A/N: Couple of quick FYIs:

First off, no, Seth is not pathetic. You try splitting your concentration more than 5 different ways while using magic, keep up with a conversation, and fighting exhaustion. It's not easy. He's also not used to control. Kaiba's always in control so Seth's out of practice. Also, the cyprinum Seth's Shadows smell like is an Ancient Egyptian fragrance. Look it up.

Next chapter, we'll hopefully get to talk to Seth more, get Kaiba and Seth in a room together talking, and get the Justice League's sympathy. ...hopefully. These characters aren't exactly known for their obedience.

Lastly, the Ancient Egyptian Seth-centric prequel tp this is now a go.

Not-So-Good First Impressions

"Wait!" Oliver said, moving to stand between Wonder Woman and the righteously infuriated Shadow Court. "Wait. What about the Game?"

"The Game ended when those two bitches broke the rules," Bakura said.

"Watch your language young man," Walter said firmly.

"If you were listening at all," Bakura snapped, "you'd know I'm not a young man. I'm older than you by several millennia."

"I was listening," Walter said. "But quite frankly, I don't care."

"Look!" Oliver snapped. "I don't care how old anyone is. I want to know what happened to the Game. You are all breaking the rules right now and I want to know why the hell there isn't a penalty being exacted." He raised a preemptive finger to silence Walter.

"The Shadows were in the middle of doing just that when this," Bakura kicked the sealed interloper, "bastard interfered." He also held up a finger, staving off Walter's remarks. "Comment about my language and I will send you the Shadow Realm mortal."

"What do you mean interfered?" Diggle demanded. "It looked to me like Kaiba or," he waved to the slowly recovering Regent on the ground, "whoever that is tried to attack the Justice League."

"I second that," Hawkgirl said, crossing her arms and glaring out from under her feathered mask.

"Yeah, well frankly lady I don' give a damn," Jounouchi growled, running back to help the unconscious Yuugi and Yami. "You brought this on yerselves when you broke the rules."

"You keep saying that," Hawkgirl said, "and ye-"

"He's right," Oliver said. "You did break the rules, both of you." He turned to the two heroines sternly. "You crossed the line and asked questions that were both off topic and deliberate personal attacks, and you kept asking until the Shadows took matters into their owns hands."

"What are you talking about?" Hawkgirl demanded.

"Why don't we start with your explanation for what one of your gods is doing here in the first place, Amazon," Ryou said, brown eyes cold. "Judging from his appearance, I'm guessing he's Ares, the Greek god of war, am I correct?"

Wonder Woman nodded, still staring stunned at her fallen god. "Yes, it is. Although I do not know why he's here, unless he came to my defense."

"I find that hard to believe," Shaadi said, "considering it was he who was forcing my Regent to attack in the first place."

"What?" Superman gasped.

"Shaadi, go help the King and the Pharaoh," Ryou said. "They need your balance right now."

Shaadi nodded, reluctantly leaving his Regent with Mai and J'onn. He cast one last distrustful glance at the Martian and hurried to the two fallen monarchs. Mai held Seth close to her body like a mother would. It was still Seth in control; the Shadows' scent had not changed. In fact, it had grown stronger. She could feel small shudders throughout Kaiba's body as Seth trembled, though whether from fear or exhaustion she did not know. She pressed a soft kiss on his forehead, hoping to help ease his tension and help him relax at least a little bit while she listened to the conversation around her.

"It's true," J'onn said, golden eyes pinned to the Regent. "I touched his mind and they tried to tell me."

"They?" Green Lantern said.

"Yes," J'onn said nodding. "Kaiba and one other."

"Ares?" Wonder Woman asked, not at all happy with the situation.

The Martian shook his head. "No. The one I sensed, he was Kaiba as much as he was not Kaiba."

"That doesn't make sense," Batman said.

"It's Seth," Oliver said, surprising most of those present. "I kind of met him in Kaiba's mind when Shaadi and I stopped the Shadow Game Ahkenadin started."

"I assume that was when I lost touch with your mind," J'onn said.

Oliver shrugged. "That would make sense, yeah. Although we're gonna have to talk about the whole tracking my mind thing without my knowledge or permission later, by the way."

"Ahkenadin," Hawkgirl said. "That's who you said was behind the deaths here."

Oliver nodded, eyes watching Seth in cautious worry.

"So, let's recap," Green Lantern said. "We've got an Egyptian god of chaos somewhere in Kaiba's mind," Mai ran a hand through Seth's hair, held him closer protectively, and glared at the superhero, "sentient Shadows with a rule complex," Bakura and Ryou snorted in dark amusement, "and an incapacitated Greek god."

