Disclaimer: I own nothing.
A/N: Why hello my lovelies! I know, I know, I didn't updat last week and even now this can be considered a late chapter. BUT to my defense, I had to study for a test in physics so I had no time. Also, I was low on caffeine and sugar, so as you can understand, a great authoress like me could not get hyper enough for a new chapter. So, in order to encourage me to avoid future delays, review and you will get a hug.
On with the story!
"You must be Mr. Kaiba Seto. Please follow me." A woman was waiting for him there, dressed in a black maid uniform. She seemed to be a bit younger than my father, with light blue hair and brown eyes. We followed her in some kind of waiting room, with three big red sofas with gold lining, a matching carpet and a big table in the middle.
"Please, have a seat and Master Pegasus will send for you shortly. Do you wish for me to bring you a refreshment sir?" she offered politely.
"No." answered Kaiba through gritted teeth and the maid gave a small curtsy and left. Kaiba refused to sit down and instead went to one of the large windows and stared at the scenery outside. I sighed and sat down, anxiousness weighting down on my stomach as I wondered how the gang was doing. I would have a flutter that Yugi wasn't remotely as happy as he was an hour ago, but I had faith in him. Somehow he would find a way to be here in time. I was also concerned about Kaiba. He was an idiot for not sticking with the others in the first place, but how could he know that he was going up against a Millennium Item?
Kaiba would have to put his heart and soul into this if he wanted to save the one he came here for and even then nothing was certain. He and I both could only hope.
Kaiba was getting angrier by the second but that made little difference to the fact that we were already waiting for over an hour. Pegasus was going out of his way to piss Kaiba off, that was for sure.
I sighed, walking yet again around the room, bored out of my skull. While I was in the process of examining one of the vases, I heard footsteps and turned hopefully twards the entrance of the room. Sure enough, there was a man with short blue-grey hair and a little mustache, wearing black sunglasses that made it impossible to see his eyes. He completed the "tough henchman" look with a grey suit and white shirt underneath.
"Mr. Kaiba I presume? I am Croquet, Master Pegasus's head of security. Follow me to the Duel Arena please. Master Pegasus will be with you shortly." he announced and exited the room without waiting for an answer.
Eventually we arrived in the room where the Duel Arena was supposed to be, however all there was there, was a big converter-belt-like bridge thing that connected one side of the room with the other. Where the floor was supposed to be though, there was only a huge gap. I walked a bit closer to Kaiba, who simply stood a few steps on the bridge-thing and waited. He bowed his head and closed his eyes, clutching his card locket tightly in his fist, almost as if he was sending a prayer. I felt weird for watching this; it seemed so personal it made me feel like a peeping tom. After a moment he raised his head once again and his eyes were like walls of steel.
The doors in the opposite side of the room opened wide and a man with shoulder-length silver hair that covered half of his face came in, He was wearing a stupid-looking red suit and the moment he noticed Kaiba, he sent a smirk his way. Two more blokes dressed similarly to Croquet were standing behind him.
Cor Blimey and I thought that after the Paradox brothers I had seen everything!
"Where's my brother?" demanded Kaiba immediately.
"What, no "hello", no "how are you"? And here I thought we were friends Kaiba-boy!" Pegasus exclaimed dramatically, walking towards Kaiba with his goons one step behind. "Don't tell me that kidnapping little Mokuba and seizing control of your company has put a rift between us? It was nothing personal. Besides it's not like I hurt your kid brother, he's perfectly safe! In fact," he said lowering his voice, "you can have him back if you like. Just beat me in a duel like we agreed and I'll hand him over! After all a stupid little victory shouldn't be a problem for the duel monsters World Champ!"
His hair parted and to my surprise I saw exactly where his Millennium Item was. Wow. Millennium Eye indeed. That man had traded his eye in order to put in its place that… thing. I couldn't tell whether there was a spirit inhabiting that Item as well, however I was past the point of being overly surprised at random evil or not-so-evil-anymore cameos from dead people.
Kaiba said nothing; Pegasus didn't even try to hide his provacation and Kaiba clearly refused to acknowledge it.
"Come now Kaiba, it's not right to keep us in suspense! Especially with an audience waiting in the wings!" he motioned with his head toward the ceiling. I raised my head to see what he was pointing at, only to see Ryou, his friends and that blonde chick from the night before. They were practically hanging from the rail of that balcony.
"Hey there Kaiba." greeted Yugi uneasily.
"Yugi! How could you be in here after I defeated you!" Kaiba responded in shock. At that I raised my brow. I didn't know that cheating by threatening to kill yourself counted as a valid victory… Then again this whole tournament didn't seem to abide by any rules that were in the least bit legal in other civilized parts of the planet. I should probably read the rule book. Kaiba closed his eyes. "I should have known you'd find a way." he murmured.
"I hope you are ready Kaiba, I've been looking forward for this for quite some time."
