A/N: So I go to check my reviews, and I say, "Well, by this point I should have maybe three to five." Boom! Twenty. Twenty new reviews. You guys are awesome! And I'm glad you guys like it so much! The first act is now over, and the second is beginning in earnest in this chapter. Things promise to get very interesting, and the romance should begin in some capacity for the first real time next chapter. But until then, I give you this little thing I like to call chapter nine. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I played Kazuki Takahashi in a game of rock-paper-scissors for the rights to Yu-Gi-Oh! Not only did I lose, I also lost the rights to Excel Saga. Sigh.

Chapter Nine: Heavy is the Head

Kaiba stared at the two overlapping waveform patterns. They were distinct, but had so many points of commonality that the connection was irrefutable. Moreover, with each pass the second came more and more to resemble the first. Prince Seto's thought patterns were different, defined by his own fictional experiences and relationships, but he was quickly developing to think like the real Seto Kaiba. Moreover, he was thinking. That in itself was the most important technological development in decades, and it had occurred by accident.

"Mr. Kaiba? We need your answer. The tech group, myself included, would suggest that we terminate the program as quickly as possible. Not only is this development unexpected, but it is potentially dangerous to those in the program." The reporting tech pushed his glasses back up his nose and shifted uncomfortably. Seto fixed him with a cold stare.

"Can you even hear yourself? Do you know what you just suggested? That," he spat, pointing at the waveform pattern, "Is the thought process of a living being. However it happened, Prince Seto is, for all intents and purposes, a sentient being. We cannot arbitrarily kill a living being because it is inconvenient."

"O-of course, Mr. Kaiba," the tech replied sheepishly, taking the first opportunity when Kaiba averted his gaze to steal back to his seat. Mokuba joined his brother and stared at the undulating patterns.

"Your game is somewhat unpredictable, big brother," Mokuba quipped, smirking ever so slightly. He actually liked this latest turn of events. If nothing else, it was interesting.

"You're telling me," Kaiba muttered. "Take Remiel for example. When I programmed him what I wanted was a Cardinal Richelieu. What I got was Mephistopheles. Or take Seto for that matter. Perhaps personalities are too complex to program with certainty."

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Seto was wearing his usual black pants, high black boots and a black leather belt. That was all; he was naked from the waist up. It was part of the coronation ceremony. Warlord Fallacian would give him his armour and sword. Deiprelate Remiel would give him his cape and crown. The ceremony was meant to emphasize the unity of the triumvirate. Finally, Serenity understood what he had been so worried about. Despite that, she couldn't help enjoying the view. The prince had very few scars for a warrior of his experience. His muscles were toned and lean, but packed a strength that defied their compact size. Save for those few scars that marred his torso, he was perfect. Serenity couldn't help but cringe inwardly at that thought; Seto didn't even exist! Did that make her enjoying this a form of hentai?

He strode through the crowd in the courtyard of the castle. Royal guards held the citizens, eagerly watching their beloved prince, at bay as he strode through. Most of them stood under the black fabric overhangs, out of the now pouring rain. Seto seemed not to notice. His step was purposeful and his eyes stayed locked ahead. Even so, they noted at least three dozen of the church's eunuch 'holy guards' on the platform ahead, distinctive by their yellow capes. The military had a small presence on the platform as well. Besides Fallacian, three other prominent military officials stood in the background. Seto risked a glance to the side to analyze some of the members of the crowd. He noticed that several of the 'citizens' carried weapons, poorly concealed. Soldiers of fortune, he concluded. His men were outnumbered.

They would take him today. Now.

Finishing the walk down the makeshift aisle, lined on either side by guards, Seto strode up the steps and stood facing Remiel and Fallacian in exactly the position he was meant to stand in.

From between the other two members of the triumvirate, a member of Azrael's blackguard stepped forward. "Seto of Kaiba, you are hereby charged with the murder of King Aildren of Kaiba. You are to surrender to the Holy Guard immediately until such a time as a tribunal is convened under which you can stand trial," the blackguard declared, boldly shouting the charges so that the crowd would hear.

"Under whose authority?" Seto replied coldly.

It was a reply the blackguard had been expecting. "Under the combined authorities of the Council of Prelates and the Royal Senate."

The declaration was meant to strike fear, or unrest, into the prince. Seto seemed unfazed. "And if I refuse?"

