Chapter 29

Mokuba and Mai had made the mutual decision to run in the opposite direction to Yugi and the Face of Friendship; although if Mokuba was being honest with himself he wasn't totally sure why they'd made that decision. It was as though some strange instinct was driving them forward. When they eventually came to a stop it was by a serene crystal clear lake half hidden from the path by a beautiful array of plant life.

'I think I'm finally starting to understand what it was Catilin was trying to awaken in the others earlier,' Mai panted a little as they both tried to catch their breaths.

'The Reganna...' Mokuba shook his head, 'do you think Joey will be okay going up against them? I mean, they looked like they meant some pretty serious business.'

'It won't be Joey, it'll be the First, remember?' Mai tilted her head to one side. 'And I'm sure whatever plan it is she's coming up with will work. It's...' she hesitated.

'It's what?' Mokuba frowned at her.

'Okay, I know this is going to sound a little strange, but I'm less worried about Joey and more worried about Kaiba.'

Mokuba found himself laughing in relief. He then rubbed the back of his neck and shifted his gaze away.

'I know what you're talking about there. It's like the part of me that's me is telling me I should be worried about Seto, but the truth is all I can really think about is Joey. I mean, when Seto showed up just now I felt like I was going through the motions or something. But at the same time... it all felt really weird and confusing. It's like I don't really know how I'm supposed to feel about anything anymore because everything in me's in some kind of crazy conflict.'

'I guess this is what happens when your soul is switch for somebody else's,' Mai sighed.

'What do you think will happen to us if we don't get our own souls back soon?'

'I'm not sure I want to know,' Mai shook her head. 'In my heart I know I still love Joey, but saying it just doesn't feel right anymore. It's like there's love but no attraction. No spark.'

'Well I guess we know what happened to your spark,' Mokuba rubbed the back of his neck again and tried not to look as embarrassed as he felt. 'So do you think we should just wait here till the others find us?'

'It's as good a plan as any.' Mai shrugged.

For a few long moments the two of them were silent and Mokuba found his eyes being drawn towards the lake. There was something about the movement of the water which was almost hypnotic. It gave him a weird feeling in his stomach; a feeling he wasn't sure he liked, but...

'Do you think it's forbidden to swim here?' The words drifted out of him before he could stop them.

'It is kind of inviting, isn't it?' Mai's voice had the same dreamy qualities his own had had.

'Yeah,' a strange smile pulled at Mokuba's lips, 'but if it's forbidden then Joey would be mad at us.'

'Only if he found out,' Mai tilted her head to one side. 'If he found out he would be mad at both of us. If he found out.'

'Of course and we wouldn't want to jeopardise our relationship with him over something so trivial.'

'No, of course not. And it is such a trivial thing, isn't it? We don't need to swim.'

'No... no we don't need to swim.' Mokuba found himself taking a few steps towards the lake. 'It's definitely not a need and it's not like we have anything to wear.'

'That's true.'

'Still it is tempting.'

The way the light danced across the surface of the lake called out to Mokuba in a way he'd never have thought possible. It's affect on him was beyond hypnotic. It was beyond anything and everything he'd ever experience before. It wasn't a need. He didn't need to swim; it was more than that. His eyes glanced towards Mai and the look on her face confirmed she was thinking the same thing he was.

'Would anyone really know,' Mai's lips pressed together in a daringly innocent way, 'I mean, a quick dip wouldn't hurt anyone, would it? They're probably gonna be so tied up with dealing with those guys for a while it's not like we're at risk of getting caught, so... would anyone even know?'


'Loving the new look Pure,' Ahna smirked as she took a few steps forward, 'very manly, so totally fitting for someone who prides themselves on their heavenly beauty.'

'You're not going to rile me,' Kaiba held his ground.

'Aw, but it's so much fun.'

'You're not going to rile me, I'm not the child you met before; I've done a lot of growing since then.'

'And you're saying we haven't?' Ahna laughed. 'Just because our components were scattered doesn't mean we haven't been able to grow. We learnt from our mistake and we won't make it again.'

'You already made the only mistake you needed to make,' Kaiba held her gaze, 'you challenged us.'

'Yes, we challenged the three of you,' Ahna tossed the knife she was holding from hand to hand. 'But it wasn't the three of you who defeated us last time. You weren't the ones who shattered us.'

'No, you're right, we weren't, but we created the being who did.'

At Kaiba's words Jay let out a ripple of hyena-like laughter. Ahna and Catilin exchanged amused looks and Catilin folded her arms.

'She thinks the puppet...' Jay pointed at Kaiba only to have Catilin hold up a hand and silence his words.

'You're right,' Catilin smirked, 'you created the instrument by which we were scattered, but in the process your instrument shared our fate. The three of you do not have what it takes to stop us.'

'Good job it's not just the three of them then, isn't it?' SK moved himself to Kaiba's side, his tongue skating across his lips as he did.

