CHAPTER 4
On the far west side of the city in London's upstate society, another great plot was beginning to thicken… As the descendents of 3 great pure bloods were pacing amongst themselves, a valuable threat was growing ever stronger. "WHAT! What do you mean he isn't dead anymore! You imbecile!" Crow yelled while his pathetic "familiar" quivered in shame before him.
"I'm sorry Master, but I thought I killed him a month ago… I'm sure of it! I saw him bleed dry to the floor & the life left his eyes! Plus, the building was collapsing all around us; there's no possible way he escaped or anyone could have saved him!" Brian cried out to his master. Dropping to his knees he begged for forgiveness.
"You idiot, you should have watched him till the last heartbeat! Who knows what vermin came along & feed off him…" Crow growled as he vastly approached his minion. "Did Cane know anything about this? Did you even see him or sense anything!" he yelled.
"No sire. Nothing… I apologize again sire, please give me another chance to prove myself! I'll murder the third son for sure…"
"Well you better! I'm growing tiresome of you failures and this time if you fail, I'll have an excruciating painful punishment waiting to find you," Crow threatened as he gritted his teeth & heavy dark red eyes gazed with anger. "Now go before I change my mind. & I want that child's head in hand when you return, you understand?"
"Yes sire, you have my word," Brian said with a bow. Thus he left swiftly to carry out his Master's order.

"Now why did you give him a second chance Crow? You know he's going to fail again… You should of just eliminated him already. There's plenty of other Pons on the board to play with you know," his younger brother Calvin assured. Calvin walked toward the table with a book in hand, gestured to his brothers before sitting down. Book in hand opened, he smirked to his younger brother, Claud to say, "Well Claud, what's your opinion on this matter I presume?"
Claud looked over his shoulder, body facing the window across the room. "I haven't the slightest idea really. It's not my choice to intervene… What will you do oldest brother? Play a game of cat & mouse; or simply get you own hands dirty & resolute the problem yourself? At least that way, you can gloat all you want about how enjoyable your own victory was…" Claud insisted with a hint of sarcasm in his voice.
"Both of you stay out of this! Honestly, what am I to do with these idiots! We'll have to come up with some other strategy to get rid of the Nicholas Cane line somehow." Crow paced his way back & forth across their den area, with concern and anger on his face. "Wait, do we even know if this brat is even capable of using & in control of the power Cane gave to him yet? Is he even at 95 percent there blood-wise?" Crow questioned to his 2 younger brothers.
"Hmm well, I'll see if I can get some kind of dirt off them. Shouldn't be a problem. Anything else you'd like to know, brother?" Calvin asked.
"Yes, whose care is this child in till he's strong enough to venture on his own, & exactly how much knowledge does he have on the new world he was born into," Crow answered with a stern face.
"Done." Calvin pulled a cell phone out & began to dial. "Yes, I have a mission for you. I need you to collect some information for us. Go to the house of Nicholas Cane and observe the power level, capability, & care of his third son; Yugi Cane I presume. Report back to me when you've collect enough info." Calvin did a slight sigh & hung up the phone. "Now we wait, but then again patience never was our strong hold."
"Calvin, is this source of yours reliable enough? We have plenty of enemies already… I don't want to add more to the list." Crow warned.
"Yes, he's perfectly professional about any assignment I give him. Unlike you little dog, mine knows the difference between bark & bite," Calvin exclaimed with a slight chuckled afterwards.
"It's almost dawn, we should go to rest now. Something tells me we're going to have a very hectic day tomorrow brothers," Claud said under his breath; once again staring out to the city in the window of their exclusive home.

Meanwhile, dawn quickly approached the horizon. As it did, all the blinds & shutters began to slowly close & shut around the Cane home. "Huh? What's going on now?" Yugi said with concern. He looked around & saw nothing but pitch black darkness, till one after the other small lit candles appeared. As the room gave a small glow, Yugi stood up from his chair on the third floor library & walked to the doorway to see if he could find one of the new family members he acquired. " I wonder why I feel so tired all of a sudden… So sleepy for some reason too…. Where's everybody at? Ed? Jing?" Yugi said as he walked down the hallway to the stair rails. With half opened eyes, he bent over the railing to see if they were on the lower floors; but nothing in sight. With the railing holding up his weight, he began to sag over the handling of the rail way; his vision blurred. "What's happening to me? Why am I sooo tired & weak?" he thought to himself as he began to fall before his Father shimmered out of the shadows to catch him.
"My my, we need to be more careful my child. Don't want you to hurt yourself again." Nicholas said softly cradling Yugi's body once more.
"Huhh what happened? Why…." Yugi whispered as Nicholas intervened.
"Shh my child, dawn approaches… When the sun rises we grow weak & must rest for the day. When the moon & stars rise again, so do we. We live & thrive in the darkness little one; the light any brighter than fire itself is a threat to us. Especially a pure blue blood like myself & your brother Jing. Come, you must sleep now in your corridors…. To regain what strength you've lost during the night." Nicholas whispered softly as he carried his weary son to his resting place up stairs on the fourth floor.
"Thank you, Father" Yugi says quietly as he gracefully falls into a deep slumber. Nicholas places him on his bed of plush pillows & satin sheets. "Good night my sweet youngest son; may your dreams be pleasant evermore." he whispers in Yugi's ear. Already fast asleep on his lounge, Edward lay on backside with a book lay over his chest. His hair undone & spread over the headrest of his chair; flowed like golden strands of satin, shining in the candle light. "Good night, & pleasant dreams Edward," Nicholas says as he wipes Ed's bangs off his face with gentle care. Thus, Nicholas left his sons in peaceful slumber, to head for his resting place aside with his first son up the stairs on the fifth floor.