Kaiba merely smirked and opened his silver briefcase, presenting to Pegasus the Dueling Disks. He took one out and threw it at him. Pegasus barely managed to catch the Dueling Disk before it hit him on the head, staring at it in unfeigned surprise.
"Then I imagine you'll have no problem doing it with this." Kaiba told him mockingly, blatantly expecting Pegasus to feel intimidated. I watched as Pegasus feigned shock and then mocked Kaiba's newest discovery. Eventually, after a bunch of childish theatrics Pegasus agreed to use the Dueling Disks under the condition of someone else operating it for him.
"I assure you, I will still make all the strategic decisions, the game play won't change at all."
The amusement in his voice wasn't very promising and I moved closer to Kaiba, almost standing side by side with him. I crossed my arms in front of my chest and waited.
"Why make that request? Why not fight your own battle for once in your life?" demanded Kaiba enraged. Pegasus simply chuckled and clapped his hands twice.
"Show Kaiba the lad who will play as my pawn and he'll understand my request." he ordered calmly. The doors behind him opened and there was another one of Pegasus's bodyguards cuffed with a chain that its other end was attached to a little boy's wrist. I gasped at the same moment as Kaiba. Right there was a little kid, no more than ten years old! Was that Kaiba's...
"Kaiba's little brother!" shouted Yugi in shock, confirming my suspicions. My anger flared at that, more than I could ever think possible it would for the sake of a complete stranger. The little boy raised his head slowly, revealing eyes void of any and all traces of emotion, or even sentience.
"Mokuba!" yelled Kaiba and I could hear both relief and desperation in his voice. Mokuba's face didn't even flinch. "It's me…" whispered Kaiba. The guard chained to him walked to Pegasus and the boy obediently followed, his expression not changing once. What had they done to him?
Kaiba was shaking with anger. Pegasus smiled.
"I'm sorry if he doesn't seem quite his usual self. I seem to be able to control my prisoners better if I make an extraction of sorts."
"You… monster!" Kaiba managed to spit out, unable to control his rage any longer.
An extraction…
"Yugi's Grandpa. Pegasus took his soul to force Yugi to compete in his tournament."
I remembered the spirit of the Puzzle saying this to me a little bit before Kaiba showed up and dueled with Joey. I could never, even in my most crazy dreams, imagine that there was a person capable of doing this to a child. And yet… Mokuba was right there, with his expression vacant, not recognizing his own brother but obeying Pegasus's orders like a puppet. It was appaling, to see a little innocent boy like this.
"Now, now Kaiba-boy! Petty insults aren't the way to get your brother's soul back, don't you think?" Pegasus taunted with a grin, showing us a card with a Mokuba look-alike. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I could not even imagine how Kaiba was feeling right now. If that was Ryou in that card over there, I would have clawed the man's eyes out with my bare hands.
"I told you that your little brother is perfectly safe and he is. But for how long he remains that way is up to you…" Pegasus continued. "Beat me in a duel and his soul will be released. But fail and his soul not only will remain in bondage, but yours will join it."
He had sent Mokuba's soul to the Shadow Realm.
I knew the concept all too well, having witnessed Bakura declaring the rules of a Shadow Game enough times in the past. This time though, this wasn't one of those. Most likely, Pegasus was too afraid of losing and ending up trapped in there himself, so he preferred to play dirty and just leave the decision to himself after the game was finished.
It was disgusting. Even Bakura had played with more honor than that. And Bakura was a seasoned cheater with a taste for agony and despair.
"To save your brother you'll have to defeat me!"
"Defeat you! I'll crush you!" screamed Kaiba, finally snapping.
"So it's settled. We'll use your new invention but your brother will operate it for me."
Kaiba was frozen in shock, his mouth hanging open. I looked in disgust over at where the bodyguard cuffed to Mokuba gave the little boy the Dueling Disk. While I could understand such cruelty coming from a wielder of the Millennium Items, I could not really comprehend why none of Pegasus's employees seemed to question a broken child in a dungeon.
"Pegasus wait!"
"What's the matter Kaiba-boy, this was your idea! Using your newest system sure gives you quite the advantage! What's the problem?" he pretended to wonder, practically laughing.
Kaiba growled but his decision would be blatant to an infant.
"He's been through enough already… Okay then Pegasus you win." he finally backed down, barely able to keep his shaking under control. "We won't use it! We'll duel on your terms. Just keep my little brother out of this." I shook my head as more anger boiled inside me. It was hideous to see someone toying with so many lives, someone that nothing could touch.
Pegasus said something in Mokuba's ear and then commanded his bodyguards to take him away.
"You creep!" yelled Kaiba.
"You are Seto Kaiba. Surely you can come up with a better bloody insult than that." I murmured.
"Watch yourself Kaiba, you are in my world now." answered Pegasus and snapped his fingers, all amusement gone from his demeanor. The bridge separated in half suddenly and I almost fell down. From the bottom of the gap beneath us a Duel Arena was raised.
Talk about waste of money. Bloody show-off.
