A Monopoly Of Blue Eyes

by FeistyFox

He had refused to believe in his past, refused to be sucked into the fairytale that had been hurled at him again and again. But it appeared that his past had found him whether he wanted it or not. She was here… sitting right here in his class, this ghost from the ancient past, looking exactly as he remembered, exactly how she did in his dreams and the visions he had been shown.

21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21: Preferred Partner

They were hanging out in the large, lavishly furnished conference room at Kaiba Land that overlooked the theme park as Seto prepared for his duel. She left him alone as he sorted through his cards, making last minute adjustments, although Mokuba was hovering at his shoulder watching intently. She was captivated by the view however, and it had taken up all her attention. While the amusement park was interesting to look at on it's own she was currently amazed by the number of people amassing in it, which easily numbered in the thousands. From her vantage point a dozen floors up she could see the main causeway running from the entrance to the showcase arena. This conference room, Seto's favorite at this site she believed, was nestled between the two locations. And despite its central location it hadn't been made to appear overly noticeable. Really, unless you'd been here before you would think it was simply another floor of one of the managerial facilities that were scattered about.

As she stood in front of the large window a worker pushed a cart inside the room quietly. She glanced over and smiled at the man and he nodded at her as he began to set food out on a nearby table for the three of them to eat. Excited for a snack, as she hadn't eaten since late morning and it was now nearly seven, she left the worker alone to finish and pressed closer still to the window pane. "I'm glad I invested in bullet proof glass." Seto commented. "Normal glass wouldn't hold up against your pushing."

She was unmoved by his comment, not budging as she took in the festive, chaotic atmosphere below them. "This is nuts." She told him, really shocked that even more people were somehow funneling inside. "Are these events always so crowded?"

"Only the ones I'm at." Seto replied as he replaced one card in his main deck with another.

She shook her head at his egocentric reply, but let it go with the ease born of practice. There really was no changing him. "I'm not sure all these people are going to fit into the arena."

Seto hummed without worry as he continued to move his cards and Mokuba left his side, walking over to her. She noted that he was taller all at once, nearly as tall as her now, and was almost positive he hadn't been only a few days ago. She hadn't seen anyone grow five inches so fast before. No wonder he had been eating his way through the kitchen for the last few weeks, or why he had been complaining nearly continuously about starving to death. "Anyone that doesn't can watch from the big screens." He told her congenially, and she knew those were scattered all over the park. "I worked the whole thing out with the facility coordinator."

"Wow." She said quietly, truly impressed. Really, Mokuba was going to be a great vice president. "You have some mad organizational skills."

"I guess." Mokuba replied as he looked out over the throng of people. "Mostly it's just crowd control, and the way the park is designed helps out all by itself. All we really needed was some extra staff to keep things moving the way we want."

"I never realized how many people were into this." She informed him. "I mean, I knew on a logical level, but I never envisioned what a large portion of them would look like all mashed up in one place."

"Trust me, if we had an arena twice this size we would have filled it." Mokuba told her. "The tickets were sold out in less than five minutes once they went on sale. Seto is hugely popular in dueling circles and he hasn't played in so long people went wild. If you thought the display at Industrial Illusions went over well wait until this starts. The rumors about the new duel disk have been causing a ton of excitement, and the videos that leaked out on the web didn't really do it justice. This is going to be broadcast strait off Kaiba Corps main web page, not to mention on multiple syndicated television stations. The whole world is going to want one of these."

"That was the point of the thing." She agreed as she tore herself from the view to get some food, fully delighted by the small buffet that had been laid out for them. It was far too much for only three people, but for once she didn't fault the extravagance. "Are you excited?" She asked, directing the question at Seto.

"In a way." Seto replied. "The competition could be markedly better."

"Oh, come on." She wheedled, knowing that he was being stubborn about it just because it wasn't Yugi. At least she finally worked out why they hated one another so much. Seto did hate to lose more than anyone she had ever met and she had managed to get Mokuba to tell her who had beat him to rank him second in the world rather than first. Really, a lot of things made sense now, although she thought he really took it too far. "All dueling is fun dueling."

"No, it's really not." Seto informed her as she poured him a cup of coffee, knowing he would fully ignore everything half lost in his head the way he was.

Stepping over to him she set his coffee down and sent him an amused look. "It is to fun people." She informed him. "You un-fun person you."

"I'm very fun." He corrected seriously.

"Uhhh." Mokuba said with a rice ball halfway to his mouth as he stood next to the table full of food. She snickered and Seto sent them both that look he had, which she always found to be an incentive to harass him more rather than less as he intended.

