A/N: Another 6,000+ word chapter. Be happy. I realize now I could've had the first part of this chapter at the tail end of last chapter but I didn't think about it. Oh well. Anywho, I hope y'all enjoy this. ^_^


Spies and the Four Senses

"J'onn," came the voice through the earbuds. "What just happened?"

The red haired man set his newspaper aside and watched Oliver leave with an unconscious Kaiba in his arms. "I do not know. But I believe the man who just left may be the cuplrit behind the deaths in this city." Blue eyes gazed in the direction the old man had left in and saw nothing but a group of people holding cups of coffee talking by a newspaper stand and a young man riding a skateboard down the sidewalk.

"You're sure."

"As sure as I can be at the moment," J'onn said

"Did you get a good look at him?"

"Yes," J'onn replied. "He had a prosthetic eye and said a word I am unfamiliar with."

"What word?"

J'onn watched the woman, Mai, rev her motorcycle and wait for Oliver and the car to pull out behind her. "Anophthalmia."

"That's a disease of some kind, I think. I'll get Flash on it."

"There is something else," J'onn said, opening his telepathic senses once more.

"What's that?"

J'onn could still feel Kaiba's debilitating fear permeating the space he had occupied only minutes ago. It would remain imprinted there for at least a day or so. Never had J'onn felt such terror coming from one person before. It seemed to enough for two people, or it was amplified by something deep within Kaiba's mind. The Martian had very nearly drowned in it. Also, "this Tormentor God of Obelisk..." J'onn began.

"Yes, I think we can say with almost absolute certainty that we're dealing with Diana's Dark Ones from the old Egyptian pantheon."

"That would be a reasonable assumption, yes," J'onn said.

There was a muffled curse. "I was afraid of that. Did you plant the bug?"

"I dropped it into Walter's jacket pocket as he left. I doubt he will notice it until later."

"Good," the voice said. "Stay put. I'll have Lantern come meet you and we'll head to the hotel."

"Understood. And Batman," J'onn watched Mai and the car with Walter, Diggle, Oliver, and the unconscious Kaiba in it drove away. "Do you believe Kaiba is innocent now?"

Batman did not answer, but J'onn had not been expecting him to.


Who knew Walter could drive like a daredevil? The Sorceress careened through the streets at speeds too great to even be considered safe and wove through traffic like a master. But she continuously glanced over shoulder and into her rearview mirrors to be sure Walter kept pace with her. Despite his guide's erratic driving, Walter kept up easily.

"Do I want to know where you learned to drive like this?" Diggle asked, glancing up from his charge currently belted to the middle seat and slumped against Oliver's shoulder.

"I have to get to work on time somehow during rush hour, don't I?" Walter replied calmly, eyes never leaving the road. Oliver snorted and Diggle shook his head with a vaguely impressed expression on his face. "Speaking of," Walter said, glancing briefly at his passengers through the rearview mirror. "Mind telling me how long you've been involved with the vigilante, John?"

Diggle sighed through his nose. "I honestly can't say I'm surprised you'd ask that," he muttered. Louder, he said, "Almost from the beginning. I didn't know about Oliver's...exploits at first. All I knew was the idiot," he cast Oliver a tolerantly frustrated look, "kept slipping my watch. I found out when he came to me wounded and asking for help."

Oliver flushed. "It wasn't that bad," he grumbled.

"You flatlined," Diggle countered. "D'you have any idea how badly you scared me? And Felicity?"

"I assume that's when Felicity got involved as well, then," Walter said.

"Yes," Oliver said. "I needed her help to find you after you'd been kidnapped."

Walter nodded. "S that's how you found me."

"That's how Arrow found you, yes," Oliver corrected. "It wasn't just me. Felicity tracked down the security footage and backtracked IP addresses of several computers that had been in contact with your systems outside the norm. Diggle acted as a liaison and middle man, and I did the dirty work."

"I see," Walter said. It did make sense. "How did you...convince Felicity to join you?"

