DREAMCATCHER

Authoress: Lomelindi

Summary: (sequel to Come What May) Three thousand years ago, a young king died a most tragic death. Strangely enough, he now haunts every living moment of a troubled CEO's life. "Tell me why I keep looking at the stars..." (Yami/Seto)

General Disclaimer: I do not own any recognizable plot or character of Yu-Gi-Oh!, Sailor Moon, The Prince of Egypt, The Mummy + The Mummy Returns, Ghost, Moulin Rouge, Disney or whatever other poor thing I got some ideas from. ^_^

Warnings: Yaoi (male x male relationship)

Pairings: YAMI/SETO, SETO/YAMI/SETH (the god), RYOU/BAKURA

MUST-READ NOTES: First off, a big thanks to reviewers and email buddies for supporting Come What May, helping my writer's block and giving me ideas. Luv ya all! *massive hug* Also, thank you all for waiting so patiently. I was hoping the epilogue of CWM might keep you guys busy enough to buy me some time, but I ended up uploading this sooner then planned because apparently many of you are getting desperate. O_o (Moonlitspire, you can stop checking my profile twice a day now ^_^;;)

IMPORTANT: I never realized this but it seems very possible that fans of CWM have been very confused about the Seto/Seth thing, so lemme put it in these words: when I say 'SETH' in CWM and DC, I mean the GOD of chaos, based off ancient Egyptian mythology and having nothing to do with Seto's past life. For my story, High Priest Seto (or 'Seth') keeps the name Seto in both past and present. 'Seto' and 'Seth' are therefore completely separate characters in this story who just happen to be fighting over Yami (read CWM for why :-p). Hope that explains lots. ^_^ I'm sorry if I didn't make that clear before...

Three, if you haven't read CWM, most likely you might get confused as to some parts and probably won't get the sentimental value of a line, so I highly suggest you read CWM anyway. ^_^ Don't forget to drop a review! Thanks!!

Okay here's my little rant about Yami and Bakura's forms. Yugi and Ryou DON'T CHANGE PHYSICALLY when their yami's take over. The animators of the anime and the artists of the manga ONLY DID THAT TO SHOW WHOSE IN CONTROL. Their bodies or voices don't physically change, which is why in both the show and the manga, everyone (including Kaiba) keeps calling Yami 'Yugi' and Bakura 'Ryou' cuz THEY DON'T SEE A DIFFERENCE. I don't mind if a story has Yami and Yugi transforming between themselves all the time; its just that its sometimes harder to write about them as two distinct beings that way.

Just so you know, I have vowed to write shorter chapters and not have so many notes. Pray that I'll be able to keep that promise. ^_^;;

+++Chapter Disclaimers+++

~The song used in this chapter is Ghost from the 1990 (or so) movie 'Ghost' with Demi Moore. I kinda wrote the lyrics as I heard them, so sorry if they're a bit distracting to read. ^_^;; 'GHOST' DOES NOT BELONG TO ME.

~There's a bit of the Mummy stuck in the first scene of this chapter. You guys figure it out. 'THE MUMMY' DOES NOT BELONG TO ME.

~~~~~~~~~~
/.../ = mindlink connection (between aibou's and yami's)

'...' = personal thoughts

... = spoken and translated ancient Egyptian

//...// = thought speak (for gods only)

"..." = spoken dialogue (if in English, assumed to be Japanese)

lots of italics = dreams/flashbacks/visions

bold = song lyrics

[ ] = footnotes

AN = author's note
~~~~~~~~~~

~*~*~*~*~*~And Time Can Do So Much~*~*~*~*~*~

The Valley of the Kings, Egypt

"What do you mean melted?"

"Sir, I mean that--"

"But how?" A tight, choked murmur, more to himself. "Bloody hell, how?"

"...Pressurized salt acid, sir. From a crack in the wall."

"Goddamnit, that's the four trap they've triggered this week!" A long, shaky exhale. A hand running through hair. "...How... How many did we lose...?"

"Five dead instantly. Seven severely injured; they're being ferried to the Thebes as we speak."

Silence.

"... I don't believe this...!" The man was nearly hysterical, his voice rising octaves. "Never in my life have I ever seen a tomb... so... so... AUGH!" The sound of a fist slamming down on a table.