"Drink your coffee before you glare us both to death." She suggested cheekily as she slid into a seat next to him, being sure to maintain a normal personal distance since they weren't alone. To say it had been a struggle to act like nothing was going on would be an understatement. After they got back from San Francisco she would be lying if she said he hadn't had her in an all out tizzy. When she woke up alone on the plane she had no idea what to think. Seto had barely even looked at her, and for a few moments she had been convinced that he had never kissed her and the whole thing had been some sort of vivid dream. But she could still smell him all over her from where she had laid on him, and could taste him on her lips, and knew it hadn't been.

They had dropped her off at home a few hours later and he had muttered a goodbye to her, looking out the window and barely acknowledging she had left. On edge and confused she figured he might simply be unsure of what to do. He'd had a hard enough time simply allowing her to be his friend, so maybe that was the trouble. Figuring she could at least give him some ideas she had tried to coax him out of his shell only to be shot down every time. It hardly helped that he wasn't acting at all like himself, and unused to anxiety rolling off him in palpable waves had set her teeth on edge. What was worse was she knew she was the reason for it, and she hated that more than she could say.

So when he told her he didn't want to have dinner after a week of opportunities to ask himself, and two other tries of her own she hadn't pushed the issue, sure he decided he wasn't interested and he had just flipped out or something when Pegasus snatched her and had reacted in a way he hadn't really intended to. Something inside her, the little ball of hope she had to nurture so hard to keep on even the best of days had been snuffed out. She had gone home feeling completely defeated and rejected by the one person she had finally convinced herself cared about her, and crawled into her bed, kicking her shoes off the edge and hiding her head under her pillow. As she wallowed in her very keenly felt misery, telling herself over and over that she had known better and he wasn't responsible for her or her feelings, someone had knocked on her door. Pulling the pillow off she had raised her head up as another knock sounded.

Forcing herself up she answered it and the manager of the apartment complex gave her a friendly smile as she handed her a pink box as wide as a large dinner plate and ten times as thick and told her it had been delivered to the front desk to her. Thanking the other woman she had taken the box and set it on her table, wondering what it was or why anyone had sent her something. For a moment she had been worried that Pegasus wasn't done with her, and had sent her something on top of the had been another issue she had wanted to bring up with Seto, as she had no idea what to do with the paperwork that had been placed under her door the day they got back while she was sleeping, but Seto had been so off putting she was terrified to say anything for fear he would kick her out on her ear at last.

So to say she was apprehensive when she opened the box would be putting it mildly. But instead of some sort of trick, blackmailing paraphernalia, or god knew what else from Pegasus, who she was now sure had her address, she instead found a prettily made package of chocolate covered fruit. She had blinked down at it, not really understanding, and spotted a small card tucked in the corner. Setting the top aside she opened it and found a very short message that simply said it was from Seto. Stunned, she had turned the card over to be sure there was nothing else on it and then stared down at the treat. It took her several seconds to realize what this was, and slowly she felt her near desolation retreating completely. Delight quickly replaced it and a giggle escaped her at the happy, bubbly feeling. Understanding this was his way of either apologizing or trying to tempt her to him, or both, she had eaten several of the strawberries before tucking the rest of it in her fridge for later.

The next day she had gone up to his office after she got a text from Mokuba about the duel, figuring it would be a good time to test the waters again. She had seen him watching her reaction closely, analyzing her, and was fully convinced she hadn't misunderstood the candy. Buoyed, she had begun flirting with him again and he had finally responded. She had felt a hundred percent better until he invited her over and she remember her appointment. She had to practically lie about why she couldn't be there right after work, even if saying she had an appointment wasn't technically a lie at all. Still, the whole thing had the nasty taste of dishonesty about it and she didn't have much interest in keeping secrets from him, especially something of this magnitude, but… she supposed it could at least wait a few hours until the whole thing was finalized.

After two days of fretting over the stocks and what they were worth she had finally contacted a lawyer to discuss it. Afraid to go into any details on the phone she had simply been placed with a young, and she suspected very new lawyer at the small firm that specialized in business transactions she had contacted, with the secretary who made her the appointment no doubt thinking she had only a small amount of stock that needed to be taken care of. When she had finally shown the man the paperwork, after being assured multiple times that this would be a confidential meeting, with him clearly wondering why she was so insistent about that, he had reached over to his phone and called the owner of the firm back into the office, with a look of excited apprehension. After two hours of financial talk that made her head want to explode, and a call to the head of the Industrial Illusions law team to confirm the legitimacy of the paperwork, she was even more panicked than she had been when she had stepped on the envelope on her way to the kitchen and discovered Pegasus had been completely serious about giving her ten percent of Kaiba Corp.

