Journey Maker: Wow, you are really digging this story. Cool! I think the other people are too, but I find your reviews very expressive and very motivating. Yeah, the alerts for everything was down for a while, it was quite annoying to be honest. I kind of had the urge to PM everyone about it, but decided against it. But anywho, thanks for the review and enjoy the chapter!
AmePiper: I completely understand. It's really okay, I now how those sort of things go. I just hope things are going better for you now, or will get better for you soon, cause I hate to hear that life is getting you down. Although we cannot deny that life can be that way sometimes. I'm really glad you liked the chapter, I really did too. I thought it was very cute and funny all the same. But the fact that you thought so too made it even more worth the while. I hope this chapter brings some light onto your day, as your reviews do mine. Thanks for the incredibly lifting review and enjoy the chapter!
Rena Redhead: Don't think you're off the hook for not writing a review for the last chapter. Hahaha, I'm kidding. You got the other two, which is still good. Oh, you mean you just found out they're sacrafices? Oh, I totally thought you knew. Hahaha, my bad. And yep, Pegasus is in this too. This story has to have the most bad guys I've ever had in one story. It's kind of amazing. Yeah, I wanted to bring up the old Seto just because it would be perfect for the situation, and because, well, he was a bit of a jerk in his younger years(and when I say younger years, I mean the age he actually is in the show) Well, I can't wait for you to read the chapter, so I suppose I'll end it here by saying thanks for the review and enjoy the chapter!
Chapter 12: Everyone Has An Explanation
Seto felt like he was floating. It was a wonderful feeling; the idea of floating wasn't one that often came to Seto, considering he was the kind of person to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders. And then there were voices, they sounded oh so sweet and friendly.
"Seto…" one voice echoed from the distance. Should Seto go towards it? The voice sounded kind enough. But he rather liked floating; it was a nice feeling.
"Oh God… is he dead…?" Another voice echoed. Seto frowned; he didn't like that voice. It was high pitched, annoying, and friendship-y. God, he hated Tea. Where was she?
"Maybe we should… call a doctor…" A new voice, this voice also sounded annoying, a voice that belonged to some kind of shrimp. One who had stolen his title out of the blue for no logical reason. Seto hated Yugi too. He didn't know where Yugi was either. Than again, Seto didn't even know where he even was. Was floating normal?
"Seto…" This voice was not as familiar as the others, but at the same time… beautiful. "Seto Kaiba… please… you must awaken." It sounded so sweet, possibly even angelic. Seto didn't know who it was or what it wanted, but all he knew was he wanted to be near that voice.
Seto's eyes fluttered open and… there she was standing right in front of him. She smiled, "Oh good… he's awake. I was beginning to fear that something might have happened within that… 'virtual world' of yours, and his mind had been lost." That voice, it had returned to him. And it belonged to this woman; with long angelic hair and bright, deep blue eyes. "Seto Kaiba?"
"…Y… Yes?" Seto asked awkwardly, unsure what to say. He had never been so nervous in all his life; no woman had ever captivated him like she had in only an instant.
"You're… um… staring at me." Seto shook his head.
"Oh, I'm terribly sorry." Seto attempted to push himself up and out of the virtual pod his body had been lying down in, but found his arms had become incredibly weak and unable to lift his own body. What was wrong with him? Mokuba came up from beside him and pulled his body upright.
"There you go, Nii-sama. Are you okay?" Seto nodded, glancing back at the woman.
"I know you… from somewhere. Am I… mistaken?" Seto asked; embarrassed that he couldn't remember from where he had seen this enchanting woman. How could he have forgotten such a… beautiful face?
"Oh, yes… well, we met once in an alleyway, in Egypt." Seto blinked.
"You're… Kisara." Kisara nodded.
"And you are Seto Kaiba." Seto regained his strength once more and pushed himself out of the virtual reality pod.
"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in Egypt?" Seto looked around and spotted another fellow at the controls, "Devlin is here too?" Duke looked up from the controls and gave him a wave before walking back over to where everyone was standing.
"Don't forget me!" An elderly voice called out from behind him. Seto twisted around to find none other than Solomon Motou, otherwise known as Yugi's Grandpa. Seto pointed towards him.
"You mean you're not dead yet?" Grandpa slapped his finger down.
"How dare you talk to me like that! Didn't anyone teach you manners, rich boy?" Seto tried to cough down a chuckle.