"She's loyal to you," Oliver said, steadying Kaiba's limp form when they swerved to another lane. "I asked her for help because I knew she wanted you back safe and sound just as bad if not more than I did. She also had the expertise needed to do so. She was the one who figured out who kidnapped you and helped me deal with them."

"And I assume, by 'deal with' you mean-"

"Killed them, yes." Oliver met Walter's gaze through the mirror unrepentantly. "If it makes you feel any better, it was self defense. I had every intention of turning him in, even after his drug Vertigo almost caused Thea to crash her car. But when he attacked Felicity and Diggle..." Oliver shrugged. "He crossed a line. I made sure he never crossed it again."

"And Moira?"

Oliver shifted uncomfortably. "What about her?"

"When you spoke to Kaiba, you said you considered me and Thea family and wanted us protected," Walter said. "But you never mentioned Moira. Why not?"

Oliver shared a look with Diggle who shrugged. "Might as well," the ex-army Ranger said.

"She knew who kidnapped you and did nothing about it," Oliver said. "She was also involved in the bombing of The Glades."

"What?!" Walter gasped, barely slamming on the breaks in time to keep from rear ending a car. "How?"

"Again, she knew who was behind the bombings. She knew when he was going to do it, how, and with what, but she said nothing. She let hundreds of innocent people die because she decided not to speak up." Oliver wrapped an arm around Kaiba's shoulders when the body shifted against him, keeping his Regent in place. "I can't trust someone like that."

Walter was silent for several minutes, digesting the information. "Did you ever consider the reason she didn't speak up was because she may have thought she was protecting you?" he suggested.

Oliver shook his head. "I did at first, which is why I didn't turn her in. But when I confronted her about it as Arrow, she..." He clamped his mouth shut and took a deep breath to control himself. Walter did not deserve his anger, Moira did. "When I told her hundreds of innocent people would die if the bombs went off, she said 'So what?'"

Walter blinked, feeling a stone at the pit of his stomach. "You knew about the bombs too then?" he asked, voice subdued.

Oliver nodded. "There were four bombs total. I warned the police and tried to deactivate the ones I could find. I got two, the cops got the third. We couldn't find the fourth one in time." He bowed his head, feeling the fierce regret and guilt return with a viciousness he thought he had gotten under control.

"It wasn't your fault," Walter said softly. "Tommy's death is not on you. It's on whoever set those bombs."

"It was Malcolm," Diggle said. "Malcolm Merlyn, Tommy's father."

"Malcolm?" Walter muttered in surprise. "But he die-" He stopped. Now it all made sense. "Malcolm was the one behind my kidnapping too, wasn't he."

It was not a question but Oliver nodded all the same. "Yeah. Yeah he was."

"I see." No one said anything else to whole ride, all lost in their own thoughts.

Oliver watched Kaiba leaning against his shoulder and finally saw the youth he had missed when Kaiba was awake and active. The Japanese businessman acted like an adult twice his age so it was easy to forget he was only nineteen years old. Oliver thought back to the fantastical story Kaiba had told about this Pegasus person and shook his head.

He knew some facts had been skipped over and he also knew there was a lot more that happened between then and now. But just the events Kaiba described were too much for someone Kaiba's age, not to mention Mokuba's age, to have to deal with. If someone ever kidnapped Thea, Oliver was sure he would show no mercy. Walter too, had slowly worked his way in Oliver's life and heart without the vigilante even realizing it. But however protective Oliver was, the vigilante was willing to bet Kaiba was at least twice that, if not more.

Which left Oliver to wonder. How could someone have kidnapped Mokuba from under Kaiba's overprotective nose? Kaiba had implied Mokuba was already gone before he even knew his little brother was missing which did not sound like the Kaiba he had come to know. Something had distracted Kaiba or kept him away. But what could have been so important to... Or traumatic...

Kaiba said the Pharaoh had cast a Penalty Game on him, but he never mentioned when, just that it happened. He did make it sound like the Penalty Game was cast before Pegasus came along. Oliver thought back to when he first met Kaiba.

