Seto was fuming. He knew Setesh would make an ass of himself, but he'd forgotten how much of an ass the snake could be. He felt like he'd just faced off with Kaiba Gozaburo once more and not come out on top. All because of that infernal name.
Nephthys.
It didn't used to bother him so much. The annoyance had grown as the Egyptian mythology changed. Seto could see Setesh's handiwork in the mythology from the other side of the galaxy. What the traitorous Goa'uld hadn't secured in life, he managed to keep in myth. Sister-wife. Disgusting. In so many ways.
Thousands of years ago, incest had hardly been much of an issue. Pharaohs married siblings and close cousins frequently to maintain bloodlines and political power, particularly since the royal line was linked to the females not the males. Incest may not have been the best solution for the people involved, but as long as a viable heir was produced and the royal line secured, all was considered well.
The Goa'uld embraced this philosophy whole-heartedly. After all, there were only so many breeding Goa'uld queens in existence and those few tended to be hesitant about birthing new queens. Birthing common drones was so much easier and ever so useful. The more underlings to cater to the queen's needs and wants, the more Jaffa could be created and the more underlords could be gathered.
Birthing a new queen was a dangerous game. Unless the new queen was immediately separated from their mother, the outcome would often be bloody. Besides, a new queen meant a new potential enemy to deal with. If the new queen chose to breed only, they could be more easily controlled and manipulated. A Goa'uld without a host was surprisingly pliable.
However, should the Goa'uld queen choose to take a host and continue to breed much like Ra's infamous queen Hathor had done, they became a serious threat. They could actively make decisions, gather power, create and destroy alliances, and provide a steady flow of symbiotes for their Jaffa armies.
As the Supreme System Lord, Ra had two queens: Hathor and Egeria. Two queens, double the power. None of the Goa'uld could match Ra's armies in sheer numbers alone with two queens constantly at his beck and call. Egeria may not have been as politically active or influential as Hathor, as far as Seto could remember, but the two queens were both forces to be reckoned with.
Seto did not have such power but, for the moment, he had to act as if he did. As long as Setesh thought this temporary ceasefire was beneficial, Seto had some wiggle room. That didn't mean Seto was going to let his guard down for one second. Setesh was a slimy bastard and Seto refused to be outwitted by such a lowlife.
Now if only the mutt would stop pacing like a caged cat. "You are trying my patience," Seto said, sipping his steaming mug of coffee and staring out the window. "Either stop moving or I will make you stop."
He watched as the blonde's reflection in the window shot him a heated glare before raking fingers through the already messy hair.
"Look, man," Jounouchi said, "you have your ways of dealing with stress, and I have mine. You sit and brood, I pace and fiddle. Get over it."
"Not as long as we have to share a room, I won't," Seto countered.
"And who was the one who insisted we share a room?"
Seto glanced at Jounouchi's frustrated expression, his eyebrow sketching a perfect arch. "Would you prefer I let you be alone so Setesh could brainwash you as easily as he did motorcycle boy?" he asked. The mutt paled considerably at the suggestion and Seto set his mug down on the window sill. "I may not be able to stand your presence, but that doesn't mean I'm heartless enough to leave you to someone as despicable as Setesh. I'd rather just throw you to the wolves and watch the show."
Bright brown eyes dulled into a flat glare. "Gee, thanks. I feel so loved."
Seto snorted.
Jounouchi grimaced and rubbed his forehead, obviously still stressing. At least he wasn't pacing anymore so that was an improvement.
"Does this whole thing not bother you?" the mutt finally said in exasperation. "Like, at all?"
"It does," Seto admitted after a moment. "But I've had enough time to come to terms with the way Setesh works to not allow myself to be surprised by him anymore."
"Yeah, well some of us don't have your background, moneybags," Jounouchi grumbled, stuffing his hands into his pockets.
After a few minutes of heavy silence, Jounouchi approached the window and leaned back against the wall across from Seto's seated form. "Do you think Honda will remember this?" he asked softly. "Being brainwashed, I mean."
Seto considered Yugi's friend for a moment before sighing. "I doubt it," he said finally. "If he does, it'll be fuzzy at best. Like trying to remember a dream."
The blonde nodded in relief. "Good." He shook his head. "I never wanted something like this to happen again," he said. "You think Yug' got put under too?"
"I highly doubt it," Seto said, returning his gaze to the cloud covered sky outside. "If he was caught, Setesh would have the Puzzle and we would all know it."