I watched in awe as the setting up of the Duel Arena was finished and the life points of both players were set on 2000.
"Ready Kaiba? Your brother's fate hangs in the balance." warned Pegasus mockingly.
"Kaiba! You have to believe in the Heart of the Cards, it's the only way to rescue Mokuba!" shouted Yugi above our heads as Kaiba took out his deck.
"Huh? Keep out of this! I'm fighting this duel my own way!"
"Just don't forget that it takes more than a strong monster and a good strategy to win this! His Millennium Eye changes everything! You have to-"
"Yug! Don't forget that Kaiba's the guy who took five of your stars!" interrupted Joey. I glared at him furiously. With two souls at stake, star chips should be the least of their worries. It was not like Joey and the rest of Yugi's friends had not experienced a Shadow Game before, even a mockery of one such as this.
"Yugi. You are a good duelist but I don't need your help. It's my battle to fight now and I will win!" answered Kaiba and placed his deck on the board. "We've known each other for a long time. And now we'll see if the Master is the Duel Monsters creator or the Champion!" he addressed Pegasus.
You'd think he had bigger worries than that…
"Let's duel!"
The duel was over pretty fast. Within less than half an hour, Pegasus had managed to trash Kaiba's faith in his cards and cripple his deck, living him with nothing but Sagi the Dark Clown and no other monster. There was nothing left for him to do anymore.
"Mokuba. I have tried my very best." said Kaiba quietly. I stood silently beside him and placed my hand atop his own. I couldn't offer him anything else.
"He knows it Kaiba." I whispered as though he could hear me. I knew it was pointless and I knew that Mokuba most definitely had no idea, but I felt compelled to offer some sort of consolation.
"Your best failed you Kaiba! Kikori Marx! Emerge and attack!" shouted Pegasus, sick satisfaction clear in his voice.
Kikori Marx Attack: 2300
Kikori Marx Defense: 2000
A ridiculous excuse of a toon monster came out of a box and, taking a scythe out of its mouth attacked Kaiba's last monster, finishing the duel.
"Forgive me Mokuba. I am so sorry." murmured Kaiba one last time.
Pegasus' taunts didn't seem to fase Kaiba, he was already lost. I knew that feeling of failure and I knew the pain that accompanied it. He could do nothing more than wait now.
As Pegasus' Eye activated I almost instictivelly jumped off the platform, not really caring to get caught up in its magic. I felt Kaiba's soul slipping away and the next thing I heard was laughter. Blatantly, having a soul trapped in the Shadow Realm was truly amusing for Pegasus. I hated that sick madman, who considered demolishing peoples' lives a hobby, something to laugh about.
He was nothing but a cold-hearted monster, a child that didn't give a bugger about the pain he caused while trying to obtain what he wanted. I hated him.
He held both cards that contained the souls of Mokuba and Seto Kaiba in front of him, staring at them in unabashed glee. Like he had just won a well-desrved trophy.
"Ah, the brothers Kaiba! One in each hand! But even though your cards are so very close, your souls have never been farther apart!" I took some deep calming breaths in order to keep myself in check; otherwise I wouldn't be able to stand this. I wanted to crush him, squeeze his heart until it gave in under the pressure and feel his blood on my hands. His bloody Millennium Item was the only thing protecting him. I didn't plan to end up in the Shadow Realm when I had just barely gotten out. "At least when only Mokuba was captured you both lived in the same dimension! But now… now you are worlds apart!" he finished, laughing again. He motioned to his bodyguards towards Kaiba with his head. "Take away that empty shell. He could wash dishes or something."
"Why Pegasus? Who are you to toy with our friends and families?" I jumped from surprise at the sudden scream of rage. I felt the same but what was that actually surprised me was that the one with so much anger in his eyes was Yugi. "I won't let you get away with it!"
Pegasus simply chuckled and looked at him challengingly. However, his expression turned to one of shock, when suddenly the spirit took over Yugi, sending Pegasus a glare far more intimidating and scary than Yugi could ever have mastered.
"Pegasus! It won't be long now till I put an end to your games!"
"Yugi-boy, don't forget you still have to make it through the remaining rounds of this tournament to even win the privilege of challenging me!"
The spirit gritted his teeth. "Rest assured, I'll be at the finals! But believe me, the true privilege will be defeating you and undoing all the evil actions you've committed against my friends!"
"I look forward to your finest efforts Yugi-boy!" he answered with a laugh. "And of course a wonderful performance from the rest of our finalists! You truly are the best of the best!" he said with a smirk, leaving the room.
Quickly, I jumped over the platform and ran through the Duel Arena. I didn't really know why I did this, other than I would feel much better knowing where AKiba and Mokuba would be kept. I followed him along with Croquet and two others as he passed many corridors, until we arrived at a secluded, narrow one through which only one person at a time could walk on. At the end of it I could make out… stairs.
That's right. Stairs.
Lots and lots of them actually. I felt like crying.