He had no idea what he was letting himself in for, but he knew no matter what he had to remain loyal to the Mistresses. Whatever they needed him for... however they wished to utilise him, he had to remain strong by their side. He didn't know how much help be would be, but if the three of them weren't enough maybe he could give them something to tip the balance in their favour.

'The dolly wants to play,' Jay grinned and laughed, before wincing in pain and pressing his fingers to the side of his head. 'The fool doesn't even know what we are and yet he thinks he can be of some help to his precious little Mistresses. Can I play with him now?'

'Soon,' Catilin narrowed her gaze on SK, 'first he needs to understand exactly what he's up against.'

'Can I tell the story?' Jay clapped his hands. 'I love telling stories.'

'Saves me the job.'

'Once upon a time, long, long ago there was nothing but light,' he winced again. 'Slowly over a long number of years this light formed a consciousness and from that consciousness the First was born. A pretty little dolly all alone amidst a world of light.' Another wince, another change in tone. 'This light too went on to form consciousness and from that consciousness the Face of Friendship was born. A dolly with no face of her own,' he laughed. 'Poor dolly, stuck playing games with the prettiest First.' Yet another wince. 'Of course there was still light left over, more light forming yet another consciousness. Consciousness which would eventually go on to become the Pure.' His gaze focused on Kaiba. 'The littlest dolly took all the light away and everything became dark.'

'You know light and darkness have a lot in common,' Ahna began playing with the knife she was holding again. 'They're both capable of forming consciousness. Consciousness which doesn't require creation. Consciousness which brings itself into being of its own free will. The darkness the Pure left in the wake of her creation was capable of that kind of consciousness.'

'And from that consciousness I was born,' Catilin pulled herself up to her full height. 'But of course the Mistresses could never believe I created myself, so they refused to let me name myself. So do you know what they called me? Re. She got the First Mistress of Light and I got Re. If only the story ended there.'

'Elder was born and there was still darkness,' Jay's eyes flashed with excitement. 'More darkness waiting to be born.'

'And I was,' Ahna stopped playing with the knife, 'but still the Mistresses refused to acknowledge that we were just like them. So they named me Gan. She got the Second Mistress... the Face of Friendship and I got Gan. That was twice we were looked down on. Twice we were told we were less than we were. Now if only the story ended there.'

'There was still darkness left,' Jay winced as his head twitched to one side, 'darkness which squiggled and squirmed like little worms with thoughts of their own. Darkness which wanted to play and with a flash of light became me. The puppet and I were born on the same day and because they thought they made me when they made him they named me Na. She got the Pure and I got Na; even the puppet had a better name than me. Batter up, three strikes and you're out.'

'They thought they created us,' Ahna shook her head.

'They thought they were better than us,' Catilin curled her lips with disgust.

'They thought we were three little dollies in a pretty little house,' Jay's fingers moved into a strange, child-like miming of his words. 'Dollies they could play with when they wanted and ignore when they did not,' he winced again. 'They thought they could control us, but we were not for them to control.'

'We were the Darkness,' Catilin smirked, 'we were the Reganna.'

'The Reganna.' Ahna chuckled.

'The Reganna.' Jay echoed and grinned. 'We weren't their dollies, we were their family and we wanted them to share.'

'Only they wouldn't share.'

'So we decided we would take everything they had instead,' Catilin's glazed eyes almost seemed to glint with dark excitement.

'Bit by bit we played with everything they had,' Jay laughed, before wincing once more. 'Bit by bit we destroyed everything they'd worked so hard to create. They tried to fight back, but they were no match for us. Their puppet on the other hand...'

'Now that was a fight to remember,' Ahna's face filled with a menacing smile, 'the final battle between us and him.'

'Shatter, shatter, shatter, shatter, shatter,' Jay again used his hands to mime the words, 'and only the Mistresses left complete. They thought we were gone. They thought the puppet was gone. But we weren't.'

'Because you can't kill darkness,' Catilin hissed the words, 'only shift it.'


'Mistress do we all come,' Adam half lifted a hand towards his Mistress's blond host before fear made him withdraw it.

'I have no use for you,' he shook his head, 'you will stay here with Yugi and my sister. No matter what happens she cannot be allowed to become like me, do you understand?'

'I... I understand Mistress and... and I will lay my life down to protect her.'

'You died a long time ago Adam, you have no life to lay down.'

'S-sorry Mistress...'

'No,' Tristan gripped the material over his stomach for a moment, before glaring at the First's host, 'you do not get to talk to him that way.'

'And you have a say on how I talk to people now?' The First folded his arms. 'The Spirits were the ones who wanted him here...'

'Because his mind was glowing,' Tristan took a step towards her. 'His mind, my body, Mai's heart and... someone's soul... his soul... there has to be a connection somewhere.'

'Yes, the connection is that spirits, especially restless ones, see what they want to see. We don't have time for you to get all... sympathetic over how I'm treating him just because some spirits...'

