Author Notes: Here's chapter five folks! Enjoy! Tell me what you think of this chapter please!! Made it extra long for the long wait you had to go through ^^;
(...) My own comments aka Author comments.
~...~ thoughts
//...// thoughts sent through a bond (like Yami and Yugi)
=========================
The Ties That Bind - CHAPTER 5
By: Takeru Takaishi
As Yugi (now back in control of his body) slowly opened his eyes, a striking pain flashing through his brain, almost sending him back to unconsciousness. He sluggishly shook his head and tried to move his arms and legs to get up from where he laid but found he couldn't! With that, Yugi's eyes flashed open in alarm as he found his legs and arms were shackled to the metallic wall. He struggled weakly against his bindings but they wouldn't bludge..
"You'll only waste your energy, Yugi..." Joey warned him, his voice coming from Yugi's right.
Yugi simply groaned a little at Joey, a slight pain throbing in his head..
//Yugi...easy...conserve your energy...// Yami comforted.
//Yami...I...// Yugi spoke weakly.
Risking more pain, Yugi arched his neck a few inches to get a look around him. The circular room appeared to be of metal with Yugi and his friends shackled against the circular walls. In the center of the room was a huge control panel with viewing screens above it in all directions so a person located in any part of the room could see what was on it. To the left of the control panel was a metalic platform with a large, bulky contraption on it. The only door was between Older Mokuba and Tristan was a metallic door with no obvious door knob to it.
Yugi gave the whole layout a quick look before occuplying himself with the well-being of his friends. Next to him was Joey to the right and Tea to his left. Further down on either side were Tristan and Bakura. Tea and Tristan were just waking up then, their movements sluggish and uncertain. Bakura looked concerned for everyone but looked to be okay physically. Joey's face was scrunched in silent anger. Yugi knew him long enough to see that Joey looked like he was going to explode any second. Across the room was Older Mokuba. Older Mokuba's eyes were wide in..fear..and worry...?
~Kaiba! Where's Kaiba?~ Yugi's eyes grew wide in realization as he scanned the room quickly, nothing with dismay that a set of shackles next to Older Mokuba was empty....
With these thoughts, Yugi realized that young Seto and Mokuba weren't here too!
~I hope that guy didn't realize they were upstairs when he came to...get us...those kids...I hope they didn't get caught...~ Yugi thought worriedly, a bead of sweat rolled down his cheek.
"Joey..? Where's Kaiba? He's not here..." Yugi asked.
Joey tried to shrug as much as he could in the shackles and finally, said instead, "Beats me....he was gone when I woke up. After me, Bakura woke up...then Mokuba...he's worried sick for his brother when he found out he's gone...then...you Sleeping Beauty decided to finally wake up..."
Yugi bit his lower lip thoughtfully when the door itself slid upward with a low "Hiss" letting in Older Seto and the stranger. Older Seto's arms were binded behind him when he came in but placed in shackles like the others after.
"Brother!" Older Mokuba exclaimed, relief written on his face at seeing his older brother in tact, "What happenned? Are you okay?"
Yugi looked at Older Seto's face trying to see what happenned to him and almost let out a small gasp at the look in Older Seto's eyes and face...
"Brother?" Older Mokuba whispered, looking in pure horror at Older Seto's face, seeing what he never dared to dream of seeing....
His face looked the same like the rest of him but his eyes were....different. They had a defeated look in them, as if he went through a tortous ordeal several times over. Something was missing in Older Seto's eyes that seemed to make all of the difference..
Yugi's eyes widen as he realized what, //Pride. Yami...Kaiba's eyes....he looks like whatever he pride he had simply disappeared.//
//.........// Yami seemed as shock as Yugi was.
//Yami...you know that you and I always considered him arrogrant and everything but it wasn't arrogrance but ..Pride! Always so proud...he's simply lost it....what happenned?//
"Don't worry about him. He just had one of those shocks of his life that you always hear about. He isn't worth your concern..." the icy haired stranger said with a smirk toward Older Seto's defeated body.
~Brother...what happenned to you?!~ Older Mokuba felt like screaming at Older Seto, ~I loved that of you...you never took anything from anyone. No one ever talked down to you if you had anything to say..except for one person but he's far away! Seto...you always told me that it mattered to you that you could look at me straight in the eyes no matter what because.. he would always be someone I would be proud to call.....brother...~
======FLASHBACK - 5 years in the past..======
"You wanted to see me, Seto?" Mokuba asked, walking in Seto's bedroom, watching his brother write something at his desk..