"Don't forget her," Hawkgirl said, pointing to Mai. "Where did you come from anyway?"

"Yes," Ryou said, turning to Mai. "I've been wondering that myself."

Mai grimaced. "Kaiba cast the Field Spell and brought all of us here. Well," she corrected, "most of us anyway. He meant to bring me too, but Seth held me back."

"Seth?" J'onn asked.

Mai nodded. "Yes. I think he knew about," she nodded to the fallen Greek god, "him and figured something involving you two," Mai glared at Wonder Woman and Hawkgirl, "would happen. So he held me back because he knew I had the ability to protect you and stop him."

"Protect us?" Wonder Woman asked, not sure whether to be offended or grateful.

"Why stop him?" Hawkgirl said. "And what is that?" She pointed to Harpie Lady currently perched beside Mai, feathered arms spread protectively over her mistress and Seth. Harpie Lady hissed and crouched under Harpie's Pet Dragon who grumbled deep in its throat.

"She's a harpie isn't she?" Wonder Woman asked, recognizing the monster from her mythology.

"Yes," Mai said. "She is. She's my favorite monster." Harpie Lady crooned proudly showing pointed teeth when she grinned. "And I stopped him because he wasn't in control of himself. Something else was in controlling his movements."

"Ares?" Wonder Woman asked, approaching Mai and the harpie carefully.

Mai shook her head. "Not at first. In fact, I'm not sure when Ares took control."

"It was the Shadows that started it," Oliver said. "They wanted to penalize you and Hawkgirl and I guess they saw Kaiba, or Seth, as a useful way to do that."

"I keep forgetting you can see the Shadows," Mai murmured.

"While you are correct, I'm afraid I have to edit what you said a bit." Ryou stepped forward and Bakura promptly used him as an armrest. Ryou sighed tolerantly but continued.

"The only reason the Shadows chose to use Kaiba as a a tool to dispense a penalty is because one," Ryou held up one finger, "he's their Regent and a natural channel for them at all times; two," he held up a second finger, "he's likely still recovering from Ahkenadin's Shadow Game and not to mention tired from all that's happened so far which makes him more vulnerable to outside influences than usual," he lifted a third finger, "and three, you," he pointed to Hawkgirl, "and you," he pointed to Wonder Woman, "broke the rules by attacking him personally with verbal insults. Insults that struck too close to home making him and most likely Seth too hate you and momentarily wish you would suffer. All of that combined was just a perfect storm."

"The Shadows flooded Kaiba too fast for his weakened shields to stop," Bakura said, picking up where Ryou left off, "and ended up pushing his consciousness back. My guess is, Seth instinctively took control, effectively acting as a barrier preventing the full force of the Shadows from sweeping Kaiba's consciousness away entirely."

"It was more than that," Mai said, pulling Mokuba close when the younger Kaiba began tearing up with worry for his big brother. "When the Shadows took over Kaiba's body, they effectively cut off any control he had and used him as a living puppet."

Bakura winced. "I was afraid of that. I can see why they wouldn't take that too well."

"What do you mean?" Flash asked. "He looks fine to me. Maybe a bit winded like he ran a marathon or something, but not too bad."

"Let me put it to you this way," Ryou said. "Green Lantern, did you like it when Marik took over your mind?"

"The hell I did," Lantern growled out.

"Now imagine that happening while you're fully conscious and aware but unable to do anything to stop it," Bakura finished.

Flash's eyes widened, as did most of the Justice League's. "And this was caused by-"

"The Shadows desire to exact punishment on perceived cheaters," Mai said, allowing Mokuba to pull away from her to scoot over to Seth's other side.

Gray eyes stared up at Seth cautiously for a moment before Mokuba reached out and took one Seth's hands between his own. Seth's eyes fluttered open shyly to gaze at the smaller hands around his. He met Mokuba's eyes and a small grateful smile graced his lips, his fingers tightening subtly around Mokuba's hand. Then his eyes closed again.

"And then this Greek bastard," Bakura hissed, "took advantage of the Shadows' thirst for blood and pushed the already possessed Kaiba the rest of the way until all the Shadows could think about was battle."

"Careful," Wonder Woman warned. "That Greek bastard you're referring to is my god."

"Yes, and what a mighty god he is," Bakura groaned sarcastically.

"I could say the same for the mighty Set," Batman said.

Diggle groaned, running a hand over his face. This is not what he had been expecting when he got up this morning. "Back to Ares," he said to Wonder Woman, "why the hell is your pantheon getting involved in all this?" Walter gave him a disappointed look for his language which Diggle deliberately ignored for the time being. "And you never said why Kaiba cast this Field Spell thing in the first place," he added to Mai.