"Sir, with all due respect, you cannot keep losing men like this... The native diggers are fearful as it is... They know that--"

"--what they know are some rubbish Arabic fairy tales!!"

Silence.

Harsh breathing.

"So you do not believe the stories, then?" The second voice was soft, almost hurt. "You do not believe that this is the resting place of--?"

"I believe what I see, and what I see are a bunch of primitive booby traps put in there by religious fanatics eons ago. Now, look, we still have more then enough men to penetrate that tomb. And I don't bloody know where you and that brother of yours came from, but I suggest you kids get away from this place because there's a lot of work to do."

"It is not men that you need, sir..." A small chuckle. "Pegasus had only fifty, and he got much farther then you."

"Pegasus?" An angry growl. "What are you saying? That... That Pegasus had some... some 'secret weapon'?! Then by all means, girl, spit it out for me to use!"

"Secret weapon?" A melodious laugh. "Sir, you're looking at her."

~*~*~*~*~*~

Domino, Japan

Yugi awoke with a jerk, blinking madly, the screams still echoing in his ears. He whimpered, curling up in a tiny ball and clawing at his ears. 'Stop... Stop!'

The shrieks continued, waves upon waves of hysterical voices raised in a language Yugi could not understand, though the terror and grief in their tones did not go unheard. Women, children, men, the young, and the old... It sounded like they were being butchered alive.

It was bone chilling.

And worst of all, this wasn't the first time Yugi had heard these cries. No, no, far from it... They came fairly often, though the hikari was just as scared of them now as he was back when he first heard them. In fact, they terrified him beyond belief.

Dazed with sleep and panic, Yugi fumbled blindly for the Puzzle beside him on his pillow, accidentally tumbling off his bed with the Item clutched tightly in his fingers. 'Yami...!' he sobbed, 'Make it stop! YAMI!'

The next second was a blur. There was a brief shift in the plane of consciousness, and for a moment there was the dizzying sensation of flying through a bright room, then across a neutral white hall, and finally into a chamber filled with shadow, darkness, and the ghostly murmuring of a language long gone. The screams came again, stronger now, and seemingly from everywhere; above, below, the sides, the corners and worst of all, seemingly right against your ear.

But in an instant, Yugi found himself, once again, on the floor of his bedroom, laying in a mass of spilled Duel Monsters cards and entangled white sheets. His chest ached with a dull sting and his head throbbed painfully, whether it be from the fall or otherwise, he didn't know. It took him a few minutes to collect himself, mind spinning and fogged with the remnants of sleep.

"Owww...." Pouting, he rubbed his head as he carefully sat up, checking himself for internal damage.

/Are you alright?/

The mental voice, lush and smooth, was quite familiar, though in his stage of confusion Yugi almost didn't recognize it. He jumped, clutching his sheets to himself and peering out from behind them with wide, frightened purple eyes.

Through the darkness, there was a boy sitting calmly on the windowsill, bathing in silvery moonlight. He was noy a normal-looking boy, even less so since his body --almost transparent-- left no visible shadow upon the carpet. Judging by his hazy outline, the boy was a bit on the short side, delicately built with elegant limbs tanned an exotic golden-bronze and adorned with a copy of Yugi's loose, snow-white PJ's. The boy's wild, vivid hair jutted out in spikes of scarlet, gold and ebony, framing a strikingly handsome face and a pair of beautiful eyes the color of soft flames.

It was these same eyes that sparkled in the moonlight, ageless and sad as they peered out curiously into the world beyond the window. And it was these same eyes that slowly turned toward Yugi, sharp, piercing and unwavering.

/Are you alright, aibou?/ the being asked again, slower this time, a soft look in his hawk-like eyes reserved only for his precious hikari.

Yugi swallowed, wincing as his dry throat protested in reply. /I... think so.../ he lied shakily, keeping his voice silent in fear of waking his grandfather.

There was a small, pregnant pause, the taller of the two gazing placidly down at the smaller. Then, ducking his chin, Yami turned away, redirecting his gaze back at the waning moon. Shame rolled off him in waves, though he tried to filter it. /I'm sorry that I woke you.../ he replied softly, his voice rather choked.

Yugi tensed again. /Are... A-Are you alright, Yami?/ he asked shakily, dodging the comment, worry quickly overwhelming his own pain.

