"Mitch, have we all we wished to acquire?" Jared asked, pulling the hood of his cloak over his hair.
"Yes Jared," Mitch replied dully.
"Good. Then, I will go and defeat Seto Kaiba and claim the millennium ruby necklace!"
"Jared, if
I may be so bold…I wish to go with you."
"Very well. You will witness the defeat of Seto Kaiba and the death of my
daughter, Serena Pegasus!"
With that said, the two men walked up to the surface and stealthily crept in the darkness. One mind was on winning a prize and gaining ancient powers and strength. The other was on undermining the ruler of Blood of Darkness and taking Serena as his bride, converting her over to the darkness. But, they both had one thing in common; they both sought to kill Seto Kaiba.
~*~*~*~*~
The only sound to be heard in Téa's apartment was the ticking of the clock, signaling that time was indeed passing; for in the living room, it felt as if time were standing still. The hour of darkness was drawing near and the duel would soon begin.
As soon as that clock strikes midnight, they will be here. We have to be ready. Serena blinked in an effort to moisten her dry eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm her adrenaline. She looked around at all her friends as they sat silently, many of their eyes closed, yet she knew they weren't sleeping. I wish they hadn't gotten dragged into this; but…I know this is how things were meant to play out. I was meant to meet Téa so long ago and I was meant to make friends with Yugi, Joey, Tristan, and Serenity as well. And I was supposed to meet Mokuba on that bench and I was supposed to learn that Seto really has a heart. He was meant to fight for my life, and I am meant to destroy my father's dark reign…and him in his entirety.
"Serena," Kaiba whispered quietly, smirking at her. Her eyebrows were furrowed and her eyes narrowed, yet she was staring at nothing in particular.
Serena snapped from her thoughts and focused her sapphire orbs on the man seated before her. "Hmm?" she questioned softly.
"Nothing," Kaiba mumbled, his smirk never leaving his face. He knew he had her curiosity now.
"What?"
"It's nothing, really."
"Seto Kaiba, you had better tell me. I'm not really wanting to read your mind," Serena pouted playfully.
Kaiba's smirk only widened at her response. He leaned close to Serena's ear and whispered nearly inaudibly. "Read my mind and you might just find out what I would like to do to you right now."
Serena blinked as she felt strange shivers run up her spine. His words were almost…eerie. "Oh? And what would that be?"
Slowly, Kaiba pulled her face to his, and planted a rough kiss on her lips, sending sensations through both of their bodies. The kiss would have continued, had the clock not interrupted them.
"It's midnight!" Serena said quickly, pulling back from Kaiba and turning to look at Yami who had been positioned at the window all evening.
"Huh, what?" Joey asked, snapping his eyes open and falling out of his chair.
Serena giggled as she noticed Joey's disheveled hair and slightly bloodshot eyes. He didn't look like the kind of guy who would stay awake all night.
A slight smile formed on her face, until she felt darkness engulfing the apartment.
"They're here," Yami said quietly, his eyes still glued to the darkness outside the apartment.
"Then I suppose it's time to get this over with. No use in prolonging Jared's defeat," Serena said confidently, standing up and pulling Kaiba with her.
"We're all here for the both of ya!" Joey yelled out, coming into the room from the kitchen with a sandwich in his hands.
"Right, let's go." Serena put her hand on the doorknob and prepared to open it. Hesitating, she bit her lower lip and swallowed hard. This duel was not only going to be for her life, but for the fate of the world and balance of good over evil.
Kaiba placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder, giving her enough strength to open the door and step out into the unknown darkness. Taking one step outside the door, she stopped. "You all can't come," she said softly, her eyes fixed on the ground.
"What? Why not?" Tristan asked, slightly surprised. Everyone had figured they would all go together and be in it together, but Serena was proving them wrong.
"This isn't just your ordinary evil guy, this is my father, Jared. And this isn't the Shadow Realm, this is the Realm of Darkness. It is too dangerous for everyone to come. You all don't need to put your lives in danger just because of moral support. We can feel your support with us, even when you're not there in physical form; because you are with us…in our hearts." Serena stopped talking and placed a hand over her heart. "Always in our hearts; so it's like you all are with us, even when you're not."
"I'm coming with you," Yami said defiantly, stepping out into the growing darkness, Serena not making a move to protest.
Kaiba was next to step out into the darkness and immediately placed a protective arm around Serena. He turned his head to look at the other four friends standing within the confines of the apartment, staring out the open door.
"Kaiba, make sure that you whoop his butt good," Joey said, slowly closing the door.
"I will Wheeler, I will." For Serena…and myself.
"Well, where should we go? I have a feeling he isn't going to just show up and duel Kaiba right here," Yami said, facing Serena.
Serena closed her eyes and took a deep breath of the dark midnight black air. Her necklace set off a pale glow, illuminating what was once Téa's doorstep and was now a patch of black gravel. "This way," she said calmly, beginning to head in what seemed to be no direction in particular.
~*~*~*~*~
"Ah, they have entered. I can feel her presence, even though she is not close by," Jared spoke cynically, seating himself in a chair to wait.
"They will be here soon Master; I feel she knows the way," Mitch said, smirking.