"To minimize damage, of course," Shaadi said, walking back to the group with an unconscious Yuugi cradled in his arms. Jounouchi followed close behind carrying Yami. "Anything that happens here,"Shaadi said, "battles, Spellcasting, explosions, everything, none of it will translate to the real world. If a full out battle between our two sides broke out, the damage would be contained to this space."

"Yeah," Jounouchi drawled in annoyance. "'Cause we all know how good you idiots are at damage control."

Flash and Superman at least had the decency to look sheepish.

"I do not understand," J'onn said softly, kneeling so he could get a better look at the young man in Mai's arms. "If this is Seth," he said, studying Kaiba's body, "then where is Kaiba?"

He reached out to touch Kaiba's arm but was startled back when the young man flinched away, closer to Mai. "Are you awake?" J'onn asked softly. Seth nodded weakly. "You heard us talking," J'onn said. Again, Seth nodded weakly. "Can you speak yourself?" the Martian asked.

Seth sighed heavily. "It...is...difficult," he murmured.

"You should probably drop the Field Spell," Mai told him softly. "It's draining your strength maintaining it."

Seth twitched his head in a negative shake.

"She's right," Shaadi said, gazing worriedly at his Regent. "You are already weak as it is. The damage to Kaiba's soul room was significant. That alone must be taking much effort to heal."

Again, Seth twitched his head negatively.

"Protecting us," he murmured.

"Protecting us?" Wonder Woman asked. "From what?"

Seth did not speak, instead he just sighed in exhaustion and tried to stand. Mai knew better than to fight her Regent when he was in protective mode. Seth was probably just as protective as Kaiba was and, therefore, just as idiotically driven. Mai helped Seth stand, letting him lean heavily on her for support. After a few seconds, Seth pushed away and lifted his head revealing his blue eyes to the crowd.

J'onn was struck by the age behind those eyes when they passed over him. But the eyes did not stop on him, rather they settled on the Pharaoh and Yuugi. Seth staggered over to the other Shadow monarchs, stumbling and forcing Mai to catch him before he fell.

"What's wrong wit' him?" Jounouchi asked, hefting Yami to a better position.

Shaadi all but rolled his eyes. "He is drained."

"The 'you idiot' at the end of that statement was audible to everyone, by the way," Bakura said.

"Shut up Bakura!" Jounouchi snapped.

Oliver watched Seth struggle to maintain his balance as he made his way over to the fallen monarchy. The vigilante felt uneasy and when he reached for his Shadows, he began to understand why. Kaiba's horizon of power was too dark, the balance was tipped too far. Green eyes studied Yuugi and Yami in sudden clarity. Yuugi was probably suffering from the lack of power and Yami was probably intoxicated by it.

He used his Shadow senses to look at the King and Pharaoh and felt disturbed to see Yuugi's torch guttering fitfully. It seemed to Oliver like Yami's darkness was literally devouring Yuugi, smothering his flame. Then Seth walked into his field of vision and Oliver's eyes watched Seth place a hand on both monarch's foreheads just as his Shadow senses observed the Regent's horizon of power begin to stabilize. It was like watching a sunrise without a sun. It felt good and Oliver's Shadows calmed, accepting the return of the balance with greedy excitement.

"Oliver!" Diggle's voice rang in his ears suddenly.

Oliver jumped and turned to his best friend in surprise. "What?"

"You alright?" Diggle asked. "I've been calling you for the past minute."

Oliver blinked and noticed Walter staring at him oddly. He shook his head. "Just watching."

Diggle nodded and Walter asked, "Watching what?"

Oliver gestured to Seth. "Him. He's restoring the balance of the Shadows."

J'onn listened to Arrow's words curiously and opened his mind telepathically. He was greeted by a darkness that was wild and chaotic that felt like Kaiba's darkness. But this darkness was tempered by something, age and experience probably. Cautiously, anticipating the burn of touching Kaiba's, or was it Seth's mind, J'onn deliberately touched the sentient darkness.

He visually saw Seth stiffen before relaxing. Seth's Shadows curled hesitantly around J'onn's mental presence, careful not to touch directly. J'onn felt emotions he could almost put words to filter into his mind: curiosity, caution, distrust, and protectiveness.

:You said speaking was difficult,: J'onn said. :Is this easier?:

J'onn felt hesitancy in Seth's Shadows. :You cannot form words.:

Seth shook his head, pulling away from Yuugi and Yami and turning to meet J'onn's eyes.

