J bear: Thanks! I haven't seen anything too similar to this on the site, so I'm hoping that it is truly original. I've been messing with this idea for a while now, and finally decided to let others in on it.

Teal Phoenix: I'm glad you enjoyed it! And I didn't know how evil Kuriboh was either. He was the best monster I could think of for Mokuba, and I thought they had similar hair. Good reason, eh?

Triva: Thanks! I hope you keep reading!

GryphonWonder14: Hm. I hadn't thought of it that way, but cool! I guess it is disturbing, but you just wait! Kuriboh is one of the better monsters in the story. Some of the other monsters even creep me out. But I'm glad you enjoyed it, and thanks for the nice comment!

BlueFox of the Moon: He is quite evil, isn't he? Well, in comparison to his happy little self on the show. In comparison to some of the other beasts? Not so much. Keep reading please!

Seto

I was beginning to get used to the distance between myself and Mokuba. It was hard not to be near him, to have to ask a demon if I could speak with my own brother, but I was getting used to it. We were beginning to work out a system to where I could see Mokuba more, even if I wasn't able to speak with him.

Kuriboh would sometimes leave the door to the bedroom open, and if I sat at the table in the kitchen, and Mokuba sat on the bottom portion of the bed, we could see each other. And more than that, we had both taken a course in Morse code a few years back. Neither of us were masters at it, but we knew enough to make a rough conversation. I let Mokuba lead the discussion. We spoke mostly about how irritating Mokuba found Kuriboh.

I sat watching Mokuba sitting by Kuriboh, doing nothing. The beast was content just sitting beside him, but Mokuba was bored.

'He should let me up,' Mokuba spelled out on the baseboard of the bed.

'Have you asked?' I responded.

'He just glares.'

'Some monsters have been moving out of Domino,' I tapped, hoping that news would cheer him up a bit. I had checked the sighting reports that morning.

'Think Kuriboh wants to go?' Mokuba asked.

'Offer. To be polite.' I took a sip from the water bottle on the table.

Mokuba smiled at me, but it wasn't a real smile. He glanced sideways at Kuriboh and the sad smile disappeared.

'Have you visited the others?' he asked.

I shook my head instead of tapping a reply. Mokuba rolled his eyes.

'They might know-' he paused and lifted his chin to stare at the ceiling. '-more than the computer.'

At least, I assumed that was what he said. Mokuba didn't know how to type out a few letters, so he just skipped over what he didn't know.

'I will go tonight,' I answered.

Mokuba nodded, but the movement drew Kuriboh's gaze. He flew to the end of the bed and looked at me. I shifted my gaze away from the room, but it was too late.

The door slammed closed.

I sighed and leaned back in my chair. It would be a while before he let the door remain open again.

I reminded myself that it could be much worse. Mokuba might have been chosen by one of the larger monsters or one of the more powerful ones. I could have been chosen and then Mokuba would be alone. As much as I hated Kuriboh, I was grateful that he wasn't a larger threat.

Mokuba's suggestion for me to visit with the others gave me plans for the night. I had to send them a message to let them know that I planned to come over since Tea's family wouldn't answer the door for unannounced visitors.

Finishing off the water, I pushed back my chair and walked over to my laptop. I had left it open and plugged in from earlier. On a normal day, I received a minimum of forty emails. We had a town meeting approaching, and people emailed in to verify if they were planning to come. When people replied to the emails, it was sent to everyone. And since the portal was in Domino, it was the center of government interest. They messaged me daily for a general update.

I clicked to open a new email and typed out one to Tea, and carbon copied Wheeler, Ryou, and Tristan. My message was short, just saying that I planned to drop by after dark. I hit send, checked my inbox, then exited the email.

I set my laptop on its side on the floor. The cord was damaged, and it would only charge on its side. Without being able to get to an electronics store, I couldn't replace it. I had to be careful with it so I didn't cause more damage. If I lost the cord, then I lost communication.

The volume on my computer was turned up all the way. If I received any new messages, the alarm would let me know. Until then, I walked over to the window and moved the curtains less than an inch from the window frame. I used two fingers to lift part of the blinds so I could look out on the street.

Across the road, a Bujingi Boar wandered down the sidewalk. My field of view was narrowed through the blinds, so I couldn't see if there were anymore with it. I stepped back and positioned the curtain in place. I hadn't heard the Blue-Eyes in the past few days. It was still in the city. A large number of sightings had been reported in the last week. It must have moved to the north end of town. Even if it did, I couldn't change anything about my schedule.

I took a shower, then made something for lunch. Lunch used to be dinner, but since I started sleeping between seven in the morning and about one in the afternoon, everything shifted forward.

