Yajirushi: Welcome back! So, I'm going in and updating some info for this fic, which means I need to update my Authors Notes. First off, this is no longer on hiatus, I've had some ideas come to me for my YuGiOh fics, so those will probably be updated soon.
Heba: I can't believe we are doing this again.
Yajirushi: Seriously Heba, I don't want to hear it!
Heba:*Grumbles under his breath*I'm the one getting hurt all the time.
Yajirushi: I can hear you.
Heba: I know.
Yajirushi: Anyways! So if you read this originally you know I said Mokuba was about 6, that's wrong. Since I realized my time frames wouldn't match up, I needed to rewrite my Author's Note. Mokuba is actually going to be around 11 or 12. He will still be childish, since his parents died and Seto had Kaiba Corp. to take care of. I know it might be a little of OOC, but he also goes through a traumatic experience, so maybe less OOC...
Heba: Yajirushi, I think it might be time to do the Disclaimer.
Yajirushi: Right! DISCLAIMER!
Disclaimer: What this time?*grumbles*
Yajirushi: Disclaim!
Disclaimer: Yajirushi doesn't own YuGiOh, though I'm sure she wishes she did.
Yajirushi: So, enjoy the fic with this new info on your mind, and know the second chapter will be up soon.
Cold Core
Heba looked through the eyes of his mask he had at his target building. Standing up he ran at the edge of the roof he was on. Deftly jumping the ledge and landing smoothly on the neighboring roof Heba kept running. The night vision on his mask was turned and so it was easy to see what was around him. Even though Heba wore a knee length coat with a dark black hood he used the mask so there was no chance he could be recognized. His usually spiky hair was pulled back into a band that kept his hair out of his face.
Nearing hit target Heba used the panel on his arm to zoom in the display over his eyes. Looking through the window of the building Heba spotted his target and pulled out his small black pistol. Using the small grappling attachment on his wrist guard he shot towards the roof of the 55 story building. Heba slipped quietly into the building unnoticed by the guards on duty. Making his way to the 47th floor he put the silencer on the end of his pistol.
Heba stopped at the corner before his targets room. Checking over that he had all of his knives and that his arm guard was secure he secured his hidden blade to the brace. Looking around the corner Heba determined that his target was alone and could be easily taken out by one blade. He slipped his pistol back into its holster. Using his other hand Heba pulled out a small dagger. This dagger had a small thin edge that was razor-sharp. Heba quietly stepped into the room staying in the shadows. His target was Malcolm Thistlewit. Malcolm was a member of the mob group Ivory Covenant. He was one of their arms smugglers. Malcolm brought illegal weapons into the country for the Covenant.
Heba listened to the conversation Malcolm was having. It was over the phone so he couldn't determine who it was on the other side.
"I know, I'll get the shipment tonight and have one of my employees drop it off to you… Yes, I know time is running out… The Ebony Rose hasn't found out about what I do. I'm safe… Yes… Okay, tomorrow at noon." Malcolm hung up the phone and turned to his computer. He pulled up a tracking of a military grade rifle shipment that was supposed to pass through town tonight.
"Well, well, well. Malcolm Thistlewit." Heba said his voice changed making his voice seem much deeper and scarier.
"Who are you?" Malcolm asked as Heba stepped out of the shadows.
"I'm your worst nightmare. I know what you do for the Ivory Covenant and I'm the one from Ebony Rose sent to stop you." Heba replied
"The Ebony Rose?" Malcolm said.
"Yes." Heba answered before he shot towards Malcolm.
Not expecting Malcolm to have a gun on him Heba was hit by one bullet in the shoulder. The shot didn't even make Heba hesitate as he brought his hidden blade up and slashed Malcolm's throat. Heba pulled out the black rose all members of the Ebony Rose Had when they killed. Laying the black rose next to Malcolm's are he used a small spray to make sure the rose could not survive in water.
Opening a window Heba connected his grappling hook to the top of the building over from him. Carefully closing and locking the window Heba jumped and swung over to the next building. He landed softly and retracted the grappling hook.
"Shadow." A voice from his ear piece called.
"Shadow here." Heba replied.
"Status." Came the simple reply.
"Target eliminated." Heba answered.
"Good work Shadow. Return to base for full report." The voice commanded.
"Command, you should know I'm the leader of our organization. I know what to do." Heba scolded.
"Right. Sorry Shadow." The voice amended.
"It's fine. I'm on my way back. Also Command, make sure the small med kit is on the table in the meeting room." Heba ordered.
"You're hurt again, correct Shadow?" Command asked with amusement.
"Yes Command. Now get on your task before I get back." Heba said as he started to make his way to the edge of the roof.
Heba jumped of the roof and shot like a bullet down the side of the building. When he reached the 3rd floor he put his hands out and caught the single metal pole that ran between the buildings. He spun around the bar a few times before he let go. Doing a backflip Heba landed in a crouch and stood up. Heba strode over to the sleek black crotch rocket bike that was hidden in to alley. He swung his leg over the bike and put the key in the ignition. He flipped the kickstand up before he pulled out of the alley. Turning onto the silent street Heba revved the engine then shot off down the road.
'All in a nights work.' Heba thought as he rode. 'One more evil man dead and gone.'
The city lights slowly faded as Heba neared the edges of the city. Stopping for a minute across the Game Shop he used to live in. Heba watched the shadows move inside giving him an idea of what was happening. Two shadows in particular caught his eye. Both had similar spikey hair like what his used to be. The slightly shorter one seemed to be hunched over as its shoulders shook with crying and sobs. The other slightly taller figure put his arms around the hunched one in a soothing manner. Heba looked down at his wrist guard and tapped the small slide in the top right corner.
