Angel of the Moon

Chapter 2

" Angel, you should get some rest. How are the visits, by the way?" Scarlett asked as she tucked the boy in. She was a middle aged woman, still beautiful, with flashing blue eyes and a young smile. Her hair was a light brown, without any grays, and her hand was soft and tender. She was middle aged, but she looked very young, though motherly.

" They were good." Seto answered as he snuggled deeper under the covers, making room for Scarlett to sit down by him. " Some of them got freaked out."
" How was your brother?"
" Oh, I didn't get to see him." Seto answered. " I was saving him for last. But then I got tired. So I came back. I have lots of time."
" True, true. Now, Angel," Scarlett stood up, " You ought to sleep now."
" I know, I know." Seto closed his eyes. " And by the way, does Mokuba get a new name too?"
" What do you want to call him then?" Scarlett smiled. " We're not giving him one."
" I think I'm going to keep his name. Mokuba. We can't both be called Angel, after all, even if he's my angel."

Scarlett smiled.
" Hold, don't close the door!" Voices called. " Angel! Are you sleeping yet?"
" No." Seto sat up abruptly, his face lighting up. Scarlett groaned as a couple of teenagers rushed in, their dark robes sweeping the floor clean, but they didn't care.
" Angel, tell us, how was Japan? Or Gapan? Or whatever you called it?" Asked Loriou, a very tall, black haired and blue eyed boy. He was several years older than Seto.
" It was fun. Very different. Lots of poverty. They're all going to die anyway." Seto answered, yawning.
" Did you see your brother? What was he like? Does he still have long hair?" Asked Brynhild, a fair haired, hazel eyed young girl. She was around Seto's age.
" I didn't see him." Seto answered. " I was too tired."
" Weakling." Jacob teased. " Are you feeling alright?"
" Hai-Yeah, I'm alright." Seto answered. " It's just the atmosphere. It's so polluted. I'll have lung cancer if I were still mortal."
" Idiot. You were never a mortal. Aralan knows how the Pharaoh killed you so many years ago. Did you know how scared we were? But you made a surprising comeback."
" Hm." Seto couldn't keep his eyes open any longer. The children, understanding, bade him goodnight and left him to rest.



Dawn found Seto busy and hyper. Cries of " Angel!" or " Blue Eyes!" rang everywhere. Seto responded to both names as if they were his all along. In reality, they were his, because no one else was called by them, not even Loriou or Scarlett.

The sorcerers were busy. The school was under construction and Seto's help was needed almost everywhere. He could be seen popping up in one place, then disappearing to pop up in another. Other young sorcerers were doing the same.

" Angel, we need your help here! The walls are crumbling down!" Seto disappeared, to appear in the section of the voices and held the wall up with his magic.
" God, you people should do math." Seto laughed, setting the wall right. " How can you expect the wall to stand at an eighty seven degree angle?"
" It looked alright," The boy named Marael muttered. " We can't figure out what's a parallel line with the ground. It's so bumpy."
" Bumpy? Do you honestly expect dirt to be smooth as marble?"
" No, but it should be level, at least."
" Well, what do you do to make it level? You dig of course! With magic! Now, we need-"
" Angel!"

Seto laughed. " You know what to do." He disappeared.



" I'm off to the Mortal Realm! And this time, Scarlett, can you not transport me to Antarctica? It's not exactly welcoming and warm there."
" I'm so sorry honey." Scarlett smiled tenderly. " I don't know how it happened. When we fetched you last time it never happened."
" I know, I know, I know." Seto nodded, before passing through the wall that divided the Sorceror's and the Mortal's realms.

He entered the world where the air was filled with smoke and chemicals and the sky became more gray than blue. The world was slowly dying. But Japan will suffer first.

Seto looked around at the mansion. He saw that it looked exactly the same as he left it, though it was slightly older. The flowers grew in more places. He entered the house.

There was an air of loneliness in the rooms. Seto sat down on the couch where Mokuba use to watch TV. He waited for his brother to get home.



The clock ticked. Mokuba shut the door. Another day in the lonely house. Yugi and the others had said they couldn't go over to the dorms. He couldn't got to the game shop either. The old man wasn't home.