As he arrived the fifth floor hallway, Damien stand awaiting his Master & Father to open the doors to his sanctuary. "Thank you Damien, & pleasant dreams," he said calmly while walking through the doors.
"As do you sir, pleasant dreams… Oh before I forget, there was a strange man outside the gates a few hours earlier." said Damien.
"Hmm a man? What did he want perhaps?"
"I don't know, but he was peeking around the corner at the time. Didn't want to be seen or known I assume. He almost look like he was spying on our home to me…." Damien said with concern.
"Hmmm really now?" said Nicholas as he turned around & headed downstairs to the main floor. As he came to the front doors, he looked out the window just moments before sunrise had appeared. He saw the strange man Damien mentioned, but recognized him right away. "Damien come look… is that the man you saw?" he asked.
"Why yes it is, but who is he by chance Master Cane? What on earth is he doing here?" Damien asked with a face of confusion.
"I know who he is; it's Yugi's murderer that's who… the one who took Yugi's human life in Domino City a month & half ago…. So you're the bastard who caused that building to set a blaze & jeopardized all those innocent human lives…" Nicholas grumbled as he showed slight expression of annoyance.
"Huh? Are you sure that's the same person Master Cane?" Damien asked shocked.
"Yes Damien, I'm quite sure of it…. He's a familiar to the McKarther brothers alright. So the rumors were true, they must have found who Yugi Mutoh was & what city he was in, then sent an amateur exterminator to eliminate a capable threat before he became one later in the future… heh, makes sense. That's why I predicted that fire 2 years ahead of schedule….." Nicholas said under his breathe out loud to himself.
"But still, I don't understand Master Cane…. Why try to kill Yugi so early & how could they be so sure it was Master Yugi in the first place?" he asked.
"Because Damien; eliminate a threat before it became one…. Kill the third son of Nicholas Cane while his future son was human, helpless & defenseless to protect himself. An easy kill, even for a weak familiar…." he explained.
Damien gasped, "Where's Master Yugi now? That must be why he returned, to redeem himself to the McKarther brothers & prove himself worthy. He came back to finish what he started!" Damien exclaimed loudly.
"Shh don't worry, he's sound asleep upstairs with Edward. He's safe for now… But you are right, he came to correct his mistake & those McKarther's probably want some kind of proof of his kill as well." Nicholas grunted & turned away from the window. "Come, he's not getting anywhere near my son today Damien. We need to rest now, I'll deal with him later at night fall…"
"Yes Sir, good night." Damien bowed & followed Nicholas upstairs.

As nightfall came, Nicholas & his sons rose from their deep sleep. Yugi sat up, huntched & yawning while a rub of two of his eyes to help the blurred vision subside. Edward stood up & stretched high into the high while a great yawn came from him as well. "Well kid-o, have a great sleep?" Ed said as he was gathering his fresh clothes together. He walked to the other side of the room to slip his clothes on while Yugi gave an answer of, "Uhhh I guess so, still really tired again… Can I just sleep a little longer please…" he asked.
"Nah, I don't think the old man would let ya honestly… I'll ask Damien to make some Black Lavender tea for us. That should help ya wake up a little better, eh?" Ed said with a slight smile. Ed finished putting his clothes on & headed for the door; as soon as it opened, Damien & Nicholas stood there. "Morning Edward, how are you doing?" Nicholas asked.
"Uh fine, morning old man. Morning Damien." Ed said as they walked in. "Hey Damien, do you mind if I head downstairs to brew some Black Lavender tea for us?" Ed asked.
"Uh sure thing, if you insist Master Edward. By all means…" he answered.
"Thanks, be right back Yugi ok?" Ed said softly as he took his leave. Yugi nodded with a small smile.