"Yes...Mokuba...here....sit down..." Seto motioned Mokuba to have a seat on the large bed.
"Mokuba...I wanted to tell you something... important." Seto went on one knee in front of Mokuba in order for them to see each other face to face..
Mokuba cocked his head to the side, thoughtfully.
"Wealth and power can go as quickly as it can be gained. The only thing you have that can't be taken away from you is your self-dignity. Your pride, little brother," Seto explained to Mokuba intently, "It stops you from taking anything that you don't like from anyone. If you have it, you don't have to listen to anything a person says to you if you don't want to listen to them. You don't have to take any B.S. from anyone if you don't want to. Don't lose it. A person without personal pride is a person lost. Do you understand?"
Mokuba nodded slowing in understanding, "Seto...I..."
"Master Seto..?" Seto and Mokuba looked up to see Michael (boy...he's been around a long time @.@) at the door, "Master Gozaburo is waiting for your presence. It's time, sir."
"Ah..of course, Michael.." Seto stood up, even straighter than normal in Mokuba's eyes, "I guess we'll talk more later, lil bro. Bye."
As Seto began to leave, Mokuba ran to him, clutching Seto's body in a tight hug, "Seto....don't go..."
"Mokuba..." Seto bend down to give Mokuba a fierce hug back and a sad smile, "Don't worry...no matter what happens, I'll always be there for you. I'll always be a person you'll be proud of. I cherish your love and respect more than anything in this world..."
=======================================
"Seto! What's wrong!?" Older Mokuba screamed at his brother.
Older Seto's body seem to tense up at his brother's voice before his whole body slumped downward almost ashamed of itself, not even daring to look at Older Mokuba. The cool confidence that was so characteristic of Seto Kaiba had vanished. What remained was a shell of the original person.
"Seto..?"
"LET THEM GO, NOA!!" A voice rang out, a voice that none of them had heard before but was errily familiar...
Everyone turned up to the voice, which belonged to a mysteriously cloaked man. The hood concealed his face and body but everyone could feel within them to their very bones that the person beneath it was someone they knew..
//Yami!! It's the man that young Seto and Mokuba met in the street alley! The man that made them go into the doorway to my time!// Yugi thought in recognization.
//Yes but more importantly...what did he call him?!// Yami asked.
"Noa (yes...a name..I couldn't have two 'strangers' could I? @.@)...release them..." the stranger ordered, seeming to appear out of the middle of no where in the room.
As if seeing Older Seto for the first time, the stranger stepped forward toward Older Seto, his body tensed in closed up anger that shook it, "Seto...What did you do to him?!"
"You again..I was just having a little fun with him..." Noa turned away from everyone with a hand in the air as if not caring about Older Seto's condition, "Can't believe you're still trying to save them and--"
"Why did you kidnap them?! They mean you no harm," the stranger turned from Older Kaiba to confront Noa.
"They did the WORST thing they could ever do by associating with HIM" Noa turned around, hatred plain as day in his icy features, pointing a finger at Older Seto, who remained quiet.
"What did my brother do to you? He never did anything wrong!!" Older Mokuba screamed out in anger, his shackles clamped around his hands and legs, preventing him from getting at Noa, tears running freely down his cheeks.
"What did he do to me? He took everything away from me! EVERYTHING! Now, I'm taking everything FROM HIM. First being, his precious pride," Noa turned to look at the stranger, "You and I know I will suceed in doing what I want to do. Everything is in place, everything is falling into place."
"Really? Tell me...did you predict them!" The stranger pointed toward Mokuba and Seto!
Both of them look disoreintated and very confused.
"Seto! Mokuba!" Tea exclaimed out of surprise.
"What..Where are we?" Seto asked, bringing an arm around Mokuba protectively.
"What are you two doing here?" Tristan asked the queston that everyone was asking.
"We.." Mokuba glanced up at his brother, "don't know...one minute we were sleeping. Another moment..that stranger appeared again," pointed at the cloaked man, "he took us away and the next moment we were here..."
"Who are you two? Where did you come from? Tell me!!" Noa yelled, surprise written in his body language, walking toward them, angrily.