"I'm sorry, it's hard to take you seriously when you're half my size." Grandpa stomped his feet before crossing his arms and looking away. He muttered something under his breath, but Seto didn't hear it. Seto observed that Yugi, Tea, and Mokuba were also surrounding him. "So… anyone care to explain what's going on here?" Kisara and Duke looked at one another.
"Where shall we begin?" Kisara asked.
"And who should go first?" Duke added.
"And when do I get to tell my story??" Grandpa said, popping out of nowhere once more in the middle of the circle that had formed around Seto. Seto rolled his eyes; this was going to be annoying.
Kisara stepped forward, and Seto's attention instantly went to her. "I suppose I will be the one to go first, if that's alright." She twirled strands of her hair with her index finger, looking mainly at the ground as she spoke. "My son… he was… he was taken by Dartz, kind of."
"Kind of?" Kisara winced.
"My… Seth… he… Seth made a deal with Dartz; he traded my son for power and now Egypt is being destroyed by civil war." Seto wanted to add in one of his witty comments about why he should even care about what was happening to Egypt, but when she spoke of Egypt, she made him care about it, in a way.
"So now I'm on a mission to find my son and bring him back. I feel as though if Seth saw his son… at least just once, it would make the evil that has taken over his heart go away and remind him of who he was. But I know I can't find my son on my own… that's why I need your help, Seto Kaiba. I know Dartz has stolen from you what he has taken from me, and I feel as though these happenings are related in some way. I think it might have to do with the fact that Seth is the ancient Egyptian reincarnation of you and my son is the ancient Egyptian reincarnation of Steven."
Seto was silent for a moment, taking all the information in and thinking it over. A lot of it didn't make sense to him, but at the same time it did. But… how did his son get mixed up in all this ancient Egyptian stuff? The last thing Seto would've wanted to explain to him was the strange ancient Egyptian flashbacks that had always seemed to follow him all his life.
"So… Dartz has both our sons?" Seto said, knowing that was the only thing he knew for sure since everything else was confusing him. Kisara nodded.
"If you're from ancient Egypt… how did you get here?" Yugi asked, popping into the conversation.
"A wise man by the name of Shadi helped me get to your time. You know of him, do you not?" Yugi and Tea looked at each other.
"Yeah… we know him. Haven't seen him for a while, but we know him," Tea said with a sigh. Seto glanced at Duke, who was still fiddling with some tools in his hand. "And what about you, pretty boy? I'm assuming you're the reason the virtual world back fired on those lunatics?" Duke looked up and hid the tools behind his back.
"Hehe, yeah… that was me."
"So what's your story? And when did it involve Kisara?"
"Oh, well… it started a couple weeks ago when Pegasus was taking more and more frequent vacations and was out of the office a lot. Being his right hand man, I suppose I sort of came across things I wasn't suppose to see…" Seto held up his hand.
"Wait, wait, wait. Hold on a second, are you telling me Pegasus is in on this too?" Duke nodded his head. Seto grabbed Duke by the collar and lifted him off the ground, "And are you also saying that my son could be in the hands of the cartoon-loving mad man?!" Duke gulped and slowly nodded once more. Seto gritted his teeth before throwing Duke to the ground, "…These people… they don't know when to quit do they. So why are you here, Duke? Have you come to help your precious boss succeed at making my life miserable?"
"No, not at all. In fact, I'm here to help you. You see, I became to get a little suspicious of Pegasus and his behavior so I did some snooping. I found out that he's working for Dartz as a henchman and an advisor, since he knows so much about ancient Egypt."
"But why… doesn't he have a reason for helping Dartz?"
"I'm not completely sure as to why he's doing it, but I have a feeling that he's helping him in exchange for the resurrection of his dead wife." Seto clenched his fist.
"That no good bastard… doesn't he know what's dead is dead, that it can't be brought back to life?" Seto shook his head in frustration and stepped out of the circle. "I can't believe this… I can't believe any of this! You'd think these people had something better to do than to pick on small children!"
"Why have they kidnapped Steven and Shu anyway?" Tea asked, "I mean… what use are they to them?"
"Apparently there's some sort of prophecy… Dartz wants to summon the great Leviathan once again and purify the world of all its evil by killing off who he considers 'bad people'." Tea slapped her forehead.
"This guy is starting to sound more and more like Hitler."
"And what of our sons?" Kisara asked, looking down at the ground, "What does he plan to do to them?"
