Dream of Night Chapter 1: Dreams

She rode a horse as black as night, her sword glittering in her pale hand. Her hair, blacker than oblivion, streaming out behind her as she galloped through the stars. She wore the strangest clothes. They were white and glowed strangely, billowing out around her, sometimes exposing her stomach and legs. Were they even clothes, or were they stars sewn together to make black glitter?

She rode deeper and deeper into night, to the depths of dreams and nightmares that no sane person dared go. She rode farther and faster than any other could, as if her horse was the essence of all speed and endurance, and she was merely wind passing through its waving mane.

"Seto?"

Seto Kaiba's eyes snapped open to light streaming into his large bedroom. Who.? He wondered briefly, but by then the young Mokuba had dumped himself on the side of the bed.

"How long have I been asleep?" Seto asked.

"Through lunch." Mokuba said, his voice slightly worried. He studied his older brother carefully, but only got the blank, still look that always rested on his face.

Seto groaned. "Is there anything left?"

"A little."

They were both quiet then.

"Why did you sleep so long, brother? You always wake up so early." Mokuba asked slowly.

Seto sat up and put his hand on Mokuba's should reassuringly as he stepped out of bed. "Just a dream." The strange tone in his brother's voice made Mokuba not press him any farther, but he continued to eye Seto questioningly as he walked out the door. No dream had ever kept him asleep that long.

***

Tirstan and Joey Wheeler were yelling at each other across Yugi Muto's coffee table while they played duel monsters "the old fashioned way." Yugi and Tea were watching, amused, as they bickered.

The phone rang in a few moments, but it was not enough to interrupt the verbal sparring match between Tristan and Joey. Yugi answered it. "Hello?"

"Hello, Yugi." Seto Kaiba's voice hissed eerily through the phone.

"Kaiba? Why are you calling me?" Yugi asked, perplexed.

"Have you ever heard of the card 'The Silver Knight?'"

"Well, yes. Every serious duelist knows that fabled card."

"Would you, by any chance, know where it is hidden?" Kaiba's voice was much harder now, more demanding.

"Of course not. It's just a myth." Yugi said, slightly disturbed by his nemisis' interest in the strange card.

"What do you know of it?"

"Can't you just find it on your computers?"

Seto chuckled dryly. "Who would have any information on this card, Yugi? Unless, of course, you possess a magic and background as strong as yours.

"I'll be at your house in one hour. I expect you to be there." Kaiba ordered, and there was a click as the phone was hung up.

Yugi returned his phone to the cradle hesitantly. Why was Kaiba so interested in a farfetched myth such as 'The Silver Knight?' Any serious duelist would know it doesn't really exist. Such a monster is impossible to create.

"Who was that?" Tea asked as Yugi returned to his seat where Joey and Tristan were still fighting, their game no farther than when Yugi left.

"It was," He paused, unsure of whether the conversation had actually happened. "Kaiba." He said, finally.

Tristan and Joey stopped fighting in an instant. "But why would Kaiba call you?" Joey asked, surprised.

"I thought he hated you, Yugi." Tristan said as he shuffled through his hand, trying to find a good enough monster.

"He wanted to know about a card." Yugi answered calmly.

"But he has access to all the cards there are. Why would he bother to call you to know about one?" Tea asked, her brow furrowed.

"No one knows about it. There's not information on the card he asked about anywhere." Yugi answered slowly, as if he had just realized this for himself, as well.

"What card are we talking about?" Tristan asked, pulling a card out of his hand and studying it.

"'The Silver Knight.'"

"Isn't that some rare card no one's found?" Joey asked.

"Pretty much. Kaiba's coming over to see if I know anything about it." Yugi explained.

"Do you know anything about it?" Tea asked.

"A little... I think the spirit in my Millenium Puzzle may know more, but I doubt he'll say anything." Yugi told them.

"Ah, well. Nothing else to do but wait 'til Kaiba gets here." Joey said, leaning back on the couch, waiting for Tristan to choose his next card. "Hurry up, already!" He urged as Tristan continued to study his hand. "How hard can it be to pick out another card?"

And so the next argument began, only to be interrupted half an hour later by a strong knock on their door that seemed to threaten to bring down the whole house.

"That's probably Kaiba now." Yugi said unnecissarily as he went to open the door.

Kaiba pushed past him and eyed the room while his younger brother, Mokuba, followed silently after him. "Can they be trusted?" He asked, looking suspiciously at Tea, Tristan and Joey.

"Hey, I can be trusted more than you can, buddy!" Joey growled and started to stand, only to be pushed down by Tea.

"Don't get in a fight Joey, it'll never end well." Tea hissed. Joey just began grumbling.

"Of course!" Yugi answered, as if Joey's words had never been said. "They're my friends. But I don't know what's so important about this card, it doesn't even exist..."

"It does exist. I've seen it." Seto insisted.

"But that's impossible. Even I know..." Tea began.

"What you know is of no importance to me." Seto hissed, not even turning to look at Tea.

"Yugi, I need to know everything you know about this card." Seto continued, his eyes fixed on the spikey-haired boy in front of him.

"Well... Okay..." Yugi said uncertainly, and showed Seto to a chair in his living room across from him, the coffee table seperating them. Mokuba sat next to Tea and Tristan, Joey was sitting next to Yugi. "Would you like anything to drink, or to eat?" Yugi asked politely.

"No." Seto said simply.

Yugi sighed, and began, "'The Silver Knight' isn't just one card. It's two cards that have to be fused. 'Teishain, Nightkeeper' and 'Neichei, Starrunner' are both strong cards, but have few attacks alone. Together, with horse and rider, they are one of the most powerful cards in duel monsters and have many attacks."

There was silence for a moment, which was broken by Seto Kaiba. "Do you know anything else? Any other cards or counterparts? Where it is?"

"Err... No. And it's just a myth, Kaiba, it doesn't really exist." Yugi said quickly.

Seto stood, his hands gripping the side of the table. "It does exist. I've seen it."