Another day at the lonely house. Mokuba went to the kitchen. He took a cookie from the plate that his brother left for him and grabbed the glass of milk.

His brother left for him. That's not right. Ever since Seto disappeared, no one was there to leave him cookies and milk. He never ate those anymore.

Fear clutching his heart, he slowly walked over to the living room. The TV was on, though the sound was too low for Mokuba to hear at first. There was a figure on the couch. Mokuba tip toed over.

It was Seto in the flesh.

Mokuba gasped. The figure on the couch did not wake. He reached a wavering hand, and touched Seto's cheek. It was warm. He felt his face, his hands. They were real. The hands closed over his gently, and Seto opened his eyes and smiled.

" Hi Mokuba." He greeted.
" Ni-sama," Mokuba was eighteen years old, but he was crying like a little boy, and like a child he threw himself into Seto's arms.
" Ni-sama, you're alive!" Mokuba laughed, tears rolling down his face in streams. " I thought you were dead. We all thought you were dead. You're not going to leave me, are you?"
" No. Never." Seto answered, kissing his brother's head. " In fact, you'll have a hard time getting rid of me from now on."
" I won't have it any other way." Mokuba chuckled, letting go of Seto and looking at him in the eye. " Don't tell me what happened to you. I don't want to know right now. I just want to know that you're real. You're real."
" What does your heart tell you?" Seto asked Mokuba tenderly.
" You're alive. You're here. And you're never going to leave me again." Mokuba answered softly.
" Then trust it." Seto answered. " You do believe in the Heart of the Cards, right?"
" Hai." Mokuba nodded.
" You have a more knowing heart than the cards." Seto answered. " And this one is always right."



Yami waited by the deserted alley. The message he got was a disturbing one. He really should have ignored it, but these days no one challenged him to a duel anymore, partly because he lost the will to play. Ever since Seto disappeared there was no one to match his skill.

But this letter was different. This letter made Yami want to duel.

The other night's encounter with Seto had seemed more like an imagination, and that morning Yami and the others had all agreed that it must have been some work of imagination, as they were all thinking about Seto at that time. Seto couldn't possibly be here. Seto was dead. Gone. Passed out of existence.

One last duel. Yami vowed.

The figure appeared, clothed in brown, with a hood covering his face. The voice was whispering. Yami couldn't identify it.

" So you have come."
" I was intrigued." Yami answered. " I expect you to be a worthy opponent, however. Kindly give me your name."
" My name is Angel." The figure answered. " Though I am called by many others."
" What are the stakes?" Yami asked.
" We can request anything we want from the other." Angel answered. I doubt he knows what he's doing. He thought to himself. Perhaps that night had startled his spirit.

The former Pharaoh was slightly shocked. This wasn't what he was expecting. Should he really risk this? The man never mentioned this in his letter. He only said there would be interesting stakes.

The duel began slowly. Neither drew good cards, but the man was confident. Secretly, Yami thought he was a bad player. He kept on falling into Yami's traps, but that confidence never wavered.

Yami was beginning to lose his guard. This man is a joker! How could he expect to win against the King of Games?

Yami drew the Dark Magician.

" I summon the Dark Magician, in attack mode!"
" It's about time." Angel replied. " I was wondering when you'd draw it. Perhaps it's because you think this duel is too easy. Well then, I suppose I shall make it harder." The man drew a card.
" Ah, Yami," The cloaked figure straightened, and Yami could make out glowing blue eyes from underneath the hood, " This is a blast from the past. I doubt you've forgotten this card. It's a mighty rare card, and in the world there are only four, with one in your grandfather's hands."

Yami sucked in his breath, at first not understanding.

" I summon the Blue Eyes White Dragon!"



During the seven years Industrial Illusions had always made more cards. As the old cards worn out and slowly crumbled into dust, new and more beautiful cards replaced them. Pegasus never found reason to make any more Blue Eyes White Dragons, even though the three functioning ones had disappeared along with Seto Kaiba.

Was it because the man felt that the Blue Eyes White Dragons rightfully belonged to Seto Kaiba? No one really knew. As time wore on, the Blue Eyes became legendary. Seto Kaiba's name florished only because of the cards that no one was sure really existed. Even then, his name was fading, and at the end of the sixth year the Blue Eyes White Dragons became merely a myth and few people knew it.