"I'm not sure… I know that they have to be used in order to complete prophecy and activate the process needed to summon the Leviathan but I'm not sure how… all I know is they need both their bodies and souls to do it. Which most likely translates to; they're going to kill Steven and Shu."
"Oh my…" Kisara covered her mouth with her hands, tears formed at the edges of her eyes. Her baby boy, her sweet son was going to be killed at the hands of Dartz. What if it was already too late? What if Dartz had already murder them both? Kisara shut her eyes; she couldn't even imagine it. Why would anyone d such a thing to an innocent child?
There was a dreadful silence. The idea of two little boys being killed didn't rest well in anyone's stomach. Yugi stared down at his feet, there had to be some way of saving them. Yugi wished Atem were still with them, he'd have some sort of idea of defeating Dartz.
"Well, there's no use just standing here and thinking about it. We better get moving before Dartz does something even worse-"
"Hold on now, don't I get to say my story??" All the attention fell on Grandpa.
"Oh yeah, that does remind me; what exactly ARE you doing here Grandpa?" Grandpa held up his head with pride as he waved his index finger in the air.
"Well, it all began when I ran into one of my old girlfriends back in the central part of Tokyo, you know, the very touristy part."
"Girlfriend?" Yugi's eye twitched.
"Yep," Grandpa said happily, "She was just getting off a tour bus when I had run into her. Well, we had started talking when she told me this bizarre story about you, Kaiba." Seto raised one eyebrow.
"Me?"
"Yep, seems as though you and her had spent some time together for part of the tour ride to Tokyo. Does the name Arisu ring any kind of bell?" Mokuba nearly fell over at the sound of her name.
"Not that woman! You dated Arisu!? The CHILD MOLESTOR??" Everyone was staring at Mokuba like he was crazy. "Hehehe… I mean, yeah, her name does kinda ring a bell…" Mokuba tried to say in a casual voice, trying to look normal.
"Yeah… so anyway," Grandpa turned back towards the rest of the group, "So she ended up telling me all about Kaiba and his little adventure, and then also about Isono's murder and how Daiana had helped you guys escaped from the police when they had tracked down the tour bus!"
"When I had found out about it, I tried calling Yugi since I knew you three were heading to Tokyo anyway and that he would be able to keep you guys from going to jail, but when I did finally reach the station, they said you four had gone missing looking for that kid of yours! So I went on a little search of my own, but came up with nothing. Luckily I managed to run into Duke along the way, who happened to be on a similar mission and that's how I ended up here." Grandpa crossed his arms and nodded, knowing his mission had been fulfilled.
"…Okay, so now that everything else was explained, why don't we get going and try finding Steven and Shu? Yeah know… before they get killed?" Mokuba stated.
"But we don't even know where to start…" Tea said sadly.
"And that's where I come in!" Duke said, jumping back into the conversation, "You see, as I was doing my various snooping, I came across the location of where Dartz and his little league of goons are keeping Steven and Shu. We'll find them in no time!"
"What are we waiting for? Let's go save Steven and Shu!" Tea and Yugi nodded and headed out of the room, with Duke and Grandpa following them. Mokuba, Seto, and Kisara remained. Seto was leaning against the wall using his arm, his head hidden within his sleeve. Kisara walked over to his side and placed her hand on his shoulder.
"It'll be okay Seto… we'll find our boys. I would never let anyone hurt my child, and something tells me you wouldn't either. Let us use that to fuel the energy we'll need to face off against Dartz and save Steven and Shu." Kisara gave Seto a small squeeze of comfort before leaving the room just as the others had. Seto straightened himself up and sighed.
"She's right…" Seto looked over at Mokuba, "We better go." He turned his back and started heading towards the exit himself. Mokuba stood completely still, Noah's words were still echoing through his mind as he watched his brother walk on ahead of him. There were so many things he wanted to say; so many things he felt he needed to ask Seto, just to make sure Noah had been lying about how Seto really felt. That it wasn't true what he had said about Mokuba being nothing more than a mere side kick, that Steven had taken his place.
Seto felt a tug on his trench coat from behind him and stopped. Seto turned his head and looked down at Mokuba, confused. "Mokuba? What is it?" He asked. Mokuba looked away from his face, unsure what to say or how to say the things he wanted to say.
"Um…" he said quietly, "I just… needed to know… that…" Mokuba looked up into his brother's face. Seto's younger self appeared before his eyes, smiling down on him happily.