'July 19th. The night they betrayed me and I disappeared forever.' Heba thought. 'I guess this is what happened every year for the past 9 years.'
Heba looked away from the sight and looked at the dark street ahead of him. He pushed off and left the confines of the place he used to call home. It was no longer home, it was a place. A place he had targets in just like many other places.
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A few hours later Heba pulled up in front of a heavily shadowed door. It was hidden in the deep woods so he had to put his bike in the garage at the edge of their facility. Heba knocked on the door using his designated sequence. Heba waited for a minute when the door slid open. In the doorway stood a girl with long black hair. Her hair went down to her knees and the ends were tipped in a dark blue. The blue was almost as dark as the midnight sky. She also had shimmering strips of silver in her hair.
"Welcome back Shadow." The girl said in a soft sweet voice.
"It's good to be home Realm." Heba said.
"Kanashimi has arrived and asked if he could stay here in our facility." Realm told Heba as she stepped to the side.
Heba walked in and looked around. "I don't mind if Shimi stays here just as long as he stays out of the way and doesn't distract you from your job."
"Shadow you know Shimi is just a childhood friend I had to leave behind."
"Then let him in when he gets here." Heba ordered as he waved his hand in a dismissal manner.
"Heba." Heba turned looking slightly angry. "Look I know you go by Shadow but listen to me as your friend, as Heba. Get some sleep; I know you went back tonight because your target was in the same city."
Heba looked at Realm before he nodded his head moving off to the elevator. Hebe opened the doors and went inside. He turned to face Realm and put his hand on the palm scanner. Heba looked at the list of places he could go. Heba being the head of Ebony Rose had access to all floors and rooms in the facility. Heba touched the floor where members of the Midnight assassins slept. The Midnight Assassins were the most elite group of Assassins in the organization.
"Thank you Realm." Heba softly said as the doors of the elevator closed.
"Anytime Heba" Realm said looking at Heba with a sibling like love.
Heba felt the slight shift of the elevator saying his decent has started. The elevator jerked and stopped on the 5th floor. Heba walked out and went down the hall stopping at the last room on the right. Heba scanned his hand on the scanner and walked into the room after the doors opened. The room had bare metal walls with deep plush black carpet. It seemed almost bare because all you could see was a bed. Heba knew there was more hidden all around the room because there were slides that led to closets and other things.
Heba pulled off his shirt and went over to the back wall. Finding the handle Heba pulled the door to the closet open. Inside were walls of different styles of clothing. The most used was the customized black leather that Heba used for his assassinations. One was different clothes he could use to go undercover. Lastly were the clothes he used when he was in the facility for long periods of time. Heba changed into a black t-shirt and a pair of black sweat pants.
Heba put his assassination stuff into their slot on the wall. He then walked out of the closet closing the door behind him. He went to the bed and laid down closing his eyes. Sleep came easily to him when he calmed his mind of all that was around him. Heba drifted off into a light sleep and was finally relaxed since his mission.
A few hours later Heba woke to someone shaking his shoulder. Heba opened his eyes a scathing remark on his tongue until he saw Realms panicked face. Realm was shaking him and trying to say something. Heba just having woken up couldn't hear a thing. Heba waved her hand off and sat up shaking his head to finish waking himself up. Heba looked up at Realm and waved his hand to tell her to tell him what was so important.
"We just found out there has been twelve people in Domino City targeted for assassination." Realm said. "The assassination date is tomorrow night."
Heba stood up and motioned for Realm to follow him. "Do we know the names of any of the targets?" He asked.
"Yes, we have the name of all eleven targets." Realm responded.
"Okay, we will figure out recovery teams after we talk about who the targets are." Heba said as the elevator went to the level with the meeting room.
Realm nodded and continued to follow Heba to the meeting room. When they got into the meeting room Realm went off to the side and pulled a file off the counter. She handed it to Heba who glanced over it. When he got to the list of targets Heba tensed up.
"Shadow?" Realm asked worried when she saw Heba tense up.
"It's nothing. So these are all the targets." Heba asked.
Realm nodded in confirmation and moved to sit to Heba's right. Heba nodded his head slowly trying to think of a way to get all three groups of targets safe at one time.
"Realm, I need you to get these people here to the facility and safety." Heba said.
"Okay. Who are my targets?" Realm asked.
"Seth, Seto, Joey, Mokuba, Marik, Malik, and Mariku." Heba said. "I have a way to get them all to the same place for easy pick up."
"Okay, are we doing the pick up tonight, during the day, or tomorrow night?" Realm asked.
"Tomorrow night I want to find out who ordered the hits." Heba said. "I'm also going to go out and keep Atem, Yami, Ryou Bakura, and Afeika alive and bring them here."
"You got it Shadow." Realm said. "I'm going to go to the shooting range and practice for tonight. Before I go do we need to have full gear including voice changers?"
"Yes, I don't need them to figure out who we are. Also we are taking the van so we can get all of them here at one time."
Realm nodded and stood up going to leave the room. Heba looked back at the list of names and shook his head.
'Why did it have to be them? Why did it have to be the group of people who I finally thought of as friends until they betrayed me?' Heba asked himself 'I guess I still have to go through with this. It's not like they deserve to die, even if they hurt me in a way that can never be changed.'
Heba pulled out his phone and plugged in a number he never thought he would have to use again. Hitting the call button Heba stood up and turned on the voice changer he always kept on his throat. The person he called picked up after three rings.
"Hello?" The voice asked.