"Huh. Good point." Jounouchi tapped his foot anxiously. "So when do you think Mister Creepy Face will come back?" he said, glancing at the door. "He did say he wanted to talk to you. Alone."
Seto sighed and leaned back in his chair, crossing his legs comfortably. "Soon. He prefers to make his guests wait. It's a power play."
The infernal foot tapping continued. "Wanna explain the whole Nephthys thing now or...?" Jounouchi shrugged dramatically.
He was never going to catch a break, was he? Taking a long sip of his coffee, Seto thumped the mug back on the window sill and stared at Jounouchi in mounting annoyance. "Nephthys was a pseudonym I used once," he said. "It's not and never was my real name." He tried not to roll his eyes and mostly succeeded. "Unfortunately, my actions while using that name left a mark."
Jounouchi lifted both eyebrows, obviously trying to only lift one and failing. "And that ties in to Setesh... how exactly?"
"I worked for him."
The mutt stared at him. "You worked for him," he repeated in a flat tone.
"Times were different then," Seto said, dismissing the subject. "I didn't have the power and influence I have today. I was an underlord with little power to call my own. If anyone knew what I was, I'd have been killed without question." He cocked his head thoughtfully, the beginnings of a smirk tugging at his lips. "I started fixing that problem as soon as I could."
Jounouchi leaned back, pressing his back to the wall and staring at nothing as he thought on Seto's words. "So you were Setesh's subordinate, basically."
"Basically."
Jounouchi snorted, his shoulders bouncing with the effort to bite back his amusement. "I am never going to forget that," he said, grinning. "The great Seto Kaiba, a subordinate for a cult leader. Oh, excuse me," he corrected himself quickly. "An alien cult leader."
Seto visibly dismissed the brat by looking back out the window. He did make a point to not-so-accidentally kick the mutt's kneecap when he uncrossed his legs and shifted to a more comfortable position.
"So this whole alien thing-"
"Ra have mercy," Seto groaned, letting his head fall back onto the chair and shutting his eyes. "Do you ever shut up for more than a few seconds?"
"Sometimes," Jounouchi said easily. "I'm usually asleep though."
This time Seto did kick the mutt deliberately.
"You gonna explain the alien thing to me then?" Jounouchi said, sounding for all the world like he was talking about the weather. "Or do I need to keep talking about shit in order to annoy you into talking?"
Seto rubbed his temples to stave off a growing headache.
"I could always ask Setesh."
"Fine!" Seto snapped. He glared at the mutt who had the audacity to grin victoriously.
"Score 1 for Joey, and a big, fat zero for Kaiba!" the mutt crowed, punching a fist into the air.
"That hardly sounds like an accurate count," Seto growled.
"Bite me."
Disgusting.
"Look, I'm not asking for all the gory details," Jounouchi said, his shit-eating grin still on his face. "I'm just asking for enough so I understand what's going on around here. Like this First Prime thing. What the hell's that? And I know enough about Egyptian stuff to know what a sarcophagus is, but not why a living person would need it. And what the hell is a chapstick-whatchamucallit?"
Obelisk, grant him patience. Seto needed the mutt alive. No matter how badly he wanted to strangle that pale neck.
"The Chappa'ai," Seto said, emphasizing the correct pronunciation, "is a piece of technology that allows people to travel from one world to another without the use of space ships. I'd go into the details of the science behind wormholes and interstellar travel, but I doubt your pea brain would be able to handle it without suffering a fatal meltdown."
"You're a piece of shit, Kaiba," Jounouchi snarled. He blinked. "Wait, wormholes? What, you mean like that TV show Farscape type thing?"
"Yes and no," Seto said, reaching for his coffee. He needed the caffeine. "Natural wormholes like the one in that show are rare, but the instability and randomness of location regarding entrance and exit was accurate." He studied the mutt's brown eyes to be sure he had Jounouchi's full attention. "The Chappa'ai is a ring-shaped device that creates a stable wormhole between itself and another identical device somewhere else, be it on another planet, a moon, or even a space ship. As long as the correct address is entered into the dialing device and the answering Chappa'ai isn't currently active, a wormhole will open."
"So it's basically a supped up telephone that people can go through," Jounouchi said.
Why did Seto even try. "In a very simplified way, yes," he said.
Jounouchi nodded, pursing his lips. "Okay. So what does 'Chapta-aye' mean, oh wise one?" he said, using sarcastic finger quotes.
