Kyo glanced up at Mahad. "I'll call if I need anything." She said quietly. "You should get some rest."
He hesitated. "If you're certain you will be all right."
She nodded, and he disappeared.
She gazed at the empty lawn for a minute, then turned and headed inside.
"Mr. Roland?" She called.
"He's on leave." One of the staff informed her. "Would you like me to call him, miss?"
"Oh– no," Kyo said. "Just, uh," She paused. "Mr. Kaiba had some urgent business to take care of. He and Kisara had to leave." She said. "I'm about to head out for a bit too. Just wanted to make sure you knew."
"Very kind of you, miss." He said, bowing. "Let us know if you need anything."
"I will." She headed to her room, grabbing her bag and stuffing a spare set of clothes in it. I have to put a stop to this. She thought as she packed. For Dad. For Mom. For Mr. Kaiba. She paused. And for Kisara.
She slipped back out and headed down the hall. She didn't know how long it would take, but if Dartz was right, and the Phantom was after her, then it wouldn't take too long. She just had to be ready, this time.
She left by a side door that opened up to a small glen, then paused. Okay. Apprentice Magician!
The apprentice appeared, a little surprised when he realized he wasn't in a duel. He looked around, then back at her for an explanation.
"I'd like to fly under the radar, if you know what I mean." She said quietly.
He understood and nodded, then came over and scooped her up.
"That way." She pointed, and he took off, flying low.
The sight of the temple made Kisara's eyes widen. She stared around at the stone walls and imposing statues, her mouth slightly open in wonder.
"Hm. Orichalcos Gigas." Dartz said, and a large, brutish ogre in chains appeared. "Take Kaiba to the altar."
"Why?" Kisara rounded on him, getting between the brute and her father.
"Would you rather he just lie there on the floor?" Dartz returned dryly. "The altar serves to focus the energies of the Orichalcos, and since that's what we need in order to restore him, it would follow that that would be the best place to put him, now wouldn't it?"
Kisara hesitated.
"Besides, you did promise to stay out of my way." He reminded her. "Don't worry. That's as far as I'm taking him."
After a moment, she nodded and stepped aside.
"Good. Gigas," Dartz gestured, and the ogre stepped forward, scooping up the limp form and carrying it with deceptive care up to the altar.
Kisara followed it over. As soon as Seto was placed, the Gigas disappeared.
"You can look, but don't touch." Dartz warned as he headed for a side passage.
She hesitated, wondering if she was supposed to follow. Well, I did say I'd stay out of his way… She thought. So instead, she sat down next to the altar and watched her father's chest rise and fall, as if all he was doing was sleeping.
Father… She sighed.
"What would your father think if he could see you now?"
"I don't care what my father thinks! He abandoned me! He and Mom went off to travel the world and left ME with this sick, twisted, sadistic excuse for a stepfather!"
She looked down.
"The Seal of Orichalcos takes the darkness in your heart and amplifies it to an intense degree. This isn't how she truly feels."
But it was in there. She thought. Part of her believed it. She grimaced and turned to sit with her back against the altar.
It seemed like there wasn't anything to do but wait, and suddenly, she doubted the wisdom of asking to come here and be alone with her thoughts. But she didn't really want to be at home at the moment, not with Kyo back there.
"The only person he ever cared about was you. His pampered little princess. I thought that if I protected you too, he'd at least recognize that. He didn't, but I can't say it was a complete waste. After all, soon everyone knew not to mess with us."
"What are you saying?"
"Didn't you notice? We're bad luck. Anyone who messed with us wound up in a bad way."
She rested her chin on her arm. I can't believe it. She thought, bitter tears brimming in her eyes. She had been wondering why no one wanted to hang out with them. She felt foolish for not noticing it sooner, but she'd actually started to believe she was bad luck.
Well, that explains why Jesse's so friendly. She bit her lip. He didn't know. The only other person who would hang out with them was Sirius, and he had been particularly annoying. Like getting stuck with a very yappy dog.
Trust him to be too stupid to notice we're bad luck. Kisara thought grumpily. Though I shouldn't be too hard on him. He got possessed by Uria, after all.
