The first thing she registered was the soft bedding she was laying on. Wait. That wasn't right. That wasn't supposed to be there. She'd just been in Domino, giving someone directions to the pier.

Oh shit. It had been a trap, and she'd fallen right into it like she wasn't a trained agent to lookout for these sorts of things. It was such a simple trick and she'd fallen for it. Now the question became where was she? Because she certainly was not home.

The next thing she registered was the slight stinging in her back from her previous injury. She wasn't feeling like a very good spy at this point, being injured in a fight and being so foolish as to fall for the old 'asking for directions' trick.

She heard footsteps nearby and froze, making sure her breathing was deep and even as if she was still unconscious as she listened to the conversation.

"I thought she was supposed to have awoken by now!" a man snapped. She recognized the voice – not one that she'd ever heard in a face to face conversation, but one she would have at least heard on the radio or on the television. "What did you do to her?"

"I just knocked her out like you said, Master Pegasus!"

Pegasus? What the hell? Hadn't he done enough to her family?

"Go check on her and make sure she hasn't gone and died," Pegasus said from what Reika only assumed was a doorway. He sounded genuinely concerned that his kidnap victim had died, which would have made her laugh had she not been trying to stay completely still.

The door opened, and heavy footsteps drew near. When the shadow hovered over her, Reika grabbed the wrist that had brushed against her pulse, and pulled it back, moving off the bed as she bent his arm backward as the man cried out in shock and pain.

The noise that escaped Pegasus, however, was one of a delighted laugh as Reika's eyes locked on him. They both knew she couldn't do anything other than make threats, and Kenji's words about being careful echoed in her head.

"Where the hell am I?" she snapped.

"Now now Miss Mutou. There's no need to get so testy. I am Maximillion Pegasus, and this is Duelist Kingdom!" the man said, holding his arms out in a dramatic fashion. "I just thought that the cousin of the boy who defeated Seto Kaiba deserved a front row seat to all of the action."

"Kidnapping me is not the best way to say I deserve a front row seat," she said, still holding on to the guard that had hovered over her. "And if anyone deserved a front row seat to this, it's our grandfather. You know, the man that you sent to the Shadow Realm in order to force my cousin to come here to begin with. He's the one that taught Yugi how to play the game."

He let out a giggle sort of sound and smiled at her. "You are a sharp one aren't you? I expected as much from a Mutou. Now, if you could let go of my security guard I'd be happy to explain everything."

She growled low in her throat but released the pointy-haired man that she recognized with a sinking feeling in her stomach.

Kemo.

He grinned in recognition at her. "Hello, Miss Mutou. It's been a while. Where in the world have you been hiding?"

"School," she shot back.

"There's no need to be testy, Miss Mutou," Pegasus said smoothly as he led her through the wide expanse of the castle. "Though, I suppose it could be your pain or your hunger talking… you have been out cold for a full day. Come, join me for breakfast, would you?"

It wasn't like she had any other choice, so she nodded in agreement. "Very well, Pegasus."

"Kemo, I don't want any interruptions unless there is a total emergency. Miss Mutou and I have much to discuss about our precious items and very little time to do it since you hit her so hard," Pegasus replied, waving his hand casually as they arrived in a dining room with a large screen in the middle of it. She snuck a glance around the room, noting the doors and windows that could provide an escape if it came to that. "This is one of my favorite rooms. It allows me to see each of the duels that are happening on my island," Pegasus explained with a proud smile.

"How long have I been out? And Duel Monsters is a card game. How interesting can it be to watch a bunch of people play it?" she asked with a frown.

"Ah, you see, it's almost halfway through day one of my tournament. You've been out cold for... I believe it's been about sixteen hours. I really am very sorry about that. And as for Duel Monsters… it's much more than that. It seems things have changed quite a lot since you left for… what was it you said? School?" Pegasus told her smoothly, beginning to place food on his plate.

"Yes. School."

"There's no need to be hostile, Miss Mutou. I just thought it would be nice for you to be able to watch Yugi-boy dueling in the tournament," he told her as he took a sip out of the glass in front of him and looked at her with curiosity. "You also possess a Millennium Item."

Reika hesitantly put some of the delicious smelling food on her plate as she nodded slowly at Pegasus' words. She had a feeling her Millennium Item had something to do with her kidnapping. "Yes, it was a gift from my grandfather. It came at a very dark time in my life and I'm grateful to have it at another dark period."

"What does it do?" he asked as she took a small bite of food.

"I don't know. I only just started wearing it when I returned to Domino. I… was not going to take something this precious to school with me. Lest it gets stolen, you know?" she lied smoothly, meeting Pegasus' gaze steadily.