It turned out that while the stocks themselves were worth even more than she had estimated, Kaiba Corp was one of those companies that paid dividends, something she had never even considered. Her initial plan had been to simply keep control of the stocks, tell Seto about them, assure him she would do whatever he wanted her to do with them, and be done with it. Instead she was now faced with the very real issue of being paid by the corporation for simply owning the stocks every quarter, which was rapidly approaching. To put it bluntly in two weeks she was going to be in possession of literally millions of dollars as soon as that happened simply because the stock was in her name, and every quarter after that the same thing would happen.

Her new lawyer, who was the head of the firm she contacted, having shoved his young employee off to the side, was likely the only reason she hadn't had a panic attack in that moment. He has assured her quickly, seeing her stricken look, that he would take care of contacting a bank that would be able to manage that amount of cash flow for her the next day and meet her at said bank for her to sign all the paperwork he would have ready for her. He also promised he would find her a reliable financial consultant she could depend on to help her. It had occurred to her while she sat there, trying to wrap her head around the enormity of it, that she was now this man's most valuable client by a long run. The only reason she had picked this firm, which really was small by any standard, was because one of the attorneys on Seto's law team she worked with and liked had mentioned that he had started his career there and that the owner had been one of the best and most honorable people he had ever met. At the time she hadn't thought that information might well keep her sane, but was now very grateful indeed for that small tidbit of gossip. Not that any of that helped her when she was trying to work out what to tell Seto, but at least now she had a vague idea of what she should be doing to manage it.

So when she had finally managed to to get to the mansion, well over forty minutes late when she was never late for anything, she was fairly surprised Seto hadn't asked her why. She had been banking on him asking as a transition into the whole conversation. Instead he had shrugged it off so he could spend time with her. That completely sweet reaction had decimated her segue, and when she had tried to bring it up later he had utterly derailed her with a second mind boggling kiss. After that there was really no returning to the subject that evening, or apparently any of the other five she had spent with him in the last week. Anytime they were left alone she had found herself in his lap, pressed between him and the nearest wall, or nestled under him on whatever piece of furniture happened to be in the room they had fumbled their way into. Talking hadn't exactly been high on either of their priority lists and the longer she went without telling him the harder it seemed to be to mention it at all.

"I don't want coffee." He told her, bringing her back to the present, and out of her very fond recollection of making out on her couch last night, which had her clenching her legs against one another under the table. "I don't need to be jittery before this match."

Shrugging, she took the coffee for herself. It had been months since she'd had a cup and it smelled wonderful. Generally she stuck to tea, mostly because coffee was so expensive here, but if he wasn't going to drink it she was. "This right here?" She said, indicating the caffeine. "This is why you're un-fun. You can't even live it up with caffeine, especially when you know the staff only make this for you. You're the only one that drinks it and it's ridiculously expensive in this country. You're just being wasteful."

"Are you done?" He asked, fully tolerating her good natured harassment as he looked at a card critically. "I'm only trying to completely crush one of the highest ranked duelists in the world. It's not as if I have other things to worry about."

After three days Bandit Keith had accepted Kaiba's challenge as he had predicted. She had wondered why, when he was so clearly at a disadvantage, and Mokuba had explained to her that no one actually expected to beat Seto. Being offered a duel by him was as good as being ranked, as he had ignored numerous duelists himself, even when publicly challenged, no doubt finding the offers beneath him. Even if Keith lost this duel he would be back on the map so to speak, as long as he put on a good show. In all likelihood it would automatically give him admission into several high ranked tournaments around the world and open up the door to new sponsors, which was what most duelists lived off of. "Oh please. We all know you'll win." She told him without concern as she began to sip at the coffee. Her body jolted at the taste. She hadn't had coffee in well over a year and she'd forgotten how strong it was. Even so, she was surprised by how strong he had it brewed.

"But I want to crush him, not just win."

