asked.

Ishizu inwardly sighed. The man himself wasn't, no. His acts, like this one, could be though, yes. Still, there was no sense in confusing her so ... she moved her head from side to side. "Ho iam, aai, enet."

Kisara glanced from Ishizu to Seto. Even after hearing her insist this man would be great and gracious to her ... she wasn't sure. It wasn't Ishizu she doubted. But he was difficult to get a read off of. The way he held himself, the air and aura all surrounding him ... it felt ... off. About as much as what she had just gone through, if not more so.

After a bit more of quiet studying, Kisara looked back to Ishizu before whispering in her ear. The elder Egyptian nodded but held up a finger to the other maiden before looking over towards Seto, "She wants to know one thing I do as well; why is she here?"

Or, in Ishizu's case, it would have been worded more akin to 'why did you go through the trouble of resurrecting her?'

Either way, the question held the same principle.

Already he was being bombarded with questions from the moment he came inside the room. He didn't answer right away as he merely looked over Kisara, the girl was ignorant of modern language and for that reason Ishizu was needed. Seto had thought of just hiring a translator, but they might not have understood the archaic form of speech that Kisara used in place of modern versions.

"It was a test," Seto coldly replied now answering the previous question that the woman had put to him. "If she could be brought back then perhaps I can bring him back too."

Moving forward he bent down to look Kisara into the eyes, "You remember me don't you, we breifly met in the past... or something like that."

Ishizu stared in disbelief, disgusted and infuriated at the bold, blunt nature of Seto's reply.

"It was a test. If she could be brought back then perhaps I can bring him back too."

" ... Did you forget the entire point of his last duel with Yugi?!" she hissed through gritted teeth. "It was to put his soul to rest, you ... you ... urgh!"

Even without being able to understand, the expression in Ishizu's eyes was more than enough to make Kisara anxious. She looked slowly to the other woman, giving the sleeve of her top a cautious, gentle tug. Despite not verbally asking, the look in her blue eyes was more than enough to reveal to both the priestess and the former priest the single question lingering in her orbs.

What'd he just say?

Ishizu grimaced as she turned to look at Kisara. When all was said and done, she didn't want to reveal the truth. Yet ... she deserved to know.

And she'll probably find out somehow ...

Still, Ishizu couldn't bring her to answer the younger woman. She was already in a confusing and very likely terrifying world as it was. The knowledge of her previous state - that is, the fact she used to be deceased - would not make things better for her. Plus, Seto beat her before Ishizu could have even attempted to muster the proper amount of courage to give Kisara an honest answer.

An array of emotions swept through Kisara as the man got closer. Between Ishizu not replying to her and his presence, she felt that much more scared.

... Yet ... there was ... something else. A sense of ... familiarity, somehow. It had been there even before he got closer. Now, however, it had strengthened. The thought of him seeming like the same priest she knew became something that Kisara was almost certain to be true.

"Neb-i ... Seto?"

Ishizu grimaced. If it were up to her, she would have insisted to Kisara that Seto most definitely didn't deserve that title. Maybe in another lifetime, but here and now? Definitely not. "Indeed," she mused, "She thinks you're the same priest that she knew back then, as she went so far as to address you as her lord." The still bitter tone that lingered in Ishizu's voice hinted just how infuriated she was at him; yet all the same, it wasn't in Ishizu's nature to be physically violent.

Still, that wouldn't stop her from voicing her disdain for the forced situation or even the man who created it.

Seto smiled slightly, he had to admit the priest had bared some resemblance to the young CEO. Moreover the resemblance would make this easier for him, after-all now that he had risen the dead metaphorically speaking where would he put them?

He shook his head to Kisara, "I'm not that man, though I do bare similar features to him. You were brought back to see if it was possible to do so. Though that sounds harsh I assure you I thought quite a bit on who I would choose to bring back before I did." Feeling that she would definetly not have the right words nor a good grasp on the situation to understand exactly what he was trying to say he reached into his pocket and pulled from it one of the Blue-eyes. "You recognize this right?"

---

The last memories and feelings flooded back to life. The hatred, the brilliance that felled it, the contempt for those who had beaten it back again after such careful planning. Now it opened it's mind again to the realization of existence. It was alive again, brought back somehow as if through chance. It had always been good with that, a constant risk taker though not successful in most. it blamed that on it's hosts frailty more then anything.

It's host.... the mere thought made it seethe and boil. Still without form it was impotent to everything, even the means of vengeance it so richly craved for. The entity looked about for a suitable vessel, annoyance filling it as it saw no one in the vicinity worthy or capable of hosting it.

Finally it settled on a basic host, it's power would be minimal, but at least it would be able to move around. The man entered into the car and began driving to the one place that it knew would have what it needed.

Ishizu grimaced, still staying quiet as Seto spoke. He was giving her more reasons to go against her personal code as well as more reasons not to translate what Kisara was hearing.

But ... as the confused expression from the silver-haired maiden got stronger, Ishizu knew she couldn't keep the silent treatment up. Not forever. A defeated sigh passed her lips as she gently took a hold of Kisara's hands and began repeating the CEO's words.

" ... A'nen?" Kisara repeated her voice shaking slightly. "A'nen men ... Amenti?"

Ishizu bit her lower lip before slowly nodding. "Aasifa ... " she repeated again, feeling her heart sink as she watched poor Kisara's tremors get worse.

Her mouth opened, no doubt likely to ask why Seto had done such a taboo thing. But instead, her eyes caught sight of the card first. "Itja!" she hissed, yanking the Blue Eyes out from between his fingers and holding it close to her. Her left hand pointed at herself to signal the word 'my' as she repeatedly cried out "Akh!" over and over again.