"Then you will be killed where you stand," the warrior threatened.

Seto bowed his head, and for a moment it appeared that he was giving up. He whispered something quietly. Raising his head, his gaze met that of the blackguard. "So be it," he declared.

With one deft motion, Seto sent himself flipping backward, landing on a knee at the base of the stairs to the platform. In another, he pulled a card from his boot and held it at arm's length. Immediately, it sprang to life. The darkness of night was, for a brief instant, defeated by the miraculous eruption of light that issued forth from the card. The instant after that, Kaiba stood beside a massive Blue-Eyes White Dragon.

His hand reached out and grabbed the neck of the beautiful serpentine creature as he threw himself atop its back. With one flap of its gargantuan wings, the beast was in the air. A moment later, it was soaring high skyward. Fireballs soared past them, and Seto gritted his teeth. "Looks like they got organized pretty quickly. Time to put some air between us," he declared.

Blue-Eyes kicked into overdrive, its wings flapping frantically as it rose into the air. The air around them crackled with magical energy as explosions, ice shards and lightning bolts materialized to either side. The dragon flailed frantically, avoiding the brunt of the magical attacks, but each successful strike charred its body. It was weakening.

Seto, however, was prepared. Pulling back on Blue-Eyes' neck, the dragon levelled out and began circling the assembly below. Reaching into his other boot, Seto removed the only other card he had managed to bring along. Focussing on the area below them, the prince activated his Heavy Storm magic card.

Heavy Storm was a pricey and powerful magic card. It immediately summoned a tearing wind, forcing the rain into an almost horizontal spiral. The magical winds of the storm would eliminate any and all magic fired at them, or from them for that matter, but wouldn't faze the dragon. As a further advantage, the density of the falling rain spiral obscured the view of the bright silver dragon. "Onward and upward," Seto whispered to the dragon, and it eagerly complied.

Less than a minute later they passed into the dark, looming clouds. Buffeted by natural winds, Seto clutched tightly to his dragon as the rain pelted his naked torso. Finally, they came out above the clouds and into the cool sereneness of the night. But there was no time to waste. Summoned monsters only remained for so long, and if Seto's Blue-Eyes White was forced to return from whence it came before he found ground, ground would find him at a breakneck speed. With a clear objective in mind, Seto spurred his dragon onward.

When he felt he had covered enough ground, Seto found a small gap in the large black thunderheads and aimed his dragon downward. Time was against him, and the prince found himself spurring the dragon on with all haste. The descent turned out to be too steep, so he pulled the dragon upward to level out somewhat. It was fortunate that this slowed him down considerably, because just then the summon wore off.

The prince fell into total freefall, plummeting nearly five stories to the ground below. He landed in a large tree, ricocheted between branches and was finally ejected from it, falling the last few metres to land hard on the ground. A groan escaped his lips, and he collapsed into an oblivious sleep.

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"How did I know you would run here, prince? I suppose you're more predictable than most people realize. The Dragon Prince, the rogue of Cobalt. Murdered his father and then fled the charges? Preposterous. I just wanted to see you off," the voice declared as Seto's eyelids cracked open.

"Who… are you?" Seto rasped.

"Must've been a pretty bad fall if you don't recognize my voice. Perhaps it would bring it back if I yelled, 'Damn it, prince, get back to your studies and leave my son alone!'"

"Warlord… Fallacian?" the prince guessed.

"In the flesh. What I have left of it, anyway. Sounds like Remiel stuck it to you pretty bad. Nobody really believes that you had anything to do with King Aildren's death, besides some of the more impressionable of the citizenry. Azrael, however, seized the opportunity. You've been gone less than twelve hours and he's already pushing for who he wants to be the next king."

"Twelve hours!" Seto cried, jerking upright. He was lying against a rock, not far from the tree he had landed in. Fallacian was alone, standing over him and smiling sarcastically at him. Fallacian wore full plate mail, meant for mounted combat, that only he and his superhuman physical strength could handle. His face was wrinkled, with both laugh lines and deep scars traversing it, and he had a well-kept grey beard and short grey hair.

"Relax, prince. I'm surprised you can even move. Hell, I'm impressed you made it out of Cobalt. I think that must be the first time the entire blackguard was ever in one place at one time," Fallacian grunted.