"I'll always be there for you…" his tiny, seven-year-old voice echoed. The vision went away and he was staring back at his twenty-five year old brother once more. His brother was still confused and waiting for Mokuba to answer his question. Mokuba wrapped his arms around Seto's waist and hugged him. Seto, surprised and slightly confused, put his arms around Mokuba anyway.
"Nii-sama, I just needed you to know that I love you and always will… I know people always try to tear us apart, but I want you to know that will never happen. No matter what people say, I'll always love you." Seto smiled, and let his face sink into Mokuba's hair. The brothers stood in each other's arms for a moment.
"Mokuba… I don't understand where this is coming from. Did something happen? Should I be worried?" Mokuba shook his head.
"No Nii-sama… the only thing we have to worry about is how we're going to save Steven." Mokuba and Seto broke away from their hug and shook hands. Tea appeared in the doorway.
"Hey, are you guys coming or what?"
"Coming!" Mokuba called, running towards her with Seto following from behind. Together nothing could stop them from saving Steven.
Pegasus, Kimo, Alister, Rafael, and Valon were all standing around in the summoning room. All around them were tiles, each with a picture of a different person in each tile. The people in the pictures could date back from years and years before the current time, Dartz had been collecting souls and jumping time periods for long time. No one was sure how long, but it was long.
The silence was becoming awkward; Valon didn't enjoy awkward moments. He glanced over at Pegasus. Pegasus looked like a strange guy; as if the red outfit wasn't enough, he had that odd haircut as well. Not to mention the missing eye. Although Valon couldn't complain much, considering the outfits they wore.
"So…" Valon started, "Is your girlfriend hot?" Pegasus looked disgusted by his question.
"Excuse me?"
"Your girlfriend… the one you're trying to save. Is she hot or what?" Pegasus rolled his eye.
"For you information, she's my wife. And yes… I suppose she is quite… 'hot'" Valon raised one eyebrow, looking him from head to toe. Pegasus noticed him and stared back. "What? What are you looking at?" Valon's eyes went back up to Pegasus's face.
"You sure you have a wife? Cause you kinda seem like you flow-"
"Kimo." Kimo stepped forward and slammed his fist into his other hand. Valon looked up into Kimo's threatening face.
"Okay… okay… never mind. My mistake…" Valon said, putting up his hands in surrender, "Just a thought, sorry I even said anything." Pegasus crossed his arms and held up his nose. Just then Dartz walked in and Pegasus immediately walked over to his side.
"Dartz! There you are…" Dartz looked at him.
"Yes?"
"Are those three really your goons? Don't you want henchmen that are… you know, a little older? Possibly a little less idiotic?"
"Hey!" Valon said defensively. Pegasus ignored him.
"I assure you Pegasus, my henchmen do what is asked of them when it comes down to it. It is none of your concern anyway." Pegasus shrugged.
"I suppose that is true… but I also did have one last question for you." Dartz stopped walking and sighed. He turned to face Pegasus.
"What? What is it?" Dartz asked, annoyed.
"Well, I was wondering what ever came out of Kaiba-boy's father… oh yes, and that snobby little kid of his too; the one with the green hair. Have they… you know, finished them?"
"Finished who?"
"Yugi and his little friends! Kaiba and that brother of his! Well? Are they dead? Didn't you assign Gozaburo and that brat of his to kill them??"
"Oh yes, I did."
"So… they are dead?"
"Probably not." Dartz continued is walk. Pegasus sped off after him.
"Wait, what do you mean by that?" Dartz growled with annoyance.
"Don't you get it? A morn like Gozaburo Kaiba isn't enough to kill Seto Kaiba or any of his friends."
"Then why did you assign him to do it then?"
"Because I needed something stall the Kaibas from finding this place. I knew Gozaburo and Noah wouldn't be enough to stop them, but I did know they would be stupid enough to take up the challenge. You know, given the past experiences they've had with the brothers…"
"Does…" Pegasus looked around the room, "That mean they're on their way?" Dartz nodded.
"I haven't heard back from Gozaburo or his son in a while, which leads me to believe Kaiba found a way to shut down the virtual reality system they had Kaiba and everyone else trapped in already. Knowing him, he's probably flying on one of his expensive jets right now to come and face me…"
"W-What are we going to do?! He's going to be here any minute and all you're doing is…"
"There is no need to worry, I have what I need," Dart turned towards Alister, Valon, and Rafael, "Bring out the boys. The summoning is about to begin."