Sucking up my pain, I climbed them right behind him. When we reached the top, he took a rose-shaped locket and pushed it inside the lock. I heard a faint "click" and he placed it back in his pocket.
A specially designed lock for which the key was one of a kind and belonged solely to him. Whatever was in there must be extremely valuable for someone to go to such lengths to protect it.
The room in itself was plain and without any of the luxury that was evident in every other room I've been in. Instead, the walls were painted a soft cream color and the only furniture were a simple table that served as a desk and a chair. He placed the cards next to another soul card that depicted an old man with the same bangs as Yugi's covering his face. This should be Yugi's Grandfather.
Pegasus went to the other side of the room where a wall-sized portrait of a lady was. She was young, with long, curly blonde hair and sea-blue eyes. He touched it softly, sadness washing all over his face. He seemed almost… human.
"My Cecelia. My darling, darling Cecelia. It won't be long now…" he whispered tenderly. I was curious, but since there was nothing else I would be able to gather from him, I took a closer look around the room without finding anything that could be of any particular interest to me. As I waited for Pegasus to leave, I began wondering if the spirit of the Millennium Puzzle would be able to release the trapped souls from the cards like he had done with mine.
Eventually, after recording today's events in some kind of diary, Pegasus took another look to the portrait and left.
I wondered who that Cecelia was. I could easily guess that she was an important someone but who? A wife? A sister?
Not that it mattered.
I found my way to Ryou, our hours-long seperation beginning to chow on my nerves. It had been... a while since I could be with him and I had spent the entire day running around with strangers. I had missed him a lot and it was a relief to see him again, no missing pieces or anything of the sort. The members of the gang said their goodnights and each went to their room. As Yugi reached for his own door I decided that it was as good a time as any to talk to the spirit.
First I had to make him come out. With Bakura it was always relatively easy- either he'd be out and about on his own or, in the very rare case that I needed to ask or tell him something immediately, insulting him had worked wonders. That bloke was quick to respond with a flashy Ring show where he found himself obligated to remind me "who was in charge". If it wasn't so bloody painful, I would have tried it on a more regular basis- seeing the vein in his temple about to pop would have been worth it. However this time I had no intention of making anyone's veins pop, on the contrary I had to share some very important news. I took a moment to think about it and then I decided that if Bakura had been capable of listening to me from inside the Ring rant about him none too favorably, screaming at the top of my lungs in an almost empty corridor should do the trick.
"Hey spirit? Are you in there?" I yelled. I looked around me, however he was nowhere to be seen. I frowned a bit and moved closer to Yugi, thinking that maybe the triangular shape had something to do with the echo in that place.
"Behind you Amane."
"Bloody hell!" I shrieked in surprise, whirling around to face him. "Where did you come from?"
The spirit stared at me bemused, smirking slightly. "From the Puzzle of course, where else could I come from?"
"You did it on purpose, didn't you?" I demanded pissed. His only response was a look of absolute innosence that would only convince an old, blind, deaf and fingerless lady with Alzheimer. Glaring at him I opened my mouth to start the yelling, but he quickly cut in.
"Can I help you with something?"
"You said yesterday night that your Millennium Puzzle allows you to put souls back to their originals bodies right?" I questioned.
He sighed. "It won't work. I don't even know where the soul cards are and even if I did, I cannot bring a person back from the Shadow Realm when I was not the one to send it there."
"But you brought me back! And you made Bakura's and Ryou's soul trade places during your game! And I know where the cards are!"
"That was different. I didn't try to take Ryou out of there. And besides, I need to offer an equal amount of souls for them to be released and even then I don't know if it will work without the permission of the one who sent them there in the first place." he replied. "And how do you know where the cards are?"
"I followed Pegasus!" I answered, swelled with pride.
"Of course you did." he sighed. Suddenly he seemed to lose all of his good mood and after hesitating for a moment he said what was that was eating him. "We need to talk. About what happened this morning."
At his words I went cold. I really had thought that he wouldn't have the nerve to lecture me after what he had almost done.
"You are not one to talk when you are no better than me."
Even I was surprised by how cold my voice sounded. The spirit seemed taken aback for a moment before regaining his composure, looking back at me calmly.
"Grandpa's soul is on the line. I couldn't just hand the duel over to him."
"But Yugi did. Yugi wanted to hand over the duel because he didn't want to be the one to harm Kaiba. What you did was try to override his desire and finish it before he took back control. So let us not have this particular conversation since none of us is exactly fit to be on the moral highground."
"I am not proud of my actions, I assure you. However I needed to get to the castle and at the time, Kaiba was standing in the way."
I raised my brow incredulously. "So you decided to remove him?"
To his credit, he did look as if he meant every word he said next. "I forgot that Kaiba was fighting for someone he loved too. I will not forgive myself for what happened on the tower, not unless Yugi does. I can't. However," he continued, "that doesn't change what you did Amane. Why did you try to attack Bakura?"
"I am fairly certain we had that cleared up already. It was not... intentional. It will not happen again, ever. I will not let Ryou get hurt."