She sighed and looked up at the altar again. Father…
"NO!"
She jumped and looked around, but the voice was coming from another room. It sounded like Dartz was particularly upset.
"I can't believe– you searched everywhere? …Damn it! Why? Of all the…!"
Kisara got to her feet and wandered over, only to nearly get run over as Dartz stormed back out. "What's going on?" She asked.
"Your sister. She's run off!" He snarled, throwing his hands out. A veritable storm of seals appeared in the air around him. "Find her!" He snapped. "We can't let the Phantom get to her!"
Kyo ran off? Kisara felt a twinge of reactive guilt, but it faded quickly. She folded her arms.
"Of all the times to act like a child!" Dartz clenched his fists, then whirled. "Kisara!" He barked. "Do you know where she might go?"
She shrugged. "I'd say she wasn't one for sneaking out, but apparently she just wasn't one for telling me that she was." She said coolly. "The only place we ever went was Kaibaland."
"Damn it all!" Dartz spun, and ribbons of green energy sparked through the air as his temper kindled the Orichalcos. He noticed and stopped, breathing hard, then huffed and opened another seal. "Rafael," He called, one hand going to his head.
[Still not a– Master Dartz?] Rafael queried through the seal.
"I seem to be… having a tantrum." Dartz said a little wryly. His voice turned angry again. "That damn brat ran off!"
[Who? Hang on– Grarl! Elma! Help Eatos!] Rafael called over his shoulder. [I gotta take this!] He looked back. [Which brat?]
"Kyo Moto." Dartz hissed, and a surge of green energy lanced up around him. "Gah!" He gasped and clutched his arm, and a shot of cold air swept the room.
[You've got seekers on it, right?] Rafael checked.
"…yes." Dartz nodded, seeming to get his composure back. "I have everyone on it except you." He took a deep breath, then let it out and straightened, and the room seemed to warm up again. "She can't have gotten far. I was just there."
[Just there?] Rafael frowned. [What happened?]
"The Phantom got to Kaiba and Obelisk." Dartz said. "It was something of an emergency, so I went. She won, but Obelisk –now Raviel, apparently– tore through Kaiba before escaping. Luckily, the Seal spared his soul–"
[Wait, but who played the Seal?] Rafael asked. [You didn't make Kyo play it, did you?]
"I did. I assumed–"
[Dammit, Dartz! What were you thinking?! You knew the Orichalcos wouldn't mix well with her!]
"She overcame it," Dartz growled impatiently. "I'll admit it was a near thing, but–"
[You sure she overcame it?] Rafael queried. [You did just say she's run off.]
"She broke through the darkness and gave up a competitive advantage in favor of helping Kaiba break Raviel's control." Dartz said. His eyes narrowed. "I told her Joseph was coming, and she said she was going to wait. The window between my departure and Joseph's arrival couldn't have been more than five minutes."
[Why didn't you just wait?] Rafael asked.
"Like I said," Dartz said with a bite of impatience, shivering a little as he tried to keep his temper in check. "I told her Joseph was coming, and she said she would wait." His fist clenched. "I can't believe she would run off like this."
[Well, like I said, her soul's got history with the Orichalcos.] Rafael returned. [She might have broken through, but that's only the first step. Now she's gotta forgive herself for whatever she did, and even if you tell her it's not her fault, that's not easy.]
Dartz was silent for a moment.
[So, she's on the run and you've got seekers searching for her.] Rafael said. [Have you tried her magician? Mahad?]
"I can't exactly call him if she's summoned him, and she can't exactly evade the seekers without help." Dartz pointed out.
[She's got other monsters. I couldn't look Eatos in the eye for a week.] Rafael pointed out. [And thanks to the trinket you gave her, she can summon more than just the ones she's got strong bonds with.]
Dartz didn't seem convinced. "Well, it's worth a shot, I suppose, though I doubt he'd answer my call." He said at last. His shoulders relaxed, and he let out a breath. "Thank you, Rafael. Think that took the edge off."
[No problem, Master.] Rafael said. [Stay pure.]
"I'll try," Dartz said wryly. "Good luck."