The Regent had been shrouded in Shadows and just finished destroying a dome of darkness, a Shadow Game, against the blonde woman who started the first Shadow Game. He remembered the woman crumbled on the ground, Kaiba's unearthly blue eyes, and the woman's scream. That had been the first Penalty Game he had ever witnessed being cast. From the woman's current mental state, Oliver could not help but wonder what kind of Penalty Game the Pharaoh cast on Kaiba. Had it been the Penalty Game that had prevented Kaiba from acting fast enough to protect his little brother?

He was jerked from his thoughts by the abrupt slamming of the break and looked up to see they had pulled into a parking spot behind The Haven hotel. Walter turned off the car and gathered his things while Oliver and Diggle unbuckled and opened their doors. Diggle pulled Kaiba towards him, leveraging him into his arms bridal style. Oliver hopped out of the car, closed his door, and hurried around to Diggle's side to close his friend's door. Walter waited for the two men to join him before making his way over to Mai who was putting away her's and Mokuba's helmets.

Mokuba stared at Kaiba with wide, worried eyes while Mai stepped up to the door where a tall, man of Asian American decent stood in a dark suit and sunglasses. The man pushed the door open and let the group inside. The man, clearly a bodyguard, pressed a hand to Kaiba's forehead and cheek feeling for a fever.

"This way," he said, pulling open the door to the stairwell. "We'll go up to the next level to catch the elevator. It's too public down here."

Walter nodded and followed the bodyguard's lead, making sure his stepson-to-be and the rest of the group came with him. When they reached the second floor, the bodyguard gestured for them to wait. He cracked open the door and looked out, making sure the long hallway was deserted before opening the door fully. "The elevators are down the hall to the right by the vending machines," he said.

Nodding, Diggle shifted Kaiba in his arms and hurried down the hall to the elevators. Mai ran past him and pressed the 'Up' button. The wait for the elevator was excruciating, even though it could not have been more than a minute. The ding signaling the elevator's arrival was much appreciated. The moment the doors opened, the bodyguard stepped up to make sure the car was empty. Then he stepped in and pressed the button to hold the elevator doors open to allow everyone to step in.

When the bell rang and doors opened to the fourteenth floor, everyone filed out. The bodyguard again took the lead and slid his room key through the door lock and opened the door. The resulting chaos was only somewhat controlled.

Yuugi was instantly at the door, tugging the bodyguard and Diggle to the bedroom in the back of the suite. Yami was nowhere to be seen and Jounouchi caught Mai's hand and pulled her aside to hug her. A new person stood by the common room window watching them with keen eyes. The person had white hair and pale skin with soft brown eyes and held a cup of what looked like hot tea.

"Here," a new voice said, words rounded and accented oddly. Diggle turned his head and noticed a man of Middle Eastern decent standing by the bed and gesturing for Diggle to lay Kaiba down. This must be Shaadi.

"Mr. Isono, if you open the curtains, please," Shaadi said. "I will need the light to work with."

Oliver pulled the bedsheets back to the foot of the bed and arranged the pillows to accommodate Kaiba's head and support his neck, propping him up. Diggle lay Kaiba down on the mattress and not a second later, was nudged aside by the controlled countenance of Shaadi.

"Stand back, please," the man said politely. "I need room to work."

Diggle obediently stepped back, bumping into Walter who waved him aside, too busy watching Shaadi move about the bed. Mokuba scampered up to the bed, hopped up, and crawled over his brother to lay down on the far side. He stared at Shaadi with watery gray eyes and cuddled close to Kaiba's side. Shaadi met the gaze calmly before going about his business. He knew there was no way to separate Mokuba from his big brother so he did not bother trying.

Oliver pulled up a chair and sat down. Curious, he reached out with his Shadows to follow what Shaadi was doing, stopping when Shaadi suddenly whirled on them. Oliver blinked at the man, really looking at him. Shaadi was not necessarily tall but his present made his seem taller, much like Yami and Yuugi. His eyes were a strange shade of pale brown that almost looked orange in the sunlight from the windows. His skin was a dark tan reminiscent of the person Oliver saw fighting the monster in the Shadowy not-place where Kaiba's power should have resided. Shaadi wore traditional robes and a turban of plain, cream fabric and no noticeable adornments. As if sensing Oliver studying him, the uncanny eyes turned to him.