"Chappa'ai," Seto growled, annoyed with the way Jounouchi was deliberately mispronouncing the word. Brown eyes danced with glee and Seto rubbed his forehead. "Roughly translated, it means Stargate."
"Then why didn't you just call it that?" Jounouchi asked. "Stargate. Now that I can pronounce."
He was fuming. He did not need to be this angry over a word. The mutt was riling him up. He was above this.
"Probably because English isn't my first language," Seto snapped.
"And whatever language this 'Chappa'ey," Seto twitched, "comes from is?"
"Yes!"
"Oh." Jounouchi looked genuinely surprised. "Sorry. Didn't know." He hesitated. "What language is that anyway?"
"None of your business."
The spark returned to the puppy dog's eyes. Luckily, Seto didn't have to endure another pathetic attempt at an insult. Just another question. He wasn't sure if that was worse or not.
"What about a First Prime?" Jounouchi asked. "Sounds important."
"It's the title given to the Jaffa in charge of the Goa'uld's armies," Seto explained. "Think of it as the equivalent of a Prime Minister to the Goa'uld's King."
"So I'm important," Jounouchi said with a sly smirk.
Seto was not going to dignify that with an answer.
"Okay, be that way," the blonde said, in a much better mood. "And the sarcophagus?"
Please be the last question. "Exactly what it sounds like," Seto said. "Except it's used to heal people, not bury them."
"And this Setesh guy doesn't have one."
"No."
"How do you know?" Jounouchi asked, his brown eyes dark with confusion.
"Other than the fact he all but admitted it?" Seto said. He shrugged. "He has a different host. That typically only happens if the previous host died. If Setesh had a sarcophagus, then he could have healed his last host. He didn't, therefore he doesn't have one."
Jounouchi was silent, gazing at Seto with an expression that was unexpectedly difficult to read. Frowning, Seto met the blonde's brown eyes with his own blue. "What?" he demanded.
The blonde licked his lips, clearly trying to decide how to put what he wanted to say to words. After two false starts, Jounouchi managed to whisper, "Host?"
Ah. That wasn't going to be easy to explain and Seto wasn't entirely sure he was ready to talk about that yet. It was one thing to talk about technology and culture and languages. It was another to talk about forcefully taking over an independent life form and essentially wearing them like a costume.
Thankfully, a rush of activity in the hall beyond the door drew their attention, saving him from a very disconcerting conversation. The doorknob turned and Honda stepped through the door, a smile plastered on his face beneath his blank gaze. Seto hated it.
"Our god Seth requests your presence," the young man said.
Seto and Jounouchi shared a look before Seto reluctantly got to his feet and the mutt took up a position to his left.
"Forgive me," Honda said, his smile sickly sweet, "but Seth made it clear only Nephthys was welcome to join him. I'm afraid your First Prime must stay behind."
Naturally. "Then tell your god I decline his request," Seto said allowing his true voice to warp his host's as he turned to sit back down.
"I'm afraid I must insist," Honda said, sounding apologetic.
Two armed men stepped into the room behind Yugi's brainwashed friend. Seto didn't miss the subtle tensing of Jounouchi's muscles, no doubt anticipating a fight. As much as Seto would love to sic the dog on the bastard cultists, he was at a disadvantage. They were outnumbered and outgunned. For the first time since he'd left his hotel room, Seto cursed himself for leaving his Millennium Rod locked in the hotel safe. He missed the familiar weight of the golden Item and the comforting power and control it gave his Shadows. The hidden knife in the handle wasn't bad either.
Annoyed, his eyes flashed. Honda seemed wholly unaffected. Damn the brat.
"Wheeler," he commanded, "if you don't hear from me in an hour, feel free to do what you need to."
Jounouchi smirked and popped his knuckles while eyeing the cultist enforcers. "Sure thing, Set. I'll start with you, Magic Mike," he taunted the larger of the two armed cultists.
The gunmen tightened their grip on their weapons and glared. Honda merely blinked. "That won't be necessary," he said, waving his fellow 'disciples' back.
"Cool. Then you'll be my guide?" Jounouchi asked. Without waiting for an answer, the mutt waltzed up to his brainwashed friend and hooked an arm around a befuddled Honda's neck. "Alright! This could be fun."
"Uh," Honda gasped, seeming thoroughly confused, "actually I was ordered to-"
"Nope, you're a-comin' with me," Jounouchi said, steamrolling over his friend's words. "I'm sure these two fine, strapping idiots- I mean protectors," he corrected hastily with an expression that made it clear he did mean 'idiots', "can take Set to meet your precious god. Consider it an honor guard or some bullshit like that."