"Maybe you should be more careful than you think."
"You-"
"I have someone to hold me back. And Yugi and his friends have taught me a lot of things since I was first awakened. But you do not have that sort of guidance."
"Maybe because I have no need for that sort of guidance. It was a bad moment."
"You tried to kill him!"
"Oh look who's talking!"
He clenched his fists but his face remained cold. "I don't know what happened to you in the Shadow Realm. But what I do know is that the girl who begged me to help her brother out is not here anymore."
"Oh? And how pray tell, would you know anything about me? For all you know I could be trying to lit Ryou on fire for the past.." I stopped, making a quick calculation in my head. "... eight years."
"You are right Amane, I don't really know you. But that day, when you helped me protect my friends, there was that glint in your eyes that made me believe in you. You wanted to protect your brother and you did- in more ways than one. I never thought for a second that that light would be extinguished when I came for you."
At his words,I failed to hold back a chuckle. "And look where that got me. I would hate to burst any daft bubbles of yours, but that so-called light you saw? It's called fear and I assure you it is very much present." I looked him dead in the eye and continued. "I have no idea what you imagine you saw back then. However, I do find myself obligated to assure you that my only concern then and now is Ryou. I would never hurt him. It was just... I didn't mean to hurt him. I couldn't have anyway, you said so yourself."
Even in my own ears, I sounded desperate. Pictures of my earlier encounter with the man in the sunglasses raced through my head.
The spirit did not reply, however he kept his eyes trained on mine, as if trying to see through me- and it felt like he was gazing right into my soul. Although he was a kinder person than Bakura, his own eyes seemed to hold a bit of the very same darkness and the same ruthlessness if need arose. He had proved more than once that the means hardly mattered when it came to achieving what he felt obligated to achieve and I was thankful that his actions acted as a reminder of that. Despite myself, I couldn't help the small bit of gratitude I felt towards him and I knew that gratitude was a misleading emotion.
"You can't promise that you will not try to harm someone else and we both have seen how this can turn out. You are dangerous to both Bakura and those around you. But keep in mind that I will not allow you to harm any of my friends-Bakura involved. I don't want to harm you either."
But I will if I have to.
I opened my mouth to retort, but he vanished before I had the chance. I stood there for a while, before huffing and turning the other way.
"You bloody wanker."
I had no idea where to go. My original plan, to spend the night with Ryou didn't feel like a good choice at this moment. I would prefer the company, unaware of me as he might have been, however I decided that being afraid of the dark was not really a good reason to risk being around him without some sort of guarantee that I would not... for lack of a better word, snap. I had chosen to ignore the danger, but whether I liked it or not the spirit was right.
Flashbacks of the bandana-wearing man in the tower flooded my head.
Yeah, definitely better spend the night alone. After a moment of consideration, I decided that Pegasus's secret room was ideal for the job.
I expected to see nothing changed from when I left- and I didn't. Everything was in place but with one little addition. Well, a big addition really, one that was blond and approximately 5'7 ft high. The beautiful ballgown was violet with pink lace at the hem, her puffy blonde hair reaching almost to her thighs. The woman had her back to me, staring at the big portrait on the wall, but then again it wasn't that hard to identify her. I had seen her only this evening after all.
"And who might you be?"
Her voice was soft and melodic, exactly what you would expect form the woman at the portrait. I was frozen in place from surprise, and when she turned fully around to glare at me I felt my mouth falling to the floor, although I had more or less expected to see exactly what I did.
This was the woman from the portrait alright. Same light blue eyes, same humongous ribbons adorning the front of her dress- and she was dead.
"Well?" she questioned with a raised brow, a hint of impatience in her voice.
"I- I- are you…?" I racked my brain to find the name Pegasus had used. "Are you Cecelia?"
Her brow went even further up. "I was the one to ask you first. Who are you?"
"Oh right. Uh-" I cleared my throat and bowed a little bit. " I am Bakura Amane, pleased to meet you."
"My name is Cecelia Pegasus, pleased to meet you too." she introduced herself as well, visibly less tense.
The shock of my discovery was quickly turning into excitement. I had come here to find some peace in order to think and instead I had found another spirit. No, not just another spirit but a regular spirit, if such a thing was... well, a thing. No overpowered super cursed magical thingamagicks with the ability to send people to Shadow Realms or anything. Just your average run-of-the-mill ghost. I had to admit it was somewhat relieving.
"And what, pray tell is so interesting?" she demanded, sounding amused.
"Um, well. It's your... dress." I mumbled dimly, embarassed at being caught staring like a dimwit at someone. Okay, maybe I wasn't exactly "caught", since I had made no effort to hide it from the start. "It's so... bowie."
Good one Amane. I am certain no one has ever thought of a better lie.
She chuckled at my answer, placing her hand in front of her mouth. "So it is." she replied, still laughing. "Now," she said when she finally stopped, "what are you doing here?"