"You must be the new Shadow user the Regent has taken under his wing," Shaadi said. The eyes studying him closely, before blinking. "Impressive." then Shaadi turned his gaze to the group as a whole. "Tell me what happened?" he demanded. "What did you see?"

"Well, I'm not sure if it means anything," Walter said, drawing Shaadi's unsettling gaze to him. "But just before Kaiba collapsed, a man came to join us."

"A man?" Shaadi said, eyes narrowing. "Describe him."

"Tall," Diggle said firmly. "Older, I'd say mid to late fifties, graying hair, a beard and mustache, and a prosthetic eye."

Shaadi stiffened. "This...prosthetic eye, was it his left eye that was missing?"

"Yeah," Diggle said, shifting his weight to his other foot so he leaned closer to Walter. "How'd you know?"

Instead of answering, Shaadi took a deep breath and turned back to Kaiba. "Yes, that would explain this."

"Not to me it doesn't," Walter said. "I want some answers."

Shaadi turned back to Walter, eyes skipping to Yuugi standing in the doorway watching. Without Kaiba to grant him permission to speak, Shaadi was forced to turn to the next available authority. Yuugi hesitated only a moment before nodding.

"Go ahead," Yuugi said.

Shaadi lowered his eyes as if to prepare himself before raising them and meeting Walter's evenly. "That man is the Shadow user responsible for the Shadow Game related deaths in this city."

"Him?" Diggle gasped. Oliver sat up straight, suddenly regretting not chasing the man down and ripping his throat out for attacking his people. Walter, ever the businessman, simply crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes, waiting for Shaadi to continue.

"Yes." Shaadi turned back to Kaiba still lying unmoving on the bed. He sat down on the mattress next to him, lifting his leg onto the bed to help steady him and allow him to move closer. "His name was Akhenadin, although I do not know what it is he goes by now."

"Akh..." Oliver struggled to force the odd sounding word out of his mouth.

"Akhenadin," Diggle said. "It sounds Egyptian."

"It is," Shaadi said, placing a hand on Kaiba's chest and closing his eyes. Oliver felt his Shadows twitch as they studied Shaadi's Shadows. It felt like Shaadi was doing the same thing he had felt compelled to do earlier at the cafè.

"It's there," he found himself saying, drawing Shaadi's eyes to him curiously. Oliver nodded. "It's there, I checked."

"How...?" Shaadi studied Oliver closely reaching out to the vigilante's Shadows. Oliver concentrated and urged his Shadows to grasp Shaadi's, tugging them as best he could. Shaadi's eyes grew round. "How can you do something like that with no training?" the man asked in awe.

Oliver shrugged. "If you mean this," he commanded his Shadows to tug Shaadi's again, making the man twitch, "then I watched Kaiba do it. If you mean," he nodded to Kaiba, "the hand on the chest thing, that was just... I felt like I had to."

Shaadi blinked, obviously impressed. "You learn fast, faster than I would have expected of such a new Shadow user." The man nodded to him with renewed respect. "I sense you are of the Balance, is that not so?" Oliver nodded and Shaadi hummed. "Then I am of the Triad to which you answer. I am Shaadi, the Advisor of the Triad of the Balance."

"Oliver Queen," Oliver said, standing and reaching out to shake Shaadi's hand.

The man nodded and took hold Oliver's wrist firmly but did not shake it. "Well met, Oliver." He released Oliver's hand and looked at the other two men in the room. "It appears my manners have deteriorated in my worry. Forgive me," he said bowing. "As I said, I am Shaadi. Who might you be?"

"John Diggle," Oliver said pointing to the man who nodded to Shaadi, "and my soon-to-be stepfather, Walter. Steele" Walter nodded and moved to shake Shaadi's hand. Shaadi again avoided the hand and gripped Walter's wrist instead.