"Ryou Bakura. You need to go to the Turtle Game Shop tonight. Do not ask why and whatever you do make damn sure you have Bakura and Afeika with you." Heba said sounding scarier than he usually did.
"W-w-why?" Ryou asked.
"Didn't I just say don't ask? Besides you will find out tomorrow night." Heba said before he hung up.
'One of four calls made.' Heba thought.
He dialed in a new number and hit the call button.
"Hello?" a new voice asked.
"Atem Sennen I need to speak with Solomon Moto." Heba said.
"Why do you need to speak with Grandpa?" Atem asked.
"Because I need to speak with him, now put him on the line!" Heba practically shouted.
"Okay, geez." Atem said before he could be faintly heard calling to Solomon.
"Solomon Moto." An elderly voice said.
"Mr. Moto I need you to leave the Turtle Game Shop tonight as staying could put you in danger. The two you live with Atem Sennen and Yami Akanan have had assassination hits put on their backs. I'm coming tonight to prevent that and take them into hiding. You Mr. Moto have two options. Stay and go into hiding with them or leave and continue to run the Game Shop." Heba said.
"That is quite a bit of information to take in." Solomon said.
"I'm sorry if this seems last minute but it is for the safety of boy those boys and many others." Heba said.
"I think I will stay with these two boys. I already lost my own grandson and Atem and Yami are my last connections to him." Solomon said with a hint of sadness in his voice.
"Okay, just as a heads up Ryou, Bakura, and Afeika are also going to be picked up at the Game Shop so expect them." Heba said before he hung up.
'Almost done.' Heba thought with a heavy sigh.
He looked at the clock on the wall and saw that it was noon already. Heba dialed the next number and listened to the ringing.
"Who is this?" A dark voice asked.
"The person who is going to save you and your boyfriends lives." Heba answered calmly.
"What do you mean?" The voice asked.
"There has been an assassination hit on the life of you and your two boyfriends. I'm trying to prevent that from happening."
"Oh." The voice said surprised.
"Yeah, oh. You need to pack a few belongings and go to Seto Kaiba's Mansion tonight." Heba ordered.
"Fine whatever. You had better explain yourself if I ever see you." The dark voice said before hanging up.
'That's Mariku for you.' Heba thought laughing to himself.
Heba dialed the last number knowing he would get answered immediately.
"Seto Kaiba of KaibaCorp." Seto said.
"Mr. Kaiba tonight you need to go home and stay there. Pack up a few belongings and have both of your boyfriends do the same. Also have your little brother do the same. Malik, Marik, and Mariku are coming over and will need to stay there until you are picked up by one of my… employees." Heba said.
"Why should I listen to you?" Seto asked suspiciously.
"All seven of you have had assassination hits put on your backs. My organization is planning on stopping that, but you will have to go into hiding unless you want more attempts on your life to happen." Heba explained.
There was a long silence as Heba knew Seto was thinking about it.
"I will trust you, whoever you are. But know if anything happens it is on your head." Seto said viciously.
"I guess that is as good as it will get." Heba said as he hung up and put his phone away.
He turned off his voice modifier and sat back down. He folded his arms on the table and rested his head on them. He felt a soothing hand on his shoulder and sighed. The hand moved to his head and tapped it telling him to move his head. Heba pulled his head up and looked to his left. He saw Realm next to him with a plate of food in her hand. Realm set the food down on the table in front of Heba and placed a fork next to it. She rubbed his back before she left as silently as she came. Heba picked up the fork and ate some of the food on the plate.
'Realm must have made this herself considering how good it actually tastes compared to the food we usually have in the facility.' Heba thought as he continued to eat the food.
Heba was soon finished and stood up to go find Realm when she walked through the door. She motioned to the First Aid kit as Heba had forgotten to clean the bullet wound in his shoulder. Heba opened the kit and started to clean the wound. Heba grabbed the tweezers and stuck them into the wound with only a grunt of pain. He dug around until he felt the bullet. He then gave it one harsh jerk and the bullet came out. Heba then grabbed some of the bandages and put a small square one over his shoulder and taped it in place. Realm had watched this in silence and nodded when Heba finished.
"Realm, when are the assassinations supposed to happen?" Heba asked her as she walked over to him.
"9:00 pm tonight." Realm answered.
"It is 2:00 now we need to leave as soon as we are ready because it is a six hour drive to Domino and we will need time to prepare our weapons." Heba said.
"Sounds good to me. Can I bring my sniper though?" Realm asked with childish pleading filling her voice.
Heba sighed before he nodded his head telling her she could. Realm started to leave when Heba's hand on her arm stopped her. She turned back to him and saw he had a folder in his hand. He held it out to her and she grabbed it. She opened it and noticed it had the building they were using for pick up as well as the profile on each of her seven targets. Closing the folder Realm left to go get ready for her part of the mission.
Heba followed closely behind her and together they headed to their rooms. Heba went into his closet and grabbed his tight black leather pants that had two gun holders on the legs and a knife belt. He then grabbed his leather hooded jacket that left room for more knives. Moving to the other side of the closet Heba opened his weapons wall. He grabbed both of his black pistols and slipped them into their holsters. He then grabbed knives and filled both of his knife belts. Next he grabbed his quiver of arrows and his custom bow. Finally Heba grabbed his own sniper rifle and made sure he had enough ammo for both the pistols and the sniper.