It was then that Pegasus' face flickered with internal darkness threatening to break free. "Well then let's just take a look and see, shall we?" he asked, his eye beginning to glow – the same symbol that marked her bracelet and Yugi's puzzle, and Reika realized with horror what that meant.

He could read her mind.

Out of instinct, she raised her arm up to block it, her bracelet lighting up in response as Pegasus let out a frustrated grunt.

"The Millennium Bracelet is a defensive tool. It blocks the power of the other items from harming the wearer," Azila's voice said to her. "But it can also call a shadow game. Be careful of that power."

He pulled back, the glow of the eye fading as he frowned. "I can't read your mind. Fine. I'll leave it be for now."

She exhaled shakily and turned back to her plate, though her stomach was in a knot and she didn't particularly want to eat. This must have been how Pegasus beat her cousin.

And probably how he planned to do it again.

Dammit. She needed to find a way to stop him before it was too late.

"You and Kemo seemed to recognize each other. Why was that?" Pegasus asked after a few moments of awkward silence between them.

She pressed her lips together as she tried to think of a half-truth to tell him. "My mother worked for Kaiba Corp when I was a child and once Seto Kaiba took over we kept in contact. So I'd see Kemo once in a while when I was visiting them." But she had never once anticipated that Kemo had been a mole working for Pegasus.

"How nice of Kaiba to keep in contact with you. I had no idea he had any friends outside of young Mokuba," Pegasus remarked.

She only shrugged. "I wouldn't exactly say friends but… that's what happened." There. It wasn't exactly a lie, but it wasn't the full truth. After all, she and Seto Kaiba were far more than friends, even if their romantic relationship had been long-distance for the most part, and she poked at her food again to try to get rid of the nervous feeling in her stomach.

When her stomach finally felt normal thanks to the food she'd consumed, violet eyes flickered up to the screens and widened when she saw two actual monsters standing face to face in one of the duels. Her cousin was dueling someone who was some sort of ghostly… clown looking thing. Reika wondered if that was even a person on the other side of the split screen.

"Ah, that's the look of surprise I was expecting," Pegasus chuckled, watching her closely. "You see, Seto Kaiba created these systems to create holographic images of duel monsters. It makes the game so much more exciting, don't you think? It's just a shame what happened to him."

She could only nod again, taking a small bite of fruit. "Yes. It's more exciting than it was when I left for school. I wasn't aware of the upgrades Kaiba made… but what do you mean? What happened?"

"Oh… yes that's right you were asleep when it happened. I'm sorry to tell you this, but Seto Kaiba is dead."

The words hit her like a punch in the gut as her eyes locked on Pegasus, who, if he was lying, wasn't giving anything away. "What? How?" That couldn't have been true.

"There was an accident… he fell out of a window," Pegasus said gently. "He was most likely trying to escape from someone or something. There was evidence of a break-in."

Tears prickled at her eyes. She'd spoken to him yesterday before the meeting. Unless that clattering she'd heard on the other end of the line had been… had Pegasus…?

No. She closed her eyes and tried not to focus on that. She needed her wits about her if she was going to escape from this nightmare. And with this news… she would fight even harder to escape.

"Oh, your cousin looks frustrated, doesn't he?" Pegasus asked with a small smirk on his face.

She followed his gaze back to the screen and felt her eyes widen, tears drying quickly from the shock when she noticed her cousin's appearance wasn't how she'd left him the night before. He stood taller, somehow more confident, and his eyes were sharper instead of rounded.

"What the – ?!"

"Oh… seeing him again brings back so many memories. I just hope he doesn't give in to his dark side as he was prone to in the past…" Azila's voice whispered.

"That's not Yugi?" she thought, unsure of Azila heard her or not.

Azila didn't respond.

"Pegasus… why are you allowing me to watch this? If I'm your prisoner, why am I not locked in a cell?" she asked. Technically, she hadn't even woken up in a cell. She'd been in a tower. There was something terribly, terribly wrong here and he wasn't saying anything about her being here. It was more uncomfortable than having to deal with the Marines. "You seem to have a vested interest in my Millennium Item… so why not just take it from me while I was unconscious?"

He smiled a little, dabbing elegantly at the corners of his mouth before a maid came in to clear the breakfast plates. "Because while I did kidnap you, I am a man of honor and a gentleman. So what would you say to a little… bet? If your cousin loses to me at the end of the tournament, I get your bracelet. If he wins, you keep it and your grandfather goes free."