"Don't you DARE take another step closer to them.." The stranger threatened, taking a step in front of Mokuba and Seto, "These two will change your plans and most importantly, the future. It was fortold. You will not touch these two. And you will pay for what he did to him!"
Seto looked up at that last comment, his eyes resting on Older Seto's dejected figure, "What...happenned..?"
As Seto took a step forward toward Older Seto, Mokuba looked from behind Seto's body to ask in confusion, "Seto? What's wrong with Older big brother? What's wrong with...you?"
"Is that a challenge I heard?" Noa asked the stranger, raising a single eyebrow.
"You better believe it," the stanger clutched tightly a fist in front of Noa's face.
"I accept then....I've always wanted to see how much you've improved since..then......"
"You'll release them when I defeat you?"
" 'When I defeat you' eh? So confident are you? Hmm...very well...if I win, your little friends are mine...."
Noa stepped toward the control panel, picking up a device from the panel, placing it around his wrist. The device seemed to be a sort of gaunlet that was worn on the wrist. A small flat circular shaped thing(^^; You try describing it...) was all that was composed of at the top of the guanlet. With two long panels sticking out of it, lining up parallel with his arm.
The stranger took out a similiar guanlet and placed it on his arm.
"What are they...?" Joey asked.
"They're dueling, Joey. Monster dueling..." Yugi whispered, feeling Yami, getting excited within him at the sound of a duel monsters duel.
"...for our lives, everyone..." Bakura's words repeated within their souls like drum beats in the distance...
"Seto...a duel monsters battle.....don't you want to watch it? You love watching them almost as much as being in them...brother?" Older Mokuba pleaded with Older Seto, who still just stared ahead in empty space, completely in his own thoughts.
~Mokuba....how can I ever look at you again...when I have no pride or self respect left ? I'm not worth your concern..If you only knew what I did..You'll never look at me again, little brother..how can I live knowning that?~ Older Seto thought in self-pity...
=============
So what do you think? Worth the wait? Took me a while but I liked this chapter especially since it focused so much on the Kaiba brothers! Still more ahead including a duel between Noa and our mysterious duelist. If I can figure out how to write out a duel...@.@ Everything comes to a close in the new few chapters. Believe me when I say it'll be a real blast when it ends. *winks* Feedback on this chapter is so welcomed~
(...) My own comments aka Author comments.
~...~ thoughts
//...// thoughts sent through a bond (like Yami and Yugi)
=========================
The Ties That Bind - CHAPTER 5
By: Takeru Takaishi
As Yugi (now back in control of his body) slowly opened his eyes, a striking pain flashing through his brain, almost sending him back to unconsciousness. He sluggishly shook his head and tried to move his arms and legs to get up from where he laid but found he couldn't! With that, Yugi's eyes flashed open in alarm as he found his legs and arms were shackled to the metallic wall. He struggled weakly against his bindings but they wouldn't bludge..
"You'll only waste your energy, Yugi..." Joey warned him, his voice coming from Yugi's right.
Yugi simply groaned a little at Joey, a slight pain throbing in his head..
//Yugi...easy...conserve your energy...// Yami comforted.
//Yami...I...// Yugi spoke weakly.
Risking more pain, Yugi arched his neck a few inches to get a look around him. The circular room appeared to be of metal with Yugi and his friends shackled against the circular walls. In the center of the room was a huge control panel with viewing screens above it in all directions so a person located in any part of the room could see what was on it. To the left of the control panel was a metalic platform with a large, bulky contraption on it. The only door was between Older Mokuba and Tristan was a metallic door with no obvious door knob to it.
Yugi gave the whole layout a quick look before occuplying himself with the well-being of his friends. Next to him was Joey to the right and Tea to his left. Further down on either side were Tristan and Bakura. Tea and Tristan were just waking up then, their movements sluggish and uncertain. Bakura looked concerned for everyone but looked to be okay physically. Joey's face was scrunched in silent anger. Yugi knew him long enough to see that Joey looked like he was going to explode any second. Across the room was Older Mokuba. Older Mokuba's eyes were wide in..fear..and worry...?
~Kaiba! Where's Kaiba?~ Yugi's eyes grew wide in realization as he scanned the room quickly, nothing with dismay that a set of shackles next to Older Mokuba was empty....
With these thoughts, Yugi realized that young Seto and Mokuba weren't here too!