"You're a gentle man." She deadpanned. His lips curled up at the corners and she winked at him flirtatiously, unable to help herself. Actually, she had been surprised by how gentle and considerate he had been with her, having not expected that at all. Not that she had expected him to hurt her in any way, but if she had guessed, not that she had any former experience in the matter, tenderness would not have been the first word she would associate with any sort of physical interaction with him. However, there was really no other way to describe any of the encounters they'd had but with that particular word. While he had certainly been all over her, not that she hadn't been all over him, he had pushed at none of her boundaries. The third evening they had spent together he had slid his hand up under her shirt and over her ribs, which had her freezing as she had no idea how to react to that. As soon as she stopped kissing him, blushing badly and unable to meet his eyes he had removed his hand, placing it firmly back over her shirt. He had made no attempt to get under any of her clothes since then, and despite her lust she had been grateful. It was more than nice that he was letting her get comfortable and it had her relaxing, knowing he wasn't going to push. Setting the coffee aside she leaned in, her curiosity finally getting the better of her in one particular matter, and she supposed she should be trying to think of something else before she started blushing and having anyone ask why. "Will you show me this dragon everyone keeps talking about?"

Reaching into the middle of the deck without having to look he removed one of his blue eyes white dragons. He held it out to her and she took it carefully, wary of this whole thing but trying to hide it. She had been thrown badly when he told her the name of his favorite card, her mind jumping back to the story Ishizu had told her so many months ago about the priest and his white dragon maiden. But whatever she had been expecting, fear, recognition, more lights, or even those odd shadows trying to get her again nothing happened. Nothing at all happened, and she relaxed, berating herself for being so gullible. Studying the card she thought it was rather brutally beautiful. Really, she had never been overly fond of duel monsters, had only started playing because Mokuba had wanted her to, but there were some cards she liked the feel of. This one certainly topped her list and she understood why Seto must like it so much. Of all the dragon cards she had seen this was not only the most powerful, it was also the flashiest. It certainly suited his personality. It would be neat to see how this reacted to his new program. "Well?" He asked.

"It's pretty, in a fearsome sort of way." She told him, handing the card back to him.

"Pretty?" He asked in horror, as if she had somehow sullied its very essence.

She shrugged. "Well she is."

"It's not a girl." Mokuba told her from the other table as he piled food onto a plate.

"Please, it's totally a girl." She replied, wondering why she thought that at all, or why she was even talking about it. "Look at those curves."

"It's clear you're mad." Seto baited, taking the card back and tucking it away. "I can't believe I employ you."

"I can't believe you trust me with your brother." She replied cheerfully as she went back to the treat that was coffee. "And really, I think that makes you the real crazy at this table."

Mokuba came over and handed her a small crepe. "Now children, let's not argue."

"Since you're bribing me with food." She agreed happily.

"You'd do about anything for food." Mokuba said as he flopped down beside her with his own meal. "So what's your strategy, nii-san?"

He began to tell Mokuba what he was going to do and she half listened as she had her snack, getting up and filling a plate with more than just a pastry. She was perfectly content to let them talk and wait for the match to start. She was excited to watch him in action, and even more excited for dinner afterwards, having been looking forward to their first real date since he suggested a time. And despite her playful threats she wasn't in her jeans. Knowing she was likely going to be on television, if only for a few moments as they panned over the crowd, she had instead opted for a trendy blouse and a pair of shorts that were made of a high quality material. She figured it would be fine for wherever they went after, and if they ended up walking she was in a pair of pretty flats that wouldn't rub blisters on her feet. She could tell he liked the outfit, and her hair, which she had in an intricate braid that curved over one of her shoulders, when she had met them here an hour ago.

Half an hour later and she was full enough to get her to a late meal with him and was looking through a few of the cards he had set to the side that he wouldn't be using in this match. As she set one down there was a knock on the door and Roland stepped in. "Everything is ready, Mr. Kaiba."

"Fine." He said distractedly, making one more change before standing up and putting his deck in his trench coat pocket. "Let's go."

Going after all of them she was intrigued when they were taken the back way through the park, one that was clearly only for staff use, and ended up in the dueling arena. When they got to a hallway that was clearly only for the competitors Mokuba grinned. "Take him down."

She laughed softly, but nodded in agreement. "And you know, have fun too."

"I'll see you both after the match." He told them tolerantly. "Try not to get trampled."

"We'll be fine." Mokuba assured him as he turned and headed toward a nearby staircase, grabbing her wrist to get her to follow him as he went. "Come on, if we wait any longer someone is going to take our seats no matter who we are."