Yami had a good heart and a brilliant mind, but three thousand years of darkness had not been kind on what had once been a gentle human soul. Sometimes Yugi awoke to the sound of sobbing in his yami's soul room and often spent the rest of the night comforting the spirit from fears neither one of them could fight. Or, like now, he awoke hearing sounds that were not there, or to images that only his yami could see. Like all spirits, Yami did not sleep, nor did he truly dream. Yugi once asked him what he did while everyone else was sleeping, and Yami merely replied that it was one hell of a boring waste of time.

That was a lie.

Every night, Yugi knew Yami fought a fight, a fight to simply exist and escape insanity. A fight against the fear, hate, and confusion that had built up over the course of the millennia, always threatening to claim the one it haunts. Yami would win, of course, but it was still a struggle, and often he would spend the whole day resting just to fight again the following night.

It was torment, Yugi knew, to live without living, to speak without speaking, to move without touching... but most of all, to exist without remembering. He doubted he could even imagine how painful it was. One's knowledge, skills, and opinions were all based off memories, but what if you woke up from millennia of sleep only to realize that you have none? What if you don't remember the parents that raised you, or the people that loved you, or the home that was all you ever knew? What if you woke up and found out that everyone you knew and the world you loved had been gone for thousands of years? What if you woke up from an eternity of sleep only to be greeted by strangers wearing even stranger clothing and speaking a language that was not yours? What if you start to cry only to realize that you can't produce tears?

It hurt Yami.

And it hurt Yugi. It hurt the boy to know that there was nothing he could do, nothing he could help with, nothing he could do to ease the pain... Oh, but it was so pitiful, seeing the proud King of Game often reduced to a sobbing, frightened child that so desperately needed the comfort he could not have.

No one else saw Yami like this. No one saw him when he was most vulnerable, when he was weakest. No one saw him as the soul of a child who was sick of saving the world and playing hero. No one would even believe that the all-powerful Pharaoh could weep hysterically upon the shoulder of his hikari. The image was ridiculous, at least to the outside world.

Then again, no one saw Yami anyway.

But Yugi did. He was the only one that could.

Thankfully, this night, Yami was not in the mist of a nervous breakdown. In fact, he seemed hardly effected by the fading echoes of the screams, gazing passively out the window with a blank, solemn look upon his face.

Yugi bit his lip. Perhaps his yami did not hear him. The spirit often didn't when in one of his brooding moods. /Yami, are you--?/

Yami turned on him then, his eyes sad and sparkling an eerie, glowing crimson against the silver of the moonlight. /I'm fine, Yugi. You needn't worry./ he whispered quietly, his unmoving lips curving upward in a pitiful attempt to smile. /Go to sleep, little one... You need your rest./

Yugi furrowed his eyebrows, pouting and contemplating for a moment. Despite his worry, he knew his yami was stubborn as a mule sometimes, and right now going back to bed sounded very tempting. The boy all but scrambled back on his mattress and was out like a light, but not before he felt the airy brush of ghost fingers upon his cheek and a tender pair of nonexistent lips upon his brow.