"What are you protecting us from by keeping us here?" J'onn asked.

Seth bowed his head and with obvious reluctance lifted his eyes and forced his Shadows to gather. "I'm sorry," he whispered. Then J'onn's mind burned, but within the burn were images of the Shadow Thief in the hotel room they had been occupying.

When J'onn came back to himself, Superman was steadying him and Flash looked ready to fight. Green Lantern and Hawkgirl were standing on either side of their companion while Wonder Woman and Batman stood in front of him.

"Wait," J'onn gasped, rubbing his temples to ease the lingering pain. "It was not his fault." He stood up straight and met Seth's old eyes with his own. "It's his mind. It hurts to touch it."

"So it was your mind J'onn felt when he first got to Starling City, not Kaiba's," Diggle said.

Seth shook his head as did J'onn. "No," the Martian said. "That was Kaiba's mind."

"But then-"

"Their minds burn my senses, possibly due to incompatibility," J'onn pondered aloud.

Seth shook his head once more. "Not so," he said, voice still weak but firm. "It burns because...you are not a Shadow user. It...is the raw power you feel that burns."

"So it does talk," Batman commented flatly earning him a tired glower from Seth.

"Of course it talks," Ryou said, earning him a savagely hateful look from Seth.

"He is protecting us," J'onn said. "The Shadow Thief is at the hotel."

"Shadow Thief?!" Mai gasped.

"My stuff!" Jounouchi cried. "I left my stuff there."

Seth sighed and merely pointed to a small outcropping of rock on the closer side of the ridge where several bags were resting. Jounouchi blinked. "Dude, how'd you-?"

Seth rolled his eyes and muttered something incomprehensible. Jounouchi stared balefully at him. "You know, I may not understand the words, but I know when I'm being insulted."

Seth's lips twitched upwards ever so minutely.

"If the Shadow Thief's there, then we need to stop him," Superman said, ever the boy scout.

Seth sighed and his shoulders drooped.

"I should also tell Artemis about Ares, if she doesn't know already," Wonder Woman said.

Seth glanced at the sealed Greek god in disgust before dismissing him with a nod.

"I'll go as well," Green Lantern said.

"And you're my ride so I guess that means I'm going too," Flash said.

"We're not done yet," Batman said, staring hard at Seth. "I want to know about the things you did to earn such a bad record in mythology."

Seth visibly wilted, just barely holding onto a semblance of dignity.

"I'm staying," Hawkgirl said firmly, feather fluffing in a mountain breeze.

Seth glowered at her which she returned with equal force.

"Fine, Hawkgirl stays. Wonder Woman, take care of Ares, will you?" Batman said, taking command.

Wonder Woman nodded. "How long will the seal last?" she asked Bakura who shrugged.

"It depends," Bakura said.

"I could lift it myself," Ryou said thoughtfully, "but I don't think he could be handled easily without it."

Wonder Woman nodded and picked up the sealed god. Bakura whistled. "Nice strength you've got there, Amazon," he said.

"Well, you ready to go?" Mai asked. At the chorus of nods, she turned to Seth, placing a soothing hand on his back between his shoulder blades.

"Oh, before you go," Ryou called to the League. "See if you can catch Shadow Thief." Brown eyes darkened with hatred. "I want to know where Marik is."

Bakura looked at Ryou with pleasure. "Well, well, Yadonoushi," he purred. "You should let that side of your personality out more often." Bakura's crimson eyes darkened. "It's very attractive."

Jounouchi groaned muttering something about Darks. Seth glanced at the Thief and Scribe briefly in mild disgust. Then he waved his hand and the Justice League with the exception of Hawkgirl vanished, returning to the real world.

"What about us?" Walter asked.

"We will go down the mountain," Shaadi said, already walking. Jounouchi followed, easily keeping pace with Shaadi. Mai, Seth, and Mokuba taking hold of Seth's hand once more, followed at a slower pace. Bakura and Ryuou took up the rear.

"Um," Diggle said, clearing his throat, "not that I'm against hiking, but is this necessary?"

"It is if you want to return to the real world in a place other than the hotel room, yes," Mai called back, steadying Seth who wobbled on a loose rock.

Hawkgirl humphed, spread her wings, and took to the air. Mai noticed the heroine and smacked her head. "Why didn't I think of that? Harpie's Pet Dragon!" The maroon dragon made its way over to her and she scratched it behind its feathery crest.

"You're tellin' me," Jounouchi said. He hefted Yuugi over so he could slip two cards into a slot on his Duel Disk. "Red Eyes Black Dragon!"

