A/N: I really suffered from major writer's block on this chapter. Getting the sequence of events right and establishing the correct tone completely eluded me for about three weeks as I worked through re-write after re-write. I've now been tweaking it so long I'm finding it hard to tell if I've actually succeeded or not – do let me know!

In terms of the story as a whole, we're into the final section now. I estimate about six chapters until the end (though I tend to write more about things than I plan to, so it may be longer). I hope all of you who have stuck with it this long will bear with me until then.

I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Jensti

Comatose

A part of Mai's mind was aware of the knocking on the door when it first started. A part of her mind even contemplated the actions needed to get up and open it. But the thought processes became confused and distracted and fizzled out long before they reached her numbed limbs. She barely noticed when the knocking grew louder. When a voice began to shout her name she only blinked in a vague and distracted way as she sat, frozen to the spot.

Her mind was screaming and silent all at once. Occasionally she would think a little too clearly about what was happening and her eyes would blink and her hand would clench around her duelling deck and her breathing would become a little more strained as her throat constricted and she felt like she wanted to howl like an animal and never stop. But then the thoughts would slip from her mind again leaving a numbing blankness and the only sense left to her of time passing was the creeping cold that seeped into her fingertips and the increasing urgency of the knocking from the door.

OooooO

Seto took a small sip of his champagne as he surreptitiously glanced around the quickly filling ballroom located on the 80th floor of the Kaiba Corp. tower. His attention slipped easily from the conversation that was taking place around him. Jacob Lang had ingratiated himself into the discussion a few minutes previously, sidling up behind one of Seto's old business associates and laughing loudly when Seto had said something vaguely witty. Since then Lang had effortlessly manipulated the topic so that he could talk about himself and his own achievements; which he did with gusto.

From what Seto could make out, the evening was progressing nicely. The vast room had been decorated stylishly and the lighting was low and intimate. The far end of the room housed a stage that would later be Seto's platform for making a speech, officially welcoming everybody to the event and kicking off the charity auction section of the evening. Currently the stage was occupied by a live band that was playing a casual jazz music that blended nicely with the buzz of conversation.

To the left of the stage were the holographic displays of the orphanage building projects that Seto had committed himself and the company to in various countries around the world. The building projects were supposedly the whole purpose of the evening but Seto couldn't help but notice that his esteemed guests spent less time in contemplating this display than they did in choosing which canapé to delicately nibble on.

Amongst the guests milling around the display, Seto could just make out Mokuba who was shaking hands and chatting with various VIPs with a natural ease that Seto marvelled at. What Mokuba lacked in drive and ambition he more than made up for in charm and charisma; he had a knack of making people feel at ease even though, at just seventeen, it was really him that should have been feeling anxious in the first place.

As his sharp eyes scanned further around the room Seto caught sight of Roland haphazardly making his way through the crowds towards him. Seto frowned slightly wondering just what could have happened that meant Roland felt he had to disturb him directly. Whatever it was, it was unlikely to be good news.

He was jolted out of his contemplation by a sudden hand gripping his shoulder. He turned to see Jacob Lang grinning up at him, clearly midway through a story.

'And then Seto said to me – what was it you said Seto?'

Seto raised an eyebrow at such a casual use of his first name and glanced quickly down at the hand on his shoulder. Jacob's smile faltered slightly and he removed his hand quickly. There was a long moment of awkward silence before Seto looked up again to see Roland, still a little distance away, gesturing to him discreetly.

'Excuse me gentlemen,' Seto said smoothly giving a small smile, 'it seems duty calls. Enjoy the rest of your evening.'

The group watched as he strode away, deftly leaving his partially drunk champagne glass on the tray of a waiter as he passed.

As he approached his chief of security he didn't slow his stride and Roland, more than used to such things, quickly turned and began walking beside him, back in the direction that he'd come from.

'Roland?' Seto didn't look at him as he spoke, instead giving polite nods of acknowledgement to people who greeted him as he passed.