Tea responded to say it was fine for everyone to come over. Wheeler was the only other person to say he could make it. Ryou claimed that Bakura had plans that night and needed use of his body, and Tristan still refused to leave his house. Wheeler and Tea could come up with interesting stories that would keep Mokuba's mind occupied for a while. It was the real reason he wanted me to visit.

I waited until the sun went down before getting ready to leave. The twilight hours proved just as unsafe as the daylight. The daylight monsters tended to start making appearances at sunrise and disappear before sunset, but a few of them lingered until complete darkness set. I had to wait for all light to leave before getting out of the house.

After getting dressed again, I walked to Mokuba's room to tell him that I would be leaving for the night. I knocked and opened the door just enough so Mokuba could see me.

"I'm about to go. Do you need anything?"

I didn't think that I would ever see a brighter look in Kuriboh's purple eyes.

"I don't. Have fun, Seto," Mokuba said, sounding a bit happier than I would have liked.

I didn't like to think about the fact that Mokuba was only locked in that room while I was home. It was a difficult balance for me. I wanted to be near enough to keep an eye on him, but when I hid at home, Mokuba was confined to that one place. Whenever I left, he could move around the house.

"Anything you want me to tell or ask them?"

Mokuba thought about it for a second. "Just find out what you can."

I raised a hand in goodbye and left the bedroom, pulling the door to. As I walked out, I checked the mirror, scanning over the dark shirt, dark pants combination. Wearing dark clothing was safer, but it did make my skin stand out. I used to be pale from working indoors all day, but it had been a year since I went outside during the daytime. I was a sickly white.

I grabbed my key off the table by the front door and exited the house, locking it behind me. I pocketed the key.

The street was silent. Even though it was quiet, if I looked hard enough, I could see people moving a few blocks down. We couldn't all stay inside. Someone had to leave every so often to get food.

My steps made almost no sound. I had gotten a lot of practice walking invisibly, staying near the walls, choosing shadows, muting steps. The initial encounter with Kuriboh had taught me a great deal about what not to do. Running around with Mokuba had been the largest mistake, both running and bringing Mokuba. Sneaking was easier as a single than in a group. Going out just to visit with Yugi's friends would take up most of the night. If Mokuba hadn't asked me to, I never would. Just because the monster I was hiding from flew in the day didn't make night safe.

The route I took to get to Tea's house involved a lot of turning and twists. The monsters didn't consider the main roads to be the best method of travel, but I still preferred to avoid them. The creatures tended to chose odd locations for their homes. I never could tell where they were hiding, so I played it safe and chose the roads I knew didn't have beasts living on them.

"Hide!"

I heard the hushed whisper before I saw the person who spoke. I didn't question the order, but knelt down against a staircase. Soon after I had done that, a group of monsters walked into view. But they didn't keep moving.

The leader of the pack was a wolf. I wasn't sure what monster it was, but I watched as it turned to his followers. Barking a command, the group disappeared in a thick column of black smoke, only to come back seconds later. They didn't come back as wolves. They were humans. I knew they weren't human, but maybe it was the darkness, but they seemed indistinguishable.

I didn't know that beasts could transform into different forms. Pressing back against the brick staircase, I kept my head turned to watch them. If I hadn't seen them change, I wouldn't have known they weren't people. I would have assumed they were a family out to get supplies. Any of the other people I had seen could have been monsters.

"Hello?" the leader called. He walked around the street, peering into the alleys and around corners. He focused most of his attention on the opposite side of the road. As soon as he walked over to my side, he would see me. He had to be looking for the kid.

"I need help. Is anyone there?" he continued to call. I watched his pack smirk.

The boy who had warned me was hidden behind a garbage can. It was probably the worst hiding place on the street, but there was no way that he could move now. We were just a few feet from the beasts, and sound would alert them that someone was there. There were too many of them to sneak away.

"Come now, slave. You can't continue to run away like this. It only makes me angry," the leader said, changing his tone. He hadn't been expecting the boy to respond to his cry of help before. He was teasing the hiding boy.

The rest of the pack spread out to search for the run-away boy. They found him moments later.

When he was pulled from his hiding place, the beast who found him dragged him back to the leader. The boy was forced to his knees before him.

The leader slapped him.

"I am growing tired of this, slave. Running away is pointless, and yet you insist upon trying."

The boy, who I guessed was around ten, started to cry. But the leader didn't show any sympathy. Pulling his hand back, he struck the kid again.

"We are through with your games, child." He turned to a member of his pack. "Get the proper items that are needed to keep the boy at home. I'm sure you can find something in this city."