Seto, however, did not relax. Wincing and straining the entire time, he rose to his feet. "The girl, and her friends…" he muttered, "I left the card with them… I have to make sure they're okay…"

Fallacian raised an eyebrow and then let out a sigh. "Three of them? Redheaded girl, a rainbow haired sorcerer and a rogue?"

"You know them?" Seto asked.

"I escorted them to the train after some of the Holy Guard gave them a hard time. They made it to the train alright, but… Five blackguards also entered the train. If they know about them, then they're already dead."

Snapping his head to the south, Seto's eyes widened in terror. "No. They wouldn't kill them until they were sure about the whereabouts of the card. I may still be able to save them."

"Even if they are still alive, how can you fight five elite blackguards? Seto, this is lunacy!" Fallacian cried.

"I can," Seto replied simply. "There's no warrior in Kaiba who's superior to me. I will save her."

"She's not Mokuba, Seto," Fallacian stated coldly. "Saving her won't bring your brother back. Your kingdom is not lost to you, if you head back now then you can still reclaim it."

Fixing Fallacian with his cold blue gaze, Seto's narcissistic smirk fled from his face. The wordless exchange spoke volumes, and Fallacian realized that the hot-headed prince would not be dissuaded.

Fallacian rolled his eyes and walked back to where his belongings lay in a pile not far away. Rummaging through them, he came back with a pack full of objects. "Your armour, your sword, your cards. You'll need these if you have any hope of defeating those warriors. I added your father's card to your deck. It's a Tri-Horned Dragon. Not silver, interestingly enough. Be careful, one of the blackguards is a summoner. Expect him to be too low level to unsummon your Blue-Eyes, but he'll still offer a good deal of resistance."

Seto nodded, quietly absorbing every word as he armed himself. Taking a few steps to the south, he turned his head back over his shoulder. "Go home, now, Fallacian, and forget you ever knew me. I'm dead to Cobalt."

The warlord nodded as well. "Azrael wants Bakura to be the new king. I shall see to it that he does a good job of it."

With a slight sigh, Seto turned back to the south. "That position doesn't hold any power anymore anyway. That politician can have it. I can do more free of it," he declared resolutely. With that, he drew the card he had used earlier from where he had replaced it in his boot. "Again, I'm sorry Mokuba. I don't want to have to use your soul card, but it would seem that necessity calls again."

Seto raised his brother's silver Blue-Eyes White Dragon card over his head and called it forth into being. Grabbing a hold of it, he vaulted himself onto the draconic beast's back and raced to the south. It seemed that he was constantly fighting time. Why should today be any different?

In a matter of a few moments he had located the train tracks, not far to the east of where he had fallen. He drew himself alongside them and spurred his dragon onward, racing south along the parallel rails of the conveyance. Minutes passed slowly, but still he urged onward. Shortly, he was rewarded for his drive by the familiar cone of steam rising from the top of the powerful engine. The train could not match his dragon for speed, and he gained on it moment by moment. Once he had drawn close enough, he was shocked by what he saw.

Atop the train were two distinct groups. The first was a pair, the form of Damien holding Serenity in his arms. He was turned away from the engine, back down the body of the locomotive. The group he was facing towards were clearly the blackguards Fallacian had described, each garbed as common warriors with one single piece of yellow denoting them as warriors of the church to those with discerning eyes. There were five of them, clustered tightly on one cart, drawing closer to Damien and Serenity. The scene spurred Seto further onward, desperate to save those that he had wilfully endangered.

As he drew closer still, almost coming alongside of the train, he noticed Yugi drag himself atop a cart not far behind the blackguards. They hadn't noticed him yet, and it became clear that that was an advantage the boy intended to use. Calling forth his Hammer Shot magic card, the magical weapon streaked forward and struck the warrior second to the back, sending him flying from the train.

Unfortunately, the sudden discharge of magic drew the attention of the blackguards backward. Yugi didn't miss the look of horror on their face, and thought to himself that his use of magic must have been more effective than he realized. He didn't see what the blackguards saw, the prince atop a Blue-Eyes White Dragon bearing down on the train. Seto drew his sword and, with uncanny agility and balance, sprinted up the neck of his dragon. With a single blast from his dragon he could have wiped out the remaining blackguards, but he wouldn't allow his brother's soul card to soul bind with those miscreants.