A great black dragon with fiery red eyes appeared next to its summoner. "Hey buddy," Jounouchi said. "Mind carrying me and my friend 'ere?" The dragons growled and obediently crouched down so the two could climb onto its back.

"Hey sweetie," Mai said to her beast, "could you be a dear and carry Shaadi and Yami for me?" The maroon dragon crooned and lowered its head and shoulders so Shaadi could easily mount it. The Egyptian eyed the beast with visible trepidation. Mai had to nudge him not so gently towards it. "Go on."

Shaadi placed Yami on the beast's shoulders and climbed on behind him. Neither dragon took off immediately. Mai drew two more cards from her Deck and called out, "Elegant Egotist. Harpie Lady Sisters!"

Harpie Lady squawked happily when two more harpies appeared, one with stylishly cropped orange hair and the other with wild blue hair. The three harpies chattered excitedly until Mai called them to order. "Ladies, would you mind carrying these three fine gentlemen, please?"

Oliver paled as did Walter and Diggle. "Um," the vigilante said, "I think I'm quite happy with my feet firmly on the ground."

"I agree," Walter said.

"Nonsense," Mai said, waving away their protests. "I insist. This is faster. Unless you prefer to ride that," she said, pointing behind tem.

The three men trned and stared in horror as Bakura and Ryou sat in either hand of a giant winged beast with the torso and head of a man and the lower body of a snake. The snake's head hissed at them.

"On second thought," Oliver said, "pretty ladies are fine by me."

Mai hummed in amusement and the three harpies converged on the men. The maroon haired harpie snagged Oliver with her talons, the orange haired harpie caught Walter, and the blue haired harpie sister caught Diggle.

"But what about Kaiba or Seth or whoever he is right now?" Diggle called, trying not to feel disconcerted by the fact he was currently dangling from the taloned feet of a winged beast who was carrying him away from the ground.

Seth closed his eyes and murmured something softly. The roar that followed was loud and startled the harpies holding the vigilante and his comrades. The other two dragons echoed back a greeting as the glittering white dragon that originally brought Kaiba here appeared once more. It landed and stared at Seth calmly, crooning.

"Oh," Diggle murmured.

Seth and the dragon stared into each other's eyes unmoving for several moments before Mokuba tugged Seth's hand, breaking the trance. The youngest brother mounted the dragon then Mai climbed on before helping Seth up. When everyone was mounted, they all flew down to the gorge, gliding over the sea of clouds.

"Any idea where we're going?" Walter called over the wind. The harpie holding him swerved to the left to be closer to Seth, Mai, and Mokuba on the Blue Eyes White Dragon. Walter gripped the harpie's talons when the brief sensation of free fall very nearly gave him a heart attack.

Mai reached behind her and tapped Seth who was currently resting against her back and relayed the message. Blue eyes much too old for the body they inhabited turned to Walter before whispering an answer to Mai. The woman nodded and called back. "Oliver's place."

"How about the Verdant?" Oliver offered instead.

"I agree," Diggle called back. "It's more secure and large enough for everyone. Plus, we can set up mats for however many people need it."

Seth blinked tiredly but nodded nonetheless. The Blue Eyes White Dragon roared out a command echoed by the other two dragons and the harpies before swerving slightly to the right. The great winged humanoid-snake monstrosity carrying Bakure and Ryou made no sound, just followed.

Hawkgirl followed the group with the harpies who seemed to have taken a liking to her. They squawked and chirped to her, carrying on a conversation she could not completely understand. But it warmed her heart to know not everyone disliked her. She joined the right side of the harpies' flight formation earning chirps of encouragement from them. Hawkgirl grinned. She would not mind flying with these lovely ladies of the wind one day when all this was over.

"Mai," Seth whispered, his soft voice almost lost in the rushing wind. "Thank you. From both of us."

Mai smiled over her shoulder. "Don't mention it. You just rest. I'll take care of everything else from here."

She felt Seth nod and relax against her in a light sleep. Mai felt the familiar sympathy rise in her chest again. Seth must be absolutely exhausted from everything. She wondered how Kaiba was doing, then dismissed the thought. Kaiba was probably resting in his soul room, rebuilding and fixing the damage Shaadi mentioned. Seth was probably helping where he could.

She shook her head, pulling her thoughts back to the present. She had to stay alert to know when they had arrived so she could wake Seth to dismiss the Field Spell. Then they could all get some sleep, well Seth would. She wanted to know what happened to their hotel room. Not to mention, she wanted her precious ride back. If someone even scratched her Harpy, heads would roll.