Following after Mokuba she looked over her shoulder and waved at Seto in farewell, sending him a shy sort of smile. His lips curled up, pleased, and she blushed, which had his small smile growing as she was whisked up the stairs. Once he was out of sight she increased her pace, picking up on the excitement that was radiating not only out of Mokuba, but everyone in the whole arena. As they came out into the crowd the noise nearly overwhelmed her and she was fully impressed to see the place was packed to bursting. She had never been at anything like this before and shook her head in wonder. "This way." Mokuba urged, shoving a few people out of the way as they got to two open seats at the base of the arena. They were clearly the best spots in the house and she wasn't at all surprised. Getting to the seats she slipped into one as Mokuba flopped into the other, appearing very eager indeed.

"This is the best place to watch from." He told her. She noted that the four holographic arenas that were usually in this dueling hall had been removed, leaving only the large empty space in the center. Clearly, there would be plenty of room to show off the new holographic AI program. Glancing around she was pleasantly surprised when she saw Mai in the crowd on the other side of the arena almost directly across from them, her blond hair making her stick out even in this crowd. She was sitting beside Joey, who was surveying the arena with interest for all there was nothing there but the floor. Right behind them she saw Yugi peering over Joey's shoulder saying something to him. Tea was to Yugi's left, and Tristan was to his right, looking more interested in the soda he was drinking than the match that was about to start.

As she took them in Mai spotted her too and waved. Smiling back she returned the gesture and Mokuba followed her line of sight, spotting the small group. "How long do you think this will last?" She asked curiously as she lowered her hand.

"It depends on how much Keith prepared." He told her, nodding to Yugi politely when Mai bumped him and made a gesture toward where they were sitting. "But I've seen Seto wipe duelist out in less than five minutes before even when they're playing to eight thousand life points." He told her. "And Maybe Seto will use a blue eyes and you can see how awesome it really is. The card doesn't do it justice."

She smiled at him, really liking to see that, and a wave of vertigo hit her out of nowhere. Reaching out quickly she grabbed the arm of her seat hard. Mokuba grabbed her shoulder and helped her catch her balance as she swayed dangerously. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." She said, regaining her balance all at once, although her stomach was rocking a little. "That was weird. I felt sick for a second."

Mokuba frowned. "Are you sure everything is alright?"

She shook her head a little, but felt alright overall and had no explanation for that. "I'm okay now. I probably just ate too much sugar or something."

Mokuba sent her a disbelieving look, but before he could say anything else the announcements for the match started. The lights dimmed and the crowd went wild before anything could even happen. The noise was deafening and it took most of her willpower not to throw her hands over her ears. A few seconds later and a spotlight came up on the far side of the field from where they were on a tall, sturdy, blond man that had to spend time in the gym. He was also clearly a walking stereotype from his star spangled bandana, to his denim vest, to his overdone motorcycle boots. Despite the hideous outfit he got a resounding welcome from the crowd. "Oh no, seriously." She groaned. "What is he wearing?"

Mokuba sniggered, knowing exactly what she was referring to. "Isn't he majestic?"

"Shut up, you." She replied, irritated by the man she had never even met as the announcer introduced him to the crowd. "That's just… so awful."

Mokuba kept laughing as the spotlight closer to them came on and Seto walked calmly and confidently out of the darkened arena hall. She couldn't fault him for knowing how to make an entrance. Steely eyed with his signature trench coat billowing out around him he was a sight to behold. The crowd was so loud this time her teeth actually began to vibrate and her eyes went wide in amazement at the response. No matter what they had told her she hadn't actually thought he was this popular. As she glanced around at everyone people began to chant the Kaiba family name over and over again, filling the stadium with the intonation. When she turned her attention back to him she saw he had found both herself and Mokuba in the crowd, smirking in smug amusement at her dumbfounded shock at the reception, and marked where they were before bothering to turn his attention to Keith.

The other man noticed that he was more of an afterthought than anything, despite being invited here, and also darted a glance to what Seto was looking at. The other man raised an eyebrow when he saw them, and then huffed, as if everything was beneath his attention. "Jerk." Mokuba muttered under his breath even as he smiled, playing the good brother and she was as sure they were on camera as he was. "Seto's going to wipe the floor with him."

"Good, then we can quit staring at that monstrosity of an outfit. Looking at it hurts my soul."

Mokuba snickered, his anger over the not so subtle snub vanishing. She smiled at him and then leaned forward a little, more than ready for this to start. Seto also appeared ready and as soon as the introductions were done he raised his arm, showing off the new duel disk in spectacular fashion. The crowd cheered again, their excitement rising as Kaiba threw his deck into the machine and the two small holographic projectors on it shot out on either side of him as Keith quickly followed suit. As the card deck rotated down and locked in another wave of vertigo smashed over her, and her stomach heaved.