The prince leapt atop the furthest back of the train's carts, five back from where Yugi stood proudly. He motioned for his dragon to go around to the blackguards, hoping to distract any summoned monsters the summoner would choose to conjure. He had no idea how much time Blue-Eyes had left, but whatever it had would have to suffice. Drawing his blade and finding strength in its familiar feel, the prince forced his aching muscles and bones forward in a dead heat toward the blackguards.

Undaunted, the blackguard quickly formed formations. The one furthest forward kept his attention on his true prey, the girl and the rogue, and advanced with unfailing ire. Toward the back, the furthest back of the blackguards retreated behind the other two remaining soldiers, fishing a card out from his deck to deal with the incoming dragon. The other two blackguards charged toward Yugi, who was beginning to realize that they were most likely not afraid of him.

The holy warriors reached Yugi before the prince, and their initial onslaught was curbed only by Yugi's Negate Attack card. Seizing the opportunity, the fledgling sorcerer retreated back a train before breaking into a run for the end of the conveyance. He was shocked to find he passed Prince Seto almost as soon as he turned. In an instant the prince had reached the two warriors. Even as he hit them, the summoner's Punished Eagle was striking Seto's dragon with an equal fury. In a veil of feathers and crackling energy, Seto fell upon the blackguards.

"I don't have time to waste on you!" Seto spat. His blade curved upward and deflected two identical downward arcs from the opposing warriors, each using a single bastard sword. He pushed their blades upward, reversing their momentum, and then drew his own blade back. With one forceful forward shot he fired the blade between the two blades of his antagonists. Then, with a twist and spin of the blade he forced their weapons to either side. Having successfully divided the combatants, he slid between them.

The close quarters, for the narrowness of the train cart prevented much space between the warriors, limited the movement of the combat. The warriors could scarcely bring their blades down without possibly skewering themselves. So they pressed in from above, playing right into Seto's hands. His own blade swung back and forth between the two blades with such speed that each pair of blocks sounded as a single ringing blow. He forced the timing little by little, until a moment later the two blades came together at the same moment. Seto dropped to a knee; his foes' blades came together above him, eliminating his need for the parry. Instead, he kicked his knee forward and drove the top of his skull into one of the blackguard's chest. Sprawling backward, the warrior took a tumble and barely managed to grab the side of the train.

Blackguard number two had, of course, regained his composure by now. With his blade already in a downward arc, he complimented it by forcing his knee forward toward the prince's skull. In one fell swoop, the prince brought his free blade forward and sliced open the front of the knee. In the next miraculously efficient move, he dived backward and out of the range of the sword. He was on his feet in no time, and his foe was dizzied by the ringing of his blade striking the solid metal of the train cart. It was hardly a challenge for the prince to swat the blackguard's blade aside and, in the reverse of the motion, slash across his chest. The fallen warrior tumbled from the train and onto the rocky terrain below. He was quickly left behind.

Robbed of the opportunity to celebrate his victory, Seto spun to face the blackguard behind him, already climbed back from his fall off the side of the train. It took only a split second for Seto to realize that he'd miscalculated; the guard was striking and his tip was down. The parry was impossible. He didn't need to make it. Struck from the side by Serenity's frantically clawing Kurama, the blackguard passed over the edge of the train and struck the ground in a nearly lifeless sprawl. Again, Seto was robbed of his celebration. This time it was due to the massive Stone Ogre Grotto bearing down on him from further along the train.

"Wonderful," Seto muttered sarcastically as he saw the massive rock monster stride from cart to cart in a single massive stride. The prince shrunk into a squatting pose, holding the blade horizontally in his right hand at eye level. He watched carefully, studying the movement of the beast for weaknesses. He certainly couldn't just stab it; it was made of rocks. Perhaps the blue glow emanating from where its face should have been was its vulnerable point.

He didn't wait for the beast to get to him. He charged with abandon. Massive black rock fists slammed down at him, but Seto wasn't there. With blinding speed, he sprinted between the legs of the beast and leapt atop its back. His curved blade swung forward once, twice, each time ricocheting off the rocks and missing its target. Again, massive rock fists swung towards the prince, and he leapt to dodge the strike. There was only one thing he'd failed to take into account: the terrain below him was not stationary.

Though only slightly above the Stone Ogre Grotto's head, Seto was high enough to sustain a fair amount of hang time. The train underneath him sped on, and Seto's forward momentum was no match for it. For a single moment he hung suspended, and then he almost seemed to be sucked back as he fell. A single foot made contact with the last speeding cart, but it wasn't enough for him to regain traction. Inverted by the collision, the prince fell.