She had still a smile on her face, however her eyes were hard. "I just wanted to be alone for a while. I thought I'd come here." I answered, trying to sound nonchalant.
"And how did you find it in the first place? It's not exactly the type of place you just come upon randomly." she insisted, her eyes slightly narrowed.
"I followed Pegasus this evening."
"Why?"
"I was curious about where he would take the souls of the ten-year-old and his big brother that he trapped in the Shadow Realm today." I almost spat at her, instantly regretting my tone. "Um, no offense or anything, but it is not exactly the kind of thing that endears one to others."
"No, it isn't." she agreed softly, averting her gaze. We sat in silence for a few minutes, me scanning the room with my gaze and her staring outside the window. I felt excited to finally find someone else like me, at long last. I was still a bit dazed by that new discovery of mine, my head filled with questions. I wanted to learn more about this mysterious Cecelia, however I was not certain of the extend of her involvement in Pegasus's schemes. The longing in his voice when he had said her name this evening was too real. It was doubtful she was actually involved directly, but I couldn't also assume that she was not on board with whatever plan he had.
"Why are you here?" she asked me out of the blue, staring at me curiously.
"My broher's friends are competing in the tournament."
"Don't play dumb with me."
I shifted my eyes back to the wall. "I am not. I told you, my brother's friends are competing in the tournament."
"I see."
The silence that followed this time was more comfortable. I didn't feel particularly eager to be the one to break it since it seemed to take a more personal hue than I would like. At the same time however I wanted to learn more about this woman beside me. She was just like me- it was exilerating, the knowledge that for once I could stand on equal terms with someone that was just like me.
Sadly, Cecelia did not seem to feel that way about me.
"How did you die? How long has it been?"
"I was eight. It was a car accident. My Mom died then as well."
Seemingly innocent questions, however there was that hardness again in her eyes. All of a sudden, being alone with her did not seem quite as comforting as it did a minute ago. I stood up to leave.
"Well, it's past bed time now you know and I really should get going..." I began excusing myself, however she would have none of that.
"Please, do stay a while longer. It's not like you are actually going to sleep." she rolled her eyes, dismissing me. Normally I would have just turned on my heel right there but at the end of the day I really didn't want to offend her. She could be a friend... right? I sighed theatrically and sat back down.
"Why did you stay back?" I asked her, deciding t voice my curiosity mre directly than she did before.
She quirked her brow but nodded nonetheless. "Very well. But please, let us go somewhere else; I don't like strangers into this room. It's our sanctuary."
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes at the sheer corny-ness of that sentence but followed her anyway, to a large study with an unused fireplace, two matching chairs in front of it and a lot of books on the bookshelves that covered the walls.
The only thing missing now is a glass of wine and a cigar each.
Taking our seats, Cecelia's clothes evaporated and were instanly replaced by a white turtleneck and a knee-length purple skirt. I blinked a few times, allowing what had happened be fully processed into my mind.
"How the bugger did that happen...?" I asked, not fully comprehending the scene before me.
"How did what happen? My clothes?" I nodded and she sent a strange look my way, before her eyes lit up in realisation. "You can't do this."
"This is the face of a person who can do this." I answered, raising my eyebrow.
"Can you manipulate energy at all?"
"Quite a bit. It's mostly for... battle... purposes...?"
And random murdering sprees.
Shut up voice.
It was her eyebrows' turn to shoot up. "Battle purposes?"
"It depends on one's definition of one-sided manslaughter."
If possible, her eyebrows went further up, her eyes widening slightly. "One-sided manslaughter?"
I did not respond and she studied me for a moment longer. "I think you and I must have a chat regarding responsibility."
"I am not the one doing the slaughtering!"
"I think you and I must have a chat in general."
"After you Mrs. Pegasus."
"Max and I met at a party many years ago." she began. "My mother is the CEO of a well-known technology and consulting corporation that manufactures and markets computer-related hardware and software and has a presence in recent advanced technological developments. I was to be given the majority of its assets and assume control of it when she and my father decided it was time for them to withdraw. As you can probably tell, that didn't happen." she said, sorrow evident in her voice. "I got married to Max at the age of seventeen."
I opened my mouth to comment but she stopped me, raising a finger. "I know it's too early. But we loved each other. We had been friends for years and at the time we wanted something to keep us connected since I would soon leave for Harvard to study business and he would go to Yale University to study Liberal Arts. That was when I was diagnosed with a very rare disease. I slowly lost my memory, my ability to speak and my very sense of self."
She was trying to preserve her composure. She was doing a great job out of it too. But her hands were shaking slightly and I could see why. Whatever prompted this woman to speak in detail of what her death had entailed didn't make it any easier. Mine had been easy. Brief flashes of pain, a few crunching sounds, my name on my Mother's lips and then nothing. Hers had been slow and decidedly unpleasant.
"Max was in horrible pain, although at the time I could hardly process it. My own family made sure that I had the best medical care and offered an astronomical amount to related research done by medical companies at the time. But of course this disease is incurable. I died about a year after it began." she stopped to take a few slow breaths. "When I woke up, I was in a morgue. It took me a while to fully accept my... condition."