Discomfort twisted in her again, but she knew she needed to have faith in her cousin and his abilities as a duelist. Pegasus wouldn't win. He couldn't.

"Very well, Pegasus. You have a deal."

Pegasus smiled, as if this was simply a game and not people's lives he was playing with. Reika sat in silence, letting him bask in what he thought was a victory. She'd let him think he won, for now.

Because while he had won the first battle, the war was far from over.

Another one of Pegasus' men walked into the room, whispering something in Pegasus' ear. She noticed a vein in Pegasus' neck throb in barely-concealed annoyance and frustration, but he kept his calm façade as he spoke out loud.

"Thank you Croquet. I know the situation will be handled swiftly. Now make sure we're not disturbed until I call you back in," he said smoothly, dabbing at his lips after he took a sip of wine. She glanced at Pegasus, the annoyance on his face turning into amusement as he returned her gaze. "It seems like things are about to get exciting, Miss Mutou."

"What do you mean exciting?"

He chuckled a little, pulling something out of his jacket pocket. "Do you know what this is?"

"It's a cell phone. Presumably yours."

A smirk graced his lips, letting all pretences of nice and welcoming host slip away. "Not exactly. Now tell me… do you recognize this?" his fingers pulled out a familiar card next from his coat and her stomach bottomed out, color draining from her face.

Her key card. Which meant that was her cell phone. Which meant he knew, without even reading her mind, that she'd been in contact with Seto Kaiba.

"So now we get to the truth as to why you brought me here against my will," she said, folding her hands on the table in an attempt to look calm, though they both knew she was the furthest thing from it. "So start talking."

He sat back in his chair. "I want to know what this little keycard does. I think I have an idea, but it's very vague. Just your picture, your name and a funny looking bar code. I've never seen anything like it."

"That's none of your business."

He laughed. "This is adorable! You think you actually have the upper hand here! This is just like any good television show. No, Miss Mutou, if you don't tell me what this is, then your little liaison with Seto Kaiba will become public knowledge."

"Excuse me?"

"You see… when my men went to go ah – check on Seto Kaiba, they found, besides his deck, this little photograph of the two of you. It can't be more than a year or so old," the white-haired man explained, pulling the photo out of his pocket and showing it to her.

Her lips pressed into a thin line. She remembered taking that photo of course. It was taken a couple of days before she left for work. It was a rare instance of her boyfriend smiling, because the photograph was supposed to be private. Just between the two of them.

Well, and Mokuba, who had taken the photograph.

"Give that to me now. That's not yours," she hissed with the little amount of self-control she had left. "What do you want, Pegasus? Why is finding out what a damn key card is so important to you?"

He placed the photograph on the table and looked at her. "My Millennium Eye does more than allow me to see into someone's mind. I have seen distant realms and dimensions."

She unconsciously sat straighter at the word, heart thudding uncomfortably against her chest. "What do you mean?"

"I mean I saw an ancient world of Pharaohs and magic… a realm filled with duel monsters… and perhaps more curiously, a land with neither of those things. Instead it was a land of… pirates. It was strange but I know it's real. Isn't it?"

She pressed her lips together, jaw locked as she stared at the opposite wall.

"It would be in your best interest to answer my question," Pegasus' voice became low, dangerous.

She repressed the growl that threatened to rip from her throat. "It's real, Pegasus. But you're not going to be able to get into it unless you know how. It's filled with magic that's much more dangerous than anything any Millennium Item could produce," she said with a frown. "It's not for the faint of heart. Which is why it's not common knowledge."

"So trying to introduce Duel Monsters to such a world would be…"

"Impossible."

"For now. But lest you forget that I am Maximillion Pegasus. I hold more power than you could ever imagine."

"You hold power here… but in that world you would be eaten alive," she told him simply. "I'm warning you, Pegasus. Not as an enemy but as someone with firsthand knowledge… their world is already in turmoil. The last thing they need is an egomaniac from this one disrupting their lives."

Pegasus' lips twitched in a faint amused smile. "It's amusing you think that."

"When you get your back cut into like you were a fish you learn a few things about danger. I wouldn't want you to suffer the same fate. And when my cousin wins against you in the finals, I want my things back that you stole from me."

She knew it wasn't going to end well, so she wasn't surprised to hear what happened next. "Croquet! Please escort Miss Mutou back to her room."

Reika stood when Croquet entered the room and whispered something else in Pegasus' ear before leading her back up to her tower. The irony of being a woman locked in a castle's tower wasn't lost on her.

But as she laid in her bed that night, with sleep refusing to come to her, she could have sworn she heard helicopter blades whirring in the distance.