Happy Thursday! I'm so glad to finally get the first chapter of this up! I've been looking forward to writing this story ever since A World Away finished, but I've had a lot of obstacles to overcome to actually find the time to do it. But never mind that, here we are, back to our regular schedule of pain and heartbreak because...for some reason, I like to do that to myself...and drag all of you down with me.

Don't forget to leave me your thoughts/opinions/queries/ideas/awkward comments/bad jokes/inappropriately timed sexual innuendos/whatever, and I'll love you forever for it. xxx

"Family means nobody gets left behind, or forgotten."

~Lilo & Stitch

Seto fell backwards until his head hit the cold, hard pavement. Blood soaked his perfect white suit jacket, and pain tore through his body like a bushfire. He was vaguely aware of screaming, but for some reason lost on his addled brain, the crowd sounded as though it was underwater.

His vision blurred until his surroundings were little more than swirls of colour slowly fading out. Of all the people who'd threatened to put a bullet in him over the years, even his cynical self had never once thought that he'd look up to see his own baby brother pointing a gun at his chest.

The torment, the confusion, the sheer agony of it all was too much for Seto. So when the darkness swallowed him whole, he embraced it.

-Six Months Earlier-

Seto landed in his chair with a little more flare than was necessary, his weight giving the wheels enough momentum to carry him several feet away. He grabbed a hold of the desk and pulled himself to it, a smirk adorning his lips; the one he wore when celebrating a victory.

He was tired – less of a mood and more of a personality trait for him these days – but he also had a deep sense of accomplishment which kept him awake and moving onward with his day. Two meetings and a mountain of paperwork to rival the size of the very building he was in, and now he was onto his "extracurricular" activity.

Roughly one year had passed since Seto had been reunited with his long-lost adoptive brother, and in that year, many things had changed. Little things and big things, and Seto had been kept busy at all times.

KaibaCorp itself had undergone many changes. Since the building was nearly destroyed by Gozaburo, it had to be all but rebuilt. Seto had figured that if he was in for a penny, he might as well be in for a pound, and so the whole building had been entirely redesigned for the better. The system hadn't taken too long to restore either; and Seto personally programmed a new security system that went above and beyond what even he'd dared to imagine.

KaibaLand, also, had been given an upgrade. A few new features here and there mostly, but the biggest and best change was to come in only a few months. The new expansion would bring the park that much closer to matching the vision Seto had since he was a child, playing in the sand with his little brother.

When Seto wasn't doing his usual business stuff or work for the theme park, all his attention went on his brother. Noah's new body was getting closer to completion by the day, and Seto was partway through implementing features that he was particularly proud of. His goal was that the robotic body would function just like a human one.

In this form, Noah would be able to experience touch and taste and all the other senses. He'd look just like a normal human, and be able to eat, run, swim – do everything that a normal human could do. He would even need to sleep; well, sort of. He'd have to recharge hooked up to a special device for at least ten hours out of every forty-eight, but it would be a small price to pay.

So yes, the past twelve months had been busy. But as he booted up his computer, Seto couldn't help but think how worth it it'd all been. Mokuba had always been an open and friendly kid, but now he was moreso. And Seto was proud to say that their relationship had been all the closer for what they'd been working together to achieve.

As for Noah, he…wasn't all bad. It had taken a while for Seto to truly accept him as a member of the family. He wasn't like Mokuba; he couldn't just smile and take things for what they were. Seto was a fighter, and at first he'd fought like crazy and dragged his heels, refusing to even speak to Noah.

But Mokuba was persistent, and Seto never could deny him for long. And, as it turned out, he had a lot in common with Noah.

Besides, if he was perfectly honest, it certainly wasn't horrible having another little brother around. Seto had been able to upgrade the temporary world Noah was living in, so now he could communicate vocally, and even see through the webcam. It was nice having someone like Noah, who was (almost) as intelligent as Seto himself, to speak to and bounce ideas off at all hours, even when he was working in the middle of the night.

On top of that, when Seto wasn't logged into the game, Noah had an infinite number of ways to pass the time, including access to the World Wide Web. It didn't surprise Seto at all that his newest little brother was a total sucker for dumb cat videos. Just like Mokuba.

Seto logged into his computer, which these days ran across three screens. On one he kept open his e-mails and other important but boring business things. On the second, he brought up the program he'd been writing which would essentially house Noah's consciousness. The body itself, only partway complete, was in Seto's personal lab.

The third screen on the far left served one purpose and one purpose alone. Upon starting up, Seto opened The Prince's Path and clicked on the saved file where his brother was stored.

When Noah's avatar appeared on screen and waved, Seto clicked the Conversation button on the action panel and gave Noah a polite nod when a rather like digital reconstruction appeared and waved cheerfully.

"Hey, big brother! How's the paperwork?"

Seto shot Noah a look. "Just be glad you don't have to deal with it."

"Oh, I am!" Noah laughed heartily. It was a nice sight to see a boy who was once so very un-childlike look so relaxed and happy. "Does that mean the expansion looks to be running on schedule, then?"

"Ahead of, actually. If we push it, at this rate, we could open in six or seven months, rather than ten."

Noah clapped his hands together. "Great! I can't wait to see it!"

"Once you're in your new body, you'll be able to do more than that," Seto pointed out, much to the elation of his brother.

"Right!" Noah agreed. "I know I've told you a thousand times how grateful I am, Seto, but you really-"

"Save it." Seto shot his brother a look, designed to conceal the smile he wouldn't let onto his face. Noah had indeed expressed his gratitude at least a thousand times, maybe more. As far as Seto was concerned, though, this is just something he was doing for his family. He wanted Noah to have a chance at a normal life as much as Mokuba did. And speaking of Mokuba – "Have you worked on that list any more?"

Noah nodded joyfully. "Uh-huh! I've got a ton of things written down!"

The list Seto was referring to was one the boys had been working on for a few months now. It detailed everything that they wanted to do when Noah was once again capable of experiencing the real world. Some of the things on the list were activities that Noah once enjoyed or had always wanted to do; some where things that Mokuba was eager to show him. 'The world has changed a lot since you lived in it, bro,' he'd told him. 'I can't wait for you to see how much!'

"Mokuba was telling me about this place you can go – it's like a café; well, it is a café, but they have cats! Real cats just roaming the place! Hey, maybe we should get a cat. Oh, and…"

Seto allowed his brother to babble on, only catching about every third word as he spoke. He was used to working with chatter in the background by this point; and in fact, it was almost a comforting sound to him. It felt familiar, like the feeling of his locket around his neck, or the taste of beef fillet and chocolate parfait. Seto continued to work into the afternoon, embracing the calm atmosphere in his office, little knowing that it would be the last time he would feel true tranquillity for a while to come.

…

Needless to say, when Seto got home that night, he was both tired and sore. But even so, he was in a good mood regardless. Despite his reputation, he wasn't the full-time jerk people perceived him as. He only ever became unpleasant when something happened to ruin his day.

He hadn't expected something capable of doing just that to be sitting at his dining table.

"Mokuba!" He called as he stepped into the house.

"Dining room!" Mokuba called back. "And welcome home!"

When Seto reached his brother, he realised he wasn't alone. Next to the smiling Mokuba at the table sat a woman. She was familiar to Seto, but it took him a full minute to place where he'd seen her before. However, as soon as he had, he went from pleased to pissed in under a second.

"Get the hell out of my house."

Next Chapter: The Woman At The Table

Mokuba moved quickly to comfort the crying woman, putting his arms around her snugly. Seto could only think how that kind heart would get him into trouble one of these days.