The boy was tugged to his feet, and the leader gripped his neck with enough force that the boy whimpered.

"Time to go home, slave?"

The boy tried to shake his head against the hold, but the leader just laughed as they walked back down the street. Some of them disappeared in the black smoke again, then reappeared as wolves. A few others, the leader included, stayed as they were.

I waited until I couldn't hear anything, then a few more minutes. All I could think about was Mokuba being in that boy's situation. Being chosen by Kuriboh no longer seemed so terrible. The fur ball only wanted Mokuba's undivided attention, not to use him as a slave.

The boy was a couple years younger than Mokuba. The night Mokuba had been chosen, it could have been any monster.

The rest of the trip to Tea's was uneventful, but my thoughts remained on what I had seen. If beasts could turn into humans, why weren't they all walking around pretending to be us? If Kuriboh could shift into a human form, he could communicate with Mokuba. We had a large number of issues trying to communicate. If there was an easier way, Kuriboh should have taken advantage of it.

I puzzled over these things until I reached my destination. Tea's house was just off one of the more used side roads, and as I walked over to it, I could see a few people milling about. I hoped they were people.

Knocking, I waited for someone to open the door. It wasn't long before Tea's mother opened it for me.

"Mrs. Gardner," I greeted.

"Kaiba, please come in quickly," she said, holding the door open just long enough for me to step inside. She locked it behind me.

"Joey and Tea are in her bedroom. Can I get you something to drink?"

"No."

I left her to walk down the hallway to Tea's bedroom. It was easy to spot, and if I hadn't known which room she slept in, I would have been able to guess without looking inside. The walls were such a bright pink that if she had a light on in the room, it projected a pink glow into the hallway. She had blacked out the window in her bedroom to keep the pink hidden from street view.

"Moneybags," Wheeler said when I entered.

Wheeler and Tea were both sitting on Tea's bed. Like me, Wheeler had worn dark clothing. His skin didn't stand out as much as mine. Last I checked, he wasn't afraid to leave the house during the day.

I took a seat at Tea's desk, ignoring Wheeler's greeting. It was his standard hello, mocking the fact that KaibaCorp had closed and that I was no longer rich. All the money I had came from my last trip to the bank, the day Yugi opened the portal. It had dwindled down over the months.

"How's Mokuba?" Tea asked.

"He's bored."

Tea nodded as if she understood. Her empathy bothered me. She did the same thing every time. She would ask questions about Mokuba, then pretend to understand what he was going through. I didn't even know how to relate to Mokuba's situation, so I knew she couldn't imagine.

"Anything new going on with you two?" Tea asked, changing the subject.

"I found twenty bucks lyin' on the street," Joey said while pulling out his wallet to show us his find.

"Impressive," I said.

Joey didn't appreciate my sarcasm. "Well then Kaib', what's your deal?"

I pretended to contemplate my answer. "Were you two aware that the monsters can become human? I'm very much hoping the answer is no," I said, shifting my glare between the two of them while emphasizing each word.

Their stupid expressions answered my question. Wide eyes returned my gaze.

"Are you serious?" Tea asked.

"No. I just thought it would be a fun anecdote."

Tea turned away, but Wheeler raised an eyebrow.

I sighed. "Yes. I'm being serious."

"Could've just said so."

My attention was drawn to the computer when I heard an alert come from it. Tea gasped in excitement. "That's Yami's tone."

I spun around in the desk chair and opened her email. She was already logged in and the email from Yami was the only unread message. I clicked it open while Wheeler and Tea came to stand over my shoulders.

Yami's message was brief and ended mid-sentence. Nothing changed with him, but he mentioned that the Dark Magician had been acting anxious.

I hit the reply button and typed out a response. The Dark Magician was just about human in form to begin with. Yami might not realize that the monsters could change form if the Magician didn't need to. I wanted to know everything he knew, although with the curt nature of Yami's normal emails, I doubted he would have the time to respond in enough detail.

Wheeler went back to the bed once I had exited the email. He stretched out on his back, staring at the ceiling. I heard his mutterings of anger, but I couldn't make them out. His accent got stronger when he was angry.

"Well, that wasn't really helpful," Tea said before sitting on the edge of the bed, the only part of the bed Wheeler wasn't occupying.

"At least we know he's all right," Wheeler said.

"He's not all right. Yugi is still dead even if the Dark Magician isn't treating him terribly," I said.

Tea's nose wrinkled. "Then none of us are okay. We all lost Yugi."

"Losing your boyfriend isn't the same as losing part of your soul."

"Lay off, Kaib'."