~*~*~*~*~*~

~~~DREAM~~~

Every night...

Every single, goddamn night he was here. Here, standing in this strange chamber that was not his own, speaking words of in a tongue long gone, wearing clothing that had apparently long gone out of fashion.

And yet... and yet he loved it all... He loved every single moment of it. He loved to gaze upon the exotic engravings the surrounded him, to smell the fragrant blossoms that grew around the pillars, and to marvel at the silk-draped furniture that seemed to have been stolen straight from heaven.

But most of all, he loved him. That beautiful boy that visited him every night... That same beautiful boy that had --though not without considerable effort-- captured his attention, his fascination and, last but not least, perhaps his heart.

Yes, his heart, of all things.

He knew it was dangerous. He knew it was silly and, by all means, stupid to have such a weakness. He knew that he should not have gotten so attached, that he normally didn't get so attached... But still, try as he might --and he did try -- he was powerless against this angel, this strange boy who could, with just one simple caress, reduce him to mush. He doubted even the coldest of the cold-hearted could no resist the charming angel's trap.

Oh... my love... my darling...!!
I've hungered for your touch...
Alone... lonely times...

And time... goes by... so slowly...
and time can do so much...
Are you still mine...?

Every night, they would meet here, two lonely companions who sought comfort from each other. One, an ageless wanderer of a nonexistent world, the other a young man haunted by work, obsessions and a past he no longer wishes to remember. They were two forbidden sweethearts, perhaps, doomed to meet only in sleep.

But meet they did... Yes, meet they always did...

It was like a drug, this boy... He needed him, and he needed him desperately. Another reason why, for so long, he had feared to get close to this boy, to let himself become dependant, to touch him lest the illusion shatter. But in his dreams, the boy stayed as long as he slept, welcoming him with a sweet smile and open arms.

Pausing just long enough to realize where he was, the man glided through the misty chamber, running on memory and instinct. Without looking, he lifted his feet to climb a short flight of stairs, then eagerly parted the waterfall of silk he found at the top.

He felt his breath die in his throat.

There, on a white platform surrounded by even more white, was the boy. And such a beautiful being he was, slender and bronze-skinned, long limbs draped with layer upon layer of snowy white, a gold belt and collar plate wrapped upon his slight body. He sat upon the railing gazing away into the white world around him, his elegant neck tall and proud, his delicate ankles held together and his slim hands folded neatly in his lap.

When he realized he was not alone, the boy turned, revealing a flawless face with a mop of vibrant hair and sparkling scarlet eyes. His rosy cheeks colored slightly, his flame-colored eyes lighting up like a beacon as he greeted the newcomer with a shy smile.

Kaiba found himself smiling back, gazing upon this slender angel in awe. He saw the boy every night, and yet the youth never ceased to take his breath away.

The boy slipped off the railing and glided forward, chin high and regal. His eyes softened as they gazed upward at the man, who towered a great deal over him. Bashfully, slender digits raised to brush gently across Kaiba's cheek, tracing his thin, pale lips. Large eyes shimmered with affection, awe, and something akin to worry. After much practice, Kaiba found that he could read those eyes quite well. They looked delighted to see him, but were curious if the feeling was returned.

"How could you doubt me, sweet angel...?" he whispered fiercely, cradling the boy's small hand in his larger own, turning his face slightly to kiss the inside of that smooth palm.

Passion flashed in the boy's bright eyes.

I need your love!
I... need your love...
God speed your love... to me!

Lonely rivers flow to the sea... to the sea...
To the open arms...of the sea!

Lonely rivers sigh... Wait for me... Wait for me...!
I'll be coming home...
Wait for me...!

The youth cuddled against Kaiba's chest, purring faintly like a content kitten.

Kaiba's pulse raced, and without another thought his arms came up on their own accord and wrapped possessively around his small companion, pulling them together like only long lost lovers could fit. "I missed you..." he whispered, voice choked as he inhaled the sweet scent of his beloved's hair.

If anything happened to this small boy... Good heavens, he didn't want to think about it. It was too painful to imagine...

The youth looked up, face flushed with adoration, eyes teary. I missed you too, those eyes said.

The temptation was too powerful, and Kaiba's lips descended, capturing the others' in a tender, sweet kiss, arms tightening around the boy's delicate waist. The beauty in his arms melted against him, shyly tracing his jaw with slender digits, purring into the taller boy's mouth.

It was like heaven.

Oh... My love... My darling...!!
I've hungered... Hungered for your touch...
Alone.. Lonely times...

And time goes by... so slowly...
And time can do so much...
Are you... still mine?

I need your love!
I... need your love...
God speed your love... to me!

~~~END DREAM~~~

~*~*~*~*~*~

Kaiba awoke slowly, painfully peeking at the dark expanse that was his ceiling. "Unnngghhh..." Groaning painfully, he raised his hands to scrub his face, daring himself to look at the time. It took a while for his eyes to focus, but gradually big, neon-red numbers made themselves visible through the dark.

Four-thirty in the morning.

As he suspected, the sun wasn't even up. Kaiba sighed. He felt like crap. Actually, he felt worse, but there didn't seem to be a word to describe it that far.

Mind swimming in dizzying circles, the CEO took a few frantic breaths, lacking the strength to properly move. Unconsciously, a hand drifted toward his lips, as if searching for the other pair that had been pressed upon them.

'No...'