Pegasus didn't bother changing that. He issued a search for Seto Kaiba, and when the boy was not found did not bring his name up again. The Blue Eyes White Dragon passed out of the records. Seto Kaiba's name passed out of history.

No one else possessed even a copy or drawing of the Blue Eyes White Dragon.



" Where did you get the card?" Yami asked, his voice tight, memories of the other night flashing in his mind. Of course it couldn't have been a hallucination. They all saw him! What could he have been thinking?
" It's rather interesting." Seto answered, his hood falling off on its own accord. " This particular one I came by accident. One morning, when Duel Monsters was new, I went to a game shop in Tokyo and saw it at the window. I bought it. It was only later that I found out how rare it was. The price was ridiculous, but I knew it was worth it. How? Because it's the same as your puzzle, Yami. On the outside it looks like a simple gold ornament. But it's what's on the inside that counts."

Yami dropped his cards. The game ended right there. Seto looked at Yami.

" I'm glad we have a chance to meet formally this time." Seto said quietly.
" Where have you been?" Yami asked softly, keeping his distance, almost afraid of Seto. Seto only smiled warmly.
" Do you remember that day, seven years ago?" Seto asked. Yami blinked. The other went on. " I was in my office that day while you and Jou took Mokuba to the library so he could do his homework. That day at the office I received a package from someone named Huliva."

Huliva? Yami knew no one by that name.

" I was suspicious, of course." Seto went on. " The bad side of being famous is there is always someone willing to kill you. But when I checked the package, there was nothing dangerous I could detect. Therefore, I opened the package."

Yami blinked. So Seto is a ghost?

" Inside was an object like Malik's Millennium Rod." Seto smiled. " Only it was made of white gold, and there was a sapphire orb at the top, glittering like liquid pools. The orb was surrounded with flowers and leaves. I picked it up, and all of the sudden, it grew, long and slender, and lo and behold, I held a staff!"

There was a loud explosion, and Seto wielded a staff from behind his cloak. He placed it on the ground, showing his status, and his cloak spread to show the white robes beneath.

" And then, I felt such power," Seto's eyes were dazed, as if he were looking into the distance, " Such power I have never felt before. I threw the offending staff away from me, and it shrank back into a rod.I did not touch that staff for a few hours, but then a visitor came. It was Huliva."

Yami listened, nodding slowly.

" At the same time," Seto went on, " Another man came. Huliva, at the sight of the man, attacked him with his staff, physically. Things happened that I cannot remember, but I do recall one blast sent me flying out the window."

Yami swallowed the lump in his throat. So this is it. Seto's a ghost.

" I thought to myself, how ironic it was, that I killed Gozaburo and his revenge was for me to die the same way. I did not die. Instead, I landed in someone's arms, and as I blacked out I saw the world around me change."

" They took me to another world." Seto glanced towards the heavens. " A marvelous world it was, so clean, so pure, so utterly beautiful, and there I felt as if I were in the domain of angels. Children ran up to me, others ran up to me, asking if I was alright. Later Huliva came and he explained everything to me."
" What?" Yami asked.
" Do you remember the time when you were Pharaoh?" Seto asked. " There was a certain High Priest that you had condemned to death."

Yami paled. He did not want to hear this! But Seto did not force him to.

" I was not a High Priest." Seto answered his unasked question. " I was a sorceror. As a child I was sent to Egypt to guard against the Shadow Realm's wrath. Had you let me live, the Shadow Realm would have been sealed forever. With my interference, however, you were able to seal the Shadow Realm temporarily. But the immortals are not willing to sacrifice me for the mortal realm anymore. The Time of the Beast comes the End. The Shadow Realm will engulf you all. I came for Shadi and my brother."

Yami swallowed the information to the point where he choked. He stared at Seto.

