Chapter 2

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"What the hell Tristan? This is my sister! I thought you would be helping me protect her from the vultures out there." He said angrily as Tristan stuttered out some incoherent excuses.

"Joey calm down. He's not a bad guy. It's not like it's Duke or anything." Tea said as she tried to separate the boys.

"Hey what's that supposed to mean?" Duke said angrily, moving into the conversation.

"Relationships are ever changing. Just as the relationships in this room are changing now, they will change again and again." The man said moving between them in the same fashion Tea did before. He moved his arm over them and the world felt like it was spinning. Once the ground was back under their feet they all looked over to the man and he smiled. "This is three thousand years ago. In the days of my own life." The ties between many of them disappeared, but a single strand linked the 'new' Yugi to the man controlling the times.

"Who are you?" The now obviously deeper voiced Yugi asked, stepping forward.

"I am Shadi. I was your servant and protector in life. Your friend." He focused on the strand and the thing burned a bright blue. The others stood there stunned as the strand connecting the 'old souls' faded out and the strand returned to a transparent white line.

"I'm afraid I don't remember you." The taller Yugi said sadly.

"That is understandable, but it is not yet time for you to remember."

"But you know... Do you know my name? At least give me my name?" He asked hopefully.

"No. I cannot. So whatever you are called now must be for at least a little while longer. Your name is in you. There is nothing the past can teach you that you do not already have inside." Shadi said, smiling.

"Then... call me Yami. At least until the future." He smiled in return.

"Speaking of future," Shadi rose his hand and waved it across them again and the world reeled for a second time. "This is only five years ahead of time. You have a new future here friend. This will help you uncover your past." He aimed towards Yami. The strings moved, faded, appeared and multiplied until the world became steady again. The second they felt secure enough to think straight, a bright fiery line glowed linking Serenity to Tristan. It was lighter than before, but Tristan deflated visibly. It was blue.

"Ha. Sorry, it's just not fated to be." Duke said in a mocking tone, laying a hand over Serenity's shoulders. Joey shot him an angered glare, but Tristan was the first to speak after him.

"Then what about you?" He sounded angrier than he was. He was actually scared. He didn't really know Duke, but from the only experience he had from seeing him, he was bad news. Duke did take a step back, and smirked as he glanced down at Serenity as he focused on his connection to her, but there was a problem. There was no tie to focus on.

"There is no connection between the two of you. At some point, you both separated and at this point in the future are no longer part of each other's lives." Shadi explained.

Kaiba smirked. He never liked Duke. It might have been his attitude, his blind ambition, or it could have been the way he used the people around him. It didn't matter. He never needed a reason to dislike someone. It came so naturally to him, so his laugh was hard to stop. Everyone turned to him, but he didn't care. There was only one tie that he cared about. He looked down and frowned. There were so many from him now. He followed them and to his dismay, there was an attachment to almost every one of them now.

It didn't matter. He focused on the tie to Yugi, but the thing turned blue. Friendship? With him? Now he knew this was a joke. The others continued babble amongst themselves and he stood there stunned. How could this happen? The light was pretty bright as well. Friends? Him? He didn't have time for that. He looked out and linked eyes with the other Yugi, the one who called himself Yami. Suddenly a bright flare fired up between them. A deep and luminescent purple. His rival. His future rival. Yami smirked and returned to the conversation at hand.

"No one here I'm betting!" Joey said, screaming above the others. Kaiba looked at how the annoying child in front of him behaved, screaming and threatening, completely controlling the life he considered his family. She could have been a slave the way he was talking, but the boy didn't care. Kaiba would never treat his little brother like that. As he pondered the boys sanity, the line between them grew bright. It wasn't the same yellow as before. Kaiba nearly cursed. Blue? Again? This was complete bull. He would never be friends with Joey. Ever.

"None of you are good enough for her anyways." He finished, still heated. Serenity had sunk into herself at this point, frustrated at the argument that had taken place about and around her without even the slightest bit of her input. She didn't care who she would be with. She didn't want a forced relationship, on either part.

She thought to herself for a moment about about her future. What she would want to do with herself. She would want to focus on her career. She wouldn't want to be tied to a man who would hamper her and hold her back. She wanted to be strong. Someone Like Mai. Someone who didn't need a man to be successful. She glanced over at Mai and took a step back.

Mai was tethered to a bright white strand, leading into the group of fighting men. She seemed as baffled as Serenity felt and she traced the tie to none other than her brother. It took a few minutes, but eventually, it caused the calming of the group. Joey, unfortunately was the last to notice. He paused as everyone around him's attention was drawn from him to the light leading behind him.

"M-Mai..." Joey stuttered out. She blushed furiously and turned away, but it seemed like the more she tried not to think about the tie, the more she actually thought about it. Yugi was the first to laugh. Tea joined in shortly after, then a few others. The only one left not laughing was Tristan. He glanced over at Serenity and moved to her now that the overprotective brother was distracted.