Boy, don't I bloody know it.
"Max was devastated of course. He abandoned his studies and immersed himself in searching the entire world for something that could revive the dead. He went everywhere. His father eventually despaired and made sure he would never come to control his company and after offering him a respectable sum of money, kicked him out and essentially told him that he was on his own. Max hardly paid heed to the fact that he had sealed his own fate." she licked her lips as if they had gone dry. "He was a wreck. I wish I will never have to see him like this. He would spend the day half-drunk and the night drunk off his mind. He still isn't completely rid of the habit. But I digress. His journey led him to Egypt. He had hardly set foot on Egyptian soil when he met that man."
"That man?"
She eyed me in slight disdain. "Mind your manners Amane. It is very rude to interrupt."
I couldn't even comment on the fact that I had just been reprimanded for my manners. There were some things that just didn't happen. Ignoring my gaping face, Cecelia continued.
"It seemed pretty accidental at the time, however given the results of that meeting and those that followed, I have a lot of doubts. But the point is, Pegasus followed that man and came to be in possession of that thing." her expression turned to one of disgust. "The Millennium Eye. He allowed the man to pull out his eyeball and replace it with the Millennium Eye. Just to get a glimpse of my face."
And here I thought I was the weird one with the issues...
"I am sure he did catch one. Only it could not possibly be my face. I was standing right behind him and he was hugging nothing but thin air." she explained, her expression showing no more emotion. "Max continued his research and he soon learned of the ancient Shadow Games that were played in ancient Egypt and became obsessed with their powers. So he returned back to United States immediately. The fact that he had been disowned had remained a secret to preserve the reputation of his family, and he took advantage of his family's name to be given a loan from a bank. He used it as a starting point for the creation of Industrial Illusions and his new game of Duel Monsters became viral. As you may already know, he is among the richest and most powerful men in the world of business. But of course his is not satisfied. No. What he really desires is KaibeCorp and the Millennium Items."
"I fail to see the connection between the cursed Ancient Artifacts of Doom and the geek corp." I commented. Of course I was vaguely familiar with KaibaCorp. I had met its owner a while ago and watched his soul being sucked into eternal damnation, as well as the Millennium Puzzle spirit's info dump regarding their holographic technology. And of course, my brother was very interested in roleplaying games and had began building a small deck himself by the time I... left him.
"He believes that by combining the technology of KaibaCorp with the magic of all seven of the Millennium Items, he will be able to ressurect me as I was before... before the disease."
I just looked Cecelia in the eye. It was all I could do really. What she was saying was so unbelievably impossibe, so absolutely insane to even talk about. There were some things that one couldn't do. The limits of humanity itself. People died when they were killed. And stayed that way. There was absolutely no possibility of the dead ever returning, which was also a god thing seeing as that one never goes well in movies or series and I don't feel like eating anyone's brains.
"It may be possible you know. Maybe he has a way." she finally said in a small voice.
I finally blinked. Twice. It was a considerable achievement considering what I was hearing.
"The Millennium Items are powerful. All seven of them, combined, can accomplish anything. Maybe even that. And my mind is back to what it was before it all began. And with a new body, there would be nothing to fear. Think of it Amane. All those years we were cheated out of. That were stolen from us. Maybe we can get them back."
I closed my eyes. This woman was talking crazy. There was no such possibility. Ever. I understood her desire because I harbored the same once upon a time. To come back to life. To be solid, seen, heard. To be finally able to give Ryo back his father and the family he deserved and to be once more part of it. But those dreams were childish and dim witted. I stood up from my chair and turned towards the exit. I knew if I stayed a minute longer listening to her I would snap and that would end badly for one of us.
"You are insane. The both of you." I spat, not turning my head to look at her. "You walk all over others' lives for something as idiotic as an unobtainable dream. Three people lost to the Shadow Realm. What about them? Acceptable sacrifices? You were a waste of my time- and that should say something considering I planned on spending my time doing nothing."
"I never said I approve of his methods. But it is a beautiful dream to have, isn't it? I wish to be alive and I wish it more than anything else. But not like this. Not if it comes on the cost of Max's soul."
"And for the love of God, stop being so bloody dramatic!"
"Excuse me?"
"Stop it. Shut up. Pegasus is no victim with the heart full of warm and fuzzy feelings. He is insane. Look at what he's done. You do not approve of his methods? You know who else doesn't? The three people he imprisoned in the Shadow Realm. You really believe he will release them? Give me a break."
"I understand your anger. But only I know what he's been through. I just hope that he will understand soon that he is mistaken. No, I know he'll see it. I assure you, he wasn't like that before and he isn't a bad person now. You'll see." she whispered the final phrase, but it sounded more like she was trying to convince herself than me. "I know it's impossible. There are fundamental flaws in his logic, the greatest of which is that he assumes he will be able to control the Items. Those things are... wrong. Filthy. Being in their presense puts a strain on my very existence. Whoever made them must have been-"
"Sick."