"Again, I say well met." Shaadi settled back on the bed, turning his gaze to Kaiba's still face. "When Akhenadin spoke to you, did he do anything?"

"I actually didn't notice him walk up," Walter said. "I was listening to Mr. Kaiba talk."

"And what did Kaiba tell you?" Shaadi said, never lifting his eyes from Kaiba's face as if hoping he could draw out the answers from the unconscious young man.

"He talked about a man named Pegasus," Diggle said, "about how Shadow magic works, about the...ah, soul element, and showed us this playing card with a giant blue monster on it."

"He showed you Obelisk?" Shaadi asked calmly, still gazing worriedly at Kaiba.

"He did," Oliver said. "He said I deserved to know who the true head of my orientation was."

Shaadi blinked but said nothing, nodding to himself. Oliver clasped his hands and lifted them so his elbows planted themselves on his knees. He rested his chin on his folded hands. "He also told us about the parts of the soul, the Ba and Ka, and he told us about Seth," Oliver said.

"What?" Shaadi demanded, whirling to face the vigilante in shock. "What did he say?"

"He didn't talk about it so much as helped me figure it out," Oliver corrected.

"How do you mean?" Pale brown eyes stared hard at the vigilante, demanding answers.

"Mai said the longest she'd ever heard of a Ba existing without its Ka was fourteen years," Oliver said. "Yesterday Kaiba told me Yuugi had been fourteen when he first solved a puzzle of some kind releasing the Shadow Games and his sealed Ka. I put two and two together and realized Yuugi was the Ba Mai had been referring to which meant Yami had to be Yuugi's Ka. But if Yami was the Ka which was sealed away 5,000 years ago, that meant Yami was at least 5,000 years old."

"He told you that did he?" Yami's voice echoed in the room. The shadows darkened as Yami suddenly faded into existence beside Yuugi wearing the same clothes as his Ba.

Oliver did not seem too surprised, unlike Walter. Diggle just rubbed his head, fighting back a headache. Oliver nodded. "He also led me to believe he was Seth, a priest who served under you and wielded the Millennium Rod."

"You are fortunate indeed if the Regent allowed you to know something as carefully guarded as that after only knowing you for three days," Shaadi said. "Normally, most Shadow users never find out who or what the Shadow Court truly is simply because they are uninterested or their power is too weak to warrant it. If he showed you, then you have his respect as well as his trust."

"I agree," Yami said. Yuugi leaned closer to his Ka earning him an indulgent look and an arm around his shoulder. Knowing what they were now, their behavior suddenly made sense. They could not be anything but as close as they were simply because they were two halves of one whole. One could not exist without the other.

"But that still leaves us with Akhenadin," Yuugi said. "After he arrived, what did he say? Did he do anything?"

"That's just it," Diggle said. "He didn't do anything. He just stood there. He said Kaiba had a meeting with him this morning that he missed."

"Yes," Yami said, eyes dark. "He contacted Kaiba last night and convinced him to meet with him for a trade."

"A trade?" Walter asked.

"For Marik," Yuugi said.

"You mean the meeting Shadow Thief mentioned last night," Diggle asked.

Yuugi nodded. "That's why he took Marik, as insurance." Yuugi bowed his head. "It was supposed to be me."

"Be glad it wasn't," Shaadi said. "We do not want a repeat of DOMA."

"DOMA?" Oliver asked.

"Later," Yami said. "Are you sure all Akhenadin did was talk?"

"No," Oliver said. "He put his hand on Kaiba's shoulder and called him Set."

"He touched him?" Yami gasped. Crimson eyes darted to Shaadi who had paled considerably.

"He did, now that I think about it," Walter said. "Why? Is that important?"

"Shadow Games are not always large and noticeable," Yuugi said, watching Shaadi place his hand on Kaiba's chest once more and close his eyes, forehead creased in concentration. "Most of them are more subtle and fought psychologically. Touch is typically used to initiate such Games."

"That explains why the Regent's soul is so dim," Shaadi said.

"His soul?" Oliver asked, sitting up in surprise.