"Well, how are you feeling this morning Yugi? Still feel a little tired?" Nicholas asked quietly. Yugi nodded his head slowly as he laid back down on his pillow. "Well then, we'll have to fix that now won't we? Damien, please close the door for me, this will take a minute of privacy…" he said as he rolled up both his sleeve & Yugi's.
"Yes Sir." Damien answered.
As the door closed, Nicholas pulled a clean syringe from his pocket & drew a full vile of his blood from his forearm. Then he cleaned Yugi's arm while he was unconscious, & injected a full shot [20 Cc's] of his blood into Yugi to be healthy. "There we go, now you're seventy percent there my child. Now your eyes will be blue as ours, & also a deep hunger will rise inside of you for now on… but still, you have a ways to go…" Nicholas whispered to his child while Yugi's faced, flushed with red color continued to rest with slight heavy sighs & short breathes. "But sir, is he?" Damien asked.
"Yes, he's exactly two thirds my blood, & one third human blood still. But as I said, his eyes are ice blue as ours now & a hunger will begin to rise within him from now on…." Nicholas explained. Edward knocked on the door three times & said, "uh is ok if I come in now? I've got tea for me & Yugi…" he said through he door. "Yes, come in." Nicholas answered.
"What's going on in here?" Ed asked with curiosity.
"Nothing really… Just doing a small check up on Yugi's health, that's all." Damien said with a smile.
"Hm, ok. Ready for tea Yugi?" Edward says as he poured the first cup. "Here ya are, be careful it hott ok?"
Yugi woke up & took the tea cup & saucer in hand. "Thank you Ed," he said calmly. Yugi took a few sips, & sighed. "Mmm this is good. I really like this tea Ed," he complimented.
"Heh heh, thanks. But Damien makes the best tea in this house." he gestured. He also poured a cup for himself too, & took a sip. "Ahhh good stuff! Makes ya relaxed a little…." Both Nicholas & Damien giggled a little.
"Well boys, I'll leave you to your morning tea. Get dressed soon after alright?" Nicholas says as he headed for the doorway.
"Yes sir!" both Ed & Yugi said while nodding. "We'll be down in a few old man!" Ed yelled down the hallway. "Ready to get dressed now?" he asked.