"Or very desperate."
I shook my head. "I should be going now. I haven't seen Ryou almost the entire day and he might have already found a way to get hurt. I'll see you tomorrow. Right?" I inquired hesitantly. I was still mad at her but that did nothing to the ever-growing curiosity I had for her. It was stupid but I already felt slightly attached to this woman.
She gave me a small smile, that did not fully reach her eyes. "Yes. Goodnight Amane. I'll see you tomorrow."
I nodded and left.
I walked fast back to the room assigned to Ryou. All the short way there, what Cecelia had said about the slight possibility of revival kept turning into my head. I had disregarded it viciously and still did. But that did nothing to squash the nagging thought that persisted. Once I reached the door to Ryo's room I rubbed my temples as if that would send any and all my problems away.
When I entered the room I could almost instantly tell that something was wrong. Something was really wrong. And it was not because Ryou was half fallen from his bed and snoring loudly. I hadn't had that feeling since…
My eyes widened in fear. "God, please no…" I whispered fearfully. I could be wrong, I wished with everything that I had that I was wrong but this feeling was disgustingly familiar and it was supposed to be forever gone. I immediately made a run for the door, my first instict to go seek help from the spirit of the Millennium Puzzle, only to bump onto something and fall on my butt.
"That hurt…" I muttered, rubbing my back.
"Did it now?"
I opened my eyes and looked up. I took in the white over-the-top-spiky hair, the cold brown eyes. I sighed inwardly. That bloke just couldn't stay in one place.
I stood up slowly and looked at him straight in the eye. He seemed barely able to control his anger, like he was willing me to catch on fire right that instant. I had to do something and I had to do it fast. But I had a fraction of a second to put my plan into action and seeing as he was blocking the execution of a very important step of Plan A, meaning the door, I had to go with Plan B.
I took a deep breath before I lunged myself at him, hugging him tightly.
"Bakura! I missed you so much!"
In case anyone is wondering, no, I don't think I can sink any lower than that.
Yeah, that was the best I could come up with.
Real smooth Amane.
This should be fun...
Shut up voice.
A/N: In order to redeem myself I made this chapter a lot longer than usual. So review! I will give you ice cream, any flavor available! :D Special thanks to TTY7 for giving me the idea about how Cecelia and Amane meet. You rock sista!
And remember: R&R, constructive criticism welcomed, flames thrown over a cliff along with the flamer. :)
(Edited: 9/11/2015)
This turned out longer than I imagined... XD
As an added info bonus: THe corporation that belongs to Cecelia's mother may sound to some eeily familiar to IMB. That's because I copy-pasted from their Wikipedia page. So to have my bases covered, I don't own it. Shame. Damn shame if I say so myself, but it's the truth.
Cecelia's incurable disease is mentioned as exactly that- Cecelia in the anime and manga apparently died from a disease named Incurable Disease. As she is the one behind the villainous plan of one Maximillion Pegasus I took some liberties. The disease I chose is named Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease. The symptoms of CJD contain rapidly progressive dementia, leading to memory loss, personality changes, and hallucinations. Other frequently occurring features include anxiety, depression, paranoia, obsessive-compulsive symptoms, and psychosis. This is accompanied by physical problems such as speech impairment, jerky movements (myoclonus), balance and coordination dysfunction (ataxia), changes in gait, rigid posture, and seizures. The duration of the disease varies greatly, but sporadic (non-inherited) CJD can be fatal within months or even weeks. In some people, the symptoms can continue for years. In most patients, these symptoms are followed by involuntary movements and the appearance of an atypical diagnostic electroencephalogram tracing. Most victims die six months after initial symptoms appear, often of pneumonia due to impaired coughing reflexes. About 15% of patients survive for two or more years. Some patients have been known to live 4–5 years with mostly psychological symptoms until the disease progresses causing more physical symptoms leading to a diagnosis and inevitable death usually within the first year of diagnosis. The symptoms of CJD are caused by the progressive death of the brain's nerve cells, which is associated with the build-up of abnormal prion proteins forming amyloids. When brain tissue from a CJD patient is examined under a microscope, many tiny holes can be seen where whole areas of nerve cells have died. The word "spongiform" in "transmissible spongiform encephalopathies" refers to the sponge-like appearance of the brain you can see... decidedly unpleasant doesn't even begin to cover it.
A/N: Haha, you thought you would get rid of the author notes of doom so easily? HA! But back to the point. You all must have noticed the amazing, super special awesome new cover picture for this story. You did right? Good. Now, we must all bow down to my amazing friend in both Fanfiction and real life HALO CAT whose been supporting me all the way and did that damn good picture on a bloody post-it! Thank you SO MUCH! :)
In case you didn't get it, this is my Amane! Cool huh? Leave your opinion about the picture please! :)
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Those stories are personal favorites of mine, so in case you have some spare time check them out! More will come soon! :)
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