I propped my elbow on the desk and pressed two fingers against my forehead. Aside from Mokuba, Yami was the only person I could talk to who had been chosen. Anything Mokuba knew, he would tell me. Yami had to know more, but he couldn't get to a computer often.

"So, where does that leave us?" Tea said. "We know some new information, but just a hint of it." She looked at me for an answer.

"Kuriboh hasn't turned into anything other than himself. I think that if he could become human, he would. Maybe I just haven't been around the monsters enough to catch on to their transformation. It might just be the one type of monster than can. But the one I saw could speak. The only thing this has really proven is that they do understand us when we talk to them."

"Some of them could pretend to be one of us," Tea said.

"It seems that way."

"What's that mean for us?" Wheeler asked.

"Any stranger we meet could be one of them," I said. That left only a handful of people that I could trust. And I didn't much like the few that I could. Yugi's gang were the only people I still knew in Domino. So many of the others had been killed or taken.

"We can't do anything then," Tea said. She pressed her hand against her mouth. "They're really going to win, aren't they?"

"This isn't a game."

"Nah, it's the zombie apocalypse."

I looked at Wheeler, but couldn't argue. Our lives were struggling on in an apocalyptic world, a world that did include zombies.

"I should've watched more of those movies," Wheeler added.

I reconsidered. "If it was a zombie apocalypse like in the movies, that would be easier to get through. Up until now, humans have been at the top of the food chain. We have the benefit of intelligent thought while zombies would not. But if what I saw tonight is any indication, these monsters are smart too."

Tea rubbed her eyes with the back of a hand. "And they are stronger. And bigger."

"Every type of monster out there has become a predator on the food chain, and all of them are above us," I said. "Even the smaller ones." Like Kuriboh.

"We've got to get out of town," Wheeler said.

"They have spread. There is no guarantee that anywhere is safe."

"Don't buzzkill, Kaib'. We've got to do something."

"Then we'll think it over. Mokuba wants gossip."

For the next hour, Wheeler and Tea tried to think of any story that Mokuba might be interested in hearing. The subjects ranged from Wheeler losing his deck to Tea's shopping location getting overrun. Wheeler tapped his fist against his palm while thinking of new pointless things that had happened to him.

"Uh, Trist said his dad found an Amarylease growing in his yard. So, that's different."

Tea let out an "Ooh" before saying, "Ryou had to move into one of those group homes. His house was burned down."

I repeated each of the stories in my head to ensure that I remembered them. My eyes remained closed while they talked. Being around Yugi's group was easier when Yugi was a part of it. At least he didn't babble to no end.

After an hour, I decided that I had gone through enough. I stood and glanced at the computer to see if Yami had responded.

"I'm leaving. Forward me Yami's reply whenever he sends it."

I went down the same path on the way home. My only detour was around the street that I had seen the pack of wolves. I doubted that they would be back, but I had already mentally marked the street as an off-zone.

I ran part of the way, any time I was sure that I was alone on the street. But as soon as I saw another figure, I went back to a normal pace. Occasionally, I would have to hide as a creature passed by, but I didn't see any of them change into a human. I shouldn't see any more shifts soon. It had taken this long to witness the change the first time.

On the streets of Domino, houses and stores were boarded and no windows were open; the people had confined themselves to hidden lives. I remembered the first few days after the monsters had arrived. The streets had been littered with the bodies of people who tried to fight them off. Others had been killed for sport by the more evil of the beasts. However, once the monsters discovered that the bodies kept the people inside their houses, they moved them to draw out more people.

They were all looking for their chosen one.

A while back, I was trying to decide how the monsters knew who they wanted. It could have been random, but the Dark Magician choosing Yami made me think otherwise. Zoa had chosen Keith. But that wouldn't explain Kuriboh and Mokuba. There had to be some sort of attraction. The monsters must have been able to get a feel for a person, to be able to tell if they were close. There was no other explanation, aside from a random choice.

I couldn't prove it, but part of me knew that the Blue-Eyes was looking for me. I had no reason to believe it other than Yami and Keith's situation, but that didn't stop the sinking feeling I got any time I heard the dragon. The strengths given in the Duel Monsters game seemed to uphold in reality. If that was the case, then the Blue-Eyes was one of the deadliest monsters. If it found me, and if it wanted me, that would be the end.

When I got back to the house, I turned the corner to see if it was safe to enter. I noticed right away that there was a dog at the door. Its eyes glowed as it spotted me and it began to growl. I didn't move any closer, but reached into my pocket for the key.

"Will you let me in?" I asked, considering each word before speaking.