~I hope that guy didn't realize they were upstairs when he came to...get us...those kids...I hope they didn't get caught...~ Yugi thought worriedly, a bead of sweat rolled down his cheek.
"Joey..? Where's Kaiba? He's not here..." Yugi asked.
Joey tried to shrug as much as he could in the shackles and finally, said instead, "Beats me....he was gone when I woke up. After me, Bakura woke up...then Mokuba...he's worried sick for his brother when he found out he's gone...then...you Sleeping Beauty decided to finally wake up..."
Yugi bit his lower lip thoughtfully when the door itself slid upward with a low "Hiss" letting in Older Seto and the stranger. Older Seto's arms were binded behind him when he came in but placed in shackles like the others after.
"Brother!" Older Mokuba exclaimed, relief written on his face at seeing his older brother in tact, "What happenned? Are you okay?"
Yugi looked at Older Seto's face trying to see what happenned to him and almost let out a small gasp at the look in Older Seto's eyes and face...
"Brother?" Older Mokuba whispered, looking in pure horror at Older Seto's face, seeing what he never dared to dream of seeing....
His face looked the same like the rest of him but his eyes were....different. They had a defeated look in them, as if he went through a tortous ordeal several times over. Something was missing in Older Seto's eyes that seemed to make all of the difference..
Yugi's eyes widen as he realized what, //Pride. Yami...Kaiba's eyes....he looks like whatever he pride he had simply disappeared.//
//.........// Yami seemed as shock as Yugi was.
//Yami...you know that you and I always considered him arrogrant and everything but it wasn't arrogrance but ..Pride! Always so proud...he's simply lost it....what happenned?//
"Don't worry about him. He just had one of those shocks of his life that you always hear about. He isn't worth your concern..." the icy haired stranger said with a smirk toward Older Seto's defeated body.
~Brother...what happenned to you?!~ Older Mokuba felt like screaming at Older Seto, ~I loved that of you...you never took anything from anyone. No one ever talked down to you if you had anything to say..except for one person but he's far away! Seto...you always told me that it mattered to you that you could look at me straight in the eyes no matter what because.. he would always be someone I would be proud to call.....brother...~
======FLASHBACK - 5 years in the past..======
"You wanted to see me, Seto?" Mokuba asked, walking in Seto's bedroom, watching his brother write something at his desk..
"Yes...Mokuba...here....sit down..." Seto motioned Mokuba to have a seat on the large bed.
"Mokuba...I wanted to tell you something... important." Seto went on one knee in front of Mokuba in order for them to see each other face to face..
Mokuba cocked his head to the side, thoughtfully.
"Wealth and power can go as quickly as it can be gained. The only thing you have that can't be taken away from you is your self-dignity. Your pride, little brother," Seto explained to Mokuba intently, "It stops you from taking anything that you don't like from anyone. If you have it, you don't have to listen to anything a person says to you if you don't want to listen to them. You don't have to take any B.S. from anyone if you don't want to. Don't lose it. A person without personal pride is a person lost. Do you understand?"
Mokuba nodded slowing in understanding, "Seto...I..."
"Master Seto..?" Seto and Mokuba looked up to see Michael (boy...he's been around a long time @.@) at the door, "Master Gozaburo is waiting for your presence. It's time, sir."
"Ah..of course, Michael.." Seto stood up, even straighter than normal in Mokuba's eyes, "I guess we'll talk more later, lil bro. Bye."
As Seto began to leave, Mokuba ran to him, clutching Seto's body in a tight hug, "Seto....don't go..."
"Mokuba..." Seto bend down to give Mokuba a fierce hug back and a sad smile, "Don't worry...no matter what happens, I'll always be there for you. I'll always be a person you'll be proud of. I cherish your love and respect more than anything in this world..."
=======================================
"Seto! What's wrong!?" Older Mokuba screamed at his brother.
Older Seto's body seem to tense up at his brother's voice before his whole body slumped downward almost ashamed of itself, not even daring to look at Older Mokuba. The cool confidence that was so characteristic of Seto Kaiba had vanished. What remained was a shell of the original person.
"Seto..?"
"LET THEM GO, NOA!!" A voice rang out, a voice that none of them had heard before but was errily familiar...
Everyone turned up to the voice, which belonged to a mysteriously cloaked man. The hood concealed his face and body but everyone could feel within them to their very bones that the person beneath it was someone they knew..