"Ah yes, she knows the ways of darkness very well. As soon as I defeat Seto Kaiba and take her life and her necklace, I will find Shadi and destroy him. He has taught her quite well…too well."
"Are you afraid of your own weak daughter, Jared?" Mitch questioned, his smirk growing.
"Not my daughter, but the power she possesses. It is my duty to stop her from learning the full potential of these powers. And I will complete that duty when I defeat Seto Kaiba. The Winged Dragon of Ra is an unbeatable monster; with it in my deck, I will not lose."
"But Seto Kaiba also possesses a—"
"I know very well what he possesses, but I have seen the future in my darkness and it does not look very bright." A sardonic laugh escaped the man's lips as he said this. "No, it does not look bright at all."
~*~*~*~*~
Fifteen minutes had passed, and the three teens were still wandering aimlessly around the dark void, so it seemed. Serena was confident her necklace was leading her to the true darkness.
"What was that noise?" Kaiba asked, jerking his head up and giving the strange noise his full attention.
"What noise?" Serena asked, her eyes focusing on Kaiba's dim lit face.
A strange sound, like a piece of metal being crunched by a machine sounded in the silence, causing the two teens who hadn't heard the noise before stand completely still.
"That one," Kaiba said, crossing his arms and tapping his foot.
Serena sighed and looked to the ground. "It's another soul signing itself over to the darkness and losing the light within. Light is like steel, nearly impossible to destroy. But with the proper equipment, par se, it is easily destroyed."
"But if Jared is here, then how can these soul signings take place?" Yami asked, his brows furrowed in curiosity.
"One does not need the master of Blood of Darkness to sign away their soul to evil. This is the Realm of Darkness, everything evil and dark exists here. Everyday, many people sign away their lives and souls to the darkness, not even knowing they are doing it."
Kaiba frowned and placed his arm back around Serena's waist. "Then I suggest we find this Jared and defeat him as soon as we can."
Even by destroying Blood of Darkness and Jared, people will still sign their lives away to the darkness. The darkness in its true form is unstoppable, but the darkness in human form can always be defeated. Darkness and light will always exist in realms apart from each other, but on the earth, they will co-exist, clashing for all eternity. Seto, we cannot destroy the darkness for it would upset the balance of good and evil. But, we can destroy Jared…do you understand this? Serena's mind questions Kaiba's.
Yes, he replied hesitantly. It was pathetic in his mind that evil would never truly be defeated, but in a law of physics, it did make sense. If good were to outweigh evil and light to outweigh darkness, the balance of those forces would be disturbed. In a sense, one could not exist without the other.
Light needs the darkness to be light and good needs the evil to be good. Just as darkness needs the light to be dark and evil needs good to be evil. It was a circle and a never ending cycle. The two forces cannot exist in a realm together, and yet they can exist in a natural universe together.
"A matter of physics indeed," Kaiba muttered, not noticing they had stopped walking once again.
"Serena?" Yami questioned.
"Just beyond this gate is where the future of the world lies," Serena replied softly, pushing open the gates and stepping into a void darker then the one they had been in the past twenty-three minutes.
"Glad you could join us," Jared's voice was heard, echoing off of invisible walls. "Let us not waste any more time. Come Kaiba, my patience is growing thin. It is time for our battle to commence."
Dim lights flickered on in the room, just enough to make out the features of a dueling arena and Jared's crimson eyes on the other side of the room. A man stood below the platform Jared stood on, his eyes looking at the empty field. As Kaiba withdrew his arm and pulled out his deck, Yami grabbed Serena's hand tightly and took her to the side opposite the strange man's.
"If you insist on pushing forward your defeat, then by all means, proceed. But take this word Jared, I will defeat you!" Kaiba yelled out coolly, stepping up to a dueling platform in the darkness.
"Oh, and why is that?" Jared snickered, his crimson eyes flaring.
"Because I'm fighting for Serena, and she and all her friends stand beside me in this duel!" Kaiba yelled out, surprising even himself at the words he said, as he placed his deck in its proper place. He slipped his hand into his pocket and glanced down at the card. "Angel of Dreams," it read.
I'm fighting for you Serena. These emotions I feel inside for you are something I've never felt in my life, but I'm about ready to accept them with open arms. I suppose it's time I stop fighting them and start fighting with them. In fact, I guess it's actually time I admit my true feelings for you. I think I just may love you Serena Pegasus. Very unlikely for me to ever fall in love, especially with a Pegasus; and yet I believe it's happened. This battle is for you Serena!
"Let's start this duel!" Kaiba yelled out, placing his hand on his deck and preparing to draw five cards. Heart of the cards Yugi always says. I wonder if it's true. But this duel rides on too much to change my strategy now. Slowly, he drew five cards and briefly closed his eyes. Here it goes. This is all for you Serena.
Note: I apologize for my lack of updates. Unfortunately, I've been bombarded with homework and marching band *blah* and have not had the time to revise this chapter and check for errors. Anyhow, as soon as I have some time…probably the eleventh, I will fix up the next chapter as I don't like how it turned out and that I was rushed for time as I wrote it…anywho, here's chapter twenty-one…hope I'm not disappointing anyone. (My birthday was two weeks ago! ^_^)