The boy's face was disappearing. Kaiba had seen it as clear as blazing neon the second he awoke, but in his distraction he hadn't notice that it was now nothing but a blur in his mind. And now even that blur was slipping from his memory like sand between his fingers.

'NO!' The CEO sat upright, fighting nausea, eyes shut tight and hands pressed firmly against his temples, willing himself to remember. 'No, don't you leave me...!' he cried inwardly, heart tearing at the thought.

The boy smiled sadly at him, now nothing but a faint impression of a pretty face.

"No..." whispered Kaiba, voice dry and cracking with emotion. Cold sweat dripped down his thin frame, and a diamond of a tear made itself present against the corner of his eyes, though in the dark it went unnoticed. "No... Come back...!" A constricting sob rose in his throat, reaching out with blind fingers. "Don't leave me..."

The boy's eyes twinkled... and then he was gone.

Like always.

Just like always...

Every night he met the boy, and every night Kaiba awoke not knowing what the youth looked like nor what he wore. But the heavens be damned, he tried. Lord, he tried so hard to remember... but the only thing he ended up recalling was the tiny body that he had so delicately cradled in his arms.

So every night, he woke up alone in his bed. Every night, there was no one beside him. And every night, there was no lover in his arms.

Kaiba pulled his long legs up to him, hugging them tightly like a frightened child. He took a shuddering breath, then another. Then he put his head against his knees and did something he had not done for many years.

He cried.

~*~*~*~*~*~

AN: Wow. That was rather short... and strange, if I do say so myself. O_o AUGH WHY AREN'T THE ITALICS COMING OUT RIGHT?!?! Okay, I'm typing this as I'm uploading (once again) and I'm very very sorry if the italics STILL don't come out. I think its ff.net. -_-;; Um, sorry if Seto and Yami are OCC and if Seto seems even more of a wimp then in CWM. I'm trying to change that image by making him more like the 'ice-cube' (as I now so affectionally call him) we all know, but for this first chapter I'm uh... trying to show his pain. *wince* Did it come out okay? And I'm praying that Seto's dream would work out cuz the rest of the story is kinda based off it. O_o *twitch twitch* A BIG HUGE THANKS TO ALL THAT HELPED ME WITH THE DREAM. They helped me SO much, and the frightening thing was that I had very similar ideas when I brainstormed but could never organize them until you guys gave me that push. (Actually, when I was brainstorming, I was going for the Sailor Moon type dreams, so don't freak if some dreams seems familiar to any SM fans. :-p) I swear, I will try to use as many of the suggestions as possible, though they vary greatly and are quite... uh... difficult to link. ^_^;; In case you want to know, Seto's dreams are going to be evolving over time (I think anyway; they're still a really big mess for me. ^_^;;) Hopefully that way I can include a lot of people's ideas, cuz some want a nightmare-ish scene while others want a memory-relapse while still others want yami as a silent angel. Obviously, I can't use ALL your ideas and I apologize in advance, but let it be known that I appreciate and love the effort. Thank you! *sniffle*

Okay, two notes that I felt like writing out cuz it would ruin the moment if I have a [ ] in the story. One; I know the whole KV 88 thing in the beginning of this chapter was strange and didn't match the manga/CWM epilogue, but lets assume that there's more then one way to get into Yami's tomb. Ishizu's family must have had their own little branch of it, and there's probably a second entrance that is being used in this scene, not the one that Sugoroku used (which was probably blocked by the spikes anyway). Two; my theory is that a spirit is a spirit; therefore a yami is a dark (if not immensely older) mirror image of the hikari. Therefore, Yami wears Yugi's PJ's cuz that's wut Yugi was wearing as of the moment; when Yugi wears black leather, Yami wears the same thing. This only applies for the yami's spiritual forms though. :-p You'll see when there's a big change. ^_^

NEXT UPDATE: something having to do with Ishizu and an ancient love poem (fairly short chapter, hopefully updated within the week)

I will hurt you if you don't review. In fact, I have a GREAT and bloody LONG Seto/Yami story to suggest, but I won't tell you until I see how well this chapter does. O:-p Is this story up to your expectations from CWM? ^_^;; I'm sorry if its not... Its only an intro chapter, so don't flame me... *runs away* Suggestions are always welcome! Especially for tricky things like the dreams! And any particularly fluffy moment you wanna see is SO needed.