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In the room across the hall Realm was getting ready in a similar outfit. She slipped on her thigh high black leather boots. In each boot was an extra knife that was hidden from sight. Before she left her closet Realm made sure to grab her wrist guard with the hidden blade and her voice changer that went around her neck. She walked out of her closet and into her main room. On her bed asleep was Kanashimi. She smiled softly and walked over to him. She brushed her lips against his forehead before she turned and headed out into the hall to wait for Heba.
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Heba put on his black boots and fastened his arm guard to his wrist. He also added a gold bracer to his upper arm and black eye liner to his eyes. Finally Heba put in his ice blue contacts that made his eyes different colors. He then walked out of his closet and into the hall to find Realm waiting for him. Together the two moved down the hall. Arriving at the elevator Heba scanned his hand and put in Realm's name for the extra passenger. Heba pressed the button that took them to the top floor of the facility. It was the only floor able to be seen from the outside world.
The two walked through the forest on a hidden trail. When they got to the garage both went over to the van. Realm put her folder in the van before she walked over to her own crotch rocket bike. She flung her led over the body of the bike and started the engine. She nodded at Heba who was in the van. Heba started the van and pulled out in front of Realm. With Heba in front both vehicles went down the road as fast as possible. It was already 2:15 in the afternoon and they needed to make good time if they wanted to rescue their targets on time.
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It was 8:15 by the time the two assassins got into Domino City. With a nod to each other Realm and Heba split up. Realm went towards Seto Kaiba's mansion and Heba went towards the Turtle Game Shop. Heba drove down the street and left the van a few buildings away from the Game Shop. He quickly scaled the wall of the building across the street from the Game Shop. Pulling his sniper from its resting place across his back Heba set it up on a ledge of the roof. Attaching the Heat Vision scope Heba peered through and focused in on the house.
He scanned over the house and got a reading of six bodies inside. All were alive and moving. Heba then moved to look down the street searching for and signs of life. Sure enough he spotted two people alone on the otherwise silent street. Finding those two suspicious Heba watched them continuously. The time was 8:45 when the two figures moved together towards the Game Shop. The group of six had now sat down all at one table. As the figures neared the shop one pulled out a small pouch out of his jacket pocket. As the man opened the pouch Heba saw that it was a pack of lock picks.
One of the men picked the lock on the door while the other stood watch for any signs of trouble. After the pick locker was done he turned to his companion and got a gun from him. The lock picker went silently into the house while the other stood watch again. Heba aimed his rifle at the man on the street. His finger hovered over the trigger until he got a clean headshot. Heba pulled the trigger and embraced the recoil of the sniper rifle. The first man fell to the ground dead before his body even hit the ground. Slinging his rifle back over his shoulder Heba vaulted over the edge of the roof and sprinted across the street. Heba didn't even stop as he shot into the Game Shop and up the stairs. Heba stopped at the top of the stairs and listened to the assassin as he talked to the group of six.
"Well, well, well. Trying to make it easy on me aren't you?" The man asked in a vicious voice.
"W-wh-why are you here?" Came Yami's stuttered reply.
"Are you dense or what?" The man asked. "I'm the one who was sent to kill you all."
As the man talked Heba had slung his bow over his shoulder and pulled one of his black fletched arrows out of his quiver.
"Why do you want to kill us?" Bakura asked
"It's the orders I was given." The man said before he raised the gun.
Just as he was about to shoot Heba let his arrow fly into the man's spine. The arrow had enough power it cut through his spinal cord killing him instantly. All six sitting around the table gaped shocked at what they saw. Heba came out of the shadows to check that the man was dead. All the shocked gazes turned to Heba. Heba could tell that Solomon's was slightly forced seeing as he knew this was coming. Heba stood and motioned for them to follow him. Solomon stood up and grabbed a small back he had hidden in a corner of the room.
Yami shook his head saying he wouldn't go and all the others followed. Heba growled his anger growing and starting to get the better of him. Heba brushed a hand back through his hair. Solomon saw that and was reminded of the one person who would do that. Heba pulled the scarf around his neck up over his nose and mouth and he handed a piece of paper to Solomon.
Solomon read it over before nodding his head. "This paper is a reason you five need to go with this man. As you can see, I am already going to go with him."
"Why would we want to go with him?" Atem asked with venom in his voice "He just killed a man in cold blood."
"Shall I read this?" Solomon asked. Getting nods from the other five in the room Solomon unfolded the paper. "This says: You five have been targeted by assassins for some reason. What I don't know. All I know is that you must come with me or there is a high chance this will happen again and you will not have anybody nearby to save you. Come with me if you want to live."
Slowly Yami, Atem, Ryou, Bakura, and Afeika nodded their heads in agreement.
"Okay. We will come with you, but first what is your name?" Ryou said to the man dressed in black.
Heba looked at them. 'I guess they won't recognize me because I have changed my hair and I finally had my growth spurt so I am as tall as Yami and Atem now.' He thought when he saw their looks.
"Call me Shadow." Heba said quickly. "We need to move and get you out of here."
Heba put his bow back over his shoulder and pulled the now bloody arrow out of the assassin's back. He slid the arrow back into its quiver and pulled out his twin pistols. He flipped the safety off of both weapons and motioned for the group to follow him. Heba led them outside and down the street at a quick pace. He led them to the van where he opened the back and ushered them in.
Heba jumped in the front seat and started the engine. Heba connected his ear piece to the dashboard stereo so he could hear if Realm needed help. All he got was static at the start. Heba pulled out of the alley and headed towards Kaiba's mansion. Heba pulled up out front of Kaiba's mansion and saw a few bodies on the ground. Holding his hand up he told the group in the back to stay put where they were.