" I was Heaven's child." Seto went on. " My true name is Angel. But Mokuba is still my brother. I am the hope of the mortals and immortals. The Lord of the Moon. I wield the staff of the Divine Dragon. And five thousand years ago, you murdered me. For this alone, you will not be saved from this peril. However, be comforted that I know no hate towards you."
" What about the others? Yugi? Jou? Ryou?" Yami asked desperately.
" I come for Shadi and Mokuba." Seto answered. " And they alone."
" Why Shadi?"
" Because he is immortal."



The young immortals hurried through the streets.

" This blasted air is making me sick." Said Brynhild, pulling her hair back. " Where is he? Surely the Pharaoh wouldn't harm him again?"
" You think the bloody Pharaoh has any power over him anymore?" Jacob sneered. " Good Aralen, where are you Angel?"
" Should we use the staffs?" Brynhild asked.
" Is that alright?" Loriou asked. " I mean, maybe if one of the mortals sees us..."
" Just do it." Jacob snapped.

Loriou sighed, then, twirling his staff, he chanted,

" Angel's voices,
Sapphire stones,
Give heed to the call,
Release the signal,
Be it smoke or fire,
Lightning or thunder,
Point me to the Divine Dragon!"

Seto raised his head as his staff began glowing. Yami froze.
" What's that?" Yami asked.
" It's the others." Seto answered calmly. " They must be wondering why I was gone for so long. I did not tell them I plan to stay with Mokuba tonight, before taking him back tomorrow."
" Tomorrow?' Yami blinked. " But-"
" Hai. Tomorrow." Seto answered, lifting his staff higher so the light would be more visible in the distance. A heavy silence fell. Then the sorcerers appeared.

" Thank Aralen you're alright. What are you doing?" Salne asked, grabbing Seto's shoulders. " You're having that blasted duel with the Pharaoh again? Still did not get over the old grudge, I see!"
" Actually, it was a rather interesting way to greet an old friend." Seto smiled. " I'm planning to stay with my brother tonight. I only came to speak to Yami. Do you want to see him? We have a nice mansion. I haven't seen that mansion in a long time, but it looks the same."
" Oh I really want to see that brother of yours!" Lena laughed, clapping her hands in delight. Seto turned to Yami.
" Do you want to come with us?" He asked. Yami shook his head. His heart felt bitter.
" Iie. Arigatou. I think I'll be going back to the university now."

Seto nodded. " I'll see you Yami."

The sorcerers vanished.

Yami remained in the alley for a long time before turning towards the university dorms. His heart felt heavy with remorse and despair. Seto's words did little to comfort him.

Still, perhaps this would help him, this End of the world. Eternity in a golden puzzle. He had sentenced his soul to eternity of entrapment. When the world is gone, he would be gone too, and the weariness would be eased.

He wished more than anything that he did not kill the High Priest. He wished that he did not care more for his dignity than a faithful servant. It was a mistake he was paying now.

Odd how things work.



" Mokuba, this is Loriou, the one who's overly cautious, Brynhild, the one who's obsessed with unicorns-" At this Brynhild stuck her tongue at Seto, who merely chuckled, " Lena, who gets hyper usually so don't taunt her, Jacob, he's great at black magic, and Salne, the only one who's as old as I am."

Mokuba laughed. " Nice to meet you all." He said.
" Wow, your brother's quite handsome now." Brynhild nodded approvingly. " Last I saw him he was a teeny weeny little boy. Now he's grown up into a fine young lad."

Mokuba blushed in embarrassment.
" This place is big." Loriou looked around. " I never imagined a place so big could be built for one person."
" You've never seen Forbidden City."

Mokuba laughed.
" Come along, Mokuba has some tea leaves, we'll treat you to dinner." Seto offered. " You'll have some Japanese tea, eh? Before this all goes away."

For some reason the immortals found it funny and they broke into laughter.




The night was starting to get cold. Ryou wrapped the coat more tightly around himself. His yami looked up ahead.

" There's the mansion." Bakura said to Ryou. " The lights are on. Mokuba must be home."

Ryou remained silent. Bakura suddenly stopped.

" Pharaoh."
" Tomb Robber."
" You look like you've seen a ghost. Did you see Kaiba again?" Ryou asked, walking up next to his yami.
" He's not a ghost. And his name is no longer Seto Kaiba." Yami answered. " He says this is the end."
" What do you mean?" Bakura asked.
" Seto's in there." Yami gestured towards the mansion. " You can ask him for yourself. I'm sure he won't mind. I don't think he cares what we do anymore."