She almost fell out of her seat and Mokuba managed to grab her and shove her back against the seat. "Sarah?" He hissed, his eyes darting between her and Seto, who was now fully focused on the match.

"I think I'm going to throw up." She mumbled, her stomach rolling.

"Now?" He asked quietly. "The duel is starting!"

"I know. I'm sorry. I'll be right back." She muttered as guilt warred with the bile. Afraid she was going to vomit right over the edge of the arena she pushed his arm aside and got up quickly. Skirting her way out of the aisle, with people sending her irritated glances, she made it to the stairs without toppling over or getting sick. She nearly fell down the last three steps to the underground hallway they had come through and made it ten more feet before she lost control. Bending over double she threw up on the cement ground, her fingernails digging into the wall as she tried to keep herself from falling in the mess as her balance went wild and she began to feel… floaty.

Spitting out the last of the bile that had come up she staggered away, not understanding what had brought that on and feeling very bad indeed about getting sick in a hallway rather than a bathroom, which was only ten more feet away. As she took a deep breath through her nose, trying to settle her stomach and meaning to go rinse out her mouth and return to her seat before she missed anything else, she heard Seto's soft, familiar voice whisper her name. Looking over her shoulder, back at the area they had come here through only minutes before, she frowned in confusion. Where the locked doorway to the staff access area had once been was now an odd, ancient stone doorway. On either side of the carved door were torches which were throwing odd, flickering images at the meticulously detailed carving that dominated the space. In the strangled, inconsistent light she saw that carved into the center of it was Seto's giant white dragon.

She swayed harder, torn between going to the image, which was so intriguing she could hardly stand it, and returning to the match where she knew she should be. The torchlight blazed, putting the carving in sharp relief as something happened on the battlefield above her and people began to cheer, encourage, and taunt the two duelists. As she stood there indecisively, feeling as if she wasn't fully connected to herself she heard him call her name again, a welcoming entreaty from behind the door. Compelled to answer the call she went to it, unable to resist him, and as she stood in front of it blue and gold lights began to spark around the edges and it slowly swung open for her.

Swaying in front of the open doorway she could see nothing but bright white light and raised her hands up to stop herself from being blinded. "Come to me." Seto called, his voice sounding different somehow, more formal. "Love, come to me." Entranced by the call she stepped through the threshold into the light and found herself in a seemingly endless, intricately carved hallway as the glow faded away. From floor to ceiling it was marked with an unending multitude of hieroglyphics, all of them precisely and beautifully carved, looking as if they had been created only yesterday. "Come." Seto called again, his voice sounding more urgent now, and she staggered forward.

As she started walking, her balance became increasingly worse, until she was bouncing off the walls, trying to keep herself up on her feet. "Seto?" She called in agitation, her urgency to find him reaching an odd feverish pitch as her head began to throb. "Seto, where are you?" There was no answer and she let out a small grunt as her shoulder hit the wall again, scraping against the carvings. As she tried to push herself back up, her fingers brushing over an image of a robed magician, the wall shifted, snaking out and wrapping tightly around her hand and wrist. She let out a cry of horror at the feeling of the the stone as it morphed into coarse ropes that dug painfully into her skin. She hurled herself away, slamming into the opposite wall and knocking herself half senseless as the back of her head connected with the stone. Shaking her hand hard she tried to get the rope off as terror of being bound filled her, clawing at her skin hard in an effort to free herself.

Her own fingernails dug into her skin, drawing lines of blood as she managed to get her hands around the rope and hurl it off her, white light flashing as it came loose. The blood stained ropes hit the ground behind her and heaved up, forming into a towering, darkly dressed mage holding a staff topped with a giant green emerald. Unexplainable terror filled her as his cold violet eyes stared down at her. Lifting his staff he banged it on the slabs below him and twisting shadows erupted around it, blossoming into claws, teeth, and rotting hands. Gasping in terror she hurled herself up and ran down the hallway, staggering badly. "Seto!" She screamed as she tripped clumsily forward, turning around a corner that suddenly appeared and seeing another doorway, this one carved with a large, all seeing eye.