//Yami!! It's the man that young Seto and Mokuba met in the street alley! The man that made them go into the doorway to my time!// Yugi thought in recognization.
//Yes but more importantly...what did he call him?!// Yami asked.
"Noa (yes...a name..I couldn't have two 'strangers' could I? @.@)...release them..." the stranger ordered, seeming to appear out of the middle of no where in the room.
As if seeing Older Seto for the first time, the stranger stepped forward toward Older Seto, his body tensed in closed up anger that shook it, "Seto...What did you do to him?!"
"You again..I was just having a little fun with him..." Noa turned away from everyone with a hand in the air as if not caring about Older Seto's condition, "Can't believe you're still trying to save them and--"
"Why did you kidnap them?! They mean you no harm," the stranger turned from Older Kaiba to confront Noa.
"They did the WORST thing they could ever do by associating with HIM" Noa turned around, hatred plain as day in his icy features, pointing a finger at Older Seto, who remained quiet.
"What did my brother do to you? He never did anything wrong!!" Older Mokuba screamed out in anger, his shackles clamped around his hands and legs, preventing him from getting at Noa, tears running freely down his cheeks.
"What did he do to me? He took everything away from me! EVERYTHING! Now, I'm taking everything FROM HIM. First being, his precious pride," Noa turned to look at the stranger, "You and I know I will suceed in doing what I want to do. Everything is in place, everything is falling into place."
"Really? Tell me...did you predict them!" The stranger pointed toward Mokuba and Seto!
Both of them look disoreintated and very confused.
"Seto! Mokuba!" Tea exclaimed out of surprise.
"What..Where are we?" Seto asked, bringing an arm around Mokuba protectively.
"What are you two doing here?" Tristan asked the queston that everyone was asking.
"We.." Mokuba glanced up at his brother, "don't know...one minute we were sleeping. Another moment..that stranger appeared again," pointed at the cloaked man, "he took us away and the next moment we were here..."
"Who are you two? Where did you come from? Tell me!!" Noa yelled, surprise written in his body language, walking toward them, angrily.
"Don't you DARE take another step closer to them.." The stranger threatened, taking a step in front of Mokuba and Seto, "These two will change your plans and most importantly, the future. It was fortold. You will not touch these two. And you will pay for what he did to him!"
Seto looked up at that last comment, his eyes resting on Older Seto's dejected figure, "What...happenned..?"
As Seto took a step forward toward Older Seto, Mokuba looked from behind Seto's body to ask in confusion, "Seto? What's wrong with Older big brother? What's wrong with...you?"
"Is that a challenge I heard?" Noa asked the stranger, raising a single eyebrow.
"You better believe it," the stanger clutched tightly a fist in front of Noa's face.
"I accept then....I've always wanted to see how much you've improved since..then......"
"You'll release them when I defeat you?"
" 'When I defeat you' eh? So confident are you? Hmm...very well...if I win, your little friends are mine...."
Noa stepped toward the control panel, picking up a device from the panel, placing it around his wrist. The device seemed to be a sort of gaunlet that was worn on the wrist. A small flat circular shaped thing(^^; You try describing it...) was all that was composed of at the top of the guanlet. With two long panels sticking out of it, lining up parallel with his arm.
The stranger took out a similiar guanlet and placed it on his arm.
"What are they...?" Joey asked.
"They're dueling, Joey. Monster dueling..." Yugi whispered, feeling Yami, getting excited within him at the sound of a duel monsters duel.
"...for our lives, everyone..." Bakura's words repeated within their souls like drum beats in the distance...
"Seto...a duel monsters battle.....don't you want to watch it? You love watching them almost as much as being in them...brother?" Older Mokuba pleaded with Older Seto, who still just stared ahead in empty space, completely in his own thoughts.
~Mokuba....how can I ever look at you again...when I have no pride or self respect left ? I'm not worth your concern..If you only knew what I did..You'll never look at me again, little brother..how can I live knowning that?~ Older Seto thought in self-pity...
=============
So what do you think? Worth the wait? Took me a while but I liked this chapter especially since it focused so much on the Kaiba brothers! Still more ahead including a duel between Noa and our mysterious duelist. If I can figure out how to write out a duel...@.@ Everything comes to a close in the new few chapters. Believe me when I say it'll be a real blast when it ends. *winks* Feedback on this chapter is so welcomed~