"That's enough," Ishizu finally announced. "You've done more than enough of giving her the worst wake up call ever. Even if she doesn't request for you to leave, I'm doing so on her behalf."

The same firmness that he'd been hearing had yet to even start weakening. If anything, Kisara's reactions helped fuel her resolve on.

... True, I never wanted to originally be here. But this is beyond wrong. And if Seto-san's not going to atone for his mistakes, so be it. But I'm going to help keep her sane.

Because, at the rate things were going, Seto definitely wouldn't do that. Even if Kisara deserved it, it was clear the CEO had his own agenda.

"I would have thought the past few years would have made you smarter, not stupider," she bitterly added, pulling Kisara into a sisterly-like embrace in an attempt to help calm her down.

Seto had to release his hold on the card as Kisara quickly snatched it from him, lucky as she was for nothing happening to the card itself. As she hysterically shouted at him he heard nothing, his mind blank in a state of shock at her action. Soon though time began moving for him again, his blood beginning to boil and churn inside of him at the thing that had just occured.

She didn't..she did!

his eyes glared daggers at the young maiden as he clenched his fist, pulling one up before stopping himself. It would do no good to lose his temper with the girl, even less to try and wrestle back his card from her grasp. Unlike himself she probably would not care fr it's destruction let alone understand the impact of such and act.

"That's not yours, give it back." He spoke sternly. Watching her as she refused, his extended hand would be all the translation she would need.

Grimacing Seto moved back to stand over the two before him, "Fine then, we'll talk again when you are more... agreeable, until then you better not let anything happen to my Blue Eyes." Before anything else coould be said, or before he lost his temper, Seto turned and left, he had bigger things to worry about and work on. Afterall, Kisara had only been a test, the real experiment was still far from over.

Both women's eyes widened as Seto dared to raise a clenched fist up and actually start bringing it down towards Kisara.

"You monster! Don't you dare!" Ishizu hissed, pulling Kisara closer in an attempt to shield the silver maiden's body. "After all you've taken from her, she does deserve it! At least for now! You know the significance of that card and why it's so important to her?! What'd you expect from her? For her to have forgotten?! You're being a fool, more so than usual!"

Thankfully, something made Seto stop; likely his own motives. Whatever the case had been, Ishizu was glad. She would have taken the hit in place of Kisara, albeit not in an overly eager manner.

Only Ishizu looked up as Seto tried to demand the card back. Kisara's head stayed bowed. The next thing he'd notice were the tremors becoming more frequent as well as stronger. Finally, the quiet but unmistakable sounds of sniffling would be heard and even without seeing them directly, he could fairly guess she was crying.

"Akh ... " Kisara repeated, her voice shaky as the word got caught in her own throat every now and again. Any doubts that Kisara might have been sobbing were likely gone now that he could hear her voice.

"Leave!" Ishizu repeated, shooting an infuriated glare towards Seto before looking back down to Kisara, beginning to rock her gently. A soft sigh passed the priestess's lips when Seto finally did exit the room. Though Ishizu's muscles relaxed, it wasn't as much as she would have wanted. Slowly, she helped Kisara up to her feet, standing up with the silver-haired woman.

"Aasifa ... " Ishizu repeated, unable to offer more comfort to the shuddering Kisara.

"Akh ... " she continued to murmur, whimpering every now and again.

Ishizu grimaced, turning her head slightly for a few seconds before looking back in front of them. A quick examination hinted the room was likely some sort of office, perhaps a living room. Still, it did have one major item in particular she'd been looking for; a couch. It wasn't a bed, no. But it would suffice as a makeshift one.

"Nekhet," Ishizu murmured softly, helping Kisara lie down.

The two sets of blue eyes met as Kisara quietly stared up at the older woman. So many questions raced through her mind. Yet the more she looked at the priestess, the more it seemed like even she was as clueless as her.

... Is she a prisoner like yourself?

Regardless, Kisara could deduce one certain thing; compared to Seto, Ishizu was much more of a friend than the man. To think he may somehow be linked to the priest she knew made her sick.

The Seto I knew never would have done something so ... so heinous!

At least she wanted to believe that.

In the end, words of any kind - curses, thanks, anything - failed to pass Kisara's lips. Both mental and physical fatigue overwhelmed her as she held the Blue Eyes card against her chest, swiftly falling asleep.

Ishizu shook her head, sighing softly as she knelt on the floor beside the sleeping woman. "Damnit, Seto," she mused under her breath, " ... Just what have you done exactly? There are reasons these sorts of things are forbidden. Even back then, there was always a price ... "

She swallowed softly, wondering if even now that would somehow apply.

... Yet if it did, that didn't matter. The first priority was helping watch and care for Kisara. However, that didn't mean she wouldn't try to start on the second goal.

Somehow ... I need to get a hold of Malik, Yugi, anyone that used to own the Millennium Items. If Seto had the Rod ... then the others may also be missing. They need to know, plain and simple.

Going about informing them, though, would no doubt be the hardest part. After all, she was literally in Seto's domain. And even without having been here before, his tournaments and mindset all hinted one thing about him. The man was infamous - also suggested by some of the others - for security. Lo and behold, a simple lift of her head did reveal at least one small security camera that were it not for the fact she was looking for them, Ishizu would have missed.

So ... getting a hold of people would indeed have to wait.

The realization made her sigh as she laid down on the floor, allowing Kisara to rest on the couch beside her.