*Disclaimer: I do not own the characters/ other stuff like the Millennium Items and uh stuff like that. But I do repeat do own the plot cuz itz aalll moine! yay!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
A tall, blue-suited man crept silently through the dark, desolate woods of the forest. Numerous trees loomed above him, casting long shadows on the ground below him. The wind howled in his face; the leaves rustled below his feet. Where am I? he thought to himself. What is this place? It's creeping me out. The high-pitched scream of a young boy echoed in the distance, sending shivers down the man's spine.
"Seto! Seto! Big brother, where are you?" the boy cried.
The man began running; sprinting, almost. Mokuba, he thought urgently. I'm here, Mokuba. Don't worry. He suddenly came upon a clearing; an area of open grassland, free of trees and bushes. The man panted heavily and glanced around. There was no sign of Mokuba or his captor. Suddenly noticing the clearing in front of him, he gasped and stepped hesitantly on the grass.
What Seto Kaiba felt was like nothing else he had ever felt before. The luscious grass was so soft and tender it was like stepping on feathers. Not a single blade was awry or out of line. Seto's heart pounded against his chest. He knelt down on his knee and grazed the grass with his fingertips. The touch was like the smoothest of silks, the most perfect of the perfect.
Suddenly, a dark shadow appeared in the distance. At first, it seemed like the figure of a large, burly man swathed in black, but upon looking more carefully at it, Seto realized with shock that it was not a human being, but rather a Duel Monster; one he had never encountered before in all his previous duels. As the figure drew closer to Seto, it became bigger, taller, scarier. Cupped in its large arms was Mokuba.
"Who are you?!" Seto hissed. "What did you do to my brother?"
The Duel Monster did not stop walking until it had nearly reached Seto. Its gnarled face was shielded by a transparent green mask with red streaks running through the middle. It stood looking down at Seto with a glare in its eyes.
"I am a Duel Monster, Kaiba. I am the Ardent Skull. My master has orders for me."
Kaiba nearly fell backwards at the Duel Monster's voice. These things were not supposed to talk. They were not human; they were not real. They were supposedly holograms from the cards of the game Duel Monsters, created by Maximillius Pegasus. And now he had met a real, physical one who could speak and walk like a true human being; one who had done something to his brother.
"To do what? Who is your master?" Seto growled menacingly, recovering from his shock. He was still in disbelief, however, that this was truly a talking duel monster.
"To take your brother. His soul has been shattered."
Kaiba's felt his stomach hurdle at these words. He was suddenly filled with an unbearable amount of fear and hatred. His face flamed with heat.
"Seto Kaiba, Mokuba is far more than what you thought he was. His soul has been sacrificed to strengthen a Millennium Item. It has been shattered, as I have told you."
"Damn you! What have you done?" bellowed Seto, nearly lashing out at the Ardent Skull.
"Those were my orders."
"From whom?"
"That is none of your business, Kaiba. Goodbye."
"No! Tell me who your master is!"
"I cannot. I am sorry."
"Why not? You're just a stupid ugly monster. You don't have a brain; you can't think. You better tell me who your master is, right now! I hate you, you know that? I hate you!" Seto found his words rushing out of his mouth. He was talking nonsense, he knew, but he could not help it.
"I am sorry. Now I must go."
"No! Give me my brother back, you evil…thing. Go to hell! That's where you belong!"
Seto, realizing that his words did not have any effect on the Duel Monster, could not withhold the fury he was feeling deep down inside. It seemed to swell up within him, almost like water was gushing madly inside his body. Suddenly, he lunged, almost mechanically, at the Duel Monster. His mind and heart thumped. He thrashed his arms and legs out blindly, wildly, uncontrollably. His bare skin clashed with the Ardent Skull's resilient metal.
In shock from being attacked so vigorously by a weak human, the Duel Monster calmly turned around, swept out his armored leg, and dealt Seto with a terrifying blow to the chest. Seto was instantly thrown back onto the grass. He was unconscious before he hit the ground.
The Ardent Skull nudged Seto with his foot and tossed Mokuba's body onto the ground beside him. He stared into the foggy eyes of the two brothers, then chuckled hoarsely. He reached inside its armor and pulled out a golden rod. Grasping it tightly, there was a flash of gold, and he suddenly became a shorter, skinnier man, devoid of any armor.
"Yes, Kaiba. I am the Ardent Skull! As if there was such thing," the man murmured in a squeaky voice, sniggering in between his words. "You foolish man. You are the champion of the world; well, except for that Yugi Motto." The man spat in disgust at the name. "And yet, you obviously do not know your Duel Monsters well. But… no matter…"
Suddenly, Seto began to stir back into consciousness. His eyes fluttered open and he grunted in pain. He focused his eyes onto his surroundings.
The man studied him closely. "I see that you have awaken, Kaiba. Excellent. But, oh, I'm afraid I must part. Some unfinished business elsewhere, I believe. Well, I am deeply sorry for that horrible, horrible kick I gave you earlier. It was most uninviting, if I do say so myself…"
Seto turned in the direction of the voice. He blinked his eyes and found himself staring at a tanned face with the brightest turquoise eyes he had ever seen.
"Who…are you?" he murmured.
"It matters not. But just remember this, Kaiba, we will meet again some day in the future, I guarantee it. But, for now…"
The man's voice dropped to a soft whisper.
"Behold the powers of Marik Ishtar."
With that, Seto found himself slipping into unconsciousness once again.
so dya like it? ne suggestions? pleez review like now cuz I like gotta make it better nd stuff. fanx fury maach