"Hey guys! You made it!" Mokuba ran up to the three tired duelists as they made their way towards the trailer. "We were worried about you guys for a second there!"
"We're fine," Kaiba shrugged off his brother's concern. "And now that we know who we're after, it's time to crash their little party."
"Well we better act fast, because Joey ran of to find those Paradius guys alone!"
Kaylie stiffened at Rebecca's comment. Often it was hard for her to remember the order of events, and she thought she might have a chance to apologize to Joey before he was stripped of his soul. Now she was afraid she'd been mistaken.
Her distress must have been apparent, because the Pharaoh spoke quickly, "We have to get there before he does!"
"He better not screw this up for me," Kaiba put in, with a sideways glance at Kaylie, who did her best not to reveal anything one way or the other.
A more active role, yes... but there was no need to meddle more than necessary... no matter how Joey or any of them felt about it.
"Hey, we've got bigger problems guys!" Tea ran up, out of breath and panicked. "Those same monsters we saw in the desert are roaming the city!"
"No!" The Pharaoh was losing control of his emotions fast.
"Let's go!" Duke finally gave the call to action. "We could all jump in my car."
"Good idea," the Pharaoh agreed quickly.
"I'm afraid things are even worse than you can imagine," Rebecca's grandfather stepped out of the trailer.
"What is it gramps?" Rebecca looked at him with worry in her eyes.
"What do these creatures want?" Pharaoh asked softly.
"According to the evening news, thousands of people all around the world are suddenly collapsing in the streets and falling into a state of unconsciousness," the Professor explained.
"It's those monsters!" Tea inserted.
"They must be using the power of the Orichalcos to capture people's souls!" Rebecca added.
"It would appear so," the professor nodded.
"Oh, and did I mention that every police officer in this town is under their spell too?" Tea informed them.
"Alright," Pharaoh let out a sigh. "Then we have to battle these monsters on our own d make our way to Dartz!"
"Unless he finds us first!" Tea said nervously, glancing around.
"Let's not hang around and give him the chance," Kaylie folded her arms. "We have to keep moving."
"She's right, everyone on board!" Duke called and they all stepped up and into the trailer. Before long, they were cruising through the streets once more.
Kaylie found a spot away from the others. The Pharaoh may have forgiven her for what happened with Joey, but she could still feel the awkward tension between her and the others. She was tired, not in the mood to talk, and just wanted to be left alone... So when Mokuba approached her, she immediately put her defensive walls up, ready to give short answers to his questions.
"Do you have a family in your world?"
His question caught her off guard. She'd been expecting some sort of attempt to get information about their future... not small talk about her shattered life.
"I-I... Well... Yes, I did," she answered rather flustered.
"Any siblings?" the raven haired teen asked.
"An older sister, and a younger brother and sister..." she blinked, at a loss for what more to say.
"They probably miss you then," Mokuba sat down next to her. "Your parents too?"
"I suppose so..." she gave him a sad smile. "It's hard for me to know for sure, but I'd like to think that they miss me."
"I know they do," Mokuba studied her intensely, making her nervous.
"I believe it..." she said tentatively, not wanting to voice her doubts to the boy when he seemed so sure of himself. "But sometimes believing, and actually allowing that belief to sink in are very different things..."
"Kind of like my brother," he muttered, giving her a sly grin. "He won't let his belief sink in... but I know he understands a lot more about this crazy magic stuff than he lets on."
"He has a company to run and a little brother to protect," she smiled at him kindly. "Maybe his facade is for the best..."
"It does get annoying sometimes..."
"Aw, siblings tend to get on each other's nerves from time to time..." Kaylie looked at Kaiba, who was too busy being edgy to pay them any mind. "But you love and would do anything for them anyway..."
"We're only one mile from Paradius headquarters," Rebecca announced, cutting their conversation short.
"We'll have our company back in no time, right bro?" Mokuba smiled at his older brother, who continued brooding.
"Don't be so sure..." Kaiba grit his teeth. "We're dealing with an extremely powerful organization and it's going to take everything we have to bring them down. This won't be easy."
Mokuba turned to Kaylie and rolled his eyes slightly, causing her to giggle, "And sometimes it's just annoying."
"You know, I don't really get along with my older sister sometimes either..." she looked at the ground sadly. "We were close as kids, but now... we've grown distant."
"I know how you feel..." Mokuba said quietly. They let the silence linger for a few moments, each lost in thought.
Suddenly, the whole trailer shook as they came to a sudden stop. Everyone was crying out in confusion and a little anger. Soon everyone was running outside to see what had happened, leaving Kaylie and the Kaiba brothers to stand in the doorway.
Kaylie tuned out the conversation that was happening near the front of the truck. The moment they stopped, her head had started pounding with pain, and she felt faint. It took everything she had to appear like she had it all together. Kaiba and Mokuba were too busy listening to the others to notice.
What is this? Suddenly my body is freaking out... I feel like something is tearing me apart...
"Seto, look!" Mokuba pointed at a creature emerging from the shadows.
As soon as she looked at it, Kaylie knew that somehow the Orichalcos soldier was connected with her sudden onset of pain and turmoil. The very sight of it intensified her headache to the point where she fell to the ground, on her knees. Mokuba turned quickly to her aid, but Kaiba stared straight ahead and activated his duel disk.
"We have to find Joey, before it's too late!" Pharaoh turned to re-enter the trailer.
"That chump is gonna have to wait, cause we've got bigger problems..." Kaiba was shaking. Kaylie could see that, despite her state. He did a good job of hiding it, but suddenly she knew what Mokuba said was only partially true... Yes, Kaiba knew about magic, even believed it a little... but what no one else knew were the emotions it caused him to have. He understood these creatures were real, and he knew what the implications were.
"What do you mean?" The Pharaoh looked agonized, obviously expecting Kaiba to turn things back to his company.
"Look around you!"
More soldiers poured out of the shadows, and Kaylie's vision began to falter and black out. She wavered slightly, causing Mokuba to look between her and he incoming monsters.
"That's not good," he said, squeezing her hand.
"We're surrounded!" Tea cried. "If anyone has a plan, please speak now!"
Kaylie struggled to her feet, drawing a duel monsters card from her deck, "We have to fight..."
"Whoa!" Mokuba moved to steady her. "Take it easy..."
"Let me handle this," Kaiba turned around for the first time to look at her. "I don't know what's wrong with you, but you're in no condition to help."
But if I don't do something, I have the feeling that something awful is about to happen. Something that isn't scripted. I don't know what, and I don't know how... but this pain... these soldiers... what is going on!?