It was time for the sorcerer to snap into action. Yugi drew his Shift trap card out of his deck box as he saw Seto make the fateful leap. When he hit the train, he activated it. Just as the prince seemed about to hit down, it wasn't the prince anymore. Instead, he had switched places with the stone giant, standing once again atop the train. The giant, in turn, crashed into the ground at a breakneck speed. It crumbled into gravel almost instantaneously.

This time the prince did have a spare moment, one he used to flash the caster a sarcastic smirk. Then, turning, he charged at the summoner. Even as he ran he thoroughly scanned the situation. Damien and Serenity were sorely pressed toward the front of the train; they had been chased to the engine and had little room left to retreat. Both Seto's Blue-Eyes and the Punished Eagle were nowhere to be found, and their fate could only be guessed at. Only the summoner remained to stand against Seto, and he was desperately selecting another combatant. Seto had no intention of letting him do so.

With a flick of his wrist, Seto's Cold Wave magic card was in his hand. The spell erupted brilliantly, sending an icy wave issuing forth towards the summoner. Completely consuming him in ice, the summoner's fingers remained frozen to the card he held. He'd never get a chance to use it. Seto didn't even stop as he passed the warrior. He simply brought his blade to bear and decapitated the blackguard.

His true target, though, remained in front of him. Serenity had used her summon earlier to call forth the Kurama that had defended Seto, and the summon had cost her. Unable to summon again due to cool down, she had left herself and Damien almost unguarded. Damien was no mean swordsman, but he wasn't a match for the blackguard. Serenity stood behind the rogue, whose blade desperately worked to hold the holy warrior at bay.

Serenity winced and withdrew as far as she could from the shower of sparks sent forth by the connecting blades. The blackguard used a greatsword that ought to have made quick work of Damien's rapier, but the rogue kept the battle close, keeping the warrior from gaining the momentum needed to cleave the weapon. But the strategy didn't hold. The warrior knocked the rapier down and stomped on the weak. Damien held, but he couldn't wrench the sword from beneath his foe's black boot. With deliberate force, the enemy drew back his massive sword for the killing blow.

But suddenly he paused. With something akin to curiosity on his face, he stared down at the blade tip protruding from the middle of his chest. His fingers reached delicately toward it, and just as they reached its tip his entire body jerked. Seto wrenched the spur of his blade onto the blackguard's rib and, in one forceful motion, cast the body off of the moving train. Relief crossed over all three, and then four as Yugi joined them, of the companions.

Damien shot an appreciative glance at Seto. "Amazing how upset they get over an extra piece of carry-on," he quipped.

"Prince!" Serenity called as she pushed past Damien. "You're alright."

"Of course," Seto replied levelly, his cool tone not betraying the relief he felt at seeing the three, especially the girl, alive. "But you aren't. You're injured, Serenity."

Serenity blushed and glanced at the wound on her leg. She'd been clipped by one of the blades of the blackguards in the initial encounter. They'd fled as best they could, eventually choosing the roof of the train as the place to make their stand, but she'd been unable to run. Damien had carried her. She marvelled at the wound. How curious it was that it didn't hurt, and didn't bleed, and yet there was a deep gash in her calf.

Seto moved to grab the girl, but Damien cavalierly scooped the girl in his arms. With a slight giggle, the girl steadied herself against the rogue's shoulders.

"Come on, guys," Yugi admonished, "The roof of a train probably isn't the best place to have a reunion."

The group headed back toward the cart they'd been seated in, the newly rejoined prince following their lead. It was fortunate that he was behind the rest of the group, otherwise Damien might have caught the baleful glare that Seto was giving him.

A/N: I usually don't explain my allusions, but in this one it's too easy to miss Kaiba's meaning if you don't know to what I'm referring to. Cardinal Richelieu, while an actual historical figure, is treated here as the principle antagonist in The Three Musketeers. He's an enemy that is still polite, gentlemanly toward his enemies and who is tolerated as an inevitable necessity, if still an enemy. Mephistopheles is alternatively another name for Satan or his second in command. In either case, a truly sinister sort of enemy. Whew. So, with that out of the way, all that's left it to pester you to review. You know you wanna.