'Sorry to interrupt your evening, sir.'

'I'm sure you wouldn't if it wasn't important.'

'Umm, quite so, Mr Kaiba.'

'So?'

'Well, it's Mai Valentine – ' Roland was about to continue when he realised that Seto was no longer beside him. He turned and saw that his boss had stopped walking and was looking at him with an expression that was difficult to decipher. After a moment's hesitation his lips twitched into a wry smile and he began walking again.

'What's she done now?'

'Well, it's possibly nothing but the driver called - she's not answering her door.'

Seto's smile faltered to be replaced by a slight frown as he used a key card to open a door that led into a small room off the main hall. The lights flickered on automatically and the sound of the music and the talking became muffled as the door shut behind him.

'Not answering?'

'No, but he's pretty sure that she's in the apartment. There's music playing and the guy who owns the building said he saw her coming back in about two hours ago but hasn't seen her leave. He said she was carrying a load of shopping bags.'

'Grocery bags?'

'No, umm, those cardboardy type ones with the string handles, you know, the type that women get fancy clothes put into.'

Seto nodded distractedly at the description. 'And he can be sure she didn't leave?'

Roland shrugged, 'Pretty sure. The rent is due today apparently and he sits with the door of his apartment open to make sure he catches everybody. Miss Valentine paid in full earlier today so it's unlikely she would feel the need to avoid him.'

Seto's frown deepened. It was possible that Mai had changed her mind about this evening but the detail of her shopping bags seemed to imply that, two hours ago at least, she had been intent on coming and it wasn't as if he'd spoken to her in-between times to inadvertently upset her. Something about this didn't feel right.

'I took the liberty of calling her place of work; I spoke to her boss.'

'And?'

'He, err, he threatened me.'

'Threatened you? What did you say to him?'

'Nothing, sir. I called the bar and asked a woman who answered the phone whether Miss Valentine was due to work tonight. Suddenly Joseph Corelli takes the phone and tells me to leave Mai alone or he'll personally come after me. I didn't even get the chance to say a single word to him before he hung up. I wasn't sure quite what to make of it, so I came to find you.'

Roland lapsed into silence and waited. He recognised in Seto's expression the intensity of thought that was going on behind the calm exterior. He'd seen the expression a number of times before and it never led to anything good.

Finally Seto took a deep breath and looked directly at Roland. 'Get over there. If you can't persuade her to answer the door… break it down. Call me when you find her.'

Roland wasn't sure what Seto was thinking but he knew better than to ask. He'd been given clear enough orders and he trusted his boss' instincts ahead of even his own. He turned and left without another word.

Seto watched as the door swung slowly closed again, leaving him standing alone in the muffled silence of the room. He tried to clear his head of the thoughts that had filled his mind as he'd heard Roland's report. For the moment there was nothing he could do and his duty to the company was to get back into the party and fix that smile and shake those hands and make the small talk.

He hesitated as his hand touched the door knob and then, taking a deep breath he opened the door and strode out.

OooooO

In the event, breaking down Mai Valentine's door was far more of a challenge than anyone could have anticipated and, under other circumstances, may have been nigh on impossible. Whilst he didn't feel it, Roland had been lucky in that several of the heavy duty locks weren't engaged since Mai was actually at home; another was easily circumnavigated via a spare key the super had (and happily handed over once the right price had been reached) but that still left enough locks and chains in place to create a significant barrier to entry. By the time he had actually taken the door down (and a significant part of the frame along with it) a small crowd of tenants had gathered to watch the drama unfold. Roland had called for back up but in the mean time the driver was helping keep the onlookers at bay.

Stepping over the splintered wood, Roland felt a small knot form in his stomach. The sound of the up beat music playing in the bedroom to the right seemed at odds with the ominous quiet in the rest of the apartment. He was about to enter the room and switch off the stereo when he heard a faint rhythmic buzzing coming from the room to his left. Recognising it as the sound of a cell phone being called, Roland followed the noise. He rounded the corner and into a small living area. He could see the phone now, its screen flashing as it buzzed against the hard lino floor of the kitchenette. He stooped to pick it up; 'Joe – Boss' flashed on the screen. As he straightened he saw an alcove in the wall that housed two computers, one of which was running through a generic screen-saver. On the floor beneath the computer, with her knees tucked tight to her chest, was Mai Valentine.