"Steven…?" Shu whispered with a frown on his face, "Steven, are you okay? You haven't said a word to me in a really long time…" Steven glared at him, tightening the hold he had around his knees with his arms.
"What do you think? My father abandoned me." Shu shook his head.
"That's not true, Steven. Dartz is just trying to break you down. You can't believe what he says." Steven unraveled his crouching position and pushing out his legs.
"How can you even say that when you're dad did the same thing?!"
"I don't know… I just… I have a feeling, you know?" Alister opened the dungeon door.
"It's time." Shu looked over at Steven, hoping he had some sort of plan. Instead, Steven willing got up and held out his arms. Alister took each of his arms into his hands and twisted them behind his back.
"Steven… what are you doing?" Rafael came out from behind Alister and walked over to where Shu was sitting.
"Why don't you make this easier for all of us and follow your friend's example?" Shu moved back, trying to figure a way that he could run past both Alister and Rafael and get away. Steven glared at him.
"Just give yourself up, Shu. It's no use." Rafael grabbed Shu and restrained him before he could try to sneak away. Shu's attention was on Steven though. Why was he acting like this? Didn't he want to get away? Didn't he want to live?
"There's no point in running anymore… you can't run from the truth, or from destiny," Steven said sadly. It was all over for them. Or maybe it was just the beginning. Maybe this is what they were meant to do all along. Maybe they were wrong about everything.
Shu said nothing more to Steven as they were shoved into the ritual room. Steven had lost all hope, and that was something Shu couldn't give back to him. He had lost all faith in himself and his father. Now they were done for.
Rafael and Alister shoved the two boys over to Dartz. Pegasus was anxiously looking at Dartz, "There they are. Now hurry up and summon this Leviathan before those brats get here." Dartz chuckled.
"Oh Pegasus, there's no need to worry." Steven looked up at Dartz.
"I suppose in a perfect world, those so called 'brats' would be the only thing you would have to worry about," A voice said from afar as it stepped out of the shadows. Everyone was shocked, but mostly annoyed to see Bakura standing opposite from them. "Happy to see me?" Dartz rolled his eyes.
"And for what reason have you decided to grace us with your presence, Bakura?" Dartz said sarcastically. Bakura crossed his arms and starting walking towards them.
"I suppose you could say the usual. I told you before, Dartz, I have plans of my own to take over the world. I knew this whole 'working together' arrangement would never work for me, so I decided to take matters into my own hands," Bakura eyed both Shu and Steven, "Although I was hoping that Shu and Steven would've run a little faster after I had let them out, but no matter. I was planning on re-appearing anyway, I would never dream of letting you take the world for yourself."
"Hmm... I see. Well, that is an interesting story. So how do you plan to stop me?"
"By taking back what is not yours!" A new voice echoed in the distance. The attention was turned once more to the seven new people that had entered the room. Yugi was standing in an hero stance in the front row of the crowd, "Dartz, you are under arrest for kidnapping, attempted murder, homicide, home invasion, assault, and attempted world take-over!" Dartz and Bakura looked at one another and laughed.
"Well look here, the little police man with the odd haircut thinks the law is powerful enough to stop us," Bakura said in a laugh, "Nice try, kid, but the law was never something to obey to begin with."
"When I'm through with you, you're going to wish the law was invovled," Seto stated, moving himself to the front of the crowd, his eyes focused on one man only, "Dartz, you will pay for what you have done to my son. If you hand him over now, I may not kill you as slowly as I plan to." Yugi nearly fell over.
"Kaiba! That's murder!"
"No Yugi, that's payback."
A/N: Hello reviewers and readers alike! I suppose ou're looking for an explaination as to why I haven't updated in forever. Well, as annoying as it sounds, I got my new compter chord and that broke as well within 3 days. I know, annoying. But fear not, for I have learned the ways of the flash drive and therefore plan to use it to continue my work as scheduled!(the last hardware I used to transfer documents was floppy disks, so you can see why this was a big deal for me.) Anyways, I'm terribly sorry for the wait, and I really hope I can get the next chapter to you WAYYYY sooner than this chapter ended up coming out. Thanks for all your wonderful reviews and don't stop believing!
P.S: I hope the ending wasn't too odd, I wasn't sure where the cut off should be. Oh yeah, and this was all mainly dialogue. I'm sorry for that too, but I promise the next chapter will have a lot more going on. I just needed one chapter with all the explanations. Hope you enjoyed the chapter anyway!