"Yes," Shaadi replied. "By touching a Shadow user's chest or forehead as well as their Shadows, another Shadow user can see and access the soul."

"Is that..." Oliver hesitated. "Does it look like sunlight from underwater?"

"You-?"

"Yes," Shaadi said, interrupting Yami's gasp. "That is what you felt. It should be brighter. A Shadow user of Kaiba's power should have a soul that is almost blinding."

"But his wasn't," Oliver said.

"No." Shaadi said, opening his eyes. "It is engaging in a Shadow Game."

"But you said touch was required to initiate psychological Shadow Games," Diggle said.

"Initiate, yes," Shaadi said, sitting up. "But once started, a Game can sustain itself until the victim either wins or, more likely, forfeits."

Oliver hesitated, choosing his words carefully before speaking. "Seth isn't an Egyptian name," he said slowly.

"No, it isn't," Yuugi said. "It's the Greek pronunciation for Set."

"This...Akhenadin called Kaiba Set."

"Not surprising," Yami said. "That was his name 5,000 years ago. We call him Seth because he asked us to. It's not our story to tell," he said. "It's personal. It has nothing to do with this. You have my word."

Oliver nodded and exhaled through his nose, bracing himself. "This...Set, or Seth," he waved his hand indicating whichever. "Did...he have skin like you?" he asked, nodding to Shaadi.

"Most Egyptians such as myself had dark skin, yes," Yami replied.

Oliver nodded and bit his lip. "And...long brown hair? Like, to his shoulder blades? Just a shade or so darker than his skin? Tied back in braids?"

Yami and Yuugi were staring at him in shock and Shaadi was gazing at him as him as if trying to read his mind.

"How-?"

Yami raised a hand, silencing Shaadi's question. "Go on," the Pharaoh said to Oliver.

Oliver continued more boldly. "I saw a person who looked like that where Kaiba's... Shadows should have been."

"And?" Yami encouraged.

"He was," Olive paused, trying to recall the scene correctly. "Kneeling, like he'd been forced to his knees. There was this...monster, I'm not sure how to describe it."

"Try," Yami commanded.

Oliver shook his head and rubbed his face with his hands trying to pull the images that were so strikingly clear at the time back to his mind. "It was...tall, large actually fits better." He could see it now that he was thinking about it. "Large and bearing down on him. It's hands were..." He held his hands out in front of him, staring at them as if stunned they were his own. "They were clawed and holding his head between them like a vice." Oliver's eyes unfocused and hands mimicked the position his mind saw. "They was squeezing, crushing his head between them. And he was fighting." He could see the person, Seth, tearing at the clawed hands with his nails, trying to ease the pressure, stop the pain, escape, anything. "I could hear sounds, cries. They were muffled and...I couldn't make them out." The voice he heard in that not-place of Shadows returned, filling his ears with them. "It was getting darker...and brighter. Like the sun was setting and rising at the same time. It was disorienting and...wrong." The distorted Shadows made his own Shadows cringe, reaching out to help Seth fight. The guilt of knowing he was unable to do anything but watch returned. "Then he yelled something. I..."

"What?" Yami pressed, suddenly crouching in front of Oliver, clasping his hands. Yuugi joined his Ka, both staring into unfocused green eyes. "What did he say?"

"It...was a name, I think."

"Can you say it?" Yuugi asked gently.

Oliver opened his mouth but nothing came out. He tried again, this time with some success. "Ki..something."

"Was it Kisara?" Yami asked, crimson eyes huge and focused on the vigilante.

Oliver half shook his head. That was close but... "Not...it didn't sound...more like...Ki-sah...ra... Ki-sah-ra."

"Then what happened?" Yuugi asked. "Did you see anything else?"

See? Yes. Yes, he saw. He could see and hear Seth scream, it was echoing in his ears and head. Then... "Light. It was blinding. Blue eyes, right at the center."

"That's enough!"