'Not just any spirits, the Spirits, right? It has to be important,' Tristan gritted his teeth.

'What's important right now is that we get to the Pure before she losing control of the line she's holding. That brat...'

'He has a name.'

'I know.'

'Then use it.'

Adam felt his stomach turn over several times. Never in his whole life would he ever have expected to see someone talking to the First like this. It made his insides quiver with fear of the wrath he expected the First to reign down upon him. It wasn't long in coming; in one swift motion the First's host clenched his fist and pulled it towards his chest. Tristan instantly fell to his knees.

'Do you solve all your problems by proving you're the most powerful being in the room?' Tristan glared up at her.

'I've have enough of your insolence Tristan,' the First's host met his gaze. 'Just because we do not know what you are does not give you the right to act like our equal. I am more powerful than you could ever hope to be.'

Tristan laughed and started to struggle to his feet. The First tightened his clenched fist further and for a moment Tristan stopped struggling.

'I'm starting to get a good picture of what I am First,' Tristan's voice was surprisingly level for someone in his situation, 'and what my connection to you is. I may not understand it all yet, but I'm getting there.'

He began to struggle to his feet again. Adam watched with bated breath expecting his struggle to be short lived and painful. No one... no one was stronger than the First. Somehow, against all odd, Tristan managed to push himself into a crouched position. As he fought to pull himself upright the First drew his fist towards himself and sent Tristan crashing back down to the ground.

'The power you have gained from the Spirits in this forest was greater than I thought,' the First released his fist, 'but your arrogance is unacceptable. You are using borrowed power right now, remember that. When this is over you will go back to how you were and you will not even hope to struggle against me.'

'Are you sure about that?' Tristan pulled himself to his feet. 'What if the Spirits just awakened something which was already inside of me?'

'This conversation is over Tristan,' the First's host turned and started walking away.

'Because you say it is?'

'Because my sister needs me right now and I've had just about enough of you for one day. Now stop wasting time and follow me.'

'It's what you want everyone to do, isn't it? Follow you, just because you're the oldest and the most powerful. You expect everyone to obey you blindly and you have no faith in what anyone else might be capable of; so then why do you waste breath arguing with me?' Tristan held his ground forcing the First to stop and glance back towards him. 'What am I to you?'

'A Guardian. An instrument I can use.'

'No,' he shook his head, 'that's what you'd like me to be, but I'm more than that. I felt it the first time I saw the three of you in action and I feel it again now. So tell me, what am I to you?'

'We are not having this conversation Tristan,' the First started walking again, 'my sister needs my help; so you will drop this now.'

'You can't even answer me, can you?' Tristan looked almost hurt.

'Tristan go after her,' the Face of Friendship placed a hand on his shoulder, 'now's not the time for this conversation. Please, the Pure needs both of you right now.'

'I know,' Tristan lowered his gaze, 'but...'

'You already know what my answer will be Tristan,' her face filled with a soft smile, 'now please, help my sisters.'


Yugi really wished he'd been able to understand the argument between Tristan and the First; it felt important somehow. Instead he was left staring after the two of them as they walked away. His eyes slid towards the Téa lookalike and for a few moments he tried to work out exactly what to say.

'Are we supposed to follow them?'

'My sister doesn't want to put me back in danger,' the Téa lookalike shook her head. 'She wants you and... him,' she flicked a glance towards the other boy, 'to keep me safe.'

'I see...' Yugi pressed his lips together, 'so what was their argument about?'

'Tristan is starting to understand a little of what he is,' she sighed. 'It's not his fault, what he feels, how he acts, I can see that now. It must be all so confusing for him. That's why he's acting out against everybody, because what little he does understand about himself is frightening him.'

'What is he?'

'I can't...' tears glistened in her eyes, 'if I ever utter the words it might break the spell. I'm not sure I could bare that.'

'Break the spell?'

'I'm sorry I can't say more than that,' she glanced towards him. 'You have to understand I'm not completely sure I know what I know. But when I was with him I could feel what he was feeling and... and I understood what he was a little better. Now I'm afraid if I say anymore I'll lose that understanding and I really don't want to.'

'Mitte sono sar?' The stranger pulled his face, clearly feeling left out of their conversation.

'Tono maro mai denon,' the Téa lookalike waved a dismissive hand at him.

'Who is he anyway?' Yugi frowned with sudden curiosity.

'He is Adam the Gardener, the only Standing ever permitted to have a tree in Kama Traydon.'

'Okay,' Yugi's frown deepened, 'and what's he doing here?'

'Something to do with the Spirits believing him to be necessary to us,' she shrugged. 'The First is not best pleased with him being here.'

'Why not?'

'Because he's the reason we didn't get Tracker.'

'Huh?'

'A potential Guardian,' she tilted her head to one side. 'Tracker was something special, but if you ask me so was this boy. That's why I was glad when the Spirits requested him to join them. And, as angry as I know it makes the First for me to think this way, I truly believe it was always his birthright.'