Seeing a way out she threw her full body weight at it and tumbled through it as it opened for her. She fell flat out over the ground, rough stone digging into her cheek and scrapping it as she skidded to a halt, her momentum driving her forward. Too afraid to care she raised her head up and found herself in a large, open plaza surrounded by towering columns on an endless sea of sand. The sun blazed down on her, and her head turned sharply toward the door she had come through, only to find that there was nothing there. Completely bewildered she panted as her head spun and her stomach heaved. Her mind was becoming increasingly murky and she felt as if parts of herself were falling away, flowing off her as if her wants and memories were clothes she could slip in and out of. As she forced herself to her feet, barely able to keep herself up, an enraged roar echoed over the area. All at once the air in the center of the large space began to ripple out like water being disturbed in a pond and a large tablet shimmered into existence before her.

Swaying, she looked up at the stone relief, not understanding why this familiar looking beast was staring down at her, but feeling like something was trying to claw it's way through her brain, ripping away the last shreds of herself she was trying to hold onto. Her head was pounding painfully as the wind began to pick up, whispering words at her, although she couldn't understand what was being said. As she stared up at the dragon, feeling like she should understand, the stone shattered into a million pieces with a sharp, ear splitting crack. She cried out, falling down to the stone blocks as the monolith turned to gritty sand and spread out in a wave, the grains flowing over her shoes and ankles and pooling around her. "No!" She wailed, grabbing at the sand, not understanding why she was so upset, or why tears were forming in her eyes as the blood running down her hand mixed in with the grains.

"Now, now, my dear, no need for tears. I've come to help you." A calm male voice said.

Her head came up and she saw a cloaked and hooded figure standing no more than a dozen yards away from her, having stepped out from one of the tall stone pillars that lined the ancient looking plaza. "W-what?" She managed, her breath hitching as another blast of agony tore through her head. She let out a sharp cry, reaching up and clutching at her temples as the pain burned her thoughts away.

"The more you fight it the more it's going to hurt." He told her, sounding as if that was the last thing he wanted. Not understanding in the slightest she pulled in a ragged breath and forced her hands down as she looked back up. All around her the air shimmered and she felt a wave of heat diffuse over the area, causing sweat to break out along her back and neck. Her disorientation increased as the world began to spin and she felt fear setting in, cold terror that chased the sweat away and caused chills to run along her spine despite the oppressive heat. Understanding she was in danger she couldn't explain or understand she pushed herself back to her feet, falling back to the mound of sand twice before managing.

The man watched her struggling silently from under his hood, but she couldn't see his face past the shadows he was hiding behind. As she squinted at him he slowly raised his hand up, revealing an odd golden scale, it's two plates resting on delicate golden links and suspended between a simple golden spire emblazoned with an eye at the center. The odd thing pulsed with golden light and the same strange sparks she knew she shouldn't be seeing danced around him. She recoiled at once, but he held his other hand up in a peaceful gesture. "Calm yourself, great one."

"Who are you?" She demanded, her voice breaking. "And what is that thing?"

"This is the millennium scale." He replied, holding it out for her to see more clearly, not trying to hide it. "It's one of seven magical items created on the order of a great pharaoh of Egypt. You've seen this before, Kisara, and you nearly blinded it's last guardian when he tried to see your true form. Let yourself remember."

She shook her head, the name sending another sharp stab of pain through her. That sounded wrong, but as hard as she searched she couldn't seem to remember what he should be calling her. "My name… that's not… what's my name?"

"I suppose it never really was Kisara." He replied. "Just as it isn't really Sarah now." Tears began to slid down her face as a deep, unexplainable sadness filled her, and he went on, lowering the scale again. "And I suppose my name is no more important than yours in the end. But I've come here to help you."

"Help me?" She asked, not understanding and struggling to work out what was going on, and why all she could draw from her own mind was an endless gray blankness. For the life of her she couldn't remember how she got to this strange place, or what might have tempted her here in the first place. "I don't need help-"

"Don't you?" He asked, taking a small step forward. "Isn't that exactly why you're here? Isn't that exactly why you found this world again? Because you thought your priest could help you escape the shadows?"

"The shadows?" She repeated quietly, and he made a motion to the edge of the great plaza. Around the outside of the columns she saw darkness gathering in a foul mist, chasing the bright light of the sun away, as if it were some sort of grotesque eclipse. She recognized it at once, and felt the hostility of a hundred thousand eyes on her. Her head whipped around as she saw she was surrounded, which only made the dizziness worse.

"Yes." He agreed quietly. "They are angry with you aren't they?"

Some part of her sensed the anger radiating out of them and knew that they wanted her. "Why are they trying to take me?"

"Because after banishing so many of them back to the shadow realm at the order of your priest you managed to escape it."

Another cold shiver hit her. "The shadow realm?"