She was so pale and so still that Roland's heart skipped a beat as he feared the worst. But then she blinked and her eyes shifted to meet his.

'You broke my door,' she stated quietly.

OooooO

'Bring her here.'

Roland shot a glance across the room to where Mai was still sitting on the floor staring into space. 'To Kaiba Corp, sir?' She didn't look much like she'd be up for a social even of any kind – she didn't even look like she was up for standing.

'Yes, use the back entrance and get her up to my office. I'll meet you there.'

'Do you think,' Roland started, keeping his voice low even though she showed no signs of hearing him. 'Do you think we should contact the police?'

There was a split second of hesitation from the other end of the line. 'No. I've had far too many dealings with the police recently and, knowing Mai, I seriously doubt she'd want them digging into her personal affairs,' in the background noise Roland could make out the sound of someone calling Seto's name. 'Look, I've got to go. Call me when you're here.'

The line went dead.

OooooO

Seto dutifully smiled and shook the hand of the lady who approached him even as he hung up the phone, but rather than engaging in the conversation she clearly wanted to have, he deftly sidestepped and strode past her; his smile instantly vanishing the second he knew his face couldn't be seen.

He gave absolutely no thought to her opinion of his behaviour, nor to the opinion of anyone else he pushed past as he made his way across the vast room. His thoughts were on Mai. Roland's call had been a relief in one sense; he knew where she was and that she was physically unharmed. However, the description of Mai, sitting comatose, unwilling or unable to engage in conversation, made him feel very uneasy. Clearly something was going on and until she was safely at his offices, he wouldn't feel completely in control of the situation.

Finally locating the person he was looking for, Seto altered his course and headed purposefully towards his younger brother. Mokuba, as if sensing Seto's approach, turned slightly, his smile freezing in place for a brief moment as he caught his brother's expression. He turned back to the group of people he had been talking to and made a brief excuse before walking forward to meet him. Together they walked to a quieter part of the room where the low lighting allowed them a low profile.

'Is there a problem, Seto?'

'Possibly,' Seto said as he glanced around him making sure there was no one close-by. Satisfied he turned back to Mokuba, staring at him in an intense way that Mokuba knew meant trouble. 'I need to know if you would be willing to make the speech later on.'

Mokuba's eyes widened in surprise, 'Where are you going to be?'

'Close-by, but something's come up. I may not be on hand when the time comes and I need to know if you'll cover me.'

'Well, yeah, sure. What's going on?'

'Nothing for you to worry about,' Seto shook his head, 'honestly,' he added with a small smile as Mokuba scowled darkly. 'This time it's not me that's in trouble. I promise.'

Mokuba still looked uneasy but he didn't press for any more answers.

'Andrea had a copy of my speech if you want to use it.'

'Nah,' Mokuba said after a moment's thought, 'I can put something together. No offence big brother but your speeches tend to be a bit…'

Seto raised an eyebrow as he waited for the verdict.

'Melodramatic,' Mokuba concluded with a nod, satisfied that he'd found the right word.

Seto made a sound that lay somewhere between irritated, amused and surprised; he'd always felt that his speeches added a certain striking emphasis to events. 'I'll try to make sure I'm around to see how it should be done then.'

'You really should,' Mokuba teased, grinning widely. After a moment his expression became more serious. 'You promise you're not in danger? You'd tell me if you were, right?'

'I'm not in danger, nor are you and nor is the company,' Seto said with conviction. 'I'm not sure what's going on yet but I'm pretty certain that, for once, it has nothing to do with magic, company takeovers or card games.'

Mokuba grinned again. 'That'll make a nice change,' he said.