The dog crouched as if it were about to attack me. His lips were pulled back in a snarl, the growling getting louder the lower it got to the ground.

"I live here," I said, pulling the key out of my pocket and holding it out to him. "This is the key to the house."

The dog shook his head as if disagreeing with me.

"This is my house," I insisted. "I live here with my brother and Kuriboh. Do you know Kuriboh?"

I received a puzzled expression, a head tilted to the side. But the growling stopped. It seemed to understand when I said Kuriboh, but there had never been anything guarding the house before. He may have been left to make sure Mokuba didn't come out.

"Is Kuriboh gone? If that is why you are here, you can let me in. If I'm lying, he can deal with me when he gets back," I said.

I took a hesitant step toward the door, testing how much trust I had gained. The dog kept his eyes on me and didn't move, but he also didn't attack.

When I was about a foot away from him, I turned part of the way to the door, sliding my key in the lock, only to find that I didn't need it. I didn't think it would be a problem to leave the door unlocked. No one would come close with that beast at the door.

I didn't lock it behind me, as not to upset Kuriboh. I laid the keys on the table and took off my shoes. If Kuriboh wasn't here, I could talk to Mokuba without tapping out letters one at a time.

I went to the bedroom and found Mokuba asleep on the bed. He could sleep any time.

"Mokuba," I said, shaking him until I saw him coming to. "Wake up."

It took him a few seconds to fully wake up, but when he did, a large smile spread across his face.

"Seto! I hoped that you would get back before it did!"

He wrapped his arms around me, squeezing me for a few moments. After he pulled back, Mokuba moved to sit next to me.

"So, how was your visit?" he asked, truly interested for every detail I had.

"Has Kuriboh ever turned into a human?"

Mokuba raised an eyebrow. He didn't try to hide the confused expression on his face at my abrupt question.

"Well no. That isn't possible." Then he paused, taking in my question again. A few seconds later, he looked up at me, horror evident in his eyes.

"Please tell me it can't turn into a human," he said.

"If he hasn't by now, I doubt that he can. But I did see a group of beasts that could become human in form."

The horror stayed plastered on Mokuba's face. His knee started to bounce and his hands fidgeted.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

I nodded. "I saw a group of wolves disappear and reappear as humans."

Mokuba tilted his head in confusion. The horror dialed down enough for me to examine Mokuba's face. It wasn't twisted anymore, so I could see that he hadn't been scratched. Kuriboh had never hurt Mokuba that I knew of, but I wanted to make certain.

"They just turned in front of you?"

"They were looking for a kid. He was their slave."

"The monsters are taking people as slaves?"

I didn't get a chance to answer. Mokuba's eyes left me and traveled to the doorway. I didn't need to follow his gaze in order to know who was there.

Stepping off the bed, I backed away from my brother. Kuriboh flew to glare at me as he forced me into a corner. When I couldn't move any farther and Kuriboh didn't leave, I tried to talk to him.

"I will leave you two alone."

When I tried to step around him, Kuriboh took his claws and placed one on either side of my neck, holding me in place. He kept glaring at me, waiting for me to do something against him.

All I could think to do was raise my hands in surrender. Hopefully he would realize that I wasn't going to fight him and he would let me go.

"Please, Seto didn't do anything. I asked him to come in," Mokuba lied. He jumped off the bed and ran over to us. I watched him grab onto Kuriboh's fur, pleading with him, stroking the beast in an attempt to calm him.

Kuriboh didn't move.

"I'm so sorry. It isn't going to happen again. Seto didn't mean anything and he was just leaving, right Seto?" Mokuba said.

I didn't say anything. Kuriboh wouldn't listen to me, and I knew that my words would only upset him. I was overly aware of how sharp the beast's claws were, and how easy it would be for him to slit my throat in this position. Mokuba would have to get me out of this.

"Kuriboh, please. I am so sorry. Please let Seto go. Don't hurt him, please," Mokuba whispered.

This time, Kuriboh took one of his claws away from my neck so he could turn to look at Mokuba. Mokuba's eyes started to fill with tears. He bit his lip, a sign that he was trying to hold them back.

Kuriboh faced me once again, moving his free claw to my face. In one swift move, he ran it across my cheek, splitting the skin.

I cringed in pain, but made no move to leave, even though the blood was beginning to drip on my chin and shirt.

"No! Please, you've punished him. He won't come back!" Mokuba said.

Kuriboh took his claws away and pushed me towards the door. He raised the hand with my blood on it and held it out as a threat.

I gave a final look to Mokuba before leaving. He mouthed the words, "I'm so sorry."

Kuriboh closed the door behind me.