Heba jumped out and searched one of the bodies on the ground. As he got to the persons neck he felt a small chain that would be hard to find unless you knew what it felt like. Heba tugged on the chain and it came away from the body's neck easily. Heba found a pendant on the chain that was like a small version of an elephants tusk.
'As I thought, the Ivory Covenant was hired for this job.' Heba thought looking at the pendant.
"Shadow watch out!" A voice called.
Heba's head snapped up and he saw a man of huge proportions running right at him. Heba crouched and as the man got closer he jumped and landed on the man's back. Using the hidden blade on his wrist guard Heba managed to hit the man in the neck. The man collapsed under Heba. Heba knowing this was coming rolled smoothly off.
Heba looked up and saw Realm motioning to some figures in the shadows of a copse of trees. Heba saw seven figures come shooting towards them at a full on sprint. Heba opened the back of the van and Seto, Seth, Joey, Mokuba, Malik, Marik, and Mariku all piled in with Yami, Atem, Ryou, Bakura, Afeika, and Solomon. Heba closed the back of the van and turned to Realm. With a nod Realm went around the corner and came back ready to go on her bike. Heba motioned for Realm to lead on the way back to their base.
Heba got back into the driver's seat of the van and followed after Realm on her bike.
"Realm, report." Heba said turning the volume of the stereo up so the others in the back could hear.
"Nothing unusual. Though after I got a look I noticed the assassins were from Ivory Covenant. Other than that and the excessive amount of men nothing happened. As you can tell I got Kaiba and the others out alive. Though I kind of think they seem familiar for some reason." Realm answered over the wind coming from riding the bike.
"They are familiar for a reason, but I will tell you later." Heba responded. "Realm, ETA to base?"
"About 4 am." Realm said.
"Thanks Realm. Sign off the channel." Heba told her.
"You got it boss." Realm said before the communication cut off.
Heba put the on board computer to the task of following Realm so he could talk to their rescued targets. Heba spun his chair around to face the group of now thirteen people. Everyone looked at Heba like he was crazy because he wasn't facing the road. Heba sighed and ran a hand through his hair again. He leaned back in his seat and propped his feet up on a foot rest that appeared out of nowhere. He pressed a button and a small table popped up beside him.
Heba started to take all of his weapons off. First he placed his bow on the table with his quiver between the main part of it and the string. Two metal clasps went over the bow and quiver to hold them in place. Next Heba placed his sniper rifle next to his bow. He then put his two pistols from the front passenger seat at both ends of the rifle. Finally Heba pulled off both knife belts and locked everything down to the table.
"You thirteen have questions." Heba observed. "Ask them. One at a time if you could."
"Who are you?" Seto asked first breaking the silence.
"You may call me Shadow. I'm a member as well as the leader of the assassination organization Ebony Rose." Heba answered truthfully.
"How many Ebony Rose members are there?" Seth asked next.
"In total about 350."
How come we have never heard about you?" Marik asked.
"Because we leave no trails and no evidence." Heba said
"Who have you killed and what type of people do you kill." Joey asked
"We kill the lowlifes who use money, intimidation, and power to get their way out of bad situations." Heba said "As to who we kill, there are many some are drug dealers, sex traffickers, murderers, and other lowlifes like that."
"What is the Ivory Covenant that you and the girl were talking about?" Bakura asked.
"First the girl has a name. Those of us in the Ebony Rose know her as Realm. The Ivory Covenant is a corrupt group of assassins and businessmen alike. Many times they have street thugs do their dirty work and businessmen do the illegal work. Though if you think about it all of the things they do are illegal."
"Have you killed any Ivory Covenant?" Yami asked finally coming back to the real world.
"Malcolm Thistlewit was one of their arms smugglers. He brought illegal weapons into the country and has now paid the price."
"Wait did you say Malcolm Thistlewit, as in the guy that was killed last night. Found with a black rose next to his arm and a disc in his hand?" Atem interrupted.
"Yes. On the disc were multiple files on what he had done and the files that allowed those under him to be arrested."
"How do you know that?" Ryou asked.
"Because I'm the one who killed him." Heba said nonchalantly.
A collective gasp was heard throughout the van. Heba spun his seat around and noticed it was 3:48 am.
'No wonder Solomon, Mokuba, and Malik are all asleep.' Heba thought with a small yawn.
Heba clicked the stereo on and set up a connection with Realm.
"Realm, how close are we?" Heba asked.
"Only about five minutes out from the garage." Realm said over the speaker. "Actually forget that we have arrived."
"Thanks Realm." Heba said before he closed the connection.
Heba looked out and saw what Realm said was true. The dim lights of the garage shone through the trees. The van auto parked in the garage and Realm opened the back doors.
"Give me that small one." Realm said motioning to Mokuba.
"Why would I ever give my little brother to you?" Seto asked.
"Well, unless you want to wake him up then give him to me." Realm said not affected by the tone of Seto's voice.
"Fine." Seto relented.
"We have about a three minute walk from here to the front of our facility." Heba said as he started to walk off.
"Connect hands and have the person in front put these night vision goggles on." Realm said tossing the goggles into the van before following Heba.
Both Heba and Realm knew the path well, but they also had night vision in the masks they wore. Realm still had Mokuba in her arms and was following Heba when she heard the crunch that told her the others were following. The group followed Realms movements though they weren't as quiet as she or Heba. Heba saw the entrance to the facility and hopped over a small log as did Realm. Mariku, who was wearing the goggles, didn't see the log so he tripped on it causing all the others to fall as well.
Realm and Heba sighed in unison before Heba turned to the door and used his knock sequence. The door opened immediately after Heba finished and the group walked inside. The group looked in confusion at the medium sized room with three doors going off in different directions. Mokuba woke up as they entered into the base so Realm put him down.
"Why is this so small?" Seto asked. "Shouldn't there be more rooms and hallways?"
"This facility is larger than even your mansion, Mr. Kaiba." Heba said lacing as much venom as he could into his voice.
Heba felt a hand on his arm and looked up to see Realm next to him. Realm shook her head telling Heba not to get into a fight. Heba sighed and relaxed letting Realm's hand on his arm sooth him. Realm gently moved her hand to Heba's shoulder and steered him away from the group. As they walked away Realm put her full arm over Heba's shoulder. Realm looked over her shoulder and jerked her head in the direction she and Heba were going indicating the group to follow. The group followed albeit hesitantly.
Realm and Heba led them to the far wall where Realm pushed a button on the wall. When Realm pushed the button a small slide came out. Realm placed her hand on it and waited for the scanner to finish. Heba also put his hand on the scanner. The wall opened to show a smaller room though all fifteen members could fit easily at once. Realm silently motioned for them to get on. Once the group was on Realm and Heba got on. Realm let go of Heba's shoulder. Heba pulled up a Holographic Keypad and typed some information quickly into the system. A slot in the wall appeared next to Heba and a card came out. Heba placed his hand under the card and another replaced it. This happened until Heba was holding 14 cards in his hand.
Heba handed the top card to Realm. This confused everyone greatly because they thought Realm would have a card already. It was even more confusing when Realm broke into an overjoyed smile. She hugged Heba and he hugged her back a small smile on his lips. The two broke apart and Heba proceeded to pass out the other 13 I.D. cards. Everyone was shocked to see their faces on the cards. Underneath each picture was the person's name and their level of security. All the cards had a level 5 security and an access below it that said Midnight Room Floor. Heba put his hand on a scanner. The scanner finished and showed a list of floors. Above the list was the name of the person and their security level. Heba's showed his code name, Shadow, and a security of 25.
"You all have a level 5 security. You are limited as to what floors you can access without a higher level security member escorting you. The only high level floor you can access is the Midnight Rooms. As you can see on your card. Midnight Rooms is where you will all sleep and stay while you are here." Heba said quickly. "Three of the rooms are taken, but I would think you all would want to stay with your lovers."
The whole group nodded. Realm discretely poked Heba in the back to get his attention. Heba turned to her with confusion on his face. Realm showed Heba a message which just seemed like a jumble of letters, but Heba seemed to understand as he nodded.
"Only two of the Midnight Rooms are taken, there are 6 other rooms to choose from." Heba said.
Realm pushed a button on the list of floors and the group felt a small shift which told them the room, now an elevator, was moving. There was a small jerk as the elevator stopped on the fifth floor. Heba and Realm walked out and to the doors at the end of the hall. Heba stood outside of his and waited for the others to find a room.
"Each person who is staying in a single room must first scan their hand because that is our lock type. Note not one of you can go into another person's room without permission. You are also never to enter mine or Realm's rooms. Our rooms are for us only and entering would mean you can never leave this facility." Heba said. "To add to that, I would recommend you try to avoid any sexual activities of any kind. Both Realm and I can enter any rooms on this floor."
The group looked at each other before slowly separating into rooms. Mokuba who woke up on the first floor looked at Heba.
"Mokuba, you have a question. What do you need?" Heba asked in a surprisingly gentle manner.
"Mr. Shadow, sir, I was hoping I wouldn't have to stay alone." Mokuba said softly.
"What do you mean?" Heba asked confused.
"Could I stay with you or Mrs. Realm?"
"I would prefer you not stay with me, but I can ask Realm if you can stay with her." Heba said motioning Mokuba to wait.
Heba knocked on Realm's door. The door opened and a man who looked like Realm stood there. The man had dark black hair that was spiked all over the place. Everyone stared at the man thinking it was Realm
"Can I help you Shadow?" The man asked.
"Is Realm available, Shimi?" Heba asked the man.
The man nodded his head before he disappeared. Everyone, especially Seto was glad that the man wasn't Realm. Realm poked her head out of the door and looked at Heba.
"Mokuba wanted to see if he could sleep in your room. He is young and I thought a motherly figure would be better and you know why he can't stay with me." Heba explained.
Realm just nodded her head and motioned for Mokuba to go to her. She showed Mokuba how to set the scanner so he could also get into the room. Mokuba had tears in his eyes. He was scared and thought he might never be able to leave the facility or else the bad men would come back. Realm saw a few of the tears that leaked out of Mokuba's eyes. Realm pulled Mokuba into a hug where he burst into tears and started sobbing. Realm gathered Mokuba up in her arms before walking into her room the door shutting behind her.
"Do as Mokuba just did to set the rooms for your stay here then go to sleep." Heba said before he walked into his room.
The light above Heba's door turned red as did Realms. The rest of the group set the scanners for their doors and went inside. The lights were off, but the smaller groups made their way over to the beds and quickly fell asleep holding on to each other.
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(In Realm's room)
Realm sat Mokuba on the bed. Mokuba had placed his head against her neck and was sobbing. Realm had Mokuba in her lap and was gently rubbing his back in soothing circles. Mokuba slowly stopped crying and ended up in sniffles. Realm was still there rubbing his back. Mokuba moved off her and looked at her his innocent eyes.
"Mrs. Realm, are you usually this silent?" Mokuba asked looking at her.
Realm put her hand up flat with her palm facing down and shook it up and down slightly. Mokuba giggled as Realm tried to think of a better way to talk to him. Realm suddenly snapped her fingers. Standing up she went over to a wall and pushed gently on a panel. The panel moved to the side and showed its contents. Pulling out one of the drawers Realm looked at it. Spotting her stack of Duel Monsters cards Realm pulled it out. Realm set the deck on the nightstand and held up one finger to Mokuba. Mokuba nodded and watched as Realm went through another door. Realm came back exactly a minute later wearing solid black sweatpants that had a weird salamander looking thing on the side. She also had on a solid black sports bra.
Realm sat on the bed and grabbed her Duel Monsters deck. She shuffled through the deck until she stopped on one card. Flipping the card around Mokuba saw it was the Petit Dragon card. Realm flipped it towards her again and closed her eyes. After a minute the card seemed to glow before the Petit Dragon came out of the card. Mokuba gasped in awe. The Petit Dragon blew a small flame towards Mokuba that surrounded him but didn't burn. The flames were full of love and warmth. Soon the flames disappeared along with the dragon.
Realm was looking at Mokuba. When Mokuba looked up Realm pointed to herself. Mokuba looked confused before Realm did it again.
"Are you trying to talk to me?" Mokuba asked.
Realm nodded before pointing to herself again.
"I?" Mokuba asked.
Realm nodded then made a heart.
"Love?" Mokuba asked.
Realm nodded and pointed to Mokuba.
"You." Mokuba said.
Realm pointed to herself again. Mokuba thought for a minute before he looked up with his answer.
"My?"
Realm nodded happily and acted like she was carrying a baby.
"Baby?" Mokuba asked only for Realm to shake her head no.
"Ummm… Child?" Mokuba asked.
Realm nodded her head. Mokuba put the words together in his head.
"I love you, my child." Mokuba said.
Realm nodded and broke into a smile. Mokuba smiled as well and gave Realm a hug. Realm ran her hand through Mokuba's hair causing Mokuba to yawn. Realm poked Mokuba on the nose and kissed his forehead. Realm put her hands up like she was going to sleep, then she put both hands on her, and finally she did the baby thing again.
Mokuba smiled before saying "Sleep my child."
Realm nodded and Mokuba yawned again before snuggling on the bed. Realm smiled and pulled the sheet over his small body to keep him warm. She looked at the clock on the wall and noticed it was almost 7 in the morning.
'I better go make breakfast before Heba gets up. I know how much he hates the food they serve in the facility.' Realm thought as she silently opened the door.
Realm took one last look at Mokuba's sleeping face before she turned the lights off and shut the door. Realm made her way down the hall and to the elevator. The elevator opened and she scanned her hand. The list of floors came up and Realm pressed the one that said Mess Hall. The elevator made its way up to the 2nd floor. As Realm came off the elevator all the cooks looked up at her. When they realized it was Realm they went back to work. Realm went back into the kitchen and pulled open the walk-in fridge. She found the eggs, bacon, cheese, and some of the fresh vegetables. She also grabbed a bowl, knife, cutting board, and the box of pancake mix.
Realm cracked three eggs into a bowl and used a nearby whisk to beat them. She then cracked salt and pepper into the eggs. She set the veggies, Yellow Bell Pepper and Onion on the cutting board. She quickly cut the veggies up and set them to the side. She grabbed two pans and put them on a stove to get hot. In one pan she put bacon, the other had butter. She grabbed another bowl and poured some pancake mix into it. She went back into the fridge and got the milk before pouring it in with the pancake mix. She whisked the mix together and poured some into the now buttered pan. She flipped the bacon and the pancakes when they were ready. When one pancake was done Realm poured more batter into the pan and made another. Some of the last few pancakes had chocolate chips in them.
By that time the Bacon had been done and Realm had also made a veggie omelet with cheese on top. She put the stack of plain pancakes on one plate, the chocolate ones on another and the omelet on the last plate with the bacon. On top of the omelet she put a small scattering of chives. On the stack of chocolate chip pancakes was one that had a whipped cream smiley face cherry eyes and a strawberry nose.
Realm smiled at her creations then made her way to the Meeting Room where she knew Heba would be. Realm was surprised when she found Heba, Mokuba, and Kanashimi all sitting at the table in the Meeting Room. Realm set the omelet in front of Heba and the plain pancakes in front of Kanashimi. Finally she set the last plate of pancakes in front of Mokuba.
"Realm." Heba said.
Realm looked up at Heba confused.
"Please don't leave Mokuba in your room alone without leaving a note of where you are." Heba said in a slightly annoyed manner.
Realm just shrugged slightly with a small guilty look on her face.
"She says she is sorry." Mokuba said suddenly. "Also Realm, how did you know I liked Chocolate Chip Pancakes?"
Realm shrugged again.
"You guessed?" Mokuba asked before he started laughing.
Realm jumped startled by Mokuba's sudden laughter.
"Don't worry Realm they look amazing." Mokuba said finally getting control of himself.
"Mokuba, how do you understand Realm when she doesn't talk?" Heba asked intrigued.
"I just read her body language and face and can kind of tell what she is thinking." Mokuba said like it was an everyday thing.
Realm blushed and started making frantic gestures at herself and the door.
"Well she is a little flustered, but she is going to wake everyone else up." Mokuba said as Realm left.
Heba just laughed and started on his omelet. Realm had made it to the elevator and was now going up to the Midnight Rooms Floor. She was still blushing when she got to the floor and started the alarm clock in every room except Solomon's. Realm decided to knock on his door to see if he was already awake. She was glad she did that because he was awake and dressed. Slowly everyone trickled out into the hall and followed Realm when she motioned for them to follow.
The ride to the Meeting Room was full of idle morning chatter except for Realm who had stayed silent since the night before. The elevator got to the Meeting Room floor and everyone followed Realm, who was still in her sweatpants and sports bra, to the Meeting Room. Laughter floated from inside the room making Realm smile like she heard something the others didn't. Realm opened the door and jaws dropped when they saw Mokuba, Heba, and the man from earlier talking and eating some good looking food.
"Hello Realm. Everyone." Heba greeted as they walked in.
Realm went over to her chair which Mokuba was sitting in and scooped Mokuba up. She then sat down and plopped Mokuba on her lap. Seto, Seth, and Joey's mouths dropped when they saw that. Realm smiled at Mokuba with a smile full of love. It was just then when Joey decided to be himself.
"Where are our plates of delicious looking food?" Joey asked going over to Mokuba and trying to steal the whipped cream from off his pancake only to have his hand slapped by Realm.
"Realm is telling you to back off Joey." Mokuba said as he finally cut into the pancakes. "Also with the glare I think is being shot your way I would say Realm is telling you that she is not a short order chef."
"How do you know all that Mokuba?" Seto asked utterly confused.
The rest of them became more confused when the four sitting down burst into laughter. They didn't understand what was so funny. When the laughter finally faded Heba and the rest of them were red in the face.
"I can understand Realm, because I look at her body language and position." Mokuba explained.
"Realm, we have a short mission we need to go on tonight." Heba said suddenly down to business.
Realm just tilted her head.
"It's nothing big. Just one of those small lowlife missions we get asked to do from time to time." Heba said shrugging.
Realm nodded then shook her wrist.
"We will leave at about noon so you have two hours." Heba said.
Realm nodded again and stood up while Mokuba sat back down on Realm's seat.
"Okay, can I ask the elephant in the room?" Joey asked.
"Shoot." Heba responded.
"Who is that man?" Joey asked pointing to Kanashimi "And can someone tell me where the food is?"
Everybody sighed and Seth and Seto looked almost annoyed when Joey asked where the food was. Heba just shook his head and continued to eat.
"This is Kanashimi. He is Realm's younger brother. He has training like Realm and I, but he didn't want to stay in the organization. He is part of normal society, but he comes to visit his sister often." Heba said looking at Kanashimi.
"As for food" Kanashimi started. "It can be gotten from the second floor which is called the Mess Hall."
"Thanks you Shadow. Also you Kanashimi." Solomon said.
Heba just nodded and Kanashimi didn't do anything. The group left to go get food from the Mess Hall except for Solomon.
"Can I help you Mr. Moto?" Heba asked noticing Solomon didn't leave with the others.
"I was hoping to talk to you alone Shadow." Solomon said.
Heba nodded his head and motioned for Kanashimi to take Mokuba back to Realm's room. Heba folded his arms on the table and sighed letting his body slouch and relax. Solomon sat in Kanashimi's now vacant seat. Solomon looked at Heba and Heba closed his eyes.
"I have one personal question for you Shadow. You don't have to answer, but I would hope you do." Solomon said to Heba. "Is your name Heba and are you the one who was in town nine years ago."
Heba sighed while thinking of his answer for a minute. "Yes, my name is Heba Istanu. I am sorry I couldn't tell you before, but it was just a mission."
Solomon looked away with tears in his eyes. He scrubbed them away as they came.
"Mr. Moto I must also say I don't know anything else on the matter." Heba said
"Thank you for telling me Heba." Solomon said as his tears faded.
"It's Shadow." Heba said. 'I wish I could tell you the truth Grandpa, but that would blow my cover and protection.' Heba thought to himself as Solomon left. 'I also don't want you to know that your daughter and son-in-law were both assassins.'
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(With Atem and Yami)
"I wish we hadn't screwed up with Heba. I miss him." Yami said.
"I know Yami, but there is nothing we can do." Atem reasoned.
Yami had a few tears streaking down his face. Atem pulled him into a hug and rubbed his back soothingly. They heard heavy footsteps in the hall so they went to investigate. They carefully looked out and saw Heba going to his room. Atem could see a few tears on Heba's face and wanted to find out more. Heba opened his door and walked inside. His door didn't close like usual so Atem looked in the room and saw a picture on Heba's nightstand. It was the picture of him, Yami, and Heba all together on a park bench. At the time Heba and Atem were just friends while Yami and Heba were together. Atem gasped when he realized who Shadow really was.
Heba walked out from a side room as Atem yelled "HEBA!"
Heba jumped and looked at where the voice came from. He saw Atem standing in the doorway. At the yell the others came out into the hall to see what was going on. Yami looked over Atem's shoulder and saw the same picture Atem had seen.
"HEBA!" Yami cried when he realized who it was.
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That is where I will leave off my cute little fans.
Heba: Please don't do this to me!
Yajirushi: Sorry Heba, Authoress gets to choose the plot line.
Heba: Why did they have to find out!
Yajirushi: Duh. Because it leaves with a cliff hanger.
*Yami and Atem enter together. Both look pissed.*
Yami: You little…!
Yajirushi: *Looks at camera and gulps* Well, that looks like where I will leave off. *Runs off screen with Yami throwing shadows at her. She transforms into Realm and smiles evilly.*
Yajirushi as Realm: Oh Dark Magician why don't you come out and have fun? *As she says this Dark Magician appears from the deck in her hand.*
*Yami gulps and runs away as fast as he can*
Realm: Heba if you would do the honor.
Heba: Please review, it helps feed Yajirushi's mind so she doesn't torture us more than usual.