"Yep, let me finish my tea first ok?" Yugi said. After his tea was gone, he jumped up from bed, & began to get dressed with the clothes that were provided.
"Well, you seem better already… wonder what the old man did to make you feel better all of a sudden?" Ed said to himself out loud.
"Hmm I don't know really…." Yugi wondered. Thus they were fully dressed & headed downstairs to the library. As they walked down the hallway to Edward's library on the third floor, Yugi stared down & started to wonder… "Hmm Ed has a good point. I felt so weak & tired when I woke up this morning… Then I laid back to sleep & next thing I remember is waking up again when Nicholas & Damien came in, & suddenly felt much better. Like I had some coffee or energy pill or something… I wonder if Nicholas gave me something to help me get better?" Yugi thought to himself as he continued to follow Edward into the library doors while staring into space.
"Hm, you ok buddy? Heelllloooooo, Earth to Yugi! You in there kid-o?" Edward said as he slowly waved his hand in front of Yugi's face. "Huh! What?" he asked.
Edward laughed, "You were staring into space there kid-o… Something on your mind by chance?" he asked.
Yugi shook his head. "Nah, I'm fine now. It's nothing Ed…" Yugi said lightly as he made his way to the desk at the other end of the room. Yugi picked up a book that he left on the desk the other day & opened it asking, "So where do we go now? I know the basics of Alchemy, anything else I need to read before I get into the different principles of the 5 elements Ed?"
"Wow, I'm actually impressed on how far along you've come kid-o. Let's see here, where were we last…. Aha! Here we go… Next you do start on the principles of the elements. Now, name the 5 major elements on Earth in Alchemy for me please." Edward stated to Yugi as he thumbed through the textbook.
"Ok… Earth, Wind, Water, Fire, & Metal." he said.
"Good. Now, let's start with the strengths of each one…" Edward offered, when he came across another spare chair & pulled it up to the front of the desk.
"Um, ok." Yugi said as he looked up & put his index finger on his chin. "Let's see… metal has density & makes up most raw materials… uh, fire needs both hydrogen & oxygen to burn as fuel, wind is invisible but can be useful like water in large collections… & earth is what most of all other 4 elements are born from for us as alchemist to use as resources…" Yugi explained to Edward.
Edward looked up from his book & said, "Very good. You're coming along ahead of schedule ya know… I'm proud of ya Yugi." Yugi closed his eyes & blushed with a smile saying, "Why thank you Ed. I really appreciate you teaching me this kind of stuff. Anything I can use to help anyone who needs it anyways…" Yugi looked down again. "I just wish I could of used it to help Pharaoh all those times he helped me & my friends back then…" he thought to himself.
Edward closed his book & put it on the desk as he stood up. "You know what Yugi, let's go into our room for a minute ok? I wanna talk to you about something…" he said quietly.
"Uh is something wrong Edward?" Yugi asked quietly as well.
"No, just wanna talk to you privately for a few minutes about something ok? C'mon alright." Ed says as Yugi rose & they both went upstairs to the fourth floor bed room they shared. As Yugi came in, Edward closed the door behind him & used Alchemy to lock the door. Yugi looked at Edward with concern & asked kindly, "Edward what's wrong? What is it you want to talk to me about huh?"
Edward gave a deep breathe & said, "Yugi sit down please. I'm about to tell you how I came into this family…" Before Edward sat beside Yugi on his large king-size bed, he took his coat off & rolled up his long sleeved shirt.
"What's going on Edward? What do you mean?" Yugi asked.
"My, ya know, ever since you got here you've been full of questions… Like I said, gonna tell you about my past & who I was back then. My human name was Edward Elric & I had a little brother named Alphonse Elric. Our dad left us when we were really little for what ever reasons, & my mom was really sick for a handful of years before she reached her limit & passed on. I had a neighbor who she lost both her parents in a war going on at the time & lived with her grandmother afterwards…. " Ed started with a sad look on his face.
"Oh Edward, I'm sorry… Your dad didn't come back for you & your brother did he?" Yugi asked.
"No he didn't, & I didn't care back then. But because we had no one else to turn to, me and my brother did the stupidest thing with alchemy… We thought that it was the "ultimate science" & it could solve anything when we were kids. Like my human old man, I was obsessed with it & grew up using it all the time. One night, me and Al used a forbidden technique; human transmutation. Most professional & experienced alchemists said it couldn't be done, no proof that alchemy can create or resurrect human life… But we ignored the laws & tried & paid the ultimate price for it. An eye for an eye literally really…" he said as he began to talk lower & whisper.
"but Edward, you didn't try to bring your mom back did you?" Yugi asked franticly.
"Yeah, we did. & paid a price with it… What we made was something nothing like her; it wasn't human at all… Al lost his entire body & my lower left leg for what jumbled inhuman most we got instead of mom. Later, I gave up my whole right arm here to save Alphonse's soul, & attached it to an old suit of armor my dad had in his basement lab. Goes to show ya the true nature of Alchemy; you can't trust everything that people and books say Yugi…" he said as he grabbed his right shoulder & gritted his teeth. "I'm grateful to Nicholas because he took my friend Winry Rockbell & her grandmother's made automail from me 7 gave my human limbs back to me… back then; it was like automatic mechanical limbs for people because of all the wars going on during that time… When I was the last man barely alive on the battlefield as a state alchemist for the state military, Nicholas gave me a simple question… "Do you want to die today? Or live?" & instinctively I chose yes, to live. I was known as Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist by the military & a child prodigy… the youngest state alchemist to work. I passed my exams with flying colors at age eleven thanks to using alchemy with no transmutation circles visible. Now I'm the only person on earth who preserves & collects any & all things knowledge of alchemy to exist…." Ed whispered as he fell back on the bed with his right arm over his face, staring up to the ceiling.
"so you and your human brother gave up something valuable for nothing in return… that's not fair though Edward. I can't imagine all the pain both mental & physical you both went through…" Yugi whispered as he began to cry. Ed looked up at Yugi & said, "nah, compared to the pain Alphonse felt as not having a human body anymore; my pain was nothing… It was even worse when I got my human limbs back from Nicholas. I was balling like a newborn, heh." he said quietly. "You don't have to cry for me Yugi, you have your own life to feel for…"
Yugi wiped his eyes & looked at Edward to say, "But why? You're my brother now right? I can't cry for you like Alphonse would have? Will you ever cry for me?" as he continued to let tears stream down his face. Yugi laid down beside Edward on their bed. "Please tell me, that you'll be there. I know I can't replace Alphonse and Winry, but please…." Yugi whispered.
"Shhh don't worry about it ok? Whats in the past is behind me now, time to move forward. But just because we're going forward, doesn't mean we can't remember the past & the lessons that were taught." Edward sat up & then stood up to give a long stretch. "You've got a good pair of legs Yugi, you need to use them ok?" he said. Yugi nodded his head as he sat up. Wiping his tears away, Ed held Yugi's face & looked into his eyes with love and kindness as he smiled. "Now, after that story let's get Damien to make us some afternoon tea ok? Would you like to have some more of that Black Lavender tea again?" Ed asked. Yugi shook his head, as Edward left the room to find Damien downstairs.

"I still can't imagine losing someone like that. Then trying to bring a person back & paying a price for nothing. It's as if the law of equivalent exchange is contradicted. But still, it might be possible… but then choas would happen and there'd be no peace at all… Why doesn't the world just work so everyone can be happy with what they have. Even through all these years, I still don't get how Destiny & Fate work." Yugi thought to himself with a deep sigh. He got up and went down stairs to the third floor to join Edward for tea & continue his lessons.