"W-well-"
"Check you later, Set," Jounouchi said, winking at tossing a lazy, two-fingered salute at Seto before sweeping out of the room. "Have fun with Setesh."
Seto would kill him. Later. After they got out of this wretched situation.
"If you'll come with me, my lord Nephthys," the tallest guard Jounouchi called Magic Mike said.
Nephthys. He really hated that name.
Seto eyed the cultist with open disdain. "You will refer to me as Set," he said in cold, clipped tones that promised pain should his command not be heeded.
Drawing a deep, calming breath, he sent up a silent prayer to Ra for Jounouchi and Yugi's success at getting motorcycle boy out of here. Only then did he exit the room with one cultist in front and one behind. No chance of him attempting to divert their course. Setesh didn't trust him. Wise but annoying. The snake would pay for this insult.
The moment Seto stepped into the makeshift throne room, his temper flared. "Your definition of 'alone' and mine seem to differ, Setesh," he snarled, blue eyes flashing gold.
The Goa'uld merely smiled passively and swept his arm over the room to his disciples. "They will not speak of our meeting if I order them not to. Besides," he added, running his fingers through the hair of one of his besotted female disciples kneeling by his feet, "I thought you would prefer the security of other eyes to prevent any potential... misunderstandings."
Seto hated him.
"Come," Setesh said, gesturing to the empty place to his left. "Join me."
"Drop dead."
The gunmen raised their weapons before being waved off by their leader. "I see your scathing tongue hasn't lost its edge," Setesh said, leaning back comfortably in his throne. "At least stand where I can see you."
"Why don't you come to me?" Seto countered.
Setesh laughed. "You were never in a position to command me, Nephthys," the Goa'uld said. "Any power you may have amassed during Ra's absence is nothing compared to what you know I could wield if I so wished."
"Could," Seto said simply. "Yet you don't."
"Because I choose not to. Come."
The gleam in Setesh's brown eyes when they settled on him and he waved Seto over once more made it clear disobedience would not be tolerated. Swallowing his pride, Seto strode across the floor to stand just out of Setesh's reach. Satisfied for the time being, the false god smiled and relaxed in his gaudy chair.
"I must admit, I did not expect to ever see you again," he said, studying Seto closely.
"Nor I you. Imagine my surprise when I find the snake I watched be crushed to death alive and well and leading a cult," Seto said, meeting the Goa'uld's gaze evenly. "How far you have fallen."
"I warned you once, Nephthys," Setesh said, eyes glowing with banked fury. "Watch your words."
Seto glared. "You harm me, our deal is moot. I've hidden both the Chappa'ai and the sarcophagus." He smirked. "You'll never find them without my help."
Mostly because one was still buried somewhere in the sands of Egypt and the other was destroyed, but technicalities.
"Perhaps not," Setesh agreed easily. "But I have survived the years without either and have enjoyed the worship and adoration of mankind. What have you to show for the years past?" He sniffed. "An army." He scoffed. "Do you think me a fool, Nephthys?"
"Stop calling me that," Seto hissed.
"You never did appreciate the gift I gave you," Setesh continued, heedless of Seto's words. "I trained you to be the best. To be the most vicious and cunning of my underlords."
"A mistake that ended with your host crushed beneath temple rubble and struggling to find a new host every four hundred years," Seto interrupted coldly. "I outwitted you, Setesh. I'm better than you. I won. You lost."
"And yet I am the one on the throne and you are the one who came to me."
He wouldn't have had to if Yugi and Jounouchi hadn't let Honda out of their sight. Honestly, after everything the geek squad had been through, you'd think they would have learned by now. Reality is a cruel mistress.
Setesh tapped his fingers on the golden armrest with a satisfied expression on his face that made Seto sick to his stomach. "Lucky for you," the cult leader said, "I am a benevolent god-"
Benevolent, the mutt's ass.
"-and I am willing to overlook your past transgressions," Setesh continued. "On one condition."
"I will never submit myself to a lowlife like you," Seto said, holding himself tall and proud. "I would rather die."
"That can be arranged."
The sound of guns cocking and aiming at him from all sides echoed in the makeshifted throne room. Seto held the false god's gaze, and laughed.
"Please," he said, a wild gleam in his eyes. "If you wanted me dead, you would have killed me the moment you laid eyes on me. You're predictable, Setesh. You taught me well."
He took one dangerous step closer to the snake, vaguely aware of the female disciples skittering away from him.
