Summary: One fateful night under the diamond-glazed sky, illuminated by the hardened by capricious moon, a pact was formed. The conspirators agreed to share a bond, without realizing its depths at the time. Now, with his locket returned and his mind cleared of distractions, Seto longs to plunge into his conscience for the answers he seeks... If that's the case, then why is Crow involved? AUish spinoff. Romance may ensue. Warning for OOCness.

Language: English.

Pairing: Crow and Seto.

Themes: Friendship and Hurt/Comfort.

Rating: T (Although the rating may change in the future).

Disclaimer: I do not own Fragile Dreams or its characters. This tale is purely fan-made and is intended for entertainment purposes only. Individual items are not available for resale. ;D

Chapter 1: Memories

Memories were precious to him.

He had to scoff at that—it didn't even begin to encompass the truth. Memories weren't only imperative to his existence, but all he had left to remind him of who he was before all of this began; back when he was a child and the fate of the world did not rest on his shoulders.

However, he cherished all of the memories he had made along the way, and all of the people who he had come to call friends.

He had to stress that part. His friends had been born, not created, and they had died, not shut down.

I suppose that was really only one friend in particular, Seto thought in retrospect, my very best friend. And here his friend was now, lying completely lifeless in his arms amidst the piles of dolls surrounding them. If only I could go back and live through this again. I would've stayed with him! I would've... Here, Seto paused to let his tears fall. "Crow," he mumbled pathetically, "You promised we'd always be friends. Friends don't leave each other alone!"

The reverberations of Seto's cry echoed throughout the barren room of the abandoned dam, resounding within the heart of the young boy who had uttered it. If Sai had still been alive, she may have felt her heart break at the lonely sounds which resonated still.

It was too cruel. Why had he survived when countless others had not? What was the point of continuing to exist anymore? It was as if the universe knew all of his insecurities, and planned to attack each of them individually until his worst fears came to fruition. This he knew could not be the case, but would not surprise him if it were true.

He supposed he had gone insane from being alone. Sai often had to remind him that she was still with him, and wouldn't leave his side. This was often returned with a small smile that didn't touch his eyes.

Seto didn't want company. He wanted family, and a place to belong. Maybe I would have that family still if I had appreciated what I had. Maybe I would have even noticed why Grandpa was getting sick, he pondered morosely.

The closest thing he had had to a mother was PF, his Personal Frame. Like Crow, she hadn't been human, but she had been paternal and concerned for Seto's well-being. She had made him feel safe, perhaps even loved.

Seto held Crow's body tighter to his chest as he remembered abandoning PF after venturing out of the Train Station and Mall. It had been then that he had met Crow, and he began to feel slightly less alone. That was of course until Crow stole his locket, which held his grandfather's letter, PF's screw, and a miscellaneous stone the same shade of blue as the night sky. The same sky he had met Crow under, coincidentally. Seto grinned fondly at his memory of that night.

If PF was his mother, then Crow was his older brother. And Sai was... He turned to look at the ghost watching his movements at a respectful distance; who had stuck by him since their rendezvous at the Hotel.

"Seto," she soothed: her voice calm, "I hate to rush you, but if we don't hurry, then we won't be able to stop him."

Sai was his older sister, no doubt. She even looked like Crow to a certain degree. They could pass as siblings without much trouble. For the first time in awhile, Seto felt content. He no longer had the urge to rescue the silver-haired girl. To be honest, he didn't even care if the planet was destroyed. He was with his family, and that was all that mattered.

"Sai," he yawned, patting the space on the floor next to him, beckoning her over. Sai floated hesitantly toward the red head and "sat" where he instructed her to with the best of her ability.

"A human, a robot, and a ghost," Seto mused, "who would've thought it, huh?" As he repositioned Crow so that he lay between them, Seto curled up into a ball on the floor, his head resting in Crow's lap. He was—dare he say it—happy. He had no obligations anymore. There was nothing holding him back. He could finally sleep.

Nestling in this room of death was oddly comfortable for Seto, although he couldn't put his finger on the reason. However, bliss was just out of reach.