Suddenly, the image was gone leaving Oliver stunned and disoriented. His hands were shaking from how violently he had tensed his muscles. His ears were ringing from the sudden silence and he blinked from the sudden brightness from the sunlight pouring in through the window. He looked up and saw Shaadi kneeling in front of him, eyes staring evenly into his. Two dark hands clasped his head gently between them holding him steady. Shaadi's Shadows wrapped around his, holding them, grounding them, easing them down from the frenzy he had inadvertently been working them into.

Shaadi's Shadows were old, controlled and well behaved. They were fine tuned and accurate in everything they did. It felt like Oliver was being surrounded by mist in a river valley just before dawn. It was safe and cool but had the potential to be cold and dangerous without warning.

Oliver did not have to look to know Diggle was to his right with a hand on his back and Walter was to his left holding his arm. His stepfather was muddied and not as clear as Diggle who felt...familiar. The two bodyguards stood at the foot of Kaiba's bed. Their presences were also muddy, but not as much as Walter's. They felt more like Diggle actually.

There was another presence of the bed directly beside Kaiba's faint horizon of power. It was calming, like roots burrowing deep in the earth, or branches reaching high into the sky. It anchored, centered, and balanced like nothing Oliver had ever felt before. Mokuba.

The vigilante took a convulsive inhale and felt his chest relax from the tense ache he had not felt growing until now. He blinked in confusion. "What...?"

"That's what I'd like to know," Walter said, eyeing Shaadi suspiciously.

"You're not the only one."

That would be Jounouchi standing in the doorway with Mai. The boy glimmered like a dying match light. Next to him, Mai felt like a writhing stream of colorful smoke, like from a snuffed candle or the steam from a fresh cup of hot coffee or tea. It felt iridescent as if illuminated by some unseen light source and he had the vague impression of a scent of some kind. Perfume?

Yami was a depthless chasm of darkness that breathed life into the brilliant flame that was Yuugi. Both dependent on the other for their state of being. But there was someone else like them nearby. They were leaning against the wall by the window watching them. They occupied the same physical space but were two distinct entities. One was more pronounced than the other but was reliant on the other entity. The softer presence was dark like a calm, moonless, desert night while the other, more dominant presence was the darkness of an approaching thunderstorm at dusk. He felt a fleeting sense of surprise from the thunderstorm and withdrew.

Oliver blinked back to himself, staring at Shaadi's strange gaze. The pale brown, almost orange eyes seemed warmer, more welcoming then they had before. Shaadi's lips eased in a minuscule curve that could possibly be perceived as a smile. Shaadi's Shadows caressed Oliver's and he felt emotions not his own sink into him. Pride, encouragement, and calm. They emotions were muddied and not as clear as he would have preferred, but understandable. Oliver could almost put words to them.

"You were pulling him to far," Shaadi said, eyes never leaving Oliver's, offering the vigilant something to hold on to, but plainly speaking to Yami and Yuugi. "Oliver is of the Balance. Both of you were influencing him, flooding his senses with your Shadows until his own were becoming lost. Had you continued to influence him as you did, he would have been overcome and drowned rendering him either catatonic, braindead, or, had you continued to influence him even further, actually dead."

"Impressive," a new voice said. Oliver felt the thunderstorm move into his vision, looking up to see a pair of brown eyes framed by white hair. For some reason, the brown did not suit the thunderstorm. The storm smiled like lightning. "You can sense me," the thunder said.

"He can?" Jounouchi said.

"That's all well and good," Mai said, the fragrant candle smoke fluttered against his Shadows like feathers. "But what about what he saw?"

"Yes, what was that?" Walter said.

"That was Oliver's Shadow powers manifesting themselves," Shaadi said, leaning back from Oliver's personal space. "Your stepson has the ability to sense Shadows visually. It is not necessarily rare, but it is uncommon. The Pharaoh has the ability which allows Yuugi to use it as well when they are close. The Regent has the ability and I do to an extent, as does Bakura."

"What about Mai?" Diggle asked, helping Oliver sit up again as Shaadi slowly released his hold on his friend.

"I can smell the Shadows," Mai said. "Basically, different Shadows have different scents to me. The Pharaoh smells like spice and jasmine, Jounouchi smells like fire and smoke, and Oliver smells like a forest after a rainstorm."