"You won't kill me," he said. "You need me. You want what I won't give you. It must burn you to know I can resist you and get away with it," he purred, taking another step. "If I was still susceptible to your nish'ta, you would have dosed me already and taken what you want. But I'm immune now, so you have no choice but to rely on your words. I outwitted Heru'ur." He stopped a mere inch from Setesh's knees. "You are nothing in comparison."
The golden glow of Setesh's fury only made Seto's heart race with adrenaline and vicious pride. He'd won. Again.
"You think so?"
Setesh's words were soft, but they made Seto's heart tremble with remembered fear.
"You forget, Nephthys," the false god purred, standing from his throne and towering a full head above Seto. Damn that raised dais. "You do not need a host to give me what I want."
He felt the blood drain from his face, pooling in his legs making them tingle with the overwhelming desire to flee. Setesh wouldn't dare. He wouldn't dare! Even if he did, there was no way the snake had the equipment needed for a forced extraction. There was no way.
There couldn't be.
Gold encased fingers brushed his cold cheek in a mockery of tenderness. "You have learned well, my student," Setesh murmured just loud enough for Seto to hear. "But I will always be your better."
He couldn't breathe.
"You have a choice to make, Nephthys." Setesh said, leaning back just far enough for Seto to see his face. "Submit yourself to my service willingly and keep the host you obviously have an unhealthy attachment to, or refuse and lose your host, your freedom, and your identity. Choose wisely."
He should never have come here. Pharaoh reborn or not. Seto should never have come here. He had a life. He had Mokuba. He had KaibaCorp. He had Duel Monsters. He had the Millennium Rod. He had everything he could ever dream of.
He should never have come.
But Yugi asked.
Damn his vows. Damn them to Ammit's gullet. Seto would not submit. Not now, not ever. He outsmarted Heru'ur. He would outsmart Setesh. He would find a way out of this. He would. If it was the last thing he ever did. He would rather die than be used as Setesh's-
The distinct sound of the transport Rings activating startled him from his thoughts. Whirling around, he was met by three unfamiliar faces. But he didn't have to know who they were to recognize the stance, weaponry, and uniforms of military officers. Except for that brunette with the floppy, green hat. The chances of him being military were nigh on zero.
The woman closest to Seto's position wore her blonde hair boyishly short and held her P-90 aimed at the nearest armed cultist. There were no obvious badges or indicators of which branch of the armed forces she and her team belonged to, but that wasn't what was important.
They'd found Setesh's escape tunnel. And instead of staring at the Ring technology with the same awe Jounouchi had, they acted as if it was normal and locked onto the hostile cultists instead. Military and familiar with advanced technology.
"I hate it when this happens," the older man in the trio bemoaned.
The sarcasm dripping from his voice made even Seto impressed. Judging by the way the woman deferred to his judgement, only lowering her weapon when he did, this must be her commanding officer.
"Welcome," Setesh said, his eye flashing gold in a display of power.
None of them reacted. They'd seen it before. That meant they'd dealt with the Goa'uld before. But how... The Chappa'ai was buried, lost, and the Pharaoh drove the Goa'uld from the Earth. Until yesterday, Seto had believed he was the only one left on this planet.
He struggled to gather his shattered thoughts and piece together the faintest hints of a plan to get out of this insanity as the three military officers were disarmed and forced to their knees in front of Setesh. They spared a few curious glances at him, but didn't linger.
"Who are you?" Setesh demanded, removing his metal covered fingers from Seto's pale face.
"Well I'm Larry," the commanding officer said without fear. "This is Moe," he looked at the blonde woman, "and, of course, everyone's favorite," he nodded to the brunette man, "Curly."
No fear. Just calm acceptance and sarcasm. Seto approved. Naturally, Setesh did not.
"Say goodbye to your impure military past," Setesh said. "We are always eager to welcome new disciples who wish to know the bliss that only Seth can bestow."
Dramatic asshole. Seto watched with detached interest as Setesh raised his hand and activate his golden kara kesh. The two repurposed Jaffa helmets mounted on poles on either side of Setesh's throne activated, dripping a cloud of green gas from their noses. The tiny organisms within the green gas swirled around the trio who seemed entirely unphased by the encounter.
"I swear," the commanding officer muttered just loud enough for Seto to hear, "if I wake up and I'm singin' soprano..."
Military, familiar with advanced technology, a history with the Goa'uld, and no strangers to infiltration and capture. Perhaps there was a way out of Setesh's ultimatum, after all.