"Seto," Sai admonished, "we can't stay here. If we do, the entities will get us! And Shin will..." she trailed off when she noticed that Crow had opened his vibrant cat-like eyes, and was glaring at her. "Th-that isn't possible. Your battery ran out," she choked.

"If the identity cannot be confirmed, you will be eliminated," Crow replied, his voice no longer sounding even remotely human. He stood quickly and flipped away from the other two members of his so-called "family." Then, he began to strut toward them, occasionally gliding with one leg ahead of the other and his back hunched in defense.

Sai watched in horror as Seto remained where he had been just a moment before. His eyes were wide with fear and disbelief, his face contorted into an expression of absolute remorse. To think that his best friend was being controlled by Shin, who had probably hacked into his mainframe after he had remained immobile for an extended period of time; now that same man was using his body as a weapon against Seto to keep him from interfering further. That was low, even for him. If Sai were in Seto's position, she would feel betrayed. That is, if she could feel. Yet, just like Seto, she found herself immobile and glued to her current position. All she could think to do was scream.

"Seto, he's going to kill you if you just sit there!" Sai shrieked as Crow made his advance toward the red head.

As if entranced, Seto slowly regained his bearings. Crow made it over to him a moment after he stood, his exotic eyes commanding all attention. Seto couldn't believe what he was seeing, and practically fainted where he stood, his eyes clenched shut.

Unexpectedly, Crow reached out and caught him before he could fall. Experimentally, Seto blinked until his vision was clear. From beneath his long lashes, he viewed Crow in all of his glory, grinning from ear to ear.

"C-Crow," Seto gasped, his breath coming in rasps.

How cute, Sai thought uneasily, he took his breath away.

"Seto," Crow acknowledged, his voice as silky-smooth as ever. Suddenly, his lips turned downward into a teasing frown. "Didn't your mother ever teach you any manners? You first."

"What?" Seto asked, honestly baffled. He had had this conversation with Crow the night they met, when they made that promise and...

"You're so cute when you're confused, human," mocked Crow as he leaned in and kissed Seto for the second time, leaving him irrevocably flustered.

And when Crow stole his first kiss. He remembered feeling just as confused then as he did now, and infinitely more embarrassed.

Somewhere between the spaces of conscious and subconscious, Seto heard Crow laugh and remark, "You're as human as they come."

"Of course I am," he had replied. But so are you...

Just then, Crow's image began to blur, and not just him, but everything else in his line of sight. Seto turned to where he remembered Sai had been to find that she was gone. Desperately afraid of losing his family and being alone once more, Seto flung himself onto Crow and held on for dear life.

In an instant, Crow had disappeared, and Seto snapped back into reality, courtesy of a rock being thrown his way.

"Ugh," Seto groaned as he looked toward the perpetrator of the crime in distaste. This feeling then faded into nothing.

"Don't 'Ugh' me! Didn't your mother ever teach you any manners?" This, of course came from the playfully devious Crow, who had just done a cartwheel off of the Mall's decrepit roof and landed on his feet in front of the fountain.

Seto pinched himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming. If this was to be his and Crow's first meeting (as it seemed from the surrounding theme park), then why would he still have his memories? Seto shook his head. It didn't matter. He had been given another chance, and he was going to take it.

"Crow," Seto beamed at his very best friend.

Crow visibly flinched, as if Seto had surprised him. "How do you know my name?"

Seto fumbled for an excuse, and then his gaze fell onto the Crow clip that Crow had always worn on his yellow scarf. "There," he pointed, the beam of his flashlight bathing the avian in a yellowish glow, "that's a Crow, isn't it?"

Crow followed Seto's flashlight to the pin on his chest, which rested directly over his heart. He's the one Father told me about! Crow rejoiced internally. "Yeah; yeah, it is."

Woot, the first chapter is done! :D The characters in this fic may be Out of Character simply because this is my first time writing Fragile Dreams, and need to get a feel for them. That being said, I would appreciate it if you could review and tell me what you liked, as well as what you'd like to see improvement on. Constructive criticism is also welcome. I plan on posting the second chapter sometime later this week, but it depends on the reader response to this one. And that's about it.

Thank you for reading. =^w^=