Yami slipped past them and began walking away.

" Yami! Where are you going?" Ryou asked, stepping forward to attempt to catch up. Yami's voice stopped him.
" I'm going back to Yugi. Might as well protect him the best I could until I can no longer." Yami's shadow disappeared.

" What do you think he meant?" Ryou asked Bakura. Bakura shook his head. " I don't know. Maybe Kaiba's after Yugi and Yami."
" What did he mean, Kaiba's name is no longer Seto Kaiba?"
" I don't know."



" Really? Yami quit? Well I guess I was lucky I intrigued him. I never paid that much attention to him." Seto sipped his tea.
" That's because he's paying more attention on his brother." Brynhild teased. " And getting into trouble."
" I don't get into trouble. Trouble finds me."
" It wouldn't find you so many times if you hadn't made yourself so easy to be found." Loriou pointed out.
" So you know everything?" Mokuba asked.
" Of course. I was always watching you. I know you once had a crush on that girl-what's her name? I think it was Ritsuko. Got really scared, because I don't know what will happen if you do fall in love with that girl-I can't take both of you back with me. Good thing you got over it."

Mokuba blushed.

" So all this will be gone." Mokuba looked at the mansion. " What will happen, exactly?"
" America will drop a few atomic bombs, no big deal." Seto shrugged, completely unconcerned. " One of them will drop right on this mansion and blast it into tiny atoms. You might want to take some precious belongings with you. Don't worry, we won't have to take the house. I got a better one. Then of course, the United States will drop around ten others around Honshu and the other islands. This island will fall over and be like the city of Atlantis. Yami might think to take Yugi and the others to Egypt-but they won't escape that way. After Japan's gone, the Phillipines will be next, then Indonesia, and gradually all the islands, including Chile, will be gone. Even Hawaii, I believe. Afterwards, the Shadow Realm will do the rest. It starts at Egypt and goes on from there. Once the Shadow Realm takes over completely, this planet will blast into pieces. Nothing will survive."
" Sounds intense." Mokuba frowned.
" It is. It's really exciting. You can watch if you want." Seto shrugged. " Or maybe not. It might be too violent, but really, we don't care that much. If I had more family than you, I probably would start worrying, but as I only have you-you probably think I'm being heartless right now. But really, this world was failing ever since it began. Once you come and smell the air back at home, you'll love the place so much you won't even miss Japan. Trust me."

Mokuba scowled. He doubted his brother for the first time. But Seto offered him a gentle smile.

" I know you've grown up Mokuba." Seto whispered. " It's hard to see your own kind die out. But sometimes you have to sacrifice things. If I can save this world I will. But it's their time. And other worlds will sprout out, each one better than before. Don't worry. You're not abandoning anyone."

Mokuba smiled. Trust his brother to know what he's thinking, even after all these years.

" So, tell me about the other place." Mokuba winked. Seto burst out laughing.
" Let's see, there's this person named Scarlett. You'll meet her. She's like a mother to me. A mother hen. Always going around poking me and making sure I'm eating. I swear, if I weren't immortal, I would be as fat as a wrestler by now. They have lots of food up there, by the way. Even Jou wouldn't finish them all-though he eats a little less now, since his metabolism has slowed down. There are some amazing creatures-I remember that when I first met the winged unicorn I was really surprised. You'll see them. I can't explain very well."

Mokuba smiled. " You're getting me all excited."
" I knew you would." Seto answered. " So how's the school doing?" He asked the other sorcerers.
" Alright." Lena nodded. " They had some problems with the walls, you know, I imagine."
" I do." Seto rolled his eyes. " They should study math."



" Good night Yami." Yugi said as he closed his eyes and fell silent. Yami stayed awake.
" Good night Yugi." He whispered. " As long as I can still say it. Good night."

The hikari did not hear. He was already asleep. Outside the sky was starless, as the smoke and clouds covered everything, giving the sky an orange color instead of a black. Cars honked, people yelled. Yami sat in the darkness.

" Good night Seto."