"Mai's gift is rarest," Shaadi said. "It is most common to hear the Shadows, then feel them, then see them, then smell them."

"Not taste then?" Walter asked.

Shaadi shook his head. "No one knows why, but no Shadow user has ever been able to taste the Shadows." An eyebrow rose mildly. "Personally, I'm glad. I have no desire for someone to taste anything about me."

Oliver's mouth quirked up in a smile and Jounouchi snorted.

"What about you?" Oliver asked, looking at the white haired youth.

The thunderstorm rested a fist on his hip and leaned casually on one leg. "What about me?" the thunder rumbled.

"Not you," Oliver corrected. "The other one."

Shaadi stared at Oliver in surprise. "Kaiba gets all the good ones," Yami groaned earning him an abashed look from Yuugi.

The thunderstorm cackled. "You can sense me and can tell me apart from my Yadonoushi." he said. "How utterly intriguing." The storm stepped aside and literally became a second person, identical to the first in almost every way. The darker twin's eyes, however, were now red, much more fitting. The presence that remained behind in the original body was quieter, softer, and less intimidating, but no less dark.

"I'm the Thief Bakura," the darker of the two said. "And this," he rested an elbow on his twin's shoulder, leaning on it, "is my Yadonoushi, Ryou."

"Hello," Ryou said, waving shyly.

"Are you like the Pharaoh and the King?" Oliver asked.

"Not...exactly," Ryou said. "But close. He's," he pointed to his darker twin, "literally the spirit of my previous incarnation. I'm the current. It's a long story." Pale cheeks blushed as Ryou scratched his head self-consciously.

"We're both Darks like Marik," Bakura said. Red eyes narrowed, darting to Yami's. "Which is why we're here. We want our Priest back."

"Yes, yes, we've been over this already. Now back to my question," Mai interrupted inpatiently. "What about what Oliver saw?"

"He was seeing the Shadow Game Akhenadin instigated against the Regent," Shaadi said. "If I were to guide you into Kaiba's mind," he said, gazing at Oliver, "do you think you could find that image again?"

Oliver blinked. "His mind?"

Shaadi nodded. "Yes. The Regent's consciousness has retreated too far to reach superficially. I will have to enter his mind anyway, but without knowing what to look for, it will take time to find him, end the Game, and guide him back."

"Can't Yami or Yuugi do it?" Walter asked. "As I understand it, they are the Pharaoh and the King."

"They are," Shaadi said. "But neither of them are familiar with infiltrating another's mind. That is an ability I possess. If Oliver permits, I would take him with me. If what Oliver saw was indeed the Shadow Game, then it is possible he could find it again." Pale brown eyes darkened. "However, the longer we wait, the less chance I have of finding the Game."

"I'll do it," Oliver said. "He would do it for me."

Shaadi nodded, lips quirking up in a semblance of a smile once more. "That he would." He stood and held out a hand for Oliver to take and brought him to the bed. "Come. This will not take long, but it would be best to sit or lie down. If something happens, you will not fall and hit your head."

"Good idea," Yuugi said.

"What about them?" Jounouchi asked, nodding to Diggle and Walter still standing in the middle of Kaiba's bedroom looking confused.

"Oh, I think we can keep them entertained," Bakura purred close to Ryou's ear, causing the lighter twin the blush. "Besides, these things never last very long. Time is such a convoluted thing."

"What do I do?" Oliver asked.

Shaadi gestured to the other side of the bed. "Sit. I will do the rest."

Oliver obeyed, sitting on the opposite side of the bed so Shaadi sat across from him and Kaiba lay between them. Mokuba scooted closer to his big brother to make room for the two extra people on the bed. Shaadi placed his left hand palm down over Kaiba's chest, muttering as he brushed a rectangular object under Kaiba's shirt aside to his hand could rest over his Regent's heart. Then he held out his right hand and met Oliver's eyes, waiting. Oliver took Shaadi's hand and fell into darkness.