"A dark place I'm very sure you have no interest in returning to." He agreed. "You came to this world searching for sanctuary." He held his free hand out to her. "Come to me and I will ensure that you'll never have to go back." She swayed in front of him, staring at his hand. When she made no move to take it he spoke again. "Do you really think he can keep you safe?" He asked. "After what happened last time when he had magic to wield?"

"Last time?" She asked blankly, still staring at his hand. "What happened last time?"

Blowing across the desert sand she heard a distant call. "Kisara!" The voice stirred something inside of her and she looked away from him, searching for it.

"He let you die once." The man in front of her told her. "You gave him everything. You gave him your love, your loyalty, your power, your life, your very soul. What has he done to earn any of it again? What has he done to earn your forgiveness for his failure? He is a spoiled, selfish man, intent on nothing but power. I can give you what you want, what you've always wanted, a way to stay here forever."

The voice echoed again and she ignoring the man and his words, turning away and walking toward the edge of the sand, to where the call came from, no longer frightened by the shadows that were blocking her path. They hissed at her, crying out in rage and resentment. But beyond them, waiting for her, a different man appeared. Dressed in flowing white robes fringed with sapphire silk, and gripping a short golden staff he was also holding out his hand, his navy eyes full of affection. As she approached him he smiled at her warmly, as if he had always been there waiting for her. Wanting nothing more than to get to him she walked through the shadows with light radiating out of her and burning them away as they lunged at her.

As she reached out to take his hand the man behind her sighed in irritation. "I can see this was a waste of my time." There was a bright golden flash right before her fingertips made contact and then a barked command. "Shadow spell!" A set of heavy chains materialized out of nowhere and wrapped around her tightly, slamming her into the ground and extinguishing her light. She let out a cry of pain and began to struggle as the blue eyed man vanished and she was dragged roughly back across the ground toward the center of the plaza. She finally stopped at his feet and the hooded man stared down at her. "He's been far too lenient with you, letting you run wild as if you owned yourself."

Staring up into the hood she saw the outline of his face and hissed at the confinement, making out the outline of his face. "Let me go!" She demanded fiercely.

"Why aren't you making me?" He asked. "You have the capacity to free yourself." She struggled harder and he studied her intently before suddenly letting out an irritated breath. "You must let go your inhibitions, my dear. How do you expect to kill me laying there like some sort of helpless damsel?" She had no idea how she was supposed to break out of these chains and snarled as she kicked her legs and arched her back, accomplishing nothing but to have the links digging deeper into her back. "I all but hand you to him with a ribbon wrapped about your neck and he hasn't even taken you to his bed yet. Idiot boy. What have the two of you been doing the last few weeks, hm?"

She let out an inarticulate cry of frustration, her body tiring too much to keep this up and he lashed out and kicked her, sending her skidding away as pain lanced across her ribs. "We are rapidly running out of time! Show yourself to me!"

"Get away from her!" Someone snarled from across the open space.

The hooded figure looked up. "Ah, Kaiba, welcome. Did you enjoy the duel?"

"It's not over yet." He stated and she managed to turn her head and saw a lanky, shaggy haired teenager standing there, outrage rolling off of him.

The hooded man sent her another glance. "No, I imagine not. He hasn't even gotten around to calling his favorite beast. Keith must be even weaker than I thought."

"Let her go and leave." The teen ordered.

The man chuckled cruelly. "You've no power here, boy, assuming you know where here even is."

"We're in the shadow realm." He replied, his violet eyes resolute and unafraid. "I've been here before." Lifting his hand he pointed at the scale. "And I know what that is and how you got here. I also know if you knew how to use that millennium item the way you should I never would have been able to walk through the doorway you created in the secondary dueling arena. Now, let her go."

"Or what?" The man taunted.

The teenager lifted his left arm, showing off a strange silver disk on his wrist. "Or I'll cast you so far into this world you'll never find your way out."

The man laughed, clearly amused, but she began to struggle again. She felt a kinship with this boy, and despite her confusion and memory loss she was afraid for him. "No, please, run!"

The hooded figure stopped laughing abruptly. "Well how interesting." He remarked. "Could it be you've attached yourself to both of them?" Turning his attention back up he raised his own arm and another metal disk sparked into existence on his wrist. "I accept your challenge, Mokuba Kaiba. Winner takes… the girl." Mokuba put a deck of cards into the disk and a card deck slid down into place, the whole thing lighting up as it activated. "And your soul of course. She isn't the only one I came here for."

Reaching out Mokuba drew a handful of cards. "Then let's duel."