"Serenity... I... I'm sorry... I... I would have liked to be more than a friend to you, but... It looks like it's just not meant to be."

"I wouldn't worry too much about it. What is meant to be will be, and all else is chance. There is a chance this future will never come to be. If it is not fate, It can be changed. It's the difficulty of finding which future is fate that is the trying part." Shadi stepped up. There was a sudden flash of hope in Tristan's eyes as the words graced his ears.

"So this all isn't real?" He asked, now a bit more excited. Shadi sighed.

"This is the most plausible path. There are many deviations of future, but though most of the small things can change, the larger ones tend to stay the same. That said, there are things that can be done to change those large paths that are not bound by the universe." Serenity glanced down at herself. It was touching that Tristan cared so deeply for her, but what would happen if he did change the future? She looked again at the bright blue strand that connected them. A strong meaningful friendship. Was that worth the risk? What if his plan or actions backfired? She didn't want to sever any bonds. Didn't want to destroy the potential between them.

But... Then, what if he was successful? What if he was wonderful to and for her. She had always wanted someone sweet and protective, just like him, but him being her brother's best friend... he had always been like a brother to her. The thought of him being more... it was alien to her. So, who then would treat her that way? Who else would be kind to her and care for her? Who would love her?

A blinding light tore her from her mind as the thought about herself. Everyone shielded their eyes and waited, but the brightness didn't abide. Slowly, they all adjusted, the last of which being the two connected to the strands.

It was difficult to see. The light in front of him shining so brightly and the rest of the place being covered in shadow, but sure enough, his eyes did finally set. The light was coming from him, and leading directly to her.

"No... fucking... way." He heard Joey speak the words, but his brain refused to process them. It was too busy with the other matter in front of him. Before another thought could form he burst out in laughter.

"This is ridiculous. This is absolutely fucking ridiculous. You not only want me to believe that Yugi and I grow to be friends... That I have some sort of connection to each one of these losers... that I will be friends with this..." He couldn't finish. He laughed again as his hand pointed to Joey in a mocking gesture. "But also that she... this little girl and I..." His laughter faded. There was just too much stressing on him for him to be wasting his time here playing these stupid childish games.

"Your amusement is misplaced." Shadi said with a deep seriousness. " You don't seem to understand what you're seeing. Judging by the lack of bonds you shared earlier to the abundant amounts that await in your future, all good ones might I add, you should be happy. Yet you refuse these people. These potential friends. These bonds are not fake. They are not just a cover. These are the people whom you can place your trust. This girl above any other." Shadi said, now moving behind her. Serenity seemed lost again.

How could this be? She did want to believe Shadi, and up until this moment, she did, but now... It was too much.

"So I'm supposed to love this?" Serenity flinched as he spat the words. "Prove it. Show me this love. All I see is a bright light. If this is supposed to be so strong, show me what we're doing right now, at this 'future' point. Five years or whatever."

"That is a dangerous thing you ask. Are you sure you want me to reveal it to everyone?" He asked, reminding Kaiba of the company he was in. He did pause, but only for a moment. This wasn't real. This wasn't possible. So Shadi would know nothing of his past.

"Please." He sneered, his smirk spreading. " Just show me." Shadi moved between Kaiba and Serenity, plucking the strand of light and bringing it closer to Kaiba. The thing tugged at Serenity, feeling like an actual string now and she had little else she could do but follow. He moved around Kaiba, wrapping the string around him and lifting it over both of their heads so it wouldn't wind around more than once, then turned to Serenity.

He beckoned her forward and offered her his hand. She took it with only a little hesitation and he twirled her around, letting the string wrap around her as well. She was only a foot away from Kaiba now and blushed as she looked away. She didn't want to be this close to him. She didn't know him very well, and from his actions, he wasn't a very nice person. Shadi yanked the string between them and they both collided into each other, Serenity blushing more madly up at him and Kaiba fixing him with a narrowed glare. He took the string, twisted it and pinched the single loop that formed.

"This particular future that I hold... once I show you, I remove it from ever happening. There are many paths down this road of life, but should I remove too many, the string itself may snap. One will not destroy anything, but you cant ask me to do it too much." He said, holding the loop in front of them as he told them.

"And what happens if I just snapped the damned thing myself?" Kaiba asked, looking at the thing with disdain.

"If a string of connection is forcibly severed, one or both connected usually die." Kaiba's gaze returned to him, a little less confident this time.

"Just... Just show us." Kaiba demanded, the lack of confidence now showing in his voice. With a single tug, Shadi pulled the thing until it broke, the small edges of the loop falling to the ground and the string fusing where it was twisted.

The world around them spun again, only this time there was something to see. Colors twisted and blurred into vision as a room formed around them. Then people, and finally noises.

"What the fuck!" Joey cried out, but Kaiba and Serenity, along with all the others couldn't say a thing.

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Chapter two down. Things are getting interesting, ya? Let me